Two-pocket folders!

I went to the mall to buy two-pocket folders.

It is actually the dying mall.  The Gap moved out and the tattoo parlors have moved in. Signs at the entry invite you to tweet a picture of yourself.   Heavens, who ya gonna tweet at the mall?  I have no electronics in my purse.

First I went to Target.  A few years ago I stood in line behind a woman who said she could live anywhere with a Target. That would be anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.  I know what she means.  I love Target.

I carried a big plastic basket into the office supplies section.  Cute notebooks, but I have cute notebooks.  The two-pocket folders had cover art featuring Hello, Kitty! and superheroes.  Disappointing.

I moved on to the office supply store.  I naively believed the Notebook section would have notebooks.  No, it was electronic tablets!   In the ’90s I wrote an article for a business magazine posing the question,  “Is the dream of the paperless office dead?”    It was then, but I fear it is alive again.

Finally I found suitable paper products. How can you go wrong with folders with floral designs and polka dots?

I also bought pens, because I like to have the option of writing in purple or pink ink.

And then there are the post-it page markers.  I wanted the kind shaped like arrows.  They have no such thing. Has anyone used these post-it markers in books?  Do they ruin the paper?   There is a warning:  Test before using.  Not for my first editions of Raymond Carver, Andre Dubus, and Barbara Pym!

One dreadful thing happened at the mall. I was wearing a bicycling outfit instead of a bicycling/shopping outfit, and when I passed a mirror I was appalled to see the threads hanging from my 15-year-old t-shirt. I rushed to a clothing store.   I went through the sales racks and found a suitable top.  “I’m going to wear this,” I told the cashier, who blipped her scanner at the tag.

The dream of a suitable shopping outfit isn’t dead!