21 April 2004
A Visit to Macy's
I haven't been inside a department store in a couple of years, but today I went to Macy's at Union Square. Good lord, that place is a freakish bizarro-world of shopping. It's like being inside a big Las Vegas casino: no clocks, no sunlight, no obvious exits, and everything you might want contained on seven levels sitting on most of a city block. Time loses meaning as you navigate a maze of products, products, products.
I had some important pre-vacation shopping to do. I picked out a cute two-piece bathing suit. Bought a dozen pairs of socks. Had my favorite watch fixed. By the time I spelunked my way out of that place, I'd lost two hours and too much money, and been offered a credit card three times.
Sometimes I'm reminded how off-baseline my lifestyle has become. Department stores are a staple for most Americans, right? I know I spent plenty of time in them when I lived in a sprawling suburbia. Now they spook me a little bit.
Returning to my neighborhood, I visited Upper Playground and treated myself to a couple of nifty new t-shirts. Upper Playground is small, minimalist, and staffed by mildly sullen young hipster-dudes. Lower Haight is an omni-shopping hive too, but composed of individual little store-cells like this one. Stepping out onto Fillmore, I bumped into Carlos, the guy who runs the bicycle repair shop next door. "Back wheel holding true?" he asked. "Yep, no more wobble, thanks!" I beamed at him.
I love that my neighborhood merchants know me. The gay man who runs the pet store knows I dote on a 12-pound cat. The ladies at Haight To Wash know I have a stripey laundry bag and prefer everything washed in cold water. "You have lot of laundry!" they tell me. When I walk into Chilli Cha Cha, the waitress says, "red curry chicken, right?" When I ordered the tall stack at Kate's Kitchen and failed to make a dent in it, the waiter remarked, "I was going to warn you, but I know you've been in here enough to know better!" Every time I pass the corner store at Page and Fillmore, patriarchal Abrahim waves at me from behind his counter. He regularly remarks that I buy only chocolate ice cream.
Getting ready for a vacation is hard work. Since I still have more stuff to do, and since I'm flying standby anyway, I'm postponing my departure until Friday. Hooray for flexibility!