Big Bang - Crayon + Fantastic Baby In MAMA 2012 (Mnet Asian Music Awards...

(The video I originally posted got taken down. So, I'm posting the ones from the Mnet America site, which is in 2-parts. Part 1 - "Crayon", Part 2 - "Fantastic Baby"/"Crayon" ending)

These boys owned, and then, murdered that stage last night. I totally stayed up all night just to see this. I had a total of 1 hour of sleep. Was a zombie all day at work today.

Anyway, I love the mash-up of G-Dragon's "Crayon" and Big Bang's "Fantastic Baby" (both written by GD). And the funky chord progressions during the intro to FB was sick. Ahh.. I love their band, too. They were the only ones that used a live band, along with Psy, who's their big brother in YG Entertainment.

Let me just say, my Tabi (T.O.P.) in pink, is still regal-like, and those contacts are just too intense, as if his natural stare isn't intense enough. GD is just delicious.

Boys and girls, who are currently K-Pop artists, or desire to be in the future, please take note and learn from the best. ;)

Fitness attempt.

I would like to take a dance class. I used to go to a hip-hop class when I was a member of Bally's Fitness. That was quite fun. I also took a couple of classes for jazz dance, and that was actually quite tiring, but fun as well. However, this time around, I really want to find a dance studio and take a class. Who wants to come with? :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Anywhere but here.

I would love to be anywhere in the world but here. Preferably, in Hong Kong, or Wellington, NZ. Once I leave CA, I won't return to live here. Only to visit.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

On edge.

I'm definitely on edge. This whole situation with getting the "new" used car fixed is stressing me out completely. I don't have the budget for this. This is going to set me back months.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

VOTE FOR BIG BANG ON MAMA 2012

The boys are far from winning! We have 3 days, VIPs! VOTE!

Yet again, I'm going through some challenges. I'm a bit tired. It seems like in the past couple of years, I've had to go through so many challenges. I know it's character-building and definitely a growing experience, but to be honest, I'm very exhausted. I'm tired of crying, stressing, especially with a job that I'm not very fond of. I'm surprised I haven't cracked and lost it completely. I know that there are other people who are going through much worse situations than me. So, I'm trying to look at the bright-side of what I'm going through. It doesn't mean though, that I'm not having a difficult time either. I just want to crawl into a hole and disappear. I just want go, get out, leave. I cannot wait to go back home to Toronto. I need it. I want it.

121102 G-DRAGON - CRAYON + FREESTYLE @ ALIVE TOUR Honda Center

Credit to the owner of the video (YanisRei - subscribe!).

This boy. I want to be GD's noona. Not a girlfriend noona, but an actual big sister/best friend noona. Is that too much to ask? LOL

For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. [For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.] --Romans 14:7-8 [9]



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Expecting the unexpected.

Sigh. My luck with cars. Seriously, I have such bad luck with cars. So, I get a "new" used car, which is considerably better than my former car. However, all the "illnesses" have started to come out. And I am now left with unexpected expenses. Don't know how I'm gonna be able to pay for all the things that need to be immediately fixed. But, I'll just trust that God will provide. SIGH.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

불 붙여봐라("LIGHT IT UP") - G-Dragon ft Tablo & DOK2 [ENG/ROM]

I dig this song, A LOT. I like the beat, the vibe, and the attitude of this song. GD, with Tablo, and Dok2. Wish T.O.P. joined in.

Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving with family and friends.

Psalm 95:1-6


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I'm at a Korean karaoke studio in K-Town and I just attempted to sing Big Bang's "Bad Boy", in Korean no less! Hah! Had to cheat using my iPhone to read it in Romanized lyrics. Success!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I have a friend from my school days at Biola University, gigging as Brian Setzer’s backup singer. I also have a former Biola classmate/co-Voice major who is now a professional opera singer in London, UK. How did I end up in the textile industry?!?! SMH.

My favourite PANDA is finally on Twitter. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Voice commentary

Running commentary on my Twitter page: @achau211


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I'm a bit disappointed with the person that I have become. Ever since I started working at the company I'm currently in, I have become angry and someone who's short on patience. I'm not liking it. Dealing with things that I deal with everyday has made me become angry and agitated. I really don't like it at all. It's hard. I was never like this before. I was always cheerful. It saddens me that I have become this. I want to go back to my old self: easy-going, always laughing or smiling. Lord Jesus, I need that person back.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My ideal man.

I kid around when I say that Choi Seung Hyun (a.k.a. Big Bang's T.O.P.) is my dream man. Although, he is not far from what I'm actually looking for, he is not quite exactly my "ideal" man. Apart from the obvious (well, to me, at least) - a Godly man with a servant heart, who loves the Lord Jesus - my ideal guy would have to love music, as much as I do, if not more. Music is in my bloodstream. I came out of my mother's womb practically singing. So, someone who has the same interests as I have would definitely be ideal. If they play an instrument (or 2, or more), and/or sing, even better. I've always dreamed of singing/performing music with my husband, whether it be at church leading worship, or at a music hall and the like. Being creative, musically, with my husband would be amazing as well. And I would definitely like to have kids who are musical, in one form or another. Having a husband who would foster that with me would be great. A guy who loves his family and is all about them is definitely an ideal guy for me. Also, a guy who respects women, especially his mother, is a keeper. I also like guys who are confident. NOT arrogant, but confident. Someone who just draws people in when they walk into a room. One who stands tall, with his shoulders squared, and his chin up. Who looks me in the eye when he speaks with me. Who smiles, especially with his eyes, when he looks at me. Who speaks out and speaks loud. Lately, I have been attracted to guys who have swagger (see definition). A guy can be really good-looking/pretty, but if he doesn't have "swag", they're just another pretty face. I also like guys that are more street-smart, than book-smart. Although, book-smart guys could be very attractive as well, most book-smart people (not just guys) can be very socially-awkward, and I cringe at that. I'm already a bit socially-awkward, but lately, I have been asserting myself to be more open and friendly to people I meet. My being timid still gets the best of me at times, but for the most part, I think I have improved a bit. I love it when a guy starts to chat up someone, at the cashier line at a grocery store perhaps, without being obnoxious, annoying, or imposing. There are people who make that look so easy. And a guy who can do that and leave a smile on the face of the person they chatted up, is attractive, and ideal. He also has to have a great sense of humour! Someone who is funny, without even trying and without being obnoxious - I like guys like that! I want to have wonderful laughing moments with my husband!

I just realized, writing out the traits of my "ideal" guy will definitely make it hard for me to find someone. But, I know that I don't have to lower my standards to find him. And I know that God would not have made me wait this long, only to end up with someone who is not the best. Of course, in the end, God knows who the best one is for me, and I trust that He will reveal this person to me in His own time. I'm still in no hurry, and I wait patiently for that day. :)

Ruined for life... LOL

I may have to accept the fact that I may never marry...unless it's with this guy. He has ruined me for all men. He is handsome, talented, oozing with charisma and swagger, charming, boyish, incredibly funny, confident, and yet, a bit shy as well. Oh, Choi Seung Hyun. Why must you do this to me? I'm ruined. LOL


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My long hair.

I really, REALLY miss my long hair! I regret cutting it in the first place. And now, it's taking forever to grow back to the length it was, before I cut it. Argh. Never again!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Late night meanderings.

It's 1:31am, and I'm awake. I actually fell asleep when we got back home around 9-ish. Then, woke up because I had to use the bathroom. Now, I'm awake and I'm listening to the pouring rain outside. I hope it stops in the morning. I'm not a big fan of the rain. I don't mind it at all, as long as I don't have to go anywhere.

I've decided that I will avoid the boy from now on. I've realized that if I continue on with how I feel about him, I will end up hurting another. Since I don't know how I stand with the boy, and it seems that he likes someone else, I should just knock it off, and move on. I thought there was something there. But maybe I was just imagining things and I'd been waiting for something that's never gonna happen. So, I must move on. It's just all-too-familiar. It's the story of my life. Sigh.

Ahh... My eyelids have gotten heavy. Time to (go back to) sleep. Will continue this in the morning.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2011 BIGSHOW_ BIGBANG_거짓말 (Lie)

This is such a well-written song. The lyrics are heart-wrenching. Such a sad song. But it's so good. Well-performed as well. I shed a tear every time I listen to this. No shame.

The bridge goes:

[DAESUNG]
"I still can’t forget you. No I don’t think I ever will, even ’til the day I die, yeah."
[TAE YANG]
"Did the scars I give you, heal? I’m sorry because I never got to do anything for you."

DID THE SCARS I GIVE YOU, HEAL? - I mean, c'mon! Argh. Pierce my heart, why dontcha?! I'm such a hopeless romantic and a total sap.

Wow! Fantastic, baby!

BIG BANG ALIVE TOUR 2012 – Honda Center, Anaheim, CA (Friday, November 2, 2012)

Not a lot of people know this about me, but I’m a fan of K-Pop (Korean Pop music). And the first artists that I listened to, and eventually got me into it, was Big Bang. Big Bang are a 5-member hip-hop/r & b/pop group who are part of YG Entertainment, one of the 3 big entertainment companies in South Korea, which also happens to be Psy’s (yes, “Gangnam Style” Psy) label. The members are Kwon Ji Yong/G-Dragon (group leader, rapper, main songwriter, arranger and producer),  Choi Seung Hyun/T.O.P. (rapper, songwriter), Dong Young Bae/Taeyang/Sol (vocalist), Kang Dae Sung/D-Lite (vocalist), and the “maknae” (the youngest) Lee Seung Hyun/Seungri/V.I. (vocalist). I’ve listened to Big Bang since 2007, liked a lot of their music because it’s not typical of what you’ll hear in K-Pop. It’s very “western”. If you heard their music randomly, and did not pay attention to the lyrics, you would think the music is from an American artist. I wasn’t as big of a fan of BB back then as I am now. I knew who they were and developed a crush on T.O.P. immediately, the pretty face of the group (he is very handsome and charismatic, not to mention, hilarious). My 15-year-old cousin, Jaya, who was at the time, 10 years old, have always loved Taeyang. At the time, I never dreamed to see them live in concert. Didn’t even cross my mind, nor really desired to. I was just a fond listener. In 2010. I started paying closer attention to them. Not sure exactly when that started. Perhaps, it had to do with fellow YG artist Dara from 2NE1, who was known as Sandara Park when she was a celebrity in the Philippines. Started paying attention to 2NE1 and from there, starting following Big Bang closely, out of curiosity. Fast-forward to 2012, they announced that they were going to have a world tour, and that they’d be playing at the Honda Center in Anaheim, for 1 night. I got a bit excited at the news, but still wasn’t that big of a fan just yet. While they were in Asia, touring and promoting their new album, I started watching fan-cams of their concerts, and thought that it looked so much fun and that they were really, really good. Then, I finally started watching their other videos on YouTube (tv appearances on game-shows / talk-shows, other concert clips, and music videos). I found these guys very charismatic, funny, and full of personality, it made me want to see them in concert. So, I waited for them to start selling tickets to that one LA show. Told Jaya about it and that I was going to take her to see them. She got very excited, but it almost didn’t happen for us because when they finally started selling the tickets, it sold out within seconds on Ticketmaster! It shocked me because I had logged on to TM exactly at 10am when they said they would sell the tickets, but I couldn’t get any! I was heart-broken and had to tell Jaya the bad news. Not a week later, however, they announced a 2nd show in Anaheim! So, I thought this was my chance. I logged on to TM again on the date the tickets were gonna go on sale, and FINALLY, I was able to purchase 2 tickets. It cost me an arm and a leg, but the seats weren’t that great. But, I thought, “hey, I’ll take what I can get.” As the day of the show got closer, I decided to check out other ticket brokers online, just for the heck of it, and found out that they still had tickets, and at the sections that I wanted! The tickets were still pricey so I decided to wait it out. A week passed, and I kept checking daily and noticed that the ticket prices went lower. I told my self  YOLO (you only live once), so I bought tickets that were closer to the stage, but found myself with 2 extra tickets, the original tickets that I had purchased. I ended up not being able to sell nor get rid of those tickets (even when I offered it as a gift to another friend for her birthday – she couldn’t go and was very disappointed, she LOVES G-Dragon). That was a loss to me, but I thought, I helped with the tickets sales, so it’s all good. Anything to help Big Bang, right?

The day of the show finally arrived. Seemed like the longest day of my life. I couldn’t wait to get off work and get to the concert. My Korean co-workers at work, kept reminding me all week long that the concert was coming up, especially Danny, who kept bringing it up! It was too funny, and cute. Jaya got dropped off at my work and we both head back to the OC to my house, long enough for me to change clothes and switch cars with my mom. We headed to the Honda Center, which is about 10 minutes away from me. Got there and was totally surprised that there was a swarm of people going to the concert. Didn’t realized how popular they are with American audiences until that night. Got to our seats, and we were incredibly close to the stage. But, I could have gotten the VIP tickets and stood next to the stage. Sigh. Next time. Before the show even started, the energy was already electric. They were playing Big Bang music videos on the big screens, and everyone was singing along to them, at the top of their lungs, and waving their Big Bang crown sticks – the official light sticks of BB – and the place looked like a sea of yellow lights. Every time someone came out from backstage  - the backup singers, their band – screaming commenced. It was insane. I’ve been to an NSYNC concert, twice, and it was as electric, if not more, than the NSYNC concerts I went to.

The show finally started. They showed a quick film intro, the concept was, the world is being invaded, and it’s up to BB to save the world from destruction. They arrived in pod capsules, and when the curtain came down, and revealed the guys in each capsule, the place went BANANAS! Even I was screaming endlessly it seems. They came out of their capsules and started performing “Still Alive” and from then on the concert was a complete blur. It surprised me how much everyone knew their songs, and singing along, in Korean. I surprised myself how much  I knew the lyrics to their songs and sang along to most of it, and even knew the choreography to their songs! Highlight for me was finally seeing T.O.P. – him and his “chooming” (silly dance), and G-Dragon debuting his song “Crayon”, and giving us a taste of his new song from, what I hear was, his upcoming all-English album. These 2 boys are my fave out of the 5, with Seungri a close third. They are all good-looking boys. G-Dragon is mesmerizing. I’ve never seen anyone with that much swagger on stage or anywhere else. Swag was coming out of his pores. He doesn’t even try to be cool. He just is. Same goes for T.O.P. This guy has so much charisma, and incredibly good looking, he didn’t have to do much, he just stood there, standing tall and straight, walking like a boss and everyone would start screaming. A reviewer from NY Times even said that T.O.P. had this regal aura about him. He wasn’t kidding. They have a live band, who are AMAZING, and they sing live, no lip-syncing at all. They do, however, play backing tracks, which is normal with a lot of acts that dance around on stage. They’re very polished and on point with their choreography. It’s not too elaborate, so it looks very natural when they move. Taeyang’s a ball of energy, and I didn’t realize he was the shortest out of all of them. I heard that he’s only 5’3”, while the rest are 5’9” and T.O.P. being the tallest at 5’11”. Tae and Seungri were the main spokespeople. Their English has gotten so much better, and Seungri is quite the personality. He’s very charismatic and knows how to work the crowd. I‘ve always thought of Seungri as an over-achiever, and seeing him that evening made me believe it even more.

That evening, we all sang “Happy Birthday” to T.O.P. whose birthday was on November 4. After the entire arena sang to him, Seungri prompted Bennie, their drummer, to “drop that beat”, and T.O.P. starting dancing his “choom dance” to the delight of everyone in the crowd. That made MY night. He’s a very silly boy, and I’m glad I got to witness that in person. Actually, I believe that LA is very biased to T.O.P..Towards the end of the night, each member started to express their thanks. Each time a member said something, the whole place screamed and cheered. When it got to T.O.P., he had barely just said “hello” and the place went NUTS! I couldn’t believe it! I can’t blame them, he’s just “top”.

They sang a lot of my favourites: “Bad Boy”, “Fantastic Baby”, “Number One”, and “Haru-Haru” – which was lovely, the entire arena sang along during the chorus. But when they sang my most favourite, “Lies” – I just teared up. I love that song. And seeing and hearing them do it live was just indescribable. Of course, I sang along to it and even danced along to the choreography. Man, I felt like a teenager again.

Jaya had a chance to move down closer to the stage and got a chance to see her “baby” Taeyang, up close – took a picture of him and even a video. She got really close, he was within her arm’s reach. She couldn’t believe it, nor get over it! She came back to our seats and started screaming in my ear and couldn’t stop shaking. She also took a few pictures of Dae, who also came to where she was.

And just like that, the show ended. Was a bit sad, but mostly happy and satisfied that I finally got to see Big Bang, whom I never thought I’d see live in concert. And the best part was I made Jaya very, very happy, for her birthday, especially after the incredibly difficult year she and her family have had. I’m thankful to God that I was able to do this for her because I knew it would make her very, very happy. I told her that the next time Big Bang come to the States, we will get those VIP tickets! I am now a full-pledged VIP. Big Bang, fighting! Saranghae!