MacBooks, Bags, Sales
7/20/2015 07:00:00 am
The Great Singapore Sale (GSS) is an annual sale that runs from end of May until end of July, and almost all the stores in the entire country has sales during that time.
It's ending this week, so of course I had to go shopping before it did.
I found myself walking all over the malls with Patricia, her sister Andrea, and their friend Tere.
"It's more fun to shop in Singapore than in the Philippines," Patricia had told me that first time we had met up for dinner. "It's because the prices are in single or double digits here, so your brain is fooled into thinking that they're cheap, unlike in the Philippines where they're in the thousands."
"Umm.. that doesn't seem to make sense," I had replied. "I mean, if I convert it, it's the same."
"That's because you're still converting to pesos whenever you buy something, aren't you?" she commented. "When you start earning in Singapore dollars, you'll see what I mean."
Now I'm beginning to see what she meant. She was right. As usual.
But does this mean she's right about what she was suggesting now, too?
"The first thing you should buy is a branded bag," she tells me, as we stroll through the mall. "Have you noticed that Singaporeans are into branded bags? It's like they use LVs to go to the market."
I hadn't actually noticed it because I don't really care about brands.
She started pointing out the bags of the women around us. "Balenciaga. Prada. Miu Miu. Chloe."
From then on, I could not help but notice all the brands. They were everywhere indeed, even in buses and MRTs!
And that was how we ended up in the Louis Vuitton store on Marina Bay Sands. The store was like a prism jutting out of the ocean. So pretty!
But I nearly fainted when I saw how much the bags were. Over 1,000 dollars for a bayong bag? OMG my mom would have a heart attack if she found out I spent that much money on something that could have bought me 30 Secosanas.
"Umm... I don't think I'm ready to spend this much on a bag," I protested. Luckily, they understood.
"It's fine, don't listen to Patricia," said Andrea. "She's a bag addict, and not everyone has to be like her." This coming from someone who had 30 Secosanas worth of bags hanging on her shoulder right now. I was afraid to learn how much Patricia's Prada had cost her. Probably 60 Secosanas.
"Okay, if you don't want to buy an LV, you could probably at least get started on a Longchamp," Patricia relented.
"Longchamp?"
"Yes, like Tere's bag," she explained. "Those are only around 200 dollars."
That chaka (ugly) bag? No way.
Turns out they weren't kidding.
Why would a very simple looking bag which looks like it could have been bought from Avon for 200 pesos and not 200 dollars be that expensive?
But I noticed that they were everywhere. And in the end, I succumbed. But only because I found out it's a French brand and apparently waterproof and all. After I tried using it, I fell in love with how light it is! Maybe I can justify spending this much on this bag to my mom. It's just 6 Secosanas, Mama. You should have seen these other bags!
We bought a bunch of other stuff too. Clothes and shoes and trinkets and makeup and pasalubong for our family and loved ones back home. We don't do balikbayan boxes here but we stock up so that we're prepared when we're going home.
The GSS is so addicting because the sales are so huge! You get up to 70% discount off branded items, on good stock!
I can't believe how cheap Cotton On is here! You can get clothes for 5-10 dollars!
And Charles and Keith! My friends said Charles and Keith is a local brand, so the shoes are insanely cheap, I got a lot of 20-dollar shoes and I think I need to buy that shoe rack I found in Ikea the other day because I have so many shoes all of a sudden.
But my most expensive buy is, you know what? One I'm using right now to type out this blog post.
Say hello to my new macbook.
My friends all have MacBooks, too, and they convinced me that it's the best laptop ever. I could get it on a 12-month zero percent instalment on my credit card, so why the hell not?
I would never have bought one in the Philippines because it's so expensive, but it just makes sense to do that here. I don't know if it's just peer pressure, or what.
And besides, it goes so well with my iPhone.
I have never ever owned my own laptop ever. This is a dream come true.
Is this what it feels like to be rich? Just a teeny tiny bit? If so, then I want this feeling. Forever.
Theme song of the episode:
I wanna be a billionaire so freakin' bad
Buy all of the things I never had
I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine
Smiling next to Oprah and the queen
Oh every time I close my eyes
I see my name in shining lights
Yeah, a different city every night oh right
I swear, the world better prepare
For when I'm a billionaire
It's ending this week, so of course I had to go shopping before it did.
I found myself walking all over the malls with Patricia, her sister Andrea, and their friend Tere.
"It's more fun to shop in Singapore than in the Philippines," Patricia had told me that first time we had met up for dinner. "It's because the prices are in single or double digits here, so your brain is fooled into thinking that they're cheap, unlike in the Philippines where they're in the thousands."
"Umm.. that doesn't seem to make sense," I had replied. "I mean, if I convert it, it's the same."
"That's because you're still converting to pesos whenever you buy something, aren't you?" she commented. "When you start earning in Singapore dollars, you'll see what I mean."
Now I'm beginning to see what she meant. She was right. As usual.
But does this mean she's right about what she was suggesting now, too?
"The first thing you should buy is a branded bag," she tells me, as we stroll through the mall. "Have you noticed that Singaporeans are into branded bags? It's like they use LVs to go to the market."
I hadn't actually noticed it because I don't really care about brands.
She started pointing out the bags of the women around us. "Balenciaga. Prada. Miu Miu. Chloe."
From then on, I could not help but notice all the brands. They were everywhere indeed, even in buses and MRTs!
And that was how we ended up in the Louis Vuitton store on Marina Bay Sands. The store was like a prism jutting out of the ocean. So pretty!
But I nearly fainted when I saw how much the bags were. Over 1,000 dollars for a bayong bag? OMG my mom would have a heart attack if she found out I spent that much money on something that could have bought me 30 Secosanas.
"Umm... I don't think I'm ready to spend this much on a bag," I protested. Luckily, they understood.
"It's fine, don't listen to Patricia," said Andrea. "She's a bag addict, and not everyone has to be like her." This coming from someone who had 30 Secosanas worth of bags hanging on her shoulder right now. I was afraid to learn how much Patricia's Prada had cost her. Probably 60 Secosanas.
"Okay, if you don't want to buy an LV, you could probably at least get started on a Longchamp," Patricia relented.
"Longchamp?"
"Yes, like Tere's bag," she explained. "Those are only around 200 dollars."
That chaka (ugly) bag? No way.
Turns out they weren't kidding.
Why would a very simple looking bag which looks like it could have been bought from Avon for 200 pesos and not 200 dollars be that expensive?
But I noticed that they were everywhere. And in the end, I succumbed. But only because I found out it's a French brand and apparently waterproof and all. After I tried using it, I fell in love with how light it is! Maybe I can justify spending this much on this bag to my mom. It's just 6 Secosanas, Mama. You should have seen these other bags!
We bought a bunch of other stuff too. Clothes and shoes and trinkets and makeup and pasalubong for our family and loved ones back home. We don't do balikbayan boxes here but we stock up so that we're prepared when we're going home.
The GSS is so addicting because the sales are so huge! You get up to 70% discount off branded items, on good stock!
I can't believe how cheap Cotton On is here! You can get clothes for 5-10 dollars!
And Charles and Keith! My friends said Charles and Keith is a local brand, so the shoes are insanely cheap, I got a lot of 20-dollar shoes and I think I need to buy that shoe rack I found in Ikea the other day because I have so many shoes all of a sudden.
But my most expensive buy is, you know what? One I'm using right now to type out this blog post.
Say hello to my new macbook.
My friends all have MacBooks, too, and they convinced me that it's the best laptop ever. I could get it on a 12-month zero percent instalment on my credit card, so why the hell not?
I would never have bought one in the Philippines because it's so expensive, but it just makes sense to do that here. I don't know if it's just peer pressure, or what.
And besides, it goes so well with my iPhone.
I have never ever owned my own laptop ever. This is a dream come true.
Is this what it feels like to be rich? Just a teeny tiny bit? If so, then I want this feeling. Forever.
Theme song of the episode:
I wanna be a billionaire so freakin' bad
Buy all of the things I never had
I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine
Smiling next to Oprah and the queen
Oh every time I close my eyes
I see my name in shining lights
Yeah, a different city every night oh right
I swear, the world better prepare
For when I'm a billionaire
Noted with wishful thinking,
Add me to stay updated!
0 comments
Hi, you have reached Maria Bianca's website. I can't come to the blog right now, so please leave a message after the beep. BEEP!