Notes on Thanksgiving Vacation

I haven't been able to come up with a cohesive blog since my Thanksgiving vacation started (as if any of my posts are cohesive), so here are some random thoughts/observations/happenings:

In an effort to save money, I've decided to forgo the novelty gifts that I sometimes like to give. This year's gift would have been an obvious one anyway - the oversize remote control.
I can't tell the difference between Bed, Bath and Beyond and Linens & Things. Seriously.

Apparently, fruit cake has been renamed 'holiday cake' in an effort to increase sales due to the negative connotations associated with the former. Sort of like global warming being renamed climate change by Republican think tanks.

Walmart is my new best friend. I loathe the hoards of Chinese junk they sell, but this weekend I found that they stock two beloved, hard to find items. First, they sell Mexican Coke. For those who don't know, Coke sold everywhere else in the world tastes better than Coke sold in the US because it is made with pure cane sugar as opposed to high fructose corn syrup. Even soda novices can tell the difference. A customer service rep. in Atlanta, GA told me they make it with the easiest and cheapest ingredients that can be found locally. I called B.S. on this because the corn industry has much more clout than the sugar industry (i.e. that is why corn ethanol is the rage now instead of the ridiculously more efficient sugar ethanol that is successfully being used in Brazil, but less I digress). Second, Walmart has a giant selection of Tillamook Cheese, larger than any grocery store I've seen. Not only do they have a large selection, but this premium cheese is priced the same, if not lower than, the store brands. I had a leftover-turkey sandwich today with a slice of Tillamook pepper-jack....hmmm.

Things That Aren't What They Used To Be

Black Friday
Attention chain stores: If I am going to camp out in front of your store to shop at 5am, you better come up with something better than a few hundred dollars of a c-brand TV(Dynex?!?).

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's execs: Either change the name to "Macy's Broadway Review and Up-and-Coming Bands You've Never Hear Of (and Dolly Parton)" or go back to showing the parade.

Nebraska Cornhusker Football
Nebraska Administration: Move Tom Osbourne from out of the back office and out on to the football field. It is a sad day when UCONN, U of Hawaii, BYU, Clemson and Boise State(!!!) are all ranked and you are not. There is no excuse for the Big Red to have a poor team, I mean, there is really nothing else to do in that state but play football and play it well.