Monday, December 11, 2006

I would like to do two studies/experiments, and if I had the resources I would definitely do them. One, I would like to analyze folks as they buy condoms. I'd really be interested in watching their body language, how talkative they are, and most importantly, whether they buy JUST condoms, or do they throw in another purchase just to mask the fact that they are about to get some. I was in the drug store yesterday morning, and I saw someone coming going through this, and it just came to mine. When I was younger I used to buy chips, a magazine, gum, and anything just to draw attention away from the fact that I was buying condoms. The clerk would ring them up, look at me, and then do a double take and then look at me again, and I would be embarassed. Now? When I buy them, I look at them as if to say, YEAH, AND?

The second study I would be interested in doing involves black Santa Claus, and white neighborhoods. I think it would be very interesting to go into a primarily white mall(for me it would be Montgomery Mall), and to hire a black Santa Claus to work there throughout the entire month of December, just to see how many white(and possibly black) parents would march their kids up to sit on his lap. I especially would want there to be an instance when the kid sees Santa from afar, begs their parent to let them go up there, and then the parent(and maybe the kid) realize that Santa is a bit darker than the "usual" Santas. Would they turn around briskly and rationalize the importance of Santa away? Would the kid say, "that's not Santa, that's Gordon Parks..what would really happen? This would be a great Saturday Night Live skit similar to the one Eddie Murphy did back in the 80s when he dressed as a white man..

I was late paying my cell phone bill, so on Friday my phone was off the majority of the day. And then all weekend my battery has been acting funny, so even when the phone was back on, it was still going in and out. You never realize how dependent you are on cell phones, until you don't have one. I just happen to be one of those people who doesn't even bother getting a phone for the house, because the cell is my primary mode of conversation, but I think I may invest in one just in case. Since March I have left my phone at work, dropped my phone in the toilet, left my charger at work or at home, and every time I do this I feel helpless without my phone. This blows my mind, especially since 10 years ago, no one really had a cell phone all like that, and life went on just fine. Perhaps this is only fascinating to me..

I know this song is a few years old, but I can't stop replaying it: Still R.A.Y.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

A black Santa Claus at Montgomery Mall... that could be entertaining. It probably would not pose too much of problem having a Black Santa at Montgomery mall.. I think most of the parents, especially the young ones, would see it as something cool... and put some kind of fun reasoning behind it for their kids.

When I was much younge use to do random work for this local theatre in a very suburban city in South Carolina. I got one gig to work as Cinderella for this children's festival geared primarily for an audience of modern, ritzy white families. So with my dark complexion and exotic look, I asked the theatre if they were sure they wanted to use me for this job because clearly I do not look like a Cinderella. They were like oh no, that does not matter.
So I was all nervous because I did not know how people would respond to me portraying this character. Fortunately, at the festival I was able to do my job smoothly and no one questioned why "I" was walking around as the Cinderella. Parents brought their kids up to me to take pictures and either said "oh look here is Cinderella" or "look kids there is Brandy!" :/ (remember Brandy's Cinderella movie.. hehehe)

Anonymous said...

you should consider setting up automatic bill pays....

My cell is my life line!

Jo said...

Yeah man - can you get a land line (or at least keep up with those payments!). . .your phone situation is too "funny" for me - jo