DIVISORIA DREAMING: Buy Cheap, Be Happy! We’re back from our yearly pilgrimage to the land of opportunities – where else but Divisoria. But don’t ask me why I say so. I don’t have the scientific data right now to back up my assumption that some folks who have been to that place whether as salesman or shopper had ended up being a millionaire. But I bet there must be a whole bunch of them. I don’t exactly remember where the family tradition started but I recall having only two little toddlers in tow back then when it all began, only Ulan and Sining and not four because Alon and Laya have not been born yet. It really is a bargain hunting paradise, and Divisoria prices remain the best for your budget compared to the prices at malls. But that doesn’t mean inflation has not made its presence felt to the people from all walks of life who descend to Manila’s most famous marketplace at this time of the year. Whether it’s Glorietta or Tutuban that suits your taste and your budget for shopping, inflation will always be there to find you. Overall, it is actually a better year for the average consumer. For a change, prices of gasoline are down. Since when had the Christmas season experienced a downward spiral in the cost of fuel? If this were a world record of sort, how I wish it becomes a self-repeating phenomenon envisioned to set new record lows. This could be the lowest we’ve seen gas dropped in price the whole year, when it actually peaked to nearly 60 pesos per liter during the problematic early months when Mideast countries were threatening again to blow up the entire planet over ancient territorial spats. Gas prices going down to just a little over the 40-peso per liter range during Christmas time would have to make an impact on the purchasing power of the peso. I am actually pleasantly surprised that good quality t-shirts for a hundred pesos and below have not become obsolete if you really try hard to find one among Divisoria’s thrift shops selling all sorts of export over-runs and those very good Bangkok-made imitations. The beauty of bargain hunting is in experiencing the test of endurance and sanity that goes with the search. I guess it’s the same thrill that consumes treasure-hunters who spend lifetimes and move mountains to find what’s hidden underneath but because not all of us have that kind of hunger for thrill and adventure, not to mention the energy to take the challenge, we live out a similar fantasy, only in a more realistic scale but just as exciting an experience nonetheless by coming to our favorite shopping places. So if you are a true friend, don’t despair in getting a t-shirt from me. Just imagine the epic struggle that I faced to get that gift. And as they say it’s the thought that counts, right? To me, every year that we shop in Divisoria is a good chance at family bonding, a fine exercise and a therapeutic experience that I feel my mind and body need. It allows me to step back and actually savor the depth of friendship that continues to grow from every shopping adventure between my wife, my kids and myself. To see for myself how fast the children have grown, now that they have stopped badgering me for a doll or a robot toy and instead they already have their own shopping lists to bring which unfortunately means it is going to cost me more. Many years ago, we would stop for a brief rest because the children cannot cope with the seemingly endless walking. Now, I would be the one to often lag behind trying to catch my breath from all the walking and because my arthritic leg was acting up again. Times have changed indeed. Another reason I weaned them to the habit of bargain-hunting is to teach the kids the value of money, to make them learn to be patient in dealing with all sorts of discomfort, and most importantly to be very careful with the choicest they make. Life afterall takes a little bit of shopping wisdom to figure out, applying the same lessons when we choose what course to take up, where to study or which person to marry. My wife used to say, and as a complement I hope, that I am different from other men because I actually appear to thrive in this physically draining and what other men would regard as time-wasting exercise, this whole idea of braving the pickpockets and the suffocating human and vehicular traffic to go shopping in Divisoria during its most crowded time. To be honest, she actually introduced me into it because I wasn’t nearly as excited as she was about the idea the first time it came up. But I am a man and manly instincts drive me. The cave man that lived to please his mate left a very strong and enduring imprint upon me I guess. My feeling is, if the wife, and now the kids have grown to love this kind of experience, why spoil the fun when it should be my business and my pleasure as man of the house to keep them company every step of the way. It is a lesson as relevant as it was during the primitive days – that if you wish to be one happy family, spend time doing things together. With us, it is no problem at all. Sometimes, the hard part is going separate ways. All I need to do is ask, what time is it? And the whole gang would say “It’s Divisoria Time!” And off shall we go. And so perhaps that’s how it came to be a family tradition this annual pre-Christmas pilgrimage which never fails to add to the fun of the holidays. Divisoria will always be there waiting to bring the simplest kind of joy to the pragmatic among us, people like me who have since accepted the economic realities that while the best things in life are not really free, at least you can always happily haggle to bring down the price. Besides remember that all the money in the world can’t buy you happiness. If anything it takes the fun away from bargain-hunting and robs you of the chance to know how it feels to buy cheap and be happy. Divisoria Dreaming Dec. 14, 2014 5:40pm. At home
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 09:44:07 +0000
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