A small rant about society

Just need to get this out. Last night had my weekly date with my wife. We decided to just do a little shopping, spend some time walking and talking, then have a nice meal together. We had Thai food.

First we visited the mall. Stepped into Banana Republic. What?!? $78 for some ugly button-down shirt that is likely made in the same sweat shop as other shirts sold for $30 or $40, which by the way probably cost the manufacturer more in terms of shipping costs and customs duties than materials or labor. What's the point of spending extra money when: a) you don't get any extra quality in materials or workmanship and b) you don't get any added value from knowledgeable and helpful staff. So, no thank you.

I remember stepping into a Rolex shop a few years ago, when I was tired of the cheap $30 watches I kept buying. I figured maybe it was time to step up to the $200-250 price range, something that would last. HAH! Okay, first off they don't have anything less than 4 digits in price, we're talking their budget models were starting at $2500 or so... and it's probably $4000 by now. I said, "wow,... okay, so I can get some good quality watches for 250 bucks by another brand, what makes this watch here worth 10 times the price?" "The brand name." "No, no, no... I mean, I know that, but I can get a really good watch for a tenth the price... what makes this one different, or better." "Just the name." Ah...

When I was a boy, the kiss of death for just about anything was my mom saying, "but, it's fashionable." You know what's fashionable these days? Guys walking across the streets with one hand permanently attached to one side of their pants, so they don't fall down to their ankles! I think I'll pass.