Shop 'til You Drop
They're all basically the same, no matter which company owns them. They look similar both inside and out. Mostly the same stores pop up in each one - Sears, Hot Topic, Hallmark. The landscaping is usually different from region to region, though, and here you'll find palm trees and elephant ears, while in Tennessee you might find dogwoods. And the only ones that are worth my time have bookstores.
I actually do not like shopping malls. Aside from the message to spend rampantly on stuff you may or may not need, they're echoing torture chambers filled with strangers. It's the noise that bothers me worse than the crowds. Not only do you have the mumbling roar of hundreds of shoppers, there's the "main mall" piped music, and each individual store's piped music, often there's a wailing child, and may the gods help you if it's got one of those little trains.
One coping strategy that has worked for me in other stressful environments is to wear ear buds. I don't have to have any music playing, but earbuds serve a dual purpose. They help block and filter some of the noise, and they're a visual signal to other people to not talk to me. I'm not here to browse, I'm not here to hang out and chat. I'm here to buy another bottle of Twilight Woods lotion from Bath & Body Works. I know what I need and where it is.
Well, I almost know where it is. Even in a mall I've visited dozens of times, I get lost. I believe they're designed that way, to essentially force you to window-shop by getting you turned around. Since I normally park in a particular area and go in through a particular entrance, if I happen to go in another way, I may have to ask Google Maps where the hell I am. In Orange Park, I park on the north end near Books-A-Million. Over half the stops I make at that mall are just to go to the bookstore.
I don't mind hanging out with you at the mall, let's just make it one of those open, outdoor malls, okay?
I actually do not like shopping malls. Aside from the message to spend rampantly on stuff you may or may not need, they're echoing torture chambers filled with strangers. It's the noise that bothers me worse than the crowds. Not only do you have the mumbling roar of hundreds of shoppers, there's the "main mall" piped music, and each individual store's piped music, often there's a wailing child, and may the gods help you if it's got one of those little trains.
One coping strategy that has worked for me in other stressful environments is to wear ear buds. I don't have to have any music playing, but earbuds serve a dual purpose. They help block and filter some of the noise, and they're a visual signal to other people to not talk to me. I'm not here to browse, I'm not here to hang out and chat. I'm here to buy another bottle of Twilight Woods lotion from Bath & Body Works. I know what I need and where it is.
Well, I almost know where it is. Even in a mall I've visited dozens of times, I get lost. I believe they're designed that way, to essentially force you to window-shop by getting you turned around. Since I normally park in a particular area and go in through a particular entrance, if I happen to go in another way, I may have to ask Google Maps where the hell I am. In Orange Park, I park on the north end near Books-A-Million. Over half the stops I make at that mall are just to go to the bookstore.
I don't mind hanging out with you at the mall, let's just make it one of those open, outdoor malls, okay?