Bonding with myself

I woke up to an empty house late this morning. My dad was at work, my mom was somewhere doing errands, and my sister was at school. There was no car, so I thought I would be stuck at home all day. Which depressed me because there’s nothing worse than an empty day ahead of you and you not knowing what you’re going to do with it. Half an hour later, my mom gave me a call and saved me from ultimate boredom. “I’m coming home at noon. Get dressed, you’re going shopping,” she ordered. Apparently, she was a little worried that I was spending my many long hours home alone having phone sex with my boyfriend. I guess she’d rather that I go to the mall and spend money on clothes than do impure things with a boy I have yet to lay eyes on. Not that I minded much; I needed to buy some new clothes for school. I skipped merrily to my closet to put together the right shopping outfit.

Then it hit me. I’m going shopping….alone? My mom couldn’t come with me because she had a doctor’s appointment. I had a few shopping buddies in mind but they live too far away and most likely won’t make it to Makati at such a short notice. I almost called my best friend, but changed my mind. I’ve never gone shopping alone before, and you know how there’s always a first time for everything. It’ll be an adventure and besides, going to a public place by myself for a couple of hours won’t automatically make me a social outcast or something.

My mom dropped me off at Greenbelt 3 so I could have a pedicure at Fix Salon. Thirty minutes later she SMSed me to let me know that she already reached the doctor’s office. I SMSed back and told her I just purchased a pair of white Tretorns.

For some reason I have difficulty finding clothes I like whenever I have money. But when I’m broke I’m like, “I want this, this, and this…if only I had some cash! If only I could use this lovely credit card in my wallet that’s turning green from disuse!” Today, choosing the right clothes for school took me ages. Suddenly, every store in the mall seems to cater to either high school kids or working adults only. Everything looked too trendy or too formal and office-y. What about the people in between, the college students? Where do we get our clothes? Eventually I bought two tops in seperate stores that were cute and casual enough for school, but a little boring for the mall or gimmicks with friends.

Two hours later, my dysmenorrhea hit me and I had this awful urge to just sit in a corner somewhere and stay there till the pain goes away. But who wants to sit in dark corners at Glorietta where there are smokers and “gangstas” lurking nearby, waiting for a fight or a chance to show off how macho they are? My mom wouldn’t be picking me up until around four or five, so I decided to watch a movie instead. I picked Freaky Friday because I’ve seen most of the movies that were playing and besides, it had started ten minutes ago. As I made my way inside the dark cinema, it occurred to me that this would be my first time to watch a movie alone. Uh-oh. I hope I won’t end up sitting next to a pervert with a hard-on or something. Just to make sure, I sat near the front–perverts can’t wank off with the screen illuminating them like a lamp. Not that I minded, because my favorite seats are either on the third or fourth row from the screen. Nobody ever likes to sit there, and I can never understand why because the screen is just so huge and awesome. Freaky Friday was really good; I expected it to be corny, unrealistic, and stupid, like most teen chick flicks. But the humor was good, Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis were excellent actors, and I am downloading the soundtrack tonight.

My mom was still at the doctor’s when the movie was over. Apparently the doctor’s secretary forgot to record her appointment, so she had to wait in line along with thirty other people whose appointments were probably unrecorded as well. So I resumed shopping and purchased a preppy-looking top with the last of my cash. I came upon a stall that sold cute ankle socks and after counting my money, I realized that I had enough for one pair. w00t! When my euphoria wore off, I realized that I wanted to go home but I couldn’t because my mom’s turn hasn’t come yet. Broke, tired, and bored, I walked aimlessly around the mall for about an hour and a half until my mom finally came to pick me up.

Well. That wasn’t so bad. Though waiting for my ride kind of sucked, I realized that going shopping by yourself isn’t the boring, lonely ordeal I thought it would be. In fact, I can actually recommend it. I don’t mind shopping with my girlfriends because I like hearing their opinions on the clothes I try on. But on the other hand, shopping alone can be less of a hassle because you don’t have to spend an eternity outside the dressing room, waiting for your friend to decide if she’s going to get that skirt or not. I guess it pretty much depends on your mood. Next time I go shopping, I think I’ll go with my mom or a friend. I got kind of tired hearing myself think all afternoon.