Alanis, Jessica, and Shake Shake Shampoo: things from the 90s era I wish were back or resurrected

I am a child of the 90s.

It is not exactly a happy decade for the Philippines considering that it was during this decade when several natural and man-made calamities and disasters engulfed the country's resources, such as the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, the tremendously strong earthquake that destroyed many parts of northern, central, and southern Luzon, the super typhoons Rosing (1995) and Loleng (1998), the Asian currency crisis, and of course the election of former President Joseph Estrada into office, along side the election of former President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo as his Vice President which would then usher us to one of the worst recent decades in the country's history.

But let bygones be bygones. Alas, I find myself looking back to those days when cellular phones were like ice shavers, when landline party lines were a big issue in households, when telephone booths were as precious as the cellphones nowadays, when the cheapest internet connection was 30-35 pesos per hour, when the buses along EDSA are like individual cab units of MRT and LRT now, and so much more.

The 90s may not exactly be one of the best decades in terms of political and business criteria, but there are things from this era which I had been wishing were back, resurrected, or has an existing counterpart in this millennium's fast-pased, DSL-driven world. Some of them are here:

1. Alanis Morissette - To those who are not familiar to her (which I doubt), Alanis is like the Taylor Swift-slash-Avril Lavigne of our generation. Her album Jagged Little Pill - which is considered according to Wikipedia.com as the highest selling debut album of all time - made Alanis, 21 at the time of awarding, the youngest artist during that time to receive the Grammy's Album of the Year award (until Taylor Swfit beat her to winning the same award at age 20). Alanis's songs live up to this very day. It is not only the kids of the 90s who find themselves singing along the great hits such as Ironic, Hand in my Pocket, and You Oughta Know. Who would forget these words, accompanied by great melody: "It's like rain on your wedding day. It's a free ride when you've already paid...."; "And what it all comes down to, is that everything's gonna be quite all right..."; "And every time you speak her name does she know that you told me you'd hold me until you died, until you died, but you're still alive...." Who would forget these words ever? Alanis, please be back with an album like this. (or maybe not)

 2. Jessica Zafra - Her dark humor has installed her name into the literary world of our country. "Who would right about the most mundane things" (to quote colleague Arlene Manalang) such as riding buses or eating breakfast, or falling in line for the ATM? Who would write about the weirdest things such as OFWs taking over the world, or manananggal in the city, or the art of being dedma? Only Jessica Zafra would do this. I remember her Twisted articles being used in my English 10 class and some Creative Writing classes in UP. She is one of a kind. I am sad now though that her column in The Philippine Star are like reviews only. Ms. Zafra, please talk about the things you talked about in your previous collections? I personally miss the sarcasm and the dark humor.

 3. Streetboys and other dance groups - Despite the "jologs-ness"of the elephant pants and oversized shirts, I'd have to admit that I waited for the latest choreography and dance steps that Streetboys, Universal Motion Dancers (UMD) or Maneuvers would come up with and then perform it on stage in our own school presentations or barangay fiestas. Although they are still around, the craze over simple dance steps becoming a thing for everyone has little by little lost its appeal to the public. It seems now that if one cannot breakdance, one is not considered a great or admirable dancer. I just miss those days when dancers were graceful, whether male or female; straight or otherwise.

4. Morning kiddie shows - Back then, my peers and I would all be looking forward and waiting for vacation season because it was this time when we got to watch the shows that make us all cry: Sarah, Ang Munting Prinsesa, Cedy, Ang Munting Prinsipe, Remy, The Dog of Flanders and many more. These shows were a way for us to learn certain values which allowed us to become better people. Teenagers nowadays don't get to watch shows like this. I wish they'd play them again. Who would forget Miss Minchin? We even had a game about Princess Sarah. It goes something like... "Miss Amelia, takot sa pusa (afraid of cats), Miss Minchin mukhang pera (worldy person)."


5. Weekend street games - To train ourselves to become tough, to remain fit, and at the same time to enjoy weekend mornings, the 90s kids played a lot of games which involved a lot of strategy, strength, and stamina (not to mention sour sweat) such as: Shake, Shake Shampoo; Langit, Lupa; Monkey, Monkey Annabelle; Manga, manga; and so many other games. All these games were played with one kid being the it. His/her task is to touch or catch someone else who would become it. These games trained us sportsmanship and at the same time has allowed us to become, in our own respect, lawmakers.  I remember when my friends would give out all the rules before the game started and there would be others who would appeal and question the logic of the rules. This is probably why many of my peers and contemporaries are very creative and are little by little dominating various scenes in the entertainment industry. Anyhow, let me not fail to mention the games we called Text and Pog.

 6. Beverly Hills and the other US series - I know this might be colonialism but hey I enjoyed watching as a kid shows like Beverly Hills 90210, Baywatch, Party of Five, Seventh Heaven (which made it to the new millennium), Charmed (also made it to the 21st century), and Early Edition. I just miss watching shows that made sense and do not just show female and male sexy bodies, but actually had a real story. Well, some are trying to be revived like 90210 but these shows are unique and may probably be not reborn anymore.

I know that the 90s kids or people did not have the best fashion sense (oversized shirts and pants, bandanas, bad-ass, grunge look, wedges, boots, tucked in polos coupled with 501s) but the 90s ushered in so many things in the popular culture scene which until this very day I wish I savored more.