Dear YG Entertainment Art Department,
You are doing such an amazing job. These CDs/DVDs are so breathtakingly beautiful. The effort put into these things matches (and honestly, at times surpasses) the actual content of the product. Really, you pay for the packaging. The music and videos, you can get digitally. But you can only fully experience the beauty of the photo books, Polaroids, and everything else when you actually have them in your hands. I've stopped buying CDs of Western artists a long time ago. There was nothing special about them. K-pop albums costs twice as much but you get ten times as much. It's so worth the investment.
On 20160208, all these goodies came in the mail. At the same time. I have an overflowing shelf full of K-pop stuff. Scratch that... full of YG Entertainment stuff. Mostly BIGBANG DVDs, light sticks, and everything WINNER. I have krunk bears (GD & TOP), a Psy Funko, Epik High's Shoebox, Mix & Match DVD in an actual shoebox, and oh, a bootleg LeeSsang cap. (Do they sell that legit? I mean, I'm saving up for a Halyang one.) All three went on pre-order around the same time. I only "collect" BIGBANG video stuff. There was no question which WINNER Exit:E I'll get. I got all three 2014 S/S editions, didn't I? I also got the free posters from Music Plaza.
In this post, we're celebrating the beauty that is the EXIT: E MOVEMENT mini album.
February welcomes another journal to my life.
Morning Pages didn't really work out that well. I've done my Q&A A Day religiously for the whole month of January. I've journaled for 31 days straight. Lately, I've come across new stresses in my life. It's so easy to lose yourself in the negativity. ONE thing can ruin your whole day that is otherwise filled with happier times. I don't want the bad things to overshadow the many good things that I am thankful for.
On the outside, I'm a pretty positive person. But I get into these funks where I think of the worst-est case scenario for myself. As bad as it sounds, it's easier for me to sink into the black hole of negativity vs thinking of the "bright side". That way, when the good actually happens, I'm surprised and relieved. But then, I'm also stressed as fck while waiting for the final outcome.
On a whim, I decided to start a gratitude journal. Three or more things that I'm thankful for that day. It could be a little thing, it could be something major. This is a positive page. A safe space. I had a rough Sunday. I knew today, Monday, is going to be rough and it is. But yesterday, when I jotted down that first thankful moment, I instantly felt better. It wasn't just writing down just for the sake of writing it down. It reminded me of that moment when I was exploring my new camera and how giddy and excited it made me. Thus, writing down that happy moment made me smile again. If one thing did that, can you imagine how happy five things can make you.
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| Powerhouse Live |
2015 is the year the Hallyu gods smiled upon me. I thought it was 2012 when 2NE1 and BIGBANG came to the US. It was followed by 2013 with my first KCON. 2014 introduced me to WINNER but that year, I went back to my Hollywood world. Not much going on in my K-pop life... just my hoarding of anything WINNER lol.
I thought 2015 was going to be the same. I got more into conventions and anime and nerdy things. That is... until Epik High went on their North American tour. That got the ball rolling. From there, BIGBANG announced their 2nd world tour; I went to my 2nd KCON (2, 3). And if that wasn't enough... Show Me the Money 4 is coming to Los Angeles.
[I'm this close to kiss the ground where I currently reside. LOL.]
If you've been following this K-drama, you will know that WINNER's Song Minho is not only one of the contestants, he's also in the Final Two. Apart from being an idol rapper (and it seems like a part of him is not ashamed of being one in front of all these established hip-hop people), he has history as a young underground rapper by the name of Hugeboy MINO together with Block B's Zico. He actually calls Mino his "most treasured dongsaeng" which warms my heart of hearts.
MNET's been very dirty in this show, rather questionable at times. There were moments - no, whole episodes - where there was nothing but secondhand embarrassment. Sometimes, they air 90% drama and only 10% of talent. They clearly play favorites. I don't deny that Mino is their favorite since Day 1 because Mino's been involved in another MNET talent reality show that was really successful, Who Is Next? WIN. But they also screwed him up so many times. Until the very end, mind you. Either Mino wins and everyone thinks it's just because he's YG. Or he loses because everyone hates him. Poor baby.
But that doesn't really matter now. He's top 2 and I've read somewhere that only the top 2 contestants are going on the US shows. So that's Basick and Mino. At this point, I don't care who wins... I like them both and I'm going to see my word genius fave Verbal Jint perform live. And oh, Tablo for a second time in less than six months. Yeah-yuh.
The organizers said that Zico will not join Mino and Paloalto on the tour. Yes, I did see him with Block B at KCON but to see him with his precious dongsaeng on stage together would've been a dream. Being the huge ZiPal team stan, I hope Tablo jumps in if ever they'll do moneyflow ... or have Mino join them for Born Hater. Tablo, MINO, and Verbal Jint all there and play BI's chorus bit... they've done that song with less members.
Also, Jinusean will only be doing the Los Angeles show! A-yooooo! I don't get what they're doing on this show but I love them, okay? Sean 삼촌 is my bb Daehanie's favorite. And here's the obligatory "Jinu oppa is hawt". (He shares the same name as WINNER's Kim Jinwoo but I can call Jinu "oppa" while Jinwoo is my dongsaeng.) I don't know how to feel about San E only that it gave me a smidge of pleasure seeing Mino diss him (and MNET) for that Black Nut fiasco. I'm not the biggest Jay Park fan when he "raps" but I like a couple of his "singer" songs.
I would've liked a few more contestants to come along but... logistics. WINNER even has a Japan tour date on the same day at the NYC show. Poor baby. He's going to be so tired and I don't think he'll have time to sight-see. Maybe he can do that when he has his WINNER members with him... on their own world tour or a YG Family Concert? *wink*
I got the P1 ticket, of course. Like with my previous VIP ticket for the BIGBANG Alive Galaxy Tour, I got mine straight from Powerhouse Live which means I didn't pay the nasty service fee from AXS/Ticketmaster. It's going to be first come-first serve so I have to be there early to get a good spot. Ya know, shrimps like me need all the help we can get. And according to Powerhouse, there will be a special fan service event planned out! Yes, fcking please!
So there you go. Another event to add to my already eventful 2015 calendar. Hopefully, all goes well and I can meet Mino... that will tide me over until I meet the rest of WINNER.
EDIT:
The show is now going to be at Club Nokia LA Live. YES!
I know, I know. It's been more than a week after KCON NY/NJ which means even more weeks have passed since KCON LA but only now am I putting up my Day 3 recap. Whut... I'm busy and lazy at the same time, okay? Plus, after the monster recap of Day 2, I didn't have the energy to dive right in with the final day. But I'm here now. What else can you do? ;-)
Aaah, the calm before the cray. By Day 3, I really didn't have any more plans at the Expo Hall. I was all bought out and I mean, how many times does one go around a small-ish convention floor? (Although I did regret not buying the TOP bear, Japan version. Oh well.) Most of my day was spent sitting down next to an outlet. I've learned my lesson in Day 2... never trust a power bank. Mine failed on me at 47% battery and I had to turn it off and then put it on ultra battery saving so I can call my ride after the concert. Yes, I'm anal when it comes to my gadget's battery life. I flat out panic when I reach below 50% with no charger.
I didn't go to any panels anymore. I was interested in one, something about traveling to Seoul on a budget but I got lazy getting up and making my way to LACC that "early" when all I really had planned was the 7pm concert. I would've loved to put in my 2 cents about my "16 hours in Seoul" experience. Plus, it was moderated by Professor Oh again.
Day 3 meant Block B. The day before, my AliExpress order finally came in. Just in fcking time for the final day of KCON LA. Why was I so excited? Well, I was able to represent Zico's most precious dongsaeng...
Song Minho of WINNER. The other one that I got is for Kim Jinwoo. I got to wear that about a week after KCON. (PS: In my head, it's always "Zico-hyung"... ala- Mino, but the funny thing is, he's not even an oppa to me LMAO.) But really, I was just too excited that there's YG on the front of the shirt. You bet that I went ahead and got the other 3 WINNER members. Hee!
And it was an awesome choice to wear this particular shirt. As I was sitting somewhere, charging my devices, minding my own business... and actually listening to Verbal Jint, I heard a familiar beat. (I was actually trying to tune out the events on the main stage because... well... let's just say that if you're not BIGBANG, please don't even try to cover Bang, Bang, Bang. The song, I mean. The dance is fine.) In between songs, I heard the first few bars of I'm Him. What are the fcking chances of this song being played at KCON while I'm wearing a Song Minho shirt?! The Hallyu gods love me.
I was looking through my old Tumblr, yes I have one, and I found these K-pop questionnaires that I filled up about two years ago. I cooled off K-pop in the first half of 2014 and only now have I been back in the game (thank you, WINNER).
I thought it would be interesting to fill them up again. Maybe my tastes have changed (no) or I've warmed up to more acts (eh). Let's see.
