168

>I was running late for my 8:30 am appointment. I was meeting Loida, my former secretary and "Divi" guru, at the Recto Station of the LRT Line 2. We were finally making the trip to 168 after our previous plans to go there were dashed by its sudden closure, allegedly for violations of Customs and business permit laws committed by its tenants.

It must have been at around this time last year that shopping at 168 became so popular. My friends swore that one could find everything there-shirts, shawls, gowns, toys, shoes, fashion jewelry, bags, even school supplies. It was such an "in" place that fashion editors wrote about it. I even heard reports that Imelda Marcos, who I think is the greatest shoppingera alive, and her Blue Ladies shopped there.

I never joined any of my friends' sojourns to 168. I had gone to the Tutuban Mall around December 2003 and I didn't really like the experience. I found some ceramic chimes and red floral wedge sandals then but I did not think that these were worth the hassle. I almost got run over by a kareton loaded with huge boxes at that time.

I finally succumbed to 168's siren call. I had an excuse-I needed more Christmas décor. In line with my new "ism", Frugalism that is, I was determined to find nice but reasonably priced ones. I take after my lola when it comes to decorating for Christmas-I start as soon as All Souls' Day passes. This year, I plan to decorate my parents' house, my house and my office-each with a different theme.

I rode the train at the Katipunan Station. Christmas carols played during the twenty-minute trip. These were interrupted only by the recorded announcements of the names of the stations where the train was about to stop. I felt anxious about being late and extremely excited about finally going to 168.

I arrive ten minutes late. Loida and her daughter, Pamela, were already waiting for me at the platform. We leave the Recto Station and get accosted by an "agent" offering us land titles, certificates of marriage, diplomas, and all sorts of public or official documents that anyone could imagine. The "agent" carried several samples stuck to a board and covered with plastic. A policeman walked past her. At the back of my mind, I think about the elements of falsification and whether or not the policeman should have arrested her. Criminal law was never my favorite subject.

We take a ten-minute jeepney ride and I finally see it-168! The sign looks new. We get down the jeepney and enter an alley with stalls lined on each side. They were selling Christmas décor, bed sheets, baby clothes and women's underwear on the street. My inner shoppingera went berserk.

168 is an air-conditioned tiangge. Like my friends said, one could indeed find everything there. It is a dream destination for fashionistas with tight budgets. Victorian? 168 has several stalls selling lace-embellished blouses for less than two hundred pesos. Rock chic? There are stalls selling tunics with Rock 'n Roll themes and t-shirts with deconstructed collars for one hundred pesos. Studded belts sell for two hundred pesos. Metal chain belts sell for one hundred pesos. Getting married? A bride could get a wedding gown for less than a thousand pesos.

I leave with four dozen large gold Christmas balls, four dozen small multicolored Christmas balls, two shirts and two bags for my sisters, a pad of stickers for my son, two belts and a red pepper charm bracelet for myself and a huge pink bag for stuffing them all in. For all of these, I paid less than one thousand five hundred pesos.

I barely have enough money for my ride home. I had deliberately left my ATM cards to ensure that no damage would be done in case my inner shoppingera went berserk. I'm also dead set on becoming a full-fledged Frugalist. I'm returning to 168 soon.

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