Fangirling is an expensive hobby.

11:18 PM 3 Comments A+ a-

Any fangirl knows this.  From un/official merchandise, audiovisual products, concert tickets, traveling to get to the concert venue, dressing up for said concert, and for some... language lessons, fangirling can be preeeeetty expensive. 

I don't fangirl over everything but when I do, I go all out.  The last time I did that was more than ten years ago with the Taiwanese boyband, F4.  I went to all of their concerts/appearances that were accessible to me, got all of their CDs and concert videos and dramas, and I even went for unofficial merch.  Fast forward to 2012.  The country of origin is South Korea.  The talent... BIGBANG.

I've sung my praises for these 5 boys so much already.  Looks, style (sometimes questionable LOL), talent (no question on that point), creativity (duh)... 대박!  In a short period of time, I went from casually knowing of them to being a VIP 'til whenever.  I spent almost a thousand dollars during their ALIVE tour stop here in Southern California - tickets, merch, and everything - and I don't regret any of it.  I've made new friends, discovered so many cool things, and I think there is no monetary equivalent for the memories and experiences that were made on those two days.

But for everything else, you need money, sadly.  Money that you don't always have.  ㅠ.ㅠ  Yesterday, I hung out with some of the fellow VIPs I met during the concert and we went to Santa Monica Pier.  We had Thai food (Santa Monica, familiarize yourself with AYCE KBBQ) and walked the pier.  The street acts - or as Taeyang would say, "unknown artists" - weren't very many or very good while we were there.  But we had fun.  Laughs, memories of VIP night, BIGBANG, and other stuff also.  After that, we headed over to Koreatown.

While in the car going to Koreatown Galleria, I said that "I will be walking away with a CD or two."  And I did.  Two CDs and one DVD set.  My bank account is hurting a bit but I did cross out two things from my wish list!


G-H-E-T-T-O E-L-E-C-T-R-O ... 미칠 지 모르죠 말리지마 here we go...

I've often wondered if that made any sense.  Maybe to GD&TOP but not to me.  What exactly is "ghetto electro" anyway?  (According to Urban Dictionary: Originating from Korea, it was first heard in the mythological pairing of a dragon and a white-haired extremely good looking man.) ㅋㅋㅋ!  So here we go.  GD&TOP, Volume 1 and BIGBANG Special Edition aka Tonight Re-release.  *hugs them close to bosom*

When I went to the Philippines, I hoped to purchase these.  But alas, I only saw Still Alive and One of a Kind.  I know that Koreatown has them but I was not sure about the price.  Music Plaza at Koreatown Galleria has everything.  I think all of BIGBANG's discography from 1st Single to Still Alive and most of the solo stuff in between.  I didn't see Heartbreaker; if I had, I would've gotten it also.  And my mind just exploded.  I mean, merch overload (I don't go for unofficial merch anymore, btw.)  After all, I do have a penchant for completing filmographies and discographies.  I mean, I have all of BIGBANG-related songs on mp3 but if I have access to the physical CDs (which I almost always never play), I would like to have those.  So........ when's my next trip to Koreatown Galleria?  LOL, I might walk away $200 poorer then too.

I thought of getting the Alive - G-Dragon edition also.  But I already have Still Alive - Daesung edition.  Mainly, I wanted to get the first one because it is GD edition.  Had it been TOP edition, there's no question.  However.... erm, I watched an unboxing video later when I got home and I think I can live without Alive for now.  After looking through what else was there, I've decided that I will be prioritizing the concert videos assuming that they are in the correct region format lol.  Between Tonight and the re-release BIGBANG Special Edition, I opted to go with the latter.  Mainly because of my absolute love for Love Song.  And man, this album has one of the more creative packaging.  As for GD&TOP, Vol. 1... uh, duh.  They're my ultimate bias and that album is just pure genius.  And they go all out with the pictures.  I think you're paying for the packaging and photos more than the CD itself.  Not that I'm complaining. ;-)

I also wanted to get Tablo's Fever's End but then I saw something else that ate up my non-existent budget.  (타블로 오빠, 사랑해요.  I'll be getting 열꽃 some time soon.)



This bad, BAD boy.  It nearly killed me last night when I was watching it.  Oh the memories!  It definitely took me back to those two amazing nights in Anaheim.  They still wow me with everything they do.  And really, the talent still blows me away.  They have so much fun on stage, with each other, with the VIPs... the work and dedication they put in to everything (thank you, making film segment).  And special mention to Seungri's solo stage.  Uh, why wasn't the solo stage in California that hot?  I mean, he was hot, yes, in this... all dirty and wearing that tank top and all?  Jeez, I had to pick up my jaw off the floor!  That alone made every penny I spent worth it.

So that's how I spent my President's Day.  I also got a poster for my troubles.  I've since watched the concert DVD twice and I just can't get enough of it.  How I wish the California shows were recorded.  I'm pretty sure they were but probably only for YG people's enjoyment.  Ah to relive all of that... <3

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Angeli
AUTHOR
February 22, 2013 at 5:17 AM delete

언니~!
Yay! I can comment na. XD
Anyway... I agree. Fangirling is an expensive hobby. I don't buy unofficial or fanmade stuff coz the money goes to the seller, not my idols. Haha! Kaya I only buy the official merchs. I don't want my oppars to go hungry. Haha!
I bought a copy of the DVD too pero it's still in the post office. Will pick it up on Monday. Kyaaa~ Seeing the photo made me squeal. Kinikilig ako. LOL! I can't wait to watch the concert DVD. Hay, kahit masakit na sa bulsa, keri lang. Haha! I still have so many albums and DVDs to buy. I only have the Still Alive album and the Bigshow 2011 DVD. TT__TT I feel bad that I wasn't able to get a copy of Extraordinary 20s photobook. Huhuhuhu.

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Cate
AUTHOR
February 22, 2013 at 11:19 AM delete

Yay! Welcome, welcome! :)

Sayang lang kasi pera ko sa unofficial merch. And as much as I would like to put posters on my wall, I can't. Kaya I don't go for posters na rin... kaso may libre tapos I do have a couple of movie posters. Hay, kalat! XD Kaya nga parang tinatapon ko na yung pera ko sa YG. Dear Papa YG, contribution ko sa sweldo ni Seungri ha. XD

Naloka talaga ako dun sa Koreatown. I mean, kahit yung first single! At syempre, di lang BIGBANG. Kukunin ko rin yung Big Show 2011 para dun sa multi-angle ng 마지막 인사 haha. Yung photobook talaga yung binabayaran eh. Meron pa dun yung Live CD ng 2011 YG Family Concert tapos ang laki at ang kapal nung photobook. Kaso meron na ako nung mp3s nung concert. I'm having trouble justifying $80 for a photobook lol. Pero definitely getting the DVD if I can get my hands on it. Gummy's version of "Heartbreaker"... 간지난다!

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Angeli
AUTHOR
February 22, 2013 at 9:38 PM delete

I have tons of posters here. Big Bang, Infinite, BAP, YG Family posters. The first poster I got is the poster that came with my Taeyang Solar Concert DVD. Hooooo~ Topless Taeyang. Totally worth it. Hahahaha! I wanna put them up on my wall but there's no space. TT__TT So I just rolled them up and put them in tubes. I want the Big Bang Music Video Collection. It's kinda weird kasi all their MVs naman ay nasa YT. I don't know why I want to buy that.

Yung Secret Garden parody na pinakita sa TV and the Secret Garden parody na nasa DVD, may mga scenes na iba. Full version yung sa DVD. Grabe, the kissing scene between Seungri and TOP, I died a little inside. Sana ako na lang si Seungri kahit di ko bias si TOP. Haha!

I have the YG Family Concert DVD 2011. You have to buy it, 언니~ I was like "WOW!!" No dull moments at all during the concert. Tsaka the place was packed with people of all ages. Tsaka hindi puro fangirls lang. There were a lot of fanboys too. Nakakatuwa. And Jinusean, OMG! Kahit pinaka-bias ko ang Big Bang sa YG, yung perf ng Jinusean ang pinakapaborito ko sa DVD. Nakakaproud maging YG fan. I cried at some point actually. Too many feelings I can't hold back. Haha!

Buti pa dyan may Koreantown. I have to order pa from Korea. I don't want to order from local online shops here. Overpriced masyado. =.=

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