My wife asked me, “Are you available on Saturday? Ptra. Glho is asking me to accompany her to Divisoria to buy toys for the kids. We need someone to… uhm, you know… carry the things we’re gonna buy.”
Of course, that is not verbatim but you get the point. She doesn’t want to go if it’s just the two of them. She wants me to join the trip because she’s afraid she might run out of things to talk to and their situation will get awkward.
Saturdays are my rest days. As much as possible, all I want to do on Saturdays is either doze off or catch up on my favorite mobile game. But of course, since it is my wife requesting - #husbandduties.
Ptra. Glho is our children’s pastor and my wife is the head of the children’s ministry. The toys they are about to buy are for toddlers. We also want to purchase things for ourselves. My wife is thinking of stickers, and I want to look for polo because I am about to preach the following day.
We were requested at the rendezvous at 7 am and we arrived just on time. Since Ptra. Glho is not yet around, we went to Jollibee first for breakfast. But as soon as our orders are ready, Ptra. Glho asked us where we are!
I will never forget that moment when I scorched my mouth with a freshly cooked peach mango pie. It was mouthwatering, that time not because of its taste (it’s one of the best pies, if you ask me), but because it is very painful in the mouth! I felt like my lips went numb for a while.
Lesson learned: if the packaging tells you that the filling is hot, beware of the warning. It is placed there not as a suggestion, but as a precaution.
Back to the Divi story. We headed our way about past 8 am. We took the LRT to Recto and hailed a tuk-tuk - at least that’s what some of the e-tricycles around Divisoria look like. We headed straight to 168 Mall.
It was still early for us. Some stalls are still not open. Those that are ready to accommodate us don’t have the things we need. But I am glad to see several toys that tickled my inner child! I am amazed by Legos, die-cast cars and motorcycles, anime figurines, and huge playsets. I also wanted to buy a toy gun!
Divisoria is a huge place, and very crowded. This is the place where people from all over the metro and nearby provinces flock to buy their things - for business and personal use. From school supplies, textiles, suits and gowns, electronics, spare parts for whatever you need, toys, and even small things for crafts and DIYs - name it, most likely Divisoria has it. Did I mention that you can haggle prices here? So whenever you visit this place, be sure to hone your skill of persuasion.
So what have we bought after roaming around 168 Mall (we went to 8888 Mall afterward - what’s with naming malls with numbers by the way?)
We have purchased kinetic sand. We bought not just one set, but 10-kilo! Good thing I was there to accompany them because I can’t imagine how are they gonna carry that 10 kilos of sand while stall-hopping for other items.
We also bought a play kitchen and a miniature ice cream store. While we were negotiating with the store crew about the price, my mind is already giggling with excitement because I can imagine the toddlers enjoying the toys! The only downside again is carrying another two heavy boxes of these wooden sets. So we have to distribute the task among ourselves.
Before we head off, we had to have our fill. We were all famished and tired so we went to food court and ate at Tokyo Tokyo. But looking around, I saw a chocolate store and for our last stall hop, we bought some chocolates for ourselves! My wife had her Kisses and M&Ms, mine’s Maltesers.
And off we go. We hailed a tuk-tuk, boarded the LRT, and when we arrived at Katipunan, we hailed a taxi to church to drop off all the things we have bought. It was tiring. I was exhausted. I can’t remember the last time I roamed around a crowded place, carrying much weight. But it was fun!
Until we both remember that we haven’t bought anything for ourselves. Not even a selfie!
And that, my friends, is how my Saturday was spent. I ended up feeling spent.