malls

I did my once a year visit to a shopping mall.  I would call it a mid-size mall.  The last few years I have come to dislike them more and more.  Maybe it's age, maybe it's the current culture, or maybe it's the fact that I'm not interested in buying much.

After doing some research online about other nearby malls, I realized that they, almost to the store, are alike.  Clothing stores are the main type with 2 to 3 to 4 big name department stores as anchors.  These are closely followed by shoe stores and jewelry stores.  Add a few kids stores, the ever present "accessory" store, and half a dozen cell phone stores and you just about have the floor plan for every mall in the country.  And in the middle of all these lovely bastions of capitalism are "kiosks" that range from watches, licensed junk, and candy to massage therapists.

On a weekday you would expect it to be less crowded; but not so.  This time of the year people are shopping for presents and that special outfit to wear to Thanksgiving dinner or that once in a lifetime Christmas soiree.  I don't have to worry about either.  I buy most of my gifts online.  And dinner will be casual; just my usual jeans and snappy t shirt.  And it's been at least 10 years since I was invited to a Christmas soiree, if ever.  But I do have 5 or 6 glitzy Christmas tops if I need them.

Then there is the food court.  Let's see, greasy pizza, greasy chicken, oriental food (meat source questionable?), or subs.  Served on paper plates that are the thickness of copy paper and with a napkin the size of a postage stamp.  Then there are the tables, if you can find one, that haven't been cleaned since the mall opened.  And don't even get me started on the noise level.  I chose one of the two restaurants that flank the front entrance for a sit down dinner that was enjoyable.

So you can see I'm not a fan.  Did not buy anything.  Only went into 3 stores, one of them to use the bathroom. Taking a break and watching the people was more fun.  It seems there are still guys who think their pants look better when they hit around the knees.  Man, have you ever watched those dudes walk?  What a joke!  And the gals in the 6 inch heels that grimace every step they take.  Oh but they're fashionable.

Probably won't set foot in another mall for at least a year.  It was just a place to go and get out of the house on a grey winter day.  Worth the laughter I guess.