Off to Bangkok...again

It's off to Bangkok again tomorrow for me. The VIV Asia 2007 will be held from 7-9 April, and it'll be good to see the other members of our team again.

Used to be that I looked forward to all these trips out of the country. After all, I get to travel to countries I would otherwise not be able to see. These days though, I'm not quite as excited about the trips, not because I don't want to go, but it would mean time away from Ben. Earlier today, I was telling one of my bosses that while Ben has been telling me that he doesn't like me leaving to go places, truth is I also suffer separation anxiety, probably more so than Ben. I so wish I could bring him along, but that's not going to be practical. Someday, if I'm still holding this job and Ben is older, I just might be able to bring him along on these trips.

On this trip, I even have an extra day in Bangkok that I didn't wish for. I couldn't get a seat on a flight back home on Saturday. I really want to avoid shopping there because 1) I don't really have money to spare; and 2) if I do find my hands with extra money, I really ought not to spend it because I really ought to save. I wonder if I can discipline myself enough.

Wish me a safe trip to and back...

Mall rats

We used to build civilizations. Now we build shopping malls. (Bill Bryson)

I just read in the papers (can't remember if it was yesterday or today) that a new SM mall opened in Bacolod City. Wow, that's how many SMs in the country now? At the rate Mr Sy is going, SM will probably beat out the sari-sari store in the near future. Ok, ok, so that's pushing things but still, there seems to be no stopping Mr Sy or Mr Gokongwei, or those other mall taipans in the country. At the rate malls are being built in this country, one would almost think that there is a lot of money to spend. Oh well, maybe later there will be...after all, it is election year.

I'm sure the rise of the shopping malls is not limited to the Philippines, which is why Mr Bryson probably said the quote above. It just seems weird that it comes at a time when there are so many sad and frightening things happening in the world...violence, terrorism, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, world hunger, etc etc.

Of course, malls serve their purpose. In my case, they usually serve as convenient meeting places with my friends. And on hot days, the mall is a good place to be to cool down (except when there's a sale, in which case the mall is the worst place to be, I think). Window shopping is another story...it's fun sometimes, but not always.

What am I trying to say anyway? I'm not really sure. The question that keeps popping in my mind though is how will the future people of this world look back to our time. Will we be thought of a civilization of mall rats on account of all these malls that are going up? Strange thought.