...Favoris Anciens... Old-Time-Favorites

Join me as we reminisce and celebrate our old favorites and now nonexistent treats that used to delight our palates. . .

Cheezels and Chickadees. The little thingies covered with bright orange cheese and the chicken-y smelling balls aren't exactly the best junk food you had ever tasted. But these two treats gave you something to look forward to after your classes in grade school - the little toys inside. Most memorable to me were the colorful slimy sticky pop-up toys. My brother and I drove mom crazy when we made a game of throwing them up the bedroom ceiling to make them stick (and they did!).

Arnott's Tim Tam. Tim Tams are a gift from heaven. If you've never tried one, you owe your taste buds a major explanation. These are wonderful chocolate-filled, chocolate-covered rectangular biscuits. Too freaking sweet, you may be thinking. Wrong. They're creamy, they're perfect - just the right amount of chocolate. And they're no longer available.

Horlicks. Horlicks is a popular chocolate drink in Hong Kong. They used to sell the candy version here, which was very, very similar to Ovalteenies. These red and white packets were found near the counters of your favorite supermarkets, where your Chupa Chups and Strepsils now are.

Carol Anne's Cheese Potato Chips. Not much can be said about the packaging since these chips used to come in the transparent plastic bags now seen protecting your common chicharon and dilis. But the potato chips inside were fantastic. Perfectly crisp and flavorful, these chips tasted real, not like tha factory-produced starch we are now being swamped with.

Selecta's Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Sandwich. Good vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two Mickey Mouse-shaped chewy chocolate cookies. This was so good.. I used to eat five a day.

Magnolia's Ice Cream Sandwich. Magnolia's ice cream sandwich used wafers instead of your usual cookie, which made for a light and creamy treat.

Cigarette Gum. Paper-covered rolls of gum in pretend cigarette cartons. This was perfect for freaking our yayas out. "I-susumbong kita sa mami mo!" my yaya once said in halting Tagalog.

Jack and Jill Barbecue Curls. For lactose-intolerant, cheese-hating people, Jack and Jill used to produce an alternative to their popular curls. Not anymore.

Puffy Cones. The one sure thing to stop my bawling while heading for my pediatrician to get shots was a puffy cone. This treat was a cone filled with chocolate-covered strawberry marshmallow. The perfect tranquilizer for little cowards.

Chocovim. Chocovim used to be a staple in every child's life. The Chocolait-like treat used to be sold in bottles before it was phased out. It was again produced years later but this time, the chocolate milk came in pyramid-shaped cartons. That one didn't last either.

Tira-tira. The tira-tira of our generation can be remembered as a chalk-shaped, hard candy. But my mom tells me there was another kind of tira-tira in her time. Stretchy, chewy and taffy like. She still gets a glazed look in her eyes when she remembers it.

Pom-poms. Pom-poms were little caramel-filled chocolate balls that came in yellow boxes. They were chewy, they were sweet and now they are gone.

McDonald's Twister Fries. Here's another treat that was just too good to last. Twister Fries have been playing a now-you-see-me-now-you-don't game with us. Please, just do us all a favor and put it on the permanent menu.

Scramble. I never had the chance to try this frozen treat when I was a kid. Mom had a thing against street food. Although I was able to sneak in afternoons of bagoong-topped singkamas on sticks and lots and lots of fishballs, for some reason I never got around to trying the scramble.

Binatog. Corn and shredded coconut with your choice of sugar or salt. I liked my binatog very salty. I couldn't imagine eating it with sugar. To this day, binatog vendors occasionally can be seen in the streets riding their bikes that carry tubs of this old Filipino favorite.

Cotton Candy. Binatog vendors aren't the only ones who have disappeared or dwindled in number. Old men who push around metal cotton candy-makers are almost extinct.

Lipps Candy. Bright pink strawberry/cherry-flavored candies that little girls used to play with by pretending the candy was lipstick. It was disgusting, it made our lips as sticky as hell, but hey, it worked. Not to fulfill our desires though, instead of looking like pretty ladies, we looked like clowns with bright pink mouths.

Shawarma. Shawarma stands used to be so hot. But one by one, it seems like they've all closed down. There are still a few that remained open, thankfully, for those people who like this Mediterranean treat.

Rolling Stones. Rolling Stones, which were chocolate-covered honeycomb balls, came in orange packs. If I remember correctly, they were just P3.50 when I was in grade school.

Hershey's Bar None. The old Bar None came in a packaging of different shades of brown that immediately told you, "I'm gooey and chocolatey! Pick me, chocoholic!" Yes, it was gooey, it was chocolatey. Perfect for a quick sugar fix.

Goya Chocolate. The older ones were creamy and melted easily in your mouth.

Brown Cow. If there was one thing I absolutely had to have in the refrigerator when I was a kid, it was Brown Cow. And I didn't like mixing it with milk - I liked it on ice cream or better yet, I like eating the syrup straight from the bottle.

Clover Bits. Leslie's used to sell Clover Bits in tiny packets for a quick snack fix. Although the extra-cheesy Clover of today is still as good, one cannot help but miss those little packs that can easily be slid in one's pocket.

Chocolait in a Glass Bottle. Chocolait now comes in plastic bottles or the cartons that come in two different sizes. Years ago, though, I'm sure you remember that Chocolait came in thick glass bottles. These bottles were even used by a lot of people for keeping tap water cold in the refrigerators.

Cola Candy. Cola Candy in the purple wrapper was usually sold in sari-sari stores or sidewalks. This has been replaced with Dynamite, Maxx and a host of other different generic hard candies.

Original Chippy. I swear that the Chippy of today isn't the same as the Chippy of before. Let's wait and see that Jack and Jill will revert to the original recipe.

Dip Pops. This was a Goya product. These lollipops came with powder dips for a more interesting sucking experience.

Combos. Combos used to come in bigger carton containers and an assortment of flavors. I liked their pizza line. Now, Combos come in packs and usually have just one flavor - cheese.

Benson's. The individually wrapped Benson's candies tasted very different from the rolls that you can boy now. The old kind was chocolatey and the caramel was more chewy. The packaging now may look more hip than the old drab one, but then again, it's what's inside that really counts.

Melody Pops. A lollipop and whistle in one. No wonder kids loved this. I was really beginning to miss it. But when I remembered the racket my little brother used to make with these lollipops, add to that the amount of saliva spillage, I can say that we are better off without some things.

..Aimer un ami.. [Loving A Friend]

I went to Facial Care Center (FCC-Tomas Morato Branch) about two weeks ago for my usual beauty treatment/regimen. After my session, they handed me a free cd of TV host Boy Abunda entitled "Love Life: Life Songs and Life Stories with Boy Abunda."

It was just this morning that I was able to open and play it in my cd player.

The album contains 10 cuts of inspiring and uplifting songs including When You Wish Upon A Star, Childhood, You Changed My Life in a Moment, Now and Forever, Tears in Heaven, Don’t Worry Be Happy, Time After Time, Song for Mama, It's My Turn and Because You Loved Me as well as 10 conversations with Makisig Morales, Sharlene San Pedro, Ai-Ai delas Alas, Ogie Alcasid, Martin Nievera, Kris Aquino and Erik Santos. The album also includes a very special conversation with his mother, Nanay Lesing.

I almost cried listening to this album. All the said conversations are very heartwarming but the one that struck me most is the conversation with Kris Aquino entitled "Loving A Friend."

Here is a copy of the conversation. . .

Kris Aquino to Boy Abunda:

Time after time, you've made me believe that everything.. "as in everything" is possible. And you know what, I believed in my self because you always believed in me. I've gotten lost so many times but you've been my flashlight. Ok sige, hindi flashlight. You've been my diva lights.. You've been brighter than all my studio lights combined. In the darkness, I found my way. I've gotten weak but you've been like a multivitamin strengthening my soul. You and I can't count how many times I've fallen. Sometimes because matigas ang ulo ko. I look without really measuring the depth. Other times because I was pushed to the very edge. But you're better than any parachute.. because you are my wings. I should in fact be at rock-bottom but because of you I've only soared higher. 'Wag na nating bilangin ang oras. Alam naman natin, our friendship is beyond the here and now. You and I know, for sure, we'll see each other in heaven.

Boy Abunda to Kris Aquino:

Sarap naman pakinggan Krissy. Ano kaya ang sasabihin ng Diyos 'pag nakita niya tayong papasok sa langit? Siguro sabi niya raw magiging maingay ang heaven dahil sa dalawang ito dahil alam mo namang tayong dalawa e 'pag nagkikita tau e walang patid ang daldalan. But thank you Krissy. Thank you.. for thinking about me and thinking about heaven na kasama ako. E tanong lang, halimbawa sabihin ng Diyos.. "Naku Kris, hindi pwedeng pumasok 'yang kasama mo." Ano kayang gagawin mo? Pero ako seryoso e.. Alam kong ipagtatanggol mo ko because you've always done that for me. Saka alam mo, dito sa buhay na ito 'pag nahulog ako walang pag-aalinlangan.. walang pagdududa.. I'm sure.. you will be there to catch me. At Krissy, with you I am safe.. and because of you I have become better. Thank you.

..The Power of 3 Lil' Words..

Some of the most significant messages people deliver to one another often come in just three words. When spoken or conveyed, those statements have the power to forge new friendships, deepen old ones and restore relationships that have cooled.

The following three word phrases can enrich every relationship:

I'LL BE THERE - Being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give. When we are truly present for other people, important things happen to them and to us. We are renewed in love and friendship. We are restored emotionally and spiritually. 'Being there' is at the very, very core of civility.

I MISS YOU - This powerful affirmation tells partners they are wanted, needed, desired and loved.

I RESPECT YOU - Respect conveys the feeling that another person is a true equal. It is a powerful way to affirm the importance of a relationship.

MAYBE YOU'RE RIGHT - This phrase is highly effective in diffusing an argument and restoring frayed emotions. The flip side of "maybe you're right" is the humility of admitting "maybe I'm wrong."

PLEASE FORGIVE ME - Many broken relationships could be restored and healed if people would admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. All of us are vulnerable to faults, foibles, and failures. A man should never be ashamed to own up to he has been in the wrong, which is by saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.

I THANK YOU - Gratitude is an exquisite form of courtesy. People who enjoy the companionship of good, close friends are those who don't take daily courtesies for granted. They are quick to thank their friends for their many expressions of kindness.

COUNT ON ME - "A friend is one who walks in when others walk out." Loyalty is an essential ingredient for true friendship; it is the emotional glue that bonds people. Those who are rich in their relationships tend to be steady and true friends. When troubles come, a good friend is there, indicating "you can count on me."

LET ME HELP - The best of friends see a need and try to fill it. When they spot a hurt they do what they can to heal it. Without being asked, they pitch in and help.

I UNDERSTAND YOU - People become closer and enjoy each other more if they feel the other person accepts and understands them. Letting other know in so many little ways that you understand him or her is one of the most powerful tools for healing your relationship.

GO FOR IT - Some of your friends may be non-conformists, have unique projects and unusual hobbies. Support them in pursuing their interests. Rather than urging your loved ones to conform, encourage their uniqueness - everyone has dreams that no one else has.

I suppose the 3 little words that you were expecting to see have to be reserved for those who are special; that is I LOVE YOU.

..En raison de vous.. ..Because of You..

Because of you, I realized that I create my own happiness. I dont know where life will take us, but I hope that you are there in the future. But whatever happens, I’ll be happy having shared my life with you.

... Ma vie passée ... *My Past Life*

The Past Life Quiz

Result: A Queen
Ever get the feeling that you should be in charge of the whole damn country? That's because long ago, you were. Even though you were a tough leader back then, you were still pretty girly. Which is why you like feminine things like decorating and dressing up. These days, just like back then, you love being the center of attention. Even though you might not officially be queen, you still rule all in your own mind.