Santa Rosa Afternoon

For the first time since the fire we drove past of the pile of ash that used to be our old house in Coffey Park.  I'm not sure if I'm glad I visited the site or not.  No trace of my rose bushes I worked so hard to grow and flourish.  That was to be expected.  The house numbers were miraculously still visible on the curb.  A flood of memories came rushing back:  moving in, painting and decorating the rooms, getting the nursery ready for baby #2, trick-or-treating with the neighbors, holidays, etc.  Oddly enough, the most disturbing thing was seeing the twisted and melted metal that was the shed my husband and brother-in-law put up along side of the house.  I had to pause and grieve it.  I liken it to seeing the body at a funeral viewing.  We all know the person is dead, but somehow seeing it gives a sense of closure and brings up emotions you never knew you had.

You know Quiet Rage.  I could not stay in that melancholy mind set and went to the Santa Rosa Mall downtown and it did not take long for me to find something to gripe about.  You're shocked, right?  LOL

Shopping malls are a dying breed.  The gross meccas glorifying consumerism are being replaced by a computer and a delivery truck.  It's just too easy to sit at home in pajamas with a cup of coffee and click around than to deal with: traffic, parking, waiting in line, crowds, making a special trip only to find they don't have the size/color you want, etc.  It doesn't take a marketing genius to figure that in order to attract what's left of retail shopping it needs to be a PLEASANT and FUN experience.

Neither applied to my visit at the Santa Rosa Mall.  There's a reason why I visit that place about once every-other-year.

Parking is a cluster F.  Just getting into the garage rivals New York City during rush hour.  Yes.... remember to take your stupid ticket upon entering and bring it with you.  Once inside the mall the clerks moved at the pace of sloths.  Waiting for my single item purchase to be paid for took 35 minutes.  OK.  I have my single item.  I'm outta there.  Not so fast.  There is no free parking on the weekends for people who want to run in and out to buy something at the mall.  The minimum fee is $1.  There is only ONE machine for the entire garage to pay for parking.  I could not believe it.  I had to wait to get my purchase paid for, and now I have to wait to pay for parking.  Here's a picture:

Are you KIDDING me??????  Really?????  I thought once I waited my turn, which took forever,  to pay my lousy $1 that I would be home free.  Not so fast.  The line of autos trying to exit the garage took another 16 minutes.  The whole experience was frustrating beyond belief.  No wonder why I avoid the Santa Rosa Mall like the plague.