ToyCon 2015

ToyCon Philippines uploaded a picture on June 1, 2015 with this sub-caption, "Those of us who grew up in the pre-social media era or even the pre-electronic gaming age remember a time when “Play” was associated with the outdoors." There were no gadgets and one is entitled to be connected if there are any work-related tasks that he needs to accomplish. This means that you're not supposed to be "wired" if you haven't landed yourself a job and gained clients to communicate with. Life was boring. But not really.

I grew up witnessing the neighborhood kids play Atari. My parents used to own a Game & Watch before getting a Nintendo unit. Mario was the bomb back then. Nintendo/FamiCom games aside, I inherited an electronic hand-held device called Speak and Spell. I guess it helped me a lot since I found myself as one of the top five spelling wizards in first grade. Then there were those afternoon cartoons like Care Bears, Rainbow Bright, Shirt Tales, He Man, She Ra, Thunder Cats, The Transformers, Voltes 5 and Daimos among others. It's the 80s and we don't know what a cable connection is so we only get to have 5 local channels back then and in order to watch some toons, you need to wait for the exact programming time. Any 80s kid needs to make the most out of his/her free time and this is why we have to play pretend with our "action figures". A few years later (circa my elementary years to high school years), I was obsessed with X-Men and some anime shows (like Macross, Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z). I collected a few comic sets, cards and small figurines. Post school years had me going gaga over some other anime shows and Marvel movies. Eventually, my fanaticism died down and I guess that marked the hysteria of my childhood days. 


It was a good thing when I noticed the ToyCon post in my newsfeed. I decided to tag along my cousins and experience attending a toy convention. Here's a glimpse of what happened when I attended my 1st ToyCon and some reasons why everyone (your truly included) had a blast:

 

Go Team, let's invade ToyCon 2015!

 

  

 

There were quality action figures all over the place and human-sized characters. 

 

  

Awesome merchandise and other collectibles. 

Le Boo will be thrilled with all the Captain America collectibles!

A pretty DJ graced the hall, gave the crowd something to dance for and for the men, a face to ogle at.

Because photo booths are love!

Most of all, we hoarded on a lot of freebies: free Oishi goodies, photo booth shots, a sling bag (c/o iflix), a tumbler (c/o iflix), an ID lanyard (c/o iflix), a Captain America mask (from nowhere) plus we won a bluetooth speaker from PLDT. 

I'll attend next year's ToyCon and by then, everything's going to be sweeter!

Date: June 19, 2015

Venue: SM Megamall - Megatrade Hall

Maginhawa Quest | Trip via Gerry's Jeepney

We were searching for just the "right amount of trip" or "tamang trip" in vernacular to kill the long weekend (isn't it fun to slay long weekends?). Our goal is to not hurt our pockets by driving for more than 10 kilometers or by staying somewhere posh and comfy. Initially we wanted to grab a bite somewhere or have coffee in a shop other than Starbucks or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL). We have something on our list that meets the qualification of our coffee shop target but the place is full. I'll probably blog about the coffee shop once I've had my fair share of first hand experience.

Anyway, one can never go wrong with Maginhawa Street in Quezon City so we went ahead and parked in front of a charming, Filipino-themed restaurant, "Gerry's Jeepney". 

There are five jeepney vehicles all lined up on the left side of the restaurant. Groups of eight-ten people can occupy one vehicle and dine inside. All four vehicles have different themes: Pinilakang Tabing (known Filipino celebrities), Pinoy Superheroes (hello, Captain Barbell), Manananggal ('nuff said) and Mabuhay (Philippine heroes). 

The entrance has colorful "banderitas" or banners hanging, hinting of an enjoyable feast that awaits its enthralled guests. More than the pop visuals that adorn the restaurant, Filipino OPM hits (note: in remix versions) like Rock Baby Rock, TL Ako Sa'Yo and Bato sa Buhangin makes the atmosphere more patriotic. 

 

 

  

An ice cream cart is parked across the jeepney area and humorous nuggets/sayings like 

"God Knows Hudas Not Pay" and "Basta Driver, Sweet Lover" lightens up the place.  

Oh, and have you seen the wash area? Customers can wash their hands with sinks that look like rubber tires.

They have more indoor spaces with colorful wall art and decorations. Notice how there are woven back rests on some chairs - one that a jeepney driver normally use to make his trip less tiring. There are Pinoy games like sungka, dama and domino to enjoy while waiting for your food to arrive.

Do you know where you're going to? Cubao, Ayala, Quiapo and the list goes on.

Gerry's Jeepney prides itself with boodle orders that are good for sharing between 2-4 pax. They classified their Bagong Boodle selections into Divisoria (Php650 - with breakfast viands like tocino, longganisa, tapa), Quiapo (Php680 - with more grilled fares like inihaw na bangus, pork barbeque, inihaw na tilapia and ensaladang talong), Cubao (Php730 - with chicken barbeque to boot) and Ayala (Php780 - with crispy shrimp as an add on). 

They have individual meals and viands priced around Php80-Php250. Some meals come with a glass of iced tea too. Very affordable!

The happy bunch!

Gerry's Jeepney

7 Maginhawa St., Teacher's Village, Quezon City

Store Hours: Tuesday-Sunday (11AM-10PM extends till 12AM from Fri-Sat)

Closed: Every Monday

(02) 435-6824