December 17, 1999
Friday
I am still present at the mass today and I even vow to
complete it no matter what. As a child, I was told that completing a novena
means you will be able to get your wish. Until now, this belief serves as a healthy
motivation for me to attend midnight masses.
By the way, there were so many people shopping at the
mall today (I am currently working as a part-time saleslady). While shoppers
enjoy, we poor workers almost want to scream and quit. Our numbers and energy
are not enough to give everyone quality services. Still, people keep on coming
and buying. The clothes and shoes section in the department store are the most
crowded. Of course, there is always a long queue at the gift-wrapping area. On second thought, it seems hard to determine which
area is most crowded because there are people all over the place.
It is actually hard to move around and everyone is
sweating even with the aircon on. Customers are all in a hurry. Like us, they
also looked tired, exhausted. It seems like people shop not really because they
want to but because they feel compelled to do so. During this time, shopping
seems to have become a necessity. No matter what happens, people seem to think
they should have something new, something to make them feel it’s Christmas.
Most of us are unconscious of our behavior but the mall owners are certainly
aware. Christmas time is the official peak season in the malls so the owners
certainly prepares and make certain adjustments to cater to the needs of all
holiday shoppers.
For one, they have special store hours. The usual 10 am
opening and 9pm closing is reversed. These days, the mall opens at 9am and
closes at 10pm. We started observing the special holiday mall hours since
mid-November but only on weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). But since December 13, the special store hours are
in operation everyday.
Even our day-offs are cancelled and those who work full-time
rendered 4 hours of overtime work almost every day. Most of them instead of feeling
happy because of the prospect of receiving a higher salary want to resign
because the crowd is just too much to bear. The item display we arranged got
disarranged as quick as a lightning. New product arrivals disappear right before
our eyes. The mall owners and other businessmen are probably on a high so I hope they
somehow give something to help their employees feel a bit better in the while
in the mid of shopping chaos.
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