Bruce Clues

Look! Monday Bruce finally has an officemate!

These blind boxes are dangerously addictive.

Kiddulting

You know you're an 80s kid when this toy makes you excited.

This propeller is a very simple toy, but it's so much fun to play with. It was part of my trick-or-treat loot, and there were some left and the creative team ended up playing with it non-stop.

Amazing how a simple toy can bring back the kid in you.

Bruce Almighty

Nope, this isn't a post about that Jim Carrey film.

It's about my first foray into buying blind boxes.

Saw this series called "Monday Bruce" at the KKV store in Gateway 2. Basically, it's a figure series that captures the sentiments of people every Monday. And it's dramatised through a bunny and his friends.

And this is what I got.

So much cuteness. And so much realness.

(Though I'd never spill a drink on anything on my desk.)

Lean, mean (Micro) Machine

Micro Machines were a big part of my toy collection, especially during high school.

And today, it felt like a bit of my childhood came back.

Hello Micro Machines! Great to see you again.

Transform-ative

My first Transformer toy was Sideswipe. He was a red Lamborghini Countach, and he was one of my favourite car characters along with Jazz and Wheeljack.

My Sideswipe was given to me as as a gift by my classmate, Cholo. And I still remember the ultimate thrill and joy I got when he handed that iconic, black Takara box which housed that toy.

That was more than 30 years ago, and a lot of things have changed since then. My Transformers collection was eventually given away to my cousins in the province. My interests shifted from robots to other things. My fandom for the franchise waned, especially after the movie series.

But last week, more than 30 years after I received my 1st Transformers toy, this was given to me:

It's the iconic, black Takara box - updated to the current times - and housing a Transformers car! Getting this brought me back to my HS days.

Transformers toys are really a transformative experience.

Toys for the baby boys

Back in the day, I'd buy a lot of baby toys for my nephews and nieces. I'd relish going into toy stores and baby shops and walk away with a stash of fun stuff for them.

Now, my eldest nephew is 31 years old, while my youngest nephew is 14 years old. Needless to say, I don't buy as much baby toys nowadays.

Yes, I do have 3 grandkids - well, grandnephew and grandnieces - but they're in the U.S. So, as much as I'd like to buy them toys, I'll have to wait until our next trip there.

Luckily, a number of my friends gave birth this year, so this Christmas, I got to indulge in one of my favourite shopping chores - baby toy shopping!

While there are a lot of brands out there, my choice are my go-to brands like Vtech and Fisher Price. They worked for Jul, Carl, Kevin, Princess, Miguel, Kurt, Kai, Toni, Noah and Javier, and they work for this new generation of tots.

Oh, they joy of buying a baby toy!

Toy Throwback

One of the more memorable moments of my childhood was that time when I was able to buy a toy using my own money.

As a kid, I had wonderful parents and grandparents who would happily buy me toys. So, if there was a toy that caught my eye, they would gladly make sure that I'd go home with it.

But as a grade schooler, part of me wanted to buy toys using my own money. For me, it was an accomplishment to be able to provide for myself, even in the mundane realm of toys. Because of that, I'd stash away a few pesos a day from my daily allowance, in pursuit of that dream of buying a toy using my own money.

And that dream eventually became a reality. After saving P20 (don't laugh, that was a big amount back in the 80s), I went to Gift Gate in Quezon Avenue and bought this Lego toy.

It was Ricky Raccoon, a character from the Fabuland series of Lego. Fabuland was their line of toys where all the characters were animals, and I've always wanted to buy Ricky Raccoon because of 2 reasons: 1.) my fascination with raccoons, and 2.) he had a scooter - another thing on my wish list.

Needless to say, it was a proud moment for me. The moment I held that small box in my hand, it felt like reaching "adulthood" and buying things on my own. Of course, I kept that toy as long as I could.

After finding that photo online, it made me want to scour the internet to check if someone's selling the same Fabuland Ricky Raccoon toy.

Maybe there is someone. Excuse me while I check.