Schnitzel, sushi and snow days

Jeff and I have recently been expanding our gastronomical horizons. Last week, we discovered a quaint restaurant that specializes in Czech-style schnitzels. Then last night we found a tasty all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant. It wasn’t a buffet; you choose off the menu what selections you want and in what quantity. And you can do that again and again for a maximum of two hours. We thought that part was interesting. Along with shopping malls, all-you-can-eat restaurants may very well lead to the demise of North American society.

But the best news of all is that I had my very first snow day of the school year today! For those of you not fortunate enough to live in a climate that offers such pleasures, ‘snow day’ refers to the cancellation of school due to extreme weather conditions. It is a day to be cherished, when hot chocolate is to be sipped, responsibilities temporarily forgotten, and pajamas are to be lingered in. Sadly, I was so excited that by the time I finished my I-got my-very-first-snow-day dance (to the tune of “cha cha cha cha CHA CHA”), that I couldn’t seem to get back to sleep.

Shopping Mall Culture

Most of my adult life ( I AM closer to thirty than 20 now), I have felt an uneasiness about shopping malls. Today, after three hours in the mall -longer than I have spent in a mall in a very long time- I discovered that being in a mall is actually an exercise in suspending reality. Once through the main entrance, all my senses were suddenly forced into turbo because of the excessive stimuli: the smells of the food court, bright lights, the many other reality-suspending citizens. All of a sudden, I forgot what I really came for, and was infused with a sense of need for so many other things. "Should I get a coffee? It smells so warm and cozy." "Wow! So many sales!" Cost became relative. For example, I reasoned, " That fleecy-lined wool toque was originally $29.99, and now it's only $19.99. That must be a good price..." It was in that moment that I remembered why I avoid malls: I become confused about what I need and what I want. (I have a box of warm wool toques in the closet.) I had hit a wall; after all the excitement of so many choices, so many deals, so many colours... I only wanted out. It was a feeling of disgust really. I knew of a reality beyond the walls of the mall where toques do not cost more than the dress pants I had just purchased, where a person recognizes that sometimes, you just don't need anything that you don't already have. I fear for all those who become lost in this shopping world where needs and wants become as mixed up as the smell from New York Fries and Orange Julius.