In which John becomes a capitalist drone.
Nov. 6th, 2002 05:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jcfialaI don't know if it makes me a capitalist drone, but right now what I'm really looking forward to is the new mall that's opening up in a week.
Part of it is the simple thrill of something new - it's a new place to check out, new things to see. Part of it is the Borders that's part of the mall - I'm very fond of their coffee bar area as a place to hang out and play games, and my uncle's got a habit of giving me Borders gift cards. And part of it is the Lego store - I've visited the lego store at Legoland and adored it - having one right here in Denver is going to be great.
It's probably got something to do with my lifestyle. My tendancy isn't to go out and do things with people - I like to read a book, or watch a movie (often at home) or play around on the computer. Malls are opportunities to walk among other people without any expectation of what I should be doing there, unlike parties or bars. It's a chance to go out and do something (however nebulous) with other people. There's only one other mall within easy distance of home since they knocked down Villa Italia, and Cherry Creek is both a little trouble to get into and not stocked with enough stores that I'm interested in.
There's certainly enough strip malls, mind. There's several of those that I occasionally will go to. But a strip mall isn't a mall - it's a row of stores. A mall is climate controlled. In a mall, it's easier (or more comfortable) to walk to another store down the block rather than hopping in the car, driving down there, finding a new parking space, and going in. At a strip mall you go to one or two stores close together and get done what needs done. At a real mall you do what you need to get done, and then you go browse at the bookstore, or the toy store, or whatever.
I grew up with a small mall - Harford Mall, in BelAir Maryland. It was a simple, one-level T-shaped mall. Each end had an anchor, and there was a spread of the usual stores (mostly clothing) inside, along with a movie theatre. It did the usual mall things, though - it had a Santa and a little Christmas train during the season, it had little events and kiosks in the middle. Mom would drag us all there some weekends to have ice cream at the Friendlys restaurant, and most of the times we saw a movie it was there. I've still got fond memories of waiting in line with my best friends and my Mom to see Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
(Side note: I don't know what's wrong with Colorado, but nobody out here does ice cream treats like restaurants on the east coast do. In Pittsburgh I could have a Reeces Pieces sunday, with three scoops of ice cream, chocolate and peanut butter sauces, whipped cream, and reeces pieces candies sprinkled about. In Maryland there were many different concoctions at Friendlys and similar: it wasn't a real sundae unless it had a couple kinds of ice cream, some fruit chopped into it or chunks of candy. Here in Colorado I'm lucky to find anything more than just hot fudge sundaes.)
So maybe that's it. Maybe a mall makes me think of fun times at home. Or maybe it's a chance to get out of the house. Or maybe it's the Lego. But I'm looking forward to the new mall.
Sorry for the delay in updating - Talk to you soon.
Part of it is the simple thrill of something new - it's a new place to check out, new things to see. Part of it is the Borders that's part of the mall - I'm very fond of their coffee bar area as a place to hang out and play games, and my uncle's got a habit of giving me Borders gift cards. And part of it is the Lego store - I've visited the lego store at Legoland and adored it - having one right here in Denver is going to be great.
It's probably got something to do with my lifestyle. My tendancy isn't to go out and do things with people - I like to read a book, or watch a movie (often at home) or play around on the computer. Malls are opportunities to walk among other people without any expectation of what I should be doing there, unlike parties or bars. It's a chance to go out and do something (however nebulous) with other people. There's only one other mall within easy distance of home since they knocked down Villa Italia, and Cherry Creek is both a little trouble to get into and not stocked with enough stores that I'm interested in.
There's certainly enough strip malls, mind. There's several of those that I occasionally will go to. But a strip mall isn't a mall - it's a row of stores. A mall is climate controlled. In a mall, it's easier (or more comfortable) to walk to another store down the block rather than hopping in the car, driving down there, finding a new parking space, and going in. At a strip mall you go to one or two stores close together and get done what needs done. At a real mall you do what you need to get done, and then you go browse at the bookstore, or the toy store, or whatever.
I grew up with a small mall - Harford Mall, in BelAir Maryland. It was a simple, one-level T-shaped mall. Each end had an anchor, and there was a spread of the usual stores (mostly clothing) inside, along with a movie theatre. It did the usual mall things, though - it had a Santa and a little Christmas train during the season, it had little events and kiosks in the middle. Mom would drag us all there some weekends to have ice cream at the Friendlys restaurant, and most of the times we saw a movie it was there. I've still got fond memories of waiting in line with my best friends and my Mom to see Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
(Side note: I don't know what's wrong with Colorado, but nobody out here does ice cream treats like restaurants on the east coast do. In Pittsburgh I could have a Reeces Pieces sunday, with three scoops of ice cream, chocolate and peanut butter sauces, whipped cream, and reeces pieces candies sprinkled about. In Maryland there were many different concoctions at Friendlys and similar: it wasn't a real sundae unless it had a couple kinds of ice cream, some fruit chopped into it or chunks of candy. Here in Colorado I'm lucky to find anything more than just hot fudge sundaes.)
So maybe that's it. Maybe a mall makes me think of fun times at home. Or maybe it's a chance to get out of the house. Or maybe it's the Lego. But I'm looking forward to the new mall.
Sorry for the delay in updating - Talk to you soon.
