I Heart Cubao!

Cubao has character; loads of it if I may say. I am falling in love with this district more and more because of the many quirks that I stumble upon every time my husband and I go about on our weekend roaming. Of course, Cubao X is an obvious haven for oddities and vintage stuff. However, my idea of thrift heaven is not found inside this pop art compound. My place of worship would have to be MSM Surplus Shop, found right across the entrance of Cubao X.

From the outside, it doesn’t look much. Nothing fancy. Nothing artsy-fartsy. Nothing pa-cool. It’s just plain as day – a US surplus thrift shop. The store is not trying to be anything more than what it is. While everyone’s raving about Cubao X, I on the other hand am a big fan of this store because it’s really reminiscent of the old Cubao. I appreciate X but somehow I just get the feeling that it has been too consumed with commercialism. It sort of irks me when “fortunate” (in less sensitive terms: rich) kids hang out there and act as if they have given Cubao (or at least that part of the district) the biggest favor by giving this forgotten neighborhood a face-lift. The grit has been glamorized, and that kinda makes my nose wrinkle a bit.

Anyway, back to my favorite place – MSM Surplus Shop. One of the things that really made me fall in love with the shop is their “holocaust” looking pile of Barbie Dolls! Okay, don’t get all Freudian with me now! =) Barbie Dolls, at least for my generation, were iconic of my childhood. Growing up, I would always get a Barbie on any of the following occasions: When I was an honor student… when I was sick… on my birthday… and on Christmas! Considering that I was quite a bright kid growing up, and I was also a bit of a weakling, plus the fact that birthdays and Christmases do happen every year, you could imagine that I did have a lot of these Mattel mini-mannequins when I was a kid.



Seeing a pile of “naked” Barbie Dolls, some with chopped off limbs and shaven heads, is undeniably quite grotesque. I would have to admit that. It seems that all you need to do is brush them with a jar of thick BBQ sauce and they all look like they’re ready for grilling. Nevertheless, regardless of how gnarly they looked like inside that store, the sight of 80s Barbies and limited edition Ken dolls truly stirred my heart. Oh, I miss my childhood!

Here are some other peculiar items that I found in that shop that really tickled my guts...

No wonder Dorothy can't go back to Kansas. Her ruby slippers are for sale at 35 pesos here at MSM.

Before Carrie Bradshaw, Dr. Ruth was the "sexpert" in the 80s. Who knew that we can get sex ed from a German grandma? =)

Because I saw this old board game, can't help but think about how Dra. Margie would compare to Dr. Ruth...

A Sexperts Face-Off!
Whose sex advice would you take? =)
Dr. Ruth Westheimer vs Dr. Margie Holmes