Go-to friends. Everyone has them. Your friend who has a great eye for accessorizing that you call for advice before going on a first date. Or your doctor/pharmacist friend that you annoy have on speed dial for your reoccurring eye twitch. Or the mommy-friend that is 3 kids ahead of you and knows all the tricks of getting through teething.
Over the years, I found myself to be a go-to friend. Specifically in the following categories:
1) Grammar: I can’t begin to tell you how many resumes I have proofread over the years. Hey, at least my journalism degree has been put to good use!
2) Pharmaceuticals & disease states: With eight years in the pharmaceutical industry, I like to think I became an expert on the products I sold, and the ailments they relieved. Migraines, schizophrenia, enlarged prostates and genital herpes are just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, this expertise has led me to engage in a few awkward conversations with friends who “had this friend” if you know what I mean.
3) My personal favorite – Shopping: I quite enjoy an outing to the mall. So much so, that I have developed a photographic memory of store and elevator locations (Hey, with a stroller in a mall, if you don’t know where the elevators are, you’re dead in the 1st floor water. . .)
And so I am that friend. The one who frequently gets inquiries like:
“Where is the Nordstrom Rack in Chicago?”
“If I park at Macy’s, how do I get to The Gap?”
“Is there a Gymboree at Easton?”
And I’d say I have an unofficial 99% success rate with the correct answer. Yep, I know my retail.
So you can imagine my embarrassment when I find myself standing in front of the giant, lit-up store directory trying to figure out where J.Crew is located! B2 blue section? What? And I’m in section 1A orange now? Uggh.
In Columbus, I could get to the J.Crew at Polaris or Easton with my eyes closed. And maybe my hands tied behind my back for good measure. In Dallas? Oye Vey.
What makes my predicament even worse is that there is like a million malls in Dallas. Actually there are 22 shopping centers in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, (the most stores per capita in any US city) but who’s counting?!?
I understand that many of you are questioning, “If you love shopping, how could this be a problem?”
My answer: It’s impossible to really learn the layout and dynamics of a mall when you are in and out of so many. The mind games start when you swear The Loft was right across from Victoria’s Secret, oh wait – that was a different mall. Catch my drift?
And so, I now anxiously scroll through mall websites pre-visit to develop a routing plan, and sit in the parking lot scanning through the stacks of mall brochures in my diaper bag. All so I don’t feel like I’ve lost my shopping center navigational skills.
Then, just the other day, a realization. I was in Nordstrom at North Park Mall doing some Father’s Day shopping. There was a customer in line ahead of me looking for a pair of Tommy Bahama swim trunks in a size medium.
The sales associate said “I’m sorry, we don’t have those here, but the computer shows there are 2 pairs available at The Galleria.”
The customer responded, “Where is that?”
As the sales associate shrugged her shoulders. I jumped in and blurted out, “Just jump on 75 north to 635 west and get off at The Galleria exit. Shouldn’t take you but 15 minutes.”
Whoa. (Yes, like a Joey on Blossom whoa.) So maybe my intra-mall store locating competence here in Texas is not quite up-to-par. But as I evolve, so will my shopping savvy. For now, call me if you need directions to Highland Park Village. Happy to get you there, friend.
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