I don't get the Black Friday craze

--and I'm glad: Black Friday frenzy leads to reports of violence.

I tried going to bed

but couldn't get comfortable. So I got some Christmas gifts for two more people. That's most of my list. My grandmother is always a challenge. What do you get someone who has most everything already? Last year it was a soft, warm blanket. I'm not sure what to do this year. I have just a couple more other than that. Not bad for me. I tend to wait till the last minute. And the best part? Yes, I shopped on Black Friday, but didn't go near a store! :)

Hmmm....that puts things into perspective

Seen on Facebook: 'I skip Black Friday because my hatred of mankind outweighs my love for stuff.'

Um. Okay, I do love my fellow man in theory. But not in crowds. Or pushing. Or in malls....you get the point.

Thanks to Amanda, one of my former co-workers, for sharing that one. Good luck on the new job.

It's a little gloomy out there

which is probably why I slept late; I'd turned my alarm off because I'd been waking up way before it, but the sun isn't shining, so the glow in my window is a little subdued. I went to bed at midnight last night, but didn't manage to sleep until about one-something, but that's alright, I got in eight hours of mostly undisturbed sleep. One of the first things I did this morning, though, was wash my hair, as it was positively driving me crazy. It was worse than Snape's.

So now I'm up and have had a little cheese for breakfast, and I'm thinking of all those crazy people out at the stores this morning. Well, a lot probably are heading home by now. I do not get the mad rush for bargains. It's not worth it to me, and I very rarely have much money to spend on the holidays, so I like a bargain as much as the rest of the world. But not that much.

Now that my hair is washed, the only other thing is to work on the game notes today. Today is a day of relaxation for a lot of people, shopping for others. It's a day like most any day for me at the moment, but that's fine. The end is in sight and I'll hopefully be back at work someday soon.

It looks like most of my neighbours have the day off, too. There are a lot of cars in the parking lot for this time of day. I feel a bit like Mrs Kravitz from 'Bewitched'. I'm usually sitting at the computer by the window and am doing a lot of watching the world go by, whether it's squirrels and birds or people coming in and out of the building. I usually know my visitors are here before they knock (well, in truth, most have texted or called ahead; they know it takes me awhile to get to the door).

I have determined that once I am up walking well again there are two things in my house that must be done: vacuuming and dusting. I have dropped so much on the floor, everything from Jell-O and jam to tiny pen needle covers, and so a good carpet cleaning might be in order, too. Since I'm sitting down as I go through much of the apartment, I'm seeing the dust much better. I hate dusting, and it doesn't build up easily in my house, but it has. It's the last thing I always clean over at the gamemaster's house each Sunday. I think it's because I am allergic to dust and dust mites and hate that feeling of getting stuffed up and sneezing. But it must be done.

Well, I checked the news. Let me go see if there's anything else blog-worthy of note on the Internet to put up here. Hope you have a restful Friday after Thanksgiving.

I'm going to turn in

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I managed to do some more with the notes (although I'm stopping right at the climax, which is unfortunate, but I'm tired). The game is definitely unique. We're at the point that the two of us are having our organs telekinetically crushed by a comrade who has been taken over by an evil bug thing and who, as a necromancer, is killing an animating students at a frat house party. In desperation, the only thing I could do is set him on fire, which broke his concentration and saved us. Beware the pyrokinetic when push comes to shove and you're busy monologuing. I can't remember much of what happened after that. I think it involved the bug thing going out of him, using a magical netgun to trap it, and then blasting it with the Elder Sign. Then there was putting out the fire, putting the comrade, who was barely alive, in stasis, packing all of our friends (almost all of whom, at this point, were in stasis) into a van, and hightailing it out of there. Ah, scenic Kingsport. You have to love it. Welcome to our brand of Call of Cthulhu. That has to be the most stunning ending to an adventure in awhile. Most of the rest of the game was healing up those hurt.

Hey, some people garden. Some play paintpall. Some sit in front of a gaming console and call it roleplaying. We are old-school gamers and have been playing the same game for 21 years. It's our fun, our release, our social interaction. And I miss it terribly. It's been almost seven weeks we've missed because of my accident. Here's hoping to resuming it soon. But I have to get the notes finished by then. I have a little time, but I want to go ahead and get them done. Besides, it keeps me up during the day and active.

Have a good night. Don't go crazy on Black Friday. Remember, that mp3 player isn't worth getting hurt over.

Oh, my tummy is happy

I slept for about three hours then got up and grazed some more of the Thanksgiving meal and now I'm listening to the local news. It was nice to have home-cooked food. It really does make a difference, especially if you're not a cook yourself, and you're basically microwaving everything. I was brave enough to heat (and lucky enough not to burn myself) something in the oven once, but I have some macaroni and cheese to make on the stove and the whole dumping boiling water is a little beyond me while I'm gimpy. So I've just been putting things in the microwave. I'm also looking forward to the kugel YKWIA promised to make when I'm finally able to come over to his house. :)

The Black Friday and pre-Black Friday stuff is insane. It's on the news right now. Even White Castle is offering 'Black Friday swag'--clothing and the like. How bizarre.

I'll probably do all my shopping online this year. I've already found a couple of gifts I like, one for YKWIA and one for my mom. I'll have to think about the other people. But I have a small circle of people I get gifts for, so I should be able to take care of it. But I do have two holidays to shop for (Chanukah and Christmas) and one to celebrate (Yule). :)

Bill Meck of channel 18 just started to talk about Black Friday weather, and said something about people's Black shopping needs. I'm so glad I don't do live news and weather. :) We've got a cold front coming through, plus rain early. So those shoppers may get a bit damp and cold. I just do not understand the furor over trying to get bargains on one day of the year. But then, I hate crowds, and try not to go near Fayette Mall or Hamburg (a huge shopping district I like to call the world's biggest strip mall, because it's terribly laid out, bad for paedestrians, and not great for drivers either. One year I went the day before Christmas to do my shopping and it was like taking my life into my own hands. There is a reason so many people shop online these days.

What kind of people

would tear a store's doors off their hinges and trample an employee to death just to get a bargain?????

Wal-Mart Employee Trampled to Death by Customers

Three other shoppers were injured and a pregnant woman was taken to the hospital for observation. Some witnesses said she miscarried, although that was unverified when I saw the story on the television.

Really. I know that we are a nation of consumerism, but why such behaviour just for a chance at a new DVD? And granted, it was at a Wal-Mart, which doesn't cater to the highest members of society, but it's also in one of the richest counties in the country.

That poor man. He was a temporary worker hired for the holidays., 34 years old, and died needlessly because of other people's greed. I doubt the police will catch everyone involved, but I hope members of that mob never escape what they have done.