It's not a fiction that I'm a CUBE stan, so I have soft spots for talents from CUBE. However, due to limited financial support, my main focus when it comes to buying albums or merchandises is BTOBEAST (BEAST + BTOB). Every now and then, I spend some money on 4Minute, G.NA, and A Pink (from A CUBE, a separate company from CUBE but is a family of CUBE).
Despite all that, I do support other singers even though they're not from CUBE but my support towards those other singers won't even come close to my passion towards CUBE talents. I understand that the other singers have their fans, so I should tolerate it whenever the other fans are getting all excited about their favourites. They may share updates, scream frantically, praise endlessly, etc. Those normal things, I can tolerate. I do the same too. But there are times when I feel a little bit irritable. I know I should just let those fans be but their constant rantings can be a little too much for me. One or two consecutive times is okay but that's not the case sometimes. Some of them used to chant for the same singers as I do but it seems like they've had a change of heart. It's alright to expand your list of favourites because it shows that you're growing as music lovers. However, to forget about a group of singers that you used to admire and replace then with new ones from the same industry/genre is just.....unfaithful. Fine, maybe you were figuring things out in the beginning before discovering what you really like. Just try not to make it so obvious. It can get annoying. But I guess it's not a big deal. I think I have this sense of loyalty up to the point that I feel irritated by those who used to be in the same fandom as me but have taken a different path. I'm fine if they just keep silent and move on but when they spazzingly talk about their "new love" so publicly so many times in a row, I just...can't.. I don't hate it but I just don't like it, you know?
I never intend to dislike any fandom or group or solo act, so I'll just stay away from them. They have their fans behind them, and I'll stay by my favourites' sides. It's all good. :) Everyone, 화이팅!
Cube Entertainment, or in short, CUBE, is without a doubt my favourite South Korean entertainment agency. It's not just because the first ever K-pop group that I like so much comes from that agency. As much as that influences my favouritism, it's not enough to keep me loyal to the agency. So, apart from BEAST being the reason I'm a K-pop fangirl and CUBE is the agency that manages BEAST, I'm also impressed by the other talents in CUBE. 4Minute, CUBE's first girl group, portrays a bold yet feminine girl power image. G.NA (a.k.a Gina) is such a friendly and talented solo singer. More recently, BTOB (Born TO Beat) managed to capture my attention as a boy group that doesn't only sing well (very well, in fact) but dances well, plays musical instruments, and consists of members who are funny and down-to-earth. I really believe that CUBE is a company that doesn't only pay great attention to its artists' career development but also provides family-like environment. Of course, that would depend on the members' personalities and compatibility, you would say. Yes, that's true. So, I'm marveled at how closely tight the relationship between CUBE members are, especially those in the same group. As the matter of fact, in a poll among K-pop artists this year, BEAST was chosen as the group with the best teamwork. Even BEAST members acknowledged that to a point that they pointed out that they are in fact "too close". Despite having talented artists (and trainees), CUBE doesn't flaunt too much of what it has got, at least not out front or in an obvious way. CUBE does it silently and steadily. So, there's humility in the agency.
But let me tell you this - being a fangirl (or fanboy) is tough. I'm referring to being a devoted or truly supportive fan. It doesn't only drain you financially but emotionally, mentally, and physically too. Financially as in having to spend (or how I like to call as "invest") a wholesome amount of money on albums, merchandises, tickets, donations, etc. Emotionally as in having to feel the exhaustion that the artists go through every day for the sake of showing their best, as well as the emotional challenges that some low-lifers or haters enjoy giving you. Mentally as in having to withstand the psychological games that come along due to (initially healthy) competition with other artists or fandoms. Physically as in having to suffer the night and day right after a concert or airport stanning or hotel stanning or lining up to buy tickets, etc. All of these are common sceneries in a fan's life. What's more is that fans aren't paid to do all that they do for their artists. In fact, fans are the ones that spend their money, time, and energy for the sake of showing their support and love. So, take the time to acknowledge and respect the fangirls and fanboys around you because they've gone through so much and it shall continue. ^^
I often think of how nice it would be if I could work at CUBE someday. I could work in the finance and administration department since that's my major in university. If not, I could be one of CUBE managers since I think I can flexibly adapt to the artist(s)' schedules and routines. Hey, who knows? :D
Apart from my growing fondness towards the talents in CUBE, I'm also flattered by the luck I've been receiving with regards to CUBE, directly or indirectly. Let me tell you about some CUBE-artists-related contests that I've won in the past and happenings that occurred recently.
Last year in July, I won tickets to two of BEAST events in Malaysia - BEAST Asia Fanmeet in Kuala Lumpur, and MTV World Stage 2011. I blogged about these two winnings before, so you can read it here.
This year, I've been quite lucky with BEAST's junior group, BTOB, contests.
First, it was the contest by ONE TV Asia, whereby winners would get signed picture along with either BTOB's 1st mini album or official merchandises. What contestants were required to do was to answer two questions based on footages of BTOB in Jakarta for the launching of ONE TV in Indonesia. FYI, ONE TV Asia is an SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System)-linked channel for Asian countries besides South Korea. I was fortunate to have won BTOB signed picture, official sticker card set, and Lee Chang Seob (BTOB's member) official clear file.
I was delighted to receive these all the way from ONE TV HQ in Singapore.
The second BTOB contest that I joined was by 8TV Nite Live. For this contest, participants needed to complete the slogan "BTOB's music is irresistible because..... (in less than 50 words)". So, I put on my creative cap to come up with a sentence that I aimed to be straight-forward and intelligent-sounding. I don't remember my complete sentence but it was something about BTOB being capable of making our hearts beat fast through their upbeat songs and also moving us emotionally through their ballad songs. So, that was the point that I put forward. Just the point, not the actual sentence, okay. About a week after the contest' closing date, I received a message, telling me that I was one of the winners! I won BTOB's 'Born to Beat' Asia Special Edition album (which I've already bought before, actually) and a poster.
Here's the good news that I received!
Isn't the poster lovely? The CD+DVD too.
Another occurrence was not a contest. I preordered BEAST's 5th mini album 'Midnight Sun'. In every album, there is a random photocard of a member. We wouldn't know whose photocard we would get until we unbox the album and look for the photocard inside. Even though I love all of the members in BEAST, I have my bias, a member I especially adore. A lot of BEAST's fans do, and it's not just the group BEAST, of course. So, I received my 'Midnight Sun' a few days ago through mail. I was very excited but also nervous since I don't know whose photocard I was going to get (not that it's a really big deal). I had two albums with me because I preordered another one for my sister's friend. I picked up one of the albums without thinking much. After unboxing the album, I opened it up to see the photocard inside. At first, I thought I was trolled by CUBE since I couldn't see any photocard in between the attached photobook and CD. I then flipped through the pages of the photobook and something fell down from between the pages. Guess whose photocard I got? JANG HYUN SEUNG!! And yes, he's my bias in BEAST. It was such a happy moment for me. There was a one sixth chance that I would get my bias' photocard and I got it! That wasn't all. It turned out that the photocard wasn't the only thing I got. I also got a Cashbee card with BEAST as the illustration image. A Cashbee card is a prepaid card used for transportation, shopping, movie, and eating in selected shops in South Korea. Discounts can also be obtained for some items or activities. So, it's very useful and quite valuable. BEAST is the current ambassador of Cashbee. Only some 'Midnight Sun' albums contain Cashbee card, so I was lucky to get one of them.
How Cashbee card works:
The album and the cards inside it
Cashbee card
I hope my lucky streak doesn't end anytime soon. Plus, it's not just about luck, you see. The contests that I usually choose to join are the ones that involve some thinking as well as persuasive strategies. I want to earn the prizes.
I attended a private kindergarten for a year. ["Private" as in "non-government", not exactly "exclusive" like some schools in J-dramas or K-dramas that I used to watch. My mind keeps thinking of the elite all-girl high school in J-drama "Mei-chan no Shitsuji" (Mei's Butler) where every girl from very rich or influential families attend special classes while being carefully taken care of by their respective mostly-cute young butlers.] Thinking about it now, I can't seem to recall much of what I've learnt from that one year in kindergarten. I remember playing with clay, I remember practising for year-end performance, I remember being slow in learning Mandarin and there was this Chinese boy (classmate) whom the teacher assigned to help me with my Mandarin workbook because I was crying after not being able to answer some of the questions. Yes, I remember that particular part. ㅜㅜ I remember how the helpful boy tried to teach me what was in the workbook. He explained and showed how to write the (simple) Chinese characters. He didn't give up easily even though I wasn't catching up right away. And mind you, we were as young as 5 to 6 years old at that time. I feel really bad for not remembering his name now. He probably forgot mine too. I hope he did, so that he doesn't remember me as the hopeless crybaby who was bad at Mandarin in kindergarten. >< I thought of mentioning about that boy here just to acknowledge the good deed that he had done back then (even if it was the teacher who ordered him to do so). My point is, it's nice to have someone giving you a hand or simply keeping you accompanied throughout your life. Being on your own is necessary at times but having your friends around brings extra joy and enlightment especially when your life is like a roller-coaster of events or happenings. It doesn't matter how old you are. Friends are special and those who are close enough with you make it feel like you're having your own little "clan". Or you can call it your "gang", in a more relatable manner. So, when I was in kindergarten, my little clan consisted of my cousin Mariana and me. I was really close with her (and still am) as she attended the same kindergarten with me and we ended up in the same class even though she's a year younger than me. Sorry for acting up or being more child-like back then, okay Na? You've been very patient and kind. ^^
In my elementary school years, I went to a school not far from grandma's area. My parents and I moved in to live with grandma and uncles because my parents were transferred somewhere that required them to commute to and fro on daily basis. A simple house was actually provided for them to live near the school but they didn't permanently live there. Sometimes, they brought me along to stay overnight at the house near the school they were teaching at. OMG I just remembered this one thing! There was a band performing at my parents' school for an event one evening. The band members were youngsters not too much older than me. The lead vocalist was a foreigner (or mix-blood, IDK). At that time, I thought he was cute but never approached him. *Typical young girl thingy* xD At that school, which was (and still is, I think) located next to a village, everyone was getting along well with each other. Students, teachers, parents...they all knew each other. They even knew me since my parents were working there. Even years after my parents moved to different places, we still went to visit the village during festive seasons. Well, we stopped doing that quite some time ago because of the hustle bustle of city life that we got ourselves into. My school at that time (the one near grandma's area) was built on a hill. I wonder how it looks like right now. Was I particularly close to anyone in the three years that I was at that school? I don't remember. Probably I was too busy doing tasks as the class monitor. I was one of the faces that the teachers in the teachers' room saw very often. Having to carry such responsibility at such young age made me forget to be closer to any of my classmates or schoolmates. 흐 But I remember this boy (classmate) who always took away my cute sharperners and never returned them. Laz, why were you so mean to me?! ㅜㅜ The funny thing was, not too long ago, we 'met' on Facebook and he introduced himself to me as the boy who often stole my stationeries during elementary school. LOL.. There was also this boy (another classmate) who sneaked a love note into my school bag! A freaking love note! Why is it hard to get such gesture these days?!! It's not that hard to do it, okay guys! Screw the high-tech phones or computers! You can sway the girls with simple yet sincere actions. >< Okay, back to the love note boy. I remember his name but I better respect his right by not revealing it here. LOL.. Sadly, I don't remember exactly what he wrote on that note. I also don't know what happened to the note. OMG did mom or dad or grandma see that note but never told me that they did? Not that it's a big of a deal but it would still feel awkward. xD So, to cut the story short, it didn't work out between us (What the heck! xD Seriously, I feel like slapping myself right now for using such sentence and tone to talk about this petty yet worth-mentioning thingy. Just bear with me, okay? Don't take it too seriously.) because I had to move to a different town and a different school the next school semester. Maybe we weren't meant to be. That's why God worked his plan to keep us apart. Okay, I really should give myself a slap for sounding so modramatic. We were just 9 at that time! 9! Not 19! Not 29! Just 9! What the... But you know I'm just trying to be lively and transparent in this post here, right? Bukan selalu pun. ^^
My other three years of elementary school were spent in a school within a housing area in town. So, is that like the suburban area in American towns? IDK. I was a prefect in those years. Mom was a teacher in the same school. We moved to that school at the same time. So, I know what it's like to have own mom teaching at the same school, okay? It wasn't that bad but I had my challenges. LOL.. Since the school was a walking distance away from my house, I usually walked on foot when I was going back home. In the morning, dad would send mom and me to school on his way to work. In those years, I was close with a friend named Angela. Her house was located at the same lane as me back then, so we often walked back home together and hung out together. I think she still lives at the same house. It was me who always moved here and there. Now, Angela is happily married and has a son (or is it two sons already? orz). She's one hot mama now. :D And then there's me.... Am I left behind? Will I end up as a boring loner? Where did I go wrong? Okay okay...being dramatic again. xD No wonder my sis calls me a drama queen. I kind of am. Kind of. Apart from Angela, I also hung out often with Sylvia, Sara, and ___ (Oh my! I forgot the name of one of my childhood friends! Why can't I remember? The two of us even went to the same matriculation college. ㅠㅠ Forgive me.) whose houses were also at the same lane as mine but they went to different schools. We would get together after school to play ting-ting or cops-and-criminals or hen-and-chicks or batu seremban or "zero point" (OMG I miss this game!) with other kids, if I weren't playing Mario video game at home instead. As for those whose houses were not at the same lane or housing park, I was pretty close with Grace and Felicitys (I knew two girls whose names are Felicity M and Felicity A.) Once, Angela and I stopped by at Felicity A's house after school instead of going straight home. We spent a couple of hours there till my parents became worried sick and searched for me around our neighbourhood. That time, it was hard to contact parents at home since I didn't have a cellphone. But I could have just called using my friend's house phone, right? -.- There was another time when a few of us were late to our school's cleaning activity only because we were baking cookies that didn't come out right. *Sigh* The young and foolish us were so confident that we would be able to pull it off in time. Then, Felicity A's older sister brought us back to reality by telling us that it would need longer time than we had to bake the cookies. Our teachers and classmates who heard about our silly story kept teasing us by asking for the cookies that were never successfully baked. ㅜㅜ
After completing a total of six years in elementary school, I went to a secondary school that was different than the school which I would be automatically placed in based on my elementary school. So, another goodbye to classmates/ schoolmates. I sure moved a lot. In my second and third years, I was the only non-Chinese in the class. It was pretty cool to be the only one (in a way) even though I would be lost when they all spoke in Chinese and I couldn't catch it. And some of you may think that I would be good in common Chinese phrases or sentences since a lot of my friends are Chinese, but I never bother to learn from them. They did teach me some words but I couldn't improve much as I was preoccupied as their almighty class monitor for a couple of years. During my secondary school years, I was close with Melissa, Stella, Sharina, and Catherine. Melissa was the one whom I got close to as we sat next to each other in class for a year. We have the same native language but we mostly communicated in local Malay language. Stella too has the same native language as me. In our matriculation year before university, the two of us became closer when we happened to go to the same institution. Melissa also went to the same matriculation college but she stopped to pursue her diploma at a different institution. Sharina and I became close when we both were fans of Westlife. She even gave me Westlife VCD and poster for my birthday. Oh, Sharina also went to the same matriculation college as I did but we didn't meet up so often in matriculation. Catherine and I took Accounting as an extra subject and we went to tuition for that subject because we weren't taught that subject in school as we were Science stream students. So, we had to learn on our own and we learned it for one year instead of two because we finalised our subjects only a year before the big exam. One of the memorable happenings during my secondary school years was when my classmates held a birthday celebration for me at Pizza Hut. EiChi, a dear friend who is very talented in arts, won a Pizza Hut meal package. She didn't know how else to make use of that package, so she discussed with my other classmates and decided to throw me a birthday celebration. How thoughtful! Another memorable happening was at the end of our final year in secondary school. I planned a Christmas get-together at home with the permission of my parents. BTW, we just quite recently moved to our current house at that time. Like I said, I moved quite often. I prepared gifts for all of them who came. I even made fruit jellies myself as their desserts. Some of them came with gifts. For me! Oh, I just remembered something! That evening, I asked all of them to bring something from home to put in our time capsule (which was a box, actually). You know what? I still keep the time capsule and the chain around it is still intact. When are we going to open it up, you guys? We never had a proper reunion. Some of you are now working, some are still studying, some are overseas....we're all scattered around the globe. Tell me if any of you are already at a different planet, kay? *Lame joke*
After secondary school, I went for a one-year matriculation programme. It was my first time being away from home to study. I lived in a dorm with three other roommates. Coincidentally, one of my roommates was my secondary school classmate. I was glad to have kind and fun roommates. Phyllis, Fifa, Fathiah, and I went for outings together sometimes. One of my favourite things to do is watching movies or dramas with Fifa. We would squeal or sulk while watching. Oh right, Fathiah, the youngest of us four roommates, had just gotten married not a long time ago. Remember Stella, my friend from secondary school? More than anyone, I spent my weekends with her the most. Even though we were placed in different lecture groups, thus different tutorial groups, I went to the church and mall with her regularly. We even booked the same flights almost all the time.
I'm now pursuing my bachelor degree in university. At first, I was a student of Faculty of Medicine and Health Science. I made good friends with the Medicine and Nursing students there. In my first year there, I stayed at the dorm even though my house was about 15 minutes away by car (minus traffic jam). There was this group of friends I was very close with. Another friend jokingly called us "buah-buahan" because the seven of us together reminded him of "buah-buahan tempatan" (local fruits) since five of us are locals from the state our university is at and the other two are non-Chinese-like Malaysian Chinese. Do you get it? xD Later on, we were known as "unifruit". I miss the time when Valerie, Rebecca, Chien, Joannes, Calvin, Ibi, and I had our days or nights out. We also won first place in a group activity during our batch's trip to a beach some time ago. We rarely hang out now because of our different schedules and routines. I wish to have a meet-up with them soon. After two years at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, I had to experience what I deem as the most uncertain and confusing period of my life so far. A lot of study-related things were playing in my poor head and I felt so distressed that I didn't want to get out of bed for days. It was no fun at all. After consulting some individuals, I obtained the help from my original faculty to transfer me to a different faculty. It also meant that I would no longer be receiving scholarship from a government-linked association. I'm telling you, I then realised how considerably "rich" I was while being a scholar. xD So, my new faculty is Faculty of Economics and Business. A 180° change, you say? It sure was. And I met some wonderful friends. All my coursemates are fine but I'm especially close with five kumangs by the name of Marcella, Rachel, Victoria, Martina, and Mariam. It was like we were programmed to find each other. This is part of Your plans, isn't it, God? From time to time, I recall the good times I've shared with my friends. They're precious.
Okay, I'll stop right here. This is longer than I planned it to be. You did read all of it, didn't you? You better! :D
There's no denying that technology, particularly internet, keeps us well informed and connected to the people that we know (or don't really know). Related tasks have been made so much more convenient and time-efficient. I'm one of those who support the utilisation of today's technology for online matters such as twitting through Twitter, updating through Facebook, sharing videos through YouTube, and blogging. As long as our intentions are clear and not harmful, why not, right?
On the other flip of the coin, there have been cases where some unthoughtful and irresponsible individuals took advantage of the convenience and accessibility provided by the internet. Hacking, identity theft, spamming, and cyber bullying are some of the issues that a lot of us are concerned of. These issues have made the internet seem unsafe to some people. This is understandable. And it's such a pity, considering how advantageous the internet was originally meant to be.
So, to everyone who would like to make good use of this obviously beneficial technological tool without worrying too much about the possible problems it might bring, take some precautions. This is especially for the younger ones. Listen up! Big sis Pris has something to tell you. LOL xD But seriously..
1 - On Facebook, try to approve only your actual friends, family members, and relatives. You can still approve those who are strangers but would like to make friends. JUST REMEMBER to check on their background even though this is actually pretty limited. Plus, they can easily put false information, right? That's why it's safer to approve only those you personally know. In my case, though, I have been approving friend requests from some whom I didn't really know but I only do that for my fellow J-pop or K-pop friends, or actual friends of my siblings or relatives. Besides, I can always unfriendly them if I find their posts to be constantly disturbing or discomforting. *Meanie me, you may think? But it's necessary, okay!*
2 - Twitter is different than Facebook. Even though they are both social network sites, they work in distinguishable ways. Twitter is more publicly accessible unless you set your Twitter account to be private. However, setting it to private kind of goes against its purpose (for fandom-participants, I mean. I'm a devoted fangirl, FYI. ^^). Tweets or hashtags by private Twitter accounts do not count towards the trending on Twitter. As fans of certain groups or soloists, we often want to get specific things to be trending to promote to the world who and what we're rooting for. Apart from that, if your purpose is to connect with only certain people, why not just send them text messages or use Facebook? That's just my opinion. Don't come and stab me if you disagree, okay.
3 - Think twice (or thrice) before making a personal photo public. Once you post in on any online sites, ANYONE can see it. Of course, your intention of posting your photos is to knowingly share the photos with others. It is a good thing to do when you want to update about your whereabouts or activities. Bear in mind, though, that your innocent/ cute/ gorgeous/ charismatic/ lovely photos can be misused by someone with bad intentions. *Ah, screw those who make things complicated for us, right?! If only they back off!* Celebrities might not have problems in this matter because it can actually benefit them in terms of raising public awareness about their existence and promotions. It's part of their PR necessities. But for regular people, it's better to be safe than sorry. That's why I think it's best to accept Facebook friend requests from only those you know. At least on that site, you can still share photos for the sake of your friends and relatives. As for other sites like Twitter or Blogger or Instagram or Google+, extra considerations need to be made. There's always an option of making certain posts private. Another option is to add tags or labels on your photos before sharing them. This way, if your photos happen to be spreaded somewhere else, people can see who they belong to or where they come from based on the tags. *This is something that I haven't been doing for my Twitter and blog but I'm going to do it from now on.* Yes, it's more time-consuming but it's for a good purpose. I recommend PicsArt application for Android users if you want a quick and easy solution in adding tags. Photos of items or sceneries might still be harmless without tags but be more mindful when it comes to photos of people or your own selcas. I'm not trying to sound paranoid but prevention is better than cure! :) I'm actually quite an open person and I don't mind seeing personal photos of others freely being shared. In fact, I don't mind sharing my own photos as well. It's just that we have to be more careful these days. Also, those people in the photos that you share have their privacy rights, you know? What if your own friends want to sue you for publicly share their not-so-viewer-friendly photos? That's bad, right? Yea, I know that your friends won't be that critical but who knows.
4 - Whatever that I have mentioned about photos also apply for videos (and audios?).
1) I prefer my toasted breads almost burnt, BBQ meats almost burnt, sausages almost burnt, nuggets almost burnt, instant noodle undercooked, french fries undercooked,...that's all I can think of for now.
2) Sometimes, I sleep on my bed with my head on the supposed-to-be-feet side of the bed simply because it feels strangely more comfortable.
3) I keep watching horror movies even though I'm honestly a scaredy cat.
4) One of my ways to prevent myself from spending money on attractive but unnecessary things is by looking at the item(s) or holding the item(s) at the shop for a while until I hopefully lose interest in it/ them and walk away after that.
5) I'm convinced that if I were properly trained since young, I could have been a very successful athlete or dancer, considering my achievements in the mentioned fields as a child in the past.
6) Before I got caught up in my J-pop and K-pop fandoms years ago, I passionately rooted for Westlife, The Click 5, and Jonas Brothers by diligently buying and collecting their cassettes, CDs, VCDs, and posters.
7) When I'm not particularly impressed by how I look while getting ready at a certain time, I'll shamelessly blame the mirror or lighting for being low in quality.
8) I don't cook, bake, or prepare a meal often but once I do it, I always pay extra attention on the food presentation apart from its edibility.
9) My style of maintaining my room is more towards spring-cleaning than regular reorganisation.
10) I used to be hospitalised and have my leg casted due to an incident with a motorcycle exhaust when I was in my first year of elementary school.
