Cyber Monday. Black Friday? Valentine’s Day?

What do all three have in common? They are created by the marketing industry to increase sales and encourage consumers to spend. Internet sites are innovative and always trying to stay one step ahead, so what did they do when they could not keep customers at their computers during Black Friday? They created Cyber Monday where a day would be dedicated for e-commerce. However Shop.org created this phenomenon, it worked and is a great avenue for new and upcoming e-tailers to market themselves and pad their bottom line.

I wish everyone a great Thanksgiving and do not forget the $149 Wii at Wigix tonight!

Why do we spend $200 on a pair of jeans? Are we a product of marketing? Sucker to ads? Or are they really that much better than a pair of Old Navy’s?

To be honest, I want to and do believe they are more comfortable and make me look more attractive when I put them on, but isn’t that what they want me to think? It probably is. But these designers have got us spending, this is no different than brand name hand bags and all luxurious items.

There is a huge denim sample sale this weekend in the Bay Area. These sales are great if you are of a irregular size, because the popular sizes go on the first day when its 5 for $250, but everything becomes 10 for $250 on Sunday. =)

Here is the link [see you there]: http://www.thewarehousesale.com/

Black Friday! $149 Wii? Free Tools?

I am sure we have all done it or at least have a cousin who has. Wait in a line that was 3,000 people deep that formed 14 hours before the sale. What were we waiting for? The possibility that we could save $45 on an item that was probably trampled over by the other 73 crazy people in front of you. Nonetheless Black Friday is a great day for retailers as they implement dreams into their customers and they pad their yearend revenue. I love the buzz and the endless threads on FatWallet and Slickdeals, but will I ever show up at 7pm to wait for a store opening 11 hours from then? Probably not, but it’s always fun to hear stories on Cyber Monday. =)

Some cool stuff I saw for this year’s Black Friday:

$149 Wii at Wigix.com.

Ryobi 4 Piece Cordless Set $59.97 + Free Tool at Home Depot.

LG 42" 1080P LCD for $700 at FireFold.com.

eBay Layoffs. Corporate Kool-Aid.

Korporate Kool-Aid. How many of you sip it? How many of you chug it? Is this really the occupation we were studying for during college? Many of you know what I am talking about, the selected few that do not are probably absorbed by the Martini Happy Hours and the endless days of kissing your DB supervisor’s ass. What happened to free thinking and being able to voice your opinion to further your company? Why are good ideas filed away and looked at only after the employee goes postal? This is good if you are trying to get by in life and collect a regular paycheck, which I was a couple years ago. Sometimes, you just get burned out and you want to go into hiding and perform a job the normal monkey with training can do [I believe this is actually the majority of jobs]. Do you really need to go to four years of college to sort a spreadsheet?

There are huge differences between a big and small company. Want to shine? Want people to notice you? Join a startup. Want to watch YouTube for 4 hours a day? Want to meet about a meeting about another meeting? Want to tread in red tape for days to get your request for a product enhancement approved? Join a big corporation.

Small fishes get in lost in the mix of things when the pond becomes too big, this is the feeling I received from eBay as time progressed. In the beginning I would be able to get things fixed and problems resolved by a simple phone call to my Power Seller rep, but as time progressed I noticed that I was not getting the same service I was before and now my rep would not be able to help me with any issues, but instead give me the standard run around template pdf answer they sat in training to give. I never would wish harm or negativity upon anyone, but with the number of Power Sellers dropping off of eBay, how many of those 1500 being let go will be customer service reps?

Blogging on the Beach. Surf-viving.

Don’t you hate it when you log onto your Facebook and see a “working on the sand” Status Update? Well today, it is your turn to hate me as I am “Blogging on the Beach.” I ran into an old friend of mine this past month and we decided it would be mutually beneficial to carpool as we work and live less than a mile away from each other. I used to sit endless hours next to him trying to absorb all the poker knowledge he had and it help grow my bankroll. Now that I no longer play competitive poker we do not have that crazy addiction bond. This brings up a new challenge in my life: Surf-viving. I do not see standing on the board and riding the wave as the hard part, but instead the act of survival when a wave pulls you down and slams you into the ocean floor. So being the generous and free going spirit he is, he took me out to Linda Mar in Pacifica this AM, I got a call at 5:45 that woke me up enough to get me into his car and proceed to fall asleep under the cigarette adapter powered electric blanket. I sleep for the next hour and we reach the beach. I have been to the beach many times, but how many times did I actually go into water deeper than my waist? 0. Plus I just learned how to swim across a pool this summer, so this was going to be a fun experience. Yeah, fun if you are sadistic. I put on the wet suit, which took 7 minutes and I had to do it in the bathroom because I could not figure how to put it on without flashing the entire parking lot. I then had to get some stuff out of the car and used the emergency key tied to my suit, I didn’t realize my leg could not be lifted at a 75 degree angle long enough for me to put the key in, turn and pull out. So I broke that little gadget. I then proceed to bring my goggles with me as I need some sort of security blanket, he tells me I can bring it if I want but it was equivalent to wear Oakley’s at a 3-6 table. So I left the goggles on the shore and jumped into the water. The wet suit performs miracles: the 55 degree water was not cold anymore, my ability to float was exemplified ten times and it made me look 20 pounds skinnier. So I wade out there and get worked by the ocean. I got hit in the head by the board, hit in the side by the fin, hit in the head by the ocean floor and swallowed over a gallon of ocean sewage. I am drained and frightened after 45 minutes, so I take a break and lay down on the sandy beach. I head back to the car after a short nap and realize my goggles are no longer on the shore, no biggie as I am no longer a surf virgin.

Obama in. Same Sex Marriages Out.

50%. What does that number mean? It means failing in school. It means an All-Star from 3 point range. It means winning the NFC West. It is also what my voting record was from last night. I went one for two, Obama is in and same-sex marriages are out. What did I learn? Not much, except that you can’t win them all and that the world we live in is still filled with people who have nothing better to do but police everyone else.

I want to continue this rant, but I will end it here. Short and simple. Change.