#1 Observation
I have noticed that people break driving rules quiet often. And usually get away with it. I was sitting at a red light waiting to make a left hand turn, and the car in front of me decided to forgo the red light and make a u-turn. Brave? Yes. Stupid? Yes. But they got away with it and saved three minutes of their life, as I continued to wait at the red light.
#2 Observation
I noticed several retail stores are selling a line of yoga apparel. Anthropologie, Gap, Old Navy, and Victoria’s Secret are just a few of the big names. Over the past several years, yoga has increasingly become a popular leisure activity and form of exercise, but only recently have stores had their own special line of yoga apparel.
#3 Observation
$1 items are difficult to bypass! I was at the World Market off of Piedmont Road this week, and upon checking out at the register, I noticed a bunch of discounted items for $1. I couldn’t help but to browse and ended up buying some Gouda cheese and a mini bottle of olive oil. I didn’t need these items, but they were only a $1, so why not?
#4 Trend
On Saturday, September 3rd, I went to the UGA Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game in the Georgia Dome. I graduated from UGA in May of this year, and haven’t seen my friends all summer. This was the first I chance I had to reunite and catch up with them. After talking to 8 of my friends, I found out that 6 of them were still unemployed and searching for a job, one had an unpaid internship, and the other was debating whether or not to take the LSAT and apply to law school. From this, I came to the conclusion that after graduation from undergraduate school, people will either continue their studies in graduate school or find a job of some sort. However, with the recession, many of my friends have been unable to get a job so they are forced to move back home with their parents until they do so. I would say 90% of my graduating friends are currently living at home frantically trying to land a job.
#5 Anomaly ( to above trend)
However, one of my friends hit the jackpot. He was a double major in the business department and landed a sweet job in Tampa months before graduation. I was with my boyfriend on Wednesday around 6 pm when he called him to share that he was at a Ducati dealership shopping for a new (very expensive) toy - just a mere portion of his first paycheck. This friend of mine is an anomaly to the above stated trend because he worked his butt off with his undergraduate degree. Months before graduation he was setting up interviews with big name companies, putting his name out there and networking with professionals. Proactivity and hustle pays.
#6 Trend
I went to the movie theater to finally see the final Harry Potter movie this past Sunday around 3 pm. After watching the movie I sat outside the bathroom for about twenty minutes, observing people as they exit their movie. After another movie was finished, I watched 30 people swarm out of the theater. 20 of those people darted straight to the restrooms. I have always been included in this number. 2 hours and a large Coca-Cola later, the bladder needs to reprieve itself.
#7 Anomaly (to above trend)
Of the ten people who did not go to the restroom, 8 of them were men. In my experience, my boyfriend and father rarely have to excuse themselves to the restroom. I suppose from this, I can make the assumption that men can either a) hold it longer, b) don’t drink as much soda/water as women, or c) simply have much larger bladders.
#8 Trend
I went to Lenox mall this past Wednesday around 2 pm to visit my absolute favorite store, Anthropologie. I noticed all of the employees were dressed to impress from head to toe in Anthropologie apparel. I frequent the store often, and looking back at previous visits, the employees have always been dressed in the Anthropologie style of clothing. I believe this trend is occurring because it is important for the employees to represent the store in a fashionable and professional manner.
#9 Anomaly (to above trend)
During the same visit to Lenox mall I wandered into another retail store to see if this trend was consistent. At Wet Seal, I noticed one employee behind the checkout counter who looked like she had just rolled out bed. Her hair was greasy, and her ensemble did not resemble anything Wet Seal would carry. Keep in mind this is around 2 pm on a Wednesday - not 10 am on a Saturday where it could be easily assumed the woman had gone out for a night on the town the night before. My assumption is that this woman is unhappy and unmotivated with her job at Wet Seal, or simply having a rough Wednesday.
Publix is a wonderful place to observe humans interact with products, information, and other people. After spending an hour or so in Publix one Tuesday around 6 pm, I was able to discover a couple observations, trends and anomalies.
#10 Observation
At store checkout line I noticed how the majority of the magazines are catered towards women.
#11 Trend
I then realized a trend in how often women pick up a magazine of interest, skim through it until it is their time at the register, and then they nonchalantly put the magazine back where they got it without purchasing. I do this, but is it considered stealing? No, certainly not. Let’s just call it temporarily borrowing. You don’t see people picking up an apple in the produce section and eat it before they reach the checkout line. Can you think of any other products that people use in the store and not purchase?
While standing in line, five of the eight women were looking through magazines. Two of the women were busy keeping their children from touching all of the candy. And one was texting on her cell phone. The five women skimming the magazines put them back when it was time to pay, but the one who was on her cell phone picked up a People Magazine and bought it last minute. In this case, she was the anomaly.
#12 Anomaly
There could be several reasons for this woman purchasing the magazine. While on her phone, maybe she didn’t have enough time to skim the magazine to get what she wanted out of it in the short line time. Or maybe this woman always buys a People magazine and it was second nature to grab one at the checkout line.
#13 Observation
On a further note, why do men tend to not pick up and skim magazines at the checkout line? Sure, the selection is predominately catered to the female (US, People, Cosmo etc.), but I have noticed there are indeed magazines that would be of interest to the average male.
#14 Observation
Women are usually the ones who do the weekly shopping for the family. They buy in bulk and they often have dinners planned out; therefore, they are putting more in their shopping cart and having to wait longer in the line (giving them more time to browse magazines).
#15 Trend (from above observation)
This observation revealed a trend in men and their grocery shopping habits. They typically go to the grocery store for a few pre-selected items, such as bread, deli meat, a couple frozen dinners, beer, etc. They are in and out as fast as possible, and this usually involves the self-checkout line. (AND even if they were secretly interested in what celeb has the best bikini body, they wouldn’t be caught dead picking up the magazine.) While I was in the checkout line, I observed 5 men enter the store. 4 of these men grabbed the basket instead of the buggy, and the one other looked to be a father with his daughter. The fact that the majority picked up a basket must mean they only needed a couple select items and would be in and out fairly quickly. I also got to observe 3 men check out. Two of the 3 used the self-checkout line, and the third is the anomaly in this case
#16 Anomaly
From the look of this man and the items in his cart, I'd like to assume he was a family man buying groceries for wife and kids. Family size cereal boxes of Fruit Loops, a big pack of Juicy Juice, fruit roll-ups, an 8 pack of hamburger buns etc. What a pleasant anomaly to observe!
#17 Observation
The baggers at Publix are exceptionally nice people. I love to observe customers interact with these kind employees because each person responds differently.
#18 & #19 Trend & Anomaly
A common occurrence, and therefore trend I noticed was people rarely accept the Publix bagger’s offer to carry their groceries to the car. I for one, NEVER do this, simply because I hate awkward forced small talk. Is this the case for the others who deny the baggers, or are we all cheap and don’t want to tip the kind employer? There were 3 people ahead of me in my checkout line. The first two nicely declined the bagger’s offer, exited the building and went on with their day. The third was, well old. She could barely walk. Naturally, she accepted the kind bagger to take her groceries to her car. I will never know whether or not the old lady tipped the bagger, but I like to assume she did. I suppose this lady is the anomaly in this case.
#20 Observation
Reality shows are a guilty pleasure. This past Monday night, as my brain was going numb from doing one of Sylvia’s many homework assignments, I turned on the TV for the first time in what felt like months. My brain was fried and I was tired of thinking. I needed to let my mind melt into a state of complete relaxation. I’ve always had a secret liking towards the shows The Bachelor and Bachelorette because who doesn’t like a dramatic cheesy romance story? Well, the Bachelorette finale happened last Monday, so now a new series is beginning – The Bachelor Pad. This show has got to be the most raunchy drama-filled reality show on TV. It lacks any means of educational value, and I would even go so far to say that it is a disgrace to our culture. Producers have reached an all time low with the Bachelor Pad where contestants from previous Bachelor/Bachelorette seasons live under in the same house to either find love or ditch your loved one to take the ultimate prize, a quarter million dollars. It’s so bad, but yet soooo good. I have a serious guilty pleasure in watching this show, and I am not afraid to admit it.
#21 Trend (from above observation)
But I also believe that everyone has his/her secret love for a reality show. I came to this conclusion after observing four of my closest friends/family members. For example, my mom has every So You Think You Can Dance show recorded and saved on DVR. No matter what the situation, if for some reason she has to miss the live view of the show, you better believe she has me, my dad or one of her girlfriends record it for her. I’ve noticed my dad get caught up watching hours of Pawn Stars and Hillbilly Fishing on several different occasions. My roommate actually bought season DVDs of the Real Housewives, as if seeing an episode once wasn’t enough! I asked her how many times she has re-watched the series – 6 times was her response! And my boyfriend’s favorite reality show happens to be Millionaire Matchmaker! Hmmmm...
#22 Observation
Eating out causes you to eat more. Do you know what a serving size is? Ever ate a Lean Cuisine? It’s a measly four (maybe five) bites of pasta that you scarf down in less than two minutes. Then you catch yourself actually licking the sauce off the bottom of the tray and wondering if microwaving a second will blow your day's diet. Unfortunately this is an accurate portion. Restaurants like Outback, Chiles, Ryans etc. have trained America to eat unreasonable mass quantities.
#23
An anomaly and ultimately a trend to this observation are the ever-popular petite dishes called tapas. This centuries-old Spanish tradition of offering small portions of food that feature a big, flavorful experience has recently experienced a revival in America. More than an appetizer – but not quite a meal, tapas have become increasingly popular, even in our super-sized meal culture. Generally, the tapas are served on small 8 to 10 inch dishes. It seems as if restaurants across the nation are customizing their small-plate cuisine for an in-style addition to the standard three course meal. This past Thursday I talked my boyfriend into going to Eclipse De Luna, a tapas bar located in Buckhead, with me for the first time. He had heard how small the portions were, and on a student budget, we don’t exactly have the financial means to fill up on $10 mini entrees. Needless to say, he wasn’t too excited and had a large snack before. When we got to the restaurant we told our waiter this was our first time experiencing tapas. The waiter was extremely enthusiastic and excited to help us. He said we would want at least two entrees each and that tapas are typical to share while on a date. So my boyfriend and I took his advice and chose a total of 4 tapas together. Each was uniquely plated and tasted delicious. Our bill wasn’t outrageous and for once, we didn’t leave the restaurant over stuffed and feeling lethargic.
#24 Observation
In this recession, people are also saving a lot of money by packing breakfasts and lunches. Not only are they saving money, but also their waistlines are diminishing! My typography teacher brought this phenomenon to my attention in class on Monday. She said she initially started packing her lunch in her efforts to save $20 everyday in some shape or fashion. She now makes a sandwich, maybe even a cookie, and has a whole 45 minutes to simply sit and enjoy her lunch without frantically driving the Atlanta streets to sit in a 10 minute drive-thru line, only to return to work by one. After just one week, she lost 4 lbs and saved 7x$20=$140!!!! Wow. I think everyone should do himself/herself a favor and give this a shot for at least one week.
#25 Observation
The demise of book stores. The joy of entering a vast empire of endless stories bound in crisp pages is coming to an end. No longer will I be able to grab a latte, cuddle up on the book store's comfy chair, and spend a few hours surrounded by other book nerds aimlessly browsing for their next good read. Thanks to popular businesses such as Amazon and Kindle, large retail book stores like Border's are struggling to survive. Border's has filed for bankruptcy as it hasn't seen a profit in over five years! While I will always love the smell and touch of a book, I can not deny the practicality of virtual books, not to mention the environmental impact of saving trees. I mean, have you ever passed a paper mill? The billowing smoke and putrid odor can be seen/smelt for miles. Will future generations scoff at hard bound books as we do to cassette tapes and CDs?
#26 Observation
People rarely have cash on them. So where is all the green? Well, it's gone to plastic and higher tech devices. In an economy where consumers demand convenience, why carry change when you can simply swipe or scan?
Proof:
- In January 2011, Starbucks launched a Mobil Card payment app where customers can literally pay for their coffee via a 2-D personalized electronic barcode.
- In May 2011, Android launched the the "Google Wallet" app where users can turn their phone into a Mastercard.
#27 Observation
People love to kiss their pets. Oh yes, big sloppy wet kisses on the mouth. I for one, am guilty of this. My justification for this dirty act? Dogs' saliva is said to actually have an even balance of bacteria and contain healing powers for wounds. But still....does that substantiate how unsanitary this action really is? Dogs are notorious for licking their butts, other dogs butts, rolling in dirt, eating poop, sniffing dead animals....need I say more?
Regardless of the viruses I could potentially pick up from my hairy howling brother, he is family, and I will always kiss my family.
