I'm on one of the articles on MSN Malaysia! Hahahaha...
Well, it's not a big deal since it's a brief article that compiles some of the entries for Golden Disk Awards (GDA) in Malaysia last time. As one of the sponsors of GDA, MSN held a contest, where K-pop fans were asked to impress them through creative photos and prove that they're the biggest K-pop supporters. I wasn't one of the winners. The odd of winning was low considering that only three out of over 500 participants were to be chosen. But there was another benefit of joining apart from the mere chance to win, in my personal view. By participating, I felt like it was one way to channel my passion for K-pop with a touch of creativity. Plus, it was fun! But the clearing up part was not too fun since it was way past midnight when I completed my 'photoshoot'. LOL I almost decided to just sleep in the midst of my K-pop albums and merchandises on the bed. Nevertheless, I'm glad I participated because I see it as a way for me to polish my talent skill as a fan.
Since MSN was so impressed (They said it la, not me.) by the passion and creativity of K-pop fans in Malaysia, MSN compiled a number of the entries (24 entries, to be exact) and show them in an article entitled "MSN readers impress with K-pop love for GDA contest".
I screenshot the part with my submission to show that I participated and that MSN was freakin' impressed with my submission that they decided to show it to the world.
I captioned this picture as "...and the princess lives happily in her prosperous K-pop kingdom". I snapped this in my actual room.
As you can see, clearing up the items from my bed and keeping them back in their respective boxes wouldn't be easy.
2012 Asia Super Showcase in Malaysia [Fan Account included]
Remember that I bought a V.I.P. Zone ticket for this showcase last time? The time was finally coming! BTOB in Malaysia~~~! Woohoo~! You know what? I think I'll make a short fan account on the showcase, then include a few pictures below. I never got to make my fan account. Yup, terribly busy!
[FAN ACCOUNT] 121211 - 2012 Asia Super Showcase (Melody's POV)
Since the venue of the showcase was in Kuala Lumpur (KL), I had to take a flight from Kuching to KL. I (with my family) had to go for an afternoon flight on the same day of the showcase. It would be better to depart earlier but I had a presentation in the morning. So, right after the presentation at campus, I dashed back home to change and my uncle sent us to the airport. We weren't late for boarding at all. In fact, the flight was delayed for almost half an hour! >.< I usually wouldn't mind a slight delay but that day was different. I needed to rush to claim my showcase ticket as soon as possible. I tried to remain calm because freaking out wouldn't make me magically transport myself to KL in a blink of an eye, would it?
So, when we reached the airport in KL, dad and I went to the taxi ticketing booth while mom and my sisters went to get our luggage. When we got in the taxi (which was a van, actually, since a taxi could carry maximum four passengers only and there were five of us) and directed the driver to bring us to Kenanga Wholesale City, the venue of the showcase. I wasn't in a rush to actually enter the showcase venue yet because I bought a ticket with numbered seating. However, I needed to get my showcase ticket first. After getting my ticket, we were sent to our hotel by the driver to check in. A funny (and quite stressful) incident happened when we were on our way up the elevator. The maximum capacity of the elevator was three people but all five of us got in with our luggage, thinking that it would be alright. The next thing we knew, the elevator doors wouldn't open when we reached our floor. Dad called the receptionist and seconds later, the doors opened. Without resting, right after we dropped off our stuff at our room, we rushed back out to go to the showcase venue. (Yes, my family members went to the showcase venue too just to have a walk around because the venue was also a shopping mall.) This time, we didn't go by taxi but we went there by monorail. Rushing to the nearest monorail station without slowing down was tiring but we had to keep going.
This is the fanboard that I made and brought along to the showcase.
It reads "I only know BTOB", derived from BTOB's song, 'I Only Know Love".
Once we reached the venue after walking non-stop, I was so drained but I got some of my energy back when I saw the V.I.P. entrance. I waved goodbye to my family members and went in. There were already a lot of fans in the venue. Even though I got a V.I.P. seat, it was quite unfortunate as the seat number that I got was among the furthest from the stage within the V.I.P. Zone. Oh well...I just got to live it. So, I waited patiently along with everyone else as there were minutes left to the start of the showcase. We could hear occasional screaming from the audience whenever they thought they saw glimpse of idols backstage. LOL I can totally relate.
The audience waiting for the showcase to start
So, the first group to go on stage was the group I went there for. BTOB!!! OMG OMG OMG... BTOB members were really on stage in front of my freakin' eyes! They appeared on the stage with their intro song, 'Born to Beat'. I screamed so much but I tried to cool down so that I could enjoy their performance as much as possible. I swear I was crying in joy inside, but on the outside, I was far too excited. I could see BTOB! I could see sweetie Eun Kwang! The boys sounded so great live. Even their presence was beyond amazing.
After their intro song, the music for 'I Stole Those Lips (Irresistible Lips)' was heard. They performed that song so energetically.
Then, the upbeat feel was halted for a while as BTOB performed their balladry song, 'Imagine'. The meaning behind the song is just honest and disturbing (in a strangely good way). Click here to see the meaning of 'Imagine'.
'Imagine'
The next song was 'I Only Know Love (Lover Boy)'. The song has such catchy chorus and mid-verses [*I just confidently created this term.*], in my opinion. I like the choreography too.
After 'I Only Know Love (Lover Boy)', BTOB had a talk session. Each member introduced himself. One of the fanservice-like thing that made fans squeal was when Min Hyuk was about to introduce himself. The boys were sweating so much after the dancing and partly because of the humid weather. Just as Min Hyuk started to speak, Chang Seob who stood next to him wiped Min Hyuk's sweat. Aww...how sweet! They then smiled and laughed. Peniel, the English speaker of the group, stated that Malaysia is just so beautiful and he would love to visit Malaysia again for a non-performing-related vacation. Min Hyuk also stated that Malaysia is a country that he would always go back to. The MC asked BTOB to sing an acapella, so they sang the chorus of 'Monday to Sunday'.
BTOB's talk session
The next song by BTOB was 'My Girl'. OMG I love this song! It's an easy-going, love-confessing song and it has a beautiful acoustic guitar intro music. The song doesn't have a particular choreography, so the boys walked around the stage to get closer to the audience. Of course, fans started to scream so much and the screaming could be heard even with the song's music being played. From my place, I could see Peniel taking a selca on stage using a fan's polaroid camera. *Not jealous, not jealous* The members looked straight into some fans' eyes when they got closer. Towards the end of the beautiful song, Eun Kwang even sat at the edge of the main stage and swayed his feet like an adorable child. Why?????!!!!!! *Mental breakdown*
Then, BTOB performed their debut title track, 'Secret (Insane)'. Malaysian fans must have been most familiar with the fan chants of this song because they chanted so loudly and clearly. *Proud* At the second last chorus of the song, there was a technical problem and the music suddenly stopped. BTOB kept singing and fans' chanting accompanied BTOB's singing, making the rest of the song sound seemingly better that the one with background music.
BTOB Hyun Sik: "You make me go insane.."
Fans: "Sane!"
BTOB Hyun Sik: "Give me so much pain.."
Fans: "Pain!"
BTOB Hyun Sik: "I won't be back again.."
(While BTOB Min Hyuk rapped..) BTOB Sung Jae: "I wanna hate you.."
BTOB Eun Kwang: "You make me go insane.."
Fans: "Sane!"
BTOB Eun Kwang: "Give me so much pain.."
Fans: "Pain!"
BTOB Eun Kwang: "I won't be back again...~~" *Then, he stopped and giggled.*
*Even more proud*
The MC came out and BTOB had an interview session. BTOB answered a few randomly picked questions from a box. An interpreter was on stage too.
[P/S - I might rephrase the sentences but the points remain the same.]
Question: How would you spend a day in Malaysia?
BTOB Eun Kwang: "One day wouldn't be enough. I would spend two days here." *Fans, including me, screamed and cheered.*
BTOB Sung Jae: (To audience) "Would you like to spend a night with me?" *WTH Sung Jae! Don't even start! You're the youngest member!*
Question: What is your ideal type of girl?
BTOB Hyun Sik: (In English) "Beautiful girls!" *While moving his hand in the audience's direction with a wide cheeky-ish smile on his face*
The MC asked Il Hoon to do his famous Kiyeomi Player (Cutie Player). Three fans, who were selected way before the showcase started, were called on stage to do the Kiyeomi Player with him. You can watch how Il Hoon's Kiyeomi Player looks like in a fan-recorded video of the showcase below.
Cute, right?
BTOB then performed their last song for the night, 'Wow'. It was "wow" indeed. There were still EXO-M and the main act, Super Junior-M left for the rest of the showcase but I already used up my energy on BTOB. Haha... I enjoyed EXO-M and Super Junior-M's performances too. Oh ya, I was standing on my chair throughout the showcase. So, my legs were absolutely sore and aching. Other fans did the same. I met a new friend, an Exotic (EXO's fan) whose seat was next to mine.
Fans went crazy because of the three groups.
The full song list of the showcase
After the showcase ended, I waited for a while with my new friend because a lot of people were waiting for the elevators. When we reached downstairs and went out, I met my family members who were waiting outside. It turned out that there were quite a number of parents and family members waiting outside the mall throughout the showcase. Mom said that they could hear fans' screaming even though the showcase venue was 15 floors above and in an indoor location. We made our way back to the hotel. I was beyond tired. To add to that, I had to complete my university assignment and part of my degree thesis. How hectic, right? I just have to be strong and keep going.
After the showcase ended
My showcase ticket
.. [End of Fan Account] ..
My flight back home was two days earlier than the rest of my family. I had to go back early because I had so many university stuff to do. Back at home in Kuching, grandma and my little cousin stayed over.
The rest of my family went to shopping malls around KL while they were still there.
Dad saw BTOB's standee in one of the malls, took a picture of it, and WhatsApp'ed me the picture. He even posted the picture on his Facebook wall, making people think that he's a fan too. LOL
Victoria's Early Birthday Surprise
It's like a customary among my circle of closest friends to hold surprise birthday celebrations. It's getting harder to come up with a potentially successful surprise each time. For Vic's birthday, we planned to make an early birthday surprise.
Vic is a huge fan of Manchester United. So, that explains the theme of the cupcakes and gift.
Christmas
Our area's Catholic community went from one house to another for Christmas carols.
Christmas tree
Christmas carol at our house
Bambi, Our New 'Family Member'
My sister's friend had quite a number of dogs and puppies at her home. She was giving away a few puppies. Bambi, a playful and unladylike female puppy, was given to us. She was born in October 2012. Her favourite food is fried chicken.
Meet Bambi.
Family Gathering Dinner
My uncle, who's my dad's youngest brother, was coming to Kuching after a while with his wife and son. We had a family dinner at a restaurant since it's hard for all of us to gather together at other times.
My uncle, aunt, and youngest cousin
Yes, this picture is blurry and can't be fixed.
My nephew (cousin's son) didn't want to stay still. Haha...
BTOB as Guest Group for 2012 Asia Super Showcase in Malaysia
Which Melody [Note: Melody is the official name of BTOB's fans.] wouldn't get excited over this? Malaysian Melody, I mean, considering that it's a showcase in Malaysia. First, the fact that BTOB would be in my own country was intriguing itself. Second, that would be BTOB's first visit to Malaysia. Third, BTOB is just awesome~~!!! I had not decided whether or not I was going to go to the showcase at first. As time went by, I made up my mind that I was going. So, I bought a V.I.P. Zone ticket, priced at RM600. The showcase ticket wasn't the only thing that I had to think of. Since I live in East Malaysia, I needed to travel to West Malaysia by plane. Therefore, I had to get flight tickets and book a hotel too. I didn't get it all figured out at first, so I just told my mom about my intention to go to the showcase and I was going to pay for the showcase ticket on my own (and I did!). We already had a confirmed plan of visiting KL in November as a family trip and all out tickets and accommodation were booked. Lucky me...'cos mom gave a green light for me to have another (short) trip to KL in December for the showcase. And guess what? My other family members were going to KL too! Are they crazy or what? The same thing happened last time when I was going to DiGi Live K-pop Party where BEAST, 4Minute, and G.NA performed. Thus, it was no surprise to me.
My receipt of the showcase ticket purchase
As one of the projects to celebrate BTOB's first visit to Malaysia, BTOB's Malaysian fanclub, MYBTOB, collaborated with MY-CUBEFAMILY and CUBICBEATZ to create a photobook for BTOB. I contacted the organiser of the showcase, under MYBTOB's name, to inform them about it and the organiser confirmed that they would pass the photobook to BTOB on our behalf. The photobook project was called Project WOW. 'Wow' is the title track of BTOB's second mini album. There's an official pose for 'Wow'. It can be written as "W'o'W" and there's a meaning to it. The two W's at the sides represent three fingers at both sides. The small letter " o " represents an opened mouth. The inverted commas represent eyes. So, we had to do the W'o'W pose and submit the photo along with our messages to BTOB. I got my sisters to participate too. ^^
My W'o'W pose
Camy's W'o'W pose
Carina's W'o'W pose
Family Trip to Kuala Lumpur (KL)
So, my family and I went on our trip to KL. My grandma, uncle, and cousins went along. We booked one hotel room and all nine of us fit ourselves in it. Somehow, my sister, Priscamy, and I always got the best, most complete bed. Yea, I feel bad for that but since the others are okay with it, I'm okay too. ^o^ During this trip, I polished my map-reading and public transport-riding skills. I didn't even know that it wasn't hard to read maps (actual paper maps, not digital ones like the Google Maps or the navigation apps in the phone). In fact, it can be fun, especially when you're able to find the places that you want to go to and the best routes to get there.
At Kuching International Airport, on the way to KL
I blurred the faces of a couple of those in the picture because they're total strangers to me and I need to practise internet ethic by not making their clearly shown faces go public without permission. *Good girl*
Our dinner on our first night in KL was at a food court in Sogo KL. We walked on foot to the mall because it was not far from our hotel.
We walked inside Sogo KL after dinner to shop (or window shop).
One of the days, we went to my mom's cousin's house.
Guess what? Since there were nine of us, my mom's cousin, who insisted on having us over, sent three cars to our hotel area to pick us up. It was kind of mind-blowing in a funny way. ^^
We took pictures with Dwayne, the young son of my mom's cousin.
Then, we were sent back to our hotel.
We also went to Genting Highland theme park. I missed the chilly atmosphere and the rides there after not going there for several years. It wasn't so cold on the day that we went there, though.
We went on a number of different rides and I even bought a watermelon shaped lollipop for my younger cousin. I actually bought another candy and a couple of DVDs there too.
We spent our last couple of days walking here and there to shopping malls. With the existence of light rail transit (LRT) and monorail as intergrated public transports around KL, it was easy to commute without spending too much on transportation.
With sisters and cousins in one of the malls
Oh, we bumped into some relatives at the mall. What a pleasant coincidence!
We also stepped our feet on Pavilion's ground.
The morning after our flight back home from KL, I had to attend a conference about entrepreneurship/ business corporations. My friends and I promised each other to wear baju kurung, just because we wanted to.
Here are some of my closest friends.
Starcall Superfan Contest
For those who didn't know, Starcall is a smart phone application that allows fans to receive real-time (or close) video calls from K-pop idols. When I got my smart phone, Starcall was among the first applications that I installed. SK Planet, the developer of this application, held a contest called Starcall Superfan Contest to reward fans who have been supporting the idols and the application. The co-organiser of the contest contacted MYBTOB to invite us to become the representative of BTOB's fans in Malaysia. I took part in the contest but I definitely didn't expect anything like winning at all. I just wanted to be supportive by participating. One of the challenges that we needed to do was Photo Challenge, where we had to pose our most likely reaction when we receive a Starcall video call from our favourite idol(s). Another challenge was Super Challenge, where we were supposed to do a one-minute dance cover of our favourite idol(s). The Photo Challenge wasn't so hard for me. I only needed to be me, you know. For the Super Challenge, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the challenge because I haven't been practising my dances since....my freshman year in university. But I did the challenge anyway just out of the spirit of being supportive.
My Photo Challenge submission
This was taken just for fun. Hehe...
My crappy Super Challenge submission Don't watch if you judge people so easily! Haha...
Twilight Finale - Breaking Dawn Part II Premier
I was never a real fan of Twilight. My sister is, and it so happened that her school's brass band was doing a fund-raising event by selling movie tickets to the premier of Twilight - Breaking Dawn Part II. Since it was for a fund-raising, I bought one ticket for myself. I told my friends about the event and they bought four tickets. I looked forward to watching the premier with my friends. Even my family members were going. And about the movie.....I loved it!
Our movie tickets
Before the movie
Dad's Birthday
As a family tradition (or it seems so to me), we went to a seafood place for a dinner in commemoration of dad's birthday.
Dad and my youngest sister
Mom and my younger sister
BTOB Eun Kwang and Min Hyuk's Birthdays
It's thrilling to me to know that Eun Kwang's birthday is just one day after my dad's! Is that a sign, God? *Wink wink* It is common for fans to do a trending on Twitter to let the world know about their stars' special days. Min Hyuk's birthday is only five days after Eun Kwang's. Cool! I took an extra effort to take a proof picture of Eun Kwang's birthday trending and not Min Hyuk's because I'm biasedly in love more excited about Eun Kwang. Min Hyuk, I love and support you too. Please know that.
Il Hoon's an October baby, just like me. ^^ Nana, one of the staff members of MYBTOB, went to buy a plushie for Il Hoon. She then posted the plushie to me for further actions. I sewed Il Hoon's name on it and packed it before sending it over to Cube Entertainment in South Korea through mail. Express Mail Service (EMS) to Seoul is expensive, especially when the parcel is larger that the standard size, but we could manage with the help of some fans and staff members who donated for the project. We're forever thankful for fans' generosity.
Oh my! Even I want this for myself.
Il Hoon is the main rapper in BTOB. He's charismatic when he performs but very adorable at casual times.
It took a few days for the parcel to reach South Korea.
My 23rd Birthday
So, I turned 23 on October 13th, 2012. I reflected upon it for a quick moment and thought that time goes by without stopping and there's nothing we can do to pause it, rewind it, fast forward it, or slow it down. It just keeps going. We can learn something from this thing called "time". Keep going no matter what the circumstances are.Learn from the past, embrace the present, anticipate the future. I celebrated my 23rd birthday with my family members in a simple manner. I blew the birthday candles and we had some appetizers at home, then we went out to have dinner at a seafood place.
So, my birthday wish was.....(?)
If you notice in the picture, we had some KFC food too. Those were our appetizers. Birthdays are good excuses to indulge in not-so-healthy food. Yippie~~
Isn't the cake cute? The little sheep is adorable!
Birthday card from my family, which came with pop-up stickers
Some of the food we had for our dinner outside
Funny story! On our way back from our dinner place, we stopped by at the airport.....to pee. The airport was not far from the road that we took at that time. After going to the washroom, we headed home.
Surprises from My Dearest Friends
I'm so blessed and delighted to have such thoughtful friends around me. I received a number of surprises from my closest friends for my birthday.
First, it was from VC and Cal, my good friends from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. A week before my birthday, I received a mail. I could tell it was a greeting card from the size of the envelope. At that time, it didn't cross my mind at all that it could be a birthday card. I mean, there was still a week to go. So, I was surprised to see a birthday card in it! I felt grateful and was in joy because the ones who sent it over were very much busy with their lives as undergraduate medical students. How I miss my friends.
Thanks again, VC and Cal!
Then, a day after my birthday, I went to class as usual. After getting to my seat near my friends, Tina called me over. I obediently went to her and she started to count "Satu...dua..." [In English: "One...two..."] and she and Vic pulled out pink plushies from their bags! Those were for me for my birthday.
Cute, right? ^o^
The next day, I got another surprise gift from Marcy and Mijot. Marcy gave it to me in class as well. It was nicely wrapped. I opened it as soon as I got back home. I was very much delighted to see BEAST table calendar and a sticker! BEAST, I'm telling you! My non-K-pop friends gave me K-pop items for my birthday! :')
Aren't they b2utiful??
About a couple of weeks after that, I got yet another surprise. I made my way to campus to meet my supervisor for my final year project. I was supposed to meet Marcy first because we're both under the same supervisor. So, I met Marcy at my faculty, the Faculty of Economics and Business. We both walked to the entrance-exit area of the faculty's lobby and I saw a number of my friends standing there. They just finished their class for the day. The next thing I knew, Marcy took out a box from the fridge at the kiosk of the faculty and everyone who was there gathered closer. Marcy said that she wanted to make an announcement. I had no idea what it was going to be about, so I just listened. She opened the box and together with a few other friends who were there, she started to sing a birthday song. I was a little dumbfounded and played along at first while trying to figure out whose birthday it might be. *I started to feel bad when I thought that I might have forgotten a friend's birthday. ><* Another friend of mine, Rachel, looked as clueless as I was. Her birth month is the same as mine but it had already passed on that day. Then, I saw the content of the box that Marcy was holding. There were cupcakes inside! Chel's name as well as my name were on a couple of the cupcakes. So, it hit me that they were celebrating our birthdays (or belated birthdays, rather)!
The birthday girls (Chel and I) are at the far right and left in the picture.
Cupcake with my name on it!
Relatives' Double Birthday Bash
My aunt and her nephew (NOT my first cousin since it's the aunt's husband who is my mom's sibling, not the aunt herself *Why am I even explaining this??*) had a double birthday bash at a hotel's ballroom. How cool was that? It was a nice hotel-style dinner with family and friends. So, my whole family went to the dinner and we got to meet some relatives there, which was cool.
At our dinner table
Waiting for other family members to head home
They were still doing the 'Gangnam Style' dance inside the ballroom as the closing of the dinner. -.-
