K-Poppin! : What A View

As I am typing down this blog post, I am still sitting on my office's desk behind my laptop screen waiting for the revision from my client for a file that has to be printed by tonight and placed on an event's booth by tomorrow morning while the copy has not even been agreed yet. Whoop, what a long sentence. Oh well, it has been a really long day, but thankfully the people here are fun and energizing.

With that said, I think it is nice to have an impromptu blog post every once in a while to, you know, celebrate the COMEBACK OF SHINEE!

Finally guys! Finally! First of all, the copy has been approved, lol. But most importantly, SHINee finally have their Korean comeback! I have not listened to the full album yet, but I know I can always rely on SHINee with their contemporary music style. Their previous album, "The Misconceptions of Me" and "The Misconception of You" are both amazing, especially that I was so lucky to watch some of the song performances live in SHINee World Concert III.

As for now, I have only watched the music video of "View", when I have time later, I will make sure to dig the fancams of other tracks from this song performed live in SWC IV in Seoul. Talking about the music video, just like other commentators on YouTube, I am so happy to see SHINee shooting an MV out of the box and actually with a concept ((and more than one girl, haha)). The story is actually interesting and it somehow depicts the other side of life as well as the transition from a boy into a man. Watching or should I say, growing up together with SHINee all these seven years, it feels like we have both matured together.

I am so, so proud of SHINee and will always be. I will make sure to talk more about the album once I have the time to listen carefully and write down my thoughts.

cheers,

filicia

Intermezzo // 02 : When Your Time is Limited

Yay! So I am back again with another intermezzo post! Previously I shared some entertaining stuffs that might take longer time to enjoy. Since that not everyone must have had that much time to refresh their mind, I round up some things I like to enjoy when I only had a short amount of time, like break in between my jobs or when I waited for buses.

WATCH : Music Covers

Well, by know, you might have already known about Kurt and Sam. They are amazingly talented in music and Sam's voice is beautiful. This song has been my favorite lately, I don't know if it is the lyric, the simple but sentimental piano instrumental background or the stunning voice or maybe all? They did some other amazing mash-ups and cover too. When I am bored, I usually type any song title that I have in mind and add the word 'cover' in YouTube's search box. That way, I found lots of interesting arrangements and wonderful voices.

READ : Blogs

(image via Humans of New York)

I first knew about this blog from Michelle who mentioned it on her blog, Seaweed Kisses. Later that day, I spent the whole night reading the past stories. I really do not need to explain anything about this blog, go to Humans of New York and experience the magic all by yourself. HONY is also on Facebook and people there are soooo amazing! Everyone is super encouraging and the comments either makes me feel so motivated and positive or a bit teary eyed. So much respect for HONY's creator, Brandon!

One other blog that I enjoy as well is Design Taxi. They rounded up fun and creative ideas all around the internet world. The only con is that compared to other sites, Design Taxi seems to be very laggy and so heavy to load.

PLAY : Mobile Games

Haha, I actually started playing mobile games again after doing my internship! My colleagues there totally influenced me ((and other interns lol)) to play this game called Best Fiends and everyone is competitive! By the time I typed this post, I am working on passing level 61. This game reminds me of Candy Crush, if you have ever played it. I actually played Candy Crush too before and link it to my facebook but when I use new phone and connected the game to my facebook, it starts all over from level 1 so I just quit playing it. 

Another game introduced in the office as well is called 1010! This one kinda reminds me of 2048, though it is totally different. If the game ever needs a tagline, I would strongly suggest "Survival of the Fittest". I can probably go mellow and talk about how 1010 is kind of a game that reminds how to become the part of community, you should be able to fit in, or else you will lose. Of course it is not about real life but I can't help and think of it like that. So far, these two games have been a good company while I impatiently wait for the buses to show up at the bus station.

UPDATE : On Your Favorite Artists

(image via SHINee on facebook)

I usually took fifteen to twenty minutes on a day to update on the recent Korean entertainment news ((yes, I love Kpop that much)). This way, I will not miss too much update if I chose to read the news only on my days off. Buuuut, seeing that my super ultimate favorite group, SHINee is having a comeback on May 18th and seventh year anniversary on May 25th, I do not think that twenty minutes is enough at all! And OMG, I am so hoping that SHINee will come for another concert in Indonesia!  

SHOP : Your Style

(image via Zalora)

Shopping in a physical store definitely take lots of time and energy, also, you can not really do it in between breaks. So, online shopping is really a great rescue, especially when there are things that you need to buy immediately. Being a fan of Asia's Next Top Model, this online shopping site is so familiar to me. It is none other than Zalora. They are one of the sponsor for the models and I love seeing their outfits on the show! I know that naturally girls will become greedy when it comes to shopping so to save your time ((and money too haha)), you can try searching for the product based on your style. For example, I have been looking for a nice basic top lately then I can just go to this page. And with the hot humid weather in Jakarta, I thought of pairing it up with hot pants which can be found here. But of course if you have extra time, you can just browse the whole site and be extra careful not to spend more than your budget! Haha.

BONUS!

Can we take a moment to appreciate just how amazing is the performance of El Gamma Penumbra? I have been rooting for them from the beginning of the show and felt so, so proud and happy that they became the first winner of Asia's Got Talent. Congratulations!

Well, that's a wrap! I hope these things will also become a good source of entertainment for you guys when you only have a limited time. I believe that it is always good to take a short break during your work especially if you feel stuck, unmotivated or basically so done with all your work. Hopefully these stuffs can be a breathe of fresh air and probably inspiration for whatever you are doing.

Yeey, cheers!

/This post is brought to you in collaboration with Zalora Indonesia

SHINee World III in Jakarta

Since I was a kid, I have always had list of things that I want to accomplish but seems difficult or would take lots of time. Later on, I learn the vocabulary for that statement, a bucket list. Though  I do not always write it down, I remember that list by heart. The list is growing, and ever since I fell in love with K-pop, watching a live concert is automatically on the list.

This day five months ago, June 22nd 2014 to be exact, I can proudly say, I tick one of my bucket list ((insert-happy-tears-emoticon)). I have been a huge SHINee World (SHINee's fan name) ever since their debut back in 2008. I did watch their performance live when Arirang and TVRI brought them for the Korean-Indonesian Friendship Festival in 2010. But they performed only 2 or 3 songs and I was obviously not satisfied, though I was very lucky to win the ticket for free from the raffle.

On the span of four years, SHINee had actually come to Indonesia once more for a special music show and another one for a joint concert with SM Entertainment artists. But I did not go to either one of those concert. I can go and say that I am very patient to wait for their solo concert but on the other hand, I did not have the money to buy the ticket! I was only a high school student (and later a university student), and my pocket money is super duper limited.

But when it is announced that SHINee is having the solo concert in Jakarta, I just, I HAVE TO GO. Moreover, they have just released two albums and one mini album around that year. Insane. But the ticket price is even more insane.

I do not have the money to buy the ticket. So, I went to join all the quizzes with the ticket as the prize. Be it on twitter, instagram, tabloid, whatever. I did not win. And I did not have the money. But I had the will.

Several days before the concert, it is informed that Onew, SHINee's leader has undergone a surgery and had to rest. Therefore, he can not join the concert :( just like many Shawols, my heart was broken. But my strong desire beats everything. So with my dear Kpop fan slash friend, we made a plan, or more likely, I kind of force her ^^

June 22nd 2014 is the birthday of my beloved city Jakarta. As a gift to the citizens, everyone can ride Transjakarta for free. Well, my friend, can you imagine how crowded would it be to get into the bus? And I can not get a taxi because I am saving every penny to watch SHINee. Anyway, I still get into the bus and went to meet my friend in Kota Tua because there was an event and we would like to spend our afternoon there ((post coming soon))

The clock strikes 5.30 when we finished strolling. The concert started around 6.30 PM. But we were not at rush at all. Instead, we patiently waited for taxi that never showed up and we started looking for alternatives, so we asked the people around and finally hopped into an angkot (a minibus public transportation) because it was getting dark. So like after 20 minutes, we were already in front of Ancol and we bought the entrance ticket. After that we got into a shuttle bus and got to down to change into another bus before we could finally reach the concert venue. The venue was Mata Elang International Stadium (MEIS) inside Ancol Beach Mall. Trivia: SWC III is the last concert held in MEIS because after that there was some problems between MEIS and don't-know-who.

By the time we reached MEIS, it is already 7 PM and the concert has started. We did not worry at all though. In fact, we waited until it is a bit later after the concert. Why? Because there were lots of calo (I don't know how you call this in English) who gave you discount after the concert started or else they will loss. Many of those calo sold the tickets to every single passerby, we almost bought the tribune ticket when my friend gently reminded me how far would it be to stand in the tribune.

So, at around 7.30 PM, a calo finally gave in and sold two festival tickets with considerably low price. We rushed into the venue. But we were hold because we both brought camera. I swore that I had no intention at all to take any picture inside the venue with my camera. We brought those cameras with us because we were hunting some pictures in the Kota Tua events. So we went to deposit our camera to a security post in the parking lot and went back and got in and....

my bias ^^

I can not believe I was that close with SHINee!!! They were singing "Queen of New York" on the front stage by the time we reached the venue. We promised earlier that we were going to enjoy the concert with ease, just a little picture and video for the sake of memories and the rest, we will just enjoy it. And that's what we really did. The rest of the concert is very, very surreal or even magical in some ways.

The setlist for the concert is listed below:

1. Spoiler, 2. Evil, 3. Nightmare, 4. Juliette, 5. Lucifer, 6. Like A Fire, 7. Dream Girl, 8. Hitchhiking, 9. Queen of New York, 10. Aside, 11. Sleepless Night, 12. Orgel, 13. Beautiful, 14. 3 2 1, 15. Destination, 16. Dynamite, 17. Ring Ding Dong, 18. Amigo (the song that made me fell into them), 19. Everybody, 20. Selene 6.23 encore one: 21. Sherlock, 22. Why So Serius?, 23. Colorful encore two: Onew's VCR, 24. Stand By Me, 25. Green Rain.

Well, because I wasn't there from the beginning I am not very sure about the first songs. I am still kinda sad because those 3 opening songs are my favorite from their recent albums. But then again, I am beyond grateful that I am able to watch them that close.

Just like I said before, I sincerely wanted to enjoy the concert so I barely take any pictures and even i or my friend did, it was only from our phone camera and the quality is bad, also since they moved a lot, many of the pictures turn out blur. But the vivid memory that I have in my had will forever stay in my mind and heart :')

Seeing them in real life, it truly felt like there are less boundaries between idol and fans. They were glowing and the charismatic aura was overflowing. Also, I stood in Festival A4 that was less crowded compared to other section. The audiences are considerably under control. And without realizing it, we are happily moved from the sixth row to the second from the front >.<

I loved how SHINee interacted with the fans. They danced and sang very sincerely. And yes people, they live singing is soooo breathtaking. They are really good, even Minho. They were so interactive as they ran around the stage many times and they even got down to quickly high-fiving the audience!!!

No zoom! We were that close with Minho. It was the best shot that we got on that day ((thank you kei  for this picture)). I was in awe. I cherish every single moment I had there. Also, I might have breathe in the air that they breathed out. Well, okay I think I should stop rambling by now.

When the VCR of Onew showed up, I teared up. Indonesia is the last stop for their SHINee World III Concert but he couldn't join, so it was a bid saddening. When they sang "Stand By Me", I smiled again. Widely. When they announced the actual last song, "Green Rain", I did not expect it since it was only a soundtrack. When they bid their good-bye, I got emotional and cried again. I cried because I was very happy to meet them, I cried because I was sad they were leaving back to Korea, I cried because my dream finally came true, I cried for so many reasons on that night :')

can no filter hep this picture ^^ I will just leave it like this

And that was the end of the concert. We took some more pictures. I took a bottle of drink they have used for pouring one another ((cough)). We took our camera. We bought some drinks. Then we walked quite far to the nearest exit gate and patiently waited for a taxi that took forever to show up. By that time, it was around 11 PM (the concert ended around 10 PM). It was super exhausting but totally worth it.

Well, there is one thing that I want to tell you guys, I am NOT proud at all that I did not buy the ticket officially. If it is not for SHINee, I think I'd rather not go then buying ticket from calo like this. I felt sorry for the promoter who has done so much to bring the artist to hold a concert in Jakarta and that must be lots of hard work. If you had enough money, please respect the promoter and buy the ticket officially. This time, I apologize I didn't do it the right way but I really just did this because it is SHINee World Concert :( but I am really thankful that you brought SHINee here. Thank you, thank you so much.

Last but not least, sorry this post has subconsciously become my rant. I didn't realize it will turn out this long! Images here are from SMTOWN via facebook. The other pictures are taken either with my phone or my friend's, thus explaining the quality. Please do not use it or claim it as yours :)

Cheers, filicia!