I was never a fangirl.

Back when I was a kid, I didn't know the heartthrobs of that era.

Now, here comes my dark past. 


...literally.


Keep reading...


This was because we only have an old phonograph with red textured faux leather casing powered by batteries. It was small and the volume was so low that all of us in the house had to press our ears towards the speaker to hear early evening radio programs after dinner. We had no electricity at that time even if we lived in the city back in 1975. Full moon was always considered a blessing. If we ran out of batteries in our phono, we played Scrabbles. I was always the "joker" cause I was 3 at that time.

When the neighborhood was"electrified", we'd get our soap opera fix from the neighbors, The Gerobieses. We watched Flor De Luna starring Janice de Belen through their jalousie glass windows or at the slight opening of their front door. Our mother would strike the homemade bamboo gong before 6:00 PM and that's a call for us to come home. My brother, my sister and I ignored that call because our favorite soap ends at 6:30PM. Of course, when we reached the house, we'd see our mother's silhouette at our front door and obviously fuming from frustration and anger. It's either we'd get a spanking or chores as punishment.

We were so immune with her spanking and we didn't mind the chores that was why our parents decided to buy our very first television in 1978. That was the same year that our little sister was born. Not only did they purchase a TOSHIBA box type black and white TV but they also bought a refrigerator. :) It felt like we just hit a jackpot. Lol.

The picture below shows our very first television. By the way, that's my little sister showcasing our artworks for the summer of 1986 (from the Udlot Youth Art Program with Mrs. Nene Lungay).


We had one clear channel and that was RPN 9. I watched Sesame Street in black and white. I didn't know Big Bird was yellow; Ernie and Bert wore colorful striped shirts and Cookie Monster was blue. We never fail to watch Piling Piling Pelikula (PPP) after Eat Bulaga on Saturdays. PPP shows different Filipino movies as early as the 30's. On Sundays, we watched Chinese Movies. We didn't understand it at all but we just enjoyed the costumes, the hairstyles and how they say Chinese words. We thought "xie xie" meant "Hello!" in English. We assumed that that was what one character said when he picked up the phone. Xie Xie means Thank you, just in case you don't know.

In the afternoon on Sundays was the show called Monico. It was a variety show in Ilonggo and again we did not understand Ilonggo too. I first heard the song Deja Vu (originally sang by Dionne Warwick in 1979) in that show sang by a local talent in Bacolod. In the late 70s, Monico was to GMA Supershow with German Moreno for us since we didn't have Channel 7/GMA at that time.

This is Monico Puentevella now. He's a politician. (Photo source: Rappler.com)


Our grandma on my maternal side was always mad at us on weekends because we'd turn on our TV around 11-ish in the morning even if it was just the TV test colored patterns on the screen. Remember this?


We'd watch TV on weekends until the Philippine National Anthem is over and the TV screen pattern is on the screen again. I can still remember her asking us, "Is the TV your GOD?"

I don't think I miss something even if I never knew who Leif Garret, Shaun Cassidy, Andy Gibb, and Rick Springfield were. This is because I've heard their songs and even sang along with 'em. I was not gaga with these famous celebs. I was clueless of these things. I was never a fangirl (like this little girl.)

But times have change. If my grandma did not understand how important TV was for my generation, nowadays, people would feel incomplete without computer, cell phones, internet connections, Korean Dramas, Justin Beiber, Miley Cyrus.... what else?

That's all for now.

Xie Xie. :)