Author Topic: Cellar Scribblings  (Read 8735354 times)

Offline CellarDweller

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Re: Cellar Scribblings
« Reply #15150 on: November 24, 2017, 10:42:09 pm »
Hello Bettermost Friends!

 ;D


I had to go to work today, but didn't mind.  It was a very slow day.   I had no client emails or phone calls.

that  being said, I kept busy.  I dealt with overdrafts, did my filing, did my reports.  I got to leave today at  2:00 instead of between  4:30 - 5:00.


As for the rest of the day, I balanced  my checkbook, filled out forms to renew my license and registration, went to DMV to get the new license and registration,  put a dent into my holiday cards, met a friend for a walk in the park, took down my Thanksgiving decorations and put up my Christmas decorations.

:)


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Cellar Scribblings
« Reply #15151 on: November 25, 2017, 11:22:37 am »
Chuck, I'm surprised you had to work on the day after Thanksgiving! Aren't you in the banking field? I worked too, but then, I always work. I work an hour or two every day. I feel like a dairy farmer.

It sounds like you got a lot accomplished! I was afraid to set out in my car, that I would be trampled by crazed shoppers.
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline CellarDweller

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Re: Cellar Scribblings
« Reply #15152 on: November 25, 2017, 12:49:19 pm »
It sounds like you got a lot accomplished! I was afraid to set out in my car, that I would be trampled by crazed shoppers.

I read online that a lot of retailers felt that the "Black Friday Craze" is dying down.   Many said that yesterday was calmer than past Fridays.

Research shows that online sales were up compared to past Black Fridays.

Chuck, I'm surprised you had to work on the day after Thanksgiving! Aren't you in the banking field? I worked too, but then, I always work. I work an hour or two every day. I feel like a dairy farmer.


I don't know exactly where to find it, but there is some sort of federal rule that banks can't be closed for more than three days in a row, and this includes "non-business" days.    So if we had Black  Friday off, we would be closed Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Now, branches are opened on Saturday, however, the main offices and back office areas are not.  Saturday isn't considered a "business day" and any work that is processed on Saturday is dated for Monday's date, so technically, the bank is not truly open.

Because of this, banks must be open on Black Friday.


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline brianr

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Re: Cellar Scribblings
« Reply #15153 on: November 25, 2017, 01:48:49 pm »
I read online that a lot of retailers felt that the "Black Friday Craze" is dying down.   Many said that yesterday was calmer than past Fridays.
I hope so. in the last few years we have been bombarded with Black Friday Sales and it seems in Australia as well. Stupid as we do not have Thanksgiving. Last year I was able to book cheaper cruises in Alaska although I did not go until June this year. It was one time when being on Tripadvisor paid off.

My car is due for its annual Warrant of Fitness next Thursday so I have booked it in for 4 new tyres tomorrow (Monday) My Mastercard rolls over today (26th of the Month) so I did not want to buy them before then. My card is already high with the accommodation charges from my car trip in NZ this month. At least I can get 4 tyres for the price of 3 and hopefully get 20 cents per litre off my next petrol purchase.


I don't know exactly where to find it, but there is some sort of federal rule that banks can't be closed for more than three days in a row, and this includes "non-business" days.    So if we had Black  Friday off, we would be closed Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Now, branches are opened on Saturday, however, the main offices and back office areas are not.  Saturday isn't considered a "business day" and any work that is processed on Saturday is dated for Monday's date, so technically, the bank is not truly open.

Because of this, banks must be open on Black Friday.

Our banks are always closed for 4 days at Easter (Good Friday to Easter Monday) and this year with Christmas and New Year being Monday there will be 2 four day breaks as we have Boxing day and Day after new year as holidays as well. I know some banks open Saturday morning in Australia but I do not think any do in NZ. I almost never go to a bank, just use the ATM. Most of my friends hardly ever use cash just their cards even for a cup of coffee but I rarely use my card for purchases under $20 and, while some stalls at the Farmers market on Saturday have EFTPOS, I use cash.

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Cellar Scribblings
« Reply #15154 on: November 26, 2017, 12:09:44 am »
I read online that a lot of retailers felt that the "Black Friday Craze" is dying down.   Many said that yesterday was calmer than past Fridays.

When I was at my bank today, they had a sign up saying that Black Friday is no longer the biggest shopping day of the year. That would be Super Saturday (or something like that), the Saturday before Christmas.

Quote
I don't know exactly where to find it, but there is some sort of federal rule that banks can't be closed for more than three days in a row, and this includes "non-business" days.    So if we had Black  Friday off, we would be closed Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

My bank is open for a partial day on Saturdays that aren't holidays. But also, I just assume that banks are closed on federal holidays, and of course Sundays, but open all other days.

One of my jobs is closed on Black Friday. It's actually kind of a pain, because I'd prefer to have the option to work (as I work part time, deciding whether or not to work on any given day is always optional, but I could use all the hours I can get!).

Newspapers are always open every day, since you never know what might happen. But they work with skeleton crews on holidays and days like Black Friday are usually pretty quiet.




Offline CellarDweller

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Re: Cellar Scribblings
« Reply #15155 on: November 26, 2017, 12:37:34 am »
When I was at my bank today, they had a sign up saying that Black Friday is no longer the biggest shopping day of the year. That would be Super Saturday (or something like that), the Saturday before Christmas.

That makes sense to me.

One thing that seems to be growing is "Small Business Saturday", the day after Black Friday.   It's a day you're supposed to go out for holiday shopping, but spend your money on local family/mom & pop businesses.   Apparently, it's really helped some smaller businesses.


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Cellar Scribblings
« Reply #15156 on: November 26, 2017, 03:53:06 am »
Here it's the same as Brian reports from down under. We get bombarded with Black Friday sales and it just doesn't make sense. :P

Same kind of invasion is true for Valentine's Day and Halloween. Both days were mostly unknown and totally unheeded in Germany until maybe ten, fifteen years ago. I don't mind new/changing traditions per se, but in all three cases it's crystal clear that it is the big retail chains who push them. So yes, I do resent and refuse to take part.
Apart from adorable little ones coming for candy on Halloween of course. That's just too cute and I always make sure to have some extra candy ready :).

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Cellar Scribblings
« Reply #15157 on: November 26, 2017, 02:49:33 pm »
days like Black Friday are usually pretty quiet.

Except for the reporter(s) writing stories about Black Friday, of course!  :laugh:


Here it's the same as Brian reports from down under. We get bombarded with Black Friday sales and it just doesn't make sense. :P

That's crazy! Especially since in the United States, lots of people have that Friday off of work, so it at least makes (some) sense for them to go shopping.

Quote
Same kind of invasion is true for Valentine's Day and Halloween. Both days were mostly unknown and totally unheeded in Germany until maybe ten, fifteen years ago. I don't mind new/changing traditions per se, but in all three cases it's crystal clear that it is the big retail chains who push them. So yes, I do resent and refuse to take part. Apart from adorable little ones coming for candy on Halloween of course. That's just too cute and I always make sure to have some extra candy ready :).

Valentine's Day is kind of fun and one needn't get too carried away. A card or a box of chocolates or other small gift, maybe a nice dinner -- sure, they're encouraged by the card and candy manufacturers, retail stores and restaurants. But they're pretty low key and a good excuse to be nice to your loved ones.

Halloween is a different story. I loved it as a kid Halloween but, in more recent years, it has come to seem like way too much trouble. First there's the yard decorations. I've carved jack-o-lanterns for years but finally got sick of it. It's messy and time consuming. When the kids were little we had fun, semi-natural things -- a little bit of spider webbing around the porch pillars, a scarecrow or two made by the kids using old clothes stuffed with leaves and plastic masks for faces, ghosts -- made of Styrofoam balls and pieces of white sheet, with faces the kids drew in permanent marker -- dangling from the trees, and of course the jack-o-lanterns. But some people go way overboard and turn their whole front yards into fake graveyards, spiderwebs on all their trees, and the like.

Then the trauma of the costumes! Deciding what to pick, possibly regretting the choice, the mess of putting it together. ... First your own, if you need one, then the kids'. At one point, my boys started just opting for fake wounds, maybe with a knife sticking out or something, so getting dressed left the bathroom splattered with fake blood. (That's harder to clean than real blood, someone at work said. Yes, I replied, if you have to clean up blood splattered all over your bathroom, you'd definitely rather have it be real blood!) Then the trick-or-treaters. You never know how much candy to get -- two bags? five bags? -- because the numbers are highly unpredictable, and if it's a kind you like you're always in danger of eating too much of it yourself. On Halloween night, you have to spend the evening jumping up to answer the front door, the dog gets too excited and keeps trying to get out and visit with the trick-or-treaters ...

I know I sound like a Halloween scrooge. These days I keep it very low key. Get a pumpkin but don't carve it. Put up a few old decorations from long ago -- a blinking fake jack-o-lantern, a smallish plastic light-up skeleton, maybe one of those old ghosts -- in early evening. Take them down at the end of the night. Halloween decorations look more pathetic after the holiday than Christmas decorations do (plus Christmas decorations are festive for days or weeks before the holiday and at least a week or so after, through New Year's Day).

This year on Halloween I wasn't even home. Some friends wanted to take me out for my birthday and Oct. 31 was the night most people were free. So I turned out the lights, missed all the trick-or-treaters, and had a fun time!




 

Offline Sason

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Re: Cellar Scribblings
« Reply #15158 on: November 26, 2017, 05:01:15 pm »
Here it's the same as Brian reports from down under. We get bombarded with Black Friday sales and it just doesn't make sense. :P

Same kind of invasion is true for Valentine's Day and Halloween. Both days were mostly unknown and totally unheeded in Germany until maybe ten, fifteen years ago. I don't mind new/changing traditions per se, but in all three cases it's crystal clear that it is the big retail chains who push them. So yes, I do resent and refuse to take part.


What Chrissi said, exactly.

Black Friday, Black Week, Hallofuckingween, Valentines. It's all directly imported from USA  entirely for commercial reasons, and don't corresopond with any Swedish traditions whatsoever. But they have been pushed heavily for 10-15 years, and so are now part of the mainstream commercial life.

Düva pööp is a förce of natüre

Offline CellarDweller

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Re: Cellar Scribblings
« Reply #15159 on: November 26, 2017, 06:37:03 pm »
Our customs are spreading around the world.......we're  invasive that way!  :laugh:


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!