An Afternoon at the Mall

I try to avoid malls at all costs. Despite my very occasional desires to shop, the mall is never a place I seek to make my purchases. There are always swarms of people there, moseying through the wide cooridors, which are now almost entirely lined with kiosks of all sorts. Godiva chocolate, spider-like head massagers, Red Sea fingernail shining kits, even battery-run cigarettes that exude smoke (I'm still not sure how these things work, but the demonstrators seem to think they look really cool blowing smoke inside). There is even a stand to get the H1N1 flu shot! The fact that this exists means there must be some demand for it, but I for one would rather not have half of Annapolis walking by as I am stuck with a needle. Literally, almost anything you can imagine being sold is being sold down the center of the mall's long hallway. Invariably, as I speed-walk through mall, weaving my way through these kiosks and pushy salespeople, I will get stuck behind possibly the slowest couple in the building, who have decided to make it their Sunday afternoon outing to drift along, taking in every manican and gadget on display in each store window. This will happen to me about 30 times before I finish my shopping.

Unfortunately for me, I can be extremely picky about certain things, and buying boots just happens to be one of those things. Today, I searched through every, single store in the mall that sells boots, some of them two and even three times. On my third visit to Aldo, the sales woman commented "you're overthinking this, honey." I agreed, and continued on my rampage. I can honestly say there is not a boot in the Annapolis Mall that I did not see.

I started at Macy's and must have been to about 30 stores before I returned to Macy's and, naturally, found what I was looking for right where I started: a simple, brown, flat boot. The perfect boot!

When I got home with my prize, my Dad said "it looks like you're going horseback riding." But I didn't care. Not until I realized that my toes were a bit squished. Out of desperation, I had settled for a 6 1/2 when the 7's were gone. I guess this means I'll be back at it, although it might not be until next year that I have the resolution to give it another go.