music
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts

ANIME EXPO 2016


We waited a year for this weekend. AX2016 passes were bought on the last day of AX2015. And you guessed it, AX2017 passes are already bought and ready.

In my previous post, you will see that I had cosplay plans. Well... er... I only did one of them. Yui Hirasawa from K-On! on day 2. I wanted to do Mayuri from Steins;Gate but we had a late day on Sunday and I wasn't feeling it. Monday, Day 4, I went by myself and stayed at the venue for just 2-3 hours for my final walkthrough. Messing with a long silver wig while wearing a nightie-ish kind of costume... maybe next time. (I know it's possible; we saw a Menma from Anohana on Day 1.)

I did have fun as Yui. Some people noticed and took pics. I wish I had a giita with me. At least with that school girl costume, all I had to do is switch the wigs (and ribbon) for the other K-On! characters. Mayuri is still my favorite because I have an upa. I still have to try Taiga from Toradora. I've seen a lot of them over the weekend so I know it's doable.
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DREAM JOURNAL | Getting Shot


I didn't get a good sleep last night. I often experience that on Sundays when I'm usually parked on my bed all day doing nothing. Sometimes, I would get a 3-hour nap in the afternoon after sleeping in. I don't get tired. I'd be wide awake by my bedtime.

Normally, I would go to sleep no problem but last night, I had an earworm. Several, actually. I was watching clips of K-On!! Live Event ~Let's Go~ and as you know, the songs are extremely catchy. In my head, I was singing either Fude Pen ~Ballpen~ or Fuwa Fuwa Time. In years passed, I might be slightly embarrassed to be seen singing these kinds of songs but now... I'm actually thinking of mastering one of them for Anime Expo 2016 open mic. Truth.

And then, when I feel the arms of slumber finally enveloping me, I hear a loud snore. Okay, there goes my sleep again. When I do "sleep", it's so shallow that my brain is active. Brain keeps telling Body that, "You are sleeping. You do feel rested. But you're not really asleep because I'm wide awake." I didn't even dare to check the time when I snap awake. I'll just beat myself up.

But I did have a couple of minutes, hours when I was in deep sleep. I dreamed. And I actually remembered said dream. It's a fucking strange one. On par with my Nancy Drew and the Secret of Mirror Bay reenactment, my eavesdropping at the Rivendell scene in LOTR: FOTR right behind where Sam was hiding, and the ridiculous SCUBA class with one of the CSI:Miami character, Eric Delko. But this new one was a bit scary as well.
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BLOCK B | Blockbuster US Tour [20151115]

I'm going to my final convention/event this weekend so let's get this out of the way, shall we?

Do you wanna be? BLOCK B!

Le gasp! They're not from YG Entertainment! And whut? I bought a VIP ticket? With a hi-touch? Yup.

This was my 2nd time at Club Nokia. I love this place. It's intimate, the acoustics are great, and I don't think there's a bad view. The last time I was here was for the Show Me the Money 4 concert in Los Angeles. I was down there in the GA PIT area. It was fun but this late in the year, I've run out of energy to show up super early so I'll be in front. At that concert, I noticed that the seats up in the first row balcony have pretty awesome view of the stage. This concert offered that also under VIP+ (1st Block) so I got that instead. I got to the venue about 30 minutes before they let people in and I was seated in no time. I still got my hi-touch but no crowding and craziness of the Pit.

Club Nokia plays the most random music before a show. We got classical music at SMTM4 and this time, we got movie scores. Well, I guess it fit because Block B's theme for this concert is "blockbuster". Films and such.
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BIGBANG MADE Tour in Anaheim, 20151004

I did have this ready and waiting shortly after I posted the Los Angeles recap. But I decided to wait and post it on TOP's birthday (in Korea lol)... a month after the event.

This time three years ago, at the same venue, we "celebrated" TOP's birthday on stage. Seungri has a video of it shot on a Samsung Galaxy S3. We also sang to him the previous day but our November 3 is November 4 on the other side of the world which is his actual birthday. He flew to NYC to be with his family immediately after the concert, I heard.

It was so special to us that we could do that. The whole ALIVE Tour was special to me. (I didn't post a wrap up for the 2nd night because that was the only concert where I didn't take a lot of photos. Just the encore but I only had my phone and I was kind of far away.) They did Monster and that was enough for me. At least, I saw it performed live twice.

Yes, I posted a similar picture for the LA recap.
The MADE Tour has its own kind of special. Mainly that bridge thing stage extension and the best pit experience ever. I didn't opt for the Ultimate VIP but I got my money's worth for Bae Bae and more.

I don't know about you but my mother understands the importance of being to a concert 8-10 hours early. Especially if you have a general admission ticket. And in general, I want to be crazy early for these things. Get it out of the way, you know, then have the whole day sitting there and waiting. Fans took it upon themselves to have some sort of organization and together with staff, they tried to have a number system for both the general line and per ticket tier. I got there at around 10-ish and without the people cutting in line to be with their friends who got there earlier, I was the 357th person in line and 124th with the Bae Bae ticket. Already. My actual ticket/wristband read somewhere in the 140's but that's fine. The pit had more than enough breathing room for both Ultimate and Bae Bae as well as guests and special VIPs. You know, the actual very important people... not the fandom name lol.

I love soundchecks. My November 2, 2012 soundcheck was all kinds of special. It involved G-Dragon. That was the first time when I truly experienced "fangirling". This time, I knew what to expect and was pleasantly surprised at the layout of the pit. We had our own little den in between the main stage and the extended stage. And unlike the Floor, we didn't have to push and shove and fight for a good spot. I situated myself at house left right under the left bridge thing. And oh boy, was it the best decision ever.
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Song Jihyo is my soul mate.

My soulmate, Song Jihyo 언니, you have the VHS tapes in Korean, I have them dubbed in "Filipino English". 


I remember they used to come after one of my favorites, Hikari Sentai Maskman, on a Saturday afternoon. Choudenshi Bioman was one of the first (technically) English language shows that I religiously followed. Maskman was dubbed in Filipino while this one, in English. I was around 5-6 years old. Apart from Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman, Sailormoon, Daimos, and Voltes V, I don't remember watching anything else.

(I didn't *become* a nerd, I was *born* a nerd.)
My complete copy of the Voltes V series is also dubbed in "Filipino English", that is, English dubbing done by Filipinos. The accent may not be as "thick" as Filipino English-speakers today but you can tell that they're not native speakers. And I admit, it makes for some hilarious one-liners! Also, it's the complete series... not just the ones that Marcos allowed.


 Ah the countless hours that my brother and I spent watching these Super Sentai Spirits Live concert clips. I wish we can have this at AnimeExpo. Make it happen, please.

Jihyo-ssi, I totally recognized that theme song that you sang even if it was in Korean. I wonder if she favored Yellow or Pink? Hee! I used to fight tooth and nail for the Yellow one until Chojin Sentai Jetman where the Yellow member was a guy. And I guess after that, my interest in sentai waned and I moved on to other things, such as... boybands.

(Sentai => Boybands => 90s Anime => Taiwanese drama/Playstation gaming => C-pop => K-pop/Anime. That's my fangirl timeline.)

Sentai shows will always be my favorite. I still break into song whenever I hear an opening or closing theme and when I happen to click on a video on Youtube, it's going to become a black hole for sure. I'm so pleasantly surprised to know that my Running Yeoja, Monday Girlfriend is a fan of this too. And she has an equally good-looking younger brother.

PS: I'd totally date Kang Gary. Truth. But my delulu-ness is telling me that there is more than meets the eye. ;-)
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BIGBANG MADE Tour in Los Angeles, 20151003

Who takes more than a week to recover from a concert? This girl.

But cut me some slack. I went to two BIGBANG concerts in two days. Not to mention the live tweets, videos, updates on social media for the following concerts in Mexico and New Jersey. I had more than 1000 photos to comb through, a couple of surprisingly good videos, and screencapping said videos for more pictures. And oh, uploading them to FB and Youtube.


This was the farthest I've ever sat for a YG artist concert. I've always been pit or the seated area right next to GA Floor. I could've done better seats for the same price but dang, we were right across from the stage. Center!

Really, I could've gone VIP here also. But I had my rockstars with me. I mean, who goes to a K-pop concert with their mother but not as chaperon? My brother, who is a non-K-pop fan, went with me too. I was happy that they were game to experience this insanity with me - and see my total K-pop fangirl side as well. My wallet wept for a minute but it was all worth it, seeing how they enjoyed it and hearing their feedback on the whole show.

tl;dr My mom is a fan of Taeyang and her favorite BIGBANG songs are Fantastic Baby and Haru Haru. And she thinks, as everyone in this good earth does, that TOP is excessively good-looking. My brother loved the staging and lights. He liked Sober and Daesung's voice. It warmed my heart to see that he made an effort to remember their names and match it to their faces. I have the best family ever!


Honestly though... my VIP ticket for the Anaheim concert could've paid for all three of our seated tickets. No regrets, though. Absolutely none.

If you go back to the ALIVE TOUR concerts, I was in absolute overwhelmed fangirl mode. I would kiss the ground that they walked on. And my preparation started about a week before that concert weekend. This time around, I was calmer... older... wiser. Yes, I was still excited to see them in concert but having seen them twice before (3 times for G-Dragon), I was able to keep my head on straight. With the exception of some crazy screaming and jumping, of course. ;-)

I'm especially excited to see this tour because of their new songs. I love all of them. Bang, Bang, Bang is the song of 2015. Then there's Eyes, Nose, Lips. I've seen this twice live from Tablo and now, I'm going to see this live from the original artist himself, Taeyang. Twice! And of course, I would not miss another live performance of YG's national anthem... Fantastic Baby. I have so many feelings for this tour/set list. Also, this could be the last one for a while with them starting to go into military service. Sigh.

Like last time, I bought two separate light sticks to commemorate this event. (One was free the last time but I bought another one that looks exactly the same for night 2.) It's the new version so one was white and the other was black. The light reacts to the beat of the music but I still had it one solid. The "anytone" mode looked so dim.


I love that they play MVs to pass the time. Perfect for people watchers like me... the crowd screams even at music videos. There was this teenager in the row behind ours who screamed bloody murder every time GD comes on. She was a silent, crying mess for the rest of the actual concert.
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SMTM4 Concert in LA!

I know. It's been almost 20 days since this event. It's 7 days away from my next K-pop related event. Forgive me. It's been a trying September.

I could not contain my excitement when they announced the Show Me the Money 4 concert tour stop in Los Angeles. My Inner Circle heart was cheering that I will finally see someone from WINNER but it wasn't yet meant to be. Finalist, Song Minho, had other engagements and had to skip out from the whole tour. BFF Zico from Block B wasn't going either. But that's okay; I saw him at KCON not too long ago.  (And I might see him again in November. I have to see the ticket perks and prices before deciding.)

 But the real reasons why I was so hyped up were... Verbal Jint and Jinusean. Meeting Tablo for the second time in the same year was a very welcomed icing on the cake. I've admired Verbal Jint's music and lyrics for a long time. I think he is a fantastic human being and to see him perform live... it took so much from me not to tear up. Who the hell cries at a hip-hop concert?! I almost did. I'm a YG stan so I'm happy to meet anyone from YG. Jinusean was one of the first ones and their song, 한번 더 말해줘, is my JAM. It's so catchy with a sort of old school 90s feel to it. Not to mention it brings me a tad bit closer to two of my favorite shows, Superman is Back and Running Man. (Upon rewatching more episodes of RM, I realized that I've met more guest stars that I initially thought.)

 My love for Tablo's talent (and the rest of Epik High) knows no bounds. I could not pass up the opportunity to see him again. That alone paid for my ticket. Among other things, of course. Jay Park and almost all of the AOMG crew were there. San E and the sole representative of Team ZiPal, Palo Alto were there too. Heck, even Dumbfoundead was there. And if anyone from YG was there, Danny and Ben Baller would be too. I wish Danny and DFD joined the hi-touch event lol. (More on that later.)

 I admit, I'm one of those who paid attention to SMTM4 because of Mino. Not gonna lie. But I stayed because of the other rappers on the show. I was familiar with some by way of collaborations with other artists that I know and some I'm glad I found out through the show. I do not care for Western rap/hip-hop that is playing on the radio today. AT ALL. (I've been known to say that "If it is in English, I might not listen to it. I don't know 90% of the songs on the radio today.) Most of it is empty and it's like who can spit out senseless shit faster. Make up words along the way, why don't you. It's not for me. My interest in American hip-hop ending some time before 2010. But that was when my love for K-hip-hop resurfaced. Yes, I don't understand most of it but you can just feel the passion and emotion in their voices. Look up the lyrics and you'll see that it's not empty made-up bullshit. It actually speaks to you. 

 (A marvelous example is LeeSsang. Do yourself a favor and listen to either Hexagonal or Asura Balbalta, look up the lyrics, and try not to feel sad and cry.)

 Anyway, enough with the sales talk. 
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Show Me The Money 4 in LA!

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!
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KCON LA 2015, Day 3

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.
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KCON LA 2015, DAY 2

In my KCON ticket post, I might have said that it only took one reason to tip me over the edge. I decided to just fck it and attend this year's KCON because Ki Hong Lee of The Maze Runner movies was invited. Along with Daniel Henney and Kim Soohyun, the actor lineup actually was the reason why I decided to go. And hey, I might as well go to the concert. At least I can say that I saw Super Junior live. (Psst, Mr. Simple is my forever guilty pleasure.)


I'm no stranger to lining up and waiting. I've waited 8+ hours just to see actors. I was interested in two panels from the Day 2 schedule, one of them was Ki Hong Lee's panel. The other one was the Hallyu Culture Shock Q&A hosted by KWOW's Professor Oh. In past conventions, people have started to line up hours before a panel. I knew that Ki Hong Lee's panel is going to be a big one so I timed my schedule around that.


I got to LACC early to have lunch from one of the food trucks. I love Bibigo and since there wasn't a The Return of Superman representation, I had bulgogi 비빔밥 and 식혜. My bbs 대한, 민국, 만세 love 고기 and 밥, and in a recent episode, 민국이 cried over spilled 식혜. Yep, I'm overthinking things. At least, my ringtone is the triplets' theme song. (No joke!)

After a quick lunch, I went straight to the assigned room. I was one of the first 10 people in line. Kudos to those who had the same idea as me. XD A Soompi panel was still going on. The staff lady kept saying "Sohm-pi" instead of "Soom-pi", I thought she was saying zombie panel that first time. Anyway, I did some reading while I was waiting. The line started to get longer and longer until, the last I heard before going in, that it was almost all the way across the building. Yes, he might not be as huge as the other K-pop acts but he's got Hollywood creds. And I'm sure a lot of those who wanted to see him were The Maze Runner fans.


I definitely am a fan of that series. I met James Dashner when he was doing promos for the first movie. The 2nd movie, The Scorch Trials, will come out September 18th, a day after my birthday. And I told him that! Oh you know me, I won't pass up a chance to talk to a famous person. ;-)
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#EPIKHIGHLA [20150529]


My HIGH is EPIK. UBER EPIK.


And it still is. Normally when I see a band in concert or meet a celebrity, I tend to stay away from their music and films for about a week after the event. It's too fresh and my feelz are still too strong. But with Epik High, nope. I was listening to their Pieces, Part One album on my way home and all their other stuff days after. Sure, it took me a while to get to this blog post but I've been listening to them (and BIGBANG's new songs, duh) nonstop since last Friday's concert.

You all know me as as K-pop fan. Scratch that, a YG fan. So it makes sense that I like Epik High, right? Ehhhh... well... I've liked them even before they signed with YG. Back in the Woollim Entertainment days, remember those? That's the closest that I'll ever get to SM Entertainment. I stumbled upon Swan Songs, the particular track was Fly. Then Elements. I couldn't understand a smidge of Korean back then but I remembered Epik High. I already know that Ride was going to be my favorite song from them. It was not until Remapping the Human Soul and the magical song called Fan... and my whole musical perspective changed.

If I were to be 100% honest (and yes, I'm not a saint lol), I put Epik High about a hair's width higher on my list than the whole of YG Entertainment. When they joined the agency, my life became so much easier. XD Fangirling all in one go. Plus all the possible interactions. You already know about the BIGBANG/EH special stage from years ago performing my favorite song ever, right? Oh so ominous. Now, Tablo had written so many songs for other YG artists and the most important thing is that they have a home that supports their ideas and an avenue where they could share their music.

Epik High is one of the few artists - not just in Hallyu - that I could really tell are super passionate with what they are doing. They always are creating, sharing, collaborating. And yet, they are super humble. It warms my heart reading Tablo's posts on how thankful he is throughout this North American tour so far. Big Bang and 2NE1 were able to tour the world with a huge machine behind them but with this Epik High tour, it feels more organic and personal. I'm very sure they also have YG monies supporting them but fans in North America wanted to see them and without much hype and fanfare, they made it happen. (EPIK shoutout to SIVA Group. You guys are rockstars!) Their dreams are coming true. OUR dreams are coming true as well.
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My High is EPIK!


In 25 days. I will be sharing breathing space with Epik High. Tablo, DJ Tukutz, and Mithra Jin. The last time I was this excited was at the Big Bang concert. That was just VIP pit with access to the sound check. This time, I have meet & greet - a professional photo op (ala Josh Hutcherson) that automatically comes with a "hi-touch" and because these guys are such sweethearts, they said yes to autographs. Squee! 

 If you don't know who Epik High is... well, you should. I mean, even if you're not into K-pop, go check them out. They're one of the first Korean acts that I listened to and I think I fell in love with them before I even know who Big Bang was. *gasp*  Even if you don't understand Korean, you'll definitely fall for the beats and the rhythm. Much more when you read the meanings of the song. Tablo and Mithra are poetic geniuses. Pair that with DJ Tukutz's mastery of beats and you got yourself a winner.

 I loved them when they were in Woollim. I love them even more now that they're with YG Entertainment. The story of how Tablo - and eventually the rest of Epik High - ended up with YG is such a good one. I kept repeating that part of the YG Strong Heart episode because it's so endearing and very inspiring. The main reason why I started watching Superman is Back is because of Tablo and Haru; I ended up loving all the dads and babies. Tukutz and little Yunu made appearances while Tablo and Haru were there. And Mithra Jin... let's just say I have a thing for rappers with low timbre voices. ;-)

 And speaking of autographs, I want my Pieces of You signed. But that's Tablo's book. How about Tukutz and Mithra? I think I'll just have a copy of 신발장. As much as I want my Pieces of You signed... can't have them all. Ah, decisions... 

I originally have the VIP floor ticket, the one that came after this one. I bought it just as a buffer in case I wasn't able to score a Meet and Greet ticket. I had my brother working with me. I was at work with the slow as heck internet and he was at home where both the computer and internet were faster. He was the one who got me the M&G ticket. I had him refreshing over and over until he got the one that costs $190. I almost screamed at him via Twitter DM. Actually, I think I did lol. (I will borrow his services again once Big Bang comes around.) I managed to sell off my other ticket for less than face value. That's okay... I got my M&G ticket and that's all that matters.

 I have all sorts of wish lists for this Los Angeles stop. Especially guest performers. I'm pretty sure they will be performing my favorites such as Fan, Don't Hate Me, Love Love Love, Spoiler, 우산, and some of Tablo's solos. But what I would give to see Ride performed live in front of my eyes. And how about for Born Hater? As much as I would want them to bring over Song Minho with them, he might be busy at that time. There are a good number of awesome Korean-American rappers in LA so maybe one of them...? Hope so. YG talents are spotted in LA venues whenever one of their own is in town. I mean, Danny Im... how about having a sort of 1TYM reunion on the Epik High stage? Lydia Paek to feature on Happen Ending? One could dream.


Whatever happens, it's going to be a fucking blast. They already ruled K-pop night at SXSW and definitely caught people's ears. My appreciation for Epik High knows no boundaries. I hope they continue doing what they do for a long long time. 
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We all have stuff to do. Like, a life update.


We just need to find time and energy to do it.

안녕하세요, 여러분! 오렌만이다! 잘지내요?

See, I haven't forgotten my Korean.  XD  It was a HUGE help when my mom and I spent 2 16-hour days in Seoul back in April/May.  Yeah, I know, it's been a month since our trip and I still haven't said anything about it.  I'm lazy.  Sue me.

But I do have a ton of stuff to say about the experience.  And a lot of great pictures.  Being able to read and sort of speak Korean was definitely an advantage while playing tourist in Seoul.  It did give me a good deal of anxiety but we survived.  If you ask me today, would I do an extended layover in Seoul again?  Heck yeah, I would!

경복궁
It was awesome going back home to Manila as always but I don't think I can ever live there again.  As much as I love the people, the food, and the malls... it's the heat that I can't stand.  My first night there, I was reduced to TEARS.  It was so hot that I cried in misery.  That might sound over-the-top but I've never had that happen to me before.  And I was raised there.  It's ridiculous.

But going back to my childhood bedroom was quite magical.  Even as a kid, I collected ORIGINAL CDs of my favorite groups, which at that time were Westlife and F4.  I knew I had a VCD of F4's Hong Kong concert somewhere in there.  It is now so hard to find, even online.  I was glad to find it.  I think I squealed out loud when I did.  I also took with me my first Nancy Drew title, Sign of the Twisted Candles, as well as two of my absolute favorites, The Ringmaster's Secret and The Secret of Mirror Bay.  How much do I love Mirror Bay?  I dreamt about it.

The other books that made the trip were the CSI book tie-ins that I didn't know I had.  I don't have them all but I've accumulated quite a bit.  My brother gave me the whole collection of the original 56 Nancy Drew mysteries in mobi format but I still want to collect all of them. ;-)

Ever since my trip, I got a new job.  It is literally walking distance from where I live.  No joke.  I now work at a medical management office.  It's been good so far.  I'm still learning to ropes and there are a LOT of ropes to learn.  I don't have the same freedom to use the computer for pleasure as my previous job, thus the severe lack of posts on both blogs.  *sadface*  Therefore, the backlog is getting quite overwhelming.  Although I haven't been reading a lot since the commute by public transport has been essentially taken out of my day.  I've been missing out on a lot of book blog memes.  *even sadder face*

I've also chopped off about 12 inches of hair while in the Philippines.  Getting a hair cut here will cost you $25 plus but mine was a mere $3, converted.  I just re-colored it Light Intense Auburn yesterday.  It's going to stay that way for as long as I like it.  I found that red hair suits me.

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What else is new?  Hmm...  (I want to put as much stuff here as kind of a backlog list lol. A cheat sheet!)

Ah, for my final hurrah before going back to the workforce, we went to JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory here in Pasadena.  I've been to the Kennedy Space Center years ago and JPL is like, just in my backyard and it took me this long to go there.  It was awesome.  I saw Space Shuttle Endeavour not too long ago and all this space goodness just takes me back to my childhood.  I never read a single Sweet Valley High book but I could watch science shows about outer space for days.

Pasadena, we have a problem.

Two weeks ago, I went to my first book signing in a long time.  (Probably my only one this year lol.)  It was for Diana Gabaldon's new book in the Outlander series, Written in my Own Heart's Blood.  If you've been following my book blog, you'd know that I'm a newbie fan of this series.  The new book in the 8th in the series and I've barely made a dent in the second.  I planned to do that during my trip but... the in-flight entertainment was just too good.  But I live and work in the area so why the hell not.  (I actually bought my ticket months before so this wasn't an impulse buy.)



I usually have great luck with these kinds of things.  When I finished reading The Jane Austen Book Club, the author Karen Joy Fowler had a book signing about a week after that.  I go through 6 seasons of Criminal Minds in one go and Joe Mantegna gets his Hollywood star the next month.

But the total opposite happened to me with Sherlock.  But that's for another post.

I recently watched the latest Star Trek movie Into Darkness.  I'm more of a Star Wars fan but I know more Trek characters by name.  I was so-so with the first reboot so I wasn't really into watching the next one.  Until I became a Benedict Cumberbatch fan.  I won't go as far as calling myself a Cumber-bitch, no not yet, but dang... can that man act the shit out of anything.  I know first hand how his VOICE sounds like when it's inches away from you (yes, and I survived).  He wasn't the Khan I had in my head but his performance was breathtaking.  And his hair was perfect.  He just makes everything perfect.  I did sort of live tweet the movie as I was watching it lol.  Chekov is still my always favorite, btw.

And to complete this incoherent mishmash of a life update, I went to Raging Waters in San Dimas last week!  I cannot remember the last time that I went swimming at a pool/place that is not my backyard.  And it was a TON of fun!  I really want to go again before the season ends!


So that is it.  I think I'll do a couple of retro posts when inspiration strikes.  My brother is coming back to the US on the 28th so I canNOT wait for that.

Life has been good lately.  2014 is just coasting by.  It's finally, officially summer.  Bring on the heat!
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