Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2008 everyone. I hope everyone has great resolutions that they're eager to tackle. Myself, this blog is a bit part of my own New Year's resolution. I'll be doing my best to update on a weekly basis and write something interesting each time, be it a thought piece or prose or poetry.

Now that the Christmas rush is over and everyone is gearing up to get back to the daily grind, I want to look back at some of the consumerist ideals that we were exposed to during the holidays and the boxing week that followed.

It seems to me that we are getting greedier. I noticed at Off the Wall that there were star-shaped stickers on the ground that said "All I want for Christmas is peace on Earth and a pair of great Jeans." Taken in another perspective, namely a satirical one, I'd be tempted to see the statement as a kind of bathos à la Alexander Pope. What I mean by that is that by even considering those two items as equal, you make yourself look silly and out of touch with reality. I'm not quite sure what Off the Wall was trying to do with their decorations, maybe humour, but I don't believe they achieved their goal.

Not that it really matters, they seemed to get a lot of foot traffic and business throughout December. I was at Metrotown on Boxing Day and there was a long line up in front of the store. I'm not quite sure when Boxing Day became Boxing Week, but I like the idea. Boxing Day has always been a good way for stores to get rid of excess inventory quickly and I've never thought that it beneficial to keep it to just one day. Now, people can take their time and not kill each other while in transit. As well, those that work on Boxing Day won't have to give up their own chance at savings.

The only thing about Boxing Day that I don't like is that it is after Christmas. Of course, it'll have to be after Christmas in order for stores to get a chance at getting rid of extra inventory. However, since it is after Christmas, people can't take advantage of the sales when shopping for gifts for other people. If people were smart, they'd ignore the statutory holiday and opt to nab belated presents for everyone. However, it it becomes common practice, then the "Boxing Week" would simple move back again and the cycle would repeat. I like the American idea of a single sale day a month before Christmas (Black Friday). With that, no one can really complain except about their own laziness to shop for others.

I'll stop here for now. I've still much to say and directions to explore, but brevity is the soul of wit, meaning it'll be to my own credit and benefit if I'm clear and concise.

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