My Shameful Tamagotchi Experience

One of the favorite toys of the 90s were Tamagotchis, and I can’t help but feel incredibly guilty when thinking about my own virtual pet experience. There was something fantastic about caring for a blob with eyes on a screen, enclosed in a plastic egg attached to a handy keychain. The life of this poorly animated tech pet was in my hands… Without me he would die, and I vowed to never let that happened. Unfortunately, that vow was broken after a week of having it.

Turns out, the little guy was incredibly needy. At first, cleaning up digital poop, feeding it digital food, and its constant begging of attention was all really adorable and good fun. Soon that cuteness turned into an annoying chore, and as a kid, I avoided real life annoying chores as much as possible… Why was I opting for extra work? So I stopped tending to all of my pet’s needs, and then within a couple days, it became terminally ill. Its health status showed that it had become sick due to lack of hygiene and starvation. There was nothing I could do- it was too late. Suddenly, I felt terrible that I had abandoned the poor little guy. He was going to die because I’m an awful irresponsible parent- it was all my fault. As I watched my tamagotchi take his final breath, I felt sad for a few moments and then pressed the reset button on the back to start over. I was going to provide a new and better life for my pet this time. But, it almost seemed that my pet was even more needy than he was in his last life. Again, I quickly became annoyed, abandoned it and left it to die.

The tamagotchi was created to teach kids in a “fun” way of how to be responsible and care for a living pet. The only thing is, real living pets don’t have a reset button on their backs if they die, and not caring for them would be considered animal abuse. Luckily, the ASPCA has yet to say anything about my past history of tamagotchi abuse. 

Why Being a Little Girl in the 90s Was So Much Fun!

What better time to be a little girl than in the 90s?

All my school supplies were Lisa Frank brand…

All my folders had psychadelic, rainbow puppies and kittens, and my notebooks had rainbow-making unicorns. I also had a book of Lisa Frank stickers and stuck them EVERYWHERE. Once and a while my mom still finds one my stickers stuck behind a couch or under a coffee table in our house.

I was all about the “Girl Power” music…

Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and of course the Spice Girls were always on my CD Mix that I would play on my walkman religiously. I was a preteen girl and that’s the kind of music preteens would listen to- Don’t judge me.

I wore Jellies…

They were comfortable, waterproof and cute sandal-like shoe that came in every color. I had a pair of red ones and even though they were supposed to be a summer shoe, I wore them every season and all year round.

I had 5,000 scrunchies... Or more...  Literally…

Big scrunchies, little scrunchies, rainbow scrunchies, neon scrunchies, scrunches with detachable flowers and butterflies- I had them all! Besides being a fabulous hair accessory, they were also fun to fling at my brother.

My Beanie Baby collection was impressive…

I was a serious Beanie Baby collector. I would make my mom drive to the local pharmacy or toy store so I could see if they we’re selling and beanies that I didn’t have yet. Funny enough, I rarely ever played with them; they were more of a financial investment. I was so convinced my Beanie Babies were going to be worth something one day so I would put a plastic cover around the “Ty” tags, because without their tags they were considered worthless. I also bought a Beanie Baby collector’s book that listed how much each was worth and their expected growth in value. Turns out, Beanie Babies aren’t so precious and valuable today. This is when I decided to never pursue a career in finances.

My friends and I played Girl Talk at every slumber party...

Every weekend my friends and I would look forward to having a slumber party and playing the pre-teen board game Girl Talk. Why did we love this game? It was a “truth or dare” type game that involved admitting our boy crushes and daring us to call our boy crushes. Above all, this game taught us the fun in gossiping and being girly.

Clueless was my favorite movie...

 It was a movie that made being a ditzy, rich, and materialistic girl look awesome. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the most appropriate movie for a young girl to watch, but whatever. This was a movie that defined many colorful aspects of 90’s pop culture. The fashion: baby doll dresses, doc martens, and belly shirts. The slang: “What-ever,” “Like totally,” “Like, DUH!” It’s a great 90’s movie that will forever hold a special nostalgic place in my heart.

The Crap We Ate as Kids in the 90s

Warheads

These candies were so painful to eat, and why we still ate them- I do not know. When you first put them in your mouth and started sucking on them, it was so intensely sour that it felt like you were slowly breaking your jaw. Then after a good 30 seconds, the candy became sweet and there was no better relief, however your tongue felt completely numb and inflamed. I remember during lunch at school, we would have warhead wars; who could suck on a handful of warheads the longest. Yeah, I never won a single battle.

Baby Bottle Pops

Another ridiculous candy we thought was awesome in the 90s. The baby bottles were full of sugar and the nipple was a hard sucking candy. Basically you dipped the hard sticky candy in the bottle full of sugar. Personally, I thought the whole thing was awkward and creepy. I’m kind of glad I haven’t seen them since 1998.

Dunkaroos

One of my favorite sugary snacks! They were Kangaroo-shaped crackers that you dipped in vanilla or chocolate frosting. DE-LICIOUS!

Lunchables

When my mom didn’t have time to make me lunch to take to school, she would give me a lunchable. The were two kinds of lunchables when I was a kid… First, there were the pizza kits, which consisted of stale crackers (the pie), tomato paste, pepperonis, and shredded cheese. Then there were the mini sandwich kits; overly- processed and slimy slices of deli meat, chunks of cheese, and a few pathetic crackers to make a sandwich out of it all. My favorite part of the lunchable pack, and probably the only thing I ate, was the desert, which was usually a baby candy bar, such as a Crunch or Hershey’s bar. Opening my lunch box and finding a lunchable was the most disappointing experience. And that’s when I learned how to make my own lunch so I never had to eat that lunch in a box ever again.

 

Gushers

If you had a pack of gushers in your lunchbox, the other kids would trade you anything for it.  They were little gummy balls with sweet liquid goo inside. When you chewed them, they would explode and “gush” in your mouth. Gushers were the coolest!

Who remembers GAK?

GAK! It was so much cooler than Playdough or silly puddy. It was slimy and oozy and glorious!  It had that liquid plastic smell that you kind of felt guilty for liking. Best of all, you could make farting noises with it... And for a little kid, that means a good time! 

15 Songs From The 90s That Just Came to Mind

Baby one more time (Britney Spears)

 In the 90s, Britney Spears was crowned my generation’s pop princess, and we welcomed her with open arms. Every little girl wanted to be Britney, and how could they not... She was the southern girl next-door, who sang sexy songs with her adorable nasally voice, she wore sexy bellyshirts that revealed her cool bellybutton ring, and almost all her songs contained sexual innuendos. Maybe she wasn’t the greatest rolemodel for young girls, but then again she did warn us that she’s “not so innocent.”

Waterfalls (TLC)

To this day, I’m not quite sure what the female R&B trio meant when they said “Don’t go chasing waterfalls.” I’m sure there’s some deep meaning to it that I’ve been too lazy to figure out. I remember that these ladies made baggy jeans look sexy.

MMM-Bop (Hanson)

They were three brothers with pretty faces, long blonde hair, and were actually incredibly lame to say the least. I wasn’t a big Hansen fan per say, but I won’t deny the fact that when this song played on the radio, I couldn’t resist mmm-bopping it.

Jump Around (House of Pain)

I think it’s fair to say that this was the official “party anthem of the 90s. And of course, we all jumped around when this song came on because we do what we are told.

Wannabe  (Spice Girls)

 I was a HUGE Spice Girls fan- HUGE. Yes, I was all about the “girl power.” I must have listened to this song over 1000 times (literally), and to this day, I still know every single word.

 

Livin’ la Vida Loca (Ricky Martin)

Oh Ricky Martin… Women couldn’t help but drool over the sexy Latin singer with tight leather pants and frosted hair. This was kind of song you couldn’t help but to shake your “bon bon” to.

Ice Ice Baby (Vanilla Ice)

What do you get when you combine early rap and “Under Pressure” by the legendary Queen and David Bowie- you get the first hip hop single to ever top the Billboard charts. 

Baby Got Back (Sir Mix-A-Lot)

I’m pretty sure everyone and their mother knows all the words to this little jewel of a song. Sure it’s downright offensive and completely objectifies women; but let’s be honest, in the end, it’s a song about butts… A sense of humor is required to appreciate this epic song.

What's My Age Again? (Blink 182)

I was a pretty big Blink 182 fan (still am) and this song is probably one of my favorites. I remember its awesome music video, in which the band runs through public streets butt naked.

Genie in a Bottle (Christina Aguilera)

 In retrospect, I’m not sure why my parents let me listen to such a song that was clearly filthy with sexual implications. I can actually remember seeing the music video on the Disney channel, and was shocked at even a young age. What, was everyone innocently blind during the 90s?

Getting Jiggy With It (Will Smith)

Will Smith wanted to create clean rap songs and this was supposed to be one of them- I’ve heard many interpretations of the term “getting jiggy with it,” some of which are not very “clean” per say. It’s not your fault, Mr. Smith… “A” for effort.

Tearin’ Up My Heart (Nsync)

As mentioned in previous blog posts, I was a die-hard Nsync fan. Next to “Bye Bye Bye” this was my other top favorite. This song definitely makes me miss the boy band era.

Shoop (Salt N’ Pepa)

This was the first and only song I learned to rap. The story is my babysitter was obsessed with this song, and played it all the time when she would watch me. I learned every little verse, yet I had no idea what any of it meant at 8-years-old. I’ll never forget the look on my mother’s face when she heard me rap: “licked him like a lollypop should be licked.” She cried and then gave me the “Birds and the Bees” talk. Precious memories.

Gangsta’s Paradise (Coolio)

A song that still has a place on iPod and plays from time to time. In the 90s, Coolio seriously was the coolest. Nowadays, he’s nowhere to be found… Where in the world is Coolio and his crazy hair?

Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)

The 90s were known for its grunge movement, and Nirvana dominated as a grunge icon. Even if you didn’t like this style of music, you couldn’t help but rock out and get pumped up to this song.