Bazooka Bubblegum

I don't think I will ever forget Bazooka bubblegum. There was a time that I chewed 4 pieces all at the same time. Maduwal-duwal ako sa pagkapuno ng bibig ko! LOL!

You might ask why I'd do such a thing. The answer is to make a very big bubble. You see that time, they were holding a contest in Eat Bulaga for all the kids who could make the biggest bubble using the Bazooka bubblegum. I wanted to join that contest so I started practicing. Forever may natuyong bubblegum sa ilong ko ata non at ang lagkit ng mukha ko lagi. Hahaha!

I forgot why but hindi din ako nakasali sa Eat Bulaga. Haha! But that didn't stop me from buying the gum. After all, I'd still be amused by the short comic strip.

What was that again?!

I really hope someone can help me. I've been wracking my brains out trying to recall this local candy (or is it a chocolate bar not sure what it is) that are flat (somewhat resembles a tile floor). It's packaging is just a simple see-through plastic wrapper. It's chocolate taste is a bit strong. It sort of tastes like a sweet tablea that you put when cooking champorado. It's often found in sari-sari stores and not in supermarkets. The last time I bought one was in the late 90's I think and I was in Pampanga back then. It's similar to the one in the picture below except for the alphabet design. Plus it's got like 12 tiles only.



My friend said it's name is Adong. I don't think that's what it is but she insists. Is there anybody out there that knows what chocolate candy/bar I'm talking about?

Sweet Books

To all the ladies of my generation does these names ring a bell: Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield? If you're screaming Sweet Valley High, then you are correct!!! I was once an avid reader of these books. Actually I started reading Sweet Valley Twins when I was in grade school then at grade 5 I think, I started reading Sweet Valley High. Most of the kids in school were reading these books. I had a couple of them and some of my classmates would borrow them and sadly were never returned. Thus, the remains of my collection were left to 8 books (see 3rd picture).



There was also Sweet Dreams that was more popular to high school students back then because it tackled more "mature" concepts like letting go, death, etc. There was this one book from this series entitled P.S. I Love You. I really can't remember the whole story but I remember crying and sobbing after reading it. I was left with two Sweet Dreams book (see 4th picture) and since P.S. I Love You was one of the favorites, the one who "borrowed" it forgot to return it to me. LOL!

Question, why are these books all start with the word Sweet??? Hmmm...

Knight Rider

As a kid in the 80's, I'm you are familiar with the coolest car (that time). It is the TV series entitled Knight Rider starring David Hasselhoff. I remember that I was really impressed with the stunts and gadgets that come out of the car. Well actually what impressed me more was the fact that the car can talk. Don't laugh. Please remember I was still a kid back then so a talking car was really something. Hahaha!

Oh can I just say: "Love the hairdo David." LOL! It's so fluffy. :)

Here's a video. Welcome to memory lane!

Mighty Man and Yukk

Does anyone still remember this show?



If I'm not mistaken, it's also an 80's cartoon show. It's about a tiny superhero and his trusty dog named Yukk. The dog has a small dog house covering his head. Whenever Yukk would be in trouble, all he had to do is lift the dog house and the thing or person attacking him would collapse or run away. Hahaha! But what I really want to know is to know what Yukk looks like. Is there anyone out who has seen Yukk's face? Share!!!! LOL!

Red Santan

If you have no idea what these flowers are, then you probably weren't playing on the streets yet in the 80's. The picture above is a picture of the Santan flower. You might wonder what the kids of the 80's would do with this. No, we did not shred and chop the flowers while playing Bahay-bahayan/Luto-lutuan. What we did was we suck the nectar from the tip of the flower's stem. We were all fascinated with the tiny drop of nectar that comes out of the stem when we pull this thread-like "thingy" inside the stem.

Halos maubos ang yellow and red santan namin sa garden kaka-pitas at sipsip namin ng nectar. Hahaha! In the end, we had to stop eating the nectar because some of our parents would spray fertilizers on the flowers. Toink!

Sesame Street Moment #2

As I've said in this entry, I have a lot of favorite segments in Sesame Street. This video that I'm posting (thanks to youtube again!) is probably one of the popular ones. And I am very sure that you still know how to "sing" numbers 1-12.

As a kid, this bit is my favorite because the lyrics are simple (obviously!), the melody is good plus the there are different colors and weird-looking objects in the video. It also helped me in a way to understand time-tellig. :)

So without further adue, here's the video of the Pinball cartoon. Enjoy!

One Nation. One Scent.

It was in the mid to late 90's when people (particularly men) started to "smell" the same. There were only three choices. It's either they smell of: 1.) Calvin Klein's cK one; 2.) Calvin Klein's Eternity; and lastly 3.) Davidoff's Cool Water. Even the girls in my high school used these three even if they're men's perfume.

cK one smells nice actually but if everywhere you go that is what you always smell then your nose gets "irritated" and you suddenly just get tired of it. It even came to a point that smelling roast beef sandwich inside the classroom was more exciting than smelling any of those three.

Couch Potato

I just realized that there are a lot of TV series nowadays that have a counterpart back in the late 80's and early 90's. From fiction to reality shows, I just love to watch them all. This got me thinking about the TV sitcoms that I enjoyed watching when I was a kid until I reached high school. Mind you, there's no cable yet but there's still a lot of shows to choose from. I remember knowing the TV guide by heart so I'd know when to switch from channel 7 to channel 9 to channel 13. LOL! Yeah yeah, I was a couch potato back then (ahem..until now..). So for the those born in my decade, I'm sure you'd be reminiscing as well.

Before The O.C., One Tree Hill and other high school themed sitcoms, there were:

My So Called Life
Do you remember this show? I think it only had a few episodes before they canned it. I don't know why they did because it was a pretty good show for me. Full of teenage angst, peer pressure and what-nots of teenage life. Oh and Jared Leto is just so cute. Hehe!






Parker Lewis Can't Lose
Whenever I think of this show, there's only one thing that pops in my mind -- Synchronize watches. That's one of the lines in the show when the boys are up to "something".





And of course Beverly Hills 90210
I think this was already aired in the 90's still I have fond memories of my bedroom wall plastered with photos of Jason Priestley. Hahaha! Those were the days...

Before CSI, 24, Prison Break and other TV series in the same genre, I used to watch:

The A Team"In 1972 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire: THE A-TEAM." ... And then queue music. Who could forget Mr. T with his gazillion gold necklaces and chunky rings (he's in style right now. LOL!).

and Macgyver
The man who hates guns and can make any kind of weapon or contraption that will save the day! It's like watching a science project in action. LOL!




Before ER, Grey's Anatomy, House and Scrubs, we've got...


Doogie Howser, M.D.
I love watching this show. I guess because it made me believe that anything is possible since he's just a kid and yet he's a certified surgeon already. I am so gullible. Hahaha!





For the sci-fi, unexplainable, super power type of TV series like Heroes, Lost and Kyle XY, there were:

Small Wonder
Remember, Vicki the robot and her high-pitched brother? The effects aren't that great but at that time, I was already amazed how Vicki does her chores. I also remember their nosy nextdoor neighbor, Harriet with her puffy bangs and abundantly freckled-face. :-D

And also ALF
ALF which stands for Alien Life Form. I can't really remember much of the episodes except for the fact that I've asked my parents to buy me a stuffed ALF toy but I never got it coz it's not available here in the PI.





Before The Ghost Whisperer and Supernatural, there are two shows that I've come to enjoy watching even though I'd sleep in my parent's room afterwards because I got scared from the show. Haha! These two are:

The Twilight Zone
Just hearing the theme song of this show gives me the goosebumps already. Still, I watch it with one hand raised just beside my cheek ready to cover my eyes. LOL! There's this one episode that I would never forget, and that is the one where I think two teens got stuck inside the mall and when morning came, they turned into mannequins. Yikes!




The second one is Friday the 13th The Series
It's about these two cousins who have inherited from their uncle an antique shop that had cursed items. Did you guys see this show? It's when they track down these cursed items because the people who happened to own them used them and ended up dying or something.





Lastly, this is one of my favorite back then. I can't think of any current TV series counterpart except for the local sitcom Buddy en Sol which was obviously copied from this show's plot.

I'm talking about Perfect Strangers
Remember Balki Bartokomous and his distant cousin Larry Appleton?! I just love this show. Even my dad thinks it's funny back then. I specifically remember their: "Let's do the dance of joy!" bit. hahaha! Love it!






Those were the days... Wish our local channels would do re-runs of these "classics". Hehehe! I'm sure some of you are already reminiscing your other favorite TV shows. Care to share them?

Barbie Doll

This I only found out just now that Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Pang soap opera ang pangalan eh?! I wasn't really an avid collector of Barbie and if memory serves me right, I think I only had 3 or 4 Barbie dolls. I was more into G.I Joe action figures back then as they have more cooler accessories. Unlike my other friends back then, their room is filled with a whole lot of Barbie dolls with matching accessories. I'll make a different post this everyone.

Barbie has always been referenced to pop culture. It is probable that there is not a girl who does not know Barbie. We were all content with the limited movement of that doll and was contented in brushing her hair, changing her clothes, shoes and accessories.

Among the three or four that I had, this is the only one that I found in storage. Obviously she wasn't cared for. She definitely needs to stay for a day or two in the spa to get that gorgeous glow again. LOL! Anyway, I forgot what kind of Barbie this is. Can anyone tell me?

Easy Call, Pocketbell and Powerpage

"Where are you? I'm already here at our meeting place."

"I'll call you when I get home."

"Dad, please buy me one large fries, medium rootbeer and a hot fudge sundae. Thanks!"

These are just a few of the messages that operators from paging companies would hear from me back in the mid 90's. The emergence of pagers here in our country have somewhat made contacting our loved ones, colleagues and friends a biteasier. There are however three drawbacks that I can think of when it comes to using a pager.

1.) Cell phones aren't yet that common at that time. It is only the rich and very busy people who own cell phones back then. So it's difficult to receive an urgent message because I'd still be unable to reply right away.

2.) You really can't say everything to the operator. There are just some words that should be said in person instead of having a complete stranger type it away and send it to the recepient.

3.) Lastly, some operators from the paging companies sometimes appear to have hearing problems. I have received a couple of messages that just didn't make any sense. Or maybe it was the sender of the message that has a speech defect. LOL!

Despite these flaws of the paging system, I used mine for almost two years when I was in college. The only time that I decided to have it disconnected was when cell phones became the "in thing".

This is what mine looked like except mine was transparent and I bought extra body casing in yellow and white. Arte ko talaga! Haha!