Ben 10 Mania

Today I will help you to do some eye exercises. Neh, the kind where you roll your eyes around and around, because I am gonna gush about my boy. You have been forewarned. Do not proceed if you are already cock-eyed :P

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Approximately a year ago, Gooly has this fascination over Ben 10. I didn't get it. I still don't get it. Ben can turn into ten hideous looking aliens. He does that using the Omnitrix - a hideous gargantuan watch which doesn't tell the time. Cartoons are supposed to be funny and cute. Ben 10 is neither.

(One of the alien dudes. Ugly or not?)

And thus, I didn't give in when he wanted the Omnitrix because it's about Rm100. Now, even my atrocious mental-arithmetic can tell me that I could buy 10 pasar malam spidey watches which tell the time with that amount of money.

Until.. one fine day, when he was exceptionally good, and I was in a jolly good mood, I decided to surprise him ..

...with a ciplak pasar malam version of the Omnitrix which cost a tiny fraction of the original version. He ripped open the box gleefully. His smile was priceless. He put it on his wrist, and then..

"How come there is no light? And no sound?"

"Aiya.. it doesn't matter la.. You can still play with it." (hiak hiak hiak.. I am such a kiamsiap mama)

He was willing to accept it. And so he played with it for almost 8 months, making his own sound effects. Another not so fine day, he lost it while playing at Yoyoland. He was visibly upset, but he has to learn how to take care of his own things. Thus, he went watchless for a few months, admiring his friends' from afar, and hoping that he will get one for Christmas. The original pricey one, mind you..

Now that we are back here, it seems like every Tom, Tim and Tam own the stewpid watch. And he hoped for it even more. He salivates over it.. dreams about it.. craves for it. And upon hearing the above story chronologically, my ah bu decided she would buy him that for Christmas. For someone who is so thrifty that she eats lefover food all the time, she must love him very much to part with that amount of moolah.

Alas, the watch is not available! We went nearly 5 malls, but couldn't find it! Sei lor.. Luckily Gooly is easily appeased.

"There are many more days to Christmas. We just gotta keep looking." He nodded. Meanwhile, he couldn't buy anything else because Ben 10 watch is really expensive, and we are saving money for that.

It has been the same routine the past 2 weeks. We'd go to the toys department, and hunt for the watch. Along the way, he checks out other toys, sometimes tempted to change his mind. Just like yesterday, he held the Transformer bazooka and pulled the trigger.

"Zek zek zek... Autobots transform and roll out!" came the robotic sound.

Woahhh... you should see the gleam in his eyes! He thought about it for awhile, and asked timidly, "Is this expensive, mama?"

"Oh yes.. it's very expensive. It's Rm99.90. Almost a hundred ringgit."

"Can you help me put it back?" Aw...... If I were a millionaire, I would have bought it for him! But I am not, you see? I don't even have a million hair.. (lame but couldn't help it :P )

I reminded him again of the Ben 10 watch that he was gonna get. Oh man.. by then I was really worried that it's out of stock nationwide. So I asked if he wanted something else, just in case we can't find it. He looked around and chose a pistol. Rm16.90. "Is that cheap, mama?"

"Yes, sayang. But we are gonna wrap it up and you can only open it on Christmas. And it also means no more Ben 10 watch, you understand?"

He nodded and jumped with joy when the 'kakak' wrapped it up nicely. To anyone who would listen, he chanted, "It's my Christmas present. Christmas is December. Is it December now?" I know I will have to bear with that for another 18 more days or so. But I think the anticipation and excitement will make a mere RM16.90 toy more special.

The package is all wrinkly now because he slept with it, and carried it under his armpit everywhere. That package is really a contingency plan. I am really hoping to find the Omnitrix for him. If he had smiled like he found gold when he received the 'chapalang' one, imagine what his face would be like if he got the one that emits sounds. Must get ready the video camera. :)

Ah.. at the same time, I want to send the message about "things don't go your way all the time." If we can't find it, Gooly.. it's not the end of the world. There are a million other toys which will make mahmee go 'pokai' too.

You know, the moment he said, " Put it back for me, please," I had really wanted to grab the bazooka to the counter and put in Ben 10, Transformers, Spongebob, Elmo, etc. gadgets to pile as a hamper. Is he using 'reverse psychology'? Luckily I am not related to Mittal, Gates or Hilton.

Luckily or unluckily? It's a rhetorical question. :)

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Here.. your eye balls. They rolled out of the sockets just now. :P