B.A.P Live On Earth Hong Kong 2013

I don't know where to start again. There are so much feels in my heart right now that I don't know where to begin -- okay maybe I'll just start with how I ended up being able to watch LOE in the first place.

When I went to HK last month I already knew about LOE HK, but I didn't think I'd be able to watch because my flight home was a few weeks shy of the concert. But then my mom was pushing me to watch, so at the time it looked like I'd be able to go, but we weren't really sure how often I could do the whole HK-Macau thing so I decided that I prolly wouldn't be able to watch in the end.

And then, a few hours before our flight, my mom and I were being all HUHU I'LL MISS YOU and my mom was like, "Why don't you come back after two weeks huhu" and I was all "r u srs" and it looked like she was. And so I go, "Wait maybe that means I'll be able to see the concert!" and she's all "YOU'RE RIGHT YOU CAN USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE FOR IMMIGRATIONS" (just in case, 'cause you never know with immigrations -- for the record I went through immigrations smoothly without any complication whatsoever) and literally 30 minutes before we had to leave the hotel, I was booked for LOE HK.

That being said, because I booked so late (online ticket selling began in April and I only got to book on the first of June because everything was so tentative), I ended up getting one of the further seats, BUT THAT'S OKAY BECAUSE THE CONCERT WAS SO. MUCH. FUN.

When I got to the concert venue there were already some BABYZ on the ground floor, and when I got to the actual floor where the concert hall was, there were so many BABYZ I could cry. Loljk, but I felt really ~*~at one~*~ with the K-pop community. It made me smile -- really it did -- seeing girls with banners and stickers and whatnot. It was like being at an anime convention, with everyone sharing things to fangirl over, except this was much more concentrated into one fanbase. Geekery at its finest.

It was my first K-pop concert, and I didn't think I'd be able to see B.A.P live so soon, considering I only became a K-pop convert in late April. When I was lined up for the entrance (which was actually not needed because we had booked seats, WHICH IS REALLY CONVENIENT BECAUSE CHAIRS AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT TO GET IN FRONT AND SO LINING UP IS REALLY USELESS???) and just taking everything in, I realized I was really part of this world now. I had always seen K-pop from the outside, and since I never expand my music collection unless I get a recommendation (this was exactly how I ended up getting into the fandom), I never really gave it a shot. Then suddenly just two months down the road of getting into everything, I was already watching a K-pop concert. It's crazy.

Sap aside, I went alone since I don't really have any local friends in HK. It wasn't bad and it wasn't really awkward... lol that's a lie 'cause when am I NOT awkward? It wasn't that awkward or anything, prolly because I've already grown accustomed to not talking to anyone unless required because of the language barrier, so being alone again at another concert felt pretty normal.

The story behind this photo:

Ina: Can I take your picture?

Girl: *takes my phone and hands me her poster thinking I wanted a picture with it*

Ina: Nonono I want a picture OF YOU!

Girl: WHY?!

Ina: Because I think your stickers are funny!

And so she complies. Kamsahamnida, DaeJae shipper.

Even if my seat was towards the back, it was elevated so I could still see clearly. In fact I could see without a problem, much more than my other two concerts, even if I was close to the stage during those two concerts. I guess the only problem I had with my seat was that I wasn't close to the stage, but maybe that's because I'm used to being up front during concerts. There was a screen projecting the concert anyway so s'no biggie.

Besides this concert having seats, which I think is really convenient because we get to sit down while waiting (my legs were dead during the Stars concert), it was airconditioned (but after cheering and jumping around it gets kinda humid anyway) and it started on time. Well, not on the dot, but maybe around 10-15 minutes late? Not bad.

Some girl next to me was by herself too. Her name was Chin Xiao Tung, I believe? I probably got the spelling wrong, but it sounded like that. She admitted her English wasn't very good -- she was at... level 4 English? Idk, but she held up 4 fingers when she was referring to her English skills. I also found out that we had the same bias, and that's always a nice similarity, right? LOL

As the concert hall slowly filled, I noticed there were some people who looked like they were in their 30s or 40s, and I even spotted a little girl and her mom looking for their seats. Ah, love knows no boundaries.

So anyway, B.A.P opened with Warrior, which got everybody standing, and by the time it was Zelo's rap, some girls two rows in front of me were standing on their seats, which prompted me to do the same, and thank goodness I had my stompers on (I think I partially bought them for concert purposes kekeke) because I still got to see the concert really well! Many times I have struggled because of my height...

After Warrior was No Mercy, which got me uber pumped and excited because it's one of my favorite songs!!! I've forgotten the sequence of songs already but some chick behind me started sobbing when I Remember came on, which was early on in the concert. It was pretty awkward with the crying, but in my head I was like, "iz coo iz coo no judgement I'd prolly do the same if they sang It's All Lies/What My Heart Tells Me To Do (I'd prolly just cry in silence tho and not actual wailing)" but they didn't so it didn't happen. I never listened to I Remember much, but I bet if I did (I probably will from now on) I'd end up a sobbing mess like that girl, too.

I thought I would cry though. I mean during the Stars concert, when they performed Your Ex-Lover Is Dead I teared up (I only stopped myself from crying because of my makeup LOL) because it was my favorite song, but when B.A.P started singing Punch I just enjoyed myself way too much to even get my eyes watery. I seriously did try to make myself cry, but I couldn't because everything was way too much fun and Punch is my favorite song and I was just singing (screaming) and jumping along.

I couldn't understand what was being said during the member introductions though, 'cause they were all speaking in Korean and the text was in Chinese, but I went along screaming, "NE!" whenever cued anyway.

Towards the middle of the concert, the screens suddenly showed war scenes and stuff and I was like, "IS POWER NEXT" but then suddenly the screen showed kids at war and stuff (it was awkward because the screams and cheers abruptly fell silent) and there was text saying that we should help them and all that. I think it was nice that B.A.P still thinks of the less fortunate and that they included this in their concert. Then there were gun sounds and I realized it was One Shot that was next, not Power. Ah, the MV that started it all...

THOSE DUETS THOUGH. DAEJAE VOICES JONGLO DANCING BANGHIM SEXINESS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA also Baby Jello looks so grown up now ; ~ ; ("Why are you only 16..." mumbled Ina as her bias' introduction went on.)

Then later on towards the end, Jongup goes, "This is gonna be our last song," which was Goodbye, and I was like WAT srsly 'cause it felt like the concert was a little short, and towards the end of Goodbye my disappointment was growing and I thought ending everything with this would be a little underwhelming so I figured an encore was definitely gonna happen.

And it did, first with Coma then possibly Dancing In The Rain? I can't remember if the latter happened after encore or before it, but anyway I was hoping that B.A.P would at least close with Stop It. They did perform that, though it was the second to the last song. They closed with Crash.

After the concert, I checked back to Twitter again (free wifi in the area, boo-yah!) and Camille thought I'd get rings from the merch stand (pre-concert I tweeted the stuff I got) and I was all RINGS I SEE NO RINGS so I ran back to merch and there weren't any rings but then I noticed they were selling posters and I thought it'd be a shame if I didn't have this in my shrine room so I queued, but suddenly while in line some sound went off in the concert hall, so people were screaming in running back inside. I stayed put 'cause I was much too tired and the line shortened and I was like IDC I BET NOTHING'S REALLY HAPPENING. And nothing did; it was a false alarm just as I thought.

Besides the poster, I also got this tee! The silver parts reflect under strong light, hence the ~*~glow~*~

Oh yeah, and this Matoki thing that I used for the concert. I'm excited to display this in my room.

I also got a bag tag, stickers (on its opposite side is another set in black), and the pouch that contained the shirt. Also while in line for the entrance, some girl was handing out cards for fanclubs (fancafes?) and she gave me a Jongup and BYG one! I actually saw some other groups with different 'business cards', and I secretly wanted to ask for some but was too shy lol.

Overall it was the best fun I have ever had at a concert. I got to sing along to everything (granted, my singing probably sounded like unattractive shrieks of "akjshdskjgl;dsgkhsjkfalfjdg") okay except maybe I Remember, but for the most part it was pretty much everything. I didn't get to sing to everything during the TBS/Stars concert because I didn't familiarize myself with everything, but for B.A.P I pretty much knew all the songs. Maybe that's also because B.A.P only debuted last year?

Still though, this counts as the third concert in my lifetime, and already it was a foreign one. (My third would've been Bloc Party, but it didn't happen because of reasons.) Being alone didn't hinder me from dancing (flailing) and cheering and screaming and jumping around, though I did wonder what it'd be like to watch with Camille. And then I started wondering what fun it would be to see EXO live with Janelle and Beau...

Never in my life have I been able to see a certain group live that I fangirl'd hard over ('fangirl hard' may or may not be synonymous to 'read fanfiction about'); P!ATD and MCR both came to Manila, but I didn't get to see them because of money and schedules, and now they've both disbanded (not entirely for the former, but you get it.) I never got to see FFTL live either and their main vox has already frolicked into dubstepland, and while FOB's having a concert in Manila, my fangirling for them has died down and was never really in par with that of P!ATD and MCR. B.A.P was the first.

I'm just really glad I got to see them huhuhu. Even if I was far away, experiencing their performances live was just so incredible and thrilling and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I didn't bother bringing my camera because I wouldn't be able to fully indulge the concert, but I did take a couple of videos via iPhone. I've already posted one hahaha. My arms and throat are now sore, but I have no regrets.

I woke up today feeling very sad because I realized LOE was over, but when I got home last night I was just bouncing from wall to wall on cloud 9. It's still so surreal and thinking about it still makes me smile.

I don't think I've ever really chronicled it here, but I got into K-pop some time in April, when Camille sent me two music videos of two Korean groups because I asked for some 'hip-hop' recommendations. One of those videos was B.A.P's One Shot, and after identifying this one member that caught my eye ("Who's that cute one with the grapes and who's doing the wormy-wormy thing on the floor?" lol they were actually the same person), I was hooked. It all happened instantaneously and literally overnight, and that same night I was already reading fanfiction HAHAHAHA. With that said, B.A.P was the first Korean group I have ever, truly become a hardcore fan of, and it just feels so right that the first Korean concert I went to was theirs. I am so, so happy.

Not really sure how to close this post, so here is a picture of the boys. ILU B.A.P I HOPE I GET TO SEE YOU GUYS AGAIN AAAAAAA

Aflongaflongkong Part 2

Aflongaflongkong Part 2 will be known as...

The Disneyland post!

The first time at Disneyland is always the best. I had never even dreamed of being able to go to Disneyland, so the experience was absolutely surreal.

I feel like every tourist who goes to Disneyland has a picture of either: a.) themselves at the Disneyland entrance or b.) the train with all the not-so-hidden Mickeys.

My parents and I ended up going in the evening because we had some other affair to attend to earlier that day, but it was totes cool because at least we got to see the Halloween parade and the fireworks show!

Aaaa merchandise aaaa

CANDIES EVERYWHERE GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE

Not to mention all the Halloween-themed window displays! So precious.

Vintage cameras!

One of the merchandise stores had this... projector-mirror thing. I'm not sure what exactly it was supposed to be, but I took a picture anyway.

Apparently there's a Disney bear called Duffy. I had never heard about this Duffy until this picture.

JACK AND SALLY!!!!!!!!

AND THEN THE HALLOWEEN PARADE HAPPENED AND IT WAS SO MAGICAL. I seriously teared up in happiness and the disbelief at the reality of being in Disneyland still lingered.

After the parade, we decided to take a break at one of the cafe places. Everything was so quaint and preshus and uguuuu my kokorooooo

And then it was time to go.

My mom cried during the fireworks display because she was just so happy that we finally got to go to Disneyland. It was pretty overwhelming. I would've cried too, and in fact my eyes got very watery, but I managed to pull myself together.

The dreadful feeling at the pit of my stomach, then known as #THESISIT, was a major mood killer and helped keep the tears at bay, for the record.

April 2013

Okay, I lied. Apparently I had enough clips to make an adequate video recap of April. It's not much though since three life happenings that took place in this vlog still have pending posts (both here and on CS.)

April 2013:
• Going to the MMA exhibit at Rockwell (mostly for Ana, but hey art exhibits are always rad) with Terry, Kevin and Maronne.
• Later that night, Terry, Kevin and I went to Eastwood for drinks as per tradition whenever Kevin's in town. We met up with Alex, only to find out that our beloved Gitara Grill (see this post) was gone. We ended up at this bar called Graffiti instead. RIP Gitara Grill, wherever you are.
• Randomly meeting Camille (finally!) at Greenhills!!!
• Car ride in The Vejazz with some blockmates after picking up our photos from graduation day.
• Harry Potter Day at Terry's with Alex. We made outfits inspired by HP characters: Alex was Hagrid, Terry was Lupin, I was... it'll be a surprise for when that post comes out. (When???)
• Hanging around High Street area for the EWWS FOODS exhibit with Camille.

And photos! Just three though.

The beginnings of #0.

The first #0.

I feel so proud of myself for clearing my vlog backlog. Now I only have my May recap to work on! (Sad to say it isn't the same for the rest of my blog...)

March 2013

Besides March being the graduation month, I also associated the month as gaming month. I played Journey for the first time (and cried at the ending -- prior to this I had never cried because something was so beautiful) and it struck me so hard that I even made an outfit inspired by it. I also finally played Kingdom Hearts, and it is public knowledge that I never progressed in the first KH game as a kid (I only made it as far as Traverse Town, and almost always stayed in the First District -- I was THAT afraid), because I was so intimidated by everything. What pushed me to finally give in was probably because I saw Pewdiepie give it a try, though that didn't last for long because he eventually abandoned it.

Now, a word of warning, if you were like me and only really played KH2, the first KH game will be a headache. I am not exaggerating. Playing the game gave me a migraine because the controls were so wonky (many a time I spent 10-20 minutes trying to jump to a platform just for a stupid treasure chest, other times the varying camera angles were so dizzying) and THERE WERE NO MAPS. YOU MIGHT'VE TAKEN THE MAPS FOR GRANTED IN KH2, BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY A GODSEND. A lot of times I didn't know where I was going or if a door would lead me elsewhere or if it was just there for decoration. ESPECIALLY IN HOLLOW BASTION. OH GODS. I was using a walkthrough the entire time I was making my way to the Maleficent boss battle because Hollow Bastion in KH1 is mega confusing. BASICALLY, 80% OF MY GAMEPLAY INVOLVED THE WORDS "RAGE," "TABLEFLIP," AND "FRUSTRATING." Especially the tableflip. The last time I played KH was in April, before I left for HK again, and it involved going back to Hollow Bastion for a boss battle. I have not touched KH since. A shame because I was nearing the end. Maybe one of these days I'll brave the headache and finish it once and for all...

Back to the discussion on the month of March, okay, graduation. And the Baccalaureate mass. Which made me so happy and sad at the same time and it just gave me a lot of feels. It was a nice 'congratulations-kids-you-made-it-you're-gonna-graduate' celebration, but it was also bittersweet and watching the fireworks made me tear up a bit because I was brought back to my first Paskuhan and ultimately my first Thomasian fireworks show. This one was my last. I miss my blockmates. I am emotional.

I also attended my friend Luisa's exhibit at Big Bad Wolf with Maronne! Here are some photos from that day:

I had never been to Big Bad Wolf before this, and I very rarely get to attend exhibits (and exhibit openings, for that matter), so this was a nice, quaint affair.

Maronne and I drew on Luisa's guestbook. This is obviously not my illustration.

Maronne and I stepped out for a bit to grab a drink at this Mexican place, and since they were fairly new, we were treated to taste-test some pizza! It was interesting. And it tasted very much like how the brand should taste.

And of course, a picture of Luisa herself! Congrats again bb!!!

In contrast to this lengthy video, I probably won't have an April 2013 vlog, mostly because the two life happenings that happened in April both have their own respective spots on future outfit vlogs that I have yet to work on. The length of this video made it look like I had so much life happenings, when in reality... I am a loser who sits in front of their computer reading fanfiction on a daily basis. Truth. There was only a lot of video footage this time because it just so happened that I graduated in March and got to go to Palawan for the first time too! Which will have its own corresponding post one of these days. Our Palawan trip actually ended on the first of April, but most of the trip was still within the month of March so I decided to include it in this video diary as well.

To conclude, here is a photo that I found in the middle of my March files. It is of a McDonalds takeout, and I believe this happened on my way home from the exhibit. Enjoy.

Aflongaflongkong Part 1

You may or may not know already, but I went to Hong Kong last year during my semestral break. It was my first time out of the country and it felt so surreal. Not ~*~surreal~*~ enough though because last year was also #THESISIT year so I could not enjoy the trip as much as I could since the turmoil of thesis always lurked at the pit of my stomach. It didn't help that I still had not started shooting any content for my book by the time I was in HK. But I digress.

The view from our hotel room. There were times when I'd just stare off into the view, still not believing I was in another country. In the middle of thesis, no less...

My first dessert in HK. It's basically ice cream in mochi and it's soooo good. Ahhh, sweet delights.

One of those breakfast scenarios. These days my breakfasts look nothing like this anymore.

RILAKKUMA!!!!! Doesn't it make you so happy!!!!!!!!!!

This photo is for Terry part 1.

After visiting HK a second time I have come to the conclusion that Gachapons are cheaper there. It doesn't help that the prices over here have hiked up.

I don't know why but the fact that the mannequins had short wigs on made me happy. For some reason they caught my eye more.

It was around Halloween time when I went to HK for the first time. They have such quirky Halloween decors. My favorites were those pumpkins with sunflowers for eyes.

Oh heaven sweet heaven. This bookstore is in the same building as where my mom works so I frequented it a lot during my stay. Even when I went back I was always there, especially in the magazine section.

This photo is for Terry part 2.

I believe this book should belong to me. Do you agree?

I gasped when I saw this. I kindov really want it now especially since I've finally begun playing, but when I did see this last year it was just... well, it was expensive. And I already had a downloaded copy of it at home. But still. The pretty. The Alice.

These leggings, I covet. But they were from I.T. so obviously our relationship was not meant to be.

And then I saw mercibeaucoup and a giant Xiumin basically I wanted everything. That rooster hoodie has a built-in backpack. Perfection.

ALPACA PLUSHIES THAT I REALLY WANTED BUT THEY WERE PRICEY WEEP

One of my favorite things to photograph during my trip was Hong Kong at night. It just felt like I was really in Hong Kong during nighttime, and everything felt more real.

From what I remember, the clothes at Playlord came off rather pricey. Their name's pretty funny though.

To this day I wonder why there are Angry Birds potato chips. Looking back at this picture, however, tells me that these chips look like they are from Korea. All is forgiven. (jk)

At least we found these in the grocery. Purin. Mmm. All the noms in one go.

Thus concludes part 1 of unknown blog posts about my first Hong Kong trip. I have so much backlog that I never seem to post anything on time anymore.