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Arrival Of Goods!
My orders from December last year finally arrived today. It was an unexpected wait, as I was told that the delivery would be delayed due to CNY holidays, which of course lasted longer than I thought it would. Nevertheless, it’s already here, so I’ll skip the rants.
The items are:
- The Boys Repackaged Album: Mr. Taxi
- SM Winter Album 2011
So I got a Jessica photocard from the Mr. Taxi album, which isn’t much of a surprise actually. I consider myself lucky to be able to get her, looking at the fact that I never had any luck with photocards. Getting Tiffany/Yoona/Taeyeon is just beyond reasonable expectations, that’s why I told myself not to even expect a YoonTaeNy card from any albums that I bought.
The Mr. Taxi album was slightly damaged. The hard plastic casing where the disc is stored has a roughly 5cm crack at the top left side of it, but I couldn’t bother to complain. Malaysian shipping quality is always like this, and a decent amount of goods that I own do indeed have dents/cracks/flaws thanks to the shipping. So it’s a normal thing already for me.
The SM Town Winter Album was beautiful though. The photobook attached to it is stunning, contains pictures of all the artists under SME, and the quality is not too bad. CD looks beautiful too. There are actually 2 versions of the winter album, golden cover and silver cover, and I had to debate with myself for nearly a week to not buy both of them and only get the golden one.
Speaking of debating, the ‘rationale’ part of me had decided to step to the front and stop the nonsense that my ‘less rationale’ part was doing. Remembered when I said I needed to decide whether to get Deeryoona or Stephi’s photobook? I decided not to get any of them. Deeryoona’s order deadline is today, and I’m forcefully resisting the impulse to go to their website and place an order, which I WILL succeed. A part of me still agrees that fanmade goods aren’t that all ‘rare’ after all. It’s just that they did go through the trouble of taking huge amounts of awesome pictures, and they are just selling those pictures to us. That’s all.
I might get them in the future if the opportunity ever arises again, and I’m at a position where I don’t have to contemplate like what I’m doing now. For now, enough is enough.
TangPa is merely an exception, due to 2 reasons. One, I was treated to it, so I’ll assume that it’s a gift, and two, Taeyeon is (more or less) still my main bias, so I wouldn’t mind getting something from her fansite, since all proceedings will go towards supporting her birthday this coming March 3. I said more or less because, like I mentioned, Yoona and Tiffany are really ruining my bias list like scrambled eggs, but while I’m contemplating where they stand, Taeyeon remains on top. I guess it’s because it’s not in whole her overall goddess-like beauty that makes me like her, more to her personality, the things she had done as a leader and as the oldest member in the group, and the way she thinks. It is common that many people would think we are so indulged into SNSD all for the fact that they are stunningly beautiful and doll-like, and I don’t blame you for thinking so. It is, indeed, more than that, but I won’t elaborate much here because probably none of you would know what I’ll be talking about. It doesn’t matter that she might no longer be the kid leader from 2009/2010, or she had lost her child-like looks, she’s still Kim Taeyeon.
Anyway, the only merchandise left that I want to get now is the official 2012 calender. I’ll probably wait until April/May before I get it (after my exams supposedly). Hopefully the price would reduce by then.
You Have No Idea
I guess the picture says it all.
That’s how other people look at us.
That’s how we are being thought of.
Weirdos.
Possibly more.
But we’re used to it.
We can choose to ignore it.
And it’s all due to the fact that,
You have no idea at all.
Photobook Fever
2012 started off as a good year for sones, the latest merchandises that came out (those that had major impacts on our wallet) are the 2012 official calendar and the diary. I’m not too fond of the diary, so I decided to aim only for the calendar. Haven’t bought it though, somewhere inside of me is still contemplating.
Anyway, it’s good that the first 2 months of 2012 isn’t killing us already, but unfortunately for me, I got struck with this fever called the photobook fever. Yes, amazing photobooks that are made personally by fansite admins. I’ve seen some samples of previous works and they are really, really awesome, and suddenly out of nowhere, I got this stupid urge inside of me to get them. I knew about them mid 2011 to late, but I didn’t really bothered to give them a look. Probably because I was already puking more than enough to get hold of the albums and other official goods that came out since 2007, and I didn’t have the capability to fork out more to get more current, unofficial goods. But it was fun seeing all the rage tweets on twitter from many people who had trouble deciding whether or not to buy them. Golden rule for sones; complain like hell, and end up buying it anyway. That’s how we work.
And now, the Soshi deprivation strikes again. A simple trigger just started it, and now I’m on the roll of hunting the photobooks that I missed the previous year. Pathetic right? Yea, I know.
Luckily for me, a friend of mine has a FB shop which sold Limyoona’s and Shining Smile’s photobook from 2011, NO DEADLINE. I take that to mean that she has a ready stock, thankfully. So I can slowly make a mountain out of these small handful of dirt I’m slowly collecting.
By the way, I currently only looking for photobooks of Yoona, Taeyeon and maybe Tiffany. Call me bias, but yea, unless I was born with a diamond spoon, as much as I want to support all of them, I have to leave out some sooner or later. I initially wanted to go for YoonTae’s only, but I swear Tiffany is always the one to suddenly comes and messes up my whole bias list.
Anyway LOST OF THANKS to someone that I now already have TangPa’s DVD and Photobook coming to my doorstep around mid-April. I really, really, really appreciate it! Can’t express my glee in words, except that I’m so awfully grateful!
For notes, TangPa is like the head admin of the Taeyeon fansites, although I have to admit Flying Petals take more nose-bleeding pictures, but then again I already missed out on the deadline to order Flying Petals’ book, and also Merong’s (another Taeyeon sub-fansite) so screw that. I just have to hope my friend would be able to find supply for those books in the future.
Current headache is that another Yoona and Tiffany fansite, Deeryoona and Stephi are now taking orders for their new photobooks (1 each) and to be really frank, I can only afford to get one, and not the other.
After 30 minutes of debating with myself, I figured that the 4 old books can wait, 2 of which I have a high chance of still getting because there’s no limited deadline, and another 2 (Merong and Flying Petals) I would just have to wait and see if my friend could get the stock once the first batch has been shipped out.
I’ll just have to choose between Tiffany or Yoona now…not an easy choice to be really honest…
#lifeofasone
Let Loose The Heat
Days are ticking away, and the moments of temporal freedom is slowly inching its way towards me. It’s a mixed feeling now. Kinda like the SPM mood all over again, except this time it’s more serious, and it’s every man for himself.
I’m always amused by how competitive some of my course mates are, and some even went to the degree of judging others based on their level of knowledge. Erm, just to remind you, you’re not here to measure who is smarter. We are all here to get a law degree, that is all. You achieve nothing by proving that you are smarter than anyone.
Yea I get it. I’m anti-social, I’m arrogant(?), I’m unfriendly, I’m lame and my knowledge is not worth enough to blend in. All that is just summarized into one fact:
You don’t even understand a tenth of who I am.
And before you get your pants wet, I’m not saying that oh I’m actually a smart-ass, I’m actually intellectual and wise. Please, I’m nowhere near that. But the fact that I’m being seen as something I’m not in your eyes, gives me enough hint that I’m not worth as your friend, and neither are you. I tried to be different, I tried to change, be a bit more friendly and interactive than my normal self, and what happens? I suddenly became a fake.
I don’t know what is it that you want, but I couldn’t care any more. If I have to walk through this path by myself, only depending on myself, than so be it. This isn’t the first time I’m going through things on my own. I have always been independent and I will.
I’m contended enough that I already have friends who understands my behaviour, why I act as such at certain times, and why I don’t. I don’t like being 2 different Eric(s) when I mix with 2 different groups. I am who I am.
And if by any means I am factually incorrect about anything that I said, by all means correct me. I have this habit of assuming, so forgive me but I’m pretty sure my eyes and ears don’t lie to me. If I’m wrong, feel free to look at me as an ass.
****
So my revision starts this week onwards. I’m actually looking forward to these 8 weeks, it’s gonna be a roller-coaster ride, but it’ll be worth it.
Ain’t gonna waste any more time. Signing off.
SNSD Concert in SG – Events and Flashbacks
Thinking back about SG concert…it was really like a dream, not in the simple literal meaning of dream, but…I can’t really explain it in words.
Somehow it doesn’t feel like they were right in front of me, or maybe I just can’t believe it. I think the fact that I rarely got any eye contact makes things a bit, how do I say this… different. I was there, just watching them perform and strolling along the stage, like how I have always seen on videos. The only difference is that I’m not seeing it through a computer screen, but from my own eyes. They were so clear, so real, so near, but I still feel that something is…missing.
I know that it’s random that I suddenly thought about something 3 months ago, but it was because I was watching fancams from their Bangkok and Hong Kong concert, and my feelings just came gushing down like a waterfall. Withdrawal symptoms, they call it.
Then I realised that my blog post about my SG trip was posted in another blog, and I went to give it another read, and I regretted it, because it made me relive the moments of the concert and at the same time made me feel sad again.
Those moments that made me hold my breath without knowing it, making my heart skip 2 beats, and my eyes and jaw just opening with awe, those feelings are like drugs, you know that? I don’t mean it in a negative manner, like I’m some addict or something.
It triggers dopamine, put it that way.
1. That 5 seconds when Sooyoung looked at me, returning back the heart shape that I formed with my hands, and just smiling at me, thinking about it now just makes me feel embarrassed like crap. I wonder how stupid my face looked when I was just looking at her like a stone at the time she was smiling back at me.
Spoiler note: SNSD is very well known of their ability to recognize their fans, I don’t know how the heck do they do that, but they DO recognize their fans even though by just meeting or seeing them once. I just couldn’t imagine where to hide myself if she remembers my retarded, stunned-looking, face.
That was one of the memories that convinced me, everything was good and real.
As near as I was to the main stage, not many of them really looked towards our moshpit. One reason being that the spotlight was just right in front of us, and it would probably blind them just to look towards our direction. The recording camera was also there, so I guess they were trying their best not to be filmed in a totally right angle.
2. Another moment was when the dome opened. The intro. It was beyond epic. I was just in brain-freeze mode when the dome started to open. Since I was looking at a slightly upward angle, I couldn’t see them inside the dome like how other people in the terrace zones could, but that’s what made it special. Slowly, one of the sides of the dome unfolded itself and the moment I spotted Taeyeon’s hair (she was sitting at the topmost of the pyramid for Genie) I just lost it. Before that I was screaming and cheering and waving my light-stick, but when I saw them for the very FIRST time, in front of my eyes, I just went blank. I never experienced it in the 19 years I lived. Never. I just stood frozen there.
They were unreal, so unreal.
To be really honest, I had felt some tears starting to make its way out from my eyes when Genie started and Taeyeon was just standing right at the front-center of the stage, just metres away. She was really, really, really, really, REALLY small in person, unlike how she looked in videos. But despite all that, she was as close to a goddess as can be. I couldn’t comprehend whether such a beauty actually existed in this world. Her complexion is so fair, so white, so smooth…like taufu. Ok I know I’m beginning to sound creepy to normal people, so I shall just stop here.
Here I am, sitting down and re-imagining all the performances, all the moments, all the awesomeness that I experienced, and I still cannot put it all down in words.
I would do it, I would go again, to their concert, if the place is convenient and time permits. If it is in Malaysia, it would be even better, not only because it’s easy to travel and near, but other factors too.
*
Put it this way, if they do come to Malaysia, I could maybe, JUST maybe, be given the opportunity to discover the answer myself, as to whether or not the 9 of them really do recognize their fans.
Just Another Opinion-based Post Regarding SNSD and Plastic Surgery
So apparently, some people decided to do something that they feel is worth their time and energy, posting up a pre-debut picture of SNSD during the early years of 2006 – 2007, not to mention that Tiffany was not included into the group at the moment yet, figured that he/she would probably make a point by just saying,
“Balls in your court. Whaddaya think?”
First of all, I’ll address the most ridiculous issue that I couldn’t even imagine would surface in the first place. Whoever that has even the SLIGHTEST bit of assurance to say that the left-most girl is Tiffany aka Stephanie Hwang Mi-Young, please find the nearest wall available and bang your head a couple of times. You either didn’t have the initiative to do some research before opening your mouths or your mouth probably just works faster than your brains. That girl over there is Heo Chanmi, and the reason she was not chosen to debut in SNSD remains a question to me. You can Google her up if you choose not to give a rat’s ass about what I said.
As how it always is for other groups as well, revisions and reshuffling of groups are normal during the pre-debut period. If you’re not familiar with the workings of the Korean music entertainment industry, I suggest that now is a right time to shut something of yours that is opening itself one too many times.
I find it hilarious how the issue of plastic surgery is only a very hot and debatable topic in Korea. I don’t see western fans bashing on other artists just because they have so-called ‘fake beauty’, not to mention that if they DO go through plastic surgeries, the focus is more towards their body, busts, and anything else that can boost their sex appeal. Angelina Jolie, a decade ago, was a beauty, but now she is just plain scary. Do I care? I guess not, because it didn’t matter. She did wonders in the filming industry, produced good movies, showed the world her love and charity when she adopted kids to take care of, contributing millions of dollars throught the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, and countless more. The fact that she’s one ugly hag now without makeup doesn’t change how much I respect the things she has done. I don’t see how plastic surgery can seem to stop and prohibit the things you seek to do in this world.
If, for your arguments’ sake, IF SNSD had gone through plastic surgery, a simple one question I would want to ask from you is;
“And?”
Ok, so presuming they had plastic surgery to make their faces look more appealing to the common public. Does that stop them from contributing to the Red Cross & UNICEF ‘Together For Africa’ Charity Event in August last year? Does this change the fact that they donated some fund to aid a Cambodian girl called Selaili in her surgery to recover from heart disease? Does all the plasticity stops Sooyoung from giving financial aid to the Japan Relief Fund? They even donated their clothes from their official music video raise money for needy children around the world.
My point being is that most of you haters out there are blatantly trying to dig out any precious remnants of flaws you can find from SNSD and use it to bring them down and calling their fans blind and delusional to be falling into the fake, plastic traps of SNSD. Not to disappoint you, but a handful SNSD’s fans can pick out more flaws from SNSD than all of you critics combined together.
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. If you can’t seem to comprehend that simple basis of life, then you are far off from even trying to be a professional critic. I find it ridiculous that you are judging them based on their looks and the slightest bit of evidence you can pick out to prove that they did go under the knife.
If they even HAD gone through plastic surgery, Korean medias would already be making tonnes of profit publicising this hot news throughout Korea, since they know how much the issue of plastic surgery has an impact on the hallyu wave. All these while, only antis and haters have been trying to make mountains out of molehills.
If you can’t take the initiative to see the light in things, and just proceed to bash and hate all for the fact that they are famous for ‘no apparent reason’ or they seem to cuddle too close to your male idols once in a while, then God bless your soul. May you one day be freed from hate and anger being vented towards a group of 9 girls who have nothing in relation at all to your life.
And to those who seeks to continue trying, you’re more than welcomed. If music awards, real natural beauty, and hard-rock abs ontained from hours and hours of workouts in the gym are all you look for in idols, go ahead. You’re probably just missing out. Missing out from the fact that idols do more than just sing and show off their sex appeals for your desires. The fact that most of the idols out there have purer hearts than at the very least, you. The fact that they do their best to portray themselves as people we look up to and respect for the things they have done to their society and their nation and a symbol of Korea.
SNSD in 2005/2006/2007 or SNSD in 2012, do you really think it matters to me? That it matters to most people with a rationale brain out there? And I’m not just talking about Sones, mind you. I’m including people who are even not in the K-pop world, who have the sense not to care about things that don’t even affect them or bother them. For us who are in it, SNSD will be a group we will always respect and look up to, whether in 2007 or 2012, because we had enough sense to learn and see the positive side of things over the past 4 years or more, instead of letting your own personal woes blind your judgement and spread hate in your hearts.
If the only reason you hate on them is because they are plastic (so to speak), then you’re obviously not trying hard enough to even see for yourself what is going on in your brain. If you hate them for their lack of talent and sincerity, then you probably haven’t cared enough to observe the things that they have done with your own eyes. And this not only applies to SNSD, but to all K-pop idols out there.
Personal note:
Keep on trying. I personally don’t care if you are probably sitting there, thinking that I have lost it and are just talking marbles. It’s just a simple fact that you fail to realise that life is not all about you, what you experience and how you see it. There are many other aspects of life, lived through by millions of other people that you probably have not seen, which is not a surprise at all because you probably don’t care in the first place. That is the logic that keeps everyone in this world alive. 2 seperate ends of the world, and yet we all can still live. If you’re so close minded to think that life revolves around what you see and know, and everything else falls under abnormality or sometimes you would call it, madness, then think again. All I can say is, you will make an absolutely good judge. Judging other people based on things you’re probably even unsure of, because that’s all that you’re good at.
As I said, keep on trying.
- Eric -
2 Lives, It’s Expected.
Question posted to Oniontaker by Anon:
Mr Onion, I’m just after some honesty in this post. You said that “anyone can do what you do and reap benefits” like being offered invited to major K-Pop events. BUT I seriously doubt that a Korean who simply happens to blog about SNSD can get to experience all the following:
“Press con, photo call, executive box, mosh pit, executive box, then SONE section, meal with UKiss, backstage at Grand, being the only non-employee in the building, meet/talk with 2PM and SNSD + sign.”
I mean, you practically lived out the entirety of a K-Pop fan’s dream in a stretch of a couple of days, and all because you’re a SNSD/K-Pop blogger?
I find that very hard to believe. Not to call you a liar, because I have great respect for the credibility of your words, but to say “anyone can do what you do and reap benefits” isn’t 100% accurate, is it? There’s obviously something you’re not telling us in terms of your background. I gathered this much from one of your tweets: “lol thank you father for being my father ^^ Sorry father, for using our family name to fanboy >.<”
Even before you tweeted that, I was already thinking in my mind (since your fan acc tweets came before that) that Oniontaker has got to be the son of some Chaebol if he’s riding it up with KBS execs in the VIP section, and not just any plain K-Pop blogger. I mean, for a given popular blogger, the MOST I’d expect is an invitation to the event itself if he’s lucky, but you just went all out and got access to just about everything (except Taeyeon’s bed haha ^^) Your parents must be some BIG TIME people.
I’m not asking you to (fully) disclose yourself, but just an honest reply to your previous statement [“anyone can do what you do and reap benefits”], that if asked again, would this statement hold true?
I hope you can give a GENUINE answer to your readers and I, because there are a lot of hopefuls doing the same things as you and hopes to experience the same things as you…knowing fully that you don’t have to be son/daughter of some Chaebol. I simply just want some closure.
Answer to that question:
Let me start by introducing myself.
Hello. My name is John.
I have always kept oniontaker apart from myself.
So firstly when I made the statement, “anyone can do what I do”, this was before I even knew that I was going to Paris; I made the final decision to go to Music Bank maybe two days before I left my house. At that point, being able to talk to certain celebrities, having access to certain things, being friendly with people in high places in the fandom all came from things I had worked on.
Being nice to some people, demonstrating diligence and being proactive in what I did was enough to let me come to a position where “oniontaker” (not John) could have a line of communication with Taeyeon. Someone somewhere noticed me and gave me that opportunity, trusting me with that responsibility, knowing that I would remain respectful and discreet.
I have had the privilege of working with some incredible people online. People who are more capable, more intelligent, more kind-hearted and more skilled than I. They have even given me numbers and contact details to people in the industry because they know I can get things done for them, or they think I should know this or that person. This all comes from a trust people built in this faceless creation, just a name “oniontaker”.
All of these things, any Kate, Park, Kim or another John could have done. oniontaker could be anyone. In fact, there are people who achieve far more than oniontaker: look at Soy as a great example.
So in the end, having this many people supporting you, and more importantly having a level of dependability to the point where you are trusted with a direct line of communication with Taeyeon… this is all possible by anyone.
What happened in Paris was a combination of oniontaker and John, the first time that I had ever let the two world collide.
- Press conference and photo call access was attained by oniontaker and attended by John. Press pass also admitted me entrance into the restricted area where the executive box is located.
- To be fair, oniontaker would have sat in the restricted area but it was John that asked to be put into an area close to the executive box so that John could network. I wasn’t in the actual reserved seats, of course, just a nice cosy 2m away from the executives. Executive box – mosh pit – executive box – SONE section is misleading since access to the box means access to most of the publicly accessible areas of the venue.
- Meeting U-Kiss just happened by chance. I was the only Korean in the area so it stands to reason why a lot of stuff happened. A guy can get much closer to a male idol without much problem and a Korean can communicate with all the members and do the manager’s job of asking fangirls to back off.
So if oniontaker was any other male Korean then it would have been the same. Otherwise, oniontaker would probably have just got an autograph and that would be the end of it. - Backstage at Le Grand Journal was John. Though to be fair, John wouldn’t have been able to enter the building in the first place if it wasn’t for oniontaker being put on the audience list by @kourai32.
And since I switched seats with @muchworld (who was on screen every time the host was on screen), oniontaker would have been on TV and within touching distance of SNSD as they performed. - Late-night talk with KBS staff on Thursday night was a combination of John and oniontaker. I hinted at who my family were but I was just there as oniontaker, explaining things for them, being told things and overhearing conversations in return.
- Everything that happened in the hotel except Soshi was John. Talking to 2PM Chansung and BEAST Doojoon and all of this… getting into the hotel, not being kicked out, being able to talk to the managers relied entirely on me name-dropping acquaintances, showing business cards and talking about family friends.
- Speaking to Soshi though? Sunny waved me away when I approached, introducing myself as myself, before I could even say that I was oniontaker from soshified. It was only Tiffany who called me back as I walked awkwardly away and Taeyeon chipping in that I got to speak to them.
John would have been a heartbroken fan, wondering what he did wrong. Just another kid who thought his family was enough to get him special treatment. Just another kid who thought he was a big deal for no reason. He would have thought all the other idols he’d spoken to were meaningless after being rejected by Soshi. I can’t tell you how sick I felt, walking away from them.
But oniontaker stepped in because Tiffany knew him. Because Taeyeon knew him. In the end, the greatest end to the greatest week in my life would never have happened if it were not for oniontaker. If I hadn’t gained trust in the past, I would have just been left shattered by the girls… deemed not even worthy of being their fan.
That’s why I’m so damned grateful for them. They could have just let me walk away but they didn’t, and when I turned round and walked back over… when they saw my soshified wristband and asked if I was oniontaker… nothing in the world mattered any more.
So.
Now that I’ve gone through Music Bank Paris, and now that I’ve gone through who in my dual personality did what, you will find that John probably didn’t do as much as oniontaker. The most important moment of the entire trip would have been catastrophic if it weren’t for oniontaker, the blogger.
Can anyone get exactly what I got only by doing exactly what I do?
Probably not exactly, but pretty damned close.
Definitely all of the things before Music Bank Paris would have been possible, since Paris was the first time I used my real identity (infrequently at that). All it takes is for you to be a good talker and networker, but also willing to put in the work and sacrifice smaller benefits in search of a bigger goal.
***
Honestly, if I had the opportunity, there are many things in which I would want to learn and discover from him. I’ve rarely met someone like him in the 20 years I have lived. Getting to know him will be a stepping stone, but I don’t know if the opportunity will ever arise. It’s hard to judge a stranger through Twitter, and I understand if it takes more than a single tweet to him for me to express my honesty and intentions.
He may notice, he may never notice, but I don’t want to be seen as someone who is desperate and just want to get in touch with him all for the reason that he has strings to pull and contacts here and there. It is never my true intention. I just feel that he makes a great friend, a great teacher too, and someone whom I can learn a lot from, as John or Oniontaker.
I Find This Emoticon…Relevant
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻-┻
All hail the table flipper.
It Begins.
When life is hard on you, when you can foresee something ahead of you which might burden you so heavily, when you are already going through a battle of willpower, determination and self-discipline, don’t ever give up. Because I learnt how to handle it. Every second spent, every moment that passes by turns into a memory. The happy times, the unbelievable times, the holidays, the freedom, the pain, the suffering, the stress, it will all pass. Close your eyes and tell yourself;
“This too, will pass.”
Study as hard and smart as you can, push yourself as much as you need to, if you know what it will be worth in the future. Ignore the headaches and the temptation to close the books and do something else. Just do it, because all of these will pass one day, and because you went through it, you won’t look back with regret. At that very moment when it is over, the feeling that you have given all you got, will be the real gift in the end, as opposed to the feeling of regret for not doing your best. Give hurt, for those who understand will embrace it with you. Receive hurt, because it’s a way for people around you to let you know that they still care for you.
Live and let live.
It’s time.
What It Really Takes
Recently, SNSD had attended Music Bank in Paris, a concert which consisted of not only them, but also many top notch K-pop artists. The event itself was an exciting one to look forward to, but the real thrill lied behind the scenes. To the many ordinary fans who went through sleepless nights trying to obtain the tickets, getting to attend the concert is a dream come, but to some others, there were more.
What you are about to read is an unusual mix of emotions, and I will leave it to you to define them.
Let me start with a simply summary of things. Our Sone fandom is a considerably huge one, and I’m not trying to compare with other fandoms, so don’t bring them into the discussion. Wherever our girls went, there are always Sones with them, cheering them on and giving them support. I like it because they won’t ever feel too alone, like newly born into another world. They would always find familiarity here and there, and I’m sure that when they see Sones attending talk shows and performances, it would to a certain extent calm their nerves.
In such a huge cyber society, we find many types of people, and the group of people whom I want to touch on this time, are the pillars. The backbone of the fandom. I can talk about the great Silis openly, because not many people knows who he/she is, probably some do, but not that I know of so far. He/she occasionally appears on soompi, as far as I have seen, but whenever he/she does, you know something interesting or something big is up or incoming. Silis would come to the forums and post words, or should I say paragraphs of advice, and it’s never disappointing to read whatever he/she has to say. The things said are very true only if you have the open mind and the maturity to understand what he is trying to say.
Indeed, it doesn’t take Silis to tell us that 2011 was a successful year for SNSD despite a very late comeback in October. Silis had mentioned that we will have a slight chance in the GDA, and if we did win it, it will be a miracle. In the end, althought another group won the Disk Daesang, SNSD still managed to grab hold of the Digital Daesang, which was more than enough for us. We were happy that their late comeback still resulted in something spectacular, and the fact that Tiffany’s wish came true. She didn’t attend the GDA last year because of an injury and she had wished for another Daesang so that she can go up on the awards stage together with the rest of the girls. It was a lovely sight to behold when she smiled like nothing else matters when she was on the stage, receiving the award. We all couldn’t have done it without the teamwork of Sones and SNSD themselves.
Back to the topic, what’s more important to note was the values that he/she is always trying to spread. Again, it doesn’t take someone mysterious yet wise to tell the rest of the fandom to behave rationally and properly, in such a way that we do not act the same as other fandoms out there. We are not saying that we are the best in comparison to other fandoms, but as long we are the best in the eyes of SNSD, that’s all the recognition we’ll ever need.
By pillars of the fandom, I’m talking about certain few people whose aim seeks to keep the fandom stable and strong, without which I can assume the whole journey won’t be any smoother. (although now it’s not that smooth either)
It’s not surprising to realise that these people even garnered the attention and recognition of SNSD themselves. For example, Soy, the founder of Soshified, the one and only international fan forum for Sones, is PROBABLY one of the closest fan friend SNSD could ever have. For all I know, the girls know who Soy is, Yuri simply adores her and they were always happy to have her around. Heck, once in the airport, Yuri even went towards Soy and sat down beside her to have a chat. There’s also more but, yea, not too many details for now.
Taking into account all the things she has done as a Sone, I’d say that she deserved it. Without Soy, there is no Soshified. Without Soshified…I don’t even want to imagine.
Okay, next. Another well-known pillar of our fandom but he still remains humble (I guess) and refuses to admit it. Oniontaker. I may or may not be right about his actual name, but for privacy purposes, if he had chose not to reveal his real name, I won’t attempt to either. He describes himself as someone who is just being logical, using concrete evidence and materials to justify his opinions, and he welcomes a healthy debate from anyone who wishes to challenge the things he is saying. Note that he doesn’t deem that his words are law, he just does his homework and is able to formulate his stands based on them. Well, many people certainly disliked his attitude, constantly calling him snobbish, arrogant and proud, but rest assured, many people in the fandom acknowledges his common sense and behaviour.
He had been to Paris, and what he had been through behind the scenes was everything anyone would ask for. Long conversations with Taeyeon, Tiffany and Sooyoung, getting their signatures, meeting all of them and shaking hands with them. Not to mention, he said that Tiffany recognized him as Oniontaker, although he didn’t know how she did? Taeyeon knows that he is a real fan of her, and most importantly, I’m sure he converses in Korean well with the girls, which eases communication a lot. SNSD even has his twitter, his email and his tumblr (should I be saying all these?) Oh well, if he tweets it to his followers, then I find no sin in saying things that come out from the horse’s own mouth. Don’t misunderstand, SNSD doesn’t have twitter/tumblr, but we all know that Tiffany is one heck of a Sone stalker. I think she stalks us as much as we stalk them. I still remembered her saying in the New York fanmeeting: “You think we don’t know, but we actually do.” Yeap, just like that. Full of mysteries and hints, who knows what did she actually meant?
Ok, I’m going off topic again. The point I’m trying to make is that, many, MANY people in this world would give anything to be in their positions. We can get all butt-hurt, jealous and envy, but the fact remains that we are not in their shoes. But let’s just take a step back and think.
Yes, if you’re trying to ask, I’m feeling everything that a normal fan would feel, but I’m trying my best to see the light of things and forget some things that may never be reality.
The things Onion had done, the things Soy had done, and the things Silis has done. Nothing, and I meant, nothing can ever top them. As much as we’re jealous, as much as we think life is unfair, the fact remains that it is. What started off for Oniontaker as a simple tumblr blog to reblog gifs and to answer anon questions, coupled with the contacts and strings that he has to pull, and also his ability to communicate fluently in English and Korean had got him to where he is now. What started off as a simple creation of a website, and the dedication to gather fans and keep it running and active, resulted in this recognition that Soy has got from SNSD.
Many people in this fandom are working as hard as them, not really topping what they did, but still giving as much as they could. What you don’t see is what you can’t judge.
In the end, it still cannot be denied that many people around the world would probably never get the opportunity to experience what they did, even a fraction of it, despite how much they gave. To those who can and did, all I can say is good for you and I hope that you will appreciate and cherish every single opportunity you get. Not everyone gets SNSD’s recognition personally. Not everyone has sat in the airport lounge, chilling out with Yuri or having a one-to-one talk with Tiffany by the stairs. Not everyone has had any of the members saying “Hi” and it was directed to them, and them only.
This is life. As much as all these things make our wishes come true and we can now “die peacefully” as many love to say, it may be something that will never ever occur in your life, and I’m learning to accept that.
If, IF I ever had the chance to meet them personally…well…I’ll leave it to fate, and I’ll decide what I’ll do when I DO get that opportunity. I do have things set out in my head, but I’m just setting it aside for now. As for now, I’ll live on with life, and be the Sone I have always been for SNSD.
…
If there is one thing I hate in this world, it is people who pretend to be listening to you when you are talking to them, when in fact they are busy attending to someone/something else. If you’re not in the mood to listen to me, then tell me. Don’t take me for a fool and then make me waste my energy and my time. I won’t bother telling things to people who don’t bother to listen anymore.
Human Nature
Day in, day out, I constantly see and experience things that always made me ponder, why?
I’ll share some experiences with you, and maybe you could relate it to your own experiences, to see if there has been anything in common at all.
#1 – It is human nature to be suspicious and prejudice to strangers.
Just recently, I had posted up an offer for sale of 2 photo cards which I had extra in possession. Short, simple and accurate. Buyer contacted me last week and proceeded to pay me through online banking instantly after our agreement. Then he/she started asking me when I could ship it. I told the buyer that the coming week would consist of plenty of public holidays and I said that the earliest I could ship is probably yesterday or today. The buyer said ok, but didn’t sound too happy about it. I mean, what am I supposed to do? What does he/she EXPECTED me to do?
Right, I had a full class on Wednesday and I couldn’t find time to go to the post office which was about a good 10 minutes walk from my college, and lo and behold I got a text by noon asking me if I had posted the cards. Fair enough, probably just concerned, I replied tomorrow and justified myself explaining about having classes, and I got no reply. Well, fine then, I can handle cold treatment, especially from strangers.
This morning I woke up with a text, asking (or more like TELLING) “You’re gonna post the cards today, right?” In my mind, I strangled the buyer and wanted to yell “CALM YOUR BOTTOM!” but I just replied with a simple “Yes.” Not wanting to waste any more time, I got up, had brunch and posted it to him/her. Wanting to finish the business, I texted, saying that I posted it. Without a simple ‘thank you’ or ‘ok, noted’ he/she replied “Tracking code?”
I was really going like, “Dude, what’s with the rudeness? You care about the cards more than your own manners?” but again I pushed it back and gave him/her the tracking code. No reply of notification or thanks.
That’s how people are today. I’ve met and dealt with a couple of strangers, and not surprisingly they all acted in almost the same way. How can strangers become friends at this rate? Are people really so sucked up with their own life, that other people don’t matter anymore?
I understand all the ‘don’t trust strangers’ quote that all our mummies and daddies had drilled into our head since we were born, but for goodness sake, have some sense of public relations if you want to get about comfortably in your life.
The main point is that, I can’t usually stand people who release more negative aura than what’s good for them. How do you live your life with so much negative feelings surrounding you everyday? I’m not saying it’s wrong to have those feelings, we are all human, everyone has emotions, just…learn how to manage them. Venting out on other people, especially strangers, don’t usually help.
Oh well, human nature.
#2 It is human nature to judge another.
I suppose this has been a pretty hot cause of disputes so far that I had seen. It all starts with one person assuming or thinking, or even saying something that he or she thinks about another, and the another getting pissed off inside because what he or she said wasn’t what they think it was, but the another couldn’t care less to correct it, because it’s human nature.
People like assuming, don’t they? I can’t deny it either. I assume a lot, but lack the initiative to actually find out whether my assumptions are correct, because I don’t usually bother anymore. I have my assumptions and they are seemingly sufficient for me, because I like to justify my own thoughts, and shape my opinions based on my assumptions.
Sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? Well, it is.
I’ve come to learn that nobody in this world can be 100% sure about another. It is an obvious fact, I know, but knowledge of it is not enough to curb the problem. What use is there knowing that judging people is wrong, yet when the time comes when problems revolve around you, your emotions take over and you can’t help but think to yourself “I’m fed up of you.”
Then again, on the other side of the coin, there ARE people in this world who act, think and behave in a such a way that they sure as heck deserve a hit or two.
So how do we balance between these two?
Well, if there’s an answer to if that I know of, I probably wouldn’t be touching on this topic now, would I?
You probably would realise, if you’re observant enough, that the things I said about not to quickly judge others are now so contradicting with the statements that I had made regarding the stranger that I had dealt with above.
So now, in one hand, there’s this saying that you should live life as how you want to, other people’s opinions do not matter, you don’t live to please people and you certainly don’t have to change to satisfy them. If your friends are indeed your friends, they will accept who you are, the changes you go through, and the life that you live, because one does not have to justify to others why they did what they did, and the reasons behind their decisions. If they trust you, they won’t doubt you nor question you.
On the other hand, there are also sayings that people should always be mindful about other’s feelings when they speak or act. If you go around everyday hurting people without knowing it, you’re probably not going to get very far. They call it common sense, or in a crude sense, don’t be an ass.
So to put it in simple words, we are all supposed to not give any damn about what others think about our life, but at the same time we have to make sure that we give some damn about what they feel about us because it’s only the rational thing to do if you want to keep your friends around you. We give shit, and we receive shit, but we’re all not suppose to care about the shit that we give or take.
We all wish for a peaceful, harmonious life, don’t we? I’ve seen enough cold war and sometimes real war to actually bother anymore. Almost a year ago, when I thought I had found a haven which could take me away from all these, I had been a fool. Peace don’t come so easily, disputes are everywhere. You can run, but you can never hide from them.
Batteries That Needed Recharging
A/N: Just a short one tonight because I had thought of hitting the sack early to catch up on some much-deprived sleep.
It’s always a battle of willpower when you step foot into college or university once again after even the slightest holiday break. A ‘jetlag’ delay, or some would even regard its similarities with the oh-so-popular Monday Blues. The main point being that it’s always a bummer to climb yourself out from its depths. Having short naps at random intervals during classes is definitely not one of the best ways to pick up the pace to begin with, and I definitely cannot do with another sheet of paper having Dr. Jekyll writing the top half of the notes, and the rest of them looking as if Mr. Hyde took over. Naturally, you can’t write when your head is hitting on the pen every few seconds.
During the short break times, it was funny and entertaining hearing suggestions on how we are going to celebrate the coming V-day, with only 2 and a half hours of free-time left. We already have dates with Public Law, Common Law and Criminal Law, so I figured that those will be enough dates for the day.
My meeting with my friend tomorrow to start on our research paper was postponed because we just remembered that we HAD to go college on Saturday anyway, so we thought of staying back a little while more after class then to do it, instead of coming to college for an extra day.
Which means, I can sleep like a pig now and not wake up until the sun starts blazing it’s glory into my eyes. Very much needed indeed….zzz
Photo [GIF]: How Old Is Old?
Everyone. Meet the 23 y.o leader of Korea’s National Girl Group.
cr: as tagged
