Of Malls and Men

Whenever the weekend rolls around, it can only mean 1 thing for me and my family...time to pay our friendly neighborhod mall, Glorietta, a visit. You see, we are your typical, week-end mall- going family. We are part of the statistic that claims malling is the favorite pasttime of Filipinos. Next to our house, we've probably logged the most hours in the mall, doing everything and nothing. I was reared early at being a mall rat. My earliest memories of childhood was going to SM Supermarket in Makati every other Saturday. I would behave back then, because behaving meant that my parents would buy me Goldilock's flavored popcorn afterwards. Somehow, this habit stuck, as I to this day, continue to accompany my parents to the supermarket, which has since been replaced by Landmark, even eventually Rustan's, and my reward for being good has been upgraded from flavored popcorn. Hah!

We may have occasional flings with other malls like Podium or the Powerplant, but in the end, we always end up going back to the mall we love best, Glorietta. For some unverified reason, we always feel that this mall is the most complete establishment we have ever been to. Our week is never complete without dropping by the mall, even if for a few hours, as if doing some catching up with a really close friend. We've seen hundreds of stores come and go. We've witnessed countless renovations, participated in useless promotions (and won nothing), elbowed our way to midnight sales, and predicted the lifespan of retail outlets.

I am a self-professed Glorietta rat, I always to brag to people I know that I can give you a walking tour of Glorietta with my eyes closed. You can even make me walk backwards! If ever Ayala Center decides to launch a tour program, I should be made an honorary tour guide. I practically grew up with Glorietta. Glorietta is the big sister I never had (I'm assuming the mall is a she, cause she's named Glorietta). Being in Glorietta gives me peace and a feeling of security that I even park my car within its premises and commute to work everyday. I describe the feeling as the same emotion you feel when you're at home. In a given week, I would be stepping into the mall's premises 6 days out of 7. But i've rambled on too long about this seemingly trivial topic. I've already revealed to everyone that I am poster-child for malling. This habit, i'm probably never going to be able to quit. In fact, after I publish this post, i'm off to the mall.