LadyGypsy.net – the blog of Kimberly Dowd of New Jersey

Mom (who’s out of all ankle appliances, finished PT and now focusing on getting balance and endurance back) and I did a spot of shopping on Black Friday. Due to a bunch of reasons, we took it much easier than in times past. We only went to Target, arriving there around 11:30 am. Since the store opened at midnight, we didn’t feel any urge to kill ourselves getting there early.*

I bought a handful of silly things, and this gorgeous hat.

You know how I love my hats.

I brought that lovely home and tried it on in the mirror and yes, there was preening. Then as I was about to rip off the tag, I saw it:

30% rabbit fur. Ugh.

I don’t wear fur. I don’t buy leather. I will *wear* leather if it’s bought for me as a gift (I have Uggs and various leather trims on purses) but I won’t buy it myself. Plus, it was made in China, so the fur could be dog or cat or dissident hair. And if I’m squicky about wearing cat hair, what makes wearing rabbit fur any different? I don’t judge YOU for wearing leather or fur, either.

But I still eat meat. It’s a strange code of conduct but it’s mine.

So back to Target I go at lunch today to sadly the delightful hat.

*I LOVED Black Friday back when the stores opened at 6am and they gave away little trinkets like snowglobes, free shopping bags and $10 coupons. I HATE current Black Friday, where the stores open at midnight or 3am and offer cheap TVs and cheap laptops, but only stock 2 of each. I hate how competitive we’ve become as a society, where lining up days in advance of a sale and pushing people aside to get a cheap-quality electronic earns you a badge of honor. It’s ruined all the fun.

Come on, swing it.

The celebrity spokesman for Graduate to Go is Mark Walhberg, whom I like because of his NKOTB connection, his lovely underwear ads of last century and the song Good Vibrations, which is part of my summer playlist.

As Marky Mark menacingly stared at me from the Taco Bell window I realized that while he brings the starpower, he’s probably not the BEST spokesperson for staying in school. Mark Wahlberg dropped out of high school and after a REALLY rough period of time*, evolved into a Hollywood super-player — an Oscar/Golden Globe/SAG nominated actor and producer — with a fat bankroll and gorgeous wife & family. So obviously, the lack of a high school education didn’t hold him back much at all. (Yes, he got a GED later, but I don’t think that opened any doors for him.)

I think a better spokesperson for staying in school would be “Itchy” Bob the hobo.

“Hi, I’m Robert. I dropped out of high school and now I live on the corner of Cuthbert Boulevard and Hampton Road. I bet if I stayed in school, the guys at the soup kitchen wouldn’t call me Itchy Bob. Please give $1 to this program and can I have half of your burrito?”

* Not defending Chris Brown at ALL, but look at Marky Mark’s past and tell me if people aren’t a BIT too angry/grudgy at Chris Brown.

I’m struggling with this lately. It’s hard.