Points

I love points. I really do. It doesn't matter how I get them, what they're for, or when they expire. And I've always loved them. I can recall my days as a fourth-grader at Thousand Oaks Elementary, racking up the points in math class by answering multiplication questions faster than the kids next to me. Said points could be exchanged for, I don't know, some craptacular plastic spider ring or maybe a pack of candy cigarettes (we had cool teachers). Whatever. It didn't matter. The point was getting the points. At the arcade I needed to have to high score at Galaga.

My love for points could quite possibly be genetic. I can recall many meals out with my dad where our choice of restaurant was limited to those offering "10 for 1" skymiles. I could respect that, though, being a "points" man, so it wasn't too irritating.

The thing is, these days, it seems like there are almost too many points out there. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm interested in doing, some marketing genius has found a way to "reward" me. Going to Spurs game? I can get some Spurs rewards. Buying a computer at Best Buy? Getting some reward points. Paying bills online? Now I can get me some points. Flying? Those bastards started it all. Sandwich at Which Wich? You know damn well I'm getting my card punched. 12-pack of Coke at the store. Hmm. Don't see any points yet. Oh, wait, open up the 12-pack and there are some Coke rewards points that can be redeemed online. Shit yeah. Gettin' me a free matinee movie ticket.

I guess it isn't a bad thing when companies try to generate loyalty and give something back to repeat customers. It's just hard to keep up with, and for those of us obsessed with our points, it's even more difficult. For example, the other day I ended up ordering 9 magazine subscriptions with some old Continental Airlines points that I will never use (because Southwest has a better points system). I don't even need 9 magazine subscriptions. But they were free, no strings attached, as long as I remember to cancel all 9 of them after one year. I might keep Cat Fancy, though. That shit looks tight.

In other news, Thanksgiving was good. Good to see family and gorge myself. For the next post I'm working on putting together a list of my top ten most hilarious internet videos. It will be amazing. Let me know if you have any suggestions....