sleeping-awake.net

Photo source: Mnet.com

Ten days ago, I said I was a “former crazed K-pop fangirl“. I think that one particular word will be dropped from that phrase pretty soon. I can feel it. Guess which one?

Like I said before, every now and then I dig up my old K-pop MP3s whenever I miss listening to them. But never did I think about getting into the whole scene again. I thought I was done with K-pop. I thought it was just a phase.

But I guess the crazed K-pop fangirl in me never really went away, and now, after more or less five years of hibernation, she wants out again. And all this started with a seemingly innocent longing for the old days. Then it was followed by a seemingly innocent curiosity of checking up on my favorite artists, to see what they’ve been up to lately.

Between that entry ten days ago and today, I have listened to old and new K-pop songs, watched old and new MVs, looked at pictures of Korean celebs, read up on some of the latest on Korean show business, and joined a couple of Korean pop culture-related forums (one of which I was once a member of eons ago). Not only that, I’ve also discovered some very addictive Korean game shows! Aah~

So yes, I am slowly being sucked back into the world of Korean pop culture. I’m trying not to get too excited, because being a crazy obsessed addicted fangirl is time-consuming. And I’m trying to be a responsible adult here and not mess up my priorities. Ha.

Oh yeah, this morning I dreamt about Super Junior and Lee Jae Won (pictured above), which caused me to wake up late. *smacks forehead* How weird is that. I’ve only heard a couple of SuJu songs, I don’t even know all the members’ names, yet I had a dream about them. Dreaming about Lee Jae Won, on the other hand, is more understandable, as I’ve been a fan since about 1999.

Anyway, I’ve decided to start keeping tabs on Korean pop culture once more, but I must remember to keep some self-control. Must not get too crazy. Just a little.

So this past Tuesday I turned 23. o_O

I only have one thing to say: YIKES!!

I didn’t always respond to my birthday like this. But, as the years went on, my reactions have changed.

Kid years: “Yay! Party! Presents!”
Teen years: “Cool, I’m now __teen!”
Twenties: “Noooo!”

Yeah. =/ I don’t exactly hate getting older - after all, there’s really nothing I can do about it. But I don’t like it, either. I feel that time is going by a little too quickly for me. I’m in no hurry to grow up.

Anyway, Tuesday was also Earth Day. Ironically, I generated more waste. Since it is er, customary at our workplace to treat everyone on one’s birthday, I brought “veggie happy meals” for my coworkers. The food was put in disposable starchware containers, which are more environment friendly, but still, waste is waste. (To my coworkers: Not that I’m saying I shouldn’t have treated you! Haha.)

Of course, I can’t be talking about all this food without posting some pictures. My mom did all the cooking by the way, because I’m a slow one and I had to get ready for work.

Mock chicken in the foreground. Vegetarian meatballs in the background.

Marble taters! They weren’t cooked in this picture yet.

Mock chicken and vegetarian meatballs again, with vegetarian sausages.

That’s all, folks! This old lady is going to bed. Haha.

Photo source: kiss-ent.com

These past coupla days I’ve been listening to Click-B and watching their videos again and again. Click-B’s a music group from South Korea. (That’s them up there.) Yes, I was an obsessed (to put it mildly) K-pop (Korean pop music) fangirl during my late high school and early uni years. And no, I’m not ashamed to admit it. Those were good times, and I enjoy looking back on them every now and then. Sometimes I’d miss those days, and I’d dig up my old K-pop MP3s - which is what happened recently.

How did I get into K-pop? If I remember correctly, my classmate Mojo is the one to thank. She told me about another music group, H.O.T., and from then on, I was hooked. Well, not exactly. I was a little reluctant at first, for I had seen one of H.O.T.’s videos before (We are the Future), and I didn’t like it. Haha. I thought the band members looked weird. But I decided to give them another try, and they ended up being my favorite Korean group. Each member of H.O.T. is talented in his own way, and while they looked like an ordinary boy band, they later on wrote their own songs and also sang about topics such as war, the youth, and the disabled. Imagine how sad I was when they disbanded in 2001. The former members now have solo careers, and that’s great, but it’s just not the same. I miss H.O.T.!

So how obsessed was I? Some examples:

• I have two original H.O.T. albums, and along with the CDs came postcard-sized calendars featuring the band members. I had them laminated, and I put them up inside my closet doors. They’re still there.
• Back when I didn’t have a PC yet, I’d ask a friend to look for H.O.T. stuff online for me.
• When I had my own PC, I’d download K-pop MP3s and videos, frequent a K-pop forum, and save a ton of Korean artists’ pictures onto my computer. Too bad I don’t have the pictures and videos anymore, my PC got formatted accidentally. But that’s another story.
• I printed out pictures and interviews of H.O.T., and some lyrics of different artists, and put them neatly in a binder folder, which I brought every day to school. Haha!
• Arirang became my favorite channel. I’d watch Show Music Tank and Pops in Seoul religiously. I even recorded some episodes, if I knew that my favorite artists were going to be on. I think I still have the VHS tapes. Haha.
• My friends and I would talk - no, gush about our favorite artists all the time.
• I had dreams about some of my favorite artists.
• And because I got into K-pop, I became more curious about the Korean culture. I studied the Korean language mainly by watching Let’s Speak Korean. I learned how to read and write Hangul, and some language basics. While I can still read and write Hangul, right now I can only remember a few Korean words and phrases. I still have my dictionary and notes though. =P
• And as I learned more about the Korean culture, the more it fascinated me, and the more I wanted to become Korean. But not anymore, I’m pretty happy with being Chinese.

There’s probably more weird stuff I did that I can’t recall right now. But yeah, I shall now conclude this (unintentionally long) entry by bidding you farewell in Korean. An nyung!