Home for Christmas

I went to the Glendale Galleria this weekend. The weekend before Christmas. If that is not culture shock, Im not sure what is. I think it has been years since Ive gone near a mall between Thanksgiving and... the end of January (just to be safe). That I went at all is a testament to just how much I love my brother.

I'm not a good shopper at least not in the good ol' American support the economy, shop 'til you drop sense. I'm either a marketer's dream come true or their worst nightmare. Typically I know exactly what I want, what size and what color. This is why I love internet shopping. I don't have the patience to wander aimlessly through a mall hoping for inspiration. Seriously-- within 15 minutes Im ready to jump out of a window.

If for whatever reason I can't get what I want on the internet (leaving the country for a few weeks before Christmas and not having enough time left for shipping), I will go in... to an actual store. Its a carefully calculated move: where I park (in this case, -7 blocks away), which door I go in, what side of the aisle I walk down, which escalator I take...its all thought out to get me in and out as quickly as possible without causing any casualties. I make a bullseye for the shelf, find what I want, go straight to the register, pay and get out.

So the Glendale Galleria the weekend before Christmas? An absolute madhouse. Its a big mall. The walkways are plenty wide. The economists should be elated because it was completely packed. I had to squeeze through all the people. I think driving in Argentina left me better equipped to navigate the mall.

Nothing too surprising at the mall: the stores are doing everything they can to get you to spend money. When it comes down to it, the people really are just trying to make someone else happy. That's all fine and dandy. The one thing I did notice that surprised me-- people bringing their dogs to the mall?! When did that start and why why why?? Especially this weekend?! And if you HAVE to do it, why not carry the dog? I almost squashed a little chihuahua because the owner had it on a retractable leash and was letting it wander through the crowd. I don't get it.