Torgo goes shopping

I walked the few blocks from my office to Union Square today. I didn't know what Union Square was, other than a small park. Turns out, it's a shopping district, with high-end jewelry stores, the Disney Store, a Border's, etc.

I was intending to go to Border's. Looking back, this was a mistake. I'm not loyal to BN just b/c I worked there for 3 years. In fact, I usually go to the Stacey's Bookstore (a great, huge, independent store) that's half a block from my office. But I needed something Stacey's didn't have. My counterpart in LA had luck at Border's, so I gave it a shot.

For anyone who's worked full time retail for an extended period of time, then left, you know how traumatic going back into a similar store can be. Ok, it's not really traumatic, it's just grating. I noticed all the things wrong in the store. First, it was messy. Second, no one offered to help me. In the department I was in, there was a young woman standing there talking with her friend about how she goes to Jack In The Box too often, how she loves the veggie subs at Subway, how she didn't go to Cheesecake Factory for her birthday.

The thing is, I really didn't want her to ask me if I needed help. I pretty much never want help. But I know she is supposed to ask me. That's pretty much her whole job. And in SF, where minimum wage is $8.50/hr, it's not asking that much to feign concern momentarily.

It's been a grumpy day. A couple of weeks ago, M-N got the shirt pictured here. This whole series of shirts and tote bags is great. (here's the website) What does this have to do with my trip to Union Square? Not much. I just wanted to share.