A few years back, the TV station where I worked was relocated adjacent to a shopping mall in Senayan. While it was not exactly inside the mall, the office was in the conjoining building, a few floors above where shoppers and diners carried out their calling of the day.

We shared the same parking lot with mall-goers and sometimes had to use the same elevators too. What distinguished us the most was our striking standard blue-and-orange uniform, easily spotted among the visibly more fashionable crowd.

It was not that I hated my work ' in fact I loved what I did ' but I initially thought it weird to go to work in a place otherwise reserved for fun. But within a short while, I began to embrace the experience.

After all, it was the quintessential lifestyle option in this urban jungle called Jakarta. No longer are malls merely for shopping; they are entirely apt for living. Many malls now offer residential and office property, or even a nearby swank hotel, in addition to all their shopping and dining choices.

It's an all-in-one concept aimed at convenience for urbanites who would otherwise have to deal with unwanted long hours trapped in traffic to get to where they work and play.

Having to make the long commute from the suburban area of Tangerang, I knew firsthand what that entails. I decided I wanted to make the most of my new mall, err, office.

Leaving home at 5:30 in the morning would get me to work at 7 a.m., just in time for the first batch of donuts to enter the frying pan in the coffee joint on the lower ground floor. I rushed past workers mopping the floor with my donut and coffee in one hand, and everything else in the other.

During lunch time, my colleagues and I would either go to the spacious food court on the fifth floor or, in swankier times, the restaurant row on the lower ground. Lunch is also a good time to run errands, from going to the bank to donating blood at the Red Cross. It was just a matter of running up or down the escalator.

After work, I would join the throngs of young executives sweating on the treadmill or bending over backward for better health in hot yoga classes. There might also be an art or photography exhibition in the lobby to give the once over, or a promotional event to stop in and get a few samples.

 That was followed by dinner engagements with friends a few floors below the gym. By the time I reached home, it was usually around 9 p.m. A few hours of sleep and it would soon be dawn of a new day.

But sometimes I stayed up late at the mall, especially during midnight sale seasons, where shops slash their prices by as much as 50 percent-70 percent between 9 p.m. and midnight. Judging from the large crowds at those times, I knew I wasn't the only one doing that. I've witnessed hundreds of people line up at a popular American footwear shop, crowds of women going crazy over bedding and household stuff in an upscale department store and groups of younger women on a rampage at a Singapore-based shoes and fashion accessories establishment. OK, I am guilty as charged in the last two instances.

Friends would go green with envy when I told them where my office was located. Big chunks of spending aside, what's not to love anyway from such a glitzy urban lifestyle?

However, three years spent there did teach me some things about making the most of Jakarta's retail charms. Here are some tips:
'¢ As valet parking is expensive these days, it's wise to arrive at your mall of destination before 11 a.m., when parking spots are still ample.
'¢ Most fashion retails churn out new collections every three to four months. If you're not in too much of a hurry for a fashion revamp, wait 'til the new season comes out. You can save up to hundreds of thousands of rupiah by doing that.
'¢ Bedding and household stuff are routinely discounted at department stores. While there aren't always new collections, you can rest assured that the existing ones will always go on major sale once or twice in a year.
If you have a favorite place to shop or dine, sign up for membership. It usually comes with discounts or freebies.
'¢ Last but not least, compare and substitute. What you see at one place could be cheaper somewhere else. If it's not, don't give in to impulsive buying. Substitute with something else at a lesser price but that can do the same job. Or, better yet, take advantage of those Jakarta Great Sale bargains.

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