Three Pairs of Shoes

Oh no… these are not my sandals and shoes. I cannot afford to have these wide arrays of footwear. I took this photo using my cell phone from one of the shelves inside a shopping mall in Ayala, Makati City. Secret… I am not telling the name of the store. I do not want the store to have a free ad in my blog. I could not use my camera, lest the security guard might confiscate it. That is the beauty of the new cell phone techno these days. As the TV ad says, cell phone is all in one. You carry one gadget and you could enjoy plenty of useful functions. You just have to have lots of patience to know all its features. To be honest I am not so keen on cell phones. Until now, I do not know yet all the features of my cell phone. The Wi-Fi feature is great but you have to wait for the not slow but very slow connection.

So, what about the shoes? Saturday afternoon last week the 20^th of Nov, I had a bonding time with my teenager niece and her best friend. The friend is a boy, so he is her boyfriend. I advanced my cash Christmas present to my niece thinking we will have more time to shop. I know she is not picky just very picky when it comes to items she would like to buy. Luckily her boyfriend is gifted with tons of patience. I just had to show them where to go. I sat at a couch nearby. I had to peek once in a while to check if a sales lady is already pulling her long hair. Good enough the well trained sales ladies entertained her well. When the sales ladies had their backs turned, I would tell my niece. When I shop I know exactly what to buy. She just smiled and said it is because she wanted the best deal.

I was at the mall at two in the afternoon. They arrived an hour late because of traffic jam. We ate lunch and snacks all at one time, before we got ready to shop. We were done with three pairs of shoes at eight in the evening. Her boyfriend had to take her home. She arrived at their house in Sta. Rosa Laguna City at eleven in the evening. It was a tiring day for three pairs of shoes. Yet, I am happy, my niece got so excited for the long hours of shopping. She sent me text message saying she will ask her brother to give her money for Christmas. We will do another round of shopping. Wish me luck folks. ☺

Thanksgiving Vacation

We do not celebrate Thanksgiving in the Philippines but I am happy to be off from work comes the 25^th and 26^th. Yes, some of us were allowed to go on vacation leave because we are expecting less call by then.  Our team captain approached me if I want to go and vacation and he got a positive reply from me. It is not that easy for us to go on vacation leave. I am happy for being given the opportunity to have a rest day along with some of my officemates.

The vacation leave is just the right timing. I have cold this time. Although manageable because of the cold medicines I am taking. It will give me time to rest and sleep with gusto. I seldom get sick but when I do. I would like to rest for fear I might end up in a hospital. We do have hospitalization benefit but being at the hospital makes me sicker. Why? It is because I am unable to rest being at the close watch of a nurse, getting my temperature every now and then. In line with duty, a nurse has to write something on the clipboard for the doc to see the progress of the patient. If the hospital has a nursing school, pray that a throng will not come inside your room to ask you how many times had you visited the toilet. Oh, no please do not get me wrong. I have nothing against the nursing profession. Nurses are doing a noble job. I am just saying I am not comfortable being at the hospital, okies? Likewise, please do not be alarmed I am alright. ☺

To some of my American friends who are to celebrate Thanksgiving, please take it easy on the drinks. After Thanksgiving there will be Christmas to spend your precious dollars with your godchildren. 

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Off to Work Today

Speaking of Christmas shopping, my apology to the daddies and mommies who do not want to think about the occasion yet, yes some of you are correct it is too early. However, the reason why I shop early is because of pre-Christmas discounted sales. I guess some of the malls in Manila are trying to dispose some of their stocks to replenish with new ones. Manufacturers instead of taking the items back. They sell the items at discounted price. I developed the technique of scouting for items that might go on sale. I checked on the original price of the items.

During mid night madness, it is how we call it here. Malls are open until twelve midnight during the sale. That is why it was called midnight madness. When the items go on sale I tried to check how much they are being marked down. I noticed mall owners had been wiser this time. They would only get few stocks and would reorder when needed. Before, I could buy books for as low as seventy percent mark down, now not all the books go on sale. If all of them do, only up to twenty percent off. Budgeting? Count me in, folks. Well, just being wise when it comes to spending.

Today, the 30^th of August is Philippines National Heroes Day, and therefore it is a holiday. No work for those that goes to the other offices at daytime. Not me, I got work. Call Centers do not have work Holiday. We do get additional pay though when we work on Philippines Holidays. I received a text message from our team captain at work that we have to render at least one hour overtime today. I replied okay, count me in. Hush! I do not want to frustrate him in exchange of my remaining vacation leave. I want him to approve the vacation leave at the latest next week. ☺