Twenty-two

birthday yesterday~~

thank you very much to everyone (family members, relatives, friends, lecturers, former co-workers), for giving me warm wishes.  oh...and for singing me a birthday song.  thank you also to those who thought of me on my birthday even for just a millisecond.  ;)  i really am grateful for the wonderful people that i know so far.

before going to campus for classes

 a note (and money) from mom

had a little feast when i got back home 

 card and gift from family

my youngest sister made this card 

got a new blouse!

live well, lovesss~

I'm a Fan of BOTH J-pop and K-pop

my very first encounter with the Asian pop scene was after i completed watching 'Hana Yori Dango Final - The Movie' a few years ago, starring Matsumoto Jun and Inoue Mao, together with co-stars Oguri Shun, Matsuda Shota, and Abe Tsuyoshi.  you know how every drama or movie has a theme song, right?  sometimes, there are two theme songs; one is the opening song, and the other is the closing song.  FYI, i was more of a drama addict rather than a fangirl of idol groups at first.  ^^v  'Wish' is the theme song for 'Hana Yori Dango (Season 1)', whereas 'Love So Sweet' is the theme song for 'Hana Yori Dango (Season 2)', and the theme song for 'Hana Yori Dango Final - The Movie' is 'One Love'.  all of those three songs are sung by none other than the group Arashi.

as mentioned earlier, i started to become interested in Asian pop - in this particular case, J-pop - since the final installment of 'Hana Yori Dango'.  in the credits when the movie ended, i saw "One Love - Arashi", well, something like that, i don't really remember the exact phrase or words arrangement.  not long after that, i looked up on YouTube and found the PV for 'One Love'.  [note: in J-pop, PV stands for promotional video, which is a term used to refer to a music video (MV).]  i could recognise MatsuJun right away since he played the main character in Hana Yori Dango.  in the PV, the five of them are wearing white outfits and the setting has a dreamy flower garden thingy going on.  i would show you the PV here but it has been removed from online video-streaming sites that i know of.  speaking of removed videos, it's now super hard to find J-pop PVs or official recordings.  i suppose it's due to the policy or regulations made by the Japanese entertainment industry.  illegal airing and uploading of official J-pop videos are not tolerated.  it might be one of their ways to curb piracy and plagiarism.  so, it's really hard to find PVs of J-pop artistes on any free online video-streaming sites these days.  as sad as it is for international fans, i understand why they do that.  so, if you happen to come across a PV or music show recording that is recently uploaded by someone, watch it right away before it gets removed.  okay, back to Arashi!  from the day i watched the PV, i searched for more information about the group.  instantly, i became a fan!  since Arashi is under Johnny's Entertainment, i also came to know other talents from that agency.  KAT-TUN, NEWS, Ya-ya-yah [this group no longer exists.  it was my favourite Johnny's Junior group.  i miss Yamashita Shoon!  :( ], Kanjani 8, Hey! Say! Jump!, Mis-Snow-Man, and ABC-Z were some of the groups that i had been checking out.  i know that some of the names may sound tacky but the members are talented, alright.  it's the management in their agency who came up with such names.

here are a few Arashi videos that i manage to find (while i'm typing for this blog's post).  watch them before they're deleted!

PV for 'Love So Sweet':


PV for 'Monster':


'Subarashiki Sekai' performance at their concert:


'Be With You' performance at their concert:


'Hatenai Sora' performance in a variety show:


one regular Arashi-hunting day, i casually searched for Arashi-related videos online.  i wanted to see if there was any video that featured their song 'Blue'.  it's a catchy and melodious song that i like very much.  one of the suggested videos was this [thank God this video is still available!]:



i couldn't recognise the guys in this performance video.  what i knew was, they were singing Arashi's song.  gosh, they looked charming!  *easily blinded by eye-candies*  i read comments below the video and figured out that the group is called 'B2ST' (pronounced as "beast") and they're South Korean singers.

some time after that, there was a commercial on MTV Asia, promoting a pre-debut documentary of a K-pop group.  i didn't give much attention to it because i was not interested in K-pop, really.  however, i checked it out just out of curiosity.  the MTV commercial mentioned that the group's name was B2ST.  yes, the same B2ST who sang Arashi's song in the video i unintentionally watched before.  being oblivious (but i didn't mean to), i wasn't aware of that, not even when i started to watch the documentary on MTV.  told you i wasn't a fan of K-pop.  even when i wasn't into K-pop, i still took the time to watch how the K-pop group members dreamed high and worked hard towards their dreams.  without realising it, i was attracted to the group.  i bet my fangirlish conscience was like "girl...you're falling for them but you don't even know it yet."  yeah..whatever~  after watching several episodes of the documentary, it suddenly crossed my mind that i might have seen the group somewhere before.  my memory told me that the South Korean group was the one singing my precious Arashi's 'Blue' some time ago.  i believed what my memory told me and searched for the same video once again.  bingo!  it was the same B2ST.  somehow it felt like destiny.....i was very much into Arashi (still am), and B2ST sang their song, which video i happened to bump into.  in that performance video, there were five members of B2ST but the group actually consists of six members.  the maknae, Son Dong Woon, wasn't part of the group yet at that time.  "B2ST" means "Boys-to-search-for-the-top", which portrays the desire to be on the journey to become the best.  later, the name officially became "BEAST", which means "Boys of the East Standing Tall".  the inspiration to come up with the name "BEAST" came from an American choreographer (or is it a songwriter??  or what??  IDK.), who commented "that's so beast!" - a phrase that's equivalent to "that's amazing!" - when he was at CUBE Entertainment.

one afternoon in 2010, i was having my lunch break and ended up at a Speedy outlet [Speedy is one of the stores that sell CDs, DVDs, and VCDs.].  my visit to that store came from my habit of frequently checking out if there was any newly released drama DVD that i hadn't bought.  my DVD-buying impulse is under control now, though.  as i scanned through the CDs on the "Featured Section" in the store, one album caught my eyes.  it was 'Shock of the New Era - Asian Version', the second mini album by BEAST.  attached to the CD, were a t-shirt and a showcase ticket.  as if being hypnotised, i bought the CD without thinking twice.  that rarely happened, considering that i wasn't officially a fan of the group and my commitment was solely towards Arashi.  furthermore, the CD costed RM100++!  call me crazy~  i really am.  later, i realised that the CD costed that much because of the ticket that came along with it (might be the t-shirt too).  it was a ticket to BEAST's showcase in KL.  i couldn't be bothered by that ticket at that time, so i just put it aside and listened to the tracks in the CD.  oh yeah, i enjoyed the songs in the CD~  i then proclaimed myself as a fan of BEAST, the first ever K-pop group that i truly like.

it's funny, isn't it?
i started out as an Asian-drama-lover.  ---  a J-drama introduced me to a J-pop group.  ---  the J-pop group led me to a K-pop group.
it's a wonderful (though expensive) fandom-filled life that i'm living.  they make me happy.  :)

In All Honesty, I'm Worried

from the very beginning, i've been preparing myself for a busier-than-before year.  this doesn't only concern my life as a student. so, don't get me wrong by narrowing it that way.  :)

to start...the core subjects that i'm currently taking are quite heavy in terms of workloads and weekly in-class learning hours.  to add to that, i'm also taking not one, but two elective subjects.  berani mati, nak?!  LOL  the reason for my decision to take up that many subjects this semester is to try to make the upcoming semesters free from subjects that aren't my core subjects.  typically, the difficulty level gets higher every semester.  i'm preparing myself for that too.

what's bugging me is the exhaustion that i often feel on weekdays when there are classes to attend.  it's normal to feel tired when you have to drive to and fro but this time, it seems like i'm even more tired that the previous semesters.  do you get what i mean?  it's not just physical exhaustion, but also mental exhaustion.  something seems to be bothering me.  the morning traffic jams might be one of the contributing causes.  i'm kind of used to  the traffic jams but the journey seems to be 1.5 times longer than before.  perhaps it's the route that i'm using that makes it longer.  i'm using a different route this semester for a valid reason.  :)  it's a logical route considering where i need to go to on my way to campus, but overall, it's actually a little further than what i'm used to.  i'm not sure if i can go on with it till whenever, though.  :/  you see, my house is considered a little far from the main road.  lorong (Stapok) selatan 11c2 oi~  dah la selatan bertentangan ngan utara, nombor 11, kakya c, sik cukup 11c, mok gik 11c2!  it's quite hidden for those who are not used to the area.  anyway...i've made a conclusion that i hate stopping at traffic lights (take note of the plural form.) more than roundabouts.  seriously.  going back home from campus is still okay but going to campus in the morning is a sore in the neck.  i've been late quite many times.  gomen ne, sensei to tomodachi.  shouganai kara.  :(  nasib bait lecturer setakat tok bait2...understanding (or just patient, probably).  i'm afraid that i might not be as lucky next semester.  who knows?

now, you would think that if the long journey is a problem, why don't i just depart earlier from home, right?  here's my answer to that.  every morning when i need to attend classes, i wake up about one and a half hour, if not two hours, before i depart from home.  iboh mok suruh bangun awal gik dari ya!  cukup la ya.  i need to wait for my turn to use the bathroom.  i'm the last one to have my shower.  the others need to depart earlier than me.  aih...apa gik semester depan ow...semua orang sesi pagi dah.  adoh..  when i'm ready, i'll then be on my way.  when you actually have to go through my routine, you'll know how it really feels like from my point of view.  bila pagi2 dah sikda mood gara2 mala jak stop2 kat jalan, ngan kadang2 ada kreta di depan nok agak slow (tapi sik boleh nak nganok sidak juak la.  berhati2 di jalan raya bah.  nang bena ya.), sampei jak kampus, kurang dah semangat mok dengar lecture.  nok polah gik ada sikit semangat ya pun sebab pikir mok balit lekak habis kelas untuk ari ya.  tambah gik mun kelas sampei petang.  mengalahkan orang keja kadang2.  haha..

so, it's kind of worrying me that i sometimes don't revise what i've learnt when i'm back home, particularly on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, so far.  i can't just rely on the other days, right?  makin tua kali dirik tok.  ya makin lelah.  tambah gik makin susah subjek sem tok.  masa kat jalan raya jak pun makin panjang.  bersyukur la ada hari nok sikda kelas dalam seminggu ya.

God, help me to be stronger and more patient each day.  let me find the best possible solution that will benefit not only me, but the people around me too.  bingung kadang2.  tapi apa2 pun, cuba cool jak ow.

Choose One Thing, Let Go of the Other

PPP dah keluarkan jadual kelas Kemahiran Insaniah untuk bulan Oktober.  sigek gik kelas nok kamek perlu hadir.  kakya...settle dah KI ngan Senggang.  yay!

ada sigek jak isu sitok.  kelas 'Menulis Resume' ya sama hari, sama masa, lain tempat, ngan kelas Financial Management.

kecuali la kelas Financial Management untuk Jumaat ya kenak cancel kedak last week, terpaksa la pilih nok ney mok hadir tok.  dah la sikda kelas 'Menulis Resume' gik untuk bulan Oktober selain nok sigek ya.  sik tauk la lekak Oktober mpun jadual.  tapi takut sikda kelak, percuma jak sik turun masa nya ada.  haish..  nangga lok la.  tapi setakat tok, plan utama mok pergi kelas 'Menulis Resume'.

don't worry, be happy~~

Meet...the Fangirl

according to urbandictionary.com, a fangirl/ fanboy is defined as "a person who has a compulsive dedication to a video game series, anime series, and/ or music artist".  here, i would like to introduce to you, a fangirl that i happen to be close with.  ^^  i paid her a visit recently and snapped some photos of her possessions that give clear hints that she's such a fan.  i'm kind of a fangirl too, just so you know.


let the photos tell the story:

OMG..brilliant choice of K-pop group!  ;)  i love this group too!  is this fate~?? xD

she carries this picture in her clear file whenever she attends her classes.   yes, she's still a student.

this is another picture in another clear file.  same group..

a handfan ordered from hyun-seung.com, a South Korean fanclub for one of BEAST's members.

 

Yong Jun Hyung and Jang Hyun Seung~

BEAST (Korean pop) and Arashi (Japanese pop) button badges 

even her wallet has 'B2ST (BEAST)' on it! 

 before you enter her room, you'll be greeted by this 'Welcome to B2ST Airline' poster.

i guess this is kind of like a warning sign for non-fans or those sitting on fences.  like "enter at your own risk".  no biggy, though!

as you enter the room and close the door, there's another poster!

the poster has BEAST on it whereas the 2 little pictures on the right have Arashi on them. 

she's a fan of the CUBE family too!  no wonder we're such good friends!  like..seriously~ 

what a motivating study area! 

Arashi section~ (LOL...section?) 

ow...tok nya beli masa DiGi Live K-pop Party in KL Januari lepas.  aku pun ada tok. 

AMNOS section~

(AMNOS ya akronim surname sidak members dalam Arashi - Aiba-Matsumoto-Ninomiya-Ohno-Sakurai.  harap maklum.) 

members of Arashi.
BTW, 'arashi' literally means 'storm' in Japanese language.  ya la dalam sigek lagu sidak tok ada line "rollin' rollin' goin' rollin'.. we make storm!".  lagu 'Attack It!'.

her drama and movie DVDs/ VCDs collection...mostly Asian dramas or movies.

another box containing DVDs/ VCDs~ 

this box (bigger than the ones shown before) contains CDs/ DVDs/ VCDs of the artistes she supports.  some are actually imported items from Japan and South Korea, and others are Malaysian or Asian version of the albums.

she's also a huge fan of a British pop group, Westlife.  she has been a fan since she was 12, if i'm not mistaken.

okay okay.....so that 'fangirl friend' of mine is really me.  i knew it would be tough to fool some of my friends or family members/ relatives who already know my fandoms. :)  just wanted to fool around a little.  no harm done, right?  ^^v 


more pictures can be found at my So BEAST~~~! and "rollin' rollin' goin' rollin' we make storm.." photo albums on Facebook.

to whom it concerns, i still keep this UniFruit button badge too! ^^

♫ Say no no no no no... ♫ to Things that Hold You Back

dear Prissy,

i know that you're often tempted by so many potentially fun things around you.  bear in mind that some of those things are also potentially preoccupying.  know your limits and don't cross the line, okay? :) please..please..please have some fun by going out with your friends and family, or by paying a visit to any of your favourite stores, but do it occasionally, not too frequently.  timing is also important.

i know that you're usually beat by the time you reach home after a whole day (or even half a day) of classes.  yes, driving to-and-fro almost on a daily basis for quite a distance while having to put up with traffic jams can be pretty exhausting.  the clutch, brake, and accelerator pedals, and the gear stick are no child's play, alright.  everyone knows that.  but you're strong. ;)  just take a nap when you want to re-energise.  have some coffee and study a little everyday.  iboh mok tunggu saat2 akhir!

i know that you're quite a spender.  you're much more talented in spending money than saving it, that's a fact.  it's time to plan and act more wisely.  prioritise the things that you want to buy.  you know it yourself that when you spend too much at one time, guilt starts to build in you.  know when to stop.  you're getting better at it these days.  i'm proud of you!

i know that you're the kind who wants to make the people around you as cheery and comfortable as you can make them.  you'll have a feeling of uneasiness when you knowingly leave a person behind.  good for you!  but just remember that you're not a superhuman.  let it be either mutualistic or commensalistic.  as long as you don't intend to harm or hurt anyone, it's okay to say "no, thank you".

well, you're a grown-up enough to discern what should be right or wrong.  don't stress yourself out.  enjoy your life as the amazing you.  if you stumble along the way, get back up and be stronger than before.

love,
your conscience

+++

a B2UTY or K-popper would right away know where ♫ Say no no no no no... ♫ in this post title comes from.  so, here's the MV for BEAST's 'Take Care of My Girlfriend (Say No)'.
Seungie's so hot in white!  he's the one who starts and ends the song.



take care, everyone!  God bless~

Sikda Jodoh!

nang sikda jodoh ngan PTPTN!  masa sem 1 last year, sik sempat mok apply.  so, before this current semester started, my dad applied online on my behalf.  check2 dapat tawaran.  tapi.....ada2 jak dugaan yang mendatang.  tok la kisahnya...


sidak PTPTN datang ke kampus 21-23 September, dari 9 pagi sampey 5 petang.  jadi, hari marek, hari tok, ngan besok la ya nak.  marek ya, mek pergi sesi semakan ngan penghantaran dokumen2.  nang pun dari awal expect rami gilak orang.  kedak pelarian tunggu giliran mok kena berik makanan jak bah.  haha...  nang berjam2 nunggu giliran.  ngam2 juak marek ya mek lambat kit turun ke kampus.  tunggu punya tunggu...last2 sik sempat mok settle marek.  habis dah office hour.  balit jak la dengan hati yang redha.  then, pagi tok tek, terpaksa skip class Japanese Language stegal mok ngurus benda ya la.  dari 8++ pagi dah rami student nunggu siya.  taklimat kejap jam 9 tek.  kakya, ambik nombor giliran.  jam 12 tengahari baru giliran sampey.  time ya sepatutnya ada kelas Financial Management.  apakan daya, skip ya juak.  :'(  sidak check2 la dokumen2 semua.  semua dokumen ada.  sigek benda kecik tapi besar tok nok polah hal.  =.=  dalam sigek surat pengesahan pelajar nok sidak BPPS berik dolok ya, nama program sik sama ngan nama program nok di ngkah dalam borang PTPTN ya.  BPPS berik nama nok ringkas jak, sikda "Ijazah Sarjana Muda dengan Kepujian..." kedak ya.  PTPTN mok juak exact nama panjang nya.  nok tok boleh difahami la sebab sidak nya.  i totally get it.  nang logik pun.  jadi, mek pegi la ke tempat yang berkenaan untuk nanyak pasal nama program ya.  sidak padah, dalam sistem nang pun nama pendek ya jak di ngkah.  sidak sik boleh la sebarang2 jak tukar info dalam sistem ya nak.  kakak ya suruh call sorang tok.  mek pun call.  then, sorang nok di call ya suruh call sorang nok lain gik sebab nya nang sik dapat polah apa2 pasal ya.  dah di luar bidang kuasa nya nak.  (haha...sepa mala padah ayat tok ow? "di luar bidang kuasa..." xD)  by that time, dah lunch break.  sidak office tutup la kejap.  perut dah lapar.  tambah gik kepak ulang alik bejalan dari sigek bangunan ke bangunan lain.  boleh tahan jauh.  payung cute kamek dah rosak gik ya.  huhu...  baru prasan.  malang sik berbau nak?  haha...tiba2.  jadi, sementara nunggu lunch break abis, mek pun berkunjung ke KFC Samarahan ya.  sorang2 jak.  kawan2 lain gik ada kelas.  solo ranger la time ya.  agak rami juak orang beratur siya.  tapi apa2 pun, mesti beli Zinger burger!  ya jak dipikir time ya.  mun stress2, boh sampey perut terseksa nak.  masa dah duduk di meja makan (duduk ya sebenarnya atas kerusi, bukan atas meja nya.  boh salah faham ngan "duduk di meja makan" ya k.), mek SMS mom and dad, complain ngan sidak pasal betapa kepaknya ngurus benda ya.  haha...  dah la belum habis terurus gik.  ada juak rasa mok give up.  serius lelah aih!  tapi daddy padah iboh give up lok.  sayang mun ditandah kedak ya jak.  benar juak nak.  jadi, kamek habiskan lok burger ngan fries ngan wedges ngan aek Revive.  kakya, balit ke kampus untuk sambung nanyak pasal urusan nok belum selesai ya tek.  lekak mek explain dengan panjang lebar, sidak padah dalam sistem nang sik dapat ditukar nama program ya ke nama panjangnya.  sebab dari mula dolok nama nya kedak ya.  ngam2 juak batch baru tok sidak lengkapkan nama program ya.  sukati nya mpun jak nukar2 nama program ow.  biar la konsisten.  jadi, nanyak gik sidak PTPTN mun bena2 sik dapat proceed mun nama ya lain sikit.  tok la susahnya mun sistem mala jak ditukar2.  sik selaras lalu lain2 tahun.  *sigh*  kira sik dapat la proceed.  mek call daddy untuk update nya.  nya padah mun dah kedak ya, try apply lain kali jak ka apa ka.  apa boleh buat?  terus balit rumah jak la kakya.  kelas Business Communication dah start setengah jalan time ya.  sik bagus juak mun masuk lambat gilak nak.  ya la part paling polah sik puas ati.  tang ada jak sik turun kelas sehari2.  sikda juak hasilnya.  nang sikda mood tek.  nektok pun.  contact lenses pun dah rasa kering.  mok tido lok!  apa2 masalah atau isu...lupakan lok.  hidup mesti enjoy!  ^^v


naa...nak ka dah dalam bahasa Sarawak post tok!  walaupun bercampur2 kedak rojak.


oh, if you have the time, listen to this song, 'A Bitter Day' by Hyuna, and G.Na, and Jun Hyung.  CUBE family!  one of the sad, gloomy, but brilliant songs that i kind of like.  :)  speaking of Jun Hyung (BEAST's main rapper), his laptop was stolen on his way back to South Korea from Spain.  kesian kan?