IN my moments of silent reverie (Silent reverie?!? Sorry, I couldn't help it. In case you didn't get the reference, that was my intrusive Maja Salvador side taking over. (IYKYK!) I often ponder on the silliest and most random thoughts. For example, what was that one place (aside from my school) that I could have frequented the most in my life, which, therefore, is also the most familiar and probably brought back the most, not necessarily fondest memories? Please tell me you do this, too. Anyway, I have come to the conclusion that it would have to be the mall that was nearest to my school, the Green Hills Shopping Center. For context, I went to one school from kindergarten all the way to high school in the '80s, crossing the '90s. Those were 12 golden years. True enough, it would always feel like a trip down memory lane whenever I'd go back. Just the other day, during the Chinese New Year, we went to the recently renovated Green Hills mall which now seemed like a totally different place. It looked nothing like the good old shopping center where I created countless core memories, like having my favorite bubble gum-flavored ice cream at Coney Island, which was right beside my favorite grocery, Unimart, where I thought my world would literally crumble right before my eyes when the big earthquake struck in 1990. I was 10 years old. The ground started shaking, the lights flickered while swinging from left to right, and the grocery items all began falling from the racks for a good 2 minutes or so, which really felt more like a lifetime while everyone started to run toward the exit in panic. It was like a scene from a movie I still hadn't seen at that time. I had this bad habit of wandering on my own to find something, anything to buy, the moment we stepped into a store as a kid, and that day wasn't any different. I started crying for fear of getting lost and the unknown while desperately looking for my mom. The earthquake was still in full swing (no pun intended) when my mom and I found each other, made it safely to the car and immediately went home. And I would not hear the end of it from my mother to this day. The day I cried at Unimart. Anyway, telling a story in English is one way of enhancing your communication skills. Try it!
