I’ve always been a mediocre-at-best gift giver. The only time I was a true stand-out with the gifts was when Lawrence and I were in the courting phase. He probably wonders what the hell happened to that girl he used to date that gave those amazing presents. Sorry, hon, it was all a ploy, and you fell for it! I was never interested in Black Friday. And, for the record, when did it stop being known as “the day after Thanksgiving”? When I was younger, I thought of it like this: I hate big stinking crowds, and if I have to fight with someone over a sale priced sweater, I’ll kill myself. It was a much better bet that you would catch me at the mall on December 24th. Although big stinking crowds are out shopping on December 24th too, there’s a desperation in the air that is completely different than Black Friday. No one cares about you or what you’re buying, because they are too busy frantically grabbing whatever item is in front of them in a valiant effort to finish their shopping before the clock strikes twelve. I have since learned that shopping on December 24th is no good. Nothing is on sale. They know we are all up against a time crunch, and they exploit our desperation. Also, the stuff left is picked through, and, in short, it sucks. So I have been trying to elevate my game this year. Not too much, I wouldn’t want to hurt myself or anything. But, I have even caught myself thinking about what to get people…in November. Heck, maybe I’ll really let loose and brave a few Black Friday sales. Will you go out and shop ’til you drop the day after Thankgiving?