The Webguy Hut: Rantings and Such

Hmm, let's just kick off with gratuitous apologies...sorry about last week for two things: firstly for there being no column (this is a make-up!) and secondly for the comments if they offended you. Ahh, my column about the theatres, that was a little fun anyway. So here's the second half of this rant as I promised about the people in the malls.

I noticed lately over the years of being a teenager and still being one that the mall is one of the worst places to be for anyone. During high school and past it, I couldn't stand being in a mall. There's always small groups of kids everyone just being bad and stupid, being noisy, or just not shopping...hanging out. Sure, it's true they might not have anywhere else to go, but must they keep making noise or be a strange presence when you try to shop?

Well, fortunately, I don't see anybody being loud or anything in the stores, just at Sam Goody and wherever else it is. It's a little unfair though, to have all of those kinds of stores on one side of the mall though. At least at my mall, it sucks 'cause basically divided at about 2/3 into the mall at the elevator, we see a little dichotomy (right?) of some sort...

On one side you have your department stores, your clothing and shoe stores, the art-sy stores, the greeting cards, etc etc... small children, grown adults, parents. Meanwhile, on the other side, it's all the music stores, the food court, the stores with those gawd-awful clothes that are "modern" or whatever. I'm just a basic dresser, no offense. It just sorta sucks that they're basically strategically sticking all of the stores I'd consider fun on one side. In fact, I find the other side of the mall boring, but on the contrary, much less polluted...

Back to the people. You have your bunches there, and let me get to classifying 'em. This is the fun part 'cause it just turns out that me and my friend get so fed up with trying to look around the mall that we've started observing and almost mocking these unsuspecting, too carefree mall people. Plus, I'm sick of me not being regarded as a responsible shopper or window shopper; so annoying that just 'cause I'm young means that you better put your clerks on my ass! Might as well get organized:

• The Bad Townies: two types, yes a good and a bad side... the bad are the people that I knew in high school but never really associated with or wanted to anyway. The ones who picked on people, weren't generally bright, and didn't seem to go anywhere. Now they're the ones who work in the mall or the department or electronics stores. A lot look like they're still living the high school days, as if being a fun guy in high school gets you anywhere. And some of the females I see are pregnant or whatever.
• The Good Townies: But on the flip side, no need to pick on a great group of people--the good--who didn't do as well because they can't. It's either they tried hard, their parents couldn't afford college, or college wasn't right for them, and now they're out and about at work. Those are the ones I can still talk to from time to time. The just didn't get their fair chance, which is such a shame for their potential. I don't want to sound so condescending, but I wish I could somehow help.
• The Fake Posse: This is a bunch of people, usually in packs and noisy. I don't wanna come off as racist at all, but these packs tend to be a pack of African Americans with an obligatory one or two Caucasians with 'em. It's alright if they want to wear what they want, but when you see a white guy wearing Fubu (for us, by us, meaning for African Americans), it's kinda funny. I find them noisy, but like a lot of other people lingering around, you just ignore it... And the strange part (in closing) is that they think that they're tough, but how tough can you be when you live in my sheltered home town? Again, it's just a usual trend I notice, not an expected stereotype.
• Abercrombie Kids: your typical preppy mall shopper, always with a girlfriend or with guy friends looking for clothes. Males in particular, to me and some other people, it's sorta weird to see 'em care so much for how they look...so vane. They're always in the Abercrombie store, Structure, the Gap, or you see the girls at those other places for moisturizer and bath products...
• Arcade Kids: these kids are always playing video games either in EBX or in the arcade; that's about it...
• Junior Everything: for every variety of teen listed above, you'll find a counterpart about 4 or 5 grades below. Just some funny stuff to see a young middle schooler sinking his teeth into the mall world at such a young age.

Anyway, that's about all I can say about the mall, and how it feels like everything's all so departmentalized like that. It's a little odd to me, but I guess it's just part of living in the US of A (or Canada, maybe). Anyway, I guess the only thing in the end you can really do is just let it be, let it be...etc. 'Cause fortunately, when you get to college or adulthood, the phase in your life where the mall is the only place you can get to (not having a car or anything) provides all the basic needs for a teenager.

And although I can't like it too much, or the theatres being as they are, I guess those "bratty rascally kids" are here to stay. It's just a little too much for me to handle right now, but I suppose when I'm 30 or 27 or something, I'll just go to the mall for my videos and window shopping in the afternoon. Can't fight physics.

Well, that wraps up my thoughts here. I decided to be a less cynical towards the end and pull out something negatively positive, just to lighten up a bit. Plus, I have a paper due tomorrow, and I haven't an idea what to write! So long until tomorrow for the real column this week.

-SquirrelAl

photo: SquirrelAl, Brown Paper Productions
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