Gaming vs. No Gaming for Children

When I was growing up, there wasn't as many ways to play games. Popular back then were cartridge gaming consoles (Atari, Sega, Nintendo), Game & Watch, and computer games existed (Pacman!). Access was limited. You can only play if you owned a console or if your neighbor/playmate has one. 

I had one Game & Watch and I was gifted a Pacman watch (much to my parents' dismay). I only got to play Pacman when Kuya would lend me his computer. I was never allowed to play Atari/Sega/Nintendo (I wasn't really allowed to go out, periodt). I was busy learning crafts, so that was what distracted me. My parents wanted me to focus on my studies, so all my "game time/play time" was done away from any type of screen. 

Did I want to play on consoles? Of course, I did. All my classmates seemed to have access to it, but I guess I got content with my Game & Watch and Pacman watch. I did not get addicted to it because I was busy with crafting. I got addicted to Candy Crush a few years ago, but I eventually deleted it because I was losing sleep over it and it ate up my crafting budget. The only game I play now is Pokemon Go and I just play a few minutes a day. 

This is what I had when I was a child.

My son, Miggy, didn't have any gaming consoles as well growing up. We played Plants vs. Zombies as a family when we each have our computers in one room. We all outgrew it and I allowed Miggy to play games on his computer. There were times when I had to intervene when I'd see danger lurking. I also removed his computer physically when he got into gaming too much and it affected his studies. We noticed some changes in his behavior that's why we had to take drastic measures. 

Sweetie got this for me for my birthday.

I guess I got to experience the extremes of how gaming affects a person. What we all learned is it's important to supervise and check what your child is doing and reinforce their values. Miggy eventually finished his studies and I don't bother his computer time anymore. Both he and Jay play games I'm not interested in, but we all still play Pokemon Go together as a family. 

It's probably harder for parents now to track what their child is doing. A mobile phone is very powerful compared to the XT computer I had growing up. Miggy was way more knowledgeable than me when it came to computers when he was a teen, so it was already hard back then. We were lucky because Sweetie's a comsci graduate, so I leaned heavily on him to decipher managing Miggy's online time. The best thing I think we did was to be joined on the hip as a family. 

Good luck dear parents with younglings. 

P.S. The funny things is I bought myself my own Nintendo Switch. I used it a few times... it's still pretty brand new. I also had a Gameboy which I eventually gave to Miggy. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Sunsetting My Childhood Home

I dreamt I was back in my childhood home last night. I remember every nook and cranny of it since I lived there for almost 35 years. 

Sunsetting the house was very hard. It took more than two years to clear it. Mom kept telling me before she passed that she wanted us back there. After several consultations with architects and engineers, we decided to demolish the house.

We learned a lot about sunsetting an old home. The house was 55 years old, as much as all the materials used when it was built was still solid, the wires were already tried and there were a lot of leaks. The roof also was leaking even though I had it fixed in early 2022.

It was a long process that involved a number of professionals. We worked with several architects, engineers and a decluttering coach. Sunsetting an old house is something that's not taught at school. It's a long process and you have to make sure you work with people you can trust.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: Scary Incident on Leon Guinto Street

I'm sharing one of two scary memories which popped up when I watched one of the road rage videos that was on the news this week.

Leon Guinto Incident 

It was probably one of the summers before I became a teen. My Mom and I were on our way to my Dad's office to bring food because it was his birthday. Mom was driving and I was on the passenger seat beside her. I remember it was quite hot and we had our windows down. 

We had passed my Alma Mater and were a few blocks away from it when a car blocked the car which was slightly ahead of us. We had to stop because they blocked us too. Men with weeapons jumped out of the car and opened the door of the car. One man grab the hair of the female passenger. She winced in pain and just closed her eyes.

It was then that Mom and I noticed that one of the men had his weapon pointing at us. Mom whispered to me to slowly crawl out of the car. I didn't need to because in just a few seconds they all left. The incident was probably faster than the Louvre Museum heist. No one else noticed because things happened so fast.

After they left, Mom took a deep breath and drove fast to get to my Dad's office. Back then mobile phones were not available for consumers yet. Mom thought also that it would be safer if we got to Dad's office. Whoever they are, they were not interested in us.

I don't recall if it was covered in the news. Mom remembered the incident a couple of times. I don't know what the adults did after. They had me focus on other things and I just remember key moments of the incident. I don't even recall if I cried over it (probably not). I was probably in shock and didn't really register the danger that we were in.

The memory was triggered by the road rage incident. I always prayed that the victim of the incident was saved and lived a long life.

*I don't have a photo of our old car, so had Gemini make one for me.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: Childhood Toys and Clips

I was so happy when I found my Barbie collection. I lost hope that I'd still find it, but I knew Mom kept it for me. I was probably in high school the last time I brought out my collection. I boxed them all up and kept them on the upper shelves of my room. Years passed, I moved out and I knew it was just there. 

It took awhile, but they finally showed up. My 12 Barbie dolls, the bed, and all their clothes. Since the collection wasn't moved for decades, it accumulated a lot of dust. I cleaned the bed and the clothes first. I was happy to see the bed was still intact with little repair needed for the linens. 

Washing the clothes took awhile, apparently I have a lot! Good thing I had the dolls wear homemade clothes because their original clothing are still intact. I giggled when I saw the clothes I tried to make. I think it was the reason why I stuck to quilting, I couldn't get the logic of making clothes (except skirts!). Mom made a few and they're still beautiful. I'll make a proper photo shoot of the clothes when I have time. 

Together with my Barbie stuff were my clips from childhood! I had very short hair back then and my Mom would just clip them on me. I think it's a Goody set. Looks like I didn't use it that much, so I just took a photo and sent it for donation. Hope a baby girl would be able to use it more than I did :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Favorite Childhood Snacks

I'm follow a group that gives recommendations for good buys, reliable suppliers and product reviews. I always keep an eye out for good food and saw a reco for some of my favorite snacks.

I ordered Cloud9 a few weeks ago, so I was stoked to find Choco Mallows, Curly Tops and Jolly. I don't get to go to the grocery often, so I was happy to find out I can find some of my favorites online.

I'm not sure if the biscuit "Jolly" is the same as "Happy". My Mom used to buy it for me and it was usually part of my baon. It tastes almost the same, so I guess maybe it's the same thing?

When I lived in Singapore, I'd always bring back Choco Mallows, Crunch, Chocnut, and Flat Tops. They were expensive to buy at Lucky Plaza, so I always kept a stash. There are just some things you never outgrow :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: More Treasures!

I have been sorting stuff again the past few days and I was thrilled to find more things from my childhood and school days. Long forgotten items, but precious nonetheless.

I found a few of my "artworks" from sixth grade. It's pretty ugly since I don't read know how to draw. I did find a "Little Women" project I did in 6th grade. It's a comic strip of a chapter. I got an Outstanding grade for it and probably why I kept it (haha). 

I also found precious letters my classmates sent me. Back then we would communicate via snail mail during summer. I was curious and read one. It was a letter from my grade school best friend. She was updating me about their family's plans to migrate to the US and how annoyed she was with her sister because she refused to play "pretend bus" with her. Ahh, how simple life was back then!

I didn't find any stuff from high school in this haul, but found copies of my college and masteral thesis, haha. 

I can't imagine how I wrote those back then (they're both very thick!). I burned a lot of eyebrows writing those papers. That's also probably why I've degerated now to writing daily vlogs about mundane stuff, haha. I'll probably have a kick out of reading old posts in the future.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Sorting Box of Documents Isn't Fun

Sweetie brought back a box of documents from my childhood home. I figured it won't take long to sort. Boy, I was so wrong. We already finished watching Firefly but I wasn't done yet. I sorted 10 boxes yesterday in the same amount of time I did a box of documents.

I have been sorting my Mom's things for over a year now. It's a lot of work. I haven't been able to continuously sort because it requires a lot of energy. The dust also always affects me. 

Today's box was from the room of my parents. Most were legal documents, Mom's address books, and diplomas/certificates. It included my Dad's law school diploma, my kindergarten diploma, old passports and bank books and possibly my niece's footprints when she was a newborn (it didn't have a name). 

I already have several boxes of documents. Sweetie already shredded a lot of documents which I think are not needed anymore. I actually asked a lawyer about Dad's old cases and he said I can shred them already since the notary public should have submitted them already. Good. Now I just need to research what to do with old passports and bank books (plus a gazillion IDs!). 

I really hope it's the last box of documents. I have about 10 big boxes to go through this weekend. Half are craft stuff, so that should be fun to do. 

#BeKind #StaySafe