Windy day with consequences

Toronto and its suburbs experienced strong winds on Friday afternoon. My colleagues and I went out for lunch just before noon. It was breezy. Roughly 1.5 hours later, we left the restaurant and the winds had picked up.

When I left work at 17:00, I had difficulty pushing the door to get out of the building. A bit of fear washed over me. I didn't want to be stuck at work. I basically put as much weight as I could leaning on the door. Eventually, I got out after trying for a minute.

I saw a bunch of debris blow everywhere as I drove home. The most frightening part was seeing a thin sign blow in front of my car. I sadly drove over it. I checked my car and didn't see any damage.

Traffic was horrific. Many street lights weren't working. I took a longer route home. I actually cut through Brampton. Many traffic officers were guiding traffic under such windy conditions.

Driving home, there were a couple of huge trees that had fallen. On a residential street roughly two minutes away by car from my home, it had blocked my entire driving lane. I had to move to the oncoming lane to get by.

I finally figured out that Toronto had winds gusting to 118 km/h. Wow. Simply insane.

Power was and may still be out in many neighbourhoods. I hope that everyone is safe.

Black Friday sales... ugh!

For the last three years, I am turned off when it comes to Black Friday sales. I don't know why it has become a tradition in Canada when this ritual comes for our neighbours to the south. However, I feel the same way about Black Friday as I do with Boxing Day sales, with some minor differences.

Black Friday used to be shopping on that particular day for bargains. Yes, you'd be shopping on a Friday. These days, you have pre-Black Friday sales. And, there's a catch, too. You can actually have a full weekend or more of these Black Friday sales.

One word: Ugh.

Boxing Day is a Canadian holiday. In the past, stores would be closed that day. There would be Boxing Day sales on December 27, which is a day after this holiday. These days, you can have your sale start on Christmas or even earlier. And, it's not a Boxing Day sale. Oh, no. It's a Boxing week sale, which could carry on for longer than week. Stores are also open on Boxing Day.

The same word: Ugh.

I don't have much to buy for either sale. It has to be something that I truly need. I am trying to adopt a minimalistic approach to debt and shopping these days.

I have also done all my Christmas shopping. I am that prepared.

On Friday, it took forever for me to drive home. It seemed like everyone was out shopping.

My guy called me from Egypt, where he is there for less than a month. It was great hearing from him.  He is over his jetlag and is safe. Chatting with him made my commute more bearable.

"How's my cute girl?" he asked me.
"I am stuck in traffic. I am literally under highway 400," I replied.
"Are you on highway 401?" he asked me.
"Nope, I'm backroading it," I replied. "It's Black Friday."
"Ah, I see," said my fellow shopper. "You don't get too many deals."
"I agree. You probably do in the States."

It's nice that my guy and I are on the same page. For Canadians, the deals are better during the Boxing Day, week, or month sales.