If you’re an 80s kid, then you would have been in the middle of the transition phase from old school to high-tech gadgets. I am talking about typewriter to computer printing, betamax to torrent downloads, dial-up internet to WI-FI, pager to touch screen mobile devices. Isn’t it amazing to just look back and wonder how things have changed so fast?
Remember when…
11. We used to play Nintendo Family Computer games. We used to believe that blowing on the game cartridge would make it work whenever there’s a glitch. *UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B-A START.” Don’t you miss playing Rambo (Corrected: CONTRA), Circus Circus (Corrected: CIRCUS CHARLIE), Adventure Island, Bomber Man (my dad’s favorite), Tetris, Duck Hunt, Super Mario and Battle City?!
***Thank you, readers, for the corrections 🙂
image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System
image source: https://vendyxiao.com/50-most-amazing-video-games-during-my-childhood/
image source: https://classicgamingblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/circus-charlie-famicom-review.html
10. We used to play Filipino Outdoor Games. We know all the kids in the neighborhood because we need playmates for Patintero, Tumbang Preso, Touch-Taya (Tag, you’re IT), Luksong Baka, Langit-Lupa (a game of hierarchical gap), Chinese Garter, Sipa, etc.
image source: https://www.nimblesense.com/2014/10/31/10-filipino-outdoor-games-kids-barely-play-today-part-1/
9. We used to play Filipino Indoor Games. We don’t let the rain stop us because even if “brown outs” or black-outs were common back then because we know how to make use of our time and enjoy ourselves. I love playing Hide And Seek, Pick Up Sticks, Jolen, Sungka, Jack En Poy, Jackstones (Knucklebones), etc
image source: https://makulayangbuhay.deviantart.com/art/Holen-113156199
image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knucklebones
image source: https://www.pagcor.ph/photocontest2014/the-2014-grand-winners.php
8. We used to play “Dr. Quack-Quack.” It’s a very fun team game of human puzzle where each player purposely goes over other playmates’ arms just to make the circle more tangled. Having a lot of cousins in the family, this has been a favorite game among us 🙂
image source: https://jamcogitations.wordpress.com/
7. We used to ride our bikes or go roller-blading outside every afternoon because it was safer then. And during weekends, we can rent a bike at CCP parking grounds.
image source: https://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2008/02/on-bikes-and-scooters.html
6. We used to suck on a Santan Flower’s nectar, or pick on Aratelis (Muntingia) tree to get those sweet, juicy berries. I am still wondering why we can’t buy these in the market.
image source: https://adiktude.wordpress.com/2013/12/24/childhood-reminisce-the-santan/
image source: https://herewithaview.blogspot.com/2012/06/today-is-nice-day-for-picking-fruits.html
5. We used to play board games as past time: Boggle, Jenga, Scrabble, Monopoly, Guess Who, Mastermind, Chinese Checkers, Pictionary, etc
4. We used to enjoy Game and Watch: Octopus, Donkey Kong, Popeye, etc. Then the fad became playing Tetris on Gameboy and then we had to buy Lightboy (with magnifier) before it even became a lighted LCD. And then eventually, Game Boy Color was born.
image source: https://mrpjevans.com/2013/04/game-and-watch-nostalgia-overload/
3. We used to watch cartoons on channel RPN 9. Cable subscription was not available yet and we have limited channels on TV, so watching our favorite cartoons should be exactly at the right time or else we’ll miss it because replays were not common then. Cartoon series that we miss the most: Transformers, Voltes V, THE REAL Ghostbusters, He-Man and She-ra (yes, they were siblings but as a kid, you thought that they were a couple), Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, Candy Candy, etc.
image source: https://blog.redbubble.com/2012/03/lessons-in-character-development-the-real-ghostbusters/
2. We used to go through the library catalog just to find that index card that will help you locate the book that you need. Okay, for this one, I thank Google for making life easier, but I must admit, it was fulfilling to find the book amidst the rows of shelves after the index card “search.”
image source: https://www.countryliving.com/antiques/the-good-old-days-1110#slide-1
1. We used to collect and read Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High. All young ladies can relate to what Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefiled have been experiencing in life.
Best SVT Christmas Edition!
Life was easier and simpler then. When was the last time you really talked over dinner (without having to constantly check on your mobile phone)? Don’t you miss feeling appreciated by receiving letters or cards from friends and loved ones? Time and effort were two of the most under-appreciated gifts that most of us have taken for granted. It’s not yet too late. Value what you have and what others are sharing with you, especially their time, effort, friendship and love.
