Office was closed Friday before the 4th of July and thus, I decided to do my little part to help revive the badly ailing American economy. I went out this morning to do a little shopping. 
I was badly in need of a few pairs of pants and some shirts and thus, with the weather cooperating, I drove out today to a small outlet center about a half hour’s drive from my place.
Since today was the start of the July 4th holiday weekend, a lot of stores were offering very good discounts on their merchandise. I bought a couple of pairs of cotton, wrinkle-free pants at a 40% discount at the Brooks Brothers outlet store shown above. One thing I’ve always done whenever I shop for clothes is never pay for them at full price. I always wait for a Sale to come along before I shop for clothes.
A shot of a few more stores in the same section of the outlet center I was in. I got my shirts at a Timberland store in an adjacent section. Timberland had a good deal going for I was able to buy my shirts at a 30% discount.
I wish I could show you more pictures but this photo and the one before it were the only ones I took while I was shopping. However, both photos reveal a few things about me as a shopper.
You don’t see a crowd of shoppers in either picture. Whenever I go shopping, I always make it a point to go early. I often begin my shopping around 10 or 10:30 a.m., way before the crowds roll in. I can’t stand crowded areas and situations because I have a very low tolerance for the rude and uncivilized behavior a good number of misguided animals (yes, that’s what I call them) display when they take advantage of such situations for their own selfish ends. Thus, I avoid them like the plague.
In addition, shopping early provides me with three distinct benefits. First is the availability of parking spaces. I get to choose where to park my car instead of fighting for a spot or spending a good amount of time looking for one . Second, I often get better service from sales personnel. At that early hour, they’re still usually in a pleasant mood due to the fact that they still haven’t been stressed out by unpleasant, whiney or rude customer(s). Third, beating other customers to a store means I have more and better items in front of me to choose from. This is the part I love best because a lot of the “nice” or “nicer” stuff are still available for sale. I hate having to come in late in the afternoon or in the evening and having to deal with “leftover” stuff. At that point only the not-too-good items are left. No way.
Lastly, as a shopper, I’m the “in and out” type. Before I drive out to a store or a mall, I make a list of the items I need. I then drive out to the place and once there, I go straight to the rack, aisle, or section that has the stuff I need. I pick the stuff up, inspect it, pay, and head for the nearest exit. It is quite rare that I hang around a store to check the other items on display.
Thus, with my shopping ways, I am often done before lunch time. I then treat myself to a good lunch as a reward to myself (naks!) for yet another relatively stress-free shopping experience before I head home.
This is how I shop. How about you? 
Posted by panaderos 
Posted by panaderos 
Posted by panaderos 
That Structure on the Roof
October 22, 2009Across the street from the hotel where I’m staying stands an old apartment building. From its looks, I am guessing that it’s probably at least 50 years old. It stands about 10 stories high and judging from its exterior, the building obviously suffers from lack of proper maintenance. The following picture shows the sight that greets me every time I open my hotel room window:
It shows the apartment building’s 10th floor and its rooftop. Please pay close attention to the structures on the rooftop. The concrete structures house the utility stairways that lead to the rooftop and, I’m assuming, the building’s water tanks. There are also non-concrete structures present, mostly built of wood, galvanized iron, and meshed wire. You will see that all of the non-concrete structures on the rooftop are used as storage sheds except for the one at the right. The one on the right looks like someone uses it as living quarters.
The rather thin layer of iron roofing ought to provide the structure’s resident with adequate shelter from the rain. However, the roofing becomes more of a liability during very hot and humid days because its thinness hardly provides any buffer between the resident and the sun’s rays. In fact, the thin metal sheet could even exacerbate the heat within that structure. As a result, the temperature inside could be much higher than what it actually is outside.
Unlike residents of the regular apartments on the lower floors, this structure does not have the benefit of any installed airconditioning unit and the absence could be due to a number of reasons. One reason could be that its wooden walls are probably not strong enough to support the average window-type of airconditioner; another reason could be either the lack or absence of appropriate wiring to support the power requirements of an AC unit in that particular section of the building; and lastly, it’s also possible that the resident simply decided not to have one installed.
Let me switch gears now by saying that when I started writing this piece, my original intent was to simply write about that rooftop structure that caught my attention and piqued my curiosity. I was almost done with organizing my geeky thoughts for this piece when the SO informed me that there are actually two or three Filipino women living in that structure. She knows it for a fact because she actually saw them come out of that structure one morning to retrieve some clothes that they had hung out to dry.
Thus, from wondering about an inanimate structure, I now started wondering about the people who have made it their home. A different set of questions now came to mind. How long have they lived in that structure? How long have they been away from their families? Are they related to each other or are they friends who decided to live together in one housing unit in order to save rent money? Do their families back home know of where they live and how they live? Do the folks back home know of the tremendous sacrifices these women are making in the hopes of a better future for their respective families?
I hope that they all eventually do well with their lives. I hope that they don’t get to stay in such a structure for long. I hope that when the day comes and it’s time for these women to come home, that a loving and grateful family will welcome them back with open arms and with gratitude and positive returns to show for their sacrifices. Given all the hardship they’ve gone through for their families, it is only fair to say that these women certainly deserve no less.