Hey there, long time no write! Because I have not updated for May and June, so sorry guys this is going to be A Bit Long & All Over the Place (an autobiography, story of my life, etc.)
Hope the year has been good so far! -K
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Some notes on May
Mostly devoted to home improvement—we finished our living room with the arrival of our couch and our shelves. Finally! Is this the joy mothers feel whenever they arrange their shelves with photos of the children, their framed diplomas, their trophies and medals??? Because it is SO FUN to arrange and rearrange a kpop shelf—
MPL championship szn—Blacklist did not make it to the semis this year, but considering their first half performance, they exceeded my expectations absolutely. Next season!1
GCC outing in Batangas success—It’s my first time on the beach with my officemates, and it was so fun! We went to Pico de Loro, took a lot of pictures, rode a boat into the sunset, ate a lot, spent the night, etc.
Media consumed: Challengers (2024) in the cinemas!!!! House of the Dragon (to prep for the drop of S2)
Some notes on June
TWICE x Oishi fanmeet—full disclosure, despite the amount of Oishi snacks we bought, we did not win tickets to this fanmeet lmao but you know what they say about having the will and finding a way, etc. This was our first TWICE live event this year, and the first one since we watched their fanmeet in Seoul in October last year and the PCD is SO REAL. tl;dr—TWICE’s first fanmeet in the Philippines was so Eat Bulaga-coded. (Inquirer Super’s coverage is here.)
Baguio for work—speaking of a while, it’s been a while since I was last deployed out of town for a work coverage, so this was a pleasant surprise! The last time I was in Baguio was also for work—it was our right before the pandemic, and at the time our main worry was still the Taal eruption. Feels like a different life entirely.
Nayeon comeback!—This month’s main slayer is Im Nayeon, and her title track ‘ABCD’ is the summer song for 2024. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
Wet and wild Pride!—Joined the Canva contingent for this year’s Pride March in Quezon City, during which we walked 4km+ from Timog to QC Circle right behind their DJ-commandeered float, after which it rained SO HARD organizers had to cancel the concert (BINI’s performance included) due to rain-compromised equipment. It’s not my first Pride march under a downpour (the 2019 Pride march in Marikina was just as drenched and muddy), but man, QC’s handling of this one left much to be desired. We spent half an hour trying to get out of the venue, only to end up on the other end of the street/City Hall side! When our ride was supposed to be closer to the Circle, jfc. What a crazy night spent under the rain and in heavy traffic. Thank god for Canva’s organizers, who took care of their contingent (me included) no matter what.
BINIVerse!2—Nothing but praise for the Nation’s Girl Group, who pulled off their three-day sold-out first solo concert at the New Frontier Theater over the weekend. BINI was FANTASTIC, they sang and danced with a LIVE BAND (par for the course for Filipino singers BUT STILL), performed eight solo stages that showed their entire range as a group (hard to pick a fave, but off top of head mine was Colet’s, who performed Beyonce’s Crazy in Love and was, actually, CRAZY), played and bantered with the crowd (their personalities and unique sense of humor really jumped out during the con! Sheena was so funny pls)—FOR MORE OR LESS THREE HOURS. Our tickets were for Day 3, and it was a very emotional and fitting finale for the girls, who up to this day could not believe how they are currently living their dreams. I wish them nothing but the best—and of course, to see them again in Araneta on Oct 4th lol. Anyway, I have been so out of practice fancams-wise! But yeah, I realized it was my first time to watch a group concert again for the very first time—it felt a lot like the first time I watched TWICE at the kick-off of Ready To Be last year in Seoul: No idea what was happening next, gleefully surprised at every turn, fancams3 a mess because always distracted by the next member, etc. Haha! It’s a great feeling. I feel like this has singlehandedly added a handful of years to my life.
Anyway, milestone unlocked: Pantropiko LIVE!
ALSO: So so so happy to have heard Huwag Muna Tayong Umuwi with a live band???
Found on the Internet
This is my favorite Jihyo outfit so far this year: Jihyo at Fred Seoul
Is there anything this woman cannot do
This Grazia feature on Jihyo is so well written, I’m furious that I did not write it myself
Today in, pareho kasi kaming malabong kausap: Sino si Pete Santos???
Anyway, we have come to the end! Thank you for indulging.
XO,
K
If you’re following C on Instagram, check out her highlights—most of the songs during BINIVerse are on there :)
Everyone’s stage presence was remarkable! Here, have a Karera snippet.