Jason has homework – just like last weekend.

Here I sit waiting on assignments.
Which is cool.   I’m okay with it.   I’m just getting stuff caught up.   Thinking about reading my book some later or something.   Finally wrote the review of Fantasy Island.   It’s all good.

If this goes too far in the evening, I may steal the car and go to the gym or something.

I think that’s fine too.   Two people in a relationship don’t have to do everything together every possible waking moment.  That could result in a loss of individualism and independence.

It’s nice to do stuff with the other person, but if there are other things that take importance, so be it.

I might actually write a freewriting piece this weekend after I clear some of the backed-up gunk out of my head.   Which this blog does.   Help with the gunk.  I tend to have a lot of gunk.

That’s a funny word.   Gunk.
Gunk. gunk. gunk.

I guess what gunk I want to cover this time is the maul (mall).
This trip, I feel like I have spent an embarrassingly amount of time there and have strived to come up with some sort of strategy on how to avoid being harassed by various sales people.

I’m not too sure what to call them.    They try to interact with me when I’m walking down the hall.  Most of the time, it’s people trying to push moisturizers and make-up.  There are those who peek out from actual stores as well, such as cell phone carriers.

I don’t have anything against them at all.   A job is a job and maybe they enjoy it, but that doesn’t mean that I have to participate – no matter how hard they try.

To avoid these kiosks and stores, it’s a good idea to know the layout of the maul.

If there’s a store on the right side, walk on the left… unless there’s a parallel store on the left.   Which sometimes happens.  Then, it’s your choice.

Pretending to pay attention to the constant ads that blast over the little TVs that hang from the ceiling can be a good shield.  It’s just common courtesy not to bother someone when their attention is diverted elsewhere.   Course, this could actually lead to watching the ads, finding out about pleated mom jeans, and the newest iPhone accessory.

The salespeople will often call out to you to make you slow or stop.   Commonly, they’ll complement what color shirt you’re wearing, how cute a baby is, or just the general “can I ask you a question.”     After a few trips back and forth, they’ll call out asking how the Pokemon catching is going.   Even if you’re not playing Pokemon Go, they’ll assume you are and, for the most part, are correct on a lot of occasions.

The moment you slow your pace, the person will be in front of you asking additional questions or immediately trying to shove a sample of whatever wonder lotion of the day is into your hand.

Tip:  Don’t slow down.
Even if you’re having a difficult time casting that spell or throwing that ball, it’s best to come to a complete halt instead of blindly walking into their aggro zone and risk losing fifteen minutes of your life and potentially money.

Walking by myself seems to be a huge green light.  I guess that translates to mean that I have nothing else to do with my time except to be harassed.   When possible, travel in a group of three or more.

This could be accomplished in a couple of different ways.
–  Friends and family could actually come.    If they play the same game, more the merrier.
– Or, walking slightly behind a group of two or more can do the trick.    The salesperson associates you with the group by the vicinity of how close you are to them.   This will only work so many times.    You don’t want to be rude to the people you’re tailing or seem like a pickpocket.

Duo traveling is a bit risky.  Skilled salespeople will pick on of the people off and pull the other one in to help unknowingly sale the product.
However, conversations tend to ward off this approach.   It’s rude to interrupt someone’s conversation. The salesperson certainly doesn’t want to seem rude.

If the mall is busy, layers can help.
Making sure there are at least two or three people between you and the salesperson grants a type of immunity.   You’re too far out of reach for them to grab you.  This is akin to tripping the dwarf so the dragon doesn’t munch you.

Let’s see….

If you see the salespeople on the left of the display, walk on the right side to keep a distance.

Try not to pass them to quickly to many times.    Part of their job is looking for people to pull over.   The more they see you, the more they’re likely to attempt to trap you.

At some point, after hours and days of playing the mobile game, you could become part of the background.  They know that you want to be left alone.

That takes a lot of time and frustration from the salesperson and the player.  Then, it isn’t guaranteed since the salesperson isn’t constant.

Also, there’s always the “direct” approach.
Saying something like “Don’t talk to me or I’ll consider it harassment” could do the trick.

I’ve only done this once or twice.   One salesperson was okay with it.   The other one called maul security because she thought I was threatening her.  — which I wasn’t.   I just wanted to be ignored.

Or, you could actually buy the product.
It could be considered a one-time fee for the privilege of walking around a somewhat air-conditioned maul on cold and warm days.
Since I’ve never bought anything from them, I’m not sure how that would work.   Would they try to resell later?

I hope this helps mobile gamers.