My Eternal Daughter

Shopping in Manhattan

I was really that worn out yesterday. I woke myself up 30 minutes later to get dinner at the restaurant downstairs in the lobby. I wanted to take a swim after that, but I was so tired that I told myself I should just take a shower then sleep, which I did. I love to travel, yes I do, but whenever I get into the hotel, I always collapse, feeling very tired, that I can't do anything. This habit will become even worse when I am 60, or probably even younger.

Anyway, today I am feeling energized. I am going to go shopping in Manhattan, like I told you before. Firstly, I took a bubble bath in the bathroom and draped the curtain over the wall window. When I was finished, I opened the big, red suit case and chose a nice outfit to wear today. I picked out a white tank top, a white wooly sweater to wear over, blue jeans, brown leather boots, and a black beret. I got out my fringed shoulder bag, put my wallet, gum, and hotel card inside, and headed out the door.

I went downstairs to the lobby. I saw Cassandra about to get to work. So I greeted her. "Good morning, Cassandra." "Good Morning, Janet!" she beams. When I was through with her, I walked outside. Lots of people needed cabs or some had just took a short walk to the nearest metro station. I didn't need to take a cab or metro because it was only a 3 minute walk to the Rockefeller Center, which is in Fifth Avenue. I would do my shopping there, but first I needed to eat breakfast. Like I told you before, I was going to treat myself for some StarBucks. That will be my breakfast for today. Ecstatic!

I know what you must be thinking. Yes, yes, yes. I know, I know, I know. There is StarBucks back in Boston and Atlanta. But my best friend, Sandra, told me to do a dare for her. Just for fun, no harm at all. I agreed since I am quite a daredevil. She then asked me what was my favorite place to have breakfast or snack. I told her StarBucks. The dare that she told to do made me horrified, that my face went pale.

"Okay, Janet, here is your dare: I dare you to stop going to StarBucks!" I shook my head in disbelief and refusal. "Sandra, no, that is too much for me to handle. Just give me another dare." "Promises are meant to be kept, Janet! "Fine, fine, fine. I will do it. If only you will do the same thing with me!" "Yeah. Sure I will. And that is a promise!" So for eight years ever since I went to Harvard, I stopped going to StarBucks. At first, I was very squeamish and indecisive if I should break Sandra's dare. But as the years went by, I didn't really care much about StarBucks anymore. All what I was focused on were my studies. And I can get coffee anywhere else than StarBucks. But now that I have finished university, I can be free to do what I want. So when I went to New York, I felt an evil pang of gluttony come over me. So, overall, I am breaking the dare and going to StarBucks. And besides, Sandra wouldn't the least bit find out. Unless she is a super-human who can see what other people are doing in the world.

Anyway, after 3 minutes of walking, I had finally reached the famous, and popular Rockefeller Center. I have been to New York when I was younger, but I never went to the Rockefeller Center before. So this is my first time at Rockefeller. 

Before going to breakfast, I wanted to explore this place first with my map. It had lots of shops that I liked to shop in, back in Atlanta, in the summer. Shops such as: Aerosoles, Aldo, Coach, J. Crew, LOFT, Nine West, Swarovski, and many more other shops I couldn't recall. While I was exploring, I found out that there were two StarBucks: StarBucks Coffee Subway Concourse and StarBucks Coffee Town Center. I tried the Concourse, since it was the nearest one by. I ordered a Classic Whole-Grain Oatmeal and a Pike Place Roast. I took my tray and went to an empty table for two. 

While eating, I pulled out my iPhone 6 Plus and started to text my parents. When I was through with them, I began to text my two best girlfriends (not including Sandra): Melissa and Stacy. Then I started to text my two best friends, who are boys: Michael and Anthony. All of the people I had texted so far asked me what I was doing, how I was doing, what will I be doing, etc. 

When I was finished eating, I went to shop around a little bit. I planned the day before that I would eat lunch at 12:00 and go back to the hotel at 12:30 to rest. 

I only went to five shops. I went to many other shops, but I was only looking around and wasn't interested in anything. I bought a pair of red slippers in Aerosoles for the spring (since it is going to be spring soon), a set of plates with animal designs at Anthropologie, a white Amp USB Backup Battery from Brookstone, two Coach bags (light blue- Sandra white- me), and from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store, a book called Fashion: A Timeline in Photographs: 1850 to Today. 

When I came out of the Met Store, I went to go and eat lunch at Au Bon Pain. I ate a Chicken Caesar Asiago with a water as my drink. As you observe what I eat, I like to eat healthy. I am very strict on myself and my diet. Darn it, I am acting like my mother right now.

When I was finished eating my lunch, I started to walk so I can get back to the hotel and rest for the rest of the day. When I got outside, I heard and saw a young girl screaming wildly. She had long, mahogany hair, and olive skin. She looked as if she was four or five and was throwing a major tantrum at her grandmother, which at least looked like her grandmother. Most of the people outside were staring at her with shock and worry. The young girl was tugging on her grandmother's arm aggressively. "But Grandma! I want to go to the LEGO shop! I don't want to go home!" she whined. Her grandmother began scolding her, "We are going back home. I don't care if you want to go or not. You better listen to me right now!" What happened next, made me cover my hands over my mouth. The girl hit her grandmother's arm, really hard, that the grandmother began to thrive with pain. Even if I threw a tantrum at my mother, which I never did, I would have never hurt my mother. I am not rebellious like those other children out there. I love my parents, and would do everything to show that I love them. 

After the girl hit her grandmother's arm, she ran off into the LEGO shop. Her grandmother ran (she looks like she's in her late 50s) to the girl and spanked her hard on the girl's rare end. The young girl began crying really loudly with her grandmother dragging her on her arm. The poor old lady looked so humiliated. And that was the end of it. All the people watching began murmuring things that the girl was so mis-behaved and was a spoiled brat, that they felt sorry for the grandmother. My face turned a little red when I heard two women saying that. I know, she was mis-behaved, and if I were her mother, I would mete out a good punishment for her. But whenever I see a mis-behaved child, I always think to myself that every child, behaved or not, has potential in them. That's the thing with us psychologists. We understand everyone. We see the good in people, not the bad.