My 115 pairs of shoes and counting... How did this happen?
After the Edsa Revolution way back in 1996,after Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos fled the Philippines my dad took us to Malacanang Palace which was opened for public viewing of the Marcos ill gotten wealth from Filipino people. I was mesmerized by Imelda Marcos' thousands of beautiful shoes, the one pair I really liked was her Disco shoes with diamonds on them and they sparkled when the light hit them. But I was wondering "how could one person owns so many shoes?" I was 11 years old and had only 3 pairs of shoes including my black Haruta school shoes, Mighty Kid tennis shoes and my jelly sandals. Today I know the answer.
When I started working in Laguna, my friends and I had the habit of going to Shoe Mart Mall on their 3 day sale event. It helped to built up my collection of Janeo, Rustie Lopez, Gibi, Figlia, etc. (Manila brand) shoes. Some trips were to Marikina City regarded as the Shoes Capital of the Philippines . We spent the whole day going gaga for shoe shopping in Liliw, Laguna. Before I left Manila in 2004 I had 65 pairs of shoes. I gave away 60 pairs to my friends and family.
I got a lot of criticism from my friends and kids about my shoes. I rationalized my obsession with beautiful shoes. I keep telling them that I don’t have any vices, I don’t gamble and I only like to collect nice shoes! There were times that I would rather buy shoes than eat!!
When I die I want to be buried with all my shoes and my Louis Vuitton and Gucci hand bags!!
Before I left the house...
Big girls eat alot. My only meal for today...
