The Family Without The Christmas Spirit

Unlike most houses everywhere, we still have no Christmas decorations in the house to this very day. In fact, we haven't done this for years. Or I haven't done this for years. I think I've stopped putting up decorations the year after my son became a pre-teen and was no longer thrilled by all the lights and colors. When I stopped doing this, no one seemed to mind the lack of decoration in the house, just as no one seemed to mind to help when I put it or clean it up afterwards. This year, the most you'll probably see anything "Christmas" in this house is through the placemats I'm planning to use on Christmas eve, and the lunch and dinner that will follow the next day.

Unlike most families everywhere, Christmas in our house is celebrated without presents that will be opened on Christmas eve. The gifts we have for each other will either be given as it is, with no wrappings or trimmings; or have been given way ahead...like back in September. This year, my son actually knows what he's getting coz he's the one who chose it. There will be no pretty packages and no surprises. I find that celebrating Christmas with my boys? Not quite the production I get when I celebrate it with girlfriends or my big extended family.

On Christmas eve, we would eat Noche Buena like most families. Only, dining at 12 midnight is something we also do on some nights when one of the boys start craving for a midnight meal. So midnight feasts? Not something out of the ordinary.

There will be no parties and there will be no partying at other houses. Visits to friends or families will be done any other day. But on Christmas day? We're having a staycation, we're pigging out and settling on the bed with our gadgets and devices. We would all be hooked up to the internet or probably watching something on TV all day, as always.  Together, but each preoccupied with doing something else.

In fact, I will be working for 10 hours the day everyone is celebrating Christmas. It is not something I decided without consulting my boys, of course. But when I told them I've been asked to render 10 hours of work on Christmas Day, both my boys said to go ahead and do it...."We're all gonna be doing the same thing we do everyday on Christmas, anyway." 

My family's lack of enthusiasm for Christmas may be really weird for others. But it's the kind of "family tradition" that works for our small unit. Reunions, the crowded-but-fun Christmas parties (that I also enjoy, just not with my boys!)? My boys would be bored by it, to be honest.

The other day, my Mom was reminding my Dad, who is going to visit our hometown for Christmas, to not forget the gifts and the treats for family back there. What my Dad said, sounding slightly miffed at the reminder given to him the nth time, is perhaps the best way to describe what Christmas is really like for us, particularly our son, the husband and I. He said, "We always give them gifts and treats and do the same 'special' stuff even when it's not Christmas anyway, so what's the difference?"

All Boxed Up!

Have you subscribe to any of these box-y deals online? I dunno what you call it, but after the group-buying system that become such a hit last year (Groupon, Metrodeal, and so on), this is probably going to be next biggest buying concept that will spawn a lot of copies.

I first learned of this last year, while helping run a Gossip Girl site (in which case I had to live and breathe Gossip Girl stuff I could find anywhere on the internet). One such boxing service (seriously, what are they called???) released an exclusive box filled with beauty products apparently used by the girls on the show. Like so:

Photo Credit

I really liked the idea, but since it wasn't available here, I never paid attention to the nitty-gritty of the concept of these boxed freebies. (I still dunno what to call them!)

But we Filipino folks usually catch on pretty fast. Because we now have four of these services in our midst.

Take your pick!

Salad Box

Glamour Box

BDJ Box

Sample Room

How it works is that you pay a certain fee monthly or for half the year,  and every month, you should receive a box of goodies or sample products from different health and beauty companies. Some of these boxes contain items of 4-5 or even more, costing over Php2000 if you buy them at stores. Membership is between Php450 to Php650 a month. I'm not sure if this includes the shipment fee, though.

From these four sites I've listed, only Sample Room requires no fee at all. But you get to try a product for FREE, as long as you have enough points to avail of it and if you pay the shipping cost. I'm already signed on to Sample Room, which debuted this week, but I haven't used my free points yet and will wait for the offering next month.

For the rest of these...box sites (give me a term please!!!), I've read countless of blogs with their unboxing entries and photos of what are usually inside these boxes. You can google them up if you're curious. The sites also feature the products offered, by the way.

Most of the items are available locally, but some boxes do contain products I've never heard before, or are probably only seen at bazaars.

You can read up on how their system works by following the links below:

Sample Room - HOW IT WORKS
BDJ Box - HOW IT WORKS
Glamour Box - HOW IT WORKS
Salad Box - HOW IT WORKS

They also have their own Facebook pages, so follow and like the page to get an idea.

Are you going to sign up?

What Would Lord Grantham Do?

I was supposed to be a part of a field trip today. And by field trip, I mean I was supposed to be part of this small blogger event.

We were invited to go to this plant tour somewhere in the south and I've been really looking forward to it because 1) I use a lot of this company's products, 2) I haven't been in a field trip for so long, there's something I know I can learn from this trip, and 3) after all these years, it's my first time to join something organized for bloggers, I could start networking then.

By 6 AM, I was prepared to leave the house to go to the directed meeting place. Only, the help I've been counting on to arrive early, never arrived at all.

Days prior to this, I've been asking the help if she was alright with the schedule and if it was okay for her to come to work really early. Each time I asked, she gave me a solid yes, so I didn't think we would have any problems.

I wouldn't be able to go if I couldn't find someone to be at the house. She knows that drill too well, having worked for me for awhile now. I needed her mostly because I really require someone to watch over my dogs when I'm not home. This sort of thing is what most people would probably consider as  #firstworldproblem. But like I mentioned in a previous entry, my dogs can be high maintenance and I couldn't gamble on leaving them just like that. Fortunately, this doesn't happen often because I have the husband and the son to rely on. But on this particular day, when the son has to be in school and the husband is still oversease,  I really, really needed help. And I was assured I will get help.

To cut the long story short, I was not able to go to the field trip. I didn't even receive any advise from the help until 3 PM today. Her excuse was lame, as expected. Something about her kids getting sick since Tuesday and how she's been neglecting them. Which I don't really understand because she comes in 4x a week only and works between 8:30am to 3:00pm.  This is the first time she's become unreliable and this has been her first no-show. So, what gives?

[/end rant]

Based on my conversation with her, it wasn't also clear whether she plans to return to work anymore. So I could probably be without any help for a while again. Most days, I could survive without a maid.  I like doing chores in the house. But these dogs we have, they take a lot from me, you know? So having someone else come to sub for me could do wonders for my sanity. I guess that's really what I'm paying them for.

Domestic problems are very common. We've all been there. We've all come up with decisive ways to deal with it. I seem to have one year after year, which only strengthens my belief that it's really hard to find good help nowadays.

I still don't know what my plan is with this helper situation. Do I even consider letting her come back or should I just find someone else and make new adjustments again? I really don't want to re-train someone and have her get used to the dogs and vice versa.

Oh, well.

WWLGD?

Lord Grantham is the Earl of Downton Abbey, a fictional English aristocratic house with 20+ servants. Lord Grantham does not experience trivial problems like mine because when one servant is unavailable, he can just ask the 19 others on his beck and call. And he has only one dog, so....

Where I Write About Nothing To Write And Actually Give You Tips!

It's finally happening, folks. I have nothing to blog.

When I opened this site two weeks ago, I had every intention to go back to blogging hardcore, like I did several years ago. I wanted to do it because there's always stuff in my head that needs to be written down. Expecially when I have this disease called "overthinking".

But there lies the problem. Sometimes, I have no will to write and I also have this disease called a "brain drain". Which is why something like Twitter (or a more private Facebook status update) helps with my thought process. But because I don't wanna fall off the wagon and start missing doing daily entries during the weekdays, I'm forcing myself to think of something to write.

This most common problem happens to the best of us: I have no shit to write about. So, what do I do? I write about having nothing to blog, hoping maybe it will get me out of this rut.

I thought I should come up with tools I use to help me source out topics and inspiration....so, here goes:

NOTEBOOK (using real paper)

I keep a little notebook in my bag at all times. I know many gadgets have this notebook feature. I have it on the smartphone, the tablet and the computer...because it's 2012 and almost 2013, we need to get used to the digital age. But I find that relying in apps on those gadgets makes me lazy.

I need an actual notebook; having to use a pen to write, or flipping paper pages to fill it out, or getting my top caught in its wires (one too many!!!). It has to be old-school realistic. Somehow, it reminds me of having to accomplish those daily assignments we all used to do in school (remember?). I need discipline like that to keep writing.

I learned about keeping notebooks a few years ago, reading seasoned bloggers who do this professionally. One of them said that having a notebook helps when a thought strikes, for she could immediately write the gist of it down, wherever she is, and expound on it later when she's on the computer.

My notebook has no gists or really anal stuff like that, but it has a list of topics. I had planned on doing blog entries about these topics, only even before I could, I've edited myself out and crossed it off my list.

I think that there are certain topics that would not be necessary to blog about anymore, like what's for dinner or what cute stuff I've bought, and where I last went...when there's my Instagram for those. This pretty much means that, for the moment, my notebook is useless then, huh? Although I would still like to keep it inside the bag. Because one day, I may actually need it and follow through that discipline I was talking about earlier.

BOOKMARKING

Aside from jotting down topics on a handy notebook, I bookmark pages I browse on the internet to use as reference for writing.

There's a nifty tool called Evernote that I used to abuse before. But I've since ditched it when the browser I am using incorporated this Evernote-like feature, minimizing my need for running one program too many on my computer.

These are what I've bookmarked currently, with the latest topics on top. --->

It's a long list of websites I could go back to  when I need to finally write something, or meet a deadline. This list is partly fluff and partly important, work-related and non-work related, since unfortunately, unlike Evernote, this browser-ready feature doesn't have folders where I could organize what I've bookmarked into categories.

But it's still pretty efficient and I would recommend bookmarking and clipping to anyone who wants to get on track with writing.

PAGES SUBSCRIPTION

Most people think Facebook is the devil. You could get lost in this site for hours doing mindless stuff like gossiping, fighting with someone over a silly status post, sending out passive-aggressive thoughts and stalking...among other things.

If there's one feature I like about Facebook is in following virtually any type of page that's on it.  These pages are goldmines of source materials for what to write about.

I think I have more than 1500 Pages "liked" now and I still browse over the suggestions Facebook provides because there could be something interesting there.  It has helped me lots of times with work, in fact.

To organize all these pages, I make use of Facebook's Interest feature. Don't know how to do it? Here's how (click photo to enlarge):

How to create an INTEREST list on Facebook

I basically picked this from one of the pages I follow, so see, being on Facebook can be productive and proactive!

And there it is...I finally was able to do today's blog entry! :D And even dished out tips. HAH!!

So, what about you, what do you do when you're stuck in a rut and can't begin writing?

Stay Safe, Mindanao!

I no longer live there, haven't done so for the last 18 years,  but it's weird to see this image of that new typhoon threatening regions in Mindanao this week.

Typhoon Pablo's projected tracks in Mindanao

And for some reason, I can't go back to sleep. Like I also need to stand vigil, just in case we need to evacuate or something. Crazy, when I now live thousands of miles away in Luzon.

I was born and raised in Davao City and it didn't used to be this way in that region. When there are news of class suspensions because of a typhoon in Manila,  I used to have this tinge of envy knowing Manila kids can sleep longer and watch a lot of TV.  On a school day!

My grandmother, however, would always say we were quite lucky to be living in a region where there are no storms. I didn't understand what she meant by "lucky" until I moved permanently in Manila in the 90's, where I survived flooding (while 5-months pregnant) in '97 and I continue to witness how these recent storms and heavy rains can quickly paralyze and devastate my neighborhood.

These days, when classes are suspended, I get a tinge of irritation knowing my son is missing out on school. Of course, he would spend the rest of the day sleeping and sleeping coz --- I've since learned, living here for nearly two decades --- the storms normally cut the power off and you can't do much. (What? No TV???)

There's a wave of concern and worry going through me now, as updates on Typhoon Pablo's tracks pour in. Perhaps it's because I've lived through a number of flooding, I'm still traumatized by it. Or perhaps it's because I still have family and friends there who are, no doubt, growing frantic about what could possibly happen. It bothers me that they have to experience this. Pablo isn't a typical storm. If it were in the US, it would be a Category 5. Who wouldn't be freaked out by that?

Anyway, there's not a lot people can do when a storm hits but prepare and keep safe, or hope that the storm weakens or change its course and head to the sea.

People in Manila always get back on their feet as soon as the storm leaves. We're so used to it, I guess, that it really is part of living here. Those in Mindanao, however, are still coming to grips with this new reality. Binabagyo na rin ang Mindanao ngayon. Imagine that?! My Lola, if she were still alive, would think it impossible.

To those in Mindanao, I hope you are safe. The most important thing I've learned, stranded in a pool of murky water outside our village during Ondoy, is to have lots of good, clean water on standby.

Liking This Post Will Ensure Your Spot In Heaven

I am subscribed to a number of dog pages and groups on Facebook and every now and then, I get to read about plights of pets who have been voilated and abused by indecent human beings. These stories come with photos or videos and some of it can be disturbing. You know what I'm talking about. You've probably come across many of these yourself.

To some extent, watching or looking at the photos/videos is torturous and so heart-breaking that my husband would often wonder why I like subjecting myself to these.  It isn't that I like this...emotional porn. Sometimes, I do wonder why I follow these groups only to breakdown and lose sleep over updates I've read. But I believe in their cause and I am behind what they do; maybe also slightly envious, but grateful, that there are people who can volunteer for it.

Charitable groups on Facebook aren't just limited to pets. There are countless of legitimate organizations that really do what they can to spread and seek support for whatever advocacy they represent. Like the dog pages/groups I follow, they provide facts and information about what happened to the victim --- man, woman, child or animal --- and *properly detail* what people can do to help. This last part is what's really the most important one, I think.

And then there are certain groups that post images like this below:

1 Like = 10 Pray :(
1 Share = 1$

To which Boromir says:

Here's another image I've seen being reposted for a couple of years now:

Note that there really isn't a lot of information about who this child is, what happened to her and where people can extend their help for her. It's most likely that this came from a page or group that is not a charitable organization at all, and probably just a random page that wants to increase its member-base.

Too cool, but selfish?  More like uninformed and uneducated.

I know it's tempting to put something like this on our wall, because I get that it makes one feel good about "doing something". But reposting the image delivers false advocacy, a misguided sense for doing good, and probably even a kind of exploitation. How can reposting or liking an image change what happens to the victim? How do we really help the cause when there's hardly any information and all we're doing is liking and reposting?

The problems are real outside of these social media sites, which means we can 1) either resist reposting (or liking) as a slacktivist, or 2) actually be proactive and do something for these causes.

Often, people who actually do something --- like donate, contribute, sign-up, reach-out, or volunteer --- need not put it on their walls for friends to like and repost.

Like this post if you agree. :P

This Is Where I Rant About Having Dogs. No Judging!

This was true for me before: I'd rather have dogs than babies. For many reasons, like having endured a long and hard labor with my first-born, or economics, I thought that raising babies would be more challenging and I didn't think we would still enjoy going through all that.

Don't get me wrong. I used to dream of raising five kids. I had their full names picked in college. My main ambition in life was to become a stay-at-home mom, tend to cute little kids, cook, bake, clean the house (check! check! check!), just like the grandmother who raised me.

But sometime ago, when the thought of extending the family came up, I negated the idea immediately. My reasons were pretty simple, if not petty:

• Dogs are low maintenance.
• Dogs will never go to school. So, the hubs and I don't have to worry about college tuition.
• Dogs will never grow up, unlike babies. Who will decide that, by the time they're teenagers, Mom is not the center of their world anymore. 

We set our sights on getting a Jack Russell, as influenced by a favorite TV show. Then one Jack Russell became two, because we didn't want the new dog baby to be lonely.

And then they bred.  And then suddenly, we had 7 of them running around the house --- two females, five males. And then, foolishly, we decided to keep them all.

Here's the thing about Jack Russells, as I've read in books when we had the first one: it's a bad, bad idea to keep 3 of the males in a small house.  They're highly-strung and they will need to exhaust all that energy. If we lived in a farm, it wouldn't be such a problem coz they can run free and keep themselves busy all the time.

But because we don't own a farmhouse with a vast backyad, and because I'm such a know-it-all, I didn't believe what the book said. 5 boys? Pfft! How hard can that be? I've had countless dogs in my childhood. I know what I'm in for!

Fast forward three years later and I'm slowly re-assessing my thoughts on babies vs. our dogs.

Seven Jack Russells? Soooooooooooooooooo NOT low maintenance!

• Babies can be toilet-trained. Dogs can, but I've got two or three in the pack that just wouldn't want to be taught. We really need to clean up after them. Clean up more than usual. The other week I also discovered that one of the girls pees on my son's bed, if his room is open and no one is watching. What the hell?! I thought she knows her spot by now?? 
• Babies learn to be civilized by going to school. They pick up social graces. Dogs can get obedience training. But without reinforcement, they go back to being brutes. They are wired that way. There are days when I just do not have the energy to reinforce or if I leave it to others to do that, the dogs will not want to follow. Plus, with seven of these high-energy Jack Russells in one roof together, with their personalities clashing? A riot can happen at any time. It's instinct, since anything can set them off.
• Babies grow up to live their own lives. By the time they're adults, parents can enjoy their own lives in retirement. Our dogs will FOREVER be babies relying on someone else to tend to them. And that's usually me. Dang it! I would be 60, but I would still have babies. 

It is hard being a mom. I learned that in all 15 years and counting.

It is a million times harder to become a dog mom of seven. I learned that in less than 3 years.

Dogs, like babies, can be awfully jealous, attention-seeking and selfish. When you're having a bad day, they can either perk you up or suck whatever life is left from you. In my case? Seven lives out of me.

On the other hand, dogs do give unconditional love and their loyalty is so intact. Hugging seven of them can be a total stress reliever.  I could stay with them on the floor for hours, just scratching their bellies. It's monumentary bliss I relish. Until one of them starts to demand for attention again.

The Story of Menstruation, as told Disney style

You got 10 minutes to spare? Coz that's how long this video is.

Produced by Disney in 1946 in collaboration with Kotex, this video was a part of a sex education campaign in America and was shown at public schools.

It's not the greatest animation Disney has done because I got bored by it after two minutes. It's pretty straight-forward. Clinical even. The standard music used and voice of the old lady talking in the video made me sleepy. But considering this was released in the 40's, there's not a lot to expect.

If this was created in this decade (or century), obviously, this video would be loaded with computer animation and Disney princesses would be singing and dancing all around, the same way you see women in napkin or tampon commercials move about, when they're not even worrying about menstrual cramps and migraines!

Note that the cartoon baby in the first few minutes of this video looks like she's already wearing make-up. Like so:

This is a 25-year old baby. 

But the script is quite amusing!

"Not only can you bathe...you SHOULD bathe!"

Where did her boobies go??

"Just be careful to avoid either very hot water or very cold water. In fact, it's not a good idea at anytime to shock your system with extremes." DUUUUUH. LOL!

This lady is taking a bath under a hail storm. 

"Try not to get yourself off-schedule by getting overtired, emotionally upset, or catching cold." 
"After all no matter how you feel, you have to live with people. You have to live with yourself too."
HAHA. Does Disney know us women really well, or what??

Menstruation = drama queen. FACT.

You can watch the complete video here:

Life In Plastic, It's Fantastic?

I confess, I haven't been Barbie-educated in 25 or so years.

Because I've only been buying toys for little boys --- owing to the fact that I don't have a daughter; or that ALL my godchildren are boys (not my choice, it just happened!) --- I had no idea that the amount of multi-cultural versions of her one can find at stores these days, is enough to create a small, United Nations of 12-inch tall women. Or the doll version of a Miss Universe pageant.

Lately though, my one and only 5-year old niece has taken interest in Barbie and would prefer these dolls as gifts. Checking online for what type I could pick for her, it dawned on me that making just a single Barbie purchase is stressful!

I've been so clueless about the number of things Barbie's career and personal life have evolved into. The bitch apparently became an astronaut, was once a hacker, switched species to become a mermaid, and tried public service by ascending into the Presidency, no less. These she did while dealing with cancer and apparently a divorce, which turned out to be untrue.

What the?!

The Barbie I used to know only had wordly stuff to deal with like wardrobe choices, or living in a house with make-shift furniture. Or this:

Photo from Flickr

But, creatively so, Barbie's plastic-fantastic life has hit a lot of lows and highs than reality can handle.

So, when did Barbie's life get so complicated? And why does Mattel assume it's what little girls are looking for?

Have you gone Barbie shopping for your daughter or niece, only to find that you cannot pick which one to get because of the amount of Barbie choices laid before you?

Best Disclaimer Ever!

There's this status post going around on Facebook that lets you copy and paste a statement against the site's privacy violation. Its context: since Facebook has gone public, whatever you put there can be made public without your knowledge. And Facebook doing so apparently violates certain laws that were set in place, like, since the time of the Romans.

Or something like that.

I don't know anymore. The statement going viral has all this legal jargon that sounds really confusing to me. And it also reads like a very official, very grown-up statement, so I get why some of my friends have resorted to copy-pasting it.

Here's the thing though: the only way you can protect yourself and your privacy is if you actually stop using Facebook altogether. You can't claim Facebook breached terms of your privacy when the act of signing up for an account means you do acknowledge opening your soul to the site.

This guy said it best. You've got to love the irony:

Ironic Facebok Status

Conan O' Brien wrote his disclaimer, too. Seriously cracked me up:

Conan O' Brien's take on Facebook Privacy status

A couple of years since being on Facebook, I also grew paranoid of the thought that "liking" Fan Pages means giving its admin(s) the access to harvest my personal information. At that time, I've liked and "become a fan" of about 500+ different stuff. Believing that page admins can peek into my account even if they are not remotely connected to my own circle (ie: friends of friends), I spent a chunk of the day "unliking" these. So paranoid was I, that I made the effort to "clean" my profile.

Since running my own Fan Page on the site, however, I've realized that all that? Is a bunch of BS! And that the day I spent cleaning my account was actually a day wasted. I could never get that back.

There is, in fact, no way for people to look into your personal Facebook profile if you are not connected, page or group administrators included. And even if you are connected to some degrees, I've come to realize that Facebook's privacy settings is, get this --- FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE! It's most intact and safest to use. Meaning, you can keep information from prying eyes, stalkers, advertisers and terrorists disguised as friends.

Wait, that may not be 100% true. I don't work Facebook's backend, so I don't really know what it's like to have access to 800Million accounts (and growing!).

But I've been on the site since 2007 and:

• No one has come to my house to bother my family, based only on the fact that they know my birthdate and the college I went to.
• No authority has come to arrest me. I could not be arrested for posting my sentiments or status post about why my son has not texted back while in the mall with friends, right?
• No one has approached me to say I'm in their demographic and that maybe I should purchase their latest can opener inventions. 
• No one has called at ungodly hours to confirm "what's on my mind?" 
• No one has attempted to hack into my account and steal my photos. Maybe I haven't been posting raunchy stuff enough?
• No one has stolen my identity using various facets of what I've been oversharing on Facebook, like my childhood. Or my lunch last week.

And while it's true that Facebook has my soul since I'm on that site virtually 24/7 that I think they should pay me for being a diligent user , the bottomline is this:  I am the ONLY person responsible for what I put on the interwebs. And if my privacy has been violated, it's because I wasn't vigilant and careful about it in the first place.

The original status post that has been going around:

Viral Facebook status that's a hoax.

Also, worth a read: That Facebook Copyright Thing Is Meaningless and You Should Stop Sharing It

What's your take on this whole privacy issue with Facebook? Are there reasons why we should be afraid of it?

RetailGasm

Black Friday shoppers
Photo from Huffington Post

Before consumerism became a lifestyle, the only time I ever got to hear the words "Black Friday" was during Holy Week. But that hasn't been the case the in last three years or so.

In America, Black Friday is synonymous with huge discount shopping, which only happens once in a year. Enterprising companies put out and slash price tags way, way down, tempting a mad dash of people who are hoping to score great deals. This, for them, is officially the start of Christmas. Yet even with the exasperating crowd situation, where there's actual danger of interchanging faces with somebody, more and more people seem to come to the stores to experience the, uhm, orgy.

If Filipinos wake up at dawn to observe 16 days of Simbang Gabi tradition during the holidays, Americans stay up late into the night after Thanksgiving, to stand outside the store, sometimes in the cold, so that they could get first dibs on items they normally won't buy at its regular prices. Some sectors are actually complaining that Black Friday takes away the spirit of the holiday before it. People forego having the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with their families in order to be at the lines, as stores open at exactly 12 midnight or earlier. Store clerks, meanwhile, skip the Thanksgiving feast altogether to man their areas and prepare for the madness.

Here in the Philippines, some do get to experience Black Friday by conveniently shopping at online US stores. It's essentially like cheating away from the crowd and crazies. However, local brick and mortar stores are slowly adapting into this Western tradition by setting up their own Thanksgiving sale. Now this? Is total madness! And it's obviously a marketing ploy because the price cuts are not even significant. Only, when people see the word SALE sprawled across the merchandise, it's so easy to get them to bite into it. It's pathetic business practice, I hope other stores won't consider getting into next year (hah!).

I pride myself with being a bargain hunter, but I can never understand the joy of shopping when this is what you have to enjoy it with:

Photo from Google Images

What are the chances of snagging that item you've been eyeing, now at 80% off, when you have to brave this sea of people?

Shopaholics need their retail therapy. I understand this because, like the occasional fever and fatigue, I also have my bouts with the "disease". There is, however, a different kind of disease plaguing consumers during Black Friday and there are studies to back it up (imagine that!):

• New research reveals the reason why we shop on Black Friday
• Professors study psychology behind love for Black Friday
• Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Understanding Consumer Intentions on Two Major Shopping Days

Retail stores are, no doubt, more than happy to be the root cause of this.

Is Black Friday shopping even worth it?

Have you tried being in the crowd during Black Friday? What was the experience like?