The mall scene

So Jeffrey and I ventured to the mall today. Yes, that's right. You read it right: the mall. If you know me, you know I am not what you'd call a "mall person". I don't have time to stroll up and down the mall and casually shop and drop my credit card like it's nobody's business and stroll some more with my shopping bags with their store signatures telling everybody what I bought and where and looking like I love to shop and can afford it all, to boot. In fact, the last time I went the mall..., well, I can't even remember when that was, which just goes to show that I do not frequent the mall. Not even during the holiday shopping season. I will go to the L.L. Bean outlet store and Kohl's and Target and Marshall's and TJ Maxx and Wal-Mart before I step foot in the mall.

But I went today with Jeffrey, but not because I suddenly found all this time on my hands and didn't know what to do with it. Time and I haven't quite synced yet and in fact, we seem to keep moving farther from each other than closer, so if I am heading to the damn mall, there has to be a good reason. And there is.

See, G got me an iPhone for my birthday this year and I love it, I really do. Except for some minor flaws it seems to have, like the battery draining faster than an alcoholic can down a drink, or the 95% of the time I find myself far, far away from any semblance of those bars AT&T claim make them better than the rest. Granted, this town is well known for its many dead zones, but it's pretty bad when I can't even make a call from my own house. Unless it's winter and the leaves are all on the ground, giving me a clearer signal to the closest tower that is not even in town and I'm near a window.

After researching information on the internet, I found that I would probably need to upgrade to the 3G phone, or so I thought. The closest AT&T store to me that even sells the iPhone is, as you would have probably guessed by now, in the mall. Because Verizon and Sprint and US Cellular are all there too and one won't be far from its competitor.

When Jeffrey and I walked in the mall, Jeffrey actually remarked on how cool it was with all the stores. The child of course, has been to the mall, just not so recently that he'd remember. Of course, I timed our arrival really well, right at lunch time, so before heading to the only store I intended to go into while there, we sought out the food court. If it was just me, I would have fasted, but the kid was hungry and I could at least buy him the slice of pizza he was asking for. Reluctantly, I put out the $10.40 for his slice of pizza, jumbo-sized drink (which was the smallest they had!), and my struboli or whatever it was sandwich-thingy. Another reason I remembered why I avoided the mall.

We found us a table and ate and people-watched. Well, I people-watched while Jeffrey counted chairs and sorted who was sitting on what color seat. Of course, he noticed the huge play area centered in the middle of the tables, and I did too, but only because it was something new and wasn't there the last time I was at the mall. Which we already determined was a time I can't remember. An indoor playground of sorts, and happy toddlers played while parents chatted on their cell phones and pushed babies in strollers. And then I noticed the screens mounted from the ceilings. All around, generous-sized screens advertising for the mall and displaying random trivia questions and even kid-friendly cartoons. Because not everybody goes to the mall to shop, apparently, and now they could sit and watch the screen and pay for overpriced food while loved ones shopped. How nice.

Anyway, Jeffrey decided he didn't like his pizza after 2 bites, but he really enjoyed his soft drink. Since he was done eating, we headed to the AT&T store so I could accomplish what I had come to accomplish and get out of there. I heard the L.L. Bean outlet across the street had clothes on clearance for only $1.98.

The trip to the phone store was a bust, unless you count knowledge, because I left with more than I had arrived with, my original phone and a new SIM card, because that could be part of the problem I am experiencing with the iPhone. And if that doesn't help, then I can go to a Mac store and get it replaced. For free, of course, because it is still under warranty -- unless I want to upgrade to the 3G but 3G isn't even in NH yet, so why put the carte before the horse, right? And until Londonderry lets AT&T put up a tower, the service would not be much better with an upgraded phone anyway.

So we left. I did notice Santa sitting by himself. Across the way, one of 3 jewelry stores had "Going Out Of Business" signs posted next to the 50-75% off. I was proud of myself for having spent under $11. But when I left L.L. Bean with a pair of shorts, pair of jeans, and really cool shoes, and a whistle Jeffrey wanted, I was even prouder that I spent under $11 there, too. I'll go back to L.L. Bean soon, but it might be another year or two before I have to go to the mall again. And whatever is there that wasn't this time probably won't surprise me at all.