The Day I Fell in Love With an Alien Named Do Min Joon

17:20:00 APRILSKELTER 0 Comments

I can only name a few Korean soaps that I've seen from the first to
the last ep mainly because I am too lazy to sit down and stare at the
TV or the laptop for hours. I prefer movies over TV series most of the
time. And honestly, I would rather read a book and/or communicate with
my beloved family/friends thru SMS or the social media. I am such a
bum.

I can only name a few Korean stars/popstars because to be honest, I
could not get myself into liking people who cannot express themselves
clearly using the English language. Sorry for being so harsh but I'm
just being honest. I maybe a bit Western-ish. I'm not saying that they
aren't likeable. They are. But to each their own. I have my
preferences and I respect yours so respect mine.
But still you got to admire their acting talent and the entertainment
that they can bring to each of their fans. I like Lee Wan and Song
Seung Hun to name a few actors. I cried seeing First Love (I'm not
quite sure if this is the title lol but it is) an ensemble film about
all the kinds of love (somewhat a Korean's take on Love Actually slash
Valentine's Day sort of thing but is way way better you guys should go
see it!). Miracle in Cell No.7 tugged strings in my heart. That film
is so beautiful. I know 2NE1 because Sandy is there. Come on, who
doesn't know Sandara Park, right? I love her. I've heard of BigBang,
SuJu, U-Kiss, Infinite, CNBlue... I have even seen 2PM live once. Oh,
and I like Nickhun. I've seen him in the flesh twice. He's so
charming.

And recently, I got hooked to this very light and fun soap called My
Love From The Star.
Blame Kim Soo Hyun's handsome face, sexy abs and charm and acting prowess.
Blame Jun Ji Hyun's comedic timing and beauty.
Blame the basic plot of a human falling in love with an alien with
lots of interesting subplot, teleporting and bickering that is very
easy to love.

Even my grandmother watches this show everyday. And because it has a
rerun every Sunday, it became one of our bonding moments because she
would usually remind me to turn on the TV so we could watch it
together.
"Matteo Do (Do Min Joon) na," she would tell me.
She even knows what's going to happen next (because she's seen it
daily) and it amuses me every single time when I would teasingly ask
her what's going to happen next (because I am at work and I apparently
have missed the weekday runs.)
"Magkikita ba sila?" "Nasan si Matteo?"
"Bakit nasa ospital si Steffi (Song Yi)?"

I downloaded some of the bloopers video on Youtube and I may have
fallen in love with the characters and the actors even more. They
seemed to be having fun and enjoying every takes. They bring out the
best in each other, and I guess that explained why the acting seemed
so natural. Not to mention they sizzle on-screen, too. The chemistry
of those two is just....too... It's like a match made in heaven.

I learned from friends that Soo Hyun can sing (oh right, Do Min
Joon-shi has a scene where Cheon Song Yi has asked him to sing for
her) so I checked his song off the official soundtrack and well....it
was..nice. I think. Heh. (I know lol. He may not be the best singer
but the boy can sing.)

What's even make me like the show more is the constant reference of Do
Min Joon to this children's book by Kate diCamillo entitled "The
Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" all throughout the show (because
he can relate to the main character from the book, Edward the rabbit
made from china). I have recently read it and I believe that it is one
of the nicest that's ever written out there. I could not thank the
show enough for introducing me to this precious literary gem.

Then there are the scandals (contract/endorsement related stuff) these
two main Hallyu superstars are facing. I feel sad for them for all the
hating that's coming from some people, but that is how it is. A day
would come and you'd realise you cannot have all the love. People are
going to judge. People are going to hate. People can be daft. People
would say pointless things. People will believe what they want to
believe. People will overlook and forget all the great things just
because of one decision that they'd say against their conventional
wisdom and thinking they know everything but clearly they knew nothing
about. They would just assume. Extreme perverseness that seemed like
one of human's tendencies. But unknown to them, they are just making
Soo Hyun and Ji Hyun even stronger, and loved by those who understands
and is open-minded enough to see both sides of the situation at hand.
And until the issue is settled, they would just end up vexing no one
but themselves.

As for me, I like Kim Soo Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun. And despite
everything, I think this appreciation would last for long.
Excuse me as I go read the book again. =)

"The heart breaks and breaks and lives by breaking.
It is necessary to go through dark and deeper dark and not to turn."
- an epigraph from "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane"

All Hail We The Kings!! The Complete Pulp Royalty Experience

17:02:00 APRILSKELTER 2 Comments

Hi there. So this is the "longer" version of the story that I sent to Pulp re: the Pulp Royalty experience, because 200 words are not enough to describe the whole We The Kings encounter. Plus I haven't really blogged in a while so this is going to be some major update for this online home.

It all started through a friend's SMS to me sometime in March telling me that We The Kings will be having a solo concert in Manila this coming June 7th at the SM Skydome. As soon as I was told, I texted my cousin who is a fan (She loves the band more than I do, to be honest) and it has been an agreement long ago that we are both going to watch and go for the extreme experience of being a Pulp Royalty when they come back. I knew how awesome the perks of a PR bundle was even before but it is actually my first time to grab one.

One April day, I decided to skip morning work to personally acquire/pay/reserve for our passes at the Pulp's office. We were the 2nd/3rd on the PR list, yep, we are THAT excited we have purchased our passes early on. What's next? We wait.

Zooming in to the day of the show: I'm pretty sure the line "She's the girl that no one ever knows.." from their song Say You Like Me would have easily been me. For I am the kind of concertgoer who's contented on the sideline or watching from afar (I am a proud member of the Team GenAd, you see), singing along, thinking that getting to interact with these band dudes/musicians would just be a major bonus, for it is because of the music that's gotten me hooked and it should stay that way. I am just that kind of music lover who likes to live in the moment and not just capture it, so the seat location is not much of an issue to me.

But being a Pulp Royalty has brought being a fangirl into greater heights. I get to meet them for the first time, hug them (Travis Clark is an excellent hugger. All of them are, actually), talk to them and personally thank them for coming here. Charles Trippy even kissed me on the cheek. **I know, right?** ;) I even made a banner the night before of which they've acknowledged as awesome, and I meant every word on it (with reference to one of their songs).

So now I FINALLY get to tell you about the Meet and Greet, yeah? I'm glad it wasn't much of a blur as a spur of the moment would go and that I did get to catalogue it well in my mind.

I learned from previous outings that:

1. You should relax. (No matter how hard that is.) They are humans, too (apparently). They are as normal as the normal guys surrounding you. Make the moment count by not freaking out and stuttering in front of them and ruining the short time that you are given to interact with them.

2) Be natural and interact. Nothing beats the simple random things done while at it. Those are usually the ones that we get to remember; and (as contradicting as it is)

3) Go crazy (the right amount of crazy). You paid to see them, remember? And by the number of people that they get to encounter, there's almost a huge percent that they won't get to remember the little crazy things that you would do/ask them to do. But despite being crazy we should also remember to be respectful and to know our limitations.

I made a small banner with reference to one of their songs off the Somewhere, Somehow album called Sad Song (Without you, I feel broke like I'm half of a whole / without you I've got no hand to hold / without you I feel torn / like a sail in the storm / without you I'm just a sad song) and the banner went like "I am a sad song no more because you came. Thank you, We The Kings." and the band has totally loved it!

I first showed it to Coley and then there's Hunter and Dan. I hugged them and had the copy of my magazine signed (because we were allowed to have at least one item to be signed by the band). I told them about how stoke I was for tonight's show. They told me they also were and that they loved my banner.

And then there's Travis.

Travis: "Hello beautiful, what's up? You're amazing. That's *points to my banner* amazing. I really like your sign."

Me: "Wow thank you. I'm so glad you're here. Thank you for coming." *while we hug* Congratulations on your engagement!"

Travis: "Thank you so much! I'll tell Jenny you said hi"

And then there's Charles.

Charles: "Hey. *smiles* (I couldn't get enough of that voice and that smile) how are you doing?"

Me: *as we hug* "I'm good. Thank you! So excited for tonight"

Charles: "Love this!"

**here goes the craziest thing ever**

Me: "Can you kiss me here? *points to cheek* because my friend has asked..." (And before I was even finished explaining he's already done damages to my already hyperventilating but well contained self, I fought hard not to kiss him back *on the cheek* ha ha kidding. Using the friend card may have made me looked like an idiot but what do I do, he's willing anyway hahaha. That kiss is for Bea, okay!!! The pleasure is mine haha.)

As Charles was signing my magazine I went back to talking to Travis and..

Me: "Can you sing Sad Song later? It's one of my favourites. Actually Say It Now is my favourite."

Travis: "Uh..."

Me: "Can I sing it (Sad Song) with you?"

Travis: "Sure!"

Me: "Joking. I can't sing (on stage, or I'd die) I can but *laughs*"

Travis: *smiling* "We can. But maybe you could go screaming More! More! then maybe we could go back on stage and sing it later"

Me: "Sure will do!"

Note: Sad Song isn't on the printed set list that the techs are giving away but they sang it and although it's probably pre-planned as part of the encore, still, my fangirl heart is happy that Travis has kind of confirmed it to me first hand when I asked him.

They were all too nice, all saying their "I love you's" and then my *precious* time with the band is up and the bouncer told me to turn around for the official photo to be taken and I asked them, "Can we pose like the Power Rangers?" And Travis was like, "How do we do that?" "Like...uh fighting! Anything," I told him. Charles is already doing a pose, with a completely derp face and telling me, "Like this?" "Yeah!"

I got pretty distracted by Charles' feet / kicking pose that I am not sure if I did get to look at the camera but as you can see, the official photos turned out quite funny and cool.

After that, I thank them once again before I leave my cousin's fate to them (she's next in line with me). One of the reasons why I went to the concert aside from the fact that I've been listening to the band for some years is that...my cousin really is an avid fan. As a very supportive cousin I wanted her to experience them to the fullest. It gives me joy to see my family members happy.

Nelle to Coley: "Can I touch your side burns?" :) :)

Nelle to Travis: "You broke my heart." (because of the engagement)

Travis: "Oh...you could be my "fiancee" too."

Travis: "Jenny is nice, you're going to love her."

After all the PR people had their turns, the band left to prepare for the show that's happening in an hour and Charles has stayed to shoot a couple of scenes for his vlog site. (Internet Killed Television -

CTFxC, of which I have recently learned about).

Then the VIPs are allowed to go inside the pit and guess where we ended up? Front row, center of the stage, baby!! Although I gave way to some fans and resorted to the second row most of the time of which I was totally fine. Travis and Charles were interchangingly performing in front of me, who was I to complain? Plus I just made sure that my cousin had the best location in the pit and it sure was.

One more thing that I like about attending concerts like this was getting to meet people of the same interests as you. I've met Sey, Keiko, and the best of friends Grache and Leah. One of which is a former classmate of The Cab PH street team's Lara (I love The Cab and I get to meet Lara this one time at a local Cab day event) and what a small world that is! Pretty awesome. It just eased the tension of waiting for the band to perform, talking and laughing about all of the stuff with these guys and I am so grateful.

Truth is, I am kind of worried about how the crowd turnout would be. The timing of the tour isn't really the best time because of the many other mainstream musicians that are coming to the country this quarter. Also, there's the BRF 3 event of which, I knew a couple of people who had, some had chosen to attend to instead of coming to the WTK show (10 bands against a solo act, well, that should be enough to make them resort to it). And yet, from the moment Travis hit the first lines of their first song, Queen of Hearts in all his might, I couldn't care less anymore. They came to play, they came to give the pleasure back to, in his own words, the "very reason that we are standing here in the stage" and that's US. From Queen of Hearts to Stay Young/Check Yes Juliet, they totally rocked.

Eighteen rocking songs that one could not get enough. The setlist is as follows:

1. Queen of Hearts

2. Skyway Avenue

3. Any Other Way

4. We'll Be A Dream

(with the crowd singing Demi Lovato's part)

5. Whoa

6. She Takes Me High

7. I Like It ("You are all so sexy." The way Travis has said this, ah dang it, too sexy. Not to mention the way he danced to it. Boom panes in front of me.)

8. Secret Valentine ("We wrote this song about sex *the crowd reacts* I'm just being honest. Right now, it's still about sex. *that half laugh is sexy*... Also, he must have been too impressed as the crowd sang along because a smile practically has never left his face.)

9. I Feel Alive (There was a moment there where he wanted the crowd of which we willingly obliged to kind of do a sorority squat, go lower and lower during the pre chorus and let the feels build up til the chorus where he's encouraged everyone to jump as high and dance wildly and go crazy. It was epic!)

10. Just Keep Breathing (One of the most inspirational songs that they've written, he's said)

11. Find You There (The look on their faces as the crowd sing along to every song is priceless)

12. Art of War (I have found out that it is initially written for The Hunger Games. The lines "I'm a soldier 'til it's over" though reminded me so much of The Cab at that moment that I cannot look at Coley for long because he and the keyboard reminded me so much of Marshall. Oh well.)

13. The Middle (Jimmy Eat World cover)

14. I'm Yours (Jason Mraz cover) (There was a funny banter moment where he's like vocalizing and the crowd went singing with him and he playfully went with it)

15. Say You Like Me

16. Check Yes Juliet (The crowd is unstoppable.)

Encore:

17. Sad Song (where Travis has messed up one of Elena Coat's verse/ girl part hahaha you're forgiven, Travis. It happens all the time. It was too cute, though)

18. Stay Young / Check Yes Juliet (best way to end the night)

THE AFTERMATH

So of course, it was so good that it has left us PCD-ing the whole week (even up to this date,). The following days are usually the time where you would realise the stuff that you have done, how awkward or embarassing or weird those were that you just cannot help but laugh at the memory. These are also the days where you'd find out if you've made it to the band/band dude's official "selfie" on the stage with the crowd and in this band's case, the precious vlogs (I figured I have embarassingly made it on Charles' vlog. Uhh well.) I have recorded a few videos from the show, too. Instagram-length-ed kind of videos, mostly banters (most of the songs performed will be up on Youtube, anyway) and been watching them almost every day since. Official photos were released. Reviews are up and you are reliving everything once again.

"Will you come see us again?" Travis, you need not ask. You gave us forever within the limited two-hour set, and we are grateful for that and we will be more than willing to welcome you again when you get back. I know Pulp would second this. ;)

Thank you, Sir Vernon, Ms.Happee and Pulp for this wonderful opportunity!

Til the next rocking concert! (Hello, Bazooka Rocks 3)