Klaris Chua

About Stuff

My almost month-long clean-up made me remember stuff from my past. Stuff, meaning, stuffed toys. So after putting my current lot in place, I decided to rummage through my sister’s bookshelf (where old toys are neatly kept) to combine them with the new ones. We already lost some of them to Ondoy, but it was good to know that some of the most important ones are still there.

First, this unnamed rabbit. I would see her in a lot of my baby pictures. My sister has a brownish-grey version of this, probably the him. She used to be so fluffy and white. But what I remember most about her was that she had a profusely bleeding ass. Yes, I was morbid even at that young age. She has a red cloth-like thingy hanging right below her tail and it used to bother me a lot. I even remember asking the elders if my rabbit was menstruating and I remember being told that it was gonna happen to me, too, later in life. The bleeding didn’t stop but the nameless rabbit lived on, and 24 years later she still possesses those very round dark brown eyes closely similar to mine.

Then, the polar bear and the penguin. These two, along with other similarly sized stuffed animals were gifts from our dad after his first year as a seafarer. He spent most of his time in Alaska so what we got were mostly animals which thrive in cold weather. We also got a yak, a killer whale, a dolphin, and a parrot to name a few.

These are actually shared among us kids. No one owns something. Claiming ownership of any of these animals often resulted into fights, as all of them were too cute and cuddly to be separated from the bunch. Until now, they’re taking refuge in an imaginary zoo here.

This one I got from the school fair of my senior year. I got addicted to the claw machine at one point but I failed miserably. This friend of mine, whom I had a short-lived crush on, was an expert being a video game and arcade addict so he got it for me. I went home happy even though the stuffed toy was (and still is) too ugly for my taste.

This koala bear is very dear to me, but it’s still nameless, like most older toys I have. I got it from my mom’s friend on my 18th birthday. I think she was fully aware of my lifelong fascination with Australia.

This one is Boo, the cute girl from Monsters Inc. Boo doesn’t have much character and story unlike the other toys because she was mass produced at the evil, evil labs of Disney. But she’s pretty. Our relatives in Australia gave it to dad when he visited them along with a bunch of other Disney toys like Tigger and Eeyore. She’s too generic and I couldn’t inject that much influence or story on her. So she’s just there, prettifying display cases and all.

And then, there’s Dada. He’s the gay bear. My good friend Aiza named him as such (after her crush) even if he was anatomically female. The pink ribbon on his neck says it all. Aiza was about to leave the country and we (my college clique and I) even had small arguments as to whose hands Dada should fall into once Aiza leaves. We’d take turns bringing him home for the last few months of our senior year, but eventually, I won. The gay bear has been with me for almost four years now. BTW, Aiza got Dada as a prize after she accumulated enough tickets at an arcade.

This is a toy called the Devil Bag. It’s asexual. It says things like, “I’m a horny little devil,” “I’m feeling really horny,” and “I’m a bag… I’m a hornbag” and follows them with evil villainous laughs. I use him to pick up girls. Joking. I use him to start conversations with my girl crushes. Partly true. I got him from a sale at our office building during a time when I developed an obsession with vinyl toys. It has a brother named the Gimp Bag but I lost it to some fella. But I don’t mind since the Devil Bag is 99 times cooler and it always gets the girls.

And finally, Domo-kun. Aiza gave me Domo when she came back here months ago. He’s my current favorite among the lot and he’s been tagging along wherever I go. I love Domo because he watches over Nova, my camera, when I’m away. He’s Nova’s carer. He looks best when Nova takes pictures of him. I sometimes sleep with Domo above my head. Domo hates knock-offs and he mocks fake Domos whenever he sees some in malls and other places. No one can touch my Domo without my permission.

I’ve been wanting a new member for the family, a huge one, because my stuff are relatively smaller than most of what my sister owns, and are eons away from my brother’s Tigger and tiger stuff. I want my little toys to have a bigger companion who’ll shield them from the late afternoon sun’s rays that goes straight into my bedroom window. I want something which I can hold at night aside from the default number of pillows around me. It has to be really unique. Oh well I have to start searching for it somewhere.