Friends are like an extension of a family. They come and go but there are some whom we keep close to our hearts, beyond time and differences.
Growing up, I only have a few friends. I do believe that quality is better than quantity. I keep my circle small but genuine. For the longest time I know, I have these two best friends who are both married now. Getting into a new phase of their lives, and having different priorities, we still see to it that we make time for each other. So yesterday, Saturday, we agreed on a meet-up because we were just into chat and video calls lately. Seeing and talking to each other still hit differently. Seeing once in a quarter still means a lot to us.
We arrived at Bogo past 9 in the morning. We went to the famous ukay-ukay store beside Gaisano Bogo. (Ukay-ukay store sells secondhand items at a cheaper price.) This is one of our common denominators, spending our time, looking for on-sale items. Now that inflation is at its peak where everything is just too costly, being thrifty is an edge.
ITEMS IN UKAY-UKAY
There are a lot of things to buy in any ukay-ukay stores and here, it sells and sales bags, shoes, pants, jackets, blouses, shorts, baby clothes, and a lot more.
As you can see, people also flocked here because a lot of secondhand branded items are sold at a cheaper price. They have bags in a range of 100-250 (1.83-4.57 USD), shorts and blouses in 20-50 (0.37-0.91 USD), and a lot more. If you are patient and have that good set of eyes and taste to locate and choose which items are good, then your 500 pesos (9.14 USD) will go a long way.
WHAT WE BOUGHT
I bought four pairs of shorts and one bag. She also purchased two pairs of shorts and several baby clothes for her 10-month-old daughter, my godchild. And look, we didn't count how much did we spend but it turned out that we both paid 350 pesos (6.40 USD). Is this a mere coincidence or best friend vibes? Hehe.
WHERE AND WHAT TO EAT
After spending an hour in ukay-ukay, we went to Mcdonald's to have our early lunch and to have some chitchats.
We have the same order, one piece chicken with fries and coke. Another coincidence? Haha.
THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT
We talked about life, work, family, and even our mental health. We both shared how draining work can be. We talked about life, its surprises, and the adjustments she has to take now that she's married. When it comes to marriage, I have never heard her pressuring me to get married and have kids, knowing I'm older than her. We truly respect each other's stand and decisions in life. Moreso, we tackled how stresses and personal problems affect our mental health.
She opened up about a grudge that she has with her colleagues and how hurt she is because things between them suddenly changed and became bitter. I just looked at her teary eyes and said, "I'm all ears."
I gave her the time to share everything. I listened to her. I did not bother to cut her storytelling. I just let her voice out the thoughts she couldn't speak about with them. And when she was done, I also gave her my thoughts. There are things beyond our control. Sometimes, the only thing that we can do is control our reactions. Life is never free of challenges. They'll make us stronger and wiser. We just have to work, get paid, go home and spend time with those who matter to us.
US AND OUR FRIENDSHIP
Sometimes, we just need someone to listen to our sentiments for us to feel light and that's what she feels.
As an Ate, I have to make sure she is okay or if she needed my presence, I had to make time for her. She is always confident with her thoughts if it's me that she's talking to and I'm glad about it. It is always us and our unfiltered thoughts. It is always us and our genuine friendship.
No matter how far we have come in life, spending time with friends still matters a lot. With the distance, various pacing in life, and different priorities, seeing our friends even for just a short period of time makes the friendship firmer.
MY UKAY-UKAY PURCHASE
I won't end this blog without sharing to you my thrift purchase. Here are they:
This is it for today's blog. Thank you so much for your time reading this far. Be well. Be safe. Until the netswriting.