Happy Holidays, Retailers!

Wine and cry all you want- the holidays are approaching are here. I hope you've all been practicing your favorite bumper cart move for the Walmart shuffle!

OK, so maybe I'm bitter not in the Christmas spirit yet, but I'm desperately trying! I just can't help but recall the years of pure hell I worked in retail. Yes, I was once the disgruntled sleepy employee providing crowd control at five am so you could purchase your three-hundred-dollar big screen. I was also that employee who scanned your last minute Star Wars Lego set on Christmas Eve and had to stay late to 'fix' the WHOLE FREAKING DISPLAY YOUR BRATTY KID KNOCKED OVER!!!

Needless to say, I am thrilled that I don't work retail anymore. However, my boyfriend does. (boo! hiss!) A permanent scowl has been painted on his face since November 1st. He works early mornings and late evenings. He has to answer 9765745 stupid questions per day. His feet hurt and body aches. His hours get cut.. No big deal; just a typical retail-land holiday.. Wait, What?! Work harder for less pay? Can someone please explain to me how this makes sense?

This sucks for me because a) I will soon forget D exists and b) it means less money to spend, obviously. (I mean, how am I supposed to stimulate the economy, people?) But this also sucks for the consumers who have to deal with angry employees as they reluctantly spend their hard-earned dollar!

With all the "change" that has happened this year, you would think that retail companies would take a different approach; show a little compassion & appreciation for their dedicated employees. Hell no! When it comes down to brass tacks, they only care about one thing: Money. So who really wins during the holidays? The crumb-snatcher who gets a 'Tickle-Me Elmo' or the retail giants who raise their prices and decrease their employees' pay?

Since the retail moguls are too busy purchasing new BMW's and writing checks for their children's Ivy League education, I wanted to take the time to express my appreciation for all of the hard working retail employees out there this holiday season:

Dear all retail employees,

Thank you for not compromising your work ethics & for keeping a smile on your face!

Sincerely,

*If you've worked in retail, I want to hear your horror stories! Also, don't forget to pass this post on to anyone YOU know who works in the retail industry & thank them.

Visa & the game of Life

Everyone remembers the game of "Life". You know, the one with the little peg people that you're always losing under your fingernails? Anyways, I've always loved this game. Recently, I purchased a revived version called "Life: Twists & Turns". I'll admit it right now, I am addicted! Probably because I always win.

What's cool about this new version is that it doesn't use paper money. Instead, there is an electronic tracker thingamajig and players use credit cards! This is super handy, especially when it's 2am and you've earned 5 billion dollars.

I conned my boyfriend into playing again the other night and I suddenly realized that VISA's logo appears on all of the "credit cards"! Hold on a minute. Don't kids usually play this board game? Should we really be teaching children that it's OK to use your credit card for everything? VISA is trying to brainwash the youth! What's even scarier is if you don't have the money to purchase a home or a vehicle or even gamble, you can just charge it anyhow. In the old "Life" game, if you didn't have the cash you couldn't purchase it. Hello, real world.

Credit cards are scary. Debt is scary. It's something that shouldn't be taken lightly. Our economy right now is a perfect example as why it shouldn't be. Why, VISA, must you capitalize on the little ones?