I went to the new mall today and I took some video. Well, that is until a security guard told me that I could not take video of the activities. I asked him to show me the regulation against taking photos or video, and suddenly he was lost. Since I already had what I wanted, I put my camera away. That made him feel like he was doing his job. I felt good that I was able to allow him to feel like he was actually doing his job.

The mall  looked decent when only looking at a relatively small portion at a time, but looking at the big picture, it looked as if it were designed by a committee where each member spoke a different language. Add to that the fact that it is much like most other malls in the known universe, it is a monument to what not to create. In any case, they needed a new mall in the area like your cat needs more fleas. San José is a big city that, in reality, is just a huge mall with some hotels, government offices, and restaurants sprinkled around to make it seem otherwise. It is for me, a big boring city. Of course, with its mountains, forests, and beaches, Costa Rica is really beautiful and is very different from San José, which seems as out of place here, as the new mall.

With regard to the new mall, several words come to mind. In no particular order, ill-conceived, sterile, and clearly not needed.

That’s the view from my chair.

—Jim

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