Second Childhood and High School Crushes in our 30s!

The new Transformers movie is out and thanks to typhoon Feria’s threat, classes were suspended coincidentally on its opening day and as usual, it ironically turned out to be a clear morning after all so off to the malls the students flocked – Kean and us included. Thanks to a new Cubao secret (not too secret anymore now) – Ali Mall’s newly refurbished Cineplex – we were able to bury our bottoms very comfortably. While everyone else in the metro endured the long lines and the “standing room only” viewing, my family and I practically had the shiny new Ali Mall all to ourselves. I love it that we just live a street away from the classic Cubao landmark! Araneta Center is our backyard.



Speaking of Transformers 2 and in the light of Michael Jackson’s demise, the perfect song for my husband these days would have to be “Have You Seen my Childhood?” Like a “spoiled” kid in a candy store, his current indulgence is shopping for Transformers toys. And he really plays with them!!! The good news – he and Kean are totally bonding over it. The bad news – these toys cost at least P300 to P500 a pop! It may sound silly but this is really serious stuff for Joseph. Compared to my toy-filled childhood, he resents that his parents didn’t get him any of these robots back then. He recalls his mom saying, “It’s beyond your toy budget…” So the poor little boy had to live through watching those Uncle Bob’s Lucky Seven Club’s toy commercials without ever getting at least one of them. Awww… So now, I’m playing “mommy” to his reincarnated JJ (his nickname back then) and buying him these robots. Good thing that I’m also a fan and an ‘80s buff so I understand the need to feed the nostalgia.

So while my husband is going back to being 7 years old, I on the other hand had my own trip back to my 16 year old self by having a very ridiculous high school like crush on Zachary Quinto. Sigh… the name alone creates psychedelic hearts on my eyes. Let me just shriek! He’s soooo cuuuute!!! OMG my face is flushing just thinking about him.



Okay, before I go on any further, you might be wondering who the heck is Zachary Quinto? Well, for most people now he’s Spock from the new Star Trek movie but before that he’s been Sylar to me and to the legions of Heroes fans. I have never missed an episode of Heroes and even if the TV series has become too preposterous in its recent plot developments, there’s no stopping me from following Sylar – the super-powered serial killer who hunts the super-humans in order to steal their powers! He’s primarily a villain but I know there’s more to that psychotic persona… I know there’s a heart buried deep within that hate… I was thrilled when the series showed the character’s soft side as the plot’s paradox in the “Villains” season.

Anyway I could go and on about my own character analysis of Sylar – originally Gabriel Gray – but that would be too much of a geek talk. Yes, my husband and I are self-confessed Heroes freaks. We even plan to name our first daughter (IF EVER) Claire – after the show’s cheerleader character with the regenerative powers. Alright enough Heroes gab. Let me go back to Zachary.

I’ve always been attracted to him but the adulation was just limited within the show. I’ve had plenty of major celebrity crushes in my teenage years – you know that type of silly obsession that make you cut out their photos from magazines and stick them on your walls (don’t laugh!)— but I never thought I would actually have one again in my 30s! The last major celebrity crush I had that lasted all throughout my adolescent years was Keanu Reeves (don’t laugh again!) Hey if you saw him on “Pointbreak” you’d know what I’m talking about. And now ZQ makes me gush.

Like I said, before I was just in love with Sylar the character but now I AM IN LOVE WITH ZQ – the man who plays Sylar & Spock! This video did it all for me. Check out ZQ’s interview on Ellen last May.



Isn’t he totally adorable! Nothing kills me more than a guy who’s cool enough to strut some dance moves on national TV! Kilig to max! And so that got me hooked! I went online and plunged into Google ZQ Mode. I found his official website, grabbed his ooh-la-la GQ photos, put them interchangeably on my desktop (I’ve just recently named my laptop ZQ), became his fan on Facebook, and now having my own toy shopping spree by getting these Sylar and Spock action figures online!


I’ve been reading immensely about him and following his updates on FB. I even sent him a relatively long (giddy-sounding) birthday message last June 2. Actually his birth date stopped me in my tracks. The date was all too familiar and after jogging my memory about its significance, I stammered. He shares a birth date with some guy I used to “know”. Let’s just not expound on the meaning of “know” alright? I’m now a happily married woman. Enough said. But guess what, I also realized that ZQ and this so-called birthday twin actually have some semblances here and there. Hmmm… now this is the part where it kinda gets weird and worrisome. And I don’t know how else to end this blog so I’ll just trail off…

Customer Service: The good, the bad, and the fugly...

Here’s a funny (and rather frustrating incident)… Yesterday at SM Cubao, I went to pay for my purchase at the counter which cost 180 pesos. I didn’t have any loose bills on me so I just silently handed my 1000 bill. The cashier said, “Ma’am kakabukas ko lang ng kaha, wala ba kayong change?”… My mind was busy thinking about the meeting that I was heading for so I just languidly shook my head in reply. I wonder what part of that “No” she didn’t understand because despite my answer she still insisted with a really haughty tone, “Ma’am, kahit 500?” At this point, I knew that I had to retort somehow. And if you know me well enough, you know that when I start to become irritated, I naturally rant in English. Forgive me, patriotic friends, for this is just a force of habit. So I said in an equally sarcastic tone, “I already said no, right? So that means no. If I had change, I would have given you some.” And guess what happened, her face immediately turned white. She fumbled out a reply in English, “Uhm, okay Ma’am… Wait for a minute Ma’am.” And then she hastily left the counter to run for change. And then the bagger even painstakingly added, “She will just get change, Ma’am”

At first I thought, the cashier responded to me in English because I talked to her in English. But after the bagger’s quip, it dawned on me that they actually mistook me for a foreigner, a Korean perhaps, which I regularly get abroad. (Yeah don’t ask me why!) I was both amused and disgusted. Amused at how far you can go to get what you want when you use English, preferably with an American twang; and disgusted with the idea that these people only respected me when they thought I was not a Filipino.

Among my biggest pet peeves in life are Customer Service Agents. Don’t you notice that these people only become prompt and respectful when you start addressing your complaints in straight, argumentative English? I definitely could not count how many times this has happened to me already. And guess what, most of the time I really do get MY WAY when I argue in the American language.

This is really sad. It’s like a microcosm of how the social and even the justice system works in this country. The elite and the eloquent can get away with everything while the “indios” should scrape the bottom of the barrel. I really hate it when Filipinos give better service to Foreigners rather than to fellow Pinoys. We don’t get the same treatment when we’re in their land, FYI.

Commendable Customer Service is really hard to find here in our country. Isn’t that really sad? Don’t you hate it when CS agents give you their standard replies? Argh. I mean, I know that there is a protocol but I believe that all inquiries have corresponding “substantial” answers. Please don’t be vague. I would not have called the Hotline if it wasn’t an emergency! The thing is… I feel that it’s just pure laziness on the part of the Agent to dig through his/her manual or call the manager for more specific issues. It’s not called “Customer Service” for nothing. They should be serving the customer and that means going all the way to solve the problem.

But there is hope. The other day, I was so surprisingly satisfied with the Tech Support for SmartBRO Internet. I really wanted to get that agent’s name ‘coz I want to write a letter to her management and actually commend her outstanding work. I tell you, this girl was thorough and clear in giving her instructions. She was very patient given that I am a self-confessed computer idiot. She definitely exhausted all ways to solve my Internet connectivity problem. Mind you, she didn’t even give me any of those Standard Tech Support answers. In fact, she really sounded concerned about my plight. She even asked me intelligent questions about the situation, which made me learn a lot.

A normal CS Agent would have simply told me that they’ll send a team to look at it or worse to let me wait and see if my connectivity gets better within the next hour. The agent I spoke to even called me on my mobile phone when our call got cut. She spared no expense in solving my problem and we were victorious. We were on the phone figuring out the problem for almost 30 minutes. Whoever that Agent is, she definitely deserves a round of applause (and a raise or promotion) if her manager can read this. And if you’re a CS Agent working for one of those Call Centers, I hope you’re also doing the same thing. If not, pray to God that my call wouldn’t land on your shift! Hehe.

How about you? What's your worst Customer Service experience?

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