Why am I here?

After wings on Tuesday I swung by Crossgates Mall because it is open ridiculously late during the holiday season.  I used to work in the mall and I really hated the expanded hours of the mall.  There are some many problems with it.  First of all, the smaller stores do not get much business during these hours yet have to put in the payroll.  The store I worked at catered to the soccer moms who were not the type to need to shop late at night, they had a plan.  Once in a while we would have a confused, wayward husband who needed a last minute gift.  For the most part we cleaned and got sick of Christmas music.  Usually I wouldn't have shopped at that time on principle, but I guess after two Yuenglings at Across the Street Pub my standards go out the window.


Basically, I needed a guitar stand for the townie.  Last year I got him an electric guitar for Christmas.  He always wanted one as a child and since it was his first Christmas in his thirties I thought it would be a fun gift.  It is a fun gift and he is talented enough to teach himself.  But it tends to live in the guest room and that isn't the best place to practice.  So a guitar stand would allow it to be set up in a better location, thus more practicing.  Stay tuned to see if this plan works.  So I found myself in this store....



I am ashamed to say that this is where I got his guitar last year, but it was a good "beginners" package and I wasn't sure if he would like it.  Wow, I am full of excuses today huh?   So this mega store would have you believe that there are this many people that are MEGA happy to serve you....

See how happy they look?  I assure this is not the case.  I walked in to two employees talking to each other.  One was the security person who was supposed to be at that stand in the front of the store. I think it is because he wears a yellow shirt.  The blue shirted man was talking his ear off.  I honestly felt bad for him since he is stuck at that little stand.  I interrupted this fascinating conversation to just ask if they had guitar stands.  Blue shirt looked very confused and yellow shirt stepped up and said, over by entertainment.  So I thanked them and walked back there.  In entertainment I found another blue shirt who was attempting to help many people at once.  He was on his little head set and running around.  I waited patiently and looked around trying to find it myself.  I was looking a pianos (that is close right?) when out of the corner of my eye I see blue shirt #1.  I have the fleeting thought that he might have come back to check on me.  I am so naive at times....I get his attention and tell him I can't find he.  He points to headset blue shirt and says, ask him, and literally runs away from me. I looked around at other frazzled customers that also would have appreciated blue shirt #1's help and thought, why the hell am I here?? 

Why am I here, when I could be, and always intended on going here....
The sign doesn't show it, but it is also a guitar shop.  It is on Rt 30N in Amsterdam and  has been open forever.  I'd thought about getting the guitar stand there many times but just didn't go, until today.  The thing I noticed first was that it smelled like the co-op I used to shop at in Philadelphia.  All natural and homey and healthy.  I cannot even begin to tell you the amount of natural food, supplements, beauty and health supplies they have.  My old roommate Colleen would be in heaven. I wasn't prepared to do any "healthy" shopping at the time, but as soon as I walked in the owner showed me the guitar stand, demonstrated how to use it, and I was out the door $12.95 plus tax later.  It took me longer to park the car at the mall.

So again, I ask myself, why don't I do this more?  Why don't I shop at these local places?  This shop is less than 5 minutes from my house.  I used to pass it EVERY DAY when I lived at my parents.  Is it the lure of the shiny lights at the mall?  The inaccurate notion that we will save time and money by going to a place bigger than a football field? There are so many beliefs that there is no place to shop in Amsterdam and nothing to do.  Today, as I sit sipping tea at the locally owned Coffee Beanery, I continue to convince myself that these notions are all wrong. Changing old habits takes practice and the holidays are a great time to practice.


Merry Christmas everyone!!!