Black Friday...Worth It?

Black Friday in the United States...$52.4 billion spent! Really?! 52.4$ spent on stuff...people hurt and killed to get that stuff...I mean, really?! What the hell is wrong with these people? What kind of a nation spends 52.4 billion on stuff, assaults their neighbour to get this "stuff", and still cries about economic hard times?! Shouldn't we be looking out for each other, working together during hard times? ...Perhaps it is time to reassess our priorities. It is just sad, and frankly, an embarrassment to the West. And here in Canada, we are getting caught up in the spirit of Black Friday mainly because the retailers here clued in that if they discount their prices, the multitude of bargain seekers here would not rush the border to head south to buy and the money would stay local...but is it worth it?  A good deal is a good thing during financially difficult times, but is what people are buying a necessity or a want? Is that Xbox/Tablet/gadget/whatever needed or wanted? Are rudeness, violence, and greed the character traits we want to promote...because these seem to be ones dominating this "holiday"....I wonder what the rest of the world thinks when they see this behaviour...more importantly, what are we saying about ourselves when we embrace this activity? Is it what we want to be known for?

Quebec: Lower Your Expectations

Quebec....The province of inconvenience...or bureaucratic chaos...your choice.  I am continually left shaking my head at the level of disorganization and waste in this province.  I keep expecting efficiency and yet, I am left with frustration. Apparently, my expectations are way too high.  Road construction without proper signage, document centers that lose and/or misdirect papers and take weeks/months to process, licencing centers that do not inform you of ALL required documents (leaving you to reschedule another appointment a MONTH later!) *A heads-up for those who don't know: In Qc, females are required to keep their maiden names...and if you are from out of province you can expect to easily confuse and arouse suspicion if you did not maintain your maiden name from your past causing great grief in your attempt to get anything accomplished from a bureaucratic perspective...including going to a hospital for a medical emergency.

I am trying not to get too specific let alone emotionally involved in writing this information, but I have got to say: it is *%$##@!! frustrating trying to get things done in this province! ...And I just wanted to leave a little warning for others entering into the chaos zone of Canada: ATTENTION!