Week 4: Everyday Life

Participating this week will require taking pics of people I don't know in settings outside of my own home (the opposite of the instructions, BTW, but my everyday home life is pretty mundane).  I hope I can come up with something.

I should have taken the camera to Nordstrom's Last Chance yesterday.  There's a documentary!  Since I have no personal photos to share from that experience, I provide here "Word Photographs" and literary elements to tell the story.  And I'll also provide a couple of photos that are posted on the Internet so you can get an idea of the chaos (increasing the size will further compromise image quality here but you get the idea).

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2010/12/05/20101205Z06LIV11.html

 

http://ukiahcoachbrown.blogspot.com/2012/07/phoenix-hot-mess.html

 

Genre:  Nonfiction

Setting:  An unkempt and somewhat dirty bargain basement on 24th and Camelback, present day

Character Groups: 
a) Bossy Hispanic employees trying to prevent customers from fighting and committing felonies
b) Greedy bitches trying to score EVERY Vera Wang, Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, and Ugg item in the store so they can resell the same on eBay
c) Regular gals like myself and Sandra who go for the thrill of the hunt because $68 can buy a girl $766-worth of designer merchandise (if she has the energy and patience to deal with the setting and other characters!)
d) Confused-looking men (very few) who are wondering how they ended up here instead of being home watching sports

 

Themes: 
a) "May the odds be ever in your favor." (Originally from The Hunger Games.  So appropriate here.)
b) "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  (The Golden Rule.  If you don't want the Tory Burch tote, give it to another Regular Gal who does!)

Conflicts: 
a)  Woman vs. Woman (obviously--"Regular Gals must fight "Greedy Bitches" for those Vera Wangs!)
b)  Woman vs. Self ("Do I really need another cashmere pashmina?"  "Just buy it.  It's $4.97!")

Plot: 
a) Opening Action:  Sandra and Diana drive to Central Phoenix, park in the back lot and sneak in through the Receiving door to avoid crowds. 
b) Rising Action: We enter Last Chance after rummaging through the sweater racks in the lobby and head straight to shoes, then to accessories, then to pants, etc.
c) Climax:  We each find a cart-load of treasures, but we must wait forever in the fitting room line in order to try them on.  Then we must inspect everything for damage per the NO RETURNS policy.  Will we actually purchase? 
d) Resolution:  Three hours later, we emerge victorious! 

Now that I've outlined the entire narrative here, I think I'll use it to teach Literary Elements in my Literacy class this semester.  So even if there are no photos, at least there will be a lesson plan.  :)