When I woke up this morning the thermometer said it was 2° Fahrenheit. The forecast called for a whopping high of 10°. (For comparison, the average high temperature is 36°). Some areas are used to extremely cold temperatures in the winter. Ours isn't one of them. It seems like no matter how many layers I wear I'm still chilly.
I really wanted to hunker down and hibernate, but I had stuff to do.
Last week I accepted a small job at a nearby mall. The assignment didn't pay as well as some, but I have a hard time motivating myself to exercise in the winter and figured I could get there early and get some steps in before things opened. And, I also had some coupons for a department store that I could redeem while I was there. Shortly before I left the house I realized that going to this mall would get me halfway to a nearby outlet mall where I could redeem a few more coupons, so I made sure I had the entire pile of swag with me when I left the house. Gotta take advantage of those birthday offers!
The first stop mall is dying; three fourths of the storefronts are empty, with a new vacancy each time I go there. I pulled into the mall parking lot and was surprised at how many cars were there, but when I got inside I saw that there were a whole lot of people doing the same thing I was. There were single walkers, couples, and a few larger groups. There was even a group of new mothers doing organized exercises in one of the corridors.
I did three laps, and passed by the department store just as it opened. After browsing for a few minutes, I discovered the store had mattress protectors on sale. The one on my bed has been falling apart, and between the sale price and my coupon anew one would cost me less than 15 dollars. There seemed to only be two associates working on the entire lower level, but when I found them and said I wanted to buy something I got great service.
Carrying the large plastic bag, I exited the store and moved to my next stop. I was glad to see that this store had other customers besides me. I actually had to wait for someone else to finish checking out before it was my turn! This time I received my items in a small paper bag. By the time I walked back to my car I was halfway to my step goal for the day.
It was a ten minute drive to my second stop, and I almost changed my mind on the way. Did I tell you that this was an outdoor mall? I checked the weather app on my phone, which told me it was still way too cold. Of course the stores I wanted to go to were on opposite ends, so after I parked my car I wrapped a scarf around my neck, zipped my coat up all the way, and made sure my gloves were handy.
The first mall was pretty empty, but the second one was like a ghost town! I saw more security guards than customers. However, if I walked close to the buildings the temperature was manageable (and it helped that I popped into different stores along the way to browse). At one store I found a nice sweater from the clearance rack, that, combined with my coupon, cost me less than ten dollars. However, at the next stop (a shoe store) I couldn't find anything. Instead of leaving empty-handed I used my coupon to get a pack of free-to-me socks that will go in the donation box.
Five years ago today: Call Me
Empty malls might be a thing to get used to with the rise of Amazon etc. Kind of sad.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, and it IS sad.
DeleteOUr mall in town seems to be dying sometimes, with stores closing, then sometimes it seems fairly busy. I rarely go there. You can access most of the big stores, of which there are three---Hobby Lobby, Target and Ross Dress for Less, from outside or inside. But those are not stores I would shop anyhow. There are cheaper places to buy anything they might have.
ReplyDeleteI've been in Ross several times, but I'm not a fan. IMO, Hobby Lobby is no more and no less expensive than the other corporate craft stores (like Michael's), and there are no independent craft stores near my house. I buy as little as possible from Walmart, so Target is my default fall back.
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