They Had Me At Hello

today on my lunch break i decided to go for a walk around the block.
i am attending my Pre Service Orientation (PSO) for VISTA this week in the lower east side of Manhattan and while the trainer is excellent... trainings are long. so i thought stretching my legs and getting some fresh air would put me back on my "a" game for the afternoon session.

while strolling down my first block i noticed a big sign on the sidewalk that read "SAMPLE SALE---70,80,90% off top labels." For those of you who know me you know I really do not have much style--let alone actually follow designers-- but i thought i'd check it out. i am in nyc.

the sale was taking place in an empty building that they had erected make-shift tables and shelving through out a giant front room. right when you entered the door you were confronted by two men with thick, black mustaches and puffs of chest hair peaking through their tight tshirts.

as an individual raised in the Midwest, i am still getting adjusted to people not smiling or nodding when you pass by, and because i was so distracted by the men's amazingly thick mustaches, i forgot my new vow to fit in and cheerfully said hello.

that was the end of it; they knew they had a tourist

(yes. i am considered a tourist. i have been told by multiple life long residents of NYC that until you have lived here at least 5 years--you are a tourist).

before i knew it everything i was looking at they were there telling me how pretty it was, how pretty i was, how pretty it and i would be if we were together...bags, shoes, tank tops, dresses etc. normally i am an assertive person and fend off this type of attention easily, but the compliments and the cheap labels and just the atmosphere of the city got the best of me.

i began my walk of shame back to training with a new Kenneth Cole tote under my arm. it wasn't anger or guilt from the price of the bag i was feeling because it really wasn't that expensive, but it was the fact that i felt a bit betrayed. Betrayed by my Midwestern characteristics that had freely handed me over to these new york sales men--with thick mustaches and visible chest hair no less. next time i can only hope that the weight of the bag on my shoulder will remind me to NOT SAY HELLO! :)