Thanksgiving 2006

Giving Thanks
Thanksgiving this year was pretty much the same as the past few years. We spent the evening with friends and family at Auntie Liwanag’s place in Hercules. It was nice to see the Malabuyo clan all together again in one roof. It was just a month ago that we were all together for Phoebe’s wedding, but what can we say … we like to party.

There was definitely plenty of food (and wine) at this year’s dinner. There must have been 4 different lasagna’s, including Dee’s, and several different main courses – salmon, ribs, ham, shrimp, and of course, turkey. The boys were thankful for the food – it’s a tradition for us to stuff ourselves silly during the whole evening. We don’t do a sit-down dinner like most normal people do. We just keep on eating throughout the evening, because it’s more fun that way.

Perhaps the highlight of the night (besides the wine), was the Thanksgiving circle. Each of us had to say a few words of what we’re thankful for. The family had a lot to be thankful for this year: our health, continued financial successes, family events & weddings, new and rekindled relationships, food, shelter, etc … Looking back, it’s been an eventful and blessed year for all of us.

Photos: Thanksgiving 2006

Friday Mayhem
So, Dee convinced me that I join her on Friday morning to shop for early deals at the local retail stores. It’s what the news media likes to call, “Black Friday”.
We got up at 4:30 in the morning and got ready for a couple of hours of shopping. At 4:45, we arrived at Walmart and to our surprise there was already about 300 people standing in line waiting to get in. We waited patiently for the line to end but it never did. So, after 15 minutes of waiting out in the cold, we decided to try Target and Best Buy. Target was still closed at 5:30 so we drove to Best Buy. As we got closer to Best Buy, we noticed all the cars parked on the street several blocks down from the store. Just as we thought, there were absolutely no parking spaces left at Best Buy. Kohl’s was close by so we just decided to go there instead. Luckily, it wasn’t crowded there. We got a couple of things on sale, mainly clothing and gift accessories. Our next stop were Bed, Bath, & Beyond and Michael’s – again, no crowds. So, between 4:45 to 7:15, we ended up going to only 3 stores.

The only real reason I joined Dee this year for this shopping madness event was to satisfy my curiosity. I wanted to know what it was like the day after Thanksgiving. What I found out was pretty shocking. When it comes to bargains, people will pretty much do anything humanly possible to get the deals – even if it means camping out in front of a store and standing out in the cold. This morning was unreal, but it’s something that everyone would have to experience at least one time in their lives. I can safely say though that this will be the first and LAST Black Friday I will ever participate in. It’s a tradition I’d be happy to leave out of my calendar.