Like Leaving an Umbrella Somwhere

Because I cannot
Somewhere leave my self
Like leaving an umbrella somewhere,
I suffer so.

If I could just leave my self behind
It would be all sky
And love
And freedom.

- Chong Hyonjong

My passion

I was recently notified of a KPOP event happening in Toronto next month. You all probably don't know this, but I have been learning KPOP choreography on my own for the last 3-4 years. I have been into KPOP for the last 6 years, and learning the dance for last 3-4 years. It always happens like this: concept photos come out, teaser videos come out, then the MV comes out. I normally watch enough performances or watched the MV enough times to learn the dance. When I feel I have a grasp of the choreography, I try it out. Some choreography is obviously easier than others (Gee vs. The Boys) or (Balloons vs. Keep Your Head Down or even Rising Sun). I also try to learn choreography from all artists (that I like). I guess the first choreography I tried was Gee. I saw it, addicting and simple enough to learn. I managed to get it pat down within, a month or so? Mostly I learn Girls Generation dances, because they are just so gorgeous and the choreography is simpler. For me, some of the guy groups have almost impossible choreography to learn. As a person with no dance background at all, it is already pretty good that I am getting all this dance down.  (ANYWAY.)

 So I was told that there was going to be a KPOP thing happening next month or so. And it is going to take form in a flash mob. (You can check it out here KPOP Flash Mob Toronto) I got excited, as barely anything KPOP related happens in Toronto. I went to check out the compilation song, and I knew I think a good 11 of the 17 songs that were there. The other songs that I didn't know were either because a) I don't normally listen to that group and b) didn't know there was choreography that accompanied the song. (And yes, all those I didn't know were the newer boy groups that would categorize me as a 누나 fan *shudders*) Although I have not decided whether I will go, I have downloaded the video and started 'practising'. What I call dancing is imitate the motions enough to look like I can pass for dancing. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ So after going through the video around three or four times, I was able to raise my number to around 14 of the songs down pat. 

The deciding factors of whether I'm going or not is a) (most importantly) the date it falls on. If it falls on the day of my friend's wedding, then I definitely won't be going. and b) whether I actually learn all of the choreography. One issue I have with the flash mob is that there are parts in the choreography where the group of that particular song has different actions for the different members, and that might look really confusing as a group. And also, we're really going to have to roll on concrete for one of the songs? Overall, I'm just going to make this a challenge at home, and see how it is when it comes to the day of.

I have always to film myself dancing, to actually see how good/bad I am. Maybe I shall invest in a nicer camera in the future to do so, and you all can see me embarrass myself on Youtube someday.

(Following part is more fit for those who know more about KPOP)

I will star the songs I don't listen to. And you will see what I mean.

The set list in the compilation is as follows:

1. Wonder Girls - Like This

2. Girls Generation - The Boys

3. B2ST - Soom (Breath)*

4. G.Na - 2Hot

5. Super Junior - Mr. Simple

6. Teen Top - Supa Luv*

7. Miss A - Breathe

8. T-ara - Roly Poly

9. Big Bang - Fantastic Baby

10. JYJ - Get Out

11. DBSK - Maximum

12. Brown Eyed Girls - Abracadabra

13. f(x) - Electric Shock

14. SHINee - Sherlock

15. Infinite - Nothing's Over*

16. 2NE1- I am the Best

17. DBSK - Balloons

All those groups that I don't listen to are post 2010 debute, and I rarely listen to anybody new past that year.  Wonder Girls' Like This looks really easy to learn, but to get those actions to look casual, is a bit challenging.  And for those not as in shape as the girls, it is recommended that you don't wear shorts doing this dance. Flab will show. 

As for The Boys, you can say that they picked the most complicated part of the choreography. Especially having to drop down at the bridge, but it will look mighty cool with a whole bunch of people doing it. It took me a good week before I could become flexible enough to drop and roll like them in the choreography, and it pains me to think about doing it in heels. Thumbs up to them. 

B2ST's song is not as bad, as the choreography is quite simple. Again it's going to be on the emphasis on making it look natural and flow-y (?). 

G.Na's 2HOT is quite... erm, challenging for the boys I must say. They must bring their inner girls out. 

Mr. Simple is an awesome song to dance to, but because of Eunhyukie's part it is a bit more challenging. Teen Top has their choreography so fluid and together, it'll be hard to get that with the flash mob. But once again, it is very simple to learn.

Miss A's song Breathe is a very upbeat song, and the choreography would require a person to extra bouncy to make it look good.

T-ara's Roly Poly was a song I didn't really care much for until it came up on Running Man. It's catchy, and the retro look was very cute on the girls. The dance itself is quite simple, as the dancing in the past was very simple, mostly arms not much leg movement. 

Fantastic Baby is not really a dance song per say, but more a club song. Some parts of the dance are very similar to WG's Like this, and again, those with flab be warned: no shorts!

JYJ's Get Out is VERY challenging to me. Lots of legs and arms movement. I didn't even know they had a dance for this song because they aren't allowed to promote :( 

Then comes DB2K, HoMin's Maximum. This song isn't really for flash mobs, Keep Your Head down would have been a better choice. Since they became two, I don't know whether to follow them or the dancers. Then there is the classic flash mob song, 

BEG's Abracadabra. Love the hip swaying, and it's super easy to learn! 

After the slower tempo song there is f(x)'s new song, Electric Shock. Love the part picked for the flash mob, as it exudes so much energy. Note: If dancing this section, put on the most bubbly face you can, and smile like no tomorrow. 

Next came the brothers of the same company, Shinee with Sherlock. Again, Shinee is known for their togetherness, and this choreography is quite hard. Hard meaning, hard to dance to without making yourself look like a dork. (My bias is coming in 3, 2, 1). I learned the choreography from watching 신화방송. A portion of it at least. Even 신화 who has been in the industry longer can barely grasp the dance (of course and the fact that they are much older...) They taught very well on the show.

Then came Infinite's Nothing's Over. I'm sorry to all Infinite fans, but this song bores the check out of me. From the choreography to the dancing. No special comment here.

Second last on the list is 2NE1's I am the Best. As the song says, you have to believe you are the best in order to portray the fierceness they showed on stage. Any weakness or faltering, and you don't look so good dancing.

Last song is Balloons by the one and only DB5K, DBSK. When they were five. This song is a remake, and they made the song more bubbly and poppy. And I lied before about learning Gee as the first song, this was the first song I learned. Dancing is very simple, not alot of complicated leg movements. 

Don't Take Your Life for Granted

I was searching around on Youtube, and I came across two groups of videos. They were prime examples of what good and bad parenting looked like. I never thought my life was horrible, even for a bit. Although our family has had its ups and downs, never thought it was down right horrible. But after watching these videos, I know I can never EVER complain that 'life is unfair' 'life sucks', because I don't have the right to, especially when compared to these two girls.

Both videos were Oprah interviews, and the first set of videos was about the Girl in a Cage (Watch the video at this link). Chelsea Rogers was brought up in a home whom did not treat her well. Her brothers were physically abused, and she was locked in a cage for most of her life.I personally do not know alot about her story, but I think what I was most amazed by was how she was able to step away from her past, and continue on with her life. She didn't mope  on her past, and she didn't  put the blame on herself. Her parents were not role models in anyway, but she has pledged to become a role model for her child right now.

Second video is of a Girl with Schizophrenia. In the video she was only 7, and it told of the tales of how she started off life, then moving on to how she was diagnosed, and how her parents live now with her and her baby brother. Her parents has endless love for her. She could have easily been sent off to an institute, and they could have selfishly lived a 'perfect' life with their baby boy. But they opted to keep her, because she was part of their family. It broke my heart to hear the father talk about their efforts to keep her alive, how one happy day is worth all the hard work they have to put into it, and the fact that the father and mother don't get to see each other as often. On top of taking care of the two children, the father is a college professor, and both parents are just simply exhausted from taking care of her. In order to keep the baby brother safe from sudden outbursts, they live in separate apartments in the same complex, and one parent would take care of one child. See her in her own world with all her imaginary friends was just so different. It made me wonder what was actually happening inside of her head. And how frustrating it must be to hear all those voices at once. According to the Youtube channel her parents have established, they are finally together again, in one apartment.

I just wanted to highlight these stories for those who read my blog, or just for my own future reference. I pray that God will continue to be with the two families. May he continue to heal and be with Jani and her family as they continue to face difficulties that will lie ahead. May God continue to give the parents wisdom to juggle in giving the baby brother a normal life, and that the two of them may also live a more normal life. And as for Chelsea, may God continue to protect her in her years ahead as she is bringing up her own child, and may she come to forgive her parents for all those horrible things they have done. It may be hard for her, but God has forgiving us for our sins.

I read this on absolutshinwa. It's from 에릭 오빠's FB.

I really want to fall in love
The sky is so blue, the stars are really pretty
Please let me have a lover who will agree with me

I echo what he thinks.
Hope the time will come soon.
For him and for me.

Neat Freak

Another blog post. Yay! Only cause I don't want to study :P

I am currently in the process of almost a massive purging of my room. My room is very messy, more very cluttered. The thing is that I have changed the layout of my room multiple times, because I was never happy with the way things were placed, and the space I got from my room. My room isn't very big, and that really makes me make good use of the space I am given. Currently I have placed all my clothes into one of my closets, and then use the other one as storage, for scrapbooking stuff, crafts, accessories, and other miscellaneous stuff. I believe I got maximum use of space from those two closets. And I managed to fit alot into there. Now I have to organize the 'open' space.

Reasons I want to clean my room:

1) Cause I can't stand the condition it is in right now.
2) Cause it looks uber cluttered.
3) I need room to display little trinkets
4) The room is very hard to navigate around
5) Things are piled another one another, takes me forever to get to one thing.
6) I'm pretty sure I still have things from elementary school in my room

SO. Yea.

Wish me luck in this. I hope I'll be able to post about a cleaner room before the summer ends. I'm being optimistic.

소원을 말해봐

I just came across this article on Seoulbeats. And it brought up my 'KPOP wishlist'. Genies only give you 3 wishes, but here is my wishlist for the KPOP santa (somewhere out there).

1. 송종기( Song Joong Ki) to return to Running Man.
I don't know if I REALLY want it to happen. But I do miss him on the show. It's a different RM with him around.
2. Shinhwa guest on Running Man
Uhm HELLO!? 6 legends of the idol world, and they didn't get a spot on RM? The 6 of them are hilarious. You can see on Shinhwa Broadcast, they just gel so well with each other, it'd be awesome if they did a Shinhwa vs. Running Man in hide and seek. And it HAS to be Shinhwa hunting Running Man. I really just want to see them on a show. They are my bias now... XD muahahaha.
Which leads me to my next wish. 
3. Running Man to get back to its Hide and Seek glory days. Or to lay off the themed episodes.
Hide and Seek was the best, it was so much less scripted. Although they have had some of my favourite guests on the show in those themed episodes, it just wasn't as fun. TVXQ, SNSD, Big Bang, Boa. All those episodes were created around those idols/guests, and it just wasn't as much Running Man anymore. Rewatching the first episode was very awkward as the style has changed. Not to complain that the episodes were not good, but on Running Man, you need to RUN. Like the saying they had at the beginning "Run Don't Walk!"
4.Yoon Eun Hye on Running Man
First time to meet Jong Kook on Variety show after X-man. The One man will be k.o.ed. Enough said. (of course, no themed show please!)
5. Return of Family Outing with the original cast.
I LOVED this show. Enough that it made me cry when it all ended. I want them to come back. Park Ye Jin and Lee Chun Hee must return. Cause Chunderella is just too awesome >:D Along with Park Shiyeon and Park Hae Jin. They all brought so much laughter to the audience as a family, and they just need to replace some of the variety shows out there.
6. SM to suck it up and apologize to JYJ, and accept them back into SM. DB5K ToT
DBSK was their cash cow, and they just trashed them just like that. Well now SNSD is their major cash cow. But I just really want the five of them together again. Alot of fans would like that too. The return of the other 3 would = DBSK as 5 = more happy fans = because of more concerts/songs/merch = revenue for SM Entertainment. I don't get why it's so hard to understand =o=
7. Fair Screen Times for Idol Groups
This has been a big issue since I fell in love with SNSD in 2007. If you are a SONE, you know what I am talking about. *ahem* Hyoyeon. Some idol groups have what people call 'more prominent members', or 'more talented members', but I don't believe in that. A member is in a group for a reason, they are not fillers. Please give them enough screen time so that they actually show up on broadcast.
8. New Korean SNSD Album
To be quite honest, I was disappointed in the last album. Their album packaging promised so much more, their teasers promised so much more. It's not that I hated The Boys, but the Japanese album they released prior to The Boys was SOOOOO good. It was fantastic (Baby!). Please come out with a even better concept. I know they are capable of so much more. Paparazzi was released a bit over 48 hours ago, and that song isn't bad. It'd be awesome if they created another Gee/소원을 말해봐 syndrome again.
9. More Shinhwa!
They have become my bias in the last 3 months. I do want to see more of them, just anywhere. Guesting, hosting, comebacks. More Shinhwa please!


What are your wishes? KPOP wise? Just in general?

[SPOILERS AHEAD] Spy Myungwol-ing

So I spent the last day and a half flying through the drama Spy Myungwol. I have heard about the drama, from when Han Ye Seul skipped out on the filming due to insane schedules while filming the drama. But to be honest, I watched this drama for Eric oppa <3 Haha. This drama had so many twists to it. So I found myself being happy one second, and extremely mad (at the scriptwriters) the next. I felt as if I was going crazy. hahaha.
Basic story:
한명월 (Han Ye Seul) and 최류 (Lee Jin Wook) both live in North Korea, and they had to accompany one of the officer's daughters to Singapore to see the Hallyu star 강우 (Eric Mun). Then 명월 leaves for South Korea to accomplish a mission (to be honest I didn't really get their mission), to capture Hallyu star 강우 and bring him to North Korea to 'teach' other stars in North Korea (SEE! This is the WTF mission she had to accomplish. I didn't even get the mission =o= It's so... stupid.). 최류 also follows to South Korea, and two infiltrate spies who had been living in South Korea were also contacted to assist with the mission, 리옥순 (Yoo Ji In) and 한회복 (Jo Hyung Ki). Then there is also the story with the Four Books (which half way in the drama started becoming significant, and cause ALOT of trouble). Then spies all come up with a plan to bring the hallyu star back to North Korea, and it is for  명월 to marry him, and him willingly go back to North Korea with him.
Yea, not gonna type too much of the synopsis, cause I don't think I the story fully intact in my head yet. LOL.
So the first time meeting 강우 was not pleasant for 명월 as she was trying to get an autograph from him. Which I thought were the cutest antics from Eric. Three scenes where I 'died' in the first episode alone.

No sign!

Eric's merong after giving her the fake autograph. ADORABLE!

Stealing a kiss.

(And this is where the picture timeline is kinda blurry, I apologize. I fan-girled so many times that I got some scenes mixed up) So I guess it'll just be a series of pictures which are my favourite scenes or most memorable scenes.

He was playing with her heart :( but everything they did was so cute ^^

명윌 initiating a kiss ;)

I hated when he played around with her. But this was during the time she was a bodyguard. She got to live with him too!!! ㅠㅠ

At first, I thought he was just imagining her.
I didn't know they actually put in all that effort to make her
appear everywhere. She looks so cute like this ^^

Then they finally got into Eric's head.
YOU KISS MY WOMAN!
He still wouldn't admit he likes her... Stubborn men.

This scene was so hilarious, having 명월 appearing everywhere. I would have went crazy. Super smart spies. Then he couldn't stand it anymore. And went to punch 촤류 out for kissing her. DAMN STUBBORN MEN.

SHE DIED!!!
and they confessed their love for each other.
<3

Ultimate passionate kiss. So romantic <3

She becomes an actress, and somehow got leading roles (I know eh? rookie, leading roles =o=) It's like they're 'dating' while filming. I love it.

After his public confession, it started a chain of super lovely couple time.
whichmademejealousandwishedthatihadaboyfriendthatwoulddoallthesethingswithme 

Like the couple tees. 

And that super SUPER cute morning call.

And sharing an umbrella in the rain. *sigh*

OMG THEIR HONEYMOON PERIOD AFTER ANNOUNCEMENT OF RELATIONSHIP WAS SO CUTE!!! Made me super jelly. Well they did have to go through ALOT (and that's an understatement) to get to where they are now (in those pictures). OF COURSE they'd have to get all mushy mushy. Of course the scriptwriters would not let this honeymoon phase last long. *something bad happens* and 명월 does everything possible to 'win'강우 back.

I will leave when I get a selca with you. *wink wink*
And also I need proof that you are full of yourself, and
I will take a picture of that wall where you have, not one, but three
pictures of yourself blown up real big.

Blackmail material for hallyu star 강우

This was so funny, mosquito Eric!! I thought her shirt was quite hideous (I haven't gotten used to it yet). Why is it that every superstar in dramas have their own photos as decorations (SO FULL OF THEMSELVES). Imagine SNSD, where all the girls get their pictures blown up on the walls, there wouldn't be any white space left. XD

Prove your love to me

And then there was this scene (yes up there, where Eric is in a wifebeater). I can't believe he needed her to prove her love for him by giving him her body. If he really loved her, he wouldn't need that as proof. (BUT it is Eric, with his SUPER hot body...) BUT STILL! SHOULD NOT BE THE MESSAGE THEY'D BE SENDING OUT TO THE KIDS!!

And I ended my day of Myungwol-ing with this. They were getting married, and 강우 took a bullet for her. (NUUUUU SCRIPT WRITTER UNNIES AND OPPAS. 왜!!?!?!?!??!) (Why can't they live happily ever after, or something close to it?! 왜?!?!?!) I had to go study for a quiz tomorrow, and I stopped here. OMG HE CANNOT DIE. NOT MY ERIC OPPA 강우!!!!

The assassin/spy knows how to smile!!!

And before 최류 returned to North Korea, he wanted a date with the woman he loves but cannot have. I thought it was the most tear worthy scene. He sacrificed SO much for 명류 but she only saw him as a father figure (worst than being friend zoned, he got family zoned). I'm guessing he wanted one last memory with her before having to go back and possibly be executed. (He took the picture on his Samsung Galaxy S2, is that even allowed in N. Korea?)

Ready to step into the boxing ring at any time.

I have been so frustrated with the drama, so many twists. So many frustrating moments. ARGH! But one thing I was even more frustrated with was this. 강우 always lounged in the house in some robe/pyjama set that made him look like a boxer (it even had the damn hood). I may not understand fashion, but I don't think it's meant to be like that? I really loved the drama though, the love scenes especially. XD But I don't think Eric really knows how to act? I think his expressions never went past 5. Like how 명월 had the same expression for every emotion when she tried out.

Can't wait to watch the end of it tomorrow!