Return to the Mall

Yesterday played out about as well as a regular day can, even though my experience written down on paper might not seem like anything particularly special. The day was split into two distinct parts, but I'm only going to talk about the second, my trip to the mall, for the time being. Sure, it might not seem like going to the mall is all that special, but for some reason this was: the atmosphere in the mall was lively, people were generally all in a good mood, there were a lot of nice new Winter clothes in a lot of stores, and I had some nice encounters (and one incredible shopping acquisition).

All sorts of random stuff happened to me along the way. First off, some dude at one of those kiosks pulled me aside to use this special Dead Sea nail file/oil on my nails, and although it was kinda weird, the nail he buffed up for me is still looking really nice. Plus, he was from Israel, so it was hard for me not to warm up to him. My next big stop was at the newly-opened Zara store (one of only two in the Atlanta area). If you're not aware, Zara is one of the most popular and nicest (not prohibitively so though) stores in Europe, so having it in my city now is certainly a good thing. For some reason though, I had never realized they sold men's clothing, but I'm glad I figured this out, because they have some INCREDIBLE clothes. I got this jacket that I'm absolutely in love with. In fact, my evening slightly centered around my visit to Zara, as no fewer than three different people I bumped into in the mall saw my bag and felt the need to ask me about the store. One couple even got giddy once they realized the store had finally opened and ran off as soon as I told them it was in fact open.

Some less significant but still atypical encounters took place the rest of the evening...everything from a lengthy discussion about Mac stuff at the Mac store, asking questions about the Rosetta Stone language software at their kiosk, and talking to some other kiosk guy about his line of metro Obama shirts, all the way to being asked to bring in a DJ mix to DJ in this one store that has a DJ spinning all day on Saturdays. On top of all this, no fewer than three stores I visited were playing relatively obscure dance tracks that I myself love but figured would never hear in public (at least, not in the States). Everyone working at all the stores was really outgoing and friendly, and people throughout the mall were all generally dressed fairly well, something I've come not to expect from my fellow Americans.

Add to all this the fact that this was the first time I had really allowed myself to shop in a long time, something that really defined my sense of self and personal expression during my years in Bloomington, and you have a really great day. Again, it's hard to explain, but I was essentially on cloud nine the whole evening. Now the real question is whether a fantastic trip like this to the mall is just a nice experience or possibly a much more telling indication that my current life is so needing of some excitement that a trip to the mall could make my day... I'm hoping for the former, but whatever.