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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider Break, break!

Break, break!

Published Dec 20, 2025 12:05 am  |  Updated Dec 19, 2025 04:20 pm
MEDIUM RARE
That’s what a referee would be shouting inside the ring as two boxers cling to each other in what looks like a fight to the death.
Break, break! That’s also what we should be telling ourselves in the middle of the week – get away from work even before the weekend comes along. As they do in certain towns and cities in Western Europe, where kids stay away from school to do their own recharging in the middle of the week.
Break, break, so I took last Wednesday off to go malling, where the malls are wall-to-wall in the city where I live, to observe the traffic on the road – it wasn’t bad at all, not at 4: 30 p.m. – as well as the foot traffic going into and out of the malls. I couldn’t believe my luck! There was a bit of a slowdown as we approached the parking building, but no problem finding a space to park. Seven days before Christmas Eve? I felt like pinching myself.
One week before Christmas Eve, yet the reality was contrary to the expectation. Either the working class are smarter and thriftier now, and they don’t make their purchases during the high season, or I was in the wrong mall. Good thing about this mall was that it was where I found — without looking for it — a pair of purple sandals! Where in the world could you find shoes in such a color, a sparkly shade between lavender and violet in – of all places – the children’s section? I could not believe the price tag: those shoes designed for partying and dancing cost just a bit more than a day’s wage.
Start or end of the week, our department stores carry such a humongous shoe section that, the last time I toured a visitor at the mall nearest my house, she went crazy buying not only sandals but also high heels and bedroom slippers, for herself and her sisters-in-law.
It’s true, based on experience, that tourists, Balikbayan, and other types inevitably find themselves wishing they had more time to shop and spend their money in Mega Manila. Take them to a department store and our supply of foreign exchange will instantly put a smile on the face of Bangko Sentral.
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