Grew up during the 90’s? I read a thread about the 90s in Singapore..and decided to compile a list of things that I remember from my childhood. I’m sure you can identify with some of them. I had fun looking up forums and threads for ideas and pictures, and I hope you have as much fun reading the list.
TV shows:
In a time where there were only browser-based games (think Neopets) and it took 5mins to load a webpage, time was much better spent watching the tube. It provided a common topic of discussion since everyone pretty much watched the same stuff from SBC/TCS aka MediaCorp. Only a handful had cable TV.
1. Power Rangers
Kids used to pretend they were one of the rangers and hop around screaming and whacking each other. My favourite was the blue ranger, and because of this, my favourite dinosaur was the triceratops. (Every boy had a favourite dinosaur back then)
2. Saving the Earth was cool because of Captain Planet.
I vaguely remember this show. ‘Vaguely’ meaning remembering these two sentences:
“Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart!”
“By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!”
I wonder what happened to the dude now though. Probably died of global warming. And the haze.
3. Most of the kids (me included) would wake up at 9am every Sunday to watch the Digimon show on Channel 8, and it will be the topic of discussion the next day when school started.
Yea, I remember this damn well. I watched every season of Digimon, except season 5. My favourite was Patamon (bottom left corner). I wanted to be different because everyone either liked Agumon or Gabumon (centre two, right to left). The least popular was Palmon (the weirdo plant-looking thing with a pink flower on the head). No wonder kids don’t like their veggies.
Oh, and, I thought Yamato’s hair (blondie in green, wearing gloves) was cool. I always wondered how long Tai (goggle boy) took to style his hair before each episode.
4. Everyone knew the Guiness Stout advertisement where 林子祥 George Lam appeared and asked, “你怕黑吗?”
I didn’t really get the meaning of the advertisement, but it still stuck anyway.
5. Everyone also knew Aaron Kwok and his awesome song with the awesome trademark hand action and the awesome phrase “对你爱爱爱不完”.
He made every boy want a centre-parting I think. Here’s a youtube video I found of the MV. (look at those dance moves!)
6. Monday blues were made slightly better because of 搞笑行动. There was 梁婆婆, 梁细妹 and “真的是伤脑筋”. There was also the 神经一法 segment, a spoof of 绳之以法.
Yes, I used to like watching it..until it got lamer..and lamer..and lamer..
7. 城人杂志 was hosted by 王禄江,钟琴,黄素芳,欧菁仙. There was Miss Tan and 阿好好介绍.
We loved to imitate them, saying “下一位” and “我–什么–都会”. Sadly, I couldn’t find any pictures of the show or its characters, so here’s a youtube vid of MediaCorp’s anniversary show where they got some of the previous hosts back. 钟琴 is awesome because she was really into it! The other few just stood around like dead flies. Probably too old to shake their booty. I liked 欧菁仙 last time. Watch from 4:55 onwards if you want to skip to the 城人杂志 part. The first part is 搞笑行动.
Transport:
I hated taking buses because they took ages to arrive (they still do) and you were all hot and bothered by the time they did. What’s worse? They were all old and cranky, non-airconditioned, and the engine made a thunderous farting noise every time the bus came to a stop. But they were still important to our lives, just as they are now.
1. SBS buses used to be non-airconditioned only. The bus seats were made of wood and the cushion was red. The big red bell gave a loud BEEEP when pressed, probably so that everyone would wake up and no one would miss their stop.
I used to like pushing the windows damn wide and feel the wind on my face. It was horrible when it rained, coz you had to shut the windows (or face the wrath of the drenched person sitting behind you) and the bus would become really humid and warm.
2. Farecards! Every bus came equipped with this farecard machine and you had to insert your card at the top, press the fare you are paying, then the machine would make lots of weird noises before your card came out with a ticket from the bottom.
I remember every now and then new designs of farecards would be released and some people liked to collect them. The adult farecards had a blue back, children’s ones had a red back and the back of senior citizens’ cards were purple.
3. For those who bought monthly concession stamps, you pasted them on your student pass and flashed it to the bus driver when you boarded.
Some people would just paste the new one over the old stamp, and accumulate so many stamps on the card that the stamps were thicker than the card itself.
Food:
Being a child was just about schooling, eating, playing, sleeping, and eating some more. You could buy a shitload of junk food with $2 then.
1. The rainbow-coloured Paddle Pops. All the colours made it look like you would die from all the artificial colourings, but tasted too nice for you to care. Who could forget those?
2. Ring pops, then came push pops.
Or was it push pops first? Push pops were the best because you could eat a bit and pocket it for later. Anyway I remembered conservative Singaporeans complaining about them being obscene looking =/
3. There was this sweet which was a lollipop but came with some crystals in the packet. You would dip the lollipop in the crystals, and let it pop and spark all over your mouth.
4. The ding dang chocolate balls+cheapo toy which sold for 50 cents.
The toy inside would change every week I think. They were all cheapo-looking toys which spoilt easily, but we were still happy with them anyway. Modern version=Kinder surprise, or whatever it’s called.
5. After a tiring session of block catching, getting your hands on an ice pop at the grocery store for 10 cents each was heavenly.
They were just frozen ice with colourings actually, but still tasted good. NTUC still sells them, but I don’t see anyone eating it now.
6. Itchy mouth? Nibble on these:
Shops:
1. There was Oriental Emporium and Yaohan. And Sogo.
I can’t find a picture of Emporium. But I remember it was a NTUC-wannabe and I used to go to the one in Pasir Ris and drool over all the toy samples.
2. A&W restaurant!
The awesome root beer and onion rings!
Technology:
There was not much technology to speak of then. I had my first computer in P4, and was devastated when it broke down for the first time. Somehow, I got the hang of the tech stuff faster than my parents, and it stayed that way ever since. (They never did try, anyway.)
1. Almost every working adult had a pager.
I remember there was some nifty trick. You (the caller) would wait for 2 beeps, then press any numbers you wanted. The recipient (the person being paged) would then be able to see the numbers you pressed, and we were always amazed that the recipient could see the numbers you wanted them to see. (Hey, we were not desperate ok. That was cool until SMS came along.)
2. Cool teens used ICQ, and IRC.
3. To get online you had to start the nasty dialup connection. You would hear the ISP’s server number being dialled, then a bunch of extremely loud and weird noises which made it sound like your computer was going to explode. Only then could you establish an awesome 56kbps connection.
I HATED the noises but never figured out how to make it softer. I hated it mainly because my mom would be alerted everytime I went on the net, and I only had 1 miserable hour of playtime.
4. Everything (gameboy emulators, ROMs) you wanted to transfer MUST be below 1.44 MB. Otherwise it wouldn’t fit into these things called floppy biscuits diskettes.
5. Every student was working part-time. After school, they tended to their shop in Neopets.
Who could forget the browser-based multiplayer game Neopets? Neopets took the world by storm. Suddenly I went to school one day and found out that the whole class except me had a shop. My favourite Neopet was the Kacheek. It was very creatively named Petball88. I wonder if it’s still alive. And I (willingly) got scammed into buying a Kacheek plushie at one of their local events. I still have it now.
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Leisure:
We were in the pre-Facebook and post-Marbles era. There was so much fun things to do, both indoors and outdoors, away from the computer.
1. If you’re with a bunch of friends, feeling bored and happen to be in a maze of HDB flats, never fear, coz there’s block-catching!
Yes I remember this. Void decks had a much more useful purpose back then, before they were primarily used by students for kissing, hugging and making out. Anyway, another version involved lifts. Basically you played catching within one block only. You formed a number of groups (depending on the number of lifts available, usually only 2) and hope to catch the other group by taking the lift to the same level, or something like that. Don’t try this now. The only people who will be doing any catching is the guys from the town council.
2. Another version of catching was “Iceman” or “ice-and-fire” or whatever you call it.
If anyone was caught by the “catcher”. they would not become the catcher, but be “frozen” instead, and had to stand on the spot striking some weird pose. Then other people would try to come and “unfreeze” you by touching, without being frozen by the “catcher” themselves. I preferred this to catching because whenever I was tired of running I could get frozen on purpose and rest a while.
3. Adults carried pagers. We carried beeping devices too, affectionately known as Tamagotchi.
I remember having one too, and treasured it a lot, since I hardly had any toys back then. After that, Tamagotchi was considered “girly”, because…
4. I was always getting into fights with other children I didn’t know–on my Digivice.
Yes, the Digivice was much more popular than the Tamagotchi. It was much cooler and your Digimon could fight and evolve, which beats staring at a chicken until it died. I got a white Digivice as a gift from my neighbour. The lazy kids would do some “code” and try to get an Ultimate stage Digimon without raising it from scratch. People used to cut the plastic farecards into a small strip for this purpose.
5. Playgrounds were filled with SAND, not rubber.
Yes, playgrounds were awesome then. I could spend hours there playing for free. My favourite was the swing because I loved feeling the wind on my face. Most swings were made of really huge black tyres or something like that.
Next was the slide. I remember this slide made of some marble-like material which was very “seasoned”. Children’s butts slid down it thousands of times every day, so it was really really really smooth. Which meant it attracted more children’s butts. Those slides which were less “seasoned” were less fun to play with, since you’ll probably get stuck halfway down and it takes the fun out of it.
There were different ways of playing the slide–you could play it the traditional ‘ass way’. If you were a bit more adventurous, you could lie on your tummy and slide down head-first. That basically meant sliding face-down on a surface seasoned by thousands of butts (and pampers) but it was much too fun to pass up. We used to queue at the top of the slide and every kid would slide down one-by-one, then go up to queue for another round. Some kids just sat at the top, torn apart by the fear of sliding down and yet wanting to have a go because it looked like tremendous fun. So they started crying, jamming up the queue and their parents would carry them away. Either that or he would be given a shove by the evil kid waiting behind and end up crying anyway, from both shock and excitement.
The sand was great for making sandcastles, without going to the beach. Kids would bring their own spades and shovels down to play. Otherwise you could just dig around for spades and shovels that other children left behind. But after that parents became concerned about the hygiene of sand at the playgrounds. There would be pee or poo in the sand, thanks to dogs and cats (and children themselves) who visit the playground. Today, only very little of such playgrounds exist, and the very famous dragon design playground can still be seen at Toa Payoh.
6. Who can forget Mimi, Sam Seng, Fat Ani, Smarty, and the rest of the Bookworm Gang?
Although the short stories were too short for my liking, I still enjoyed them anyway. Never could explain why..I remember the books were damn expensive and damn thin…only a few pages. I always suspected the author of Bookworm stories was anti-teachers. Why else would he/she name the form teacher Ms. Goon?
And every year the Bookworm company would come down to my school to sell books and coerce us into joining the “Bookworm Club”. (I remember there was even a member card)
And everytime the Bookworm auntie will read us a story from the latest Bookworm book. But she won’t tell us the ending, and asked us to buy it. KNS.
This is what your bookworm book would probably look like if you had one today:
School:
And talking about school…it took up a large part of our time every day, it was horrible and fun at the same time, because everyone went through pretty much the same things. I put this the last because there’s just so much to reminisce about!
1. There was this Aces Day which was horrid because it was not a holiday, and you got a fugly cap and had to do this corny thing called The Great Singapore Workout.
Who would have fogotten the scissors kick? And the flushing and pooing action which got everyone giggling, coupled with self-added sound effects from the boys. In case you want to try this at home, here’s a super high-quality youtube video just so you can observe every action.
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Cool bright yellow outfit coupled with superb shorts! (and matching socks!!)
2. For some time, trolley-schoolbags were the in-thing. Until you realised your classroom was on the 4th floor.
Yeah well..that fad lasted a while. I got one too. but it was utterly pointless. The wheels were so noisy that our school said we couldn’t wheel them around the school..
3. It was called the tuckshop, not canteen.
4. (Whenever teachers were not around) Class monitors liked to say, “You talk some more, I write your name on the board ah!”
Classic line..I wonder if they still use this today.
5. English was fun because of PETS coursebooks!
PETS coursebooks were all the rage. There was a different animal each year, and they would be hidden in many of the pages. English lessons were never boring because you could always challenge those sitting around you to find the animal on each page first. After I bought my new textbooks during the holidays, the first book I would read was my PETS coursebook…to spot all the animals in it. Haha. The animals were: squirrel, rat, tortoise, rabbit, bird and monkey, from P1-P6. Sadly I couldn’t find pictures of the P1 and P2 coursebooks.
But the worksheets were weird. They were held together using some poor quality gum, such that when you tore out many pages of worksheets at once, large chunks of gum were left on the worksheets. But I hated the penmanship sections, especially the cursive writing!
And there was some poem in the PETS textbook about momo monster drinking hot tea. Cool!
6. The worst punishment for not bringing your textbook is having to go to the neighbouring class to borrow a copy. And everyone would stare at you. Or even worse, being asked to borrow the OHP from them. But at least you share the embarassment with another unfortunate friend, and both of you would carry the friggin’ huge thing back to your class. And then back again, to return it.
7. Sharity elephant anyone?
8. “Everyone in class would tremble in fear when someone with a gauze stuck in the mouth came to your class and called out a name to go visit the school dentist.”
This was quoted from one of the websites I visited..it was simply too aptly phrased!
9. Everyone played the music recorder during music lessons.
Yeah, I hated it. I always pretended to blow when the whole class was supposed to play. I was afraid of blowing the wrong note, then having the people around you stare at you. And we were always asked to wash our recorders at home after the lesson. Not bringing your recorder on Music lesson day was like 2012, because you either had to borrow from the next class (ew.) or you had to use one from the filthy music cupboard (EWW).
10. “You grew up brushing your teeth with a mug in primary school during recess time. You would squat by a drain with all your classmates beside you, and brush your teeth with a colored mug. The teachers said you must brush each side ten times. Not forgetting the silly red tablet which you know not the purpose for.”
Yeah, the dentist told me too. In the end it was counterproductive because so many classes had to brush their teeth, that we were always in a rush. We either ended up leaving before rinsing our mouths properly, or brushing before we ate for recess.
11. The most vulgar thing you said was ‘asshole’ or ‘idiot’. You just couldn’t bring yourself to say the hokkien relative.
Yeah well..not really true. When I just learnt ‘fuck’ and ‘nabei’ I kept using it until I got bored of it. I remember people kept trying to get others to say ‘chicken white’ though.
12. “You brought every single book to school, even though there was one thing called the timetable, written on the inside cover of your little blue notebook.”
Yes, I was one of those. Later on, it was cool to bring ‘book bands’ or whatever they’re called. Basically a strip of velcro that you wrap around a few books and carry in your hand. Usually bright-coloured.
13. Waterbottles, with your favourite cartoon character pasted on it, were a must everywhere you went, slung around your neck.
14. Boys loved to play soccer with ping pong balls at the basketball courts.
Well for my school at least. Hey, they were cheap and kickable. (For a period of time the bookshop enjoyed great sales of ping-pong balls) I think anything that could be kicked was used. Like pong pong fruits for example. But they banned that, coz it was poisonous or something. Probably the school was afraid the boys would get hungry halfway during soccer and pick up the fruit to eat it.
15. English was fun coz of PETS coursebook, but Science had the angsana and balsam plant.
Yeah, and the lallang. Oh, and Cupid’s shaving brush. Never got over that one.
16. Remember the blue “Young Scientist” cards? And the small badges you got for being a Young Zoologist/
Botanist/___ist.
My first badge was the Ornithologist. I’m so proud that I know what that means. Had to collect collect a bunch of feathers for that one. I highly suspect they were all from crows (that was all I could got my hands on) but my teacher closed an eye and let me pass. People said the Young Zoologist and Physicist were free frags coz you could just buy the book that was always sold at the bookfair and copied everything inside. Oh, and Ecologist.
17. You never got bored of going to the Science Centre.
18. Every Children’s Day and National Day you got cheap quality pens and pencils that were bound to spoil before the next Children’s Day/National Day. (so that you could use the new ones the following year) Either that or lame files printed with “Happy Children’s Day 1998”.
Look! I still have mine from before I transferred schools!
19. You had to play buddy for the Primary Ones when you got older.
I remember this! I played buddy in P3 and we were supposed to bring them to buy food. Then my P1 buddy was my friend’s sister, and I happened to know her P1 buddy. So we cheated and swapped buddies and felt really good about it.
20. Whenever it rained, you went to school in a raincoat and slippers, then you found a dry spot in school to sit down and wipe your feet dry, before putting on your socks and shoes.
Raincoats! Nobody wears them nowadays though.
21. You freak out when your teacher told you to line up in two rows according to height and gender, then hold hands with the boy/girl beside you before walking off to the music room/computer lab/hall.
Yeah, those were the days. Now they can’t wait to kiss.
22. The worksheets were made of brownish, rough and poor quality paper.
I hated those. So much so that I always completed those of normal paper first and those of brownish paper last. I remember it was really hard to write on that kind of paper..the writing in pencil doesn’t show up well or something. Not to mention that they smelled awful.
23. The bookshop was always filled with people. To buy fancy notebooks, erasers, rulers, pencils…everything except books. It was cool to collect those stuff.
24. Talking about fanciful stationery, there were those fancy magnetic pencilboxes. At the push of some buttons, you had all the nifty gadgets like a thermometer and compass, tiny drawers or a sharpener. Basically everything you probably don’t need for school could be found inside.
25. The Shaker was the coolest mechanical pencil ever made. You were cool if you had one.
26. The only thing with pages that you bought from the bookshop was Young Generation magazine.
It was a monthly magazine at..$2 I think. I always tried to save up to buy it every month. There was Vinny the little Vampire, Suzy and of course Constable Acai. I loved sending mails to take part in the contests, but never won anything =/ Pity I couldn’t find a picture of an old issue. But it’s still being published now.
27. The school football field was hardly ever used for football. And the basketball hoops never had nets attached. Even if it did, the nets never lasted more than 1 week.
Don’t ask me what happened to the nets. But we didn’t play football at the field because firstly the school banned us from using it apart from PE and secondly we were using ping pong balls, remember? (can’t kick them in the grass)
28. Teacher’s Day was the day which we all did our best to show our love for our teachers, e.g. by making cards, gifts, etc. We would flood to the staff rooms and hand it to them personally. Children’s day was awesome because it would be the other way round.
I remember trying to come up with different designs of cards every year..And on children’s day we actually came to expect teachers to give us something. This included Yakult, sweets, chocolates etc. It was the only day we could eat in class. The most anticipated was my Maths teacher who always said she went to 牛车水 to buy us those sweets with a plum in centre. Either she was lying or she didn’t know NTUC sold them too. Anyway, we would compare to see which teacher gave the ‘best’ presents.
29. The telephone was our only source of communication after school. If we wanted to talk to our classmates at home, we had to pick up the phone and call. Which meant we could memorise the phone numbers of all our best friends.
I enjoyed chatting for hours with friends on the phone, only to get scolded by my parents later. And there were always long queues at the only coin phone in school, to tell your parents there was remedial that day, or ask them to bring the texttbook that you had left at home, to avoid the drastic consequences. (refer no. 6)
30. At lower primary, the boys’ shorts were actually open (no zip!) in the front.
I totally forgot this until I came across it in one of the forums. I think that was only for P1/P2 though. Hahaha.
31. You either used a purse or a velcro wallet.
I hated those velcro wallets. You had to rip it open to get your money and the whole canteen would know you’re opening your wallet because of the noise. And for a while it was cool to have your wallet chained to your pants, using something that looked like a telephone cord with a hook at the end. It was usually bright coloured..to tell pickpockets where your wallet was, I suppose.
32. Teachers would paste coloured duct tapes around the corner of your workbook and that would be your group color for that year.
33. The longest queue is not found in the canteen but the classroom: we would queue up at the front to let the teacher mark our corrections before going back to our seats.
If your corrections were wrong you had to re-queue. I remember praying that my corrections would be correct so that I could go back to my seat ASAP to talk to my friends study on my own since the teacher was occupied with marking.
34. Everyone exchanged autograph books before we graduated. You wrote every little detail about yourself, including all your best friends and your ‘favourites’ list. The books were also were loaded with “Best Wishes”, “Forget Me Not”, “Friends Forever” and little poems like “Birds fly high, hard to catch. Friends like you, hard to find”.
This was why it was absolutely important to have a favourite TV show character, favourite Digimon, favourite drink..the list goes on and on. There was one more about “Roses are red, violets are blue.” Usually you started with your personal bio, then a favuorites list, a best friends list (people usually quarrelled about being included in the list or not) and concluded with some touching personal message to the owner of the book. You were cool if you could decorate your entry nicely. And even the relief teachers or teachers from NIE were made to write in our autograph books before they left. That’s for all the extra homework they gave us during their visit.
35. Well the last one..I thought it was particularly meaningful. I quote from one of the boards I’ve visited:
The 80s was when we see some classmates, during some course of our primary school lives (6-8 years), have black / blue patches of cloth pinned to their sleeves.
And, even back then, before days of National Education, we knew. We shared their sorrow.
We let them win in One Leg. We tried to avoid hitting them during Bola Rembat / Hentam Bola.
True Friendship.
Although by the 90s we were seeing less of this..but it was still in practice. (the cloth) For those who don’t know, this meant that one of the person’s close kins had just passed away. I guess this was what true friendship meant back then. It was our way of showing care for our friends, our concern for them.
In the best way we could think of with our little innocent minds.
吕后
Nov 03, 2010 @ 16:57:35
this post is so cool! memories, how they flood back. it makes the world now so surreal or maybe vice versa >.<
jeremysng
Nov 04, 2010 @ 01:12:21
makes me feel old too. like i’ve finished roughly 1/3 of my life. i only plan to live till 60+.haha.
sophia
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:56:18
homigawd. so many memories….
i remember i used to go to the mama shop opposite school with classmates, wondering what sweet to buy… be it the white rabbit sweet, fizzy cola, or this other chewy candy (came in long sticks; strawberry, orange, grape)… they were like only 10-30 cents depending on what you bought. either that, it would be ice cream… back then it was like ‘whoa… so rich… you buying ice cream’
under food:
3. There was this sweet which was a lollipop but came with some crystals in the packet. You would dip the lollipop in the crystals, and let it pop and spark all over your mouth.
it’s called magic dust. they still do sell it… usually strawberry or grape flavored.
and yes, i remember EMPORIUM… and how it was more expensive than NTUC… but they had the best toys… there was another ntuc wanna-be… called BESTWAY. and then there was also TOPS.
and the neopets? epic.
late last year i got an email notification from neopets saying that if i didn’t log in soon, my account would be deleted… or somewhere along those lines. guess what? i’ve already forgotten my password and username. lol.
i don’t know about you… but in primary school i hated ‘ting xie’ (chinese spelling) and ‘mo xie’ (erm…. usually characterized by memorizing a random passage from your chinese textbook, which often made no sense). my classmates and i usually didn’t memorize and copied from one another…. OR… we would write it out on little slips on paper and hide it in our pencil boxes… in minuscule handwriting. it was that or on the table with pencil… after the ‘ting xie’ was over, we would start rubbing furiously away (yet discretely) on the table to erase any evidence…pretending to remember how a character was written and ‘change’ it on our exercise books.
there was a passing ‘koosh ball’ and ‘pro-yo’ fad too….not forgetting how the boys in class would buy erasers with the country flags on them and play flip…
organizers were cool if you had one. otherwise known as a foliofax to others
also, when we were brought to see shows at the singapore indoor stadium… tickets were bought on the day itself at the ticket office; no extra booking charges whatsoever. now we are forced to buy it thru sistic
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:26:46
haha i can rmb how the chewy candy look like! and i rmb TOPS too..it closed down in the end right..and mamashops were awesome yea.
Yas
Feb 18, 2011 @ 14:05:20
I remember playing flip the eraser! You buy 1 for 10 cents or invest in a box.. I have fond memories of winning battles and amassing a huge collection of those. My mum couldn’t understand why I had so many erasers which I refused to use. Hmmm.. I wonder what happened to them
Punit Gandhi
Feb 18, 2011 @ 21:49:29
Tops is still around! I see it sometimes in Cheers! =D
terence
Feb 18, 2011 @ 22:37:01
anyone rmb times in school with those blown up paper ball with a few colour that u would either kick or hit around?
hopscotch?
fivestone?
fighting with country eraser?
hahaax
jam.
Feb 19, 2011 @ 01:02:58
ya i remember the ball! cheap source of entertainment!
Z
Oct 28, 2011 @ 10:34:38
Not sure about you guys but i also had games like zero point? The one where you all need to jump over the “Rubber band made” skipping rope?
XR
Aug 18, 2013 @ 17:38:26
there was capteh too! and those ‘hand games’ like chopsticks, chi-ko-pa
Netto
Feb 01, 2011 @ 14:41:47
Same here man, this post is such a blast in the past. I still remember kids running to the local Mini-mart to grab snacks and those… uh… fizzy drinks that had some sort of marbles inside the bottle. It was all the rage back then!
I wonder where I can find those drinks again…
jam.
Feb 07, 2011 @ 09:05:23
haha i’ve never seen the fizzy drinks thing leh. is it this Ramune thing?
twit
Feb 09, 2011 @ 16:53:13
It was called the “bi bo” dragon drink.
Kitty
Feb 16, 2011 @ 20:07:52
I also have been looking for this drink the longest time ever! Yes its the Ramune,but it was called “Bi bo” or “dan zhu qi shui” in chinese. It was a medium tall transparent green bottle with a cute dragon labeling the drinks!
terence
Feb 18, 2011 @ 22:37:46
Dragon Pop? the one with the blue marble! hahaax
n
Feb 19, 2011 @ 11:21:39
oh! i saw those glass bottles with marble balls inside in Taiwan! they don’t really sell them here in Singapore anymore, sadly.
Junie
Oct 24, 2013 @ 22:04:22
Ya!!! I think it’s call bibo or smth! Green dinosaur character…. It was like 1.80 for a small bottle… Quite pricey for a fizzy drink back den…. N we never knew what to do with the metal ball after we finish the drink.
Jack Lim
Feb 09, 2011 @ 16:00:26
awesome job here! brought back lots of memories. (:
jam.
Feb 10, 2011 @ 03:09:22
thanks! glad u enjoyed it.
Benny
Feb 09, 2011 @ 16:37:36
Wow you remind me of things I’ve clean forgotten of..well at least until now. More imptly you remind me of how life has changed so much. I still rmb thinking for some reason when ppl frm the older generation talked abt how old-time singers like fong fei fei used to be the bomb, that stuff from my generation will never fade away like that and my kids would be able to share the same joy as I did.
Pretty cool to know of ppl arnd the same age reminiscing the childhood days! 😀
jam.
Feb 10, 2011 @ 03:08:00
haha yup, I guess there will always be some experiences that only people from the same era can appreciate.
Jay~
Feb 09, 2011 @ 20:44:54
Omg this brings back tons of memories.. playground, be the first one to chiong to tuckshop to buy your food haha, playing with eraser. wow.. and we didnt had handphones or anything of that sort back then. We had to call either using the 10 cent phone, go to the teachers room or using the phonecard our parents bought us haha.
Kids these days have no idea what they’re missing out.. always on the computer playing games. i dont hear kids running around the block anymore playing block catching. Playgrounds are empty most of the time now, mostly filled with china grandparents bringing their grandchild down to play or secondary school student who skipped classes..
I miss the days i spent in my primary school. =) Times I’ll definitely remember for the rest of my life.
Thank you for posting such a nice entry =)
jam.
Feb 10, 2011 @ 02:22:31
Thanks for reading! yea the plastic playgrounds seem so cold and uninviting nowadays. I suppose they are too busy playing video games haha…or Facebook etc. childhood redefined.
broylim
Feb 13, 2011 @ 02:26:51
I doubt kids nowadays even play with toys. They play with the iPhones and iPads.
carmen
Feb 10, 2011 @ 02:50:35
this article brought back so many dear memories of mine! i had cleanly forgotten about all these things, like chen ren zha zhi. i remember tv shows then were fab, like chu lu and he ping de dai jia and one about a monk! i called my game “freeze and melt” and sometimes i cheated by unfreezing myself hur! i also remember playing hopscotch (spelling?) during recess. i remember in my school you could sign up for afterschool lessons and i had computer and abacus lessons. it was also popular for a while for boys to colour their graph paper with digimon shapes. man, i miss my childhood days.
jam.
Feb 10, 2011 @ 03:12:45
haha. the monk show is 济公 is it?
rmbthepast
Jan 14, 2014 @ 22:17:13
真命小和尚
Another Jay
Feb 10, 2011 @ 05:20:55
Hi there!
I love this post very much! Brought that “feeling” back for a while before going back to reality, haha. Last year I was going through my old stuff and found some of my old toys so allow me to add a few more points here:
– Before Digivices came out, there was Digimons. These were the ones that we often see people “fighting” at MacDonalds on Sunday mornings. I was a big fan of that toy in those days, and ended up with all 10 versions. Thinking back, I probably looked funny at MacDonalds with 10 digimons chained up and put in a plastic bag (omg yes). A picture of my collection (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=32758829925)
– Before Game Boy Color came out, the PSP of our days was the Game Gear (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=32748074925)
– Besides ping pong balls, most bookshop uncle/aunties probably enjoy selling a few boxes of flag erasers during recess! Nothing beats getting a Singapore eraser from the box. Feels even better than you win that Singapore eraser from someone else. (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=33587164925)
Thanks! Power to the 90s!
Jay
jam.
Feb 10, 2011 @ 07:15:15
hi there! glad u liked it and thanks for the additions! I owned the post-tamagotchi digimon devices too! but I only had ver 1 and 2. I remember the later versions had an additional function called ‘jogress’. and we would cut strips from the now-long-lost farecards to do cheats and try to get digimons instantly.
raymond koh
Aug 14, 2013 @ 23:30:20
oh yes.. either phone card strips or some strip tt is made of plastics, and the combo that we have to remember to do double shot or something… (think is ABB, ABB, ACAC or something like that, still have that combo somewhere on my old bookshelf).
Visa
Feb 10, 2011 @ 07:36:54
Great stuff, bro! 🙂
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) « Rantings, and sharing (:
Feb 10, 2011 @ 09:44:00
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) « Thoughts
Feb 10, 2011 @ 09:47:22
replaythefuture
Feb 10, 2011 @ 14:56:35
awesome post.
Terry Tan
Feb 10, 2011 @ 15:24:35
Hey dude, thanks for writing this. I had a good time feeling nostalgic and reminiscing and all. Great memories.
You hit many on the spot! You could also add how we used to collect stuff like phone cards and fare cards, and sell them on the flea market.
Also bus tickets were often used to make origami roses for our school crushes.
And how the boys will challenge each other to catch grasshoppers in school and compare who caught the bigger one!
jam.
Feb 10, 2011 @ 16:26:55
thanks for reading too! yup i mentioned farecards. i forgot about phone cards though haha. usually used coin phones. yea the bus tickets! and people used to stuff them in every nook and cranny of the bus seat. i highly suspect this was the main reason why they switched to ezlink cards =x
Terry Teng
Feb 10, 2011 @ 16:18:22
I really enjoyed this post, a retro hit that made me chuckle and shed a tear as well, good old days. one thing i remember clearly, i’m sure you do as well, is the Bugles Chips! those conical curved chips you HAD to put on your fingers!
jam.
Feb 10, 2011 @ 16:43:18
Sorry I made you cry =/ haha I’m sorry I don’t remember the chips! They look interesting though. I’m sure someone else is fond of them.
Lim Shuyan
Feb 10, 2011 @ 21:01:23
thanks so much for putting in the effort to research and write a detailed list of the stuff we had growing up in the 90s. Brings back many fond memories that seemed to happen so long ago. I’ll always remember exchanging stickers with my friend. The shiny ones, furry ones and those u rub and have smell were like ‘waaah, can I have that ?’ ok but maybe thats more a girly thing.
i’ll definitely visit this page again when i’m in a reminiscing mood 🙂 cheers
jam.
Feb 12, 2011 @ 13:36:24
no problem! i had fun writing it too =) yea i had a sticker book too! collected lots of glow-in-the-dark bobdog stickers!!
cheng
Feb 18, 2011 @ 10:33:12
my god. i have those glow in the dark bobdog stickers too! ahah bobdog was quite cool. pride myself to be able to draw it on ppl’s autograph books. thank you very much for a really awesome entry. made my entire morning 🙂
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) | Cause I'll tell a story one word at a time.
Feb 11, 2011 @ 00:29:38
Alan
Feb 11, 2011 @ 05:57:46
The lollipop with the crystals.. it’s called “magic dust” right? That was a winner.
grape or strawberry flavoured, and the lollipop is the shape of a foot 🙂
jam.
Feb 12, 2011 @ 13:38:18
oh yes the foot candy! i was like “zomg my mouth’s exploding!!” and enjoy the awesome sensations of the fireworks in my mouth.
withacontagiousjoy
Feb 11, 2011 @ 06:36:54
i love this post!
i had a super good laugh over it! 🙂
jam.
Feb 12, 2011 @ 13:38:27
glad you enjoyed it!
yisiew
Feb 11, 2011 @ 08:04:01
ohhhh.. brings back the fond memories… its just different now…
Nostalgia «
Feb 11, 2011 @ 11:46:19
kirsten
Feb 11, 2011 @ 13:00:33
Really brings back memories! And also makes me feel really really old now.
I remember I loved the Yellow Ranger because I thought it was cool to finally see Asians on TV (that wasn’t made locally). Although now that I’m grown up I realise how significant it is that she’s the YELLOW Ranger.
Ooh and I loved Young Scientist! I think in the end my granddad did a lot of it for me, hehe.
jam.
Feb 12, 2011 @ 13:39:57
yep! i feel old now too =(
i remember thinking that the blue ranger liked the yellow ranger or something..haha.
yimin
Feb 11, 2011 @ 15:10:52
This post made me smile so much. All the nostalgia, happiness and joy, while growing up in the 90s! Bittersweet, as all these experiences are now gone forever, but happiness that we got to enjoy them at least 😀
Thank you so much for compiling these ^^
jam.
Feb 12, 2011 @ 13:40:57
yes, happiness that shall remain in our minds forever as we continue to enjoy the present.. (failed attempt to sound chim)
Virgopalz
Feb 11, 2011 @ 15:18:21
Thanks for writing this awesome post!! I was just feeling nostalgic about my childhood recently, and reading this post just brought back soooo much more nice memories!! Thank you so much! ^^ Great job!! ^^
jam.
Feb 12, 2011 @ 13:41:12
thanks for reading too!
Awesome Childhood | Shermaine’s musings
Feb 11, 2011 @ 15:33:22
Childhood | Shermaine’s musings
Feb 11, 2011 @ 15:36:18
Kim
Feb 11, 2011 @ 16:26:30
AWESOME POST!!!!! i laugh, and i cried a little =) missing those wonderful days..I am glad that i was born in the era, when i was still watching videotapes (with AH yoyo teaching certain subjects), secretly using my dad’s pager, using discman or walkman, playing hopscotch & crocodile during recess…LOVE THOSE DAYS!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! =D
jam.
Feb 12, 2011 @ 13:41:38
yes…how can we forget ahyoyo! i still like her shows very much!
Kuan Loong
Feb 11, 2011 @ 18:51:22
I like this a MILLION times! =) I can relate to this completely!
warped
Feb 12, 2011 @ 03:28:00
yaohan logo… could not find the emporium one…
back then there were games like 4 stones, skipping ropes made of rubber bands.
long chiam pass
ji go pao
UNO card games
old maids
card games with cars, tanks and planes etc.
the cards had info like capacity, speed, etc. the winner will choose a spec (i.e. top speed) and the players will put down the top card, highest speed wins, etc.
jun qi, xiang qi, magnetic otello… everyone played it after exams when teachers were marking scripts.
line up for milk in primary school.
jam.
Feb 12, 2011 @ 13:42:02
ah yes all the card/board games! thanks for the yaohan link!
lala
Feb 12, 2011 @ 06:46:39
great post! made me laugh and smile so much. so many memories flooded back and a wave of nostalgia hit me. thanks for writing this! 🙂
oh yea. you mentioned phone cards in the comments section! i think they are great too for this post. i remembered the amount of credit left was punched at the back so that you would know when you need to get a new card 😀
and cartoon! not sure if you’ve watched 宇宙小毛球 before? 😀
and and and playing in the rain was so fun and normal too! parents these days are getting too over-protective in my opinion. i think it is much healthier for kids to play outdoors.
and saturdays are for remedials and ECAs (now CCAs) before school became 5-day.
jam.
Feb 12, 2011 @ 13:45:59
ohh i forgot that phonecards could do that. yes i watched 宇宙小毛球! the ball of fur is so cute. i loved playing in the rain as well! haha. there are just some things that u can only do as a kid.
Leen
Feb 18, 2011 @ 05:32:23
I have a plush toy from 宇宙小毛球. The pink female furball, I forgot her name lol. Just recently moved last December & it’s one of the ‘surviving’ plush toys that I am going to keep (:!
aH SHeng
Feb 12, 2011 @ 10:15:27
OMG it really brings back alot of memories!!!!! (: Especially the monitor’s favourite quote LOL!!!
Geraldine
Feb 12, 2011 @ 23:54:02
Oh my god. The memories of all the things that happened back in Primary School. I’m barely through 1/4 of my expected lifespan and this already makes me feel so old. The rubbery cord things attached to our wallets, the velcro book straps, the paddle pops, the farecards, the autograph books, digimon toys, Neopets… Can’t believe how much time has passed. Thank you for this post. It’s really brought back memories of some really good times (and some embarrassing ones!). Thank you.
jam.
Feb 14, 2011 @ 00:14:17
yes..i am guilty of the rubbery cords too =) i had an orange one for years…and autograph books before graduating from primary school! i still have mine!
broylim
Feb 13, 2011 @ 02:30:40
FANTASTIC POST!!
This post brings back so many memories and I think reminds us how important a childhood is; the beautiful memories and moments. I think we should all cherish and hold these pieces of memories tightly because they are what defines the “us” today, even with all the chaos and technology-outburst in the modern age. It keeps us REAL. 🙂
jam.
Feb 14, 2011 @ 00:15:01
Yes…we only have one childhood..i’m glad i have all these memories.
apple
Feb 13, 2011 @ 11:29:07
Omg! You did a great job! :DD I believe you have done a lot of work before summarize everything up here! Now im 19yrs old but whatever you have mentioned here made me recalled all the wonderful times i have in the past. Miss all the good old days man! Unlike the kids now being so pampered with laptops, itouch, iphone etc. Miss the 哎哟哟老师, 宇宙小毛球,济公,出路,SaliorMoon dont know if you have watched before. Long time ago also have pokemon! Always showed at 10am kids central. But now become okto. Thanks for your effort for sharing this & those who have commented! This really worth my time reading it all! Appreciated! ;DD
jam.
Feb 14, 2011 @ 00:17:34
thanks =) yea it took some time to collect information and add some of my own..but the process was fun! yea pokemon on kids central..i was a (closet) pokemon fan =x still am now though!
(:
Feb 13, 2011 @ 14:28:27
Thanks for this post! I really enjoyed it (: I remember watching huanzhugege when I was younger and the machines where you put in 50c or $1 to get the ‘exciting’ toys in a capsule. There was also Timezone where we’d play games to get coupons to exchange them for gifts. Perhaps more of a ‘girly’ thing would be hopscotch, where we’d draw the playing area on the floor anywhere with a chalk and use five stones to play because they landed nicely.
Thanks once again! (:
skylin3
Feb 13, 2011 @ 18:01:01
Thank you for reminding me of the past, for reminding me that I was once young. It’s really cool of you to post this! So grateful that I was born and grew up in the 90s! 😀
jam.
Feb 14, 2011 @ 00:19:00
I am grateful too! i think each era will have their own set of special memories..
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) « Sittingonthesidewalk's Blog
Feb 13, 2011 @ 21:18:10
John
Feb 13, 2011 @ 23:13:35
Hey, thanks for the wonderful post. sure brought back tons of wonderful memories from back then, those carefree days… anw, i also miss the curly fries from A&W! (i tot onion rings are from BK…)
Crystal
Feb 14, 2011 @ 00:01:19
Thank you for writing this article, it really brought back great and fun memories, espcially the pictures.
Still miss the ancient digivices and would still very much like to get my hands on one again.
I don’t know if it’s just me, or kids central’s ( or whatever they call it nowadays, is it still kids central??? ) is not very interesting anymore.
jam.
Feb 14, 2011 @ 00:39:00
I miss the digivices too! but it’s only fun when people around you are playing and you can discuss with them. it’s called okto now..not sure what it stands for though.
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) « ♥ɅÜⱭɅÜⱭ♥
Feb 14, 2011 @ 01:41:29
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) « Mao Zongcheng
Feb 14, 2011 @ 01:46:16
1990s « The moment after.
Feb 14, 2011 @ 02:11:07
Daniel
Feb 14, 2011 @ 08:15:26
What about Aksi Mat Yoyo? lol I think that show, even though it was a malay show, I think it captured the hearts of the populace ya? hahah
Cool blog!
jam.
Feb 14, 2011 @ 16:50:03
hmm i didn’t watch that show..but thanks for your input! =) im sure there would be others who would remember it.
radya
Feb 20, 2011 @ 14:07:15
daniel, i’m with you on the aksi mat yoyo part. yes i did watch aksi mat yoyo during the 90s. my favorite characters then were the cat twins and a boy named pipin if memory serves me right. thanks for bringing that up.
Est
Feb 14, 2011 @ 12:08:09
How vivid those memories are! hahah! It’s amazing! Thank you so much for recounting all these great great stuff we had done in school back then 🙂
I wonder if you remember in those days if you like someone in class, it’s called a “Secret Admirer” or they called it “SA” lolz!
And there was also gift exchange during CNY celebration in school, where you bring a bottle of sweets or something for your queuing partner 🙂
jam.
Feb 14, 2011 @ 16:45:24
hmm i remember a teacher had us playing angel mortal by pasting envelops, with our names written on them, on the noticeboard. it was fun although we didnt really have much to write (we were p4 after all haha). oh yea queuing partners! i forgot about that.
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) « Communication Studies Blog
Feb 14, 2011 @ 12:21:10
Boat Shoes « v7- intoxicatingly
Feb 14, 2011 @ 13:57:46
Nostalgic Indeed
Feb 15, 2011 @ 04:18:12
Wow! Reading this really made me think back of the times when I were just a primary school kid!
– The Science labs are always scary. And it would be the darkest place in school lol.
– We would think that there are really ghosts around and scare the shit out of each other lolol.
– We all had this exercise books where we would “create” games and ask friends to buy their own so they could join the game.
– Bringing in of pokemon cards and playing them secretly every recess lolol.
– Spinning erasers. Nuf’said.
– Beyblades
– Those erasers tied up with strings and we would throw it high up in the air to see who can throw it the highest.
Ahhhh, nostalgic indeed!
jam.
Feb 15, 2011 @ 22:12:19
haha i remember the exercise books! the teachers would always end up not using them/using them halfway so why not put them to other uses =p
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) | Wry Things
Feb 15, 2011 @ 11:17:59
Geraldine Chua
Feb 15, 2011 @ 15:24:16
OMG THIS IS SO AWESOME! a very interesting entry n u mk it sound funny.
thank u so much for this n it seriously brings back. those memories.
jam.
Feb 15, 2011 @ 18:23:04
glad you found it funny =p
peggy
Feb 15, 2011 @ 17:20:39
lol. this is like so cool. memories. and LOL at no. 4, 5 and 12. totally aaron kwok classic. and i can still remember the first day i attended Pri1, my mum didn’t know i only needed to bring the A books and forced me to carry everything, and when i was going to class, i couldn’t even stand up from the floor and fell backwards until a prefect helped me up. that was uber embarrassing. = =
jam.
Feb 15, 2011 @ 18:21:41
haha! yea i remember bringing the whole bookshelf to school as well. usually the P1s carry huge bags..then the bags got smaller as you grew up coz you don’t really care anymore…
peggy
Feb 17, 2011 @ 08:32:33
lol. agreed. then there was all the spelling, dictation, 听写 and 默写. and when i was like in lower primary, they were also using chalk and blackboard instead of whiteboard markers.
tar
Feb 15, 2011 @ 18:24:24
don’t forget there’s arranging the tables in groups to demarcate groups! somehow i remember the tables always being in an “F” formation.
oh and the games like rubber erasers fights and stuff!
sinnee
Feb 15, 2011 @ 19:38:54
hey! this post is soooo awesome!! made me smile and went OMG so many times because it fitted so wellll into my memories! and u were from LPS as well ?!?!?! OMG!! Add me up on msn if u dun mind so we can reminisce stuff!!! 😀
jam.
Feb 15, 2011 @ 21:07:43
yea..but i left during P3..so my memories of LPS are pretty faded =(
sinnee
Feb 16, 2011 @ 19:26:58
which year were u born in? 1989 ? same year as me? :p maybe we’re classmates! :p
sinnee
Feb 16, 2011 @ 19:27:43
which year were u born in? 1989 ? same year as me? :p maybe we were classmates! :p
Isabel
Feb 18, 2011 @ 18:09:26
Wow! I left lps at p3 too! Thanks for this awesome post that brought me back to the past! 😀
xiaocangshu
Feb 15, 2011 @ 20:45:17
Hi, I grew up in the 90s and now work with primary school kids. Kids still eat the little biscuits with colourful toppings, use trolley bags and big pencil cases,and read YG (apparently via school subscriptions).
Marianto
Feb 15, 2011 @ 21:53:10
I felt as if I have just returned from a trip back in the 90s..It is heartening to see that good memories are still well preserved 🙂 Kudos to you, mate.
jam.
Feb 15, 2011 @ 22:10:50
thanks..well the memories will always be there in our minds..just need a trigger to recall them =p
Marianto
Feb 15, 2011 @ 23:40:08
I am beginning to wonder if you are from the same primary sch as me. LOL Cus a huge part of what you said really reflects on the things that they do in the primary sch that I came from. i.e. the brownish paper used for worksheets, tapes on the corner of books, holding hands before marching to the music room and the part whereby one has to borrow books and OHP from neighboring classes. Hahaha
jam.
Feb 16, 2011 @ 12:59:59
well i suppose many primary schools in singapore do the same thing haha..and probably are given the same number of OHPs (ie not enough)
Mingjun
Feb 15, 2011 @ 22:57:50
Hey ! you missed out how we used to buy erasers with those countries on them and try winning the erasers of others ! Or putting on staples on erasers and spinning them and see how long then could spin !
Jo
Feb 16, 2011 @ 16:20:28
Yeah, totally remember those! I’m almost 20 this year… and I STILL have those erasers, packed in a box! My lil sis’ is 10, and they still play with the erasers in school 😀
kai
Feb 16, 2011 @ 02:45:07
think im older by about 5 years? cos i remembered tamagotchi was in pri 6 and digimon in secondary school days….
How come i dun see anyone saying about the infamous DragonBall shine cards or the 4 Heavenly kings idol shine cards?
WR
Feb 16, 2011 @ 02:47:58
this is awesome stuff, totally inspires me to return to my primary school to compare with the lifestyles of the current school-going kids! a few of my personal additions to the list include 1) emergence of other cool gadgets like pro-yo, which was followed by Duncan and other yo-yo brands! for a while it became banned in school but I remember ‘walking the dog’ with my white, limited edition yo-yo! 2) doing recess duty by sweeping the classroom, cleaning the BLACK (chalky and not white) board, and wiping the metallic window fenders.
thank you for the post!
jam.
Feb 16, 2011 @ 13:01:24
oyea recess duty =)
and i had a proyo too…and blackboards..hmm..people used to steal chalk to play hopscotch so there always wasnt any chalk left in the box.
Shella
Feb 16, 2011 @ 03:48:19
reading this entry made me feel so…old, but nevertheless good job! 🙂
Alan
Feb 16, 2011 @ 09:45:06
This post is an awesome reminder that I had a childhood. The world (and Popular bookshops) these days seems so dull in comparison to my primary school days. Some other things I remember:
1) Weekday TV shows – X-men, Spiderman, Hi-5 in the evening. Followed by Wheel of Fortune and the Pyramid game.
2) Country erasers!
3) Card games. Dragonball Z cards, Magic cards… and of course, Pokemon cards.
4) Awesome kids books. Choose Your Own Adventure, Goosebumps, Hardy Boys, anything by Enid Blyton…
5) Yo-yos. I had the Pro-Yo, the Bumblebee, the Fireball because of all those TV commercials. Sadly, I never learnt to get past the basic tricks.
jam.
Feb 16, 2011 @ 13:01:59
speaking of kid books..i still have a couple of Animorphs rotting in my bookshelf =)
Elmo
Feb 17, 2011 @ 12:36:27
@ jam
U wanna sell those Animorphs? My gf is keen to collect it.. lmk via email ya? =))
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 16:36:42
umm nope sorry..I’m keeping them =) only have 3 books anyway..not a lot
Hwee Ping
Feb 16, 2011 @ 09:51:53
Hahah… this is damn cute! rmb i was on of those monitor who will ask the class to keep quite and write their names when they were talking…LOL….and i used to hate taking bus too cuz the bus fare cards are so troublesome to use…and when i was in p3 i love that buddy thing cuz the p1 students are so cute and i tot i was like a big sister already..i jus love these cool memories! haha…
Write my letter, Feel much better
Feb 16, 2011 @ 13:03:24
Max
Feb 16, 2011 @ 13:55:41
Channel 8 7pm and 9pm dramas were stuff I looked forward to everyday. Rmb those epic ones 东游记,长河, 双天至尊?
YQ
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:10:47
Haha! Btw i think those shows are on youtube. Can go see
su jun
Feb 16, 2011 @ 15:12:16
thanks for the post! hahaa! it made me feel so nostalgic. kinda regretful that i spend all my days studying when i was in primary school. though i enjoyed the ice and water part! man it was fun when my whole class took up the whole basketball court just to play it. and NEOPETS!
haha. speaking of neopets, recently i’ve decided to reduce my facebooking and go on neopets instead. guess it’s coz i kinda miss those days?;))) and facebook games arent as fun as those i played in childhood. lol. i love my shoryu. still do too~ heh
as for the books, i still have the bookworm storybooks and animorphs! not to mention nancy drew and the hardy boys books? i think that was in the 90s too wasnt it?^^
90s | Eunice Lim
Feb 16, 2011 @ 16:04:33
Liwen
Feb 16, 2011 @ 18:07:49
Ah, thanks for the post! I miss practically everything here (but it is rather hard to play with country erasers while on a long commute hah). Miss those days when we only play iceman during recess because after that we have a computer lab class. (Math Blaster, anyone?) PETS Coursebook! And they also have those storybooks in P1/2? I remember one of them was something called ‘Nanny Nanny Poo Poo’. Oh, those days.
karthi
Feb 16, 2011 @ 18:11:02
OMG!!!!!!! U are from Loyang Pri Sch??? Which year did u graduate? I graduated in 2000..
nicholas
Feb 16, 2011 @ 19:28:39
HAHA this post brings back so many memories i used to be one of those kids who would hide near the lift and wait for the other people to come out then tag them.haha it never made sense to us how the field was off limits i still remember having paper bullet wars in class and hitting the teacher and of course using eraser dust to throw at others.
and the playgrounds those were great i can still remember mothers telling their children not to dig in the sand claiming that if they dug deep enough they’d find feces (we never did) and you forgot crocodile! a few kids standing on the playground floor and the rest on the playground itself and trying not to get caught, much screaming ensued haha not to mention the climbing to the top of the playground (those that had roofs) just to say that you had done it. and folding paper bananas that used to be the only origami we could do. loved your post:)
jam.
Feb 16, 2011 @ 21:16:40
oyah, there was lift catching too..always got my heart racing when the lift door opened..even better than watching horror movie..and it’s free!!
Icecloudz
Feb 16, 2011 @ 20:42:49
Haha…i miss those days…Its a good post.btw i thought the another type of catching is Ice and Water??The water got caught by ice and was frozen..need another ‘water’ to help to unfreeze.and last time when we are primary school kids,we used to play hop scotch(i dont know the spelling)and another game which involved with alot of rubber bands being binded together and we have to cross it?? I forgot the name…but what i remember most is..catching spiders.I miss those times…when we are really close with our friends.
jam.
Feb 16, 2011 @ 21:15:36
hmm..your last phrase “when we are really close with our friends” really struck me..haha. dont know why..
levi
Feb 17, 2011 @ 02:00:56
ZERO-POINT. my all time favorite during recess time. I’d lie to my parents that i have remedial or projects to do and need to stay back just to play zero-point or just play around in the CCs (community clubs) nearby our school. but always got caught in the end… hehehe…
TakuQX
Feb 16, 2011 @ 20:47:47
😀 Ah, thanks for the memories! I am really gald I was born during that era, best and good old times. I am not sure if this happened to the others but me and my friends always had a drawing full of digimons/monster and we would write the attack with power points and just ‘fight’ and somewhat I would always lose cause they cheated. xD This post reminds me of how much I love to draw in the back old days. 😀 Thanks for the post!
Jasper
Feb 16, 2011 @ 21:03:10
Haha, there could be two really memorable additions though:
1) Health check and immunisations
2) The eye-exercise program that lasted for only 4-5years
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:33:52
i still have my health check book =)
mischz
Feb 16, 2011 @ 21:06:39
Best post ever. Well done!!
C.Loong
Feb 16, 2011 @ 21:06:58
The Aaron Kwok MV is really a classic!! The things you put up here really bring back a lot of my childhood memories. Thanks for posting!
piaroh
Feb 16, 2011 @ 21:11:09
you forgot the ERASER WARS.
Pooi
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:37:45
OMG! I LOVE THAT!
dimaz90
Feb 16, 2011 @ 21:13:48
Really brought back a lot of memories, now I feel so damn old hahahaha. Ouh u forgot one thing though, back then we still use chalkboard instead of whiteboard in class 😀
Jeremy
Feb 16, 2011 @ 21:45:57
another thing to add! “好朋友” (good friend) – a mini “newspaper” for primary school chinese students who would then translate/explain to their fellow non-chinese classmates! not sure if everyone remembers that though?
jam.
Feb 16, 2011 @ 21:48:12
yes yes i remember..it was made of poor quality paper but costs 10cents each or something..after that they scrapped it iirc..and then came 大拇指 the cute thingy
'93 guy
Feb 16, 2011 @ 22:04:10
Thanks for posting this, brings back lots of memories and it certainly put a smile on my face,. I remember playing “go li” (think I’ve got the pinyin wrong) aka marbles during recess, before and after school; drawing a circle and placing our “prize” marble in the center with the others and whichever marble you knockout of the circle, it’s yours.
*sigh* Those were the days.
Terrence Wong
Feb 16, 2011 @ 22:12:41
This is just so full of win, I’m a Malaysian and have always been brought up in Malaysia but I see that Singapore and Malaysia is similar is so many ways. I remember a lot of this when I was a kid.
Power Rangers, Man I used to love that series. Always imagine in my head that something bad is about to happen when shopping with my parents and its up to me to save the day. lol.
The bookworm books, I still remember buying them here in Malaysia, I think I still have them tucked in some corner of my room.
Theres a whole lot in your list that I did before. Too much to write, still. Awesome job with this post. I’m gonna share it with my friends.
Rachel
Feb 16, 2011 @ 22:27:17
Awesome post bro! I don’t think I would have remembered all the things above till you listed them down. Heh. Thanks for the interesting read, it made me chuckle at a few.
Ethan
Feb 16, 2011 @ 22:29:17
AWESOME POST! It’s been nice reminising the past eh. I do miss the past too. Where things were much simpler and our brains were much smarter. (We could memorise all the phone numbers!) You missed out transportations on cabs too. Where taking London Cab is like striking lottery. Hard to find on streets and paying only $2.40 back then. Thanks for making my day! =)
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:53:28
“taking London Cab is like striking lottery” haha!!
yea $2.40..i dont even dare to take cabs now =|
Ethan
Feb 17, 2011 @ 03:37:05
Agree totally. Cab fares now are eating up half of my pocket money for the week. In Singapore, everything rises except for our pocket money/salary eh.
zhising
Feb 16, 2011 @ 22:48:42
Thanks for the post. Its wonderful how you can put so much of our memories into words. So precised and detailed that I can’t help but to reminise.
Thomson
Feb 16, 2011 @ 22:52:08
SARS! THERMOMETER! ERASERSSSSSSSSSSS OH MY MUCH MOREEEEEEE BRING BACK LOTS OF MEMORIESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:37:42
lol @ thermometers..
T.K
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:10:17
I still remember there’s a period of time where wearing long socks and than rolling down it down to your ankle was an ‘in’ thing in school!
jam.
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:23:51
yes i did that too..unfortunately
little white
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:17:45
OMG. TOTALLY. I MISS EVERYTHING. OMGG~
Life was sooooooooooo much simple back those days. We kids during that time, were such easily satisfied with simple stuff. :)))
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) « Bedraggled in the Wind
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:20:11
Richard
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:21:36
1) Baby G and G Shock is the cool thing
2) Pasa malam you always have those pirated games
3) Teachers would put chalk in your mouth if you talk too much. (basically all those punishments that are not allowed in today’s world)
jam.
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:23:33
haha i like the words in brackets
Devi
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:37:30
Anyone remembers 999 /under one roof/ growing up??
little white
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:39:36
Anyone rmb the game, PEPSI COLA 1, 2, 3!
the blackboard and chalks
the star stickers in metallic gold, red, blue, green and silver
fishball noodles in tuckshop for 50, 80cents or $1
one or two pieces of peanut/chocolate biscults for 20cents in tuckshop?
peggy
Feb 17, 2011 @ 08:34:54
me! lol.
nadz
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:42:46
*thumbs up*
I was smiling and laughing non stop. It makes me so special having that kind of childhood. Somehow, your post just re-unite all those in the 90s, despite us not knowing each other. Amongst others that I remembered was..
– playing crocodile at the sit up bench
– playing scissors paper stone at the balance beam.
– I don’t know whether your school had this but I know some school has this Science day. The upper primary students will come up with some projects (volcanoes were the classic!) and we spent the whole day walking in and out of classes looking at experiments. Then at the field, concurrently, there will be some pets carnival. Students were encouraged to bring and showcase their pets. LOL..
Anyway, may god bless you 🙂
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:23:41
thanks! haha oh i rmb the scissors paper stone at the balance beam..basically the fitness stations were used for anything but fitness training..and yes we had science day too..but not pets day =)
90s kids. « sgt. pepper
Feb 16, 2011 @ 23:52:39
vidhu
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:02:30
oh no i’m such a sap. i started tearing up reading this 🙂 the comments are so funny too. thanks for the post!
J
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:04:44
you made all the sweetest memories flowed back. Thanks..
life in the 90s « ooh baby you're a classic
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:05:09
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) « daily dosage of Noispollution
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:06:57
Miehlfin
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:12:13
Hello there. I chanced upon this post and I just wanted to thank you for such an awesome post. It really brought back a lot of memories. Makes me feel damn old even though I’m not LOL. Still, this was a fun read. 😀
Yong Sheng
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:23:58
This is an awesome post! Thank you very much for it! Made me all nostalgic, being someone who’s currently studying overseas and only coming back to Singapore once in a while, and realising how much Singapore has change since I’ve been away. Will put a link to this post on my blog if it’s alright. Cheers! =)
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:29:22
no prob! and good luck for your studies!
Remember the 90s when we were still kids? Read this! Really memorable!
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:24:38
kukuranger
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:34:36
I miss the 90’s.. This post made me reminisce so many things!
sam koh
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:40:38
haha…wow..really bring out fond memories…i wonder if any body remembered mr wallis and mr wollas or something like that on our english textbook..and we would make a soccer team out of cardboards, get an small aluminium foil and roll in into a ball and play “bola kuti” . play soccer using a plastic bottle or the bottle cap…and it was so much fun..oh my oh my oh my…haha
lifeofapuppet
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:46:03
Best…post..evar! Ahhh, good times, good times….. XD
Stephanie
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:48:19
Anyone remembers Aiyoyo Lao Shi? xD that was as epic as Aces Day Work Out.
stevie
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:49:01
awesome compilation! I feel an affinity with every single posting.
I have a few copies of the old YG (1998) with me. not the OLD-OLD ones..but the slightly newer ones
I kept a few for memories and threw away the rest way back then.
theres probably tons more of other stuff…but this is awesome enough!
Thomas
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:54:47
Hi,i would like to say how much i loved this post. All my childhood memories came flooding back. I remember,and gone/done everything there is on that list. Ah the memories. Nowadays no one ever play on the playground anymore,the children are all connected via the net instead of going out to play.
Nev
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:56:19
BATA shoes! All-purpose, all-terrain footwear for ages 6 and up! Strangely the brand is considered a high-end fashion label in Europe, but right here it’s your heartland dweller and supplier.
For my kids: Mummy really grew up with all these… « Mylovejessica's Blog
Feb 17, 2011 @ 00:59:45
HOR ZHI XIAN
Feb 17, 2011 @ 01:07:06
How can u forget POKEMON CARDS! then it switch to WWE cards. anyway nice post i enjoyed it totally
Amanda
Feb 17, 2011 @ 01:16:37
Oh my. This is certainly a good post. Everything you had listed, I was thinking back about my primary school until I came to the picture at point 18 for School. I was from Loyang Primary!! And by the year on the file, I was Primary 4 then! So very nostalgic. Thanks for this incredible entry. 🙂
Hayqal
Feb 17, 2011 @ 01:24:40
Oh my god! These really brought back memories. I miss the 1995-2000. Good old days back in primary school. Thanks for the great put up and well summarized post. :)))
leo
Feb 17, 2011 @ 01:28:23
not to forget mr kiasu.
Skyred
Feb 17, 2011 @ 01:37:25
Well…like everyone else said. Really brought back memories.
I want to add on a few stuffs…i remember back in my old flat, I used to play with neighbours those hopscotch with all the boxes where one has to jump onto the boxes with only one leg after throwing something onto one of the boxes, go one round and pick up the stuff…
Then there’s the rubber band skipping rope. anyone remembers zero point? jumping over the rubber band rope from ankle, knee, hip, waist, etc?
Not just catching spiders, I used to collect saga seeds
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 07:23:45
yes! saga seeds..but i never managed to collect more than a handful each time..when i collected a new bunch i couldnt remember where i had placed the old ones hahaha
jona wong
Feb 17, 2011 @ 01:41:27
i rmb when i play catching with my frens there’s always “twist” which means pause then after we catch always shout no revenge!!! or pretend to tie shoelace when we don’t have any
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 07:22:39
haha…i rmb the no ‘revenge thing’ now..and nice trick about the shoelaces =)
91'er
Feb 17, 2011 @ 02:03:11
Dont forget about girls writing diaries for everyone to write their information and stuff! Until.. the technology came in..
shing
Feb 17, 2011 @ 02:14:07
I enjoyed reading this, was agreeing to everyone of them! hahaha. but maybe I think you could add in one more – buying country erasers crazily to play in class. I still remember my favourite country eraser was Philippines just because of the design of the flag lol~
cabbage
Feb 17, 2011 @ 02:47:21
OMG. 1990 born. & 90% of the things here was what i went through (: my pri school pants had zips thou haha!
Momma Diddy
Feb 17, 2011 @ 02:55:12
Well done! Great post of Singapore 90’s that I have read so far 🙂
waywarddoll
Feb 17, 2011 @ 03:08:35
thank you for this entry it’s amazing 🙂
Ramizah Banu
Feb 17, 2011 @ 03:10:35
This post brought back a lot of memories. thank you.
Taufug
Feb 17, 2011 @ 03:37:29
You know how we used “OR HOR” a lot in class, not to mention “I TELL TEACHER” or even “I DONT FRIEND YOU!”. Hahaha!
Mamashops even have this mini vending machines when insert 20 or 50 cents coins and turn the knobs so we can get something in the sphere casings! I wonder if they are still have those things oe even kids nowadays do that.
When things get out of control in class, teachers will tell us to put your fingers on your lips or they will just the switch off the lights and fans just to get your attention.
The prestigious rank in class was the monitor/monitress, next to a prefect. I remember my time we were all fighting to become one.
On national day celebrations, we would all sing the national day songs and the upper pri will just stfu, let the lower primary kids sing. The best one was ‘THEY HAD NO RIGHT, THEY HAD NO SAY AND THEY LONG TO BE FREE ONE DAY.’ Reciting this was a killer.
In the past, we are banned from wearing ankle length socks, but nowadays, who gives a shit? LOL.
During art lessons, we have to make A GODDAMMNED PORTFOLIO FOR OUR ARTWORKS MADE OUT OF VANGUARD SHEET. It happens during the first day of art lessons of the year. Measurements will tend to run here and there but the worst is the folding part and end of the year, we would all give up and just dont care anymore.
Still remember the traffic light monitors or whatever they are called? If you crossed the pedestrian crossing after it has reached zero, they would take down your names and would be scared of whats gonna happen to you next. Haha!
This is all i can think of but 90’s really brings back memories and just by reading your post, you made me teared. Just have to ask yourself: what has happen nowadays? :<
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 07:20:51
thanks for your additions! how can i forget the legendary ‘fingers on your lips’..haha..and the nat day recital. I HATE MAKING THE VANGUARD SHEET CRAP TOO coz i have shit for art sense. and oya the traffic light monitors would be wearing bright vests..and later on parent volunteers took over i think..?
SarAh
Mar 06, 2011 @ 02:15:52
I rmbered we had plastic and really small desk that has pencil markings on it. And since I’m from chij, we had dusters and chalks. Omg I used to draw on my friends backs hahahahaha and everyone lovessss wearing PE shorts under the pinafore. And we had super high belts and we were so innocent. And circle specs were the in thing!!!
jam.
Mar 06, 2011 @ 09:14:02
draw on uniforms with chalk? ouch haha.
yea my first pair of specs were round ._.
Valens
Feb 17, 2011 @ 03:55:24
Omg! So funny! Not sure if you do rmb, last time mac vanilla ice cream comes with cups and the cups are actually Ronald Mac and friends’ heads! I love to them!
Later on 好朋友 changed to 大母子!
Oh yarh! In classes, we would always quarrel with our seating partner as they placed their stuffs on our table. We would childishly said “do not cross this line!”
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 07:18:13
yes i kept quarreling with my desk partner too!! hahaha
Ben
Feb 17, 2011 @ 05:25:17
i was from 93 and we had lf2 and battleon.
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:28:12
i’m 88..so lf2 was during my sec sch =)
phantasy
Feb 17, 2011 @ 07:33:17
Sabrina
Feb 17, 2011 @ 09:20:17
Those were the days when you would spend ten cents to call your parents and tell them that you’ve lost twenty cents that day. And be crying incoherently on top of that. And those hours spent on playing five stones, badminton (for my school at the least haha) oh dear this post brought back a lot of memories. Know this comment is perhaps a thousand years late but thank you so much for the post 🙂
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:27:20
aha! i like your first 2 sentences!
B
Feb 17, 2011 @ 09:22:38
and there’s JOllY SHANDY!
Yy
Feb 17, 2011 @ 10:03:55
Awesome ! I was from lps too.. And pa goli was what we did in the sch backyard lol.now no more place todo it
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:21:43
hi there fellow alumni =)
Mrs Ergül
Feb 17, 2011 @ 10:18:37
I’m getting goosebumps from looking at all these memorable stuff that makes up my childhood days….
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:19:03
haha…yea i got goosebumps too..
NWT
Feb 17, 2011 @ 10:23:26
This is oh so awesome! i think you meant YO HAN for the shopping centres? and and how could we forget about our mini pastimes in school like hopscotch?!
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:16:19
hmm i cant really remember but i googled it and got yaohan..
cloyingwhimsy
Feb 17, 2011 @ 11:15:07
I actually got teary-eyed when I read this. Thanks for summing up my childhood in one post. 🙂
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:13:44
thanks to you too =)
XinYi
Feb 17, 2011 @ 12:56:42
Wow, it really take me back me the old memories when I was a kid. Especially the PETS textbooks that we used during our primary school lifes. Our games are like ladder snakes, checkers, five stones etc. Whenever we have computer lesson, we would use the floppy disk to store our documents inside. Haha. And neopets!!! When everyone is so engross in playing with it!! Oh my, those days are just so sweet!!
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:13:05
yea..floppy disks..cant believed how we survived on 1.44mb of storage zomg
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) | Juche
Feb 17, 2011 @ 13:06:30
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) « Cerebral Chatter
Feb 17, 2011 @ 13:20:58
Tinngy
Feb 17, 2011 @ 13:45:47
I LOVE THIS A LOT. Nicely written ^^ Good old days (:
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:12:08
thank you~
amanda
Feb 17, 2011 @ 14:49:39
You did a wonderful job collecting all the good memories from the past! Made me feel so nostalgic and think about the good old days. But you’re missing Pokemon!! That would have been perfect 🙂
thanks for such a great post!! I’m sharing it on my tumblr!
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:09:38
thanks! well perhaps coz i still play the new pokemon games.. so it didnt exactly feel like “in the past” to me haha
Cean
Feb 17, 2011 @ 14:53:23
You summarized my childhood for me. I missed them all, I feel like I’ve grown a ton.
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:08:30
we all have..without anyone noticing =)
Azlyn
Feb 17, 2011 @ 15:03:13
Well-written post! 🙂 I also remember those days when we all had those NKF Donation Cards (before NKF’s reputation took a nosedive), of which different items could be redeemed based on the amounts collected.
And so you were also from Loyang Primary School eh? Shout-out from a fellow LPS alumnus here 😉
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:08:11
yep i was from LPS 95-97 then changed schools after that.
Matthias
Feb 17, 2011 @ 15:13:31
Hey thanks man!! you made me remember my era that I was living in!! hahahaha gosh primitive living hahaha
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:07:26
thanks! well it was primitive..but life was simpler then.
boon leng
Feb 17, 2011 @ 15:14:26
did you all collect bus fare ticket that have a total number of 21 or 23, then fold it like a heart shape and keep it in the wallet??
and where is the dragon ball card?? 20cent. double side foil double foil etc.. lol
and also the A TA NI qian swa ka (please swap card) machine. in the end we use card swap friend backside. lol
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:06:30
haha i remember the card machines..used to spam them =X
hmm the card swapping machine seems VERY familiar..more details? i have some vague impression of it but just cant recall..argh
boon leng
Feb 20, 2011 @ 13:21:42
it a machine that has a picture of a boy playing baseball. and the light will be running in circle depend on the speed u swap ur card. as for the prices i forget liao. so when no 1 is playing it will just say ” ah ta ni qin swa ca” (pls swipe card) and the volume is quite loud 1.
There also a toy like a sticky lizard. where u can hook it at finger and shoot it out to the wall. it will extend very long 1. end up also shooting ppl backside. hahha.
lazer pointer also started ard tat time. pointing at teacher backside will they writing on the board! haha
there also toy like SEA MONKEY!!! where u just add water to it and it will grow. which is very amazing to us. i sure u heard of it.
Do ur sch tuckshop give u toy when u brought yakult? for my sch yes they did. and their toy is so fun!!! toy like a guy with a sticky hand and leg. when u throw it on the wall it will flip down on it own. and soldier with a parachute. we will just throw them out of the top floor of the school
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 21:02:04
I REMEMBER THE STICKY LIZARD THINGY IT WAS DAM FUN HAHAHA. and the sea monkey too..i was intrigued by the ad on tv but never had the money to buy one. i remember the sticky flippy thing too =) got them from the 50c capsule machines..i never bought yakult from the tuckshop so i dont know =(
Ruth
Feb 17, 2011 @ 15:40:11
i wanted to cry after reading . great post!
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:05:17
thanks! =)
tammy
Feb 17, 2011 @ 15:59:16
thank u so much for posting this! brought back some awesome memories n totally made my 25yr old self smile. 🙂
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:04:11
my 23 yr old self says thanks too =)
kikomi
Feb 17, 2011 @ 16:00:28
Thank you so much for this post! 懐かしい~ Who could forget those days of our childhood.. Somehow, I find myself being more and more forgetful these days but I never forget those times… 🙂
Some things I remember from that era:
– Neoprints!! Why did no one mention this?! Is it ‘cos it’s more of a girl thing? Hahaha, I rmb the early version of neoprint is 16 stickers, and all are of the same, single pose! And the photos tend to be quite dark (no studio lightning then), but we (girls) would get crazy over them and many people exchange their neoprints with each other… which brings me to the next point..
– Collections! In those days, everyone has at least one collection, be it neoprints, stickers (Snoopy, Bob dog, Sailormoon, Pokemon etc.), stamps, McDonald’s toys (rmb the HUGE Hello Kitty toys craze?!), fanciful notebooks, phone cards (my mom had a large collection then) etc..
– Autograph books! I still have mine with me >___>)
– You mentioned the Great Singapore Workout (LOL), but i remembered the Macarena better! (i think we do this in my school instead of the Great Singapore Workout. Oh, those Macarena dance moves (if i rmb correctly, there’s one part where you shake your butt [“Heyyyyy”] before you jump at “Macarena! (AH~)”. LOL!)
Those were the times.. I still think of those times during primary school whenever i hear the school bell (the music-tone). As someone earlier mentioned, we were closer to our friends then (for me, i think it’s true) since we hang out practically every moment in school and afterwards..those times where we share secrets with each other and can talk about anything under the sun w/o fear of how others would judge you.. I would give up many things just to experience a day during those times.
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:03:47
i didnt take neoprints..perhaps coz im a guy? =x a bit of stereotyping here..ah yes the hello kitty craze!! i was in P6 i think..macarena when i was before P3. i miss the school bell too. and indeed, i feel closer to friends then. perhaps things were different back then compared to current times..but i feel it is a natural progression..part of growing up. when you’re young..you’re less guarded..more sincere towards people i guess.
wantan-
Feb 17, 2011 @ 17:11:42
hahahaha this is truly just amazing, and don’t forget the MARBLES we used to play during recess and after school!! (wonder if they still do that but i doubt so)
I still remember i would try to sneak out of school during recess to go to e mama shop next to my sch and buy the “sng bao” (ice packet) den break half and split with one buddy xD
there was this thing we played called e “crocodile” i believe using the sch’s sit-up facility which the one on top of the bridge must not fall or be caught by the “croc” below of u haha.
when we played @ the playground there was this “NO TOUCH FLOOR” rule and “5 seconds house” rule.
lol~ totally reminded me about the times w/o facing the computer for god knows how many hours nowadays T___T
wantan-
Feb 17, 2011 @ 20:42:45
oh yeah! and not to mention! 20cents slot card machine!! xD
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:00:38
haha i remember the house rule. never played the crocodile which so many ppl mentioned..omg.
Lu
Feb 17, 2011 @ 18:13:55
i loved this post!! anw i thought of some stuff to add on
-it was cool to own a ‘disc-man’ at that time
-girls were buying colored strings from the school bookshop to make friendship bands
-the 老鹰抓小鸡 game was a ‘must-play’ during recesses
-we always hated 习字 and having to memorize all the 造句 from the 词语手册
-we had little blue notebooks for mental sums
-when boys and girls were made to sit beside each other in class, we would move our tables away from each other, leaving a small gap in between
-when boys and girls were made to hold hands we only hooked out last fingers together
-there weren’t such things called ankle socks. either you would pull your socks way up high to your calves (and even compete to see who could pull them higher), or you would ‘fold’ or ‘roll’ them down.
-there was this stupid ‘eye exercise’ which we had to do during assembly daily. there were four steps to it
-we could buy ‘hacks’ sweets from the mama shop for 3 for 10cents
-we loved using water color pencils and the 2-sided color pencils. we could even make the color pencil box ‘stand’.
-it was cool to own a baby-G digital watch. we would all set the alarm at recess time to ‘remind’ the teacher it’s time for recess
-we changed our anthem lyrics (no offence to our country) to something like
Mari kita ya (insert name) 跳楼自杀,变成roti prata, 我笑哈哈
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:59:29
thanks for the additions! =)
kaito
Feb 17, 2011 @ 18:18:19
you missed out phone card hahahaha
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:58:25
yea! how could i forget about those! i used more of coin phones though haha
an
Feb 17, 2011 @ 19:20:40
besides the catching. there was spider catching and playing marbles. i used to bring a big bag of marbles to skool. damn. those days were fun.
there was also the spinning eraser. you put staplers under the eraser and see who could spin it the longest. then you rub your eraser and shape it just nice so that it could spin the longest.
pokemon/digimon/wwf cards were also another one. those card games were the thing everyone played. and some of us will stay up at night just to watch WWF.
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:56:40
i think i was past the marbles era =p i was crazy about pokemon cards tho..hahah
jajajaded
Feb 17, 2011 @ 20:08:24
i smiled all the way through this entry 🙂
they still sell paddle pops! 80 cents a pop at 7/11!
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:56:07
really? i should try them again someday then!
Joy
Feb 17, 2011 @ 20:29:09
Dude, you’re really something!
Four of my friends on Facebook coincidentally posted your blog entry about 90s’ memories, and what’s amazing is that the four of them do not know each other – which meant your stuff must have resonated with them. I went on to read, and yes, those familiar items and experiences made me nostalgic. 🙂
As I read, I recalled Polly Pocket and erasers with national flags too…
Thank you for bringing us down the sweet memory lane!
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:55:41
thanks! glad you enjoyed the read! =)
Daniel
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:11:12
Hahahha
No one mentioned, in some schools, one can be a road crossing monitor!! Armed with a notebook and luminous vest ready to catch those who didn’t cross the zebra crossing properly! lol
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:55:08
yes i remember those =)
Daniel
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:12:30
Also, ah bengs with sharp comb and long wallet! lol with heavily gelled hair of course!
offtherecord
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:12:57
Thanks so much for this post I found it wonderfully refreshing! My contribution: sticker books.
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:54:37
yes i had a sticker collection too..now if i could find it now…
Republic Poly
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:34:49
Good post!
And you forget to mention the milk programme. Your parents pay $50 per month and we get to choose the milk flavour (Strawberry or Chocolate).
Then abacus lesson~~
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 21:54:12
haha..my school didnt have the milk program i think..or it was already stopped by then..so i didnt write about it. got abacus tho..
Elaine Ng
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:12:31
i remember we used paper fasteners to file our worksheets…
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) | Lollipop's the love!
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:18:12
YQ
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:24:03
Thanks for this post!! I don’t think i will ever forget the brown paper. As long as it came into contact with water, the paper just started disintegrating immediately and etc. What was worse was that in my school, the worksheets for P1 and P2 were always in that kind of paper. Thank goodness for normal white paper!
jacky
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:26:00
Hey nostalgic post here 🙂 Can’t not leave a reply after reading. Glad i came across this. My friends were posting this entry on facebook and i happened to click on it. Glad i wasn’t too lazy to not read this!!
Speaking about TV programs, remember the channel 8 tv program called ‘OK xian sheng’? I used to sing along to the opening song which went ‘ok ok ok la ok ok la..(some rap after that)’. And there was also Art Attack by Neil Buchanan (didnt know how to pronounce his surname back then).
On Kids’ central there was Beyblade that got all the boys in the neighbourhood crazy. To name a few more are Super Yoyo and Yu-Gi-Oh. I remember catching interest in my elder brother’s Yu-gi-oh cards and beyblade too. And there was Tamiya mini 4 wheel drive racing too –>Bakusai kyoudai Let’s & Go. And everyone would start trying to draw all the different anime characters from Digimon/pokemon.
And being a documentary lover I used to drat Animal Night was at 9 or 10pm.
Being naughty primary school students we would try things like rubbing the metal cap of the pens along the gaps between desks back and forth and the metal cap would heat up and you use that as a ‘weapon’. I was a victim and got scalded by a friend -_-
Sad to say I didnt really (get to) follow those ‘fashion’ trends like the velcro book strap thing, although i intended to get one but it was too ‘expensive’ for me, and shortly after a while nobody used them anymore. lol.
jam.
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:32:03
thanks for your input =) i was going crazy into pokemon/digimon so beyblade didnt realy catch my attention haha. OK xian sheng sounds familiar..hmm..who was in it?
jacky
Feb 17, 2011 @ 23:55:57
richard low was the main character (ie mr ok)
lol i managed to find a video on the opening song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw7E_JDDRPc
=)
jam.
Feb 18, 2011 @ 00:11:14
ah ok! i remember it now!! haha
Andy Chan
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:34:18
HEY! NICE ONE THERE, everything was spot on! YOU FORGOT!!! POKEMON CARDS.!!!! hahahha, we used to sell them to our friends or trade, maybe even spinning erasers or flipping erasers… too much to remember, hahaha! i have shared this site with my friends and they really love it! whoo!!!
THANKS MAN!
Regards,
Andy
JoTeo
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:36:01
Great post! 🙂 Hahaha I laughed and smiled myself silly all the way down to the last word. I remember Milo trucks on Sports Days and the classic phrase “I DON’T FRIEND YOU” haha! Oh ya, the recorders for music classes. All the cool kids had coloured recorders instead of the normal beige one. I used to want one soooo badly LOL!
Michael Ng
Feb 17, 2011 @ 22:53:41
I remember our Primary school teacher raiding the class for digimon. Almost got entire LARGE ziplock bag full of it haha.
And where are eraser fights?? Japan and UK is always the favored country. (They cost more in the black market) But after that I realized all we had to do is warp the eraser’s shape.
Then there is dragonball cards. How we soaked off the backing of the cardboard to create an artificial double gold card. How we knew that if the card got stuck, we need 2X20 cent coins to pinch it out.
Let’s not forget the #@%$#%$#^$#% rich kids who could buy boxes of football stickers at one shot. While the rest of us whimper when we even sacrifice our kachang puteh or yakult just to buy one pack.
cyn
Feb 17, 2011 @ 23:16:29
wow really awesome, I was in girlschool so I didn’t know a lot of the boys stuff like digimon vs. tamagotchi rivalry.
You totally forgot about gameboys, and when u had the coloured version u were da bomb. 😀
I think u guys had Goku, we had sailor moons… It was really cheesy haha.
Girls would PK five-stones, rubber band ropes…getting really dangerous on monkey bars, in my girls school, we will compare who’s panties or bras were branded, and make fun of the girls who were busty at pri school.
Somehow our generation of text books were extremely informative and interesting, I recall reading Pets course book and science ones too when I get it for the new year. P2 was the best cos all the girls loved pink, even the chinese books were pink. Somehow I see the current generation one, split into 4 books, more colourful, expensive, but honestly boring, and magazine paper. Our paper smelt really awesome. I loved it!
and, the yoyo craze!!! Suddenly ppl had ‘bumbe bees’ and not forgetting, the bubble tea. Everyone will queue for it! PS1, and the DDR dancing mat 😀
Britney Spears and many boybands were all that mattered, classes will practise dances for every school event, lame shit dance chops…and then came the ‘techno’ phase which is actually eurodance…and the best thing…”I’m blue, da ba dee da ba da…” everyone could sing it.
List goes on…if they have a 90s fair I will so go for it.
Thanks for the sweet nostalgia 🙂
Sukanthy
Feb 17, 2011 @ 23:35:03
Such nice memories.Tks 4 listing this down. oh and u 4got zero pt(the game tat has 2 frens at each end wif a long string, and one person will jump in many diff ways. the more u noe, the more advanced u were).
gAbE
Feb 17, 2011 @ 23:45:47
wow pri/sec sch memories…
i rem back in pri sch it was all that rage about power rangers. so one day. i took my friend’s hand in class
then i ask him if he wanted power
he said yes
so i took a marker, blanco and God knows what i could lay my hands on
drew stars moon and funny looking shapes on his palms
ask him to put it inside the sun for 1 period
after that can shoot laser
he believed me
Clarice
Feb 18, 2011 @ 00:08:15
Great awesome entry!:) brings back many fond memories!!:) love it!:)
jam.
Feb 18, 2011 @ 00:23:56
thanks..glad u liked it =)
Ben
Feb 18, 2011 @ 00:44:43
Thanks a lot for doing the research to write this article. The part about the recorder was the most funny! It definitely brings back many memories about the primary schooling days… How about Caps the game? Did you play before?
Michelle
Feb 18, 2011 @ 00:49:14
I’m glad you took the time to write this post. it brings back childhood memories. it would be good if our future generation can share our memories. kids these days evolve around iphone or psp. haha..
Not forgetting sailor moon! and sky dancers! oh, and we love to exchange stickers!! I still keep them. >< we girls still have fancy coloured papers from bookshop and guys will play some silly game with a box of rubbers. HOT WHEELS was super in during those days. bumble bees and pro yo! 'tikam tikam' was one of my favourite too! put 10 or 20 cents, spin and pray you get the toy you want.
And yes! westlife, A1, britney spears, backstreet boys, n sync. gosh.. those were the days.
Nice one gAbE!
Jiamin
Feb 18, 2011 @ 00:54:01
Really cool post you have here which i can’t help but share on fb and let everyone else agrees with what you’ve wrote.
and i like some of the post you wrote and the way you describe stuffs, awesomely funny! totally crack me up and you could actually make someone’s day better by reading your post.
Some things I remember from the 90′s. (via bottled jam.) « Bon Appétit ~ My Chicken Soup
Feb 18, 2011 @ 00:57:45
Karthi
Feb 18, 2011 @ 01:00:40
It was awesome reading this. Brought back so many wonderful memories :).
Simin
Feb 18, 2011 @ 01:05:28
Nice post! really brought back memories~
Haha for my primary school I remember there is a period of time
when rubber fight got popular and everyone have pencil cases full of different country flag. And during recess time, we would all pair up and sit all over the concourse to ‘fight’ with our country rubber..
xD
There is even play real where you get to keep the loser’s rubber flag or play fake where the loser won’t lose their rubbers when they lose..
I miss the times~
OneThree
Feb 18, 2011 @ 01:17:30
This is awesome, I feel so refresh after reading.
serrling
Feb 18, 2011 @ 02:08:39
This is an awesome post!
I still remember the card machines where you slot in a 20cent coin and “turn” a card out for collective purposes. I still have my Power Ranger and Dragon Ball cards.
There’s also the Sega game set which was the xbox of our times. Everytime the game tape won’t work, we will blow into the slot at the bottom and it will somehow work miraculously.
Those were the good old days. (:
JeongInTing
Feb 18, 2011 @ 02:14:36
OMG this is an awesome job, man…. I still remember how the drinks stall uncle in my school used to give out filmsy toy parachutes with toy soldiers, or some random small toys to us for buying drinks from them. Then the boys will try to fight it out and see whose flies the furthest.
There was also TRONKY!! I cannot forget Tronky, it was my favorite chocolate ever!!! WHERE IS TRONKY NOW?!
You forgot Sonic the Hedgehog!
And Daniel Chan/Chen Xiao Dong, whom my friend openly declared her “husband” at the grand old age of 12.
There was also the “sharp comb” or rat tail comb phase where all the ah lians and ah bengs carried one in their pockets, to show people they are armed and dangerous. LOL.
There was also the Baby G watch trend.
jam.
Feb 18, 2011 @ 09:27:09
omg tronky! i remember the lame advert that went with it. then tune is still ringing in my head @@
JeongInTing
Feb 18, 2011 @ 14:56:14
I believe we can still find Tronky in the ABC shop, aka those 3-for-$10 minimarts where they sell food, soap, batteries and stationery…. LOL…
Anyone remembers the TECHNO DAYS????
anne
Feb 18, 2011 @ 05:11:40
I was born in 89. I remember those round wheel like food that I used to feed birds. My first crush was Sun Wukong (HK version) and there was pokemon! And teachers would smack our hands with long rulers if we forgot to bring our books.
Pacifique O
Feb 18, 2011 @ 06:18:56
Oh man Those were the times.. Especially, going to school with an empty cassette casing, go to the bushes, CATCH SPIDERS!! Spider Kang! Spider Hantu! hahaha!!
Azhar Kamar
Feb 18, 2011 @ 10:44:57
Most of the stuff said here applies to my experience accurately. It feels good to reminisce on these things. Awesome post! 😉
Melvan
Feb 18, 2011 @ 11:36:13
how about VIRGIN MOBILE DRINKS? THUMBS UP ANYONE?!
Melvan
Feb 18, 2011 @ 11:37:40
http://www.virgindrinks.com/drink-details.asp?ProductID=62
radya
Feb 20, 2011 @ 14:04:07
yes i remember drinking those virgin drinks in the early 2000s but they’re no longer around.. the 90s and early 2000s (2000-2004) were the best years of my life…
* #295 « My name, my story.
Feb 18, 2011 @ 12:57:56
Yas
Feb 18, 2011 @ 13:59:13
I loved reading this! Brought back so many cherished memories. Sigh… nostalgia..
Growing up.. « for the love.
Feb 18, 2011 @ 14:27:26
siHui
Feb 18, 2011 @ 14:37:49
Great entry!
I think there was this ‘country rubber’ craze and all the plastic flip over periods too! (i think its called tuti tuti or something along that line! =)
eeleen
Feb 18, 2011 @ 14:52:24
omg… tats reali reali nice~! i enjoyed readin tis web. it brings back ALL my lovely young dayz memoried tat i cant find it now! thks for sharin
Ito
Feb 18, 2011 @ 15:02:22
The days which we typed html in notepads. =D
eclair
Feb 18, 2011 @ 15:23:53
no. 35 brought tears to my eyes (& right now im in the office =.=””)
good job in summarizing all these memories
jam.
Feb 18, 2011 @ 15:38:28
aww..haha i liked 35 too =) thanks for reading!
Sing
Feb 18, 2011 @ 16:09:03
This is a great post!
I just came back from 8 years overseas and was clearing the house, and found all a bunch of Book Worm Club material in perfect condition!
jam.
Feb 18, 2011 @ 16:35:04
wow..u can prolly sell it to collectors haha
c
Feb 18, 2011 @ 17:16:51
Ohmygoodness, totally brought so much memories back. I remember we used to have different roleplay, drawing fake money and pretend to be property agent. Not forgetting 神雕侠侣! the classic of all. Where so many young kids at that point of time will get angry if chris lee and fann wong wasn’t together.
And other than block catching, there’s this blind mice thing where the catcher has to close his/her eyes to go catch people. and the rest of us just climb all around the playground without touching the floor or something.
When relief teacher comes in, we will all shout YAYYYY! then when the teacher say got work for us to do, we will all be like booooooooo!
Having subscribed to 大拇指 is a cool thing. And also queuing up for assembly. And during National Day. When we were all singing “stand up for singapore.” we’ll all stand up and faster sit down because the teacher will scold. And laugh super hard during children’s day because teachers performed something funny.
Totally love it when some rich kid in class bring goodies bag during birthday to give out to the class. And hate it when your teacher ask you to read passages!
Science lab and Art room, toilets and top floor always have ghosts around. And every school also got people commit suicide/ was a graveyard before.
lastly was playing with candles, burning everything we can and all the coke cans to melt all the candles during mooncake festival!
this is really awesome! (:
JeongInTing
Feb 18, 2011 @ 22:26:06
Oh… there was also 金枕头 and 双天至尊!!!!
weijun
Feb 18, 2011 @ 18:02:29
I really really love this post. i used to stay in jurong b4 moving to bishan when i was K1 year end going K2. I’hv lived here for very long. Going to Deyi sec as well. I rmb the playground u took. the dragon 1….brings back memories of me and frens playing over there….T_T the many things u mentioned i still rmb them. Especially the “mama-shop” where we bought our push-pops or ring-pops and the many other tidbits our parents always told us not to buy. So we saved money to get a packet at? 60cents or so?? hahahas this post was really funny.
I couldnt wait till i read the entire post, by the time i read till the dragon and the slides i was too happy and excited that i came straight down to comment b4 going back up
(Y) (Y)
jam.
Feb 18, 2011 @ 18:46:08
haha..thanks! hope you enjoy the rest of the post =p
weijun
Feb 18, 2011 @ 18:50:49
HA! i was so excited i couldnt really type properly.
*calms down*
Anyway it was very fun. i shared the link on fb and im sure many more comments will be otw to this page soon 😀
Everyone will definitely enjoy the time spent here.
anony
Feb 18, 2011 @ 19:02:08
I rmb scorpion on the monkey bar.. those days.. what memories
Polr
Feb 18, 2011 @ 20:07:18
ARCHIE COMICS!!! It was a huge part of my 90s’ life…hahaha….veronica betty(?) jughead…
haha..thanks for this post!! awesome reading it though some of them didnt happen to me…
Sabrina
Feb 18, 2011 @ 20:33:31
Thanks for the post. It really brought back the times.
gsm
Feb 18, 2011 @ 21:11:10
You forgot Kinder Surprise. We used to look at it and wanting to buy those but it was too expensive. But now we have money, theres no Kinder Surprise, only Kinder Joy. Which sucks 😦
😀 . Oh yeah after reading i remembered so many things that i forgot. Iceman was one, i used to pretend that i was caught so i could rest/save my friends who were iced. 😀 I still got those disk-ets? LOL . And i remember watching those digimon till they got lame (after vee-mon) and I used to catch pokemon every week and will be extremely sad if i cant watch it due to cca. In primary school it was cool to get on stage, now we do everything so that we dont go on stage(have to practice, lazy) . I still have my digivice, i like the one in your picture but my parents never got me one until someone gave me the one for the guilmon that series.
There was no blogs, only diaries. We played battleon. there was no facebook, only friendster. the computers were pentium whatever-number-you-have. We dont have Mp3, only radio/discman(for the richer people) . The computer’s screen were fat.
Our favourite past time were at the void deck playing or just reading books/doing homework. Parents are so much stricter on our school work . AND HIDE AND SEEK!
Uh , i think i should stop or i wont be able to stop . xD . Thanks for putting a smile to my face. 🙂
An awesome blog worth to check it out! | My nonsense :D
Feb 18, 2011 @ 22:30:18
Because it’s Home. « A Singaporean Decathlete
Feb 18, 2011 @ 22:30:35
TSC
Feb 18, 2011 @ 22:38:27
On the matter of the great singapore workout, I found this video:
At 1:09, there’s this guy wearing the sunnies, baseball cap and 3 quarter pants.
I remember he was some celebrity, can’t remember who….can anyone hazard a guess?
jam.
Feb 19, 2011 @ 01:02:12
hmm nope..doesnt seem familiar to me..and cant really see his face clearly..
Esther Lim
Oct 16, 2011 @ 22:26:42
Gotcha host, Moe Alkaff, I think.
terence
Feb 18, 2011 @ 22:45:53
wonderful post bro.. nice going back to those fond days.. and there was much more too… like “pepsi cola 1,2,3” the one where u jump or take big strike trying to kill ur opponent with a step? and i always loves end of exam periods when u still have to go to school and everyone would be bringing board game like monopoly with the big board.. reversi (Othello), chinese chess, animal chess, uno card, uno stacko, and stuff like that. =)
jam.
Feb 19, 2011 @ 01:02:34
yea..i remember so nasty teachers would purposely continue teaching..rawr
ella
Feb 18, 2011 @ 23:16:08
great post! no one mentioned ‘huan zhu ge ge’? haha.
Chingyee
Feb 18, 2011 @ 23:43:30
awww. I MISS THOSE TIMES. when children actually went OUT to play. 😦
Lu
Feb 19, 2011 @ 00:12:51
not to forget lovecalculator.com!! haha.
alvin
Feb 19, 2011 @ 00:21:58
i dont know whether this happen for your pri sch!
but 90s was the time where by myopia was “in”.
and primary schools has this eye relaxation exercises. HAHHAA!!
i love it the most, it means “stop study and close your eyes time”!! 😀
Random: 17/02/11 | The Vast Skies Of Cloudie
Feb 19, 2011 @ 01:08:48
talking about nothing
Feb 19, 2011 @ 02:07:21
I really really loved your post, it brought back so many good memories! I’m currently several hundred thousand miles away from Singapore, stuck in the States, but all the little things you mentioned made me remember (and miss) the days I had in primary and secondary school. Some of them made me really sad and others made me smile 🙂
You made me feel that home isn’t that far after all. Thanks!
jam.
Feb 19, 2011 @ 08:59:15
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed reading it.
shibin
Feb 19, 2011 @ 10:09:56
if anyone remembers, 为什么, 为什么,十万个为什么!
jam.
Feb 19, 2011 @ 10:33:42
yes i remember =)
nostalgia
Feb 19, 2011 @ 10:14:12
Discovered your blog post through a couple of my friends on Facebook. Thanks for your efforts in researching and writing such an excellent post on childhood in the 1990s. I really, really loved reading it, and it brought back some great memories for me, and reminded me of so many things I’d forgotten about… gosh, I really miss those days… yeah, and I can’t agree more, kids growing up today are missing out on so much…
jam.
Feb 19, 2011 @ 10:33:57
and thanks for reading!~
Z
Feb 19, 2011 @ 13:12:29
it’s 56kbps and not 56kb/s. 56kb/s means 56kilobytes a sec. 56kbps means 56kilobits a sec. get this right. so much for learning computers faster than your parents.
jam.
Feb 19, 2011 @ 15:08:01
wow ok you’re totally awesome man. thanks for pointing it out..i didn’t know that. i’ve changed it now..i thought they meant the same thing..not really a technical person.
LZ
Feb 19, 2011 @ 14:26:45
Oh wow. This is really nostalgic haha. I died reading about Captain Planet, Bookworm(I got into a laughing fit at the Ms Goon part), Digivice(I rmb trying the code thing for teddymon), trolley bags and Sharity Elephant. Damn. Those were the days.
I read through the comments and couldn’t help noticing that no one has mentioned the BCG lol. They did it for our generation and stopped almost immediately after. My younger brothers didn’t get their BCG injections since the government decided that it wasn’t that great of an immunization after all. Too bad they decided that after I got one, which is still marked by a scar on my arm today.
I still remember exchanging stickers and cards for the Huan Zhu Ge Ge show. & we used to play games like acid paper and try to outbid each other in “skipping bars” for the monkey bar obstacle. There was also the packets of milk we all got in class and we would compare the colour bars at the bottom. Then there was the reading list whereby some kids cheated by listing every mini story in an Enid Blyton book instead of just listing the book title itself. So many memories C:
Brydan Foo
Feb 19, 2011 @ 19:38:34
Simply amazing remember those times, i really miss growing up in the 90s… Don’t forget we boys, always like to have our own 50m-100m sprint at any random places that has long and wide enough path, just to compete who is the fastest runner….
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 09:13:00
and the most common route was from the classroom to the canteen…
Afiq
Feb 19, 2011 @ 19:50:40
Hey there. This blog post certainly bring back ALOT of memories of my childhood. Last time during reading sessions instead of reading storeybooks me and my friends would secretly exchange reading archiecomics. N I remember playing librarian by lending books to my friends and do the “chopping” thing. I remember my compositions also started with “One Upon A Time”. And who can forget the 90s was when local soccer was the rage and having the sticker book with our local soccer guys? Oh yes speaking of sticker books me and my friends back then use to exchange stickers for the ‘Our World of Endangered species’ sticker book of animal species. Making dioramas was one of the things I remember doing in art lessons. And who can forget Titanic? That was the first movie that open me to the curiosity of sex after images of Leo and Kate from the sticker book emerge when me and my classmates shared. LOL. Then there was Dragonball, the Chinese cartoon. I still remember my Malay friends say it was “Not halal to watch Chinese cartoons’. OMG. That was stupid. lol. The 90’s was also when it was common to have theme songs for NDP and we would sing NDP songs patriotically. Now gone are the days and NDP songs become more lousy.
Bands like BSB and Spice girls were the rage, and our local artistes Fann Wong and James Lye were the hots for my classmates too at that point of time. Then I still rmbr in Primary 3 we science we learn about animals and I remember asking my friends to bring our own terrapins to have a race whose terrapins can crawl faster. Local movies like Army Daze became the epitome of the Singapore 90’s to me. The close to 1999…WHO CAN FORGOT THE HELLO KITTY RAGE INCIDENT??? PEOPLE QUEUE UP SO LONG JUST FOR HELLO KITTY?? Some of my favourite cartoons back then were Magic Schoolbus, OMG where have all the good cartoons go??? Pacman and Return of the arcade was still quite popular even though it was fading, and so was NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR and ALTAVISTA SEARCH before there was Firefox and Google.
You still remember the Living Books series? It was damn popular in the late 90’s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Books_series
http://www.broderbund.com/p-44-tlc-dr-seuss-preschool-learning-system-2009.aspx
http://www4.shopping.com/broderbund-tortoise-and-the-hare/info
I remember every week Nestle cornflakes will issue a free CD sample of the Living books programmes.
And WHO CAN FORGET CREATIVE WRITER?? This was the software used by teachers when we kids were writing compositions REMEMBER?? omg
OMG Im soooooooooo sorry this writeup is so haywire and random, it just bring so much good memories man!! This is for ALL the Gen Y’s who grew up as kids back in the 90’s!!
PS: I was born in the late 80’s. 😛
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 09:06:14
I’m late 80s too..and I loved magic schoolbus as well! I remember creative writer too..and most of the stuff you mentioned. thanks for the additions and no, it’s not haywire =)
JS
Feb 19, 2011 @ 20:47:15
Absolutely enjoyed reading this! ^.^
Lynette
Feb 19, 2011 @ 21:43:15
thank you very much for this very nostalgic post. had to say you did a very good job; think you covered almost everything. i still remember captain planet up till today. like my favourite cartoon. pokemon as well though you did not mention.
but i loved the pets cursive handwriting portion!
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 09:09:32
thank you very much for reading too! I didn’t like penmanship coz we were forced to write touching the lines, and I preferred leaving some space between my words and the lines =P
洪伟烈
Feb 19, 2011 @ 22:00:50
hey whrere is 播音王子,Yandao? And the 9pm show 出路,豆腐街?
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 09:01:08
too bad they stopped at 播音人II =(
MattX
Feb 19, 2011 @ 22:20:29
aw man… great recounting of the 90s! really miss those days where everything was so simple and carefree! 🙂 I think we had better childhoods without electronic games and computers; now kids are so addicted to such toys, they dont get to go out and play and explore!
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 08:53:29
thanks! well it’s a matter of perspective I guess..they might think they are better off? I don’t know..haha
Nineties
Feb 19, 2011 @ 22:37:40
Nice post! I also remembered Pokemon!
Pokemon Red Intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C19O5xm51dk
Pokemon Red Pallet Town: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOWRNLaCMJg
The first Pokemon cartoon Intro theme song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwD05DEh0QU&feature=related
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 08:59:31
I loved the first theme song!! I think the subsequent ones couldn’t compare to it. I even have it in my mp3 player but shhh don’t tell anyone hahahah
helloboy
Feb 19, 2011 @ 22:51:30
lol i wan to correct something…..pushpop/ring pop izzit being obscene looking in s’pore……is the jellypop the swt where top is the sweet n inside the holder of the swt is jelly….i forget wat the name call
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 08:49:32
hmm..I’m not very sure what that’s called either
helloboy
Feb 19, 2011 @ 22:52:34
btw i miss BIBO DRAGON DRINK
TK
Feb 19, 2011 @ 23:11:48
I’m only 16 years old, and your childhood experiences are really so far removed from the life we have nowadays. It’s not just the advent of the Internet and technology. Parents are more protective and less comfortable with us roaming the neighbourhood and hanging out with friends till late in the evening. I get the impression that children aren’t as innocent, carefree or capable of enjoying life. Our parents’ kiasu-ness and focus on academics/achievements infects the way we spend our childhood.
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 08:48:34
yes..sad but true..we can’t really blame the kids for what they have become. thanks for pointing it out!
citizenofneopia
Feb 20, 2011 @ 01:07:38
loved this post, thank you. i still play neopets. it’s absolutely awesome. (:
keng
Feb 20, 2011 @ 03:07:50
Everyone knew the Guiness Stout advertisement where 林子祥 George Lam appeared and asked, “你怕黑吗?
The reason for this is buy more guniness stout and keep refilling until u see the light (white) foam..
If you keep drinking away the white foam…u will reach the dark level..then u have to refill your beer and u see light…
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 08:45:50
I see the light now!!
keng siang
Feb 21, 2011 @ 00:54:05
haha…sure np…thanks for making such thread…it brings back old memories….I’m from 1984..
if u want to credit my name for enlightening u for stout advert
knightz
Feb 20, 2011 @ 13:44:25
not to forget country erasers, country eraser tops also. last time whoever loses the country eraser match, loses his eraser. still rmbed bought 10 at one go, after that no money to eat my lunch. and there was kuti kuti, 5 stones, hop scotch. last time got digivice already quite big deal keke. and there was pokemon cards too. gd old times man.
food used to be so cheap too. rmbed back in my pri sch, u could have a huge drumstick for only 30 or 40 cents. noodles with egg was only 50 cents. now u cant even find a drumstick that costs less than a dollar 50. full meal only 80 cents at most. 20 cents save into my lil tin box.
lastly not to forget, having excursions were the best things ever. gd chance to get away from the boring and nasty teachers in class. zoo was my all time favourite 🙂
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 21:03:30
yes yes excursions..there was this road safety park thingy too. the best part was when you could buy all you want at the mama shop there….hahaha
radya
Feb 20, 2011 @ 14:28:29
hey there, your post brings me back great memories of the 90s… thank you for posting this, this is an important piece of history that should be preserved for future generations.
as a kid born right after the 80s ended, i spent my 90s watching children’s programmes like captain planet, pee wee’s playhouse, pokemon, teletubbies, bear in the big blue house, art attack, lizzie mcguire and lots more. back then, before there were channels like premiere 12, kids central, the short-lived city tv and TV Works (channel i) and okto, all children’s shows were shown on channel 5, i remember. i’d watched them religiously before going to school in the afternoon or after school in the morning.
i fondly remember the flag erasers, the rubber cords attached to velcro wallets and neon-coloured velcro bookstraps well. we also had those bring-your-own-toothbrush sessions and ACES day.
as for books, i immersed myself in the likes of enid blyton, bookworm series, YG, mr kiasu, sweet valley twins, goosebumps, animorphs, and mary-kate and ashley olsen books such as two of a kind, full house: michelle, so little time and more. i also used to buy the now-defunct LIME magazine (final issue was on oct 2008 with zac efron on the cover) every month just to update myselff with the latest entertainment news and fashion trends.
my fave artists of the 90s were teenybopper boybands like BSB, n’sync, westlife and girlbands spice girls and destiny’s child. pop princesses britney spears, christina aguilera, jessica simpson, pink and mandy moore were the rage too, along with latin stars ricky martin, j lo and shakira.
glad to see i’m not alone in reminiscing my 90s childhood. back when life was simpler.
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 20:59:42
wow i didn’t know LIME has stopped publication..i used to watch premiere 12 religiously too..and there was winnie the pooh on channel 5 =)
meri
Feb 20, 2011 @ 19:27:09
Reading your post brought back happy memories and made me laugh lots… especially when you mentioned the hilarious 城人杂志 (一级棒!), catching (at the school field/open space/ basketball court), and the non-airconditioned buses… I often wished that the aircon buses would come instead!!
Thank you:)
There were some other games that were often played in my primary school!
– there was a game between 2 or more people sitting in a circle; aim is to win your opponents. I can’t remember its name, but I think it went something like this.
[Clap clap] charge (hold your fists at the side of your body)
[clap clap] fire (hold your hands like a dragon’s mouth, firing a dragonball?) OR charge
[ clap clap] more-powerful fire OR charge
etc.
There may have been a bazooka action at one point 😀
接龙: Someone starts with a 成语,and the next person has to say a new one from the last word, either exact word or sounding similar… e.g. 精彩缤纷,分秒逼真, etc.
TV:
– The Pyramid Game!
Books! I loved reading all the books available – hardcover editions with lovely illustrations or just simple paperbacks, like
– Sweet Valley High
– Enid Blyton books – Famous Five, Secret Seven, Mallory Towers
jam.
Feb 20, 2011 @ 20:56:19
thanks for your contributions!
HW
Feb 20, 2011 @ 22:30:42
This brings back many memories i used to have! 😀 THANKS A MILLION FOR SHARING!! :DD
Jack Toh
Feb 20, 2011 @ 23:27:15
I was born in ’81 and how this brings back the past. Excellent post.
I wonder if some of the others recall the game console NES.
*grins* i still remember how excited i was when my parents say that we are all going to Yaohan(Now Thomson Plaza) or Oriental Emporium (there used to be one at Hougang St 21 before it got called Heartland Mall).
Rubber Flipping? Yeah. Used to buy em by the boxes.
There used to be the Ding Dang equivalent called Toro toro (I think?)
Sadly, many of our surroundings are changing too, and it brings a lump to my throat when i think back and recall the simple life as a primary school kid. And when i actually do go out to play. Now i am just stuck in my room glued to the computer.
Anyone watched the cartoon Mask ? What about He-Man & She Ra?
jam.
Feb 21, 2011 @ 00:15:15
NES..and SNES..i remember the classic mario. and there’s this snowball bros game or something…
I freaked out when I first watched The Mask lol…i was terrified when the guy’s face turned into some weirdo green grinning thing. now come to think it’s dam funny.
Alvin
Feb 21, 2011 @ 01:07:57
Oh yes!! The snowball bros game. My older cousin had a NES in his house and i would always watch in envy as he played mario and that game while i could only watch. =(
I did have a Sega Megadrive 2. It still works(loads of blowing to be done) with goldenaxe2, bareknuckles and sonic 1,2,3 games!!!
I remember the period where we still had to attend school after exams? We would bring board games(RISK, Monopoly, Game of life) or card games(battletech, magic, pokemon) and there would be tournaments as we didn’t have classes anymore! We also had lameass excursions which everybody didnt want to go because we all wanted to get back to school to play!
I am 86 and did everything from 1 to 35(i completely forgot about the duct tape exercise books. I burst out laughing). Your post really got me smiling!
Vauth
Feb 21, 2011 @ 19:09:37
Really enjoyed this post man (so much that I’m actually saving the contents to read them again sometime when I’m down, I hope you don’t mind).
Though it did made me smile, it also made me a little sad when I think about the childhood that some kids go through nowadays – kids would generally socialize online during off-school period, overtly concerned parents fussing over their kids with tuition and enrichment programmes at such a young age with their reason being “to survive in this world”…It’s suffocating.
But to be fair, these kids now have a greater “global field” for their childhood with this unprecedented “connective-ness”, which I guess is generally a good thing, though not completely.Well, that’s change for you.
But really, quality post with two thumbs up. Take care and stay safe man.
jam.
Feb 22, 2011 @ 20:27:30
Hey there..thanks a lot! Your comment was encouraging.
Yes..ironically some children crumble under the pressure of the activities that supposedly help them survive in this world. A little is fine..but having preschool tuition is ridiculous.
f
Feb 23, 2011 @ 00:57:16
do you all poke holes into plastic water bottles and shoot water out of it? my whole primary school was crazy about it for quite some time. LOL
jam.
Feb 24, 2011 @ 22:57:55
i vaguely remember that..but i think the school banned it on the grounds of wasting water..or bottles..or something.
jianxiong
Feb 23, 2011 @ 22:05:18
ohhh. i love this post! one show that i also miss alot is 敢敢做个开心人, where the famous character that everyone knew was ‘ah bee’ hahaha. and the petrol kiosk that was featured in the show was tiger mart. which isnt around anymore i think?
i miss the 90s!
jam.
Feb 24, 2011 @ 23:10:00
yea i remember that too..i was always home by 9pm on saturdays!!
annnnnnn
Feb 24, 2011 @ 00:47:41
Omg. I went ‘OH YA!! OH YA!!!’ whenever I read something which shook me hard of what happened when I was in my primary school LOL. Great post this is. Definitely showed much of how much difference of what the kids nowadays missed out. Although all the electronic devices are seemingly more interesting.. but somehow I feel that they lack a sense of interaction with other people.. not like our days.
I’m 20 this year and I feel very lucky to be staying in contact with my primary school classmates up till today.. even when there is only less than half the class in contact now, but it is still great. the friendships formed from such a young age is really irreplaceable by any other we know ever since we left that school.. 😀
cheers to you!
jam.
Feb 24, 2011 @ 23:14:33
and thanks to you for reading! =) regretfully i’ve lost contact with most of my primary school mates cept a few..haha..FB helps us keep in touch though =x
Jon
Feb 24, 2011 @ 16:22:12
Really liked this post, I miss the good old days… well perhaps not the 56k modem bit haha. Oh do u all also fold paper and shoot them at your friends using rubber bands?? It was the paintball of our day haha.
Thanks for reminding us all of the wonderful things in the 90s! haha perhaps u can do an entry for the last decade. (2000 – 2010)?
jam.
Feb 24, 2011 @ 23:16:52
wow..that’s a bit of a tall task haha. not sure if i can think of things to write about..and our growing up experiences in the last decade is getting more and more individualized..with the help of technology. so my experiences may not resonate with others as much, compared to 90s i suppose. i might do one on experiences on the MRT and buses…now that’s more homogenous..
g
Feb 24, 2011 @ 16:33:58
im from loyang primary school too! 🙂
jj
Feb 24, 2011 @ 18:35:39
awesome post! coming from a former loyang student too. loved the roti prata sold by the chinese stall there. and our skipping always seemed the best.
jam.
Feb 24, 2011 @ 23:17:57
thanks! hmm i vaguely remember them getting pro skippers to come perform..
the best is in me
Oct 31, 2011 @ 23:32:03
loved the malay stall chicken rice! yellow plates with a little spicy drumlet and the oh so fragrant rice, all for 50c!
best chicken rice I have ever eaten, hands down!
and i still remember the original bubble tea craze then, buying a cup of pearls without the drink and bringing them to school to shoot each other with.
Lastly, the best thing Macdonalds has ever come out with, MAC-CRISPY! Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. I remember cutting out the $1 coupons from the big thumb newspaper and heading to the macs across the street before remedial classes every friday afternoon!
awesome stuff, i want my childhood back.
Farid
Feb 24, 2011 @ 19:43:50
Cool post! Old memories became fresh again. And you forgot one thing about the PETS english textbooks. We would always look for the small animals hidden in pictures inside the textbook.
jam.
Feb 24, 2011 @ 23:18:52
hmm? i mentioned looking for the animals i believe =)
Jonathan Su
Feb 26, 2011 @ 12:44:05
Hey guys, wat abt arcade games? We would see more arcades around in those days, we would go there to chill! The most popular one was the Funworld / Hollywood Slam at Parkway Parade I think!
Jonathan Su
Mar 14, 2011 @ 15:31:25
Hey Jam, what about the classic “Golden Axe” and “Western Bar” games? Remember those? And the original Nintendo Gameboy? You were considered cool if you had those! 🙂
jam.
Mar 14, 2011 @ 15:39:45
I didn’t have those..so I wasn’t cool =( haha..my parents refused to buy one for me..I had a Playstation though. My very first Nintendo console was a DS! (and I still have it now)
Ginger
Feb 26, 2011 @ 13:38:18
Hey very meaningful post Jam!
Most of the incidents you mentioned were very identical to mine (Or rather we all had very limited choices of doing stuff in the 90’s)
Anyways just want to encourage you further on your effort to keep up with these blog posts, you are an inspiration!
P.S. I’m from LPS too, oh and Patamon FTW (:
jam.
Feb 27, 2011 @ 00:26:33
thanks for making my day with your comment =)
Cherry Choy
Feb 27, 2011 @ 01:30:20
Excellent Post Jam! I am born in 1986 and experienced almost all of what you what mentioned. Remember…
– Sports days: usually held at our school field, with a few racing lanes, and we will wear a slash when it’s our turn to run in the relays, the cones, beanbags, the pom poms (made using colourful red, green and yellow raffia strings), coke cans filled with green beans or rice, classmates screaming and yelling on the top of their voice to support you when you run… haha! Teachers were excited themselves too! =)
– Pri5 Camps in school, having meals together, bathing in sch toilets, sharing shampoos, sleeping in classrooms and halls. First night usually very excited and we’ll talk to the person sleeping beside you and you can still hear whispers even though the teacher have already told you it’s nights out. Then second night will be damn tired, usually most ppl with knock out (doze off) very fast. I remember I will take a very long nap after coming home from camp and wake up missing those camping times with my classmates.
– Napfa test was one thing we hated, need to do 1.6km run.. (2.4km was for sec sch)
– TAF club for chubby ppl, including me…. had to run after school and sometimes during recess.. sian… hahaha
– ‘Banana in Pajamas are running down the stairs’
– 3pm chinese show, usually before the show starts, there will be this ARISTON advert, me and my sister will be singing to the tune and laughing out loud when we see this figure with the bra dancing around
– Class photo-taking session, we will dress up nicely, comb hair…etc… we usually get a copy of the photos (think need to pay) and I still have them…looking at those pictures really make me think back of those good old days, seeing how your friends used to be so mini… and now so grown up…
Hope this helps to add up to your list! Will always be coming back to you post to look out for new post of peopl’s pri sch memories. =)
Cheers to you mate! =)
jam.
Feb 28, 2011 @ 15:38:25
ohh yes i remember sports day =) we mostly sneaked off halfway though..or after our class ran haha
my p5 camp wasn’t really interesting though =/
thanks for the additions!
Mei Xuan
Mar 02, 2011 @ 13:29:42
This post brought back much joy and laughter!! Not to forget, gone were the days where we had to put our ‘finger to our lips’ and walk back to class ‘two-by-two’. Or sing ‘tra-lala,tra-lala, getting ready to go home…’ to end the day for kindergarten. xD
jam.
Mar 03, 2011 @ 13:43:53
haha yea. classic “finger on your lips”. the upper primary teachers used to make us do that to embarrass us when we were naughty
lance
Mar 04, 2011 @ 09:10:08
very nyc….i am one of the fans of bookworm gang and the power ranger, also igimon…until now i still looking for new edition of bookworm gang
lance
Mar 04, 2011 @ 09:11:32
very nyc….i am one of the fans of bookworm gang and the power ranger, also igimon…until now i still looking for new edition of bookworm gang, thank you…you bring me back to my childhood day
lance
Mar 04, 2011 @ 09:13:50
i really miss those things……. 😦
Alex
Mar 06, 2011 @ 09:12:42
Thanks for bringing back these memories man! =)
jam.
Mar 06, 2011 @ 09:14:25
Thanks for reading =)
Jia-an
Mar 07, 2011 @ 08:21:05
I enjoyed it tremendously. Thanks for bringing up such wonderful memories.
I remembered making toilet paper wet and throwing them at the ceiling. Oh boy, epic days. 😀
jam.
Mar 07, 2011 @ 09:28:25
That is so evil! The cleaners would hate you for sure..haha. But the fun things are the evil ones =P
The Things I Remember In The 90′s « MuhdZulfadli
Mar 11, 2011 @ 00:33:50
Sshu91
Mar 12, 2011 @ 15:26:30
Thanks for coming up with this post!!
There was a mixture of emotions while reading this. It was enjoying every moment reading each point and paused to reminisce.
Can I just add a few points here? I hope there are other who share the same ones as me 🙂
– Akazukin Cha Cha and The Little Lulu was my favourite cartoon back then
– Before flag raising every morning, everyone was asked to read a storybook. But ended up talking or completing homework. Prefects would asked those talkative ones to stand or write their name in the notebook. (haha, I was a prefect and a ‘lazy’ one. I can’t be bothered to write the prefect notebook and during prefect meeting, I wrote any names in there just to make it look ‘filled’)
– There was mental sums quiz and those top ones would receive a badge which shaped like a bear (I had one)
– girls always passed notes around the class
– During P1, we were given nap time ( now, you’ll get reprimanded for sleeping in class! Haha)
– we used those cheap ‘red leaf’ brand for our marking and corrections
– We have to greet every teacher that past by ( do they still do it now?)
– Touch typing game was popular in the computer lab ( in my primary school)
jam.
Mar 13, 2011 @ 08:41:41
Thanks for your additions too =)
I remember the storybook reading sessions! I was a prefect and had to make sure the P1s were reading..haha
shin
Mar 14, 2011 @ 23:14:51
I LOVE YOUR POST!! 🙂 so many memories~
how can you forget SCHOOL BUSES!! 🙂
i rmb if we were in the morning session we will wait for the school bus after school, usually 3-4 buses that will make 2 trips.. so those who stay further will hav to wait.. and we will queue in 2 rows by bus number!
and when the bus pick us up every first day of the mnth we need to pay the bus auntie 🙂 oh and no one SITS STILL on the bus! hahaha.. i remember we hav albums which we collect pokemon cards and trade them on the bus.. and everyone will snatch the seats on the last row~
oh and theres the library! noisy library with usually a fat old uncle librarian.. there will be a magazine shelf with soccer magazines where micheal Owen and alan shearer will be on the cover!
and around 1998 was the first world cup i watched.. i only remembered brazil was in the final!
and there will be a few computers for everyone to use.. there will be MATHS BLASTER and this game where you are a Fish or shark and go around eating things!
oh and there was a time where most pri schools went thru renovation so we had to study in makeshift containers! 🙂 i took my PSLE in a container!
and we will play CHAPTAY during recess!
erm. and the regular checkup where nurses will come and the boys and girls will take turns to get checked..
and the dental buses where when your name is called you wait in the bus where u pray hard the dentist dun find anything wrong with your teeth..
and primary sch BCG! now they dont hav it.. we used to be SOOOO afraid of it! after the first round on the elbow area if it turned red you need not jab BCG.. so we will rub till it looks red.. and the BCG swells HUGE! took a long while to heal..
oh and RED ANTS! there will be these leaf on the tree that are folded in half that houses LOTS of red ants! we will poke it with a stick and watch all of them run out!
James Lye was VR MAN!
Animorph books where the bottom right of the book has this kid morphing into an animal! gotta flip it to see it morph! nvr read the book just love the flipbook animation!
kids love MAMEEMONSTER! and TWISTIES! sometimes there will be this toy or digimon evolving token inside! 🙂 30c each? oh and we love SOUR CANDY!! the one that had a water-on TATOO in the BAG!
thats all i can recall! thanks for the wonderful post! 🙂
Jonathan Su
Mar 15, 2011 @ 13:29:20
Hi Jam, I wonder if you remember the game “Golden Axe”? And “Super Mario Bros” which could be played onthe Micro Genesis? And not forgetting the post-exam periods in primary school where people would bring electronic games like “Western Bar” and later, the original Nintendo Game Boy that was also black & white. If I remember, you were considered cool if you owned these then! 🙂
terence
Mar 18, 2011 @ 17:57:35
omg!!! tat is like soooo long ago.. haha i used to go to the mama shop and also the pond to catch fish and the field to catch spiders when there is a temporary classroom with aircon inside!!!!!!
If you grew up in the 1990s… « elsewhere
Mar 24, 2011 @ 11:16:31
Jonathan Su
Mar 24, 2011 @ 12:14:01
Hey Jam, dunno if you saw this link, feel free to check it out! https://lovelyloey.wordpress.com/2006/10/14/if-you-remember-you-grew-up-in-the-90s-in-singapore/
jam.
Mar 25, 2011 @ 18:09:20
Thanks for the link!
Jonathan Su
Mar 29, 2011 @ 00:35:43
U’re welcome Jam! I’m hoping to see a Part 2 & perhaps a Part 3 for this post! There are just so many things to cover! Like the SIlverhawks, Real Ghostbusters & Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
jam.
Mar 29, 2011 @ 22:17:18
oh..errr no promises there though. I don’t really want to do another post coz I can’t ensure the second one will be as interesting as the first =/
Jonathan Su
Mar 30, 2011 @ 00:49:31
Hey Jam, came across this link while searching for the original MTV + rendition of the classic NDP song “It’s the Little Things” (which came out in 1992 I believe), is it an earlier posting frm u? If yes, I agreed with u tt current NDP songs r nt as gd as old ones! http://www.yearbook.com.sg/index.php?option=com_joomlaboard&id=1613&catid=14&func=sb_pdf
daniel
Jun 02, 2011 @ 20:39:07
I remember EVERY THING here! wow! I must be very old….???
Isaac
Jun 21, 2011 @ 16:03:06
Incredible how you still can recall the little things that made our childhood what it was. When my kids grow up, I’ll need to show them this post – to show them a glimpse of what life was like back in our time. 🙂
C
Jun 26, 2011 @ 13:17:36
I’m not exactly a 90s kid – I was born in 1995. But I remember SO MANY of the things on the list, probably cos I grew up around mama shops. Even now I have loads of bookworm books.
xin
Jul 10, 2011 @ 20:16:27
;D feel inspired by this post to have “some things I remember from the 90′s” or something along that line as my 21st birthday theme!
Yeong Chong
Sep 27, 2011 @ 15:19:13
Dear Jeremy,
Great post, and congratulations on garnering more than 400 comments!
I’m writing on behalf of NLB as part of the the Singapore Memory Project (facebook.com/iremembersg) We are in the midst of collecting memories of things about Singapore and was wondering if you would consider writing a guest entry as a Singapore growing up in the 90s?
Do write back to us at iremembersg@nl.gov.sg
Hope to hear from you soon 🙂
hakkushaku
Oct 13, 2011 @ 00:50:12
don’t forget goli(marbles), paper lanterns, five stones, hopscotch, the recorder, hao gong ming(good citizen) last but not least Mr Ong Teng Cheong…^^
Esther Lim
Oct 16, 2011 @ 22:57:52
I remember playing TV console games with a joystick. And the famous Milo truck.
Gerald Ong
Oct 27, 2011 @ 01:06:35
ice cream sticks! i remember we used to make star shapes and those that could make the guns that shoot rubber bands were the cool kids haha!
Gerald Ong
Oct 27, 2011 @ 01:13:16
and pasar malams when there was only one ramly burger stall. and stalls that sold pirated play station games and vcds openly! i remember being very excited that there was a pasar malam in my neighbourhood cause that meant new games!:D
jiahui
Oct 27, 2011 @ 03:42:28
awesome post! thanks for doing this! really dug up those fond memories of mine. 🙂
vonyvonne
Oct 27, 2011 @ 22:40:49
This post is just awesomeeeee! Lots of precious memories. Love the humor in the post too!
rainremember
Oct 27, 2011 @ 23:11:37
10 minutes worth of nostalgia. Although I have to disagree with you on No. 16. I did the Ecologist badge in P5 and I remembered working my ass off for that pretty leaf. My memory was that the Environmentalist badge (besides the ones you mentioned) was the copy-and-submit one. (Or perhaps it differs from sch to sch)
Amanda Lim
Oct 28, 2011 @ 00:33:34
I miss those times… growing up in the 90s is still the best the most relax time and the best childhood anyone will ever have…
meg43tr44gi joe
Oct 28, 2011 @ 06:52:54
My partner and i enjoy your site Some things I remember from the 90′s. bottled jam.. Many thanks with regard to that remarkable posting! I most certainly will book mark your website and also check out again here frequently.
m0nk3y
Oct 28, 2011 @ 09:42:06
Great POST!!! i totally forgot about captain planet already. Haha! Those were good and uncomplicated times….
Z
Oct 28, 2011 @ 10:36:48
Not sure if you guys have it in school last time, i used to play soccer at the basketball court. With the plastic ball.
jam.
Oct 28, 2011 @ 11:04:00
yep! we had. haha. table tennis ball
yongshuling
Oct 28, 2011 @ 12:20:05
*sniff* What a great post. Thank you.
gwenstella
Oct 28, 2011 @ 19:53:04
OMG i literally laughed out loud when i saw the pictures of the bookworm short stories! i can’t believe that i totally forgot about them!
thanks for bringing back such fond memories! 😀
krytykkollektiva
Oct 28, 2011 @ 20:17:31
Awesome post! Brings back so much memories! I remember buying sucking up to teachers during Teacher’s Day, buying them red pens and writing cute notes! Haha!
Enrico Tan
Oct 28, 2011 @ 21:31:39
omg this is an awesome post. can relate to most of the articles! practically smiling to myself on the com here hahaha…
“对你爱爱爱不完” i honestly dun rmb how i know this song, all i know is that it stuck in my head xD
luckily most of the snacks r still available now. i still rmb theres those haw balls with sugar around, they used to b sold everywhere, but now hard to find alr=x
the dial-up connection OMG…thats classic…those were the days with windows 95, no start menu or even the minimize bar, everything was just icons, if u minimize they would become icons, n to start windows n everything u had to go type from msdos mode, C:/> Windows xD
and all the things about school…do kids still do those stuff in school now?I know the brushing of teeth kinda ended around my generation lol…i had 1 or 2 years of it i think, but thats abt it…n days when we actually rmbed our fren’s numbers coz we had to dial them manually either from memory or from our nice little phonebooks xD (i kept one until quite long later, before most of the numbers became outdated lol). we had song books too, where we always used to sing songs during music class…loved that book lol
nvr had the chance to do block catching, my pri sch was surrounded by condos lol…but i rmb times when students brought clothes to change to, so they can go to the nearest great world city to hang out with frens or go to the arcade xD classic times…
ah the memories, thanks for this awesome post man lol, for the most awesome generation=p
jam.
Oct 28, 2011 @ 21:46:27
haha glad you share my sentiments =D
I hated the dial-up connection totally! hahaha. and the “It is now safe to turn off your computer screen”.
Peng YaZhi
Oct 28, 2011 @ 21:34:48
cool…I rmb rushing off to the bookshops to buy erasers (those with different countries’ national flag) and play “rubber-war” (flicking and attempting to get your eraser on top of ur opponents) and not to mention “chop-ing” hopscotch areas with water-bottles before rushing off to buy food in the 30mins recess :))
nana
Oct 28, 2011 @ 22:34:23
There was Walmart and K-mart at Suntec before Carrefour came in!
shanshan89
Oct 28, 2011 @ 23:53:30
i still have my young scientist card!!! that was EPIC
those were the days. sigh. « :D
Oct 29, 2011 @ 00:31:56
Liping Wong
Oct 29, 2011 @ 00:45:03
u forgot the eraser fight with country flags on them!
genevieve
Oct 29, 2011 @ 02:04:25
This is an awesome post! thanks for bringing my wonderful memories out again..
btw you left out Bee Bee (the red stick like snack), Ma Mee (lots of MSG) and 10cent seaweed hahahahaahahaha
Natalia
Oct 29, 2011 @ 03:07:12
Music-wise, boybands and girl groups were the rage. Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, Westlife, Atomic Kitten, Boyzone, A1, *N’Sync, S Club 7. During Teachers’ Day, the class would come together to perform a dance item, probably some hit song from Backstreet Boys or *N’Sync. We thought it was cool back then. Thinking back, it’s more of hand and leg movements rather than dance. LOL. And we would practise the performance after school in one of the classrooms.
After exams, we would bring games to school like UNO, Old Maid, Happy Family, Donkey, Snap, Snake and Ladder, Jenga blocks. And the list goes on.
TV shows, anyone remembers Art Attack? Gawd, I miss that creative host who would use any random items to create a huge sillhoutte of a soccer player, a woman pushing a shopping cart etc.
Ron
Oct 29, 2011 @ 04:20:42
i tot its was 80% but after reading ALL, i think its 90% same sendiments!
and liping’s comment was true too,eraser fights!still have em.i usually played for pokemon picture ones tho.
and in myschool,we have free cheapo toys when you buy yukult anyone else out there?hahas.
and the phone part,well,i still use those phones in sec!even ppl start to have phones,lols.it was coins then cards.now,you wan a public phone in schools,you have to pray for miracle somehow will pop out one,lols.so what happens if phone dead/stolen,cant make call liao,lols…..
missed the 90s mann,so carefree and easy.i missed my school food!!!!!so much nicer then wats out there…..
90s « everything happens for a reason ♥
Oct 29, 2011 @ 09:03:47
poister198
Oct 29, 2011 @ 09:58:57
just when i thought i had a unique childhood.. =DD
CHEERS!
Rachel.W
Oct 29, 2011 @ 13:17:59
omg~ the transistion from then and now…. its just a mere 20 years…. i’m glad i’m part of this transition 😀 so now i have stories to tell my grandchildren and they will be like O.o!
Hobbies in the past:
Boys – catching tadpoles, catching long gao (drain) fish…
Gals – exchanging stickers…
Games:
– buy square erasers (with either catoons on it or country flags on it) and try to win the opponent by flipping ur eraser on top using onli the thumb.
-staple many “bullets” on the back of the square eraser and spin it.
Clothes:
– Name tags are those with pin. (nowadays u iron the name tags on the uniform)
Trend:
– use the name tags (mentioned above) and poke a hole in the cap of the plastic water bottle then u squirt the water out of the hole to drink it.
Drink:
-Jelly drink (can’t find it nowadays… i onli rmb the pic on the wrapping is a girl with super wavy hair).
Relationships:
Having bf/gf relationships then were big news… LOL
Gotta love those days~!!!! XD
Mao RandoMao Ruijia
Oct 29, 2011 @ 20:03:13
Hahaha this was really good to read! I feel so nostalgic, even though i went to primary school in the 2000s instead
jolin
Oct 30, 2011 @ 13:54:24
so totally true!
wow
Oct 31, 2011 @ 08:12:45
I totally relate!! Like omg hahah. This was like revisiting my own childhood. Thank you!
dahearts
Oct 31, 2011 @ 10:58:17
Cool post!
I’m from LPS too! lol.
kyrades
Oct 31, 2011 @ 12:21:51
My primary school days started in 2000 but I could still relate to most of these! I especially hated lining up two by two and holding hands with our partners and with the finger on the lips because I thought my partner was really gross hahaha!
“Catching” is a must-play game during recess, and the colourful plastic animals (kuti-kuti?) were also very popular. Not to mention I could survive on just 1 dollar a day XD
Faculty of Athena :. Espirito Verde :. RESTROSPECTIVE!
Oct 31, 2011 @ 13:53:01
I miss those days ((: « januavi92icequeen
Nov 01, 2011 @ 15:40:11
J
Nov 04, 2011 @ 00:11:47
Hey! Great post here, I can tell much effort was put into this post! It really brought back the memories.(: I’m just curious though, wasn’t the back of the farecards for children pink? Or did I remember that wrongly? I remember loving the card so much cuz it was pink, my favourite colour then. Didn’t want to change it to the adult card when I grew older! Unfortunately, they changed farecards to ezlink before I could be an adult. Haha!
Sheryl
Nov 05, 2011 @ 15:36:50
This is such a fantastic post! I felt like I was going through my childhood all over again. I really miss those days I’d spent in primary school.
Does anyone remember those jelly which had stickers on them sold at the drink stall in the canteen? I remember we used to collect the stickers and paste it on our bottles 🙂
And who could ever forget the chalkboard. Haha. My classmates used to steal the chalks home and if our shoes were dirty, we would use the white chalk to colour them 😀
jam.
Nov 05, 2011 @ 20:09:09
i remember stealing chalk but it was to draw hopscotch boxes or other nonsense hahaha
P
Nov 07, 2011 @ 20:45:32
oh man, all these was the best part of my childhood! nice documenting them!!
tatwye
Nov 15, 2011 @ 19:53:44
Wow, felt so wonderful after reading all this post. I am 16 this year, so maybe I may not be so much a ’90s kid’, but I could still remember slightly some of the my years in the 90s.
I remember every Saturday and Sunday, I had my weekly dose of Doraemon (not sure if your had watched it that time). I thought it was like so cute! I always loved it when the male lead of the show, 大熊, used Doraemon’s gadgets to get back at the bully, 胖虎. I even had a plushie of Doraemon, but I accidentally spolit it and threw it away. I loved the Digimon show as well, my favourite was the Gabumon, because I liked its final evolution, Metalgarumon, if that is how it is spelt.
I remember when I was three, I loved these shows: 济公 and 雪山飞狐. The former was because I never seen any magic-related drama before, and the latter was because it was my first ever kung fu action show. And I always would bug my mum to let me see the tape which contained the theme song from this 1989 show: 早安老师! Even now 13 years later, this song could still fill my head with memories from before. And the show with the 4 ducks and the wolf, who in the end fell in the river and died lol.
I used to play Neopets as well. My pet was the elephante (I nicknamed it eletrineo), because my brother recommended that elephants were, um, strong. Yeah. But i wasn’t a very good player. Failed here and there. Then more games came out and slowly my Neopet was being neglected. I think I forgotten my account particulars, wondering now if it is still alive. I remember it was like dying–>starving–>famished–>very hungry–>hungry–>not hungry–>full–>very full–>bloated.
When I was Primary One or so, I think the playground just downstairs of my house had its covering changed to rubber. In the past, I loved to go and kick the sand around. Nowadays, there are still visitors to the playground, but they are mostly grandparents accompanying their grandchildren, or some kids taking those Nerf Guns out to shoot. And we do not see anymore block catching. Neither do we see many people that wear raincoats during rainy days. I last wore a raincoat when I was Kintergarden 2.
So many years passed, I am Secondary 4 now, and here I am posting this comment. Though I might not be 100% 90s, but I can still feel your joy, because I also mostly did the same things as your when I was younger. Things more worth remembering than sticking my eyes to the computer screen. Time flows, people grow. Treasure the present, cherish the past, so that when you look back, you will see the sweet memories of your childhood days.
jam.
Nov 15, 2011 @ 20:48:41
Hi tatwye,
thanks so much for your input! It was great reading your experiences 😀 glad they resonated with mine!
Jin
Nov 15, 2011 @ 20:31:30
Heyo,
A very interesting and refreshing post by ya. I was laughing in the bus while reading [others might think that I am mad].
Anyway, where’s the “catching fighting spider”, “catch tapole” events?? Lol, I believe lots of guys did that during primary school. Haha just another thing for ya ^^
“primary school prefects are staircase and canteen guardians during recess” ^^ lol
jam.
Nov 15, 2011 @ 20:52:40
hello jin,
glad you enjoyed the read (and yes I can empathize with suppressing laughter while on public transport and staring at the phone lol).
I didn’t write about catching spiders coz I didn’t do that =P but thanks for tour input!
k
Jan 28, 2012 @ 15:28:33
Digimon was so awesome! and playing Pokemon on our Gameboys! There wasn’t a female character then for the games so I had to play as the male one. lol
Regarding teachers’ day, my school banned us from giving the teachers gifts..
pkisme
Feb 22, 2012 @ 16:55:35
awesome!
hey u forgot:
guys get excited about all things about puberty LOL!
guys writing love letters to the girls they like
guys/girls asking the person they like to go stead
oh sweet love those days..
Yi Wa
Feb 23, 2012 @ 23:39:17
Hi! I really enjoyed reading your entry! It really brought back wonderful memories that we will never experience again in this era, and I feel so lucky and happy that we had a chance to be part of that. Thank you so very much for sharing with us this fantastic post, very appreciated of your time and effort! 🙂
jam.
Feb 24, 2012 @ 09:53:39
thank you for reading too! 🙂
Jovi
Apr 03, 2012 @ 02:32:20
OMG LOYANG PRIMARY!!! I also graduated from there hahaah
fr33
Sep 08, 2012 @ 13:25:10
i also miss the chalk board and we pass message by writing on a piece of paper and throw to our friend. i also used to buy a lot of things from bookshop which is really a waste of money. i still have the autograph book with me and when i opened it up, i cried cuz i miss them so much and we have no contact anymore.
Chrischiam
Sep 20, 2012 @ 22:50:49
Does anybody remember the fan shaped toy made out of cardboard and paper they used to give out? It had this “8” shape, and between the two pieces with wooden sticks at the end was rainbow coloured paper that you could twist into different shapes. It was pretty! I wonder what it’s called, and if they still have it.
More about 1990s « TheBigBigDay
Jan 01, 2013 @ 11:06:43
arica
Mar 14, 2013 @ 05:26:44
Can any one help? Sometime during 1995-1996, metro shopping centre had a promotion with their bags depicting 4 young children presenting singapore as a multi cultural country.
The promotion went on to have the same picture in MRT fare cards and also painted into buses.
My son was one of the young models . It’s a shame I did not keep any if those items.
I am searching for it now.
He is in his twenties.
Thank you
on bland culture and local dysgeusia | mantelette
Mar 16, 2013 @ 02:01:51
thottz
Apr 10, 2013 @ 23:29:19
Nice! I remember there was this candy in the form of a spray. I sat near the door n was in charge of see if the teacher was here. Once we hated our social studies teacher and sprayed the candy on her seat. Haha. When she sat the whole class was trying so hard to control the laughter. Lol
Abel
Apr 11, 2013 @ 17:22:07
Hi there, yes those were the days…. About the school stuffs, i think u left out the “Health Booklet” part, where nurses would come to our school check our eye sight, most embarrassing part is unzipping for the nurse to check our private part….. Somemore nurses were usually females… Lasting the scariest thing was the BCG injection!!!! Left a round scar on my upper left arm. I remember friends will give a big pat on it to make u feel pain when u angered them. Anyway your post is really epic, i enjoyed reading it and recount of fond childhood memories. Thanks!
Abel
Apr 11, 2013 @ 17:24:22
Correction: Lastly, instead of Lasting.
Caleb
Apr 12, 2013 @ 01:07:55
This is such a cool post! Brought back so many good and fun memories of the past though they seem really corny now. Nonetheless, still an awesome! Thanks once again :,)
ksh
Apr 18, 2013 @ 00:30:57
Hey, this is exactly what i grew up with!
Thanks for writing and sharing, i enjoyed reading the post (and your blog) thoroughly!
Damien
Apr 18, 2013 @ 13:22:43
Amazing blog site. My partner and my spouse and
i actually loved reading your content. This is a classic excellent read for me.
We have book marked it and i also am getting excited about reading new content posts.
Maintain the nice work!
Junior Foong
Jun 26, 2013 @ 00:02:39
Thanks for the effort in penning down memories. The 80-90s kid i could say is probably the most fortunate kids in our era. =) And your memories helped me in a bit of my research for a upcoming okto kids show. Thank You!
Jessica
Jul 20, 2013 @ 01:34:07
This is so great!! I was from Loyang primary too! 🙂 and primary school is best remembered too us having to take e BCG and then going around to whack each other’s injection wounds!!
happygirl95
Aug 11, 2013 @ 20:15:13
You missed out on the sticker books, a.k.a sticker collection. I remembered girls collected winx stickers, 5 in a pack for $1, and we would proudly filled up the blanks in the book and the glitter ones were hard to get- which led to black market and trading. Boys collected famous football players.
If not, we bought random stickers from the bookshop- they cost less than $1. Then we girls would start trading stickers. Those times…. really hard to forget!
For the games, Club Penguin and Maple Story were very popular too! The sliding game in Club Penguin was my favourite!
Crystallised-
Aug 12, 2013 @ 23:53:08
Omg this is great for reminiscing! Really brings back all those memories I had. Seems like everyone grew up the same way. Speaking of games, there were also handmade water bombs and the little red plastic packet bomb which blew up after you pressed it! I don’t think kids play the zero-tag (? the one you had to jump in, out, in, out, step) game made of rubber bands anymore right? And sega/nintendo consoles where you had to blow on the cartridges to make them work~~
Couldn’t help but to read everyone’s comments and leave mine as well. Thanks for the read (>ㅅ<)/
raymond koh
Aug 14, 2013 @ 23:19:12
Oh yes.. not to forget, Flag Erasers. I remember that some bookshop will sell in boxes, and people would buy in whole boxes, and play with them during recess, or the interval between periods. Using the thumb to flip the erasers and when yours go over the other, you win or something.
glennwg
Aug 16, 2013 @ 11:53:12
Pepsi Cola 1-2-3 was my favourite memory (:
Leo
Aug 16, 2013 @ 16:36:55
Hey! Thanks for sharing those memory. Do you still recall a very big story book during English class where it has interesting story in it. If I could recall it’s 10 storybooks.
Foodie FC
Aug 16, 2013 @ 19:53:58
Very good post!
There’s also
– Playing one leg during recess and that mean not eating anything during recess. And then the teacher will be asking why u are sweating so much
– Carrying those huge water body that’s sling
– Exchanging stickers or stamps when your teacher is on MC (despite the fact that there’s a relief teacher)
– Being beat on the hands for speaking English during Chinese lessson
– Concrete grey floor in classroom! Whereas now class room have tile flooring
ivan
Aug 16, 2013 @ 23:03:42
what do momo monsters eat?
momo monsters eat lamb chops
eat lamb chops?
yes, eat lamp chops
momo monsters eat lamb chops!
Kayj Tan
Aug 17, 2013 @ 00:26:08
Yea, those really lousy brown worksheets! We had to write in pencil, so if u only had a mechanical pencil in your pencil case, u had to be extra careful with your strength or the worksheets will tear. Either that, or the worksheets will tear when u tried to erase your mistake with a “rubber”! AHAHAHA! YES “RUBBER” and not ERASER! =D
jam.
Aug 17, 2013 @ 00:58:06
ikr, totally get what you mean!
Kat
Aug 17, 2013 @ 03:04:41
what about doraemon, sailor moon, hello kitty and the amount of snacks we buy and squeeze into our pockets after recess? the hopscotch and zero point during recess. the eraser game anytime of the day.
hohocow
Aug 17, 2013 @ 14:46:02
Thank you for the post 🙂 I saved a copy for myself!
Some things I remember from the 90′s | Drops of Ray
Aug 17, 2013 @ 21:34:09
hao
Aug 17, 2013 @ 23:09:00
i want to have a copy of this!is it possible?
Andy Tan
Aug 18, 2013 @ 01:36:57
Loyang Primary School FTW!!!
During my time of 1998-2004, Mr Yon was our School’s Discipline Master ; Mrs Lim was my Math if my memory serves me right…..
Anything but work | tellmeitsworth
Aug 21, 2013 @ 19:12:57
Minoru Kawaguchi
Sep 05, 2013 @ 14:41:27
i remember…..oh you astound me=)
I remember seeing my classmates come back all sweaty and smelly after recess after keeping ye olde empty plastic waterbottle around the field.
I remember country eraser battles and those pens that can be taken apart to form your next cool space fighter,
I remember the army velcro wallet as a ‘cool’ item.
I remember giving a ring to a girl friend of mine without really knowing the meaning,
I remember copying her work in class=/(Now that I think about it,I think she let me copy O.o)(She graduated from NUS awhile back=))
Minoru Kawaguchi
Sep 05, 2013 @ 14:42:15
sorry it’s kicking* not keeping
Sadiq (Sid)
Oct 21, 2013 @ 07:18:22
Awesome post!! reading this made my day!! such sweet memories. Thanks man for taking the time and effort to write this up so others like me can reminisce of the past. Cheers!!
nraidah
Oct 23, 2013 @ 08:12:07
HAHA. doing the power ranger moves. “Shift into turbo!”
Tamagotchi, Alipom, Color catching, block catching, bicycle catching, rounders, composing our nokia ringtones, picking up the home phone when using the internet and then it got cut off … HAHA oh, the 90s…
tommy chen
Oct 24, 2013 @ 18:34:23
everything just flushed back into my head, great job doing up this for i believe many would’ve appreciated as much as i do. the kids nowadays will never get the chance to go through what we did and i believe we had more fun than they are having right now.
also to add on we used to spin erasers with the staples we put in underneath with country flag designs on them. and the sticky stuff we bought from mama shops that we throw and it’ll stick to walls and the QUESTION MARK black bags with surprise toys in them!
phgoh
Oct 25, 2013 @ 00:57:56
Reblogged this on BOOM BOOM BOOMMM and commented:
The autograph books hits home. I have like 5. or 6 of them!
Shamaine Samsi
Oct 28, 2013 @ 03:31:34
Hey I was from Loyang Primary as well!
Q
Oct 30, 2013 @ 10:16:24
it’s like you were my classmate! made my day 🙂
EJ
Nov 22, 2013 @ 01:00:12
pls do all of us 80s and 90s kids a favour, don’t ever delete this blog post! thank you for all the memories!!!!
Sona
Dec 05, 2013 @ 16:29:11
You are absolutely right EJ its an archive a very precious one that unfortunately kids of today don’t get to enjoy .
audrey
Dec 02, 2013 @ 14:52:03
My goodness. This is absolutely brilliant. I just returned back to singapore this year following a decade stint in australia and I really can relate to all this whilst growing up in sg! Absolutely loled when I read the remember me books as I mustve forgotten I got those. So sad. I have lost them all. Anyway great great great post buddy!
Emmalee
Dec 03, 2013 @ 23:34:34
The projector used required power source. you need a transparent sheet and write with marker before you can present
Caitlin Soh
Dec 04, 2013 @ 00:35:10
Wow! This is really cool! I guess we are just a few years apart but most of these belong to my childhood! It’s so unlikely to happen to the children nowadays.. Few years back, i even had my p2 juniors quarreling over their ex and current boyfriends.
predunim M
Dec 04, 2013 @ 09:43:35
Very Nostalgic indeed , as a migrant during the 90s , some of these things were out of this world fantasies for me , but all the same , its an archive , a very thoughtful one that we can share with the generations to come.
Wilfrid Chua
Dec 04, 2013 @ 12:30:31
I can relate to 90% of the things listed
Jacie
Dec 04, 2013 @ 17:04:02
Love this post. but I freaked out when I see the scroll bar at the side…
thought I can’t finish reading it before pang gang.
End up it’s actually the comments that made it so long.
jam.
Dec 05, 2013 @ 13:14:17
Hahaha this made me laugh :p
CW
Dec 05, 2013 @ 15:27:22
Hahah is really cool when people pens down memories. This will definitely be a legend in the future :”)
WeiChuaan
Dec 05, 2013 @ 17:17:57
Reblogged this on From a heart of a loafer and commented:
Childhood memories are best though
High-yield thermonuclear missile
Dec 05, 2013 @ 21:09:38
I still have the Shaker Mechanical Pencil. xD
balala
Dec 07, 2013 @ 18:21:02
who remembers the tidbits with pokemon/digimon inside. and the mamee noodle had the toy which could be assembled into a beyblade
DCAJ 장예정 (@ConKyubineDlite)
Dec 08, 2013 @ 11:56:17
Oh God I love this post!! Could related to like, 80% of them! I’m Malaysian, so to add on, I reminisce the times when we traveled back and forth JB to Singapore and had to sit on “mickey mouse” or “superman” buses! Basically they are different bus companies who ferry Malaysian kids to Singapore schools XD. then when crossing the customs, we would buy yummy Malay snacks like mee goreng or meehoon goreng in small packs from those uncle/auntie with the motorbikes… then we would chit chat while waiting for our buses to exit from the bus lane…. ah those were the days! I was a Bookworm gang fan too! I love Simone hehehe
siying
Dec 17, 2013 @ 17:17:11
very nostalgic. holding back my tears as i read each line. definitely miss the days!
jacquilin
Feb 10, 2014 @ 23:24:21
Love your post! 😀 Can’t believe I can still recall many of these things you (and others) mentioned till now!
I remember we that plasticine used to be one of my favourite Art & Craft toys and I used to go mad over the Huan Zhu Ge Ge, Art Attack and Bill Nye the Science Guy shows. There was also this green goopy jello toy in a round box in which you can find fake eyeballs/fingers/noses and the goop was cool to touch and damn fun to pull at and play with. We also had to go to this children’s Driving Centre/Traffic place at East Coast Park I think and learn about traffic manners and get to roleplay as the driver/pedestrian/traffic police if I’m not wrong. I loved the toy car though I pedaled so hard my butt hurt. There was also once when my teacher brought the class on this hiking trip to Bukit Timah Hill (my geog sucks) and I even remember the gory story about how Red Hill got its name. Chinese teacher used to tell such awesome stories of their olden days too, I wonder if they still do so now…
Those were the days. 🙂
Alysha
Feb 22, 2014 @ 13:46:52
Thanks for a wonderful read! It really makes me feel nostalgic reading your post! I remember growing up doing everything that’s been written! All birthdays and mother’s/father’a day presents would be proudly bought at my school’s bookshop after months of saving money! Plus the PETS course book,my fav! Was always eagerly looking forward to English period. I really miss the 90s!
Linda
Jun 25, 2014 @ 03:46:53
Reblogged this on SoSheLove and commented:
Couldn’t help but repost this. I spent like an hour reading this entire article while reminiscing my days when I was younger. Lol!
Minh
Sep 05, 2014 @ 09:39:53
I believe this is the picture of the old Young Generation (YG) magazine that was sold in school!
Yes, I’m finally starting a blog! | Jancistheceo | Food | Health & Fitness | Travel
Sep 22, 2014 @ 16:58:02
10 childhood reads that are still magical to S’poreans | Mothership.SG
Dec 02, 2016 @ 11:18:01
atkh j.
Feb 22, 2017 @ 13:41:01
Yes!!!!! The young scientist club!!! I still have my botanical and zoological badges doh!!! Sounds like some newt Scamander hahahah!!! Anyway, i am sorted in hufflepuff!!!☺also, yes!!! The scotch tape at the top corner of our workbooks!!! This post rocks!!!! My childhood legit!!!👍