A Blast from the Past

It was a typical Saturday. Checking updates on social networking sites--Twitter and Facebook. Then I stumbled upon #sentisabado on Twitter. I haven't tried tweeting with hashtags. But last Saturday was different. I got addicted and nostalgic!

Filipinos (including me) joined the craze in tweeting sentimental childhood memories using the hashtag #SentiSabado. At first, I was planning on tweeting just a couple of random childhood memories, but to my surprise, I lost track of how many I've tweeted.

My brothers and I grew up in one of the villages south of the metro. Our childhood experience was just like any kid who grew up in the 80s and 90s. Some of the fond memories I have of our childhood were mostly of my schooling, the pop culture back then, and the games we absolutely enjoy playing. :) I've managed to list my top 10 memorable 80s and 90s experience (in no particular order):

1. Playing Tetris, Arkanoid and Super Mario Bros. on Nintendo's Family Computer. My brothers and cousins beat me in Super Mario Bros., but nobody can beat me in Tetris.

Arkanoid

Tetris

Super Mario Bros.

2. Getting lost on the second day of prep school -- inside the campus! I did not know, or maybe can't remember, where the bus conductor would pick us up. I remember wandering around the campus, trying not to cry. Thank goodness for a kind-hearted high school student who accompanied me to my school bus.

3. I got my first stolen kiss in kindergarten, from a little boy I hardly even noticed in class. It was one sunny afternoon, while waiting for class to start, the little boy (with his yaya) came rushing towards me, handed me a bouquet of santan flowers (picked from their garden), and kissed me on my right cheek. Oh boy, was I flustered.

Santan Flowers

4. Playing in the afternoon with our neighbors became a part of my every day agenda. Filipino street games such as patintero, piko (hopscotch), taguan (hide and seek) were some of the games we played back then.

Hopscotch (Piko in Filipino)

5. The first book (note: not a picture book) I remember reading was Sweet Valley Twins. My mom's friend lent me a few Sweet Valley Twins books. I was in second grade, and reading became a hobby. It was because of Sweet Valley Twins that I never grew tired of reading. My love of books grew throughout the years. I never stopped reading since.

Sweet Valley Twins by Francine Pascal

6. Watching television shows such as: Growing Pains, Small Wonder, Out of this World, Punky Brewster, Beverly Hills 90210, Wonder Years, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Mr. Belvedere. :)

Punky Brewster (1984)

Beverly Hills 90210

7. Listening to music by Madonna, Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, New Kids on the Block, and Swing Out Sisters, using my pink Sony cassette tape player.

8. One of my godparents would always give me Barbie Dolls for my birthday and for Christmas. I had a wide collection of Barbie Dolls and playsets, but regret not taking good care of them. When spiked bangs were in fashion, I got hold one of my Barbie Dolls and tried to cut a portion of her hair so she could have spiked bangs like mine. Operation failed! She ended up with porcupine bangs. :)

9. Remember Cheezums and Chikadees, and the toy that came in every snack pack? I remember saving a portion of my lunch money to buy Chikadees before heading home.

10. My mom's home-baked macaroons! She would baked macaroons for us almost every week. They were so delicious. :)

These are just some of the many childhood memories I have. :)

It's a long weekend, and a happy one too, since we'll also be spending our first wedding anniversary.

Have a great long weekend everyone! :)