I was watching a YouTube channel based in Britain when a surprise ad-read popped open promoting Black Friday. Upon closer inspection, I was like, “Wait a minute. Black Friday. In England?!” Is the consumer spending fervor on the day after our uniquely American holiday - Thanksgiving - so financially fruitful that the curse has spread to other English-speaking countries? Hello, Australia: how about Black Friday sales during the beginning of Summer?
Now I’m sure it was just targeted ads. The purveyors of the channel might be British, but I bet the primary audience is of these United States. We do love our mindless entertainment, don’t we.
We’ve hit the final two months of 2026, and I’ve a public service announcement to make: please do not treat as if the year is over. A coworker said to me today, “Wow, 2026 is almost gone.” To which I replied, “No it is not! There are two entire whole months left to the year! 17% of 2026 still remains.
What I am urging is that we should make November and December count for something. Disrespect Thanksgiving and bring out the holiday decorations right now if you want, but don’t act like it’s Christmas already. There’s still much to do, much to see. Phoning it in into hibernation until the turn of the new year is time management malpractice. No you do not have permission to shut it down with two months to go. You have not earned it.
Don’t talk to me about the 2026 being over until at least the final week of December. That's when I’ll allow myself a slight break. For the time being, the foot is still on the pedal. Workouts need to be done, cars need to be worked on, and days to live fully and presently. 2027 can kiss my ass.
Tremendous.