I am in love with Miranda Fair Westfield Shopping Centre! True story…..

In fact, I get a feeling of absolute happiness and peacefulness when I enter those big sliding doors and my size 7.5 shopper’s feet hit those beautiful pearly, white, glossy and pretty tiles. All my natural instincts become on high alert, I feel so alive. The smell of food, the warm sound of shoppers chatting, the cool air-conditioning on my face and the spectacular lights.  It’s a school day too, I am without my kids and Cecil, there is no such thing as rushing today!

My wide eyes alert very much like a lioness who has lost her favorite baby cub.  I just can’t take in enough information. I hunt the shop windows, with a starving hunter’s instinct to find “Sale”, “Everything Reduced”, “50% of all Sale Items” “Two for the Price of One” or “One Day Sale only”. These loud signs scream at me like Dracula gets called to a grave yard and I, at times, feel a bit like what Shane Warne must feel when he has a mobile phone (debating whether to send an inappropriate text message or not!?).  I like Warnie, cave in and I am lured into shops to spend money on items that make me incredibly happy, completely satisfied and so in touch with that wanna-be/try hard celebrity that lives inside my soul.

I try on these wonderful clothes that are priced way above my depressing legal secretary salary! I feel so happy. Under the Westfield dimmed lights, I can feel and hear that trapped wanna-be/try hard celebrity that lives in my soul, she forcefully instructs me to:

“Spin three times in front of the life size mirror with you prospective purchase”, “pull your stomach in woman”, “stand on your tippy toes”, “pout your lips” “you look good!”, “Mmmmm… you look very good”, “gee you look good”, “this dress is made for you”, “not bad for 41 love and you have had 3 kids, not bad at all!”, “now let’s get a side view”, “pull in your stomach a little more”, “never know what is around the corner? You may get kicked by a donkey and be dead next week! Live for now, just get it! GET IT”.   

I surrender! I surrender! I surrender! – within a weak 10 seconds the dress is on layby! Only because I don’t have the money today – but I will have it in 4 weeks! NOT!

The hunt is finalised and the credit card is bleeding BUT the dress is mine. I am then hit by a sense of guilt! Negative thoughts roll on in:

“That was expensive!”, “I really can’t afford that dress”, “geez, I really need to pay the kids’ school fees this month”, “what about the darn house renovation? we are supposed to be putting a second level on”, “what will my Cecil say?”, “my poor Cecil is still wearing clothes from the 80’s”, “lovely Cecil what is he up to today? He works hard! I better phone him”, “Oh well, I might be dead next week, I might get bitten by a snake or kicked by that wild donkey, who knows? I better get the dress”.

I feel quite down for about 5 minutes after the completion of the hunt! I really need a coffee, I need to sit and I need to check my phone. I waddle on those pearly white tiles to my favorite coffee shop.   I reveal my purse again and buy myself a skim milk cappuccino and a slice of chocolate cake. No food guilt in Westfield today as I looked damn gooooood in that dress (under those dimmed Westfield lights and that Westfield mirror)  and “I might be dead next week, who knows what is around the corner? I could get attacked by bees and die a painful death in my backyard” – so I eat the chocolate cake.

I am then reminded of the time, it is 2.30 pm, have I really been here for 5 hours? Yes I have… caught up in my own little Westfield World – time has no meaning and at times, neither does my money! It is about now that I remember I am NOT a celebrity, “Oh shit.. what am I going to have for dinner tonight!? What am I going to feed them!”, it has been an expensive day!”

Soooo…. I buy a BBQ chook! Only because I can’t be stuffed cooking tonight (again), life is too short.. who knows what is around the corner!!!??

Live in the moment and buy that dress or whatever tickles your fancy!!

Giddy UP and be careful of wild donkeys!

LB 🙂