Went to Mom's house for a week. Went to Dad's house for a day. Went to Las Vegas for four days. Went to Tehachapi for four days. Went back to Mom's house for two days. Went to San Francisco for a day.
Doesn't really look like a lot when written out that way, but all those days add up! 19 days away from home in a month. Seeing as how that's fairly unusual for me, I felt like I needed to write it down so that, later, when I feel like I haven't been out of the house in years, I can look back and say, 'Oh yeah, in November, I traveled most of Northern California for almost three weeks.' And then I won't feel so bad.
Mom's house was fun. Actually, I spent the first night with my sister, Melissa. I love going to her house because she's always got Korean or Japanese or Chinese things to show me. She makes me sleep on the couch though. That's not very nice, is it? Especially when I let her share my bed when she came to visit me.
Played lots of cards, got some reading done, went thrift store shopping (I love doing that but never have anyone who likes to go with me, yay mom!) played sudoku (one of my favorite games of all time) found an awesome little ice cream store where you put your own ice cream and toppings into a cup and then you pay by the ounce, went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (where I got a picture of myself fist bumping batman, oh yeah) helped with mom's little kid bible study, and showed mom an observation test on the internet that she really liked. Eh, might as well post it here since the rest of this blog is shaping up to be sadly illustration-less.
Didn't have time to do much at Dad's house. I met Bella again, and she's gotten so big. She turned 1 this month. Oh, Stephen was there... Kinda. He has a lot of friends in Hanford from when he went to school there so he was out a lot, visiting them. He was kinda at mom's house too, but he's around the same age as our cousin, Christina, and so they hung out a lot and I didn't get to see him a whole lot there either. It kinda works out though. Stephen and I haven't been really close in a long time so it got awkward when we were alone for too long.
Tehachapi was fun. Played most of a game of Killer Bunnies where I killed a Bunny with a staple gun and a nuclear warhead wiped out my bunnies right after they had survived a horrible virus thing. ~sighs~ That game is interesting. Also watched a couple movies, Robin Hood, Warlords, Ninja Assassin, and most notably, Gamers II: Dorkness Rising.
Vegas was awesome! Drank too much the first day to remember it clearly, but we walked the strip, took goofy pictures, and went to the Rio Buffet. While there we saw Knights of Camelot, JYJ live in concert, participated in a scavenger hunt, met a bunch of people who love JYJ/DBSK, played Bonzai in a bar (apparently people were staring, but I didn't notice) and so on and so forth.
Saw my uncle Steve for the first time in years. He lives in LA but was at mom's house for Thanksgiving. Also saw his daughter, Genesis, for the first time in years. She's totally cute. Very quiet.
Went to a Charles Dickens Fair in San Fran with Melissa. That was awesome. It was just like a Renaissance fair except that it's set more in Jack the Ripper London instead of dark ages England. I recognized a lot of stalls from the renaissance fair I visit in Casa De Fruta every year but there were a lot of new ones. There was a lot of really cool looking clothes, but those things cost so much it wasn't even funny. A corset I thought was cute ended up costing about $900 and a pair of fingerless gloves was $90 and I was like, yeah right. And there was some gorgeous period coats that ranged from about $275 for little half coats with tails to over $1000 for the larger ones. And there were plenty of stores selling my favorite dress up item, hats. They were all pretty expensive too, but there were some really cute ones.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Oh No!
Ok, I'm trying it. I'm totally drunk because I haven't slept in more than 24 hours and for some reason, I felt like drinking. So what am I trying? Drunk posting! All right!!
Anywyay, I'm watching ... um, Full House with Rain! Yay! He's not huge here yet, but he played in Speed Racer as the Korean jerk off and Ninja Assasin, which, in my oppinion, was amazing, as long as you're a Rain fan. Eh, it was only OK otherwise.
Um, man, I have a lot to say, only no way to say it intelligently right now. I'm goinhg to post this and then pretend I didn't as I can't really understand the words I'm posting right now. I've had a bottle of wine, all by myself, even though I didnt really mean to. I can't help it. I'm watching Rain right now and having issues understanding the plot.... Will repost when sober.
Stupid backspace button really close to the 'home' button.
Anywyay, I'm watching ... um, Full House with Rain! Yay! He's not huge here yet, but he played in Speed Racer as the Korean jerk off and Ninja Assasin, which, in my oppinion, was amazing, as long as you're a Rain fan. Eh, it was only OK otherwise.
Um, man, I have a lot to say, only no way to say it intelligently right now. I'm goinhg to post this and then pretend I didn't as I can't really understand the words I'm posting right now. I've had a bottle of wine, all by myself, even though I didnt really mean to. I can't help it. I'm watching Rain right now and having issues understanding the plot.... Will repost when sober.
Stupid backspace button really close to the 'home' button.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Bonzai, Drinking Game
Ok, let me start off saying that I'm not proud of this but I thought it was funny and laughing has become a sort of goal in my life, so I'm sharing.
Melissa, Nicole, and I were playing the Drinking game Bonzai. In case you don't know what the game is, I'm going to post a video of DBSK playing it, and then I'm going to explain it, just in case you don't like watching youtube videos with subtitles or my pretty korean boys.
So the first person says a number between 1 and 5 and each player after them says either 'caught it' or 'lost it.' When the number of 'caught it' 's coincide with the number named in the beginning, all the players must throw their hands in the air and call out 'Bonzai!' The drinking comes in when some one messes up, whether it be they don't call out 'caught it' or 'lost it' soon enough or call out 'Bonzai' too soon or too late.
So, we've been playing for a while, and my glass was almost gone... actually, I only had two drinks left in my glass. The deal we made, about half way through the game, was that the person who ran out of their beverage first had to stand in front of the other two and do the 'Ring Ding Dong' dance. So I'm a little nervous.
Melissa calls out, '5 mice' and we go through the caught it and lost its, and I completely lost count, and even forgot what the original number was. So I called 'Bonzai' too soon, by 1 or 2, I don't really know. Anyway, I'm sipping down my second to last drink when Melissa pops off with, "I smell a Ring Ding Dong coming on!'
Let me explain that I'm already giddy from the alcohol I've had and I burst out laughing. I try, I try so hard, to keep from laughing, to keep my mouth closed around the liquid in my mouth.
I failed.
The mouth full of hurricane spews into my cupped hands and then dribbles down into my lap.
It was so embarrassing, but it was still so, so funny. We all laughed for a good 5 minutes straight. It was awesome. It, again, was a little embarrassing but really funny. ~sigh~ Now, the only pair of pants I brought to Sacramento smell like alcohol and I have to go to mom's house tomorrow. I really hope she doesn't notice.
Melissa, Nicole, and I were playing the Drinking game Bonzai. In case you don't know what the game is, I'm going to post a video of DBSK playing it, and then I'm going to explain it, just in case you don't like watching youtube videos with subtitles or my pretty korean boys.
So the first person says a number between 1 and 5 and each player after them says either 'caught it' or 'lost it.' When the number of 'caught it' 's coincide with the number named in the beginning, all the players must throw their hands in the air and call out 'Bonzai!' The drinking comes in when some one messes up, whether it be they don't call out 'caught it' or 'lost it' soon enough or call out 'Bonzai' too soon or too late.
So, we've been playing for a while, and my glass was almost gone... actually, I only had two drinks left in my glass. The deal we made, about half way through the game, was that the person who ran out of their beverage first had to stand in front of the other two and do the 'Ring Ding Dong' dance. So I'm a little nervous.
Melissa calls out, '5 mice' and we go through the caught it and lost its, and I completely lost count, and even forgot what the original number was. So I called 'Bonzai' too soon, by 1 or 2, I don't really know. Anyway, I'm sipping down my second to last drink when Melissa pops off with, "I smell a Ring Ding Dong coming on!'
Let me explain that I'm already giddy from the alcohol I've had and I burst out laughing. I try, I try so hard, to keep from laughing, to keep my mouth closed around the liquid in my mouth.
I failed.
The mouth full of hurricane spews into my cupped hands and then dribbles down into my lap.
It was so embarrassing, but it was still so, so funny. We all laughed for a good 5 minutes straight. It was awesome. It, again, was a little embarrassing but really funny. ~sigh~ Now, the only pair of pants I brought to Sacramento smell like alcohol and I have to go to mom's house tomorrow. I really hope she doesn't notice.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Bleh and Wedding Dress
I've been feeling unmotivated to blog recently. I'm just trying to find my normal schedule after the crazy, crazy month of November, and it hasn't happened yet. I went more places this month than probably most of the rest of the year. I went to Hanford, Sacramento, Tehachapi, Merced, and Las Vegas. That's not normal for me.
Or, maybe it was October and November that were crazy? I don't know. I can't honestly remember right now. Thank goodness for a blog, right? I can look back and remember, 'Oh yeah! That's when...'
I was amusing myself this morning by thinking of how I would prefer to keep really really important information safe. I decided that I would want three copies. A hard copy, a copy saved to my computer, and a copy on the internet. The hard copy because technology has never been my strong suit and heaven forbid my computer break or something the day before I need the information. A copy saved to the computer because then it doesn't get tampered with on the internet and because it's a lot harder to lose a computer in a move than a sheet of paper. And finally, on the internet that way I could access it from anywhere and even if my house burned down or something and I didn't have time to save anything. I figured with those three copies, anything I could possibly need would be safe from any foreseeable incidents.
Random, yes? Yes.
I haven't put my latest pictures on the computer yet, and I know, I know, I've been promising to put more pictures on my blog. But then I think to myself, what's the use? I'm really the only one who looks over it. That's only time to time and I have all my pictures either on the computer or in my camera anyway. I don't really need pictures in my blog because I was there! I remember what these things looked like.
I'm going to put more pictures up. I'm just being a grouch right now. I accidentally stayed up to late, and since I'm going to be going to mom's house today, I've got to try to stay up all day now, after having stayed up all night. Dumb sleep scheduling. It's really inconvenient that there are only 24 hours in a day. So I'm tired and not in the best of moods...it seems. Oh, and I started my period today... for anyone who was wondering, waiting with bated breath for that announcement. Alright! So I actually have a couple really good excuses for my attitude right now. Wee!
I found SHINee on Facebook today. There were plenty of fans writing the generic, "I love you" "Sarangheyo" "Taemin Oppa" and so on and so forth. I, Amber, decided to write something to the effect of, "While I love Shinee a lot and think Taemin and Minho are especially sexy, I'm a little sad that they essentially named their group Shiny. It's a terrible name."
I actually had someone who 'liked' it and then another person commented, "Hello Shinee" as if reminding me that SHINee could very well be reading my post and that I should cool it. Ha! It seems I've decided that my role as an instigator is not yet over.
SHINee actually had a couple really cute pictures that I may or may not share here at a later date. Ha! Sorry.
Um, well, for not being motivated and blogging to keep up the habit more than because I had anything to say, this turned out to be a fairly decent length blog. Go me!
I'm reading a new book that a friend from Tehachapi suggested. It's called Dead Witch Walking by Kim Herrison. It's interesting so far. Only 70 pages or so into it but I know it's going to be one that I finish and probably recommend to other readers who like fantasy. Thanks Jack!
Oh, want to share Wedding Dress real quick. It's by Tae Yang, one of the guys in Big Bang, same band as G-Dragon. I actually found this song a while ago, when I was first looking up korean music, but it did not, at the time, grab me as interesting as I was looking for things to laugh at or dance to and Wedding Dress did not fit either desire nearly as well as other songs. Well, here it is.
It reminds me of "Why Did I fall In Love With You" by DBSK, for obvious reasons. I kinda like the dance he does with his back up dancers. Since I'm used to this style now, the only part of this music that really struck me as gay... gayer than usual, was the part starting at 3:20, and especially at 3:26, where he's dancing by himself to single notes struck on the piano, and the little wing like motion he does just kills me. Other than that, it strikes me as sad. There's nothing quite as painful as unrequited love or missed chances.
Ok, I think I'm done now. Bye Bye!
Or, maybe it was October and November that were crazy? I don't know. I can't honestly remember right now. Thank goodness for a blog, right? I can look back and remember, 'Oh yeah! That's when...'
I was amusing myself this morning by thinking of how I would prefer to keep really really important information safe. I decided that I would want three copies. A hard copy, a copy saved to my computer, and a copy on the internet. The hard copy because technology has never been my strong suit and heaven forbid my computer break or something the day before I need the information. A copy saved to the computer because then it doesn't get tampered with on the internet and because it's a lot harder to lose a computer in a move than a sheet of paper. And finally, on the internet that way I could access it from anywhere and even if my house burned down or something and I didn't have time to save anything. I figured with those three copies, anything I could possibly need would be safe from any foreseeable incidents.
Random, yes? Yes.
I haven't put my latest pictures on the computer yet, and I know, I know, I've been promising to put more pictures on my blog. But then I think to myself, what's the use? I'm really the only one who looks over it. That's only time to time and I have all my pictures either on the computer or in my camera anyway. I don't really need pictures in my blog because I was there! I remember what these things looked like.
I'm going to put more pictures up. I'm just being a grouch right now. I accidentally stayed up to late, and since I'm going to be going to mom's house today, I've got to try to stay up all day now, after having stayed up all night. Dumb sleep scheduling. It's really inconvenient that there are only 24 hours in a day. So I'm tired and not in the best of moods...it seems. Oh, and I started my period today... for anyone who was wondering, waiting with bated breath for that announcement. Alright! So I actually have a couple really good excuses for my attitude right now. Wee!
I found SHINee on Facebook today. There were plenty of fans writing the generic, "I love you" "Sarangheyo" "Taemin Oppa" and so on and so forth. I, Amber, decided to write something to the effect of, "While I love Shinee a lot and think Taemin and Minho are especially sexy, I'm a little sad that they essentially named their group Shiny. It's a terrible name."
I actually had someone who 'liked' it and then another person commented, "Hello Shinee" as if reminding me that SHINee could very well be reading my post and that I should cool it. Ha! It seems I've decided that my role as an instigator is not yet over.
SHINee actually had a couple really cute pictures that I may or may not share here at a later date. Ha! Sorry.
Um, well, for not being motivated and blogging to keep up the habit more than because I had anything to say, this turned out to be a fairly decent length blog. Go me!
I'm reading a new book that a friend from Tehachapi suggested. It's called Dead Witch Walking by Kim Herrison. It's interesting so far. Only 70 pages or so into it but I know it's going to be one that I finish and probably recommend to other readers who like fantasy. Thanks Jack!
Oh, want to share Wedding Dress real quick. It's by Tae Yang, one of the guys in Big Bang, same band as G-Dragon. I actually found this song a while ago, when I was first looking up korean music, but it did not, at the time, grab me as interesting as I was looking for things to laugh at or dance to and Wedding Dress did not fit either desire nearly as well as other songs. Well, here it is.
It reminds me of "Why Did I fall In Love With You" by DBSK, for obvious reasons. I kinda like the dance he does with his back up dancers. Since I'm used to this style now, the only part of this music that really struck me as gay... gayer than usual, was the part starting at 3:20, and especially at 3:26, where he's dancing by himself to single notes struck on the piano, and the little wing like motion he does just kills me. Other than that, it strikes me as sad. There's nothing quite as painful as unrequited love or missed chances.
Ok, I think I'm done now. Bye Bye!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Vegas Continued
I'm back from Tehachapi! (Listens to everyone cheer) Yes, yes, thank you. I know you missed me. *"We love you Amber!" shouts some crazed fan* I know, I know. I love you too.
Anyway! Um, all the details from Vegas are slipping quietly into that good night... Walking the strip, we looked at the botanical gardens in Bellagio, which weren't that impressive. We went into the Paris where I bought two new keychain charms for my alphabet game, watched the water show at...um, the Bellagio, I think? We checked out the gondola ride at the Venetian and took pictures with the wax figures of Johny Depp and Woopie Goldburg and the blue man group. We looked through their stores and took a lot of pictures. I went into the Miracle Mile shopping area so that I could pick up the tickets I'd reserved for JYJ, we hit up the M&M store, walked through the New York, New York, and made it all the way to the Excalibur where we realized that it was so late that all the little store things were closed so it was no fun walking anymore.
By that time our feet were really hurting, so we took a cab back to our car and then drove back to the hotel. We watched karaoke until it was over again, and then went to bed.
The next day we went to Fremont street where I was keeping an eye out for red glow sticks so that we could be part of the Red Ocean. Alas, I did not find a single one. Poop. Anyway, I kinda wanted to do the zip-line but I was kinda tired and I didn't want to have to hunt anyone down and no one was readily available at the zip-line ride so we skipped it. We tried on lots of funny hats, lots! Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures so you don't get to see the hilarity that we were dealing with there, but that's your fault for not coming.
That night, all three of us went to the rain...thing in the miracle mile mall to wait for the JYJ fan meeting that was supposed to start at, like 5. We got there at 4:30 since we weren't sure how hard it was going to be to find the place and it turned out to be a lot easier than I could have hoped. Anyway, there were three girls kinda hanging out on the rocks and a few couples standing around, but we were so early I didn't want to be the tard going around asking random strangers if they were there for the JYJ fan meeting and getting weird looks. Plus, the people who arranged the meeting said that they would have red balloons and there were no balloons, red or otherwise, anywhere in the vicinity. So we sat down to wait.
The rain show did it's thing. No one else seemed to be there for the meeting and I started to get embarrassed because neither Veronica nor Kim really wanted to be there and they kept telling me that no one else was coming. But I said, "No! JYJ is beloved and they have lots of fans and there will be people here! Give them a minute!"
Finally, I decided not to be embarrassed and asked the three girls if they were there for JYJ. Yay! They were. I was a little irritated though when I learned that they were all 15 years old. Grr. Anyway, they were a little late, but eventually people did show up and we had a group of about 20 people. It was so very nice to be able to talk about JYJ and DBSK with other fans who liked them just as much or more than I did. I'd make references to the stuff they'd done and the people would know what I was talking about. And they'd talk about things and I'd know what they were talking about. We even had the same opinions about stuff that the guys had done and Oh it was wonderful!
The organizers also had put together a scavenger hunt! That was way fun. We had to get pictures or videos of different stuff on the strip. Luckily, we had just spent the whole day before taking pictures so my group had a big advantage because we had about half of what we needed already! Ha! Unfortunately, that was the day that we had to switch hotels so instead of being able to devoted the whole hour and a half to finding the rest of what was on the list, we had to drive out to the new hotel, which was a really nice time share, and sign in and find the thing and then put all our stuff in it.
So even with the head start, we didn't finish. Oh well! It actually turned out all right though because by the time everyone got back together and were going to be heading to the restaurant where the judges would look at every one's pictures and give out the prizes, my group had to be going because we had tickets to the Tournament of Kings.
That was fun too! We sat in the Dragon section as we watched the show. Russia cheated, as always, and the Dragon knight was defeated in the end, as always. Kim told Veronica that she always sat in Dragon section. That way, on the day that the Dragon knight finally won, she'd be there. LOL. The tomato soup was the best I'd ever tasted. It might have been because of how hungry I was, but it was really good. Both Veronica and Kim agreed. About half way into the show though, my asthma started acting up and it was getting really hard to breathe there at the end. That was the only thing that kept the night from being perfect.
After the show we went back to the hotel so I could grab Kim's inhaler. By then we were tired and just decided to call it a day and went to sleep. The next day was the concert and I was so excited that even though I was bone tired, I couldn't fall asleep until about midnight.
Anyway! Um, all the details from Vegas are slipping quietly into that good night... Walking the strip, we looked at the botanical gardens in Bellagio, which weren't that impressive. We went into the Paris where I bought two new keychain charms for my alphabet game, watched the water show at...um, the Bellagio, I think? We checked out the gondola ride at the Venetian and took pictures with the wax figures of Johny Depp and Woopie Goldburg and the blue man group. We looked through their stores and took a lot of pictures. I went into the Miracle Mile shopping area so that I could pick up the tickets I'd reserved for JYJ, we hit up the M&M store, walked through the New York, New York, and made it all the way to the Excalibur where we realized that it was so late that all the little store things were closed so it was no fun walking anymore.
By that time our feet were really hurting, so we took a cab back to our car and then drove back to the hotel. We watched karaoke until it was over again, and then went to bed.
The next day we went to Fremont street where I was keeping an eye out for red glow sticks so that we could be part of the Red Ocean. Alas, I did not find a single one. Poop. Anyway, I kinda wanted to do the zip-line but I was kinda tired and I didn't want to have to hunt anyone down and no one was readily available at the zip-line ride so we skipped it. We tried on lots of funny hats, lots! Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures so you don't get to see the hilarity that we were dealing with there, but that's your fault for not coming.
That night, all three of us went to the rain...thing in the miracle mile mall to wait for the JYJ fan meeting that was supposed to start at, like 5. We got there at 4:30 since we weren't sure how hard it was going to be to find the place and it turned out to be a lot easier than I could have hoped. Anyway, there were three girls kinda hanging out on the rocks and a few couples standing around, but we were so early I didn't want to be the tard going around asking random strangers if they were there for the JYJ fan meeting and getting weird looks. Plus, the people who arranged the meeting said that they would have red balloons and there were no balloons, red or otherwise, anywhere in the vicinity. So we sat down to wait.
The rain show did it's thing. No one else seemed to be there for the meeting and I started to get embarrassed because neither Veronica nor Kim really wanted to be there and they kept telling me that no one else was coming. But I said, "No! JYJ is beloved and they have lots of fans and there will be people here! Give them a minute!"
Finally, I decided not to be embarrassed and asked the three girls if they were there for JYJ. Yay! They were. I was a little irritated though when I learned that they were all 15 years old. Grr. Anyway, they were a little late, but eventually people did show up and we had a group of about 20 people. It was so very nice to be able to talk about JYJ and DBSK with other fans who liked them just as much or more than I did. I'd make references to the stuff they'd done and the people would know what I was talking about. And they'd talk about things and I'd know what they were talking about. We even had the same opinions about stuff that the guys had done and Oh it was wonderful!
The organizers also had put together a scavenger hunt! That was way fun. We had to get pictures or videos of different stuff on the strip. Luckily, we had just spent the whole day before taking pictures so my group had a big advantage because we had about half of what we needed already! Ha! Unfortunately, that was the day that we had to switch hotels so instead of being able to devoted the whole hour and a half to finding the rest of what was on the list, we had to drive out to the new hotel, which was a really nice time share, and sign in and find the thing and then put all our stuff in it.
So even with the head start, we didn't finish. Oh well! It actually turned out all right though because by the time everyone got back together and were going to be heading to the restaurant where the judges would look at every one's pictures and give out the prizes, my group had to be going because we had tickets to the Tournament of Kings.
That was fun too! We sat in the Dragon section as we watched the show. Russia cheated, as always, and the Dragon knight was defeated in the end, as always. Kim told Veronica that she always sat in Dragon section. That way, on the day that the Dragon knight finally won, she'd be there. LOL. The tomato soup was the best I'd ever tasted. It might have been because of how hungry I was, but it was really good. Both Veronica and Kim agreed. About half way into the show though, my asthma started acting up and it was getting really hard to breathe there at the end. That was the only thing that kept the night from being perfect.
After the show we went back to the hotel so I could grab Kim's inhaler. By then we were tired and just decided to call it a day and went to sleep. The next day was the concert and I was so excited that even though I was bone tired, I couldn't fall asleep until about midnight.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Vegas Trip
Alright, back to Vegas.
It was a little crazy just trying to get there. I didn't want to take my car because as amazing as Dante is, (Named for Dante's Inferno because the car gets so incredibly hot) I didn't know if she'd make it all the way to Vegas without having a melt down. So I decided to rent a car. Turned out, my license expired on my birthday...heh, oh yeah. So Kim had to rent it for me, and after a little musical bank accounts and finally an errand to get a cashier's check from the nearest 7/11, we were ready to leave!
But I, being me, decided that I didn't want to leave Friday morning because that just seemed like such a waste of Thursday afternoon. So we called our hotel and booked a room for that night and left. And BOOM! We were on the road, having rushed the packing to get it done and hoping that we hadn't forgotten anything really important.
The drive took forever, but I got to listen to one of the korean cd's I'd burned at my mom's house and I was so excited because I was going to be seeing JYJ in just a couple days that the drive really didn't seem that bad. I stayed awake the whole time, looking up at the stars that seemed so much more plentiful the further we got out into the desert and listened to the comedians on the radio and just generally enjoyed myself.
We got to Vegas at about 12-1 am. We got checked in, took our bags up to the room, then went down to explore the casino and lobby. Right off the bat, we found the karaoke! I'm going to squish all your excitement because I didn't actually end up singing. Kim tried to suggest I do so, but I calmly told her that I hadn't had enough to drink yet, thank you.
I tried a brain hemorrhage, which looked positively disgusting, but actually tasted pretty good. It wasn't quite what I had been trying to order, I'm thinking I got that and a hypnotic mixed up. Either way. Later I'll try to find a picture of a brain hemorrhage because it was nasty looking. I almost, almost chickened out, but drinks are expensive in Vegas and I'm not one to waste money!
We sat and watched the karaoke until it closed at 2 then went up to the room and slept.
We woke at a very respectable 8:30 and hit the strip! We walked more than half the strip Friday. We took some great pictures, drank some amazing drinks, ... Kim and I got a little tipsy... ~Sigh~ Veronica and Kim were horsing around while we were walking to the next hotel and they ran into me, spilling the drink I was working on all over the front of my shirt. Luckily, I was too intoxicated to really care. I just laughed and blew on my shirt to try to get it to dry faster. You can see the humongous stain in several of the pictures we took that day.
At 3:30 or so we headed over to the Rio for their Buffet, because the Rio has the best buffet ever! Unfortunately, I don't remember too much about how amazing it was, but I know that I got ridiculously full on Sushi, crab legs, cheese cake...and I'm sure there was more, but I honestly don't remember what it was. Good times!
After that we went back to the strip and kept looking. I stopped in Planet Hollywood to get the tickets I had reserved over the phone and we continued walking.
Our feet were killing us by the time we got to the Excalibur and it was so late that all the shops and stuff were closed so we hailed a taxi to take us back to our car so we could go back to our hotel and crash. Being in Vegas, however, we did not sleep once we got to our place, but went down and listened to karaoke until it ended again. On this night there were a few great performers, and one in particular who chose a song they didn't know and so most of the song was sang, "la la la, uh, dum dum, dah, uh...yeah." It was semi amusing.
Ok, I'm going to go now and put up more about Saturday and Sunday later along with some pictures in a week or so. I'm actually going so that I can get ready to leave for Tehachapi right now and the people I'm going to be staying with don't have Internet, so ... hopefully I don't forget too much of the Vegas trip between now and then and I'll still be able to share our trip colorfully when I get back. Bye bye!
It was a little crazy just trying to get there. I didn't want to take my car because as amazing as Dante is, (Named for Dante's Inferno because the car gets so incredibly hot) I didn't know if she'd make it all the way to Vegas without having a melt down. So I decided to rent a car. Turned out, my license expired on my birthday...heh, oh yeah. So Kim had to rent it for me, and after a little musical bank accounts and finally an errand to get a cashier's check from the nearest 7/11, we were ready to leave!
But I, being me, decided that I didn't want to leave Friday morning because that just seemed like such a waste of Thursday afternoon. So we called our hotel and booked a room for that night and left. And BOOM! We were on the road, having rushed the packing to get it done and hoping that we hadn't forgotten anything really important.
The drive took forever, but I got to listen to one of the korean cd's I'd burned at my mom's house and I was so excited because I was going to be seeing JYJ in just a couple days that the drive really didn't seem that bad. I stayed awake the whole time, looking up at the stars that seemed so much more plentiful the further we got out into the desert and listened to the comedians on the radio and just generally enjoyed myself.
We got to Vegas at about 12-1 am. We got checked in, took our bags up to the room, then went down to explore the casino and lobby. Right off the bat, we found the karaoke! I'm going to squish all your excitement because I didn't actually end up singing. Kim tried to suggest I do so, but I calmly told her that I hadn't had enough to drink yet, thank you.
I tried a brain hemorrhage, which looked positively disgusting, but actually tasted pretty good. It wasn't quite what I had been trying to order, I'm thinking I got that and a hypnotic mixed up. Either way. Later I'll try to find a picture of a brain hemorrhage because it was nasty looking. I almost, almost chickened out, but drinks are expensive in Vegas and I'm not one to waste money!
We sat and watched the karaoke until it closed at 2 then went up to the room and slept.
We woke at a very respectable 8:30 and hit the strip! We walked more than half the strip Friday. We took some great pictures, drank some amazing drinks, ... Kim and I got a little tipsy... ~Sigh~ Veronica and Kim were horsing around while we were walking to the next hotel and they ran into me, spilling the drink I was working on all over the front of my shirt. Luckily, I was too intoxicated to really care. I just laughed and blew on my shirt to try to get it to dry faster. You can see the humongous stain in several of the pictures we took that day.
At 3:30 or so we headed over to the Rio for their Buffet, because the Rio has the best buffet ever! Unfortunately, I don't remember too much about how amazing it was, but I know that I got ridiculously full on Sushi, crab legs, cheese cake...and I'm sure there was more, but I honestly don't remember what it was. Good times!
After that we went back to the strip and kept looking. I stopped in Planet Hollywood to get the tickets I had reserved over the phone and we continued walking.
Our feet were killing us by the time we got to the Excalibur and it was so late that all the shops and stuff were closed so we hailed a taxi to take us back to our car so we could go back to our hotel and crash. Being in Vegas, however, we did not sleep once we got to our place, but went down and listened to karaoke until it ended again. On this night there were a few great performers, and one in particular who chose a song they didn't know and so most of the song was sang, "la la la, uh, dum dum, dah, uh...yeah." It was semi amusing.
Ok, I'm going to go now and put up more about Saturday and Sunday later along with some pictures in a week or so. I'm actually going so that I can get ready to leave for Tehachapi right now and the people I'm going to be staying with don't have Internet, so ... hopefully I don't forget too much of the Vegas trip between now and then and I'll still be able to share our trip colorfully when I get back. Bye bye!
Monday, November 15, 2010
JYJ Vegas Concert
It's been a while since I posted but I have a good excuse. I was in Las Vegas, Nevada for several days. Why? you may ask? Well, to see JYJ live in concert, of course.
JYJ is made up of the three members of DBSK who sued their management company and started a new band. Their stage names are Hero, Micky and Xiah, but they seem to be going by their real names now, Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu.
Now, I have a lot to say about my Las Vegas trip and the concert so there will probably be several blogs all pertaining to this last week or so. So if you're not interested, feel free to skip ahead now. If you are interested, buckle down and get ready to experience the long haul with me.
Starting with the concert may seem anti-climactic to my readers. "Where could she possibly go with her blog after the concert that wouldn't seem less exciting than getting to see the three gorgeous guys up close in concert?" I'm glad you asked. I actually found the build up to the concert much more exciting than the concert itself, so that's where we're starting.
The boys were beautiful, lets just get that out of the way. They changed costumes once. They performed a total of 5 songs, though they sang Empty twice so they sang 6 all together. It felt very short. The whole show lasted an hour and that included a brief interview given by the three JYJ members and some goofing around by the MC's...who I did not know. But I think they must have been famous because they acted like we should have known who they were, and some of the audience members did seem to react familiarly.
Despite the brevity, JYJ put on a great show with lots of high energy dancing and quality singing. I was impressed almost despite myself. Having watched the video clips of their previous concerts, I had an idea of what to expect, but I was still very happy with their show.
Originally, I paid $200 for my ticket which was not exactly front row, but was in the center and not too far from the stage. However, the concert ended up being free because, horribly, JYJ was unable to attain work Visas in time for their visit so they were unable to claim any income from their trip to America. And, incredibly, instead of canceling the US tour, JYJ decided to go on with the show, but to make it free for their fans.
I don't mind admitting that I was very moved by this gesture, very nearly to tears. They exhibited such big hearts by continuing with the concert tour despite all the costs they would have to eat in order to do so. All previously bought tickets were refunded but the seats were honored. I have to assume that if the band members were being paid for their show it would have been a little longer and there would have been a little more interaction with the audience. As it was, free and of enormous expense to the boys (please don't be offended that I call these 23 year old men boys, it's just easier and they're younger than I am) I can't begin to express my gratitude that they showed up at all.
A few chants were started before the show, which began half an hour late, but quickly died out. I believe that they were simply too long and difficult to be catchy. "Kim Jaejoong" clap-clap-clap, "Park Yoochun" clap-clap-clap, "Kim Junsu" clap-clap-clap, "Vivaaaa Las Vegas!" Perhaps there would have been more participation if they'd stuck with "Hero! Micky! Xiah! JYJ!" Or something to that affect. Though even as I write this I kind of doubt it. I estimate that there were about 3,000 people there, but the energy was lacking. Even when the chant starters finally figured out the problem and changed their shouts to a very simple, "JYJ, JYJ, JYJ" the chants did not last long.
I don't want to be mistaken. There was plenty of screaming once the band members made their appearance on stage and the only time the audience sat down was during the half show interview (half of which was drowned out by cheers and screams) there seemed to be a lack of cohesion. Even the call for an encore was ragged and short lived. I personally believe that this was due to a complete lack of belief that JYJ would come back out no matter how much the audience asked.
Micky was adorable during the interview. He kindly translated the questions the MC's asked in english to korean so that Hero and Xiah would know what had been asked. He made a couple cute errors which only made him more popular, such as saying that the theme of their next music video 'Empty' was a "Secret secret," and that JYJ had gone to a club the night before with their "staffs." Hero made a couple attempts at english, telling the audience "Thank you," and "We love you" while Xiah spoke only Korean and relied on the MC's and Micky to translate for him.
More will be told about the interview later. There were a couple really cute parts that I will tell about in more detail.
The end of the concert, which came all too quickly, was the "Ayyy Girl" music video played on the screen after the three JYJ members had disappeared back down into the stage from where they had first come. I'm so very glad that I got to see them, but even more glad that I did not have to pay $200 to do it. I think I would have felt disappointed. As it was, it was less than I could have hoped, but drastically and amazingly more than I could have asked. I would not hesitate to go to their next concert, though I don't know if I would spring for such good seats, instead opting for a cheaper, slightly further away place. This is in part due to the disappointment I experienced when I realized, that despite my ardent admiration for the JYJ members and all the anticipation I had felt at being able to see them in person, Hero, Micky, and Xiah were only life-sized.
This last clip is very short. It's from their song 'Empty,' which happens to be my favorite. At the show, I didn't want to watch the concert through the lense of my camera and so decided to just watch and enjoy and forget about having many pictures or videos. Now I'm sitting here thinking, 'What was I thinking?? It would have been so cool to have more footage of the show!' Oh well.
I don't own JYJ or any of their songs. I don't have permission to have this clip on my blog, but the concert was free, so I don't think they're going to lose any money by my putting this 14 second clip up for you to see.
JYJ is made up of the three members of DBSK who sued their management company and started a new band. Their stage names are Hero, Micky and Xiah, but they seem to be going by their real names now, Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu.
Now, I have a lot to say about my Las Vegas trip and the concert so there will probably be several blogs all pertaining to this last week or so. So if you're not interested, feel free to skip ahead now. If you are interested, buckle down and get ready to experience the long haul with me.
Starting with the concert may seem anti-climactic to my readers. "Where could she possibly go with her blog after the concert that wouldn't seem less exciting than getting to see the three gorgeous guys up close in concert?" I'm glad you asked. I actually found the build up to the concert much more exciting than the concert itself, so that's where we're starting.
The boys were beautiful, lets just get that out of the way. They changed costumes once. They performed a total of 5 songs, though they sang Empty twice so they sang 6 all together. It felt very short. The whole show lasted an hour and that included a brief interview given by the three JYJ members and some goofing around by the MC's...who I did not know. But I think they must have been famous because they acted like we should have known who they were, and some of the audience members did seem to react familiarly.
Despite the brevity, JYJ put on a great show with lots of high energy dancing and quality singing. I was impressed almost despite myself. Having watched the video clips of their previous concerts, I had an idea of what to expect, but I was still very happy with their show.
Originally, I paid $200 for my ticket which was not exactly front row, but was in the center and not too far from the stage. However, the concert ended up being free because, horribly, JYJ was unable to attain work Visas in time for their visit so they were unable to claim any income from their trip to America. And, incredibly, instead of canceling the US tour, JYJ decided to go on with the show, but to make it free for their fans.
I don't mind admitting that I was very moved by this gesture, very nearly to tears. They exhibited such big hearts by continuing with the concert tour despite all the costs they would have to eat in order to do so. All previously bought tickets were refunded but the seats were honored. I have to assume that if the band members were being paid for their show it would have been a little longer and there would have been a little more interaction with the audience. As it was, free and of enormous expense to the boys (please don't be offended that I call these 23 year old men boys, it's just easier and they're younger than I am) I can't begin to express my gratitude that they showed up at all.
A few chants were started before the show, which began half an hour late, but quickly died out. I believe that they were simply too long and difficult to be catchy. "Kim Jaejoong" clap-clap-clap, "Park Yoochun" clap-clap-clap, "Kim Junsu" clap-clap-clap, "Vivaaaa Las Vegas!" Perhaps there would have been more participation if they'd stuck with "Hero! Micky! Xiah! JYJ!" Or something to that affect. Though even as I write this I kind of doubt it. I estimate that there were about 3,000 people there, but the energy was lacking. Even when the chant starters finally figured out the problem and changed their shouts to a very simple, "JYJ, JYJ, JYJ" the chants did not last long.
I don't want to be mistaken. There was plenty of screaming once the band members made their appearance on stage and the only time the audience sat down was during the half show interview (half of which was drowned out by cheers and screams) there seemed to be a lack of cohesion. Even the call for an encore was ragged and short lived. I personally believe that this was due to a complete lack of belief that JYJ would come back out no matter how much the audience asked.
Micky was adorable during the interview. He kindly translated the questions the MC's asked in english to korean so that Hero and Xiah would know what had been asked. He made a couple cute errors which only made him more popular, such as saying that the theme of their next music video 'Empty' was a "Secret secret," and that JYJ had gone to a club the night before with their "staffs." Hero made a couple attempts at english, telling the audience "Thank you," and "We love you" while Xiah spoke only Korean and relied on the MC's and Micky to translate for him.
More will be told about the interview later. There were a couple really cute parts that I will tell about in more detail.
The end of the concert, which came all too quickly, was the "Ayyy Girl" music video played on the screen after the three JYJ members had disappeared back down into the stage from where they had first come. I'm so very glad that I got to see them, but even more glad that I did not have to pay $200 to do it. I think I would have felt disappointed. As it was, it was less than I could have hoped, but drastically and amazingly more than I could have asked. I would not hesitate to go to their next concert, though I don't know if I would spring for such good seats, instead opting for a cheaper, slightly further away place. This is in part due to the disappointment I experienced when I realized, that despite my ardent admiration for the JYJ members and all the anticipation I had felt at being able to see them in person, Hero, Micky, and Xiah were only life-sized.
This last clip is very short. It's from their song 'Empty,' which happens to be my favorite. At the show, I didn't want to watch the concert through the lense of my camera and so decided to just watch and enjoy and forget about having many pictures or videos. Now I'm sitting here thinking, 'What was I thinking?? It would have been so cool to have more footage of the show!' Oh well.
I don't own JYJ or any of their songs. I don't have permission to have this clip on my blog, but the concert was free, so I don't think they're going to lose any money by my putting this 14 second clip up for you to see.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Excuses
Ok, I have a really good reason for having seemingly fallen off the face of the earth for the last week or so. I've been at my mom's house! I'm still there, actually. Mom's house is up in the mountains where technology is about two decades behind everyone else. Her internet is really slow and there is no cell phone reception at all, which is incredibly depressing (turns out) and so that is the reason I haven't been keeping up with facebook or my blog, or my personal contact with anyone. See? So it's not that I don't like you or that you're not important enough, it's that I have been stranded here in the Land of The Lost for a week.
On the up-side though, I had my birthday here with a bunch of family. It was really fun. We played Wii and cards, and took a lot of goofy pictures. I tried on Micky's camera hogging personality for fun and found that as much as I enjoyed it, it was hard for me to tell when it was fun for everyone and when I was going overboard. I got the feelings once that it wasn't as funny for everyone as it was in the beginning so I stopped and kinda relaxed for the rest of the night, so that's something that I'll have to work on if I want to continue being the ham Micky is. I'm still thinking about it.
Just went to Six Flags ...um, Discovery Kingdom? I'm not really sure. It wasn't Magic Mountain. It was about an hour or two from Sacramento and had rides and dolphins and stuff. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Anyway, I kinda pulled a Micky there too whenever the chance to take pictures came up. I think there are some good ones, but I haven't looked at them yet, so who knows? My family and I did this thing where we got our pictures taken on this set thing with a shark and a dolphin (both made of plastic) and they turned out really good. The first one, we all made Stephen get in the shark's mouth and we all were reaching out to him, trying to save him from sliding down the shark's gullet. The second picture, we made Roy get in the sharks mouth and while he was reaching for help we all were looking somewhere else, completely oblivious! Lol! The lady taking the picture was laughing at us.
The third picture was just kind of random where we all did our own little poses. They all turned out pretty funny, so I got one of each for myself. I can't wait to do something with them.
My mom actually listened to some of the Korean music that I've been such a fan of lately. I'm so happy with her! Right when I think there's no more hope and that I'll just have to grit my teeth through a long visit, she turns around and surprises me by being much more open to my likes and tastes than I would have thought possible. It was really nice and made this visit something I really wouldn't mind repeating! (Which is good because Thanksgiving is coming up and everyone who knows me knows that I can't cook)
Anyway, I was just checking in and giving a few up dates. I will hopefully be posting some of those pictures I was talking about soon in future blogs. Look forward to those! Hopefully they'll turn out good so that people can enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them!
On the up-side though, I had my birthday here with a bunch of family. It was really fun. We played Wii and cards, and took a lot of goofy pictures. I tried on Micky's camera hogging personality for fun and found that as much as I enjoyed it, it was hard for me to tell when it was fun for everyone and when I was going overboard. I got the feelings once that it wasn't as funny for everyone as it was in the beginning so I stopped and kinda relaxed for the rest of the night, so that's something that I'll have to work on if I want to continue being the ham Micky is. I'm still thinking about it.
Just went to Six Flags ...um, Discovery Kingdom? I'm not really sure. It wasn't Magic Mountain. It was about an hour or two from Sacramento and had rides and dolphins and stuff. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Anyway, I kinda pulled a Micky there too whenever the chance to take pictures came up. I think there are some good ones, but I haven't looked at them yet, so who knows? My family and I did this thing where we got our pictures taken on this set thing with a shark and a dolphin (both made of plastic) and they turned out really good. The first one, we all made Stephen get in the shark's mouth and we all were reaching out to him, trying to save him from sliding down the shark's gullet. The second picture, we made Roy get in the sharks mouth and while he was reaching for help we all were looking somewhere else, completely oblivious! Lol! The lady taking the picture was laughing at us.
The third picture was just kind of random where we all did our own little poses. They all turned out pretty funny, so I got one of each for myself. I can't wait to do something with them.
My mom actually listened to some of the Korean music that I've been such a fan of lately. I'm so happy with her! Right when I think there's no more hope and that I'll just have to grit my teeth through a long visit, she turns around and surprises me by being much more open to my likes and tastes than I would have thought possible. It was really nice and made this visit something I really wouldn't mind repeating! (Which is good because Thanksgiving is coming up and everyone who knows me knows that I can't cook)
Anyway, I was just checking in and giving a few up dates. I will hopefully be posting some of those pictures I was talking about soon in future blogs. Look forward to those! Hopefully they'll turn out good so that people can enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them!
Monday, November 1, 2010
November 1!
Today is my birthday! I can't say I feel old, because I don't, but I feel like I'm older. Suddenly all the really cute asian boy bands are younger than me and I feel like a cougar! I also think this is not where I expected to be at this age. I don't know, I probably thought I'd be married by now at least, with a job I liked and that paid well. Yeah, and none of that is the reality.
I didn't do anything fun for Halloween, which I'm kinda bummed about. I really like Halloween! It's my favorite holiday, actually. I really like dressing up. I like being someone other than myself for a day. Well, I guess I do that on days other than Halloween too, but on Halloween I can choose anything, dress the part, and not get looked at too weirdly. It's... liberating.
I have a second interview today for a job in Sac. I'm not really nervous since I don't particularly need the job. The only thing I'm a little anxious about is if they offer me the job and they want me to start soon, it might conflict with my concert! I can't have that! So if I'm offered the position, I'm thinking about telling them that I can't start until the 16th or so and hope that it's not a deal breaker.
Oh! And JYJ showed up on Yahoo's homepage, which I'm super excited about. I'm glad they're getting some attention in mainstream American media. Well, I'm actually a little torn because more people wanting to go to the concert means more competition for good seats, but it also means that they'd be more likely to come back for a second tour...right? So that's my dilemma.
Why do I always hear about bands after they've already broken up?? That's how it was with Malice Mizer, and now DBSK. Well, I guess two doesn't exactly constitute 'always' but it's frustrating to find a band that you really really like and then find out that they won't be making any more music because they've split up, so there's nothing to look forward to. It's like losing before you've even started!
Oh, I found the way cutest self-introduction in history! This is a gag concert they did. If you want to get the full affect of the cuteness of Micky you should start watching from at least 1:40 in. But if you don't care and just want to be blinded by the awesomeness that is the shameless Micky Yoochun, then he introduces himself at 2:30. I warn you though, cuteness shines brightest against the drab normalcy of others. Well, not that any of DBSK could be drab even if they tried, and they're all adorable, it's just that ... oh goodness, just watch it!
Ha! I laughed and have watched that so many times! I also really like their "If soldiers in the military acted like babies" show...which I don't know if I've already posted, but it's another thing where they obviously don't take themselves seriously, and I love that. So what the heck, I'll post it here, even if it is for the second time. Watch and be amazed!! (The part I'm talking about starts at 2:05 and ends at 3:50 or so but it's all pretty cute)
I imitate this all the time because it amuses me so much!
See what I mean about not feeling older? ...Perhaps I should change it to not feeling any maturer. (Is that a word?) Anyway, I'm off now to spend my birthday getting ready for an interview after a two hour drive. ~Sighs~ Wish me luck! Wouldn't it be great if I got a job for my birthday?? Ha! That's awesome. A gift that keeps on giving.
I didn't do anything fun for Halloween, which I'm kinda bummed about. I really like Halloween! It's my favorite holiday, actually. I really like dressing up. I like being someone other than myself for a day. Well, I guess I do that on days other than Halloween too, but on Halloween I can choose anything, dress the part, and not get looked at too weirdly. It's... liberating.
I have a second interview today for a job in Sac. I'm not really nervous since I don't particularly need the job. The only thing I'm a little anxious about is if they offer me the job and they want me to start soon, it might conflict with my concert! I can't have that! So if I'm offered the position, I'm thinking about telling them that I can't start until the 16th or so and hope that it's not a deal breaker.
Oh! And JYJ showed up on Yahoo's homepage, which I'm super excited about. I'm glad they're getting some attention in mainstream American media. Well, I'm actually a little torn because more people wanting to go to the concert means more competition for good seats, but it also means that they'd be more likely to come back for a second tour...right? So that's my dilemma.
Why do I always hear about bands after they've already broken up?? That's how it was with Malice Mizer, and now DBSK. Well, I guess two doesn't exactly constitute 'always' but it's frustrating to find a band that you really really like and then find out that they won't be making any more music because they've split up, so there's nothing to look forward to. It's like losing before you've even started!
Oh, I found the way cutest self-introduction in history! This is a gag concert they did. If you want to get the full affect of the cuteness of Micky you should start watching from at least 1:40 in. But if you don't care and just want to be blinded by the awesomeness that is the shameless Micky Yoochun, then he introduces himself at 2:30. I warn you though, cuteness shines brightest against the drab normalcy of others. Well, not that any of DBSK could be drab even if they tried, and they're all adorable, it's just that ... oh goodness, just watch it!
Ha! I laughed and have watched that so many times! I also really like their "If soldiers in the military acted like babies" show...which I don't know if I've already posted, but it's another thing where they obviously don't take themselves seriously, and I love that. So what the heck, I'll post it here, even if it is for the second time. Watch and be amazed!! (The part I'm talking about starts at 2:05 and ends at 3:50 or so but it's all pretty cute)
I imitate this all the time because it amuses me so much!
See what I mean about not feeling older? ...Perhaps I should change it to not feeling any maturer. (Is that a word?) Anyway, I'm off now to spend my birthday getting ready for an interview after a two hour drive. ~Sighs~ Wish me luck! Wouldn't it be great if I got a job for my birthday?? Ha! That's awesome. A gift that keeps on giving.
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