June 15 Day 99: Surreal Shopping

Today I ventured out the Apple Store in the Tacoma Mall.

Few entrances to the mall were open but there were a reasonable number of people out and about; not that many had masks on. Only 50% of the stores and kiosks were open.

The Apple Store had a plan. There was one check-in location where they took your temperature and provided you with a mask if you did not bring your own. Patrons were assigned to one of three lines: people with scheduled appointments, people picking up purchases, and people walking in. Then you wait.

Accompanied by an assigned sales associate, I entered the store—previously a cacophony of sounds bouncing around the open space—and was shocked by the quiet.

The sales associate was helpful; the transaction very quick. I departed directly. I was not tempted to wander the mall, look for bargains, or people watch. It was a strange mixture of normalcy and pandemic dystopia.