I've had my own experiences of loitering. Standing around outside Target on a hot August afternoon, laughing and observing the passersby always on such a rush. Carts piled high with Bounty, Gerbers, or Johnson Johnson, it was easy to tell where the mothers were constantly rushing to. I could stay for hours under the shade, my presence barely concealed by the overhanging plaster roof, home to nests of crows that gathered for the occasional tossed sandwich or spilled milkshake. I've had my own memories of window shopping at Christmastime, coveting the glorious emerald earrings or a platinum watch that had more zeroes in the price than I'd ever earned in my entire life. I've browsed through a department store just for the chance to lust over cashmere sweaters and premium leather purses. I've been there and I've been back.And yet none of it ever satisfies me. Wanting, desiring, lusting, no matter how you say it, the feeling's inevitably in everyone - from toddlers clutching a teddy bear in Toys R Us to the undergrad searching Amazon for dresses. Our society's practically been built around consumerism ever since the early days when French fashion designers decided that changing the look every season would increase their sales. Friends compete to see who can show off the most bling, because it's so eminent that the more you spend, the more have to make yourself happy. You even find sites like Fancy these days - an entire community of lustful buyers, wanting but not able to receive. Users "Fancy" products that they wished they had and can check out the vast numbers of members who own specific products of their liking. Does buying stuff really satisfy our hunger or does it just create an illusion of happiness and carefree spending?
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