The day we went shopping
Filed under The Mommy Journals • Tagged: shirt, shopping, vase
If we could shop for everything we need without driving to Metro Manila, we would. But the few malls there are within a few kilometers of Antipolo leave much to be desired. When we had to go out last Saturday to buy new school school shoes for Alex, the first stop was Sta. Lucia East Mall which, as far as we knew, had Gibi, Hush Puppies and Rusty Lopez shoes in the department store. Alex chose the styles she liked but there were no stocks in her size. We were on our way out to proceed to SM Megamall when Sam excitedly pointed out a shirt to me.
Huh? Is that a misprint or did we miss the humor? Even if “saind” is a misspelling of “said”, it still doesn’t make sense. Sam and I took turns taking photos with our cell phones intending to post photos of the t-shirt online naturally. I offered to buy one of the shirts for her and she sounded offended. 
Does it make sense to you? Can you make out the hidden meaning, if there is one? You think there’s a secret joke there somewhere that Sam and I missed completely? Maybe the merchandiser wasn’t too meticulous with the inspection? Or, maybe, the shirts were printed in a non-English speaking country and exported (smuggled) into the Philippines and no one realized that the grammatical error would be noticeable? OR, the design was pirated — lock, stock and barrel, so to speak — and the copycats didn’t even bother reading the print?
But, anyway, before we finally left the building there was another yellow item that caught my eye. No hidden joke or undecipherable meaning this time but a real beauty that I wanted to bring home.
Most malls have these Oriental sections selling ceramics from China and/or Korea and I never really looked at what they have for sale. Chinatown style, actually, where you see rows and rows of vases and knick-knacks in colors that scream China! But three-foot high vases painted in bright red and gold, dragons in fake jade, beckoning cats and buddhas in various ages and tummy sizes ain’t exactly my style. But when I saw this vase — pale yellow and embossed with figures of cherry blossoms and peacocks — I wanted to buy it. Kinda pricey at P1,400 but I really, really liked it. Problem was they didn’t accept credit cards and I had less than P200 in my wallet. Too bad for them — and me — but I figured I could always go back another time.
So, I started taking photos with my iPhone. I told them I’d send copies of the photos to my husband and ask him to pass by within the week, with cash, and the photos were to make sure that he brings home the right vase.
The store owner, a Chinese guy who spoke no English, was just as interested in my iPhone as I was in the vase he was selling. And I thought that if I gave him enough info about the iPhone (the Filipina assistant was translating), he’d slash 50% off the price. The last price was P1,200. Wish it could have been lower but that was it. P200 off for talking about the iPhone… not so shabby at all.
Comments
18 Responses to “The day we went shopping”We feast everyday!
Maybe the shirt designer meant to send this message across: “Hello sun, SAND…will you mind?” Gosh, it does sound as silly as the original text.
Wow, you got a PHP200-discount for giving info about the i-Phone. Not bad indeed!
Don’t sun and sand go together? LOL You’re right, it still sounds off. Razz:
I hope the guy remembers the discount when I come back for the vase. hehehe
A couple years ago, I paid more than $90 for a colored/glazed 20″ high flower pot that came from Thailand or Vietnam at a discount store.
At P1400 that vase is still a bargain. My guesstimate – it will cost us approximately $99 here in the States.
There’s a hilarious website called http://www.engrish.com with pictures of shirts, bags, menus, signs etc. from various Asian countries that feature really bad English. You’d enjoy it.
we have the same place here at Powell st. I had to visit it to canvass for the urn since my Memorial Agent advised me not to buy the urns at Cypress Memorial theyre priced at $500.00 and in Chinatown, the have the same for $30.00 up depending on the size and the design.
“Huh? Is that a misprint or did we miss the humor? Even if “saind” is a misspelling of “said”…”
Up to now I’m also very curious why I hear the word “promise” in most of the conversations even though it is evidently being misused.
JMonreal, 99 dollars? Whoa! There’s a comment by Carol B. in an earlier entry about the price of plants in the US and, taken together, everything here sounds like a bargain. But the standard if living here is a bargain too.
SAge Mom, maybe I should submit the t-shirt photo there? I’m viewing it now and the “steamed crap” in a restaurant menu is cracking me up. LOL
Lorena, wow, talk about overpricing.
Trosp, add to that the “God bless” line. Hay, naku.
I think the intention there is to make “saind” and “mind” rhyme because they now both end in IND!
Sirena, so what would that mean?
Maybe… Hello sun said, will you mind? Ang sagwa pa din! Kainis! Ano ba talaga gusto sabihin ng nagprint? : /
Hahaha mind puzzle na ba? LOL
mahal talagang mamatay sa America kung hindi ka bibili ng memorial plans.
here’s the prices:
lot $12,000 good for two bodies
service $5,000.00
coffin $600.00 and up
cremation $3,000
niche $3,000 bottom $5,000 eye level good for 2 urns
since gusto ko pang mabuhay i bought these plants yesterday for my office as Christmas decoration
3 inc pot bromeliad !$10.00 about 8 inches high
8″ pot Christmas plant $25.00 fully bloomed
6″ pot Anthurium $15.0 still alive after 2 months woohooo from Chinatown
6″ pot rubberplant $10.00 still alive after 2 weeks from CC farmers marker
marami dito shirts na ganyan, hehehe… like the one i wear at home it says “Overtime one of the worid”
sa isang menu list naman sa hotel “soup with bacteria” – soup with mushrooms pala. hahaha!
lcm, pucha mga presyo dyan ah — pamatay! But the Anthurium’s price is not so bad. Pwede na hehehe
Phynkee, “bacteria” because it’s black or white fungus? tengang daga ba?
kaya for those who are planning to migrate here in the US, compare the prices, sa Phils about Pesos100,000 for a decent funeral about $2,500, mahal din ang isakay sa eroplano kung hindi cremated
“Trosp, add to that the “God bless” line. Hay, naku.”
From http://minx.cc/?post=277947
“Here’s a topic: Oxford’s New List of Top Ten Irritating Phrases
1 – At the end of the day
2 – Fairly unique
3 – I personally
4 – At this moment in time
5 – With all due respect
6 – Absolutely
7 – It’s a nightmare
8 – Shouldn’t of
9 – 24/7
10 – It’s not rocket science
The blogger also adds -
“I would add the words “basically” and “essentially” used at the beginning of an explanation. Either use is superfluous. They’re placeholders, a more erudite “um” that many people somehow learned to tack on to the front of their statements.”
LOL (I’m now hating to use this one).
BTW, from what I read, the phrase “at this moment in time” is grammatically wrong. I think I read it from Jean Edades’ or heard it from Tya Dely.
Trosp, may dagdag pa ako: “In my humble opinion.” SHit, I hate especially hate it when it’s written as IMHO.