&*@#!! Greedy Stores!

Last week I ordered a Magnetix i-Coaster from Amazon.com! This has been sold out in stores for a few weeks. It’s an awesome construction set. You connect different tracks to create a “coaster”. Then you connect the entire unit to a powered magnet source that magnetizes the entire toy. This allows a metal marble to roll all over the coaster and even jump in places where there are no tracks! All this and you can hook up your MP3 player to it to create your own i-coaster rock n roll experience.

I ordered the i-coaster for $90 on Amazon.com on Friday (I'm splitting the cost with another family member). Monday, I get an email indicting that my order was canceled (2 business days). I went to the vendor’s website to see why this happened. I-coasters were available for sale at $130! – 50% more than I was charged. It was clear that the seller intentionally canceled my order to sell it at a higher price. Greedy guts! Amazon received a well-worded nastygram indicating my outrage. Essentially there was nothing that could be done.

No i-coaster, no awesome accolades from my 12 y.o. nephew, at Christmas! Aw, hail no - it ain't happenin' to me (actually it’s such a cool toy, I don’t care about the cool points) I went to ebay to make this happen. I’m happy to say that I paid $109 for the replacement i-coaster and received it, brand new, in the mail today. Thanks ebay seller!

Stunts like the one the Amazon seller tried to pull really make me dislike Christmas. I hate being a “consumer” already. Christmas shopping just twists the knife in the wound, adds salt and spits in your face.

Beck you’re such a whiner! So what have I done to conquer my loathsome attitude? Small things.

- Minimize exposure to holiday songs and Holiday-themed movies (fun but they really mess with your head!). Will a real reindeer really come back to life after being shot, prancer?

(love um but they don’t sell Prozac in Christmas colors or “sparkle” –YET) –

- Tipping my servers the extra buck. Giving the obviously hung-over or strung out homeless person a buck (my inner mantra: I can’t be exploited – I choose to give – guilt won’t work).Overall being more generous when I give helps

** And my personal favorite: saying “Merry Christmas” to sales clerks instead of the politically correct “Happy Holidays”. Doing that, especially, makes me feel a little naughty and rebellious. And at times it pays off - especially if the sales clerk is a black woman. They smile and give back a heart "merry christmas to you". Love those gals! I think they share my secret delight -- and hey they can't get in trouble because the customer is always right. oh yeah, in the mood I'm in, just let management come over and give them (or me) a hard time. I implore you all to give it a try! Merry Christmas! It’s about Jesus after all!