JerseySmarts.com

Greek State of Mind
  • Home
  • Start
  • Money
  • Student Loans
  • College & Greek Life
  • Media Reviews
  • Funny People
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter

11 Tips For People Who Don’t Attend Church Too Often

April 20, 2014 by Joe Leave a Comment

As I write this entry I recognize that both the Christmas and Easter mass services have come and gone. However, during these two holidays I observed a whole bunch of odd behavior at my local church from those folks who just don’t get to church too often. Sometimes we call these people the “annuals” (i.e. those who go to church annually on Christmas or Easter) and sometimes we call them CEOs (which stands for churchgoers on Christmas and Easter Only). Whatever name this group has ascribed to them the truth is that they’re a little clueless on church etiquette (and basic manners in general, which I’ll write about another time).

Millions attend mass on the beach at World Youth Day 2013

Millions attend mass on the beach at World Youth Day 2013

To help remedy the reality of rudeness, here are 11 tips to assist those who don’t get to church too often.

  1. Welcome! There is nothing that regular churchgoers love better than seeing more people in the church, so WELCOME! Seriously, even though my own parish gets a pretty good turnout during the four weekend masses, it’s great to see an overflow crowd praying and worshiping together. In fact, there are even places in America that are engaging in “mass mobs” which is the same concept as a flash mob, except they focus on bringing dozens if not hundreds of people into a Sunday service. It’s a pretty cool concept.

    Anyway, welcome back to church! You should know that the Church welcomes you back, the parish welcomes you back, and the parishioners welcome you back. And hey, after Christmas and/or Easter are over – why not consider coming back once in a while for a traditional Sunday mass? Not only are those masses shorter, but they cover different topics that you might find interesting.

  2. Get to church on time. Okay. I know. Sometimes something pops up and you make it to church late. Hey, I walked into mass a few Sundays ago 10 minutes after the service started and I felt bad about it. Yet, there’s a difference between someone who goes to church every week arriving late to a non-holiday mass and an annual/CEO showing up 15 minutes late to a holiday mass. The difference is that the excuse of something “popping up” actually applies to someone who attends mass every week. For an annual/CEO the excuse that something popped up to prohibit you and/or your family from getting to mass on time on the one day of the year that you actually attend is malarkey. You had an entire year to prepare yourself for your annual pilgrimage to church – don’t believe your own lies and think that it’s okay for you to walk into church late because something “popped up.”

    What popped up is that you didn’t really plan your morning well enough… even though you had a year to do so. A good rule of thumb is that if you’re going to be walking into a Sunday service 5 minutes late or later, then you should probably wait until the next service and go then. If you have an appointment coming up that requires you to attend this mass versus a later one, then at least pray for forgiveness for being so self-absorbed that you couldn’t plan out your morning better even though you had a year to schedule it.

  3. Don’t sit at the end of the pew. This is always a bone of contention for folks who talk about mass attendance. Where should any of us sit when we attend mass? In terms of how far back in the church you should sit, I don’t think there’s a particular unspoken rule or generally accepted bit of guidance on that item. Personally, I like to sit in the fourth row at my church because I can’t quite make out what’s going on at the alter if I sit further back (and that’s with my contacts in). On a rare occasion I’ll sit in either the first or second row, but it depends on how many people are attending mass and how early I get there.

    And that’s the key here – if you arrive at mass early (which most people do on Christmas and Easter), then you absolutely should NOT sit at the end of the pew! When I write “the end of the pew” I mean you walk into the church, choose which row you’re going to sit in, you kneel down, and then sit right there at the end of the pew so that every other person has to walk over/by you in order to sit down. This is rude and obnoxious! If there is no one else in the row, then move into the middle of the pew and sit there. Of course, if you have a medical condition that forces you to leave the mass during the service or if you have another extremely rare situation that requires you to get up and leave in the middle of worship, then you should sit at the end of the pew. But if you’re just old, if you want to be the first one out of the church, if you feel entitled to sit wherever you please, or if you just don’t want to be in the middle of the pew – those excuses don’t count. Don’t be rude, move into the middle of the pew, and make it easier on everyone else.

  4. Yes, YOU have to turn off your cell phone. I always find it amazing when the Deacon or Priest makes a specific request before mass starts that everyone turn off their cell phones and then someone has their cell phone go off during the service. Look, we all make mistakes. I get it. Still, when the Deacon or Priest specifically asks us all to turn off our cell phones, my goodness – the least you can do is put the thing on vibrate! Just remember that when someone says to turn off your cell phone before the service starts, then YES – they are talking to you. Put the thing on vibrate or turn it off.
  5. The response is “And with your spirit.” A few years ago, the church changed America’s “And also with you,” response to “And with your spirit.” As it turns out, the entire world was saying “And with your spirit,” except for those of us here in the United States. I remember when the change took place – it was only a few months after I returned to church on a more regular basis. Believe me, it was mass chaos (pun intended)! People were saying “And also with you,” over others saying “And with your spirit.” There was a comedy about all of it, but after a few weeks most people had the new response down. Sure, a few of the folks who have been attending mass for decades still had a hiccup here and there, but even they’ve gotten the hang of it.

    And then Christmas hit that year and the annuals were inflamed that people were saying the new response versus the old one. But, as we know, the annuals come and go… and usually don’t come back. So then Easter hit and the cries of “Foul!” were heard all over again from the annuals/CEOs. Those folks who had been attending mass regularly since the changes sort of looked at the annuals at that point and thought, “God, help them.” Today – more than two years since the change in the wording has taken place – feigning anger or consternation over the now-not-so-new wording is just ignorant. With these changes in the wording, the entire world now says the same thing during the mass (in their own language, of course). Get with it.

  6. Be quiet! There are many frustrations that regular mass attendees face during Christmas and Easter. Chief among them is the lack of reverence for the sanctity of the mass. The Easter Vigil mass is one of the most solemn if not the most solemn mass of the year. It’s the longest mass of the year (about two and a half hours at my parish) and it’s the one where the most reverence is required. Many people go to the Easter Vigil in an attempt to not go to mass on Easter Sunday, so there is usually a huge attendance at this service.

    And most of the people who attend have no care, concern, or consideration for the reverence of the service. They don’t care that an entire community of churchgoers has been waiting for this mass all year so they can reverently pray and reflect on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

    I put this one on the list because of the Easter Vigil mass that I attended this year. I had the unpleasant experience of sitting in front of a troop of girl scouts during the mass. Now look – we have a problem in this country (and Western society in general) where we train our young girls to be vapid, mindless bodies who require excessive amounts of assurance and social agreement in order for them to just feel normal. Why we do this to our girls in this country is beyond me and probably a topic for a future post (though I have a strong suspicion that the problem is linked to the American form of hyper-feminism that has perverted traditional gender roles only to leave future generations in the dark about issues of self-confidence). However, these young girls talked through nearly the entire service. There were not two seconds that went by for the entire two and a half hours where this group of young girls were not gabbing with each other in a hushed whisper. They were doing the fake laughs of approval that are popular among that age group, they talked through each of the readings, they talked through the homily, and they even talked through the Our Father which really amazed me. The only time that these girls gave themselves more than a one second break in their babbling was when they were kneeling down during the preparation of the Eucharist. I think it was because they were positioned where they couldn’t easily interact with one another.

    If you’re attending mass for the first time this year or the first time since Christmas, then do everyone a favor and show some reverence for the service. And if your kids are the ones whispering and not paying attention during the service, then separate them from one another and try to spend some time before mass explaining to your kids about respecting the service and the reverence of the regular churchgoers. Again, if you’re only going once or twice per year, then the least you can do is be respectful during the service.

  7. The issue of babies and kids making noise during the service. For me, this isn’t an issue. I don’t mind a crying baby and I don’t mind a kid who makes noises here and there. I have three baby cousins and I imagine that if they were at mass each week, they would probably cry or make a noise from time to time. The issue here is the parents and their ability to be aware of their surroundings (see the bullet point about being aware of your surroundings). If you have a baby with you and the poor kid is crying nonstop throughout the service, then you should really get up and go into the vestibule or the family-designated room until the baby calms down. You have to be aware of your surroundings. If you’re in the Christmas or Easter service (or any Sunday service for that matter), then chances are that you’re surrounded by hundreds of people who are trying to worship with some peace and dignity. No one is going to care about the occasional cry or whine or noise, but when that noise is constant (like those Girl Scouts in my example above), then you should respect the people who have gathered in the church and move to another location where the noise will not be a distraction.

    Let me offer a brief example because I know there is some ignorant parent out there thinking, “You don’t know what it’s like to have kids!” (Amen!) There is a parent in my parish who has a young kid – the boy has to be 4 or 5 years old. Whenever they’re at mass the kid has a running dialogue that goes through the entire service. Understand what I’m saying here, folks. There is a running dialogue from this kid. He talks nonstop – NONstop during every portion of the mass. He’s not loud and I think that’s why people don’t get particularly mad at the parents (I know I don’t get mad at them, just a little baffled). But after about 30 minutes of nonstop talking (albeit in a hushed tone) it is amazing that the parents don’t take the kid into the vestibule to let him get the rest of his dialogue out before coming back into the service. Of course, you each have your own experiences with something similar, I’m sure. For some of you, the babbling little boy is a 6 month old baby that cries for 45 minutes straight while the parents don’t get up and leave. Whatever the case may be, a good rule of thumb for churchgoers is to never get mad or angry at noises from kids unless they go on for a prolonged period of time and begin to distract from the service. A good rule of them for the parents of noisy kids is to remove the child from the public space after about a minute or two of nonstop noise.

  8. Wait for the person ahead of you. If there was one piece of advice that I could give to most people who are in public places, it would be to be aware of your surroundings! One of the most frustrating things for anyone at mass is for them to go up, receive the Eucharist, and then get in the line for the wine only to begin walking back to their seat and having to climb their way over 7 or 8 people who couldn’t wait an additional 15 seconds for them to finish the wine before rushing back to the pew. While I was at Easter mass, I waited for an older woman who was sitting next to me to get the wine (I didn’t get the wine) and in the process, about 10 people got backed up because they were rushing back to the pew. One woman (in the most passive aggressive way) whispered towards me, “Kinda holding up the line.” Since I don’t respond to numb-minded idiots, I looked past this rude, self-obsessed, dullard of a woman towards the older lady making her way through the jumble of people and offered her to walk ahead of me in the pew so she could go back to sitting next to her equally older husband. The older lady smiled and said “thank you” and I told her “you’re welcome.” Of course, there was an ENORMOUS older guy who couldn’t wait for this older woman to get in the pew so he went ahead of both of us… and then he wouldn’t get out of the old lady’s way. As we began making our way through the pew, the HUGE guy looked at the old lady and smiled. She said she had to get by and he smiled at her again. She then pointed to her husband at the end of the pew and the fat guy looked at the husband and then leaned back maybe half an inch. The woman very politely said to him, “I think you’re going to have to sit down.” So he sat down and we both climbed over him back to our seats.

    The lesson here is that you should always wait for the person ahead of you to go back into the pew before you do. And you should always be aware of your surroundings and how you interact with them!

  9. Wait for the closing hymn to finish. One of the rudest things that takes place on both Christmas and Easter is the rush of the annuals and CEOs to get out of the church immediately after the final blessing. It doesn’t work like that, folks! Granted, the ritual part of the mass is over when the priest gives his final blessing, but out of sheer respect for those who are tasked with the music ministry and out of some semblance of dignity for the sacred service that you’re at, WAIT until the final hymn is finished before you leave your pew and head out the door! Trust me, you’re not that important that you can’t spend another minute and a half listening to the closing hymn before you rush back to your likely-boring life. Show some respect and let the music ministry play or sing you out before you run for the door. Besides, you only go to church once or twice a year – if you want to run out so quickly, then don’t come in the first place.
  10. Don’t hang around primary walkways. This is really a piece of advice for all people in all public places. If you’re attending the church service and you’re either on your way in or on your way out of the building, try not to stop to have a conversation with whoever it is that you’re talking to while you’re standing in the middle of a primary walkway. Look, chances are you’re talking to a neighbor or a friend that you see each week or possibly even every day. Do you really have to stop the flow of people entering or leaving the church to have a 2 to 3 minute conversation about something that is probably a bore and/or meaningless? You can’t cover those topics during the other interactions that you have with this person?

    Is it okay to stop and hug someone that you haven’t seen in a while? Of course. Is it okay to stop and have a 30 second conversation with that person while you’re in the middle of a primary walkway? Of course not.

  11. If you’re not going to participate, consider not attending. This one is a tough piece of advice to give out because as I noted above we welcome everyone to the church and we want you there – particularly on holy days of obligation! However, if you’re not going to pay attention and talk through the entire service or if you’re going to be so preoccupied with your life outside of the church that you can’t give the Lord an hour or so of your time and attention, well you should consider why you’re attending mass in the first place. Somewhere in the Bible it says that going through the motions doesn’t count. In other words, if you go to church just to say (or know in your mind) that you spent an hour in nice clothing listening to a service that you didn’t understand, well… no one is impressed by that except you. If this is your perspective, then chances are you’re breaking most of the suggestions above. Chances are you’re not aware of your surroundings, you’re hanging around primary walkways, you sat down at the end of the pew, you talked or whispered throughout the service, and you’re packing your stuff to leave as soon as the final blessing is over. If that sounds like you, then really consider the question of why you attended in the first place.

While I understand that some of these pieces of advice come off as harsh, the truth is that none of these would even be necessary if we spent more time in this country working on basic manners. And since we don’t spend any time on real manners any more, thus I write this entry to help those of you returning to church either for the first time in a year or the first time since the last major holiday.

Welcome back! Be respectful. Enjoy the service.

Filed Under: Local People & Politics Tagged With: Christmas, Church, Easter, Jesus Christ, Roman Catholic

Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #1, Edition #6

December 27, 2013 by Joe Leave a Comment

As 2013 comes to an end, I wanted to be sure to post a final “Start the Weekend Right” entry. Here are yet another set of links to help you start your weekend the right way and the last set of links that I’ll be posting for 2013. And again – if you find yourself visiting several websites on a daily basis, then I recommend you consider signing up for a free Feedly account. I don’t get anything for promoting Feedly – I just love the service and I think that it’s really a great RSS aggregator (it’s even better than the old Google Reader). And if you’re using another RSS aggregator, then please consider following JerseySmarts.com at http://www.jerseysmarts.com/feed/ or if you’re already on Feedly, then you can follow us by clicking here.

Now, enjoy the links! If you come across any interesting links, then please share them with us in the comments section below.

Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #1, Edition #6
Christmas Songology Winner: The Best Christmas Song Ever is…, Busted Halo
One of the radio shows that I listen to on The Catholic Channel on Sirius XM is the Busted Halo Show. The show has a companion website that is much broader and covers a larger cross-section of how pop culture interacts with our Roman Catholic faith. Well, they hosted a “Best Christmas Song Ever” contest and I couldn’t agree more with the song they selected and who they chose as the optimal performer for the song.

Is an MBA Bubble Popping?, The Atlantic
Just like the recent media ]negativity around the glut of young lawyers who can’t find a job, it looks like we might be heading for a glut of MBAs out there who aren’t earning what they once might have earned. After working part-time in higher education for the last 7+ years, I can’t say that I disagree with the point that this author is making.

The Library Designed Like a Bookstore, Book Riot
One of the many new, great blogs that I started following this year is Book Riot. They have a lot of great content for folks who love literature like me. One of the articles from the last few weeks that really piqued my interest was this short photo essay about a library in The Netherlands that was built to look and feel like a bookstore. Check it out – it’s pretty cool!

An Epidemic Of Thirsty Men Is Making It Harder To Get Laid, Roosh V
If there’s one thing that pisses me off about modern man it’s that many of them are systemically weak. In other words, there are guys out there who put their manhood aside and desperately chase any female with a heartbeat in an attempt to create what they think is a sincere feeling of interest and intimacy. They’re wrong on so many levels that it’s hard to write about any one of their ridiculous actions here… luckily, you can read this entry from Roosh V about some of the pathetic moves from these thirsty guys.

7 year-end tax tips to keep Uncle Sam out of your wallet, Get Rich Slowly
With the end of the tax year coming in a few days, we should all be doing what we can to lower our total taxable income. For my part, I’ll be hiring a new accountant and giving him my collected insanity of a tax return to file in April 2014. Should be fun… for him!

Cut the cord: New HD antennas bring your monthly TV bill back to $0, Christian Science Monitor
Admittedly, I haven’t read this article yet, but it’s something that I’m very interested in learning more about. The cost of cable television is outrageous. I have hundreds of channels that I don’t watch and I shouldn’t be forced to pay for them because they’re part of a bundle or a package. A few years ago, Senator John McCain was pushing some legislation to decouple all of these channels and allow consumers to select and choose the channels that they wanted to pay for on their plan. I wonder why we’re not there yet?

The Case for Supporting Other Small Businesses, Inc.com
As the owner of two small businesses, I wholeheartedly agree with the point that Janine Popick makes in this article. Small businesses should be supporting one another and I try to do that as much as possible with my small business purchases. This is a good, quick read – so give it a shot.

10 things we’ve learned about fat, The Week
Like most folks out there I enjoy reading about the latest health studies around the major topics of the day. In this case, The Week has compiled a list of the ten things that we – as a society – have learned about fat. They provide links to the different studies that prove each of the ten points – it’s an interesting read.

Learn Your Target Net Worth Multiples to Guide Your Savings Plan, Lifehacker
This is a great article and the best part about it is the graphic at the top. It’s a quick, easy guide to how much your net worth has to be after a certain number of years in the workforce. It also shows what your net worth should be at different ages. It’s an interesting read, but somewhat technical once you click over to Financial Samurai so give yourself some time to review and re-read.

Can Wii Go On Without U?, Game|Life
This is one of the articles I read that informed my post from a week and a half ago about how to fix the blunder that the Wii U has become. This link leads to a few brief paragraphs and then to a podcast if you’re interested in hearing a discussion about this topic.

Get your weekend started right by checking out these links. And if you don’t have one already, I recommend you open a new, free Feedly account. You can follow JerseySmarts.com with your new account or add it to your existing Feedly or other RSS aggregator account. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Random Entries, Winter & Christmas Time Tagged With: Business, Christmas, Health, Josh Groban, Library, Link Series, Nintendo, Roman Catholic, Start the Weekend Right, Taxation

Black Friday 2013 Review

November 30, 2013 by Joe Leave a Comment

Not too long ago I would wake up early to fully engage in the Black Friday chaos. During the years when I was a graduate student and wasn’t burdened by the repayment of my then-growing student loans, I would take the time to review different Black Friday-themed ads and plot a course for the day. I’d scope out electronics deals, major DVD sales, and I’d always be sure to include a stop at the Walmart that is local to my family’s house because the store manager there would do his own, half-hour sales which were never advertised. It’s remarkable that I used to enjoy going to these stores on Black Friday because today I have zero interest in the mayhem.

Even though I was never in a store that was this bad, I used to go out and shop on Black Friday.

Even though I was never in a store that was this bad, I used to go out and shop on Black Friday.

In fact, I was so wrapped up in Black Friday that I used to write about it right here on the blog. I wrote reviews of Black Friday dating back to 2008, 2006, 2005, and even way back in 2004. After 2008, I stopped going out on Black Friday. It was around that time when I really started planning to kick my student loan repayment into high gear. Plus, some time around 2008 is when the insanity of Black Friday shopping was reaching an apex. And if there were ever two good reasons to stay away from the big box stores and malls on Black Friday, then those are two really good reasons to stay at home.

Fast forward to 2013 and things are a little bit different. First, I no longer have the albatross of student loans weighing me down. Second, stores are now opening on Thanksgiving night to accommodate a portion of the traditional Black Friday crowd. And finally, so many consumers out there are struggling financially that the idea of spending all day shopping on Black Friday just doesn’t make good financial sense any more. It’s certainly a different world than back in 2008 when I last wrote a review of what I encountered on Black Friday. And since the world is a little bit different now than it was back in 2008 I decided to brave the stores on Thanksgiving weekend for the first time in years. This is what I found…

Thanksgiving Night Shopping
Around 11:00pm I decided to go shopping for two specific items. The items weren’t for my family since I finished Christmas shopping for them well before Thanksgiving. Instead, the items I was looking to purchase were for my church’s Christmas giving tree. If you’re not familiar with a giving tree, it’s where the less fortunate folks in a parish ask the church for help in providing their kids with a merry Christmas morning by helping them buy a few gifts. Within the program, though, there are restrictions. For example, at my church you need to be an active parishioner in order to participate in the program. In other words, you can’t just show up in November and say, “Hey, I need help buying gifts again this year.” Nope – ain’t going to happen.

I also have some personal rules that I follow for the Christmas giving tree program. One of those rules is that I don’t buy gift cards. Over the years, the number of tags on the giving tree that are asking for gift cards to Walmart, Target, Shoprite, and other retailers has grown exponentially. And if the purpose of the giving tree is to ensure that young kids wake up on Christmas morning with a few toys to play with under the tree, then I don’t see how a gift card gets a 6 year old boy or a 7 year old girl to that end. One of my other rules is that I tend to gravitate towards buying gifts for boys instead of girls. Something about going into a toy store and buying a Barbie or a princess play set doesn’t work for me. I couldn’t tell you why – it just doesn’t work. Perhaps my most important rule, though, is that I try to pick giving tree tags for younger kids. I understand that teenagers have as much need for a merry Christmas morning as the young ones, but the young ones have stronger memories of the “good times” during the Christmas season. Plus, at some point if you’re a parent and you’re asking for help getting your 15 or 16 year old kid some gifts for Christmas (and you’ve done so for the last 15 or 16 years), then you failed at some aspect of your life. And I know that is a presumptuous statement, but if you have a 15+ year track record of not being able to save a few buck each year so you can buy 3 or 4 nice things for your 15+ year old kids during Christmas, then I’m not interested in advancing your inability to plan ahead and live an irresponsible lifestyle.

So I stick with getting gifts for the little ones. Now back to the story…

This year, I picked two gift tags – one for a 7 year old boy and one for a 9 year old boy. They both wanted wrestling toys. One wanted a wrestling figure and the other wanted a wrestling ring: two very easy toys to pick up on Thanksgiving night after I left my family’s house. At some point around 11:00pm I went to the local K-Mart and they had all of the toys right there. Most importantly, though, they didn’t have an excessive amount of people in the parking lot or in the store. In fact, it looked like any other Thursday night in the store. I grabbed a few wrestling figures and the ring and headed for the checkout (I go a little bit above any beyond so when a kid asks for a wrestling ring, he gets a ring and two wrestling figures and when a kid asks for a single wrestling figure, he gets three). And the checkout is what stopped me in my tracks. After very publicly promoting that they’d be open all Thanksgiving Day and night, my local K-Mart had two cashiers working. TWO! Look, if you’re only going to put two cashiers on duty on what could have been one of the heaviest shopping nights of the year, then you’re better off not opening the store at all.

Each of the two checkout lines was about 15 people deep and everyone was pissed that the store decided to open without adequate coverage in the checkout lanes. After spending some time observing (I observe a lot when I’m in these stores), I realized that people with only a few items were checking out quicker at the courtesy desk. I quickly moved over to the courtesy desk, checked out, and left the K-Mart with my Christmas giving tree toys in hand (actually, they were in a bag). My next stop was JCPenney at the Monmouth Mall. Admittedly, this stop wasn’t for the giving tree, but rather JCPenney is one of the few stores where you can find really high quality big and tall clothing, so I stopped there to see what was on sale. I wound up buying a quarter zip sweater that was actually too big (I returned it the next day for the right size). Some of my observations about JCPenney include the fact that a lot of the Thursday night shoppers – and by “a lot” I mean at least 90% of the entire population that I saw in my area that night – were of specific ethnic or cultural descent. I’m not suggesting that 90% of the people in the stores were a single ethnicity or cultural identity – not at all. Instead, I’m saying that 90% of the entire population consisted of a diversity of people including first generation Mexican immigrants, Orthodox Jewish people, first and second generation Indian families, etc. If I had to suggest a single ethnicity that was more prevalent than the rest, then I’d say that the Hispanic population outpaced everyone else by leaps and bounds. Anyway, just a random observation that occurred to me while I was at JCPenney.

After my quick stop at JCPenney (I was in the store for a total of about 10 minutes), I headed to one of the habitually worst places to shop in Monmouth County – the Neptune Township Walmart. Honestly, folks, if you ever want to have a horrendous shopping experience, then go to the Neptune Walmart at any time of the day and try to order anything from the deli counter. If you get away from that deli counter in under 15 – 20 minutes, it would be record-breaking. Anyway, my purpose of going to this disaster area on Thanksgiving Night was to purchase the gift bags that my church requires you place your giving tree gifts in before you bring them to the church. And I have to admit – this wasn’t a big ordeal for me on Thanksgiving Night. I went into the store, grabbed the two gift bags, walked to the register and waited a split second while the person in front of my checked out, and then I checked out myself and left the store. As I left the store I was asked to show my receipt and my purchases (which were in my hand because I refused to take a plastic bag to put two paper gift bags in). My entire experience at the Neptune Walmart was not aggravating at all and that is pretty shocking considering that store’s atrocious history. I should comment, though, that I didn’t venture to the back of the store where the electronics department is located. I looked back there and it looked like Armageddon on earth, but I didn’t dare take a walk to that part of the store. No reason to ruin my shopping experience, you know?

And that was my Thanksgiving Night experience.

Black Friday
The only thing I did on Black Friday was head back to JCPenney to return and switch out the quarter-zip sweater that I purchased a few days earlier. There was a small line in the store, but it was fully acceptable. In fact, I have to salute the young woman who handled my switch request at the checkout counter. She ran into a series of problems trying to make the switch in the system and she kept asking for my patience, which I always give to a cashier (I always remember that the last thing they need is an angry me staring at them). And because I was so patient with this woman, she took an additional $10 off of my purchase which brought the item down from its original price of $45 to the sale price of $25 to the additional reduced price of $15. Not bad for a nice piece of winter clothing.

And that’s the whole of my shopping experience this Black Friday. The lessons learned include that shopping on Thanksgiving Night means less crowds and higher diversity of shoppers while the big department stores make returning items a very easy and even thankful process. Another lesson learned is that I’m thankful to have completed my shopping before Thanksgiving and via all-online stores. Overall, I was very pleased with this year’s shopping experience, though not pleased enough to make it a regular occurrence each year.

Filed Under: Winter & Christmas Time Tagged With: Black Friday, Christmas, Monmouth Mall, Walmart, Wrestling

Could This Be The Coolest, Best Christmas Present… EVER!?

December 30, 2012 by Joe Leave a Comment

For some reason, I wasn’t really “into” Christmas this year. I don’t know what the cause of it was, but I wasn’t really into the whole holiday season at all. I’m not saying that I was miserable or depressed or anything like that – not at all! I just didn’t feel like putting up the tree (so I didn’t) and it took all that I had to send out Christmas cards (I sent them about three weeks later than usual), and I even didn’t feel like buying gifts (I got them last minute and had to have them rush delivered so they arrived on time). And for those of you who know of the two tragedies that I’ve been dealing with – I had the lack of excitement for the holiday season well-before either of those situations presented themselves.

The only part of the season that I really looked forward to was going to church and going to my brother’s house for Christmas. If you want to count Thanksgiving as part of the holiday season, then I also looked forward to going to my Mom’s house for Thanksgiving, too.

However, there was one thing that made my eyes open wide and get really excited about the whole gift-giving part of Christmas. So, for your reading pleasure, here’s the brief story of the gift that caught my eye last winter and made my otherwise dreary holiday season pretty bright!

When you cut right down to it, I think that most of the people on this planet are nerds in one form or another. Sure, you might not have a pocket protector and yeah, you might not have glasses held together by masking tape, but chances are that there is something on this planet that you “geek out” over. When I suggest that you “geek out” over something, I’m talking about the type of reaction that you have when your favorite baseball team wins the World Series, when your favorite football team wins the Super Bowl, when you win your fantasy football league, etc. For some, it’s the type of reaction that you have when the extended editions of all three Lord of the Rings movies get released on Blu-Ray (with extras!).

Sometime last winter I was browsing around the internet and I came across a website with a simple name: Authentic Post Office Box Door Coin Banks. For the life of me, I can’t remember what brought me to that website. I think I was looking at a list on some website that talked about “cool gifts for men” or something like that – who knows? Anyway, I saw the coin bank fashioned from some wood and an old post office box door that was offered on this website and immediately I started geeking out over it. Go ahead, click over there and take a look and then come back and finish reading this post. I’ll wait…

Back? Did you go take a look? Good! It’s a pretty cool coin bank, right? Anyway, back to the story…

My family and I use Elfster.com for our Christmas shopping. It’s a good deal because you just post stuff that you want for Christmas and then your family buys it for you. Assuming everyone understands how the process works, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get exactly what you want for Christmas each year and you can even provide details on what customization that you want on your gifts. This year on Elfster the first gift I put on my Christmas list was the coin bank. I even left detailed instructions on which size coin bank I wanted and what number I wanted on the post office box door.

And last week on Christmas day, guess what I got?

Christmas 2012 (4)

How sweet is that? Come on! Look at the new coin bank as it stands next to the old plastic chocolate covered peanut jar that I’ve been using for the last few years:

old-bank-new-bank

There’s no comparison! And there’s the point of this update – that this coin bank, for some reason, makes me geek out and managed to bring some happiness to my otherwise “blech” holiday season. I don’t know why and I can’t explain it. I don’t know why I think this coin bank is the coolest thing ever. But when it caught my eye last winter, I bookmarked the page and said, “I need one of these things as soon as possible!”

If you have a guy in your family and you have no idea what to buy him for Christmas (or any holiday for that matter), then I strongly suggest getting him one of these coin banks. Maybe it’ll give him a geek out moment or a helping of the holiday spirit just like it gave me!

Filed Under: Winter & Christmas Time Tagged With: bank, Christmas, Money, post office

A Christmas Verse or Two To Kickoff the Holiday Season!

December 6, 2012 by Joe Leave a Comment

Can you feel it? Can you feel that chill in the air? I don’t know about you folks, but for me… it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! While I might not be brimming over with the holiday spirit this season, this is still my favorite time of the year. And, to begin the celebration here at JerseySmarts.com, we welcome back our resident poet – Joseph P. Martino. This time around, Mr. Martino shares some thoughts about Christmas time in New Jersey. Enjoy!

It’s Christmas time in New Jersey, come see and hear,
all the sights, sounds, glow and sparkling of lights so pretty
that comprise the heartbeat, rhythm and sparkle of our
big and wonderful and great cities, towns and villages throughout the garden state.

It’s Christmas time in New Jersey our cities, towns and villages,
are now all adorned in their most glorious dress,
as church elders prepare the baby Jesus creche.

Christmas trees on town halls, stores, homes, lawns and malls are all shining bright.
Gaily decorated in colored bells, tinsel, garlands, angels and lights, that glow and sparkle day and night,
boy oh boy what a magnificent and inspirational sight.

As Santa Clause makes out his Christmas list, making sure no girl or boys requested
toy will be forgot or missed. as Santa Claus extends his warm and welcoming cheerful Christmas
greeting to everyone throughout our great garden state.

Merry, Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to one and all.
For, it’s Christmas time in New Jersey.

© Joseph P. Martino – Poet, Writer – Millburn, NJ

We’re always thankful to have a great contribution like this from Mr. Martino. Feel free to share this entry with your friends!

Filed Under: Winter & Christmas Time Tagged With: Christmas, Joseph P. Martino, poetry

Today’s Christmas Cards Are Nothing Less Than Absolutely Miserable

December 24, 2011 by Joe Leave a Comment

Have you gone Christmas card shopping yet? If not, then it might too late what with it being Christmas Eve and all. But, if you’re in my demographic (normal, regular 30 year old male), then be forewarned – today’s Christmas cards are nothing less than absolutely miserable. Honestly, I’m not sure what the problem is with Hallmark or Carlton Cards or any of the card makers, but most of the Christmas cards that I perused this holiday season were nothing short of totally miserable.

The biggest problem that I ran into this year was finding a decent set of Christmas cards for my family. Specifically, finding a good Christmas card for my older brother was particularly annoying. I managed to luck out getting a card for my younger brother since he was born on Christmas and the dual Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas cards are pretty simple and don’t leave much room for awkward messages. But finding a card for my older brother was unbelievably annoying.

The problem wasn’t the design of the cards – I don’t care about that and I probably wouldn’t know a “good” looking card from a “bad” looking card anyway. The problem was the message written within these cards. Most of the messages read something like this:

Dear brother,

I know that we don’t particularly care for one another, but this is Christmas so why don’t you keep your bullshit to yourself and not ruin it? Okay? Great. Thanks.

Merry Christmas

Here’s the best part – I’m not even exaggerating that much with the message! Honestly, most of the brother-to-brother cards were within this vein. They either referenced an inner hatred and disgust of one brother to another or a history of muted emotions between the brothers. What type of messed up society do we live in that greeting cards for one of the happiest holidays of the year are reduced to anger-filled messages from one family member to another? It’s outrageous!

If I want to take jabs at family members, I’d rather just go to Bald Guy Greetings and get them a card from that website. At least they’d know that there was some humor behind the message – not just an angry message written by someone at Hallmark who is bitter because they come from a broken home.

This Christmas season I began looking for cards the day after Thanksgiving and wound up looking in two Hallmarks, a Walmart, a Target, Kohl’s, and K-Mart before I found a decent Christmas card for my older brother. And it wasn’t too much easier to find a nice card for my Mom, either. Most of the cards referenced how the son was a complete screw-up for most of their lives and it was only by the saving grace of their Mother that they are able to function in society today. Again, what type of maladjusted weirdos do the greeting card companies have working for them? Whatever happened to a simple “Merry Christmas” message? Or what about, “Merry Christmas, Mom. I hope you enjoy the day!” I mean is it that hard to take the anger and angst out of these messages?!

Anyway, I hope that this isn’t a widespread problem. Did you have any trouble getting Christmas cards this year? Here’s hoping that next year is a little bit less bitter for the greeting card companies!

Filed Under: Winter & Christmas Time Tagged With: Bald Guy Greetings, Brother, Christmas, Greeting Card

It’s Christmas in New York City – The Newest Revision

December 5, 2011 by Joe Leave a Comment

Good morning, everyone! Today we bring you an updated and revised version of Joseph P. Martino’s Christmas poem – It’s Christmas in New York City. Some of you may recall that we posted this poem last year during December. Well, Mr. Martino has submitted a revised version and we’re glad to bring it to you today. Read on and enjoy!

It’s Christmas in New York City, come and experience
the sights, lights and sounds so pretty
That comprises the rhythm,beat and excitement of our
great big wonderful city.

It’s Christmas in New York City, now adorned in her Most glorious dress,
as church elders prepare the nativity scene and the Baby Jesus crèche.

Christmas trees displayed all over town adorned and decorated in
Gaily colored lights,bells,reefs and tinsel that glows and twinkle in anticipation of Kris Kringle

Sparkling brightly Day and night…boy oh boy what a magnificent sight.

Christmas tree stands gleaming bright and tall in department stores, promenades,plazas,malls, lawns, and homes.
In department stores all over town Santa is busy making his list for all the girls and boys presents and Christmas toys.

Saint Nick extends his warmest Christmas wishes to all who visit or call,
“Merry, Merry Christmas to one and all”… Here’s hoping, that on Christmas Day snow will fall.

Merry, Merry Christmas!
For, it’s Christmas in New York City.

Filed Under: Winter & Christmas Time Tagged With: Christmas, Joseph P. Martino, New York City, poetry

Good News from the Team Over at the Elk Candy Company

November 15, 2011 by Joe Leave a Comment

One of the things that I truly enjoy in life is the taste of the Elk Candy Company’s marzipan. Not only is the taste rich and full of that delicious almond flavor, but the texture of the marzipan is soft yet strong. Quite honestly, their marzipan is made just right. I’ve been eating their marzipan since I was a little kid living in Manhattan and now as one of their online customers.

And with that in mind, here is an update from the folks over at the Elk Candy Company regarding their availability to help you with your marzipan needs for this holiday season:

Woohooo!

We are busy making our marzipan.

The holidays are fast approaching, don’t forget to get your orders in. Thanksgiving is 3 weeks away!

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

Elk Candy Co.
Shop: www.elkcandy.com
Blog: blog.elkcandy.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ElkCandy
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ElkCandy

I don’t know about you all, but I’ll be getting myself some marzipan from the Elk Candy Company in the next few weeks. Not only does their marzipan make a great gift, but it’s the type of gift that you can treat yourself to and not really feel that guilty about it. I can’t wait!

Filed Under: Random Entries, Winter & Christmas Time Tagged With: Christmas, Elk Candy Company, Manhattan, Marzipan

Incredibly Proud of My Family This Christmas Season

December 27, 2010 by Joe Leave a Comment

This year for Christmas, my family made one of the best decisions that I think we’ve ever made as a family. While we were sitting around for my Mom’s birthday celebration in late October, we began talking about what everyone wanted for Christmas this year. I’m sure that you have a similar conversation in your family so that everyone knows which presents to buy. It’s a fairly common occurrence, I think.

While we were beginning the conversation, I said to my Mom, “You know, I don’t really want anything. You don’t have to get anything for me.” And then my older brother jumped in right away and said, “Yeah, me neither. I don’t want anything.” And after that an entire conversation ensued about not purchasing gifts for anyone this year. Our rationale was that we each had different financial goals that we were reaching towards so spending a few hundred bucks (or, very likely, much more) on Christmas gifts that no one was really looking for would be a waste of otherwise scarce financial resources.

Frequent readers of this blog know what I was saving up for this fall/early winter. My older brother is in the process of saving money to buy a house with his fiancée, my younger brother is in the process of paying off a new truck that he bought, and my Mother is in the process of paying off her mortgage and some consumer debt. After having this conversation, we all decided that the best thing to do was to celebrate Christmas with family and friends and leave out the excessive spending on superfluous gifts.

So last Friday night, my Mom hosted our family and extended family for her annual Christmas party and it was a great time as always. Then on Saturday morning my older brother made breakfast and we enjoyed not spending a ton of money on otherwise unlooked for presents. Except for my younger brother, that is, who swore up and down that we left that conversation back in late October with the idea that we might not buy presents. Oh well – not a problem at all!

Leaving my Mom’s house with only a few items marked one of the better Christmases that I think I’ve had in a long time. 🙂

Filed Under: Winter & Christmas Time Tagged With: Christmas, Debt, Family

Happy Birthday to My Younger Brother and Merry Christmas to My Readers!

December 25, 2010 by Joe Leave a Comment

Just like I do on every December 25th, I’d like to wish my younger brother Christopher a happy birthday! It’s hard to believe that my younger brother was born 23 years ago. I remember the day that my Mom and Dad brought him home from the hospital in his Christmas stocking (he was born on Christmas – of course he was coming home in a Christmas stocking!).

And for the rest of my readers here at JerseySmarts.com, I wish you all a Merry Christmas! I hope that the Santa in your life brought you what you were looking for and that you have a happy, healthy, and safe time with family and friends.

Enjoy!

Filed Under: Winter & Christmas Time Tagged With: Brother, Christmas, Happy Birthday

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 6
  • Next Page »
Tweets by @JVince81

Recent Posts

August 1, 2019 - Book Review: Dreyer’s English
June 8, 2019 - Book Review: Social Excellence
June 7, 2019 - A New Student Loan Update – Many Years Later
September 10, 2018 - Wise Words to Remember During Formal Recruitment Season
January 1, 2018 - Book Review: The Return of the Shadow by J. R. R. Tolkien
December 30, 2017 - Book Review: The Hidden Reality by Stephen Martino
June 1, 2017 - Why I Volunteer My Time to My Local Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity
June 21, 2016 - News and Updates from Sigma Pi Fraternity – Circa 1916
March 25, 2016 - Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #4, Edition #3
March 19, 2016 - Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #4, Edition #2

Categories

  • Book, DVD, Movie, & Media Reviews
  • College & Fraternity Life
  • Computers, Internet, & Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Funny People
  • Health Ideas & Gym Stories
  • International Politics
  • Jokes & Humor
  • Local People & Politics
  • Money, Jobs, & Finances
  • Next Iteration
  • Random Entries
  • Sports
  • Student Loans
  • Sustainable Living
  • The State of New Jersey
  • United States Politics
  • Winter & Christmas Time

Join My Mailing List

From time to time, I will send out exclusive information to mailing list subscribers only. Your e-mail address will not be sold or transferred to any third parties by joining this list.
Enter e-mail:

Check Out These Sites

  • Dr. Stephen Martino
  • Greek State of Mind
  • JoePalazzolo.com
  • Minding the Campus
  • Saint Catherine of Siena Church
  • Sigma Pi Educational Foundation
  • Winners Circle Fashion

Recent Comments

  • Trum Stir on The Latest and Greatest with My NJHESAA Loan: “Just thought you'd be interested in our family's solution for my son's defaulted NJCLASS loans. We got tired of dealing…” Jul 6, 12:10
  • Joe on Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #4, Edition #2: “You're welcome, Justin. And thank you for writing such a robust article on meditation. I've found it personally helpful and…” Mar 20, 12:14
  • Justin Miller on Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #4, Edition #2: “Thank you for featuring my article on meditation here.” Mar 19, 08:51
  • hassan joyo on Send A Message to President Obama NOW!: “hi mr barak obama king of u.s.a im hassan joyo from pakistan sir ineed mony for huose rent or ashool…” Jan 25, 04:49
  • Bryan Duarte on The Internet As It Exists In 2014… It Kind Of Sucks: “Hey Joe. Very relevant points made in this article. Although, I believe the advancements in internet, information, and convenience is…” Jan 10, 13:34
  • Joe on Are High School Guidance Counselors Doing Their Jobs?: “Let's see if we can wade through the ignorance. First, it is unreasonable to expect a high school student with…” Oct 24, 18:11
  • Schullo 1814 on Are High School Guidance Counselors Doing Their Jobs?: “Quick question: why was it the school's responsibility to send your application to colleges? I get the transcript part, but…” Oct 23, 20:02
  • Joe on Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #2, Edition #2: “You're welcome on the link. I follow your blog on my RSS reader and I really enjoy it! And yes,…” Sep 5, 18:59

What I’m Writing About

Adjunct Professor Asbury Park Barack H. Obama Basketball Blog Book Review Business Chris Christie Christmas College Debt E-Mail Economy Education Education Reform Facebook Family Food FOX News Fraternity Governor Health JerseySmarts.com Job Losing Weight Money Monmouth County Monmouth University Movie Review New Jersey New York Times NJHESAA People Politics Republicans Rutgers University Sigma Pi Fraternity Sirius XM Student Loans Taxation The MAC USA Usable Web Solutions, LLC USED Walmart
Greek State of Mind

follow us in feedly
blog searchblogtopsites
Free Page Rank ToolSubscribe to Journal

© Usable Web Solutions, LLC | Contact | Privacy Policy