ZOOmbie Apocalypse

Nope, I did not misspell zombie with a double O. I intentionally spelled it that way. By the way, it's summer!!!!!!!!! Forgive me for the multiple exclamation points. You know how summer makes me feel. Since it's summer, I'm going to blog about backlog posts. Another backlog post. What's new?  My blog's now immune on backlog posts. Inactive blog is what I pay for a successful first year of law school. We need to sacrifice sometimes. Please let me be joyful and thankful for that. Praise the Lord!

On to my entry. Last October 2012, my best friends and I went to Cebu Zoo. However, on the night before, I slept over at Leslie's house. The day after, we went to Meg's house. Then, we went to Cebu Zoo. When night caved in, we went to a Zombie House. Is the ZOOmbie spelling clear now? I really had to narrate the events in a chronological order to show the connection, and to make my point with the ZOOmbie. Zoo + zombie = zoombie. Get it? har har.

Excuse us for our vanity. It's unusual.

Meg's cute siblings. Mira's Halloween costume!

Aren't we cool? Scaredy cat cool.

Check our videos out! They're our videos in the Zombie House. It was hella fun! The best Zombie House I've ever been to. Well, it's the first zombie house I've been to, but I've been to some horror houses in the past. Believe me, this one is not an ordinary horror house. We had to collect 4 items in 7 minutes and protect ourselves from the zombies by shooting them! It was action-packed. Plus! They film our Zombie House experience and upload them on YouTube. Super cool! I sure do hope that there will be a Zombie House 2013. Please like FMJ & CO and perhaps contact them.

Meg and Mars (Stage 2 and Run - Stage 1)

Leslie and Jethro (Stage 2)

Leslie and Jethro (Run - Stage 1)

Happy summer, guys. Don't bask too much under the sun. Enjoy! :)

The Comeback: Christmas, New Year, and 2012 Reflection

First off, I would like to apologize to my readers, if any, for my long hiatus. Warning: A long hiatus deserves a long blog post. I know it's a TL;DR situation that I am subjecting you right now. I freely accept that. I'm a contrast of taciturnity and loquacity; in between that spectrum - a living contradiction. And since I'm timid in real life (except with family and friends), I tend to blab so much in my blog, exercising my authority as a soul blabber in my jurisdiction.

I am also asking forgiveness from my blog for neglecting it for two months. I'm really sorry, my dear blog, but I would not promise to engage in blogging, again. Moreover, I would not lay down my excuses, reasons rather, of why I have not been updating my blog. I have yet to blog about a lot of things that have transpired in my life, some sad events, but mostly joyful moments. I always look to the positive aspect of any predicament. In fact, my positive energy just overflows even in such tragic events that others would misinterpret it as lack of care. I'm still in my happy mood despite everything, but I sulk and wallow over them once in a while. However, don't dwell on the negative aspects of life. Feel good, be happy, and think positively of the things you want to happen in your life.

The last quarter of the year has been an uphill struggle. I refuse to call it a downward slope, because I'm always aiming for the zenith of the mountain. I will rise. I may be badgered by trials along the way to the top, but I will dodge those attacks, or face them and surpass them eventually. I will not be pulled down. I will not let anyone or anything bring me down. I will move forward and upward. On that note, our family still celebrated Christmas and New Year even though my uncle (my mother's eldest brother) died on the first week of December and our five-year old relative, who spent Christmas with us, is suffering because of brain tumor. I pray for the eternal repose of my uncle, and for the health and survival of my relative. She's too young. I believe that God will heal her.

Happy Birthday, Jesus Christ! Merry Christmas, everyone! Allow me to adore my bokeh shots.

I love the Lakers/Kobe Bryant headphones and the Rilakkuma phone case so much, made obvious by the number of photos. Never mind that they came from me. Those red paper bags contain our gifts for Mama and Papa.

Oh. Mama and I's wacky poses. I'm a very bad influence to my mother, not so much to my sister.

Dinner at Dong Juan! Notice my mother, sister and I's newly dyed hair? New hair color for the new year! I also permed my hair, again.

Food porn! Well, omit the Christmas tree and Mama from the set, unless of course if you eat inedible things and you're a cannibal.

On the last day of 2012, I decided to go with Mama on her early morning exercise. No exercise for me, though, I consumed all my time taking photos of the scenery.

It's 6 o'clock in the morning, conversation got boring. That's not a typo, it was 6am when we went out. Yes, I managed to drag myself up that early. Almost impossible. See? Everything is possible. And, can you see the moon? I love the moon!

Last sunrise of the year 2012. What a beautiful feeling to witness! An early rainbow also made its way on the clear blue sky. The last rainbow I ever saw on the year 2012.

My second consecutive year of following the wear-clothes-with-polka-dots-every-new-year tradition. Mama bought a fake toy snake just for fun. She was born on the year of the snake. Snakes better not be traitors or else. If you betray me and my loved ones, well, I'm ready to sing ala Alicia Keys - it's called karma baby, and it goes around!

Happy New Year! Welcome, 2013! Allow me, yet again, to adore my bokeh shots.

In my inference, 2012 is the fastest year so far. Time absolutely flew so fast. I have not made a blog post about my reflection for the year 2012 as what I've done for the last, last year - A Reflection of my 2011. Since I'm too lethargic to make a separate post about that, I'm going to insert it in here, briefly. 

The most memorable moments of my 2012 are the following:

• January - I turned 20! Life is worth celebrating. My birthday's on the 31st. Calling out all generous people, I'm more than ready to accept gifts.
• March - I graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. I don't feel good to brag about it, but I'm gonna brush my humility aside, so there.
• May - I planted a tree! One may consider this a trivial matter, but as a nature lover, planting a tree goes a long way for Mother Earth. I also spent the summer break with my family and relatives.
• June to October - I surpassed the first semester of my first year in Law school, and I think I'm a Dean's Lister. No final list posted on the bulletin yet, but the Secretary told me when I inquired about my scholarship/academic privilege.
• October - I watched Big Bang's Alive Galaxy Tour in Manila. I saw them in real life! Best night of my life, by far.
• November - I met Bo Sanchez and he signed my book, together with my best friends. Also, my best friend Leslie topped the teacher's board exam. Top 7! I'm so proud of her.
• December - Thanksgiving dinner for Leslie and birthday surprise dinner for my best friend Catherine. They're memorable, because I cherish every moment I spend with my best friends, namely, Meg, Leslie, Catherine, and Achellie. I rarely see them, and I love them. That simple.

Concise, but definitely events worth treasuring. I'm looking forward to a better year. Honestly, I'm looking forward for a great 2013. I have not made a list of my new year's resolution, because quite frankly, I tend to go astray from the path towards my goals. Usually, my resolutions are not life-long goals, but a simple change in lifestyle that will make me healthier as a whole - physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, intellectually, monetarily, and spiritually. 

I know exactly what my life-long goal is, and I am on that route right now. I am not just traversing a rocky, dilapidated road; I am climbing a sturdy, steep mountain. When I will reach the zenith of the mountain, where do I go next? As the Kobe System asks, "Where do you go from the top?", Kobe said, "You go over the top." Kobe may be my ultimate idol in the universe, but I won't completely adhere to the Kobe System, because, aside from it being a concept of humor and entertainment, I have my own system. I won't just go over the top, I will fly... which is basically going over the top, but through flying. Okay. Whatever. I am incoherent. You get the point. Moving on. Because at the top of that mountain, there I will find my wings, I will gain the power to fly, and I will fly from mountain to mountain to mountains upon mountains. Heck, I will even fly to outer space! Cue in R. Kelly's I Believe I Can Fly, or better yet, the cool Nicki Minaj's Fly featuring Rihanna. That's the Marcel x Kobe System. You're Welcome.

Big Bang Alive Galaxy Tour in Manila, Philippines

Dreams do come true. Never have I imagined that one day, Big Bang will visit the Philippines and hold a concert in this country. I was even torn during the global poll of countries to be included in Big Bang's world tour - whether to vote for the Philippines or not. I'm kind of possessive when it comes to Big Bang. I have that odd selfishness. Yes, I want Big Bang to be famous around the world, for their music to reach continents. But there's a little voice in me that desires to keep them in their state of fame, their status quo, for my own consumption. I ended up voting for the Philippines, though. Practicality knocked on my head. When you weigh the costs and benefits, flying to Korea to watch their concert is more costly than plainly flying to Manila from Cebu. I have prayed for the concert to be held in Cebu, so that I won't have to spend that much anymore, but Manila's the capital. I can't do anything about that. The heavens still answered my prayers, because the concert day was set on October 24, which happens to be our sembreak. It means that I have no class! I won't be absent from school! *happy dance* And let it be known, 24 is my favorite number. Does Kobe Bryant ring a bell?

I thought I was going alone to Manila, but I compelled my sister (I love you lots) to go with me. She does not need to watch the concert with me. I just need someone to be with me in Manila, at least. Amazingly, Bianca decided to watch the concert. She made the decision on the last week of September, and followed my flight schedule. FYI, I already bought the concert and plane tickets way back in July. I was so happy for her. Bianca is the sole person to be blamed on my insanity for Big Bang. She was the one who introduced me to Big Bang last January 2009, forcing me to watch the Haru Haru M/V. I did not immediately fall in love with them. Bluntly, I was discriminating them for being too emo. It was after she showed me G-Dragon's photos that made me fall on my knees for his beauty. I take my bad words back. They are the best. I can't even. Thank you, Bianx! You know I love you.

We were already inside SM MOA Arena this time (around 7PM). The concert's gonna start at 8PM. We did not have to queue early because we had reserved seating. One tip during concerts, don't buy standing or free seating tickets. It's advisable to buy reserved seating tickets, so that you don't have to fall in line very early. I've read fanrepo saying that there were pushing in the line, and worse, some were not able to get inside in time. The concert already started when they finally got inside the arena. I wouldn't wanna miss any performance in the concert, especially the opening or intro.

Bianca and I parted ways, so I'm alone. I was in lower box, she was in upper box. Here's an awesome thing. My ticket is Lower Box B, but when the concert started, I ran to the front. I stayed in Lower Box A the entire time. What a steal! There's about 1 thousand pesos difference with the price of both tickets, so I saved 1 thousand pesos! Awesome, right? I even complained before why I was not able to buy Lower Box A tickets. God will make a way, God did. By the way, most of us ran to the front. We all deserve a pat on our shoulders, VIPs. By the way, do you notice those fans? They are concert giveaways! They were individually placed on each seat. The crown and the light stick are the only Big Bang merchandise I could afford. I don't want to spend too much on Big Bang, anymore. You make me poor, BB.

My boys! I was dying of too much euphoria. I can't even contain myself. I was going to explode when I saw them live. Jesus Christ! I can't, for the life of me, express how happy I was that night. Asdfghjkl! I did not bring any camera, except for my phone, because it was not allowed, supposedly. Some were still able to enter with their cameras. I hate my being overly obedient sometimes, but no regrets! I love my fellow VIPs for their HD pictures and videos. Thank you for sharing, guise.

Seungri, Taeyang, and Daesung talking to the VIPs. They love Manila! YB said, "Manila ladies are hot!". Not as hot as you are! You're way too hotter, YB. Can I just say that Seungri ruined most of the VIPs bias list? God! Seungri looks much much more handsome in real life. He is way too adorable. I love him! Daesung is handsome in real life, too. Don't call him ugly.

Taeyang! He went topless later in the concert, dancing in front of us. Holy mother cow of all heavens! I was not able to take photos of the shirtless YB, though. I was too busy staring at his abs. Crap!

The lights during their Blue perf was superb.

TOP! Gasp! TOP is so freaking handsome. Bianca's bias before was GD, but when he saw TOP, she switched. I'm happy about that, because GD's all mine. GD is so handsome, too. Oh God. Their handsomeness is too much for my life to handle.

I took some short fancams during the concert and uploaded them in youtube. Here's my playlist of my uploads. They are very shaky, so I'm so sorry. I have recorded their Encore performance, and it was the longest that I recorded, but the girl in front of me accidentally hit my hand, so my phone flew into the crowd. She returned it to me, dismantled into 3 pieces, saying sorry. My phone is okay, but the video could not be played. Something wrong happened to the video. I'm so sad. It was an accident, so I forgave the girl. 

Anyway, you can watch other HD fancams, which are most definitely better than mine. I was not able to take decent photos and videos, because I want to focus on the boys while performing. I even sometimes stop with my shouting and just stand there at awe, marveling at their beauty. I still can't believe that I saw them in real life. It has always been by dream, but it's unbelievable. It's hard to sink in and absorb.

Here are some lovely messages from Big Bang:

• SEUNGRI: Manila is so hot.
• TAEYANG: Manila ladies are so hot!
• SEUNGRI: Manila, you have such a beautiful voice. Better than me. That's true. Thank you for coming today. Please don’t forget tonight. I promise you, we will gonna be back again because I LOVE THIS PLACE, I LOVE THIS COUNTRY, MANILA BABY!
• TAEYANG: I love this country, Manila baby!
• GD: This is my first time in the Philippines....everyday and every night. There are a number of shows, but you're the best.... for those posters, photos, I see them all so thank you, thank you very much, I wanna say thank you all.. Ok.
• TOP: We'll try to come back very soon. (TOP mostly spoke in Korean)
• DAESUNG: This tour is very special to me. I visit all of you guys all around the world. We will try the best for you, also I will do my best for you guys too. Thank you for coming tonight. We love you!
• TAYEANG: I can't leave you like this.
• GD: Paalam. Salamat. Magandang gabi. Mahal ko kayo!
• TOP: Mahal ko kayo!

Here are some funny moments:

• Taeyang did a somersault, which almost failed, but he covered it up with another tumbling.
• Seungri said, "Manila, sigaw!", but we did not understand him so we did not shout. GD laughed at him.
• TOP wore a cute headband and did his choomTOP or bingu dance.
• GD accidentally dropped his mic while fixing his hair(?). So cute!
• They splashed water at each other and at the VIPs. 
• Seungri played with the stuff thrown at them, especially the panda stuffed toy and the inflatable crayons.

Here are some mix of I'm-so-angry-and-so-jealous-of moments:

• Some VIPs were able to touch them! I saw videos where some were able to touch and hold Daesung, Taeyang, and GD!
• GD went to the side and grabbed the hand/camera of the girl, looking to the camera while singing. I'm so freaking jealous of that girl!
• GD got wounded on his forehead. I'm not jealous about this, but I'm kind of anxious.
• They threw their shirts, jackets, towels, and other stuff to the VIPs! I'm jealous because I did not get any! I would love to get sweaty clothes from them. I would never wash them.
• I did not get wet from the water they splashed to the VIPs. You must exert more strength in splashing water, baby loves, to reach me! Argh! It's like holy water!
• All our missions failed! All of them! Even the fan chants! They all failed! Nevertheless, we blew Big Bang away with our earbud-breaking shouts and when we sang along with them albeit the not-so-perfect lyrics. Hey, at least we tried our best to sing Korean songs.
• We failed in greeting TOP a happy birthday in Korean. Anyway, #happyTOPday!
• I'm having a severe separation anxiety. I miss them so badly. I miss them so much! I wanna see them again. NOW!

This is, by far, the best night of my life. Hence, I am very thankful to a whole lot of people. Thank you to:

• GOD for making all this happen. You made my dream come true. 
• YG Entertainment, Live Nation, SM, Ovation Productions, the staff and crew, all other sponsors, and all other people behind the concert.
• BIG BANG, of course!
• My family and relatives for the cheese I spent.
• Ira (my sister) and Bianca.
• BBVIPAKO for giving out free gold ribbon strips and Salamat banners.
• The girl who freely gave me a set of fingerlasers.
• Big Bang Philippines for organizing the missions and fan chants, and for keeping us updated.
• VIPs for being so friendly and supportive of each other.

October 24, 2012 was such a happy, happy wonderful day. I love that day to bits and pieces. No regrets. Definitely one for the books. I love Big Bang. Forever. VIP. Thank you, Lord.