224) Happy Black Friday

I woke up this morning around 10:30AM, and my first thought was, "There are people in New York who've been up for six and a half hours." Followed quickly by, "There are people in California who've been up for three and a half hours."

Hats off to all the hardcore Black Friday shoppers who rose before the sun to get the best deals. I'd guess that more people are willing to get up early and deal with the madness in times when money is tight, though with online retail becoming more widely used, perhaps more people just stayed home and scored in their pajamas.

I ventured out to Soho around noon to bear witness. I've never seen so many employees shooting daggers out of their eyes, hating humanity in general. Who wouldn't with so many unruly customers to deal with? Hats off to them too.

Black Friday is such a funny cultural phenomenon. Watching people rush out in hoards to hand over their money on one designated day of the year. The feeling that you've saved money and thereby beat the system by putting in a little extra effort. The idea that despite the deep discounts, the numbers of shoppers will push companies into the black.