Mall Madness

Remember Mall Madness? I don't recall it too well. I never owned the board game. I was a word nerd... had board games like Scrabble, Boggle, Scattegories, and ASAP when I was growing up. I also had the game of Life. I liked Life's spinner...it was very durable. And I liked that the act of creating a family and having babies was as simple as landing on a particular space on the game board.

Anyway, Mall Madness... kind of like a Supermarket Sweep board game, but in relation to the mall instead of the food store. I went to Target.com and am relieved to say that Hasbro is still making Mall Madness. In case I ever feel like experiencing it, I can...

After class last night, I "felt like" going to the mall. I like to say that I am anti-consumerism and not materialistic. I'm nowhere near buying countless Coach bags or obsessing over the latest fashion/accessory trends. However, I do engage in retail therapy from time to time. Buying stuff does feel good, temporarily.

As soon as I got to the mall last night, I felt saddened. It is a depressing place. All of these products for sale in all of these varied stores... but essentially, all of the stores are the same and all of the products are the same low quality/ripoff price.

I know that none of my above comments are original or especially thought-provoking.

I ended buying a few things...2 shirts on sale and moisturizer. I did actually need the moisturizer and the clothing was work clothing.

I definitely didn't feel good when I left the mall though. I thought to myself, "I don't want to see a mall for awhile." Granted, I will probably be back to the mall within the next 2 weeks.

I've read several books on consumer culture, including mall culture: Call of the Mall, Affluenza, Culture Jam,...next on my to-read list is Why We Buy:The Science of Shopping. These books generally change my viewpoints and actions for a temporary amount of time. Again, I never reach the total consumer/materialistic mindset, but I usually do not hesitate too much if I really want to purchase something.

I've said for a long time that I have to make time for more meaningful things in life.... hiking has been a long time aspiration... I never "feel" like going to a nature area and hiking though...despite the fact that I drive to the gym in order to jog indoors on a treadmill... makes no sense.

I'm making time for the Ren-Faire on Saturday.... granted, the whole day will revolve around going to stores and buying gimmicky turkey legs and yards of ale but...it's outside... one step closer to hiking...