Prairiecrow's InsaneJournal

An art book of Chris Baker's work on "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence".

... well, what I really want for Christmas is my very own Gigolo Joe... but since we're not quite there in terms of tech, I'll take the book. Squeeeeeeee! *goes off to write it down on my Christmas wish list for George to go shopping with*

I'm having a fairly shitty day what with missing my mom and all, but as George just reminded me, it could be a lot worse.

GEORGE: *pausing in typing at the G5* "Listen! Do you hear that sound?"
ME: *pausing in typing at the iMac* "...?..."
G: "That dim and distant sound... like the roaring of the ocean... or hundreds of people screaming..."
M: "..."
G: "..."
M: "Oh my fucking God... it's the poor bastards at the malls, isn't it?"

Yep, all those people who waited until the last minute to do their Christmas shopping. All those people running around like panicked chickens in the final shopping hour before THE BIG DAY. All those people whose gift choices, now that the shelves are picked clean, boil down to a lime green and pink popcorn maker, a $3 set of oven mitts, or a $250 deluxe crock pot.

I might be almost sick with grief, but at least I'm not at the mall on Christmas Eve.

And that actually makes me feel a little bit better. Ah, sweet Schadenfreude...

Today, in order to get George his gifts, I actually went to the mall. And not just any mall -- what, in Winnipeg, is THE MALL TO END ALL MALLS, St. Vital Centre.

In short, the place where all the insane people congregate during the holiday season. And silly me, I budgeted two and a half hours there between the time I arrived and the time I was scheduled to meet eastpath, who works in THE MALL, for lunch.

Two and a half hours is way, WAY too long to spend at St. Vital Centre when it's crammed full of holiday shoppers who flit around like extremely lively zombies, mindlessly searching for the best deal.

It's WAY too long to listen to Christmas music.

It's DEFINITELY way too long to be bombarded with the sparkly, shiny, flashy manifestations of the Great God Commerce.

And don't even get me started on The Pit of Venality and Twopenny Dreams Wal-Mart. I got thirty feet into the store and had to turn back. The stink of corruption was just too appalling.

I discovered that being in THE MALL's food court between noon and 1 PM is the auditory equivalent of having your brain eaten by mice. I also learned that high-end Italian pullover sweaters run about $175. Sweet baby Jesus!

But I did get George's gifts, and this year's "special ornament" for our tree. And lunch with eastpath was a lot of fun. So it wasn't a total loss.

A tip for any Winnipegers who might be reading this and who actually dare to brave the horrors of THE MALL: The Starbucks franchise on the food court near the exits is actually an oasis of calm, peace, and sanity. Highly recommended.

It's going to take me a while to calm down from the sensory overload. *sigh*