“The world is grappling with an economic crunch of epic proportions,” screams the daily news. Say that again?! Like the elusive SARS virus, the financial turmoil that is wrecking havoc on the G8-ish economies seems to be avoiding the Philippines. Ah...the upside of being third world (ok...”emerging economies”, to be politically correct, lest I get a verbal beating from AA).
There are a lot of proofs to this claim:
1. We went to Trinoma last November 29 (a payday/bonus day weekend). We arrived around 8PM and the mall is teeming with people, like it was a freaking Edsa rally! It took us ages before we found a parking space. Also we had to transfer to another dining place coz the first one was SRO. Seems like everyone has money to burn (and it does burn fast).
2. Starbucks (that sprouted all over the Metro like it is vying to be the next 7-Eleven) is still full of people. And everyone is still clamouring for that Starbucks planner.
(I was disappointed with Starbucks planner 2007 so I didn’t get their 2008. The new one is still so-so so I am not going the extra mile for that. But at least they replaced that awful Peppermint Mocha with a better one...Cherry Mocha. Truth to tell, I like the Coffee Bean notebook more than the over-rated Starbucks planner)
3. My brother asked me to drop by a fastfood on my way home. It took me frigging 20 minutes to get his food. The queue was of holocaust proportions! I almost snapped at the server: do you really call yourself a fastfood?
4. The must-have items are still iPhones, iPods, Macs, Havaianas and Crocs. Survey says the #1 item bought are still cellphone loads. And the most profitable items are premium vanity creams (Olay, Loreal, etc).
5. We still change phones like we change partners. Enough said.