Tax-Free Weekend: Some Thoughts.

So, I ventured out into the wilds of Tax-Free Weekend shopping today.

My mission:
1) To purchase clothes suitable for working in a building that has temperatures ranging from the glaciers of Antartica to the sands of the Sahara

...and...

2) To find shoes that meet the following criteria:
-Aren't ugly
-Are comfortable enough to navigate an entire day of work without making me shed tears or apply bandaids
-Won't make the "clack, clack, clack....here's comes the teacher" sound when I walk down the hallways. That sound is scary, even when you're the teacher.
-And, finally, that make my legs and butt look AMAZING!

My fear: The Day-After-Thanksgiving mall crowds that would surely engulf me upon my entrance to the mall.

My plan of attack:
1) Get there early. (Clarification: I'm talking 10am early, not the crazy 6am kind of early.)
2) Wear comfortable clothes that are easy to get in and out of in a cramped dressing room.
3) Flip flops for easy shoe switching.
4) No breakfast to ensure I look my best in the 3-way mirrors.

My findings:
1) The crowds weren't nearly as bad as I'd expected, which leads me to believe that our economy has, in fact, gone to Hell in a handbasket.
2) The comfortable clothes and flip flops made it easy to run away (literally) from the guy working the flat iron kiosk. Does he seriously think I'll let him touch my hair with his crusty 'ol flat iron? No. I will not. And, I never will - no matter how many times you ask me, dude.
3) There are absolutely no shoes in the entire metro-Atlanta area that meet my criteria. And, I'm beyond pissed about that.
4) Purple is the new black, and I'm kinda loving it.
5) I hate teenagers....particularly teenagers who go to malls.
6) People who take their small children to the mall on holidays or Tax-Free Weekend are effing nuts. I realize that it might be hard to get a sitter, but really....isn't it easier to leave them at home than to steer your gigantic strollers through narrow aisles and hoards of people -- all while trying to find sensible work shoes? And, do you get extra points for taking up the entire walkway? Or, for walking at a snail's pace? Don't you think that leaving your kids with a responsible, non-mall-going teenager would be better for everyone involved?? It would be great for me, thanks.
7) Not eating breakfast might make you look a little better, but nobody looks good lying on the floor of the Ann Taylor Loft dressing room because your blood sugar has hit a downward spiral, and you can't muster the energy to take yourself to the food court.

Lessons learned. Work pants purchased. Still searching for shoes...