sem break log: day 8

what better way to spend a day than agonizing in a mall?

with clara's debut only 2 days away and me having nothing to show for it except a rose message, i figured today was the right time to go shopping for a gift. one of my friends hounded me for his invitation, which was left with me, and so he agreed to accompany me. i head to our meeting place, in mcdo near the quezon avenue mrt station, 30 minutes late, because i realize 10 minutes after leaving the house that i left my friend's invitation at home. i arrive, we eat lunch, i withdraw my budget for the day, then we headed to galleria.

it took me about 40 minutes of window-shopping and price-checking to realize that i had absolutely no idea what to get the debutante. about the only thing i saw buy-worthy was another ps2 rpg, a steal at P180 for 2 discs, but i couldn't well give it as a birthday gift. it was about this time that we had the bright idea of resting in the foodcourt, an activity which took us nearly an hour. i texted various female classmates, asking for clara's potential interests and gift ideas, while my friend just had his dad make 2 pairs of custom sandals (yes, they make sandals. isn't that convenient?) in the end, i buy the game for myself, then we head to powerbooks megamall for my fallback gift idea, books. i really hope she likes them. but again, i really can't choose books for people other than myself.

why must it be so difficult to buy a gift for a girl? feminist hunters alert, but it's true. if it were for a guy, the only choices i'd have to make are if he likes red or blue better. if he prefers loose or fitted. shoes or sandals. reading or gaming. vain or easygoing. sports or music. okay, maybe not so easy. but at least for a guy, i'd have a better idea of what looks good or is usable or would make a good gift for one. with girls, there's always that risk that clothes don't fit quite as they should. (most guys don't mind if a shirt is like 10 sizes too big, but i do. heh.) some girls might not wear strappy sandals, or too high heels (i'd take any fitting shoe i could get for myself). girls may not like a certain perfume scent, or a purse style, or a jewelry color (well, don't give me perfume, purses, or jewelry, but i wouldn't mind anything else.)

maybe it's not so much that girls are harder to shop for, but that my shopping instincts aren't really that sharp. i only started to enjoy mall-browsing and window-shopping this year, since i finally get money to spend for myself. sure, i can find stuff for myself, but stuff for other people is a different story. lack of thoughtfulness and bankruptcy have prevented me from buying gifts for my family and friends in the last 16 years of my life. gift-shopping is a skill, not a talent. guess i really have to start being more generous and thoughtful towards others, specially when it comes to gift-giving.

don't anyone expect any well-thought-of gifts from me any time soon.