The Mall

Today I took a trip over to the local mall. I have not been there in quite some time so it was interesting to see how things changed. I used to frequent this mall regularly in most cases to eat at the food court. They had a big array of restaurants and I enjoyed "people watching". Well, the first change was that the food court moved. Some of the same names there, but also quite a few were missing from the lineup. It seemed like a more condensed version of how I remembered it. Now, perhaps, it was a HOT Sunday afternoon, but it also seemed very crowded. I have a feeling people were there just sucking up the free air conditioning (and it was nice and cool there, I admit). The main reason I went there is that I thought I might get my new eye-glass prescription fulfilled at the Lenscrafters (which is where I got my glasses about 4 years ago). At the same time, I wanted to see what their selection of Rx Sunglasses were and to check out the prices. Wow. That was a bit of a setback. JUST to get new lenses into my existing frames... $325!!! Suddenly I can see much better today! For a "cheap" pair of sunglasses the prices started at $119 for the frames, and went up from there. Needless to say, I walked out of there to re-think my options. I'm still not sure what I'll do now.
Back to the mall...
One of the things that struck me most about all the shops (some new some old)... MOST of the shops are geared to the younger crowd. Hard to pinpoint an age, but I'll say late teens to mid 20's. I actually started to feel 'old' as I was walking around!
One other observation... I thought while I was there, I might as well check the Apple Store there. It was PACKED with people! But as I looked around, it was packed with kids! I mean like 12-15 year old! At one point, the iphones on display were all being "played" with by little kids!? Other teens were just surfing the web, one kid was watching "ultimate wrestling" online. It was like a day care center in there or something. So throw in all the hustle and bustle, the loud music, and I just couldn't wait to get out of the store!
So maybe it is a sign I'm getting older, but I doubt I'll be headed back to the mall any time soon (unless I do decide to get the sunglasses there - but I won't be "shopping").

edit: This was just a great coincidence, I had to update this post...
As I talk about the younger kids hanging out in the apple store, I have seen this youtube clip (and soon to be internet star (if he isn't already)) popping up all over the place.
I admire this kids creativity and his ability to make a name for himself at his local apple store.
So enjoy a little "Boom Boom Pow" lip sync from Nicholifavs...