I'm not much of a shopper. I know that's practically un-American to say, but there it is. When faced with absolutely having to buy something I'd much rather do it online that to have to trudge from store to store looking for a particular item. I do my best to support local industries when I can, but you will rarely, if ever, find me out shopping just for fun.
However, Harry O from the City-Data New Mexico Forum asked if I could get some exterior and interior photos of our local shopping mall, so I headed on over there this morning. It was fairly early for shoppers, I guess, because at 10:30 AM there were lots of parking places 
available. I wandered around the parking lot, getting shots of the bigger stores, then went inside. I was hoping to get some pictures of everything all decorated for Christmas, but was soon stopped by a nice mall employee who told me that for "legal reasons" 
available. I wandered around the parking lot, getting shots of the bigger stores, then went inside. I was hoping to get some pictures of everything all decorated for Christmas, but was soon stopped by a nice mall employee who told me that for "legal reasons" 
interior photos of the North Plains Mall are not allowed. I was pretty embarrassed and kind of worried that he would want to confiscate my beloved new camera (purchased online, of course), but instead we chatted a while about malls in general. I found out that GGP (General Growth Properties, Inc.), the company that owns the Clovis mall, owns over 200 regional malls in 44 states; and that Habitat for Humanity is their corporate charity of choice.
We parted in good spirits with holiday smiles and I scampered out to the car, glad to have escaped a run-in with mall security.
We parted in good spirits with holiday smiles and I scampered out to the car, glad to have escaped a run-in with mall security.
Hi clairz!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE to shop at Christmas time; I generally find shoppers in a holiday spirit, I strike up conversations with everyone, I love the decorations and the music, and the sales are pretty nice too. BUT....I avoid malls like I avoid the plague. Parking, traffic, crowded stores, long waits in line. There are better ways to shop ... and I have my favorite non-mall stores that I love to visit at Christmas. I am not an online shopper, unless I absolutely cannot find something in a local store.
My big beef is that practically everything in every store in America seems to be "Made in China." I have had an impossible time in stores this Christmas finding things, especially for my three year old grand-daughter, that was not made in China.
That is one of the things I am looking forward to when I move to Santa Fe; I will be able to find locally made crafts.
Merry Christmas Clair!
Towanda, Merry Christmas to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteOne thing about shopping in Clovis--did you see all those empty parking places? It's a real nice pace here, not too crowded or frantic.
~Clair Z
Me neither, Clairz. I have not been in a full blown mall in 20 years although I couldn't really tell you why.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Christmas!