Monday, Dec. 01, 2008

Just another Cyber Monday

Remember when AOL first came out and everybody was on their Instant Messenger and you'd always get messages from creeps asking if you wanted to "Cyber?"

Well, it's Cyber Monday and it has nothing to do with digital nerds trying to get freaky. It's about everybody else trying to get what they didn't get when they bravely left their houses this past Friday.

Online retailers are trying to get rid of their excess merchandise that didn't sell on Black Friday. Supposedly you'll find super deals today that may even have trumped Friday's sales.

I got a digital camera for my sister and brother-in-law's birthdays and ironically, it was more expensive on Black Friday. Goes to show you shouldn't wait to do all your shopping on that one treacherous day.

My grandmother, mother and I headed to Sunnyside to pick out their dresses for my wedding. While most people were weaving in and out of parking lot traffic, shoving women aside for that last must-have item hanging on the shelf, my mother surprisingly held back from buying needless things, including bronze shoes she liked, even though they were ugly (I'm sorry, they were).

This year, my family is not doing Christmas. There will be stockings. There will be a grand prime rib dinner. And there will be a giant tree, decorated with red cardinal birds, which for the past three years seems to be my mother's obsession. But there will be no exchanging of gifts.

This is my mother's idea and there is only one gift she is giving, but it's not to anyone in our family.

Exactly a month ago, I got my wedding gown. While there, we witnessed another family struggling to find a wedding dress under $100. My mother, moved by their plight, decided to go back and pay the difference on her dress.

As she paid at the counter, the two retailers were speechless. To most, it was a mere $50. Girls easily spend triple the amount on prom dresses alone. But to those who understand, it was much more than that.

If you're looking for something to spend an extra $50 on, buy some First Night buttons. It's $10 an adult, which will get you in anywhere, especially The Fallout Zone. You never know - $10 could win you a brand new Nintendo Wii console... and that'd be a pretty gnarly after-Christmas gift...even though it's not about the gifts.