Festival

This summer I didn't go to any fireworks festivals or festivals in general. My summer was full of K-pop concerts and events.

So finally, I was able to go to a festival at my local shrine! I missed out last year so I was happy to have made it this year.

It's a pretty big festival and there are many food stalls line up before you can reach the shrine itself. Also, the local community and shops have their own portable shrines called "mikoshi" which they carry around the local area to spread good luck and fortune. Today, Saturday, was the day for the children's mikoshi but we missed it. Sunday will be the one for the adults.

Since I don't have much of an appetite due to the summer heat (it's called "natsu bate" in Japanese), I only bought the snack called "shapi". It's like a flat gyoza (potsticker). It's very yummy!!













































Luckily the weather was alright today. Actually, there's a typhoon approaching and the weather for Sunday and Monday is predicted to be terrible... I hope it won't be too bad!! But I'm glad I went today with some good friends!!

September...

I can't believe it's already the second week of September...
Only 4 more months left for this year and two more months until my test...

As I've written in an earlier post, one of my New Year's Resolution is to study the Korean language seriously. So, I started to do a language exchange (I learn Korean and I teach English) since December of last year.

I'm fairly confident in reading the Hangul and pronouncing most of the words. But that doesn't mean I know what's been written... Unfortunately, I have a very small vocabulary still... My grammar has gotten much better now and I can form sentences but only with a limited amount of words... How embarrassing...

So, everyday, I practice memorizing the words I should know for the lowest level of the Hangul Proficiency Test. I'll be taking Level 5 on Sunday, November 10, 2013. I understand 90% of the grammar already so I'm not too worried about that. Vocabulary... Vocabulary... Vocabulary!!!!!

The textbook and notebooks I'm using

To help myself remember the words, I write a diary once a week but the topic is always centered around K-pop, especially since this summer was full of that for me, so haven't been able to expand my vocabulary much... I need to pick out a few words for each entry and center my diary around those words and phrases. I know that's the only way I will improve.

Easier said than done.
But I should practice what I preach, eh?
This is the advice I often give to my students studying English!!

I know I have to focus but I end up going off to watch some Korean shows and trying to figure out what's being said or listening to music instead of the CD drills... I really can't focus!!

Count down!! I only have exactly 2 months to learn all the words!!

Wish me luck!!

A-Nation Festival in Ajinomoto Stadium

On Saturday, August 31, 2013, my friends and I went to the A-Nation Music Festival which was held at the Ajinomoto Stadium. This is a music festival held by the record label called "avex" and most of their main singers will perform at this two day music festival.

I was able to go last year and I was able to see one of my favorite K-pop group called Big Bang. It was an amazing experience for me so I was so thrilled last year. But I also wanted to see TVXQ and Super Junior perform last year but couldn't get the tickets for their performance at A-Nation.

But this year, I applied for tickets through my TVXQ, Super Junior and avex music entertainment fan club sites. Luckily I was able to get tickets through my Super Junior membership!! So this would be my third time to see TVXQ and my second time to see Super Junior perform. Actually, my third time to see them since I was able to win a ticket to their CD event the day before at Makuhari Messe Event Hall!! That's another story...

Anyways, we got to the stadium around 5 PM but the even itself started at about 3:30 PM. I was initially disappointed about our seats because I thought it was at the other end of the stadium away from the stage. But actually, my seat was practically next to the stage!! We were in the 2nd row from the front too!! We were so close to the stage that I didn't need my opera glasses this time!!

http://www.ajinomotostadium.com/seat/

I got to see my favorite TVXQ up close this time and it was amazing!! I honestly thought I would faint!! I was screaming so loudly and I kept freaking out when they looked this way!! I used to watch those concert footage and think how silly those girls were in them, all screaming and crying... Now I know!! I'm one of them!! Lol!! I now totally know how they feel!! I swear, they were only a few meters away from me but in reality, a whole world away... Yes, smell the coffee and wake up... sigh... sob... sigh... Lol!!

Super Junior performed only 5 songs, 4 of which were in Japanese and the last in Korean. But their MC was in Japanese so that was impressive!! They are always so fun to watch!! Their CD event for their latest CD album called "hero" was held the day before and I could go to that event as well. My seat then was pretty good too so I got to see them all up close two days in a row. I have had a lot of luck with them. I shall be going to their Fan Club event on Friday, September 27th, too!! So looking forward to that. I wonder where my seat will be then...

TVXQ was the final artist to perform at this event. They sang a total of 10 songs (so about a 45 minute performance with MC in between), including their latest song called "SCREAM", the theme song to the newest horror movie called "Sadako (Ring) 2 in 3D". It was an amazing performance as always and what was great is that the three other friends I went with, it was their first time to see them perform live!! It was only on DVD or on Youtube only!! Also, TVXQ rode a trolley around the outskirts of the arena so you can imagine how much closer they were when they passed by!! I'm sure they must have seen us so clearly!!

I shall never forget this day unless I ever get a seat right next to the stage for their performance and I actually make eye contact with them!! Until then, this will forever be my best experience!!

Next up on my K-pop list, Super Junior Fan Club even on Friday, September 27th; SM Town (entertainment company of TVXQ and Super Junior) concert in Tokyo Dome on Saturday, October 26th, and Big Bang concerts in November and December!! Also, a Fan Club meeting for my favorite Korean actor Gong Yoo on Thursday, October 24th and Friday, October 25th. I'm also waiting for the application for the TVXQ Fan Club event to start. That'll be held on Saturday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 24th. I pray I can go to one of them!! Please keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Physio 10

I had my 10th treatment on Sunday and this time my therapist focused on my feet and legs.

The reason why? I had gone to two events in a row and had walked long distances for the venues and pretty much tensed up my legs more than usual...

Yes, I screamed this time since apparently my feet and legs were so stiff and bloated!! I had no idea that the top of the feet could hurt so much!! She used some of the aroma essence oil I like (winter green and peppermint) to massage and loosen the muscles.

Then we moved up to the shins and calves and did they ever hurt!! But she said that she was happy because now she was finally reaching the inner most level of muscles that are closest to the bones. She couldn't reach them at all when I first started to go for treatments. At that time, my skin wouldn't move freely against my muscles!! Very big improvement for me!! But that's why it hurt like a -itch this time. She was going into areas undiscovered yet (lol)!!

She then worked on my thighs as well and loosened the muscles there too so that my lymph vessels would flow better and the bloating would decrease. I have a problem of both not being about to absorb enough water and once I do, I can't flush it out of my body properly. Sucks...

Finally, she worked on my skull again since I had told her that I had been experiencing several headaches. This is due to both strained muscles and dehydration. Yes, like I said, I can't absorb enough water even though I can retain it quite well(?!).

After all the loosening, I was very lethargic and couldn't keep my eyes open.
Basically, my Parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS or PNS) is finally working properly.
This is a part of the Autonomic nervous system which is responsible for "resting", " feeding and digesting" and "breeding". Of course all living creatures have this nervous system but in some humans, it can be weaker than others such as in my case.  But with the proper treatment and stimulation as well as dietary regulation, it can become stronger.
As a result, I am now able to rest, eat and digest better. Sorry, no breeding yet... (lol!)
So, after this treatment, I fell into a deep sleep for about half an hour on her treatment bed. But I woke up so refreshed it was such an interesting experience!!

I hope the mini exercises I do at home (instructed by my physiotherapist), the enzymes, and a healthier diet will help my body condition improve more!!

TVXQ concert "TIME" in Nissan Stadium

On Saturday, August 17th and Sunday, August 18th, TVXQ held their final concert dates for their "TIME" summer concert.

It was held at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. This is the largest stadium in Japan and can hold up to 75,000 spectators (concert layout mode) at one time. This stadium is famous for holding soccer matches for FIFA and well for the national J-League.
http://www.nissan-stadium.jp/floor/index.php

This venue is not easy to fill and so far not a single international star has held a concert here yet. In Japan, famous singers such as Southern All Stars, SMAP, B'z, AKB48, Eikichi Yazawa, to name a few, have held concerts here. But TVXQ has become the first non-Japanese star to hold a concert here and have it completely sold out for both days.

This concert was the last leg of their "TIME" summer concert and it was added part way through there regular 5 dome concert tour. I was so happy to get one set of tickets to their Tokyo Dome concert and never imagined I would win two more tickets for this Stadium concert. So when I did win the tickets, I was ecstatic!!

But we don't get our tickets until about two weeks before the actual concert date to avoid scalping. Of course it still happens but less and usual, I guess. So when I got my tickets I could finally see where I'd be sitting. This is what it looked like...


We sat smack in the middle and had a direct view of the center stage (even though it was so far away)!! Plus the sub stage was directly in front of us so this was a great bonus for us!! But I had never been to a venue so large that I've never experienced sound delay before. So light does travel faster than sound!! i would be watching the huge screen and see their mouths moving but the sound is off... Duh!! Physics!! Lol!!

So the concert started at 5:30 sharp and the set list was pretty much the same as that of the Dome tour. But there were a few songs added to the set list as well as their new single called "Scream" (to be released September 4th, 2013). The MC section was different from that of the Dome tour too so that was great. The video sections were of course the same though.

We all got a special wrist watch style light that has a computer chip in it and the staff controlled the colors it emitted depending on the song and area we sat. It was amazingly beautiful!! The entire audience became one and switched like a well trained synchronized swimming team between the regular red pen lights to the special wrist lights. We got to keep the wrist light and the color was fixed at "red", which is TVXQ's image color!!

One thing that was a bit of a problem is that it was a very windy day but it was very sunny. The reason why this was a problem is because it kept "wrecking Changmin's hair style"!! Lol!! He kept complaining about this, as a joke, of course!! Lol!! As for me, it was a little chilly so I wrapped myself in the concert tour towel I had brought with me... But considering that it's still summer and usually hot and humid in Japan, this breeze was very refreshing and a saving grace for an outdoors concert for all of us. Both TVXQ members were saying how grateful they were for the breeze that day too!!

I don't know how to express my excitement and even though I'm uploading this blog many days after the concert, I can still feel I'm there enjoying it...
They've announced the DVD and Blu-ray release of the Tokyo Dome concert (the day I went, too!!) and I've made a reservation for it already, of course. I hope they decide to release a special one for the Stadium concert too!!

Next time I get to see the two of them will be at the "a-nation fest" on Saturday, August 31st, 2013 at Ajinomoto Stadium. I shall write about that later on!! 

TVXQ at Nissan Stadium

Click the link above to check out the news video for how exciting it was!!