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My Sister, Jessica Jung

This is a story about my sister, Jessica. My sister was so mean to me when I was little. It was just so unfair how she always towers over me and looking down at me with her evil smirk. She was so mean that she always took what’s mine, like my toys, my clothes and my coloring books. Worst yet, she even took my bottle which was my most precious item at the time and drank the milk till the last drop. She was such a meanie older sister.

I hated her for about an hour for it. Even though she was huge and mean, I just can’t bring myself to hate her for too long. Because whenever I cried, she cried too and soon it became a crying contest between us two. And I usually lost the contest and stopped crying first, because she would hug me and kiss my cheeks.

We always do everything together. Now that I think about it, she just liked to drag me around like her little sidekick so that she could bosses me around. But I did enjoy being her little sidekick. And the time I spent with her was a huge part of the reason why I had such a happy childhood.

I was still young when I was picked to join an entertainment company, and the whole thing scared me. I cried when I saw the cameras, and I cried harder when the strange old man tried to talk to me. I was so shy back then. That was when our parents offered them my sister instead. My sister stepped forward, and she didn’t hesitate to agree to be a trainee and took my place, because I was still too young back then. So she decided to enter the unknown world of entertainment because of me, and to be by my side. In other words, she was like Katniss to Prim.

As time passed by, we both grew a little older every day and every year. And thanks to the amount of milk I drank, I eventually became taller than my sister. She’s a dwarf compared to me.

My sister was so passionate in making her dream came true and soon her dream became my dream too. Seeing her working hard every day was such an inspiration to me and it made me want to work hard as well.

She became busier as she rises up to be one of the most successful in the nation and even Asia. We spent less time together and I realized how much I missed my meanie sister.

When I first debuted, she was there to support me. I was quickly labeled as her little sister everywhere I go. She taught me all the things she knows and watched me grow, either making mistakes or making my moments. She stood by me and defended me when the current became fierce. She put umbrella over me to protect me from the sun, even though I’m taller than her. And when I was finally able to stand on my own, she watched over me with a proud smile that now replacing that mischievous smirk.

As time goes by, my sister continues to chase her dreams. And soon she made her other dream came true, which was starting her own business. I’ve seen that look in her eyes before, the same one when she was practicing her dance or belting out her sweet voices; that fire and passion that was bubbling from within her. She found a few people she trusted and then begin writing the next chapter of her career. Although she was busy, she tried her best to manage everything.

She became very successful, and I was also dragged along into her playground. And so this little sidekick got some success of her own as well.

But we can never predict what will happen next. We thought we had it all planned out but we forgot that He is the planner of us all.

The ladder that my sister climbed so hard through the years suddenly crumbled under her feet within seconds. She didn’t even realize when the ladder begins to rot from the inside. She thought everything was fine, and that the ladder was going to support her weight till she reached the top. Maybe she fell because she carried too much weight, or maybe the ladder itself had broken apart, but things just happen that way. My sister fell down hard to the ground. And then everything changed.

It hurts me so much seeing her in pain. Though she kept telling people she was fine and that it was okay to fall sometimes, I know it was all just another layer of her thin mask.

I wish people knew how fragile she was. She cried when it was only us two in the room, and I usually cried even before she does. We would hug and none of us told each other to stop, because I can only stop crying if she stopped first.

But my sister is no ordinary sister. She is cool and great and would win the World Sister Championship if there ever is one. She picked up the pieces and moved on. She said to me it was okay to begin again and told me to be strong. It was funny because I was supposed to tell her to be strong instead. She smiled at me like nothing happened and soon we were dancing and laughing in the living room like nothing else matters.

I guess it’s true that nothing else matters. As long as we both know that we’re always going to be there for each other, I believe we can take on whatever hurdles the life throws at us.

Maybe things are hard for her right now, but it’s okay because this time, I will protect her.

 

 

by aienbest

Happy 27th Birthday Jessica Jung!

We’ll always be with you. We got your back.

#AlwayswithJessicaJung

#HappyJessDay

290315 Girls’ Generation @ PETRONAS Sepang F1 Grand Prix After Race Concert

 

Malaysia Put It Back On 2015!

Remember when GG said that they’ll see us Malaysian Sones soon? They kept their promise, 3 years later! ‘soon’ indeed!

But jokes aside, I was more than thrilled to hear the news when it was first announced. That Girls’ Generation was coming to Malaysia again, and thanks to (AGAIN) PETRONAS for bringing them here. Also thanks to Lenny Kravitz who (fortunately) cancelled his show at the last minute, thus giving the opportunity for PETRONAS to use their hidden card again; Girls’ Generation. I seriously loving PETRONAS right now, thanks for being rich enough to bring Soshi so that we can see them with minimal price.

It was announced out of the blue (again) but this time we have a little more time to prepare. With the minimum of RM80 per ticket, you can gain access to the concert plus you get to watch the F1 racing, under the scorching sun, what a deal! So we grab our tickets online and wait for the day to arrive.

At this moment, and age, I’m already considered a veteran Sone, and you know how love goes through time. I’m like, “oh Soshi is coming, so yeah, should I go? I should isn’t it, for old time’s sake.”

 280315 – Girls’ Generation arrival at KLIA

I had some time to spare since it was Saturday night, plus my friends were all excited to welcome soshi, so I went to the airport with them to welcome the girls. We heard about the fanevent, and how it was all going to one sweet and cool welcoming event. I was hoping that Malaysian Sones, you know, an old fandom could at least live up to the expectations and be cool about it for once.

We waited for around an hour and a half, they were supposed to arrive around 10:30pm but going through the custom checks and all, they came out an hour later. There were so many people coming as the time goes by and most of them are the faces that I’ve never met before. And soon there was a long line of people waiting at the route which the girls are expected to exit. People were briefed about the fanevent by the Sones in charge, and there were even rehearsals. Everything was okay up till this point. But the girls arrived an hour later, and by the time there were so many fans turned up, around triple the original number.

Once the girls arrived, everything changed. The fans started pushing and the path for the girls were getting smaller. The police on duty panicked, and did their best to protect the girls, while the fans did their best to get their personal moment with the tired members. But they managed to get to their vans safely, and though it was chaotic, Hyoyeon still smiled and waved at us once she got into the van.

290315 – Girls’ Generation Live at F1 Sepang

I left the house early that morning and went to straight to the venue. We got there around 10.30am and I already saw people lining up outside the entrance gate to the helipad. The weather was getting warmer, and we decided to check the F1 race before heading to the concert venue.

I got to watch the racers signing session, all the handsome racers were there, and I regret not lining up to get an autograph. Lewis Hamilton made his surprise appearance, I also saw the dashing Jenson Button. Such a sight. We walked around the carnival area, posing with sexy cars, grabbed Petronas freebies and experienced the hot air of F1 engine. Around 12pm, there were Girls’ Generation GIRL perfume giveaway at the main stage. They asked questions about F1 racing and you have to get it right to win. I didn’t get picked, boohoo.

We went to grab lunch at the Chequered Flag Café, and fill up ourselves. I had Fish and Chips, it was nice. Or maybe I was just hungry. After the trips to Surau and toilet, the weather was scorching hot that you could even fry an egg in the sun. So we went resting at the customer service center and watch a few rounds of F1 racing in an air-conditioned room. Saw a Ferrari car’s tyre busted just on the first round.

Loooonggggg line

 

Around 4pm, we went to the concert entrance. There was a really long line. So we sat by the palm oil trees and caught up with long-time Sone friends. We passed around MMCafe business cards along the line as well. The door opened around 4.30pm, and the guards were scanning tickets. The crowd ran as soon as they get inside to get the best spot. We waited till ¾ people had entered before we entered. We’re just too old to stay in the sun or stand for too long lol.

Running Sones

 

Ibu mysone and her posse lol

The venue was not too big, so even though we entered late we soon got pushed to the front and get quite a satisfying view of the stage. It was like the rockzone/VIP tix stage view thus I have no complains.

The concert was THE BEST ever. The only thing that annoyed me was probably Hitchhiker’s loud music (haha) but my friends did enjoy his random songs. Maybe it’s just me and my old eardrums lol.

Minho is really really really good looking

Tiffany

 

But Soshi and SHINee, they slayed.

“Thank you for having us.” – Tiffany.

Her solemn look during Back Hug

 

There’s nothing better than a lack of rehearsed show lol. The girls were playful all throughout, Yuri kept forgetting to cover Yoona’s lines, she even laughed out loud during The Boys and not even sorry for it! And there was the infamous Tiffany vs. The Ribbons, right during the part ‘babo!’ in Gee. She apologized for it in a very adorable way, and kept laughing afterwards. They kept grinning while dancing, always checking each other’s parts during choreography and (mostly Yuri) just darted around randomly, forgetting her position and laughed.

Yuri

In total they sang 10 songs, and they changed costumes once. But the weather kept changing, from sunny to cloudy to windy to drizzling to pouring rain. They sang random songs like Back Hug, Complete and Kissing You, it was just too awesome to explain. Tiffany especially sugar coating Malaysian Sones with her adlibs, “Malaysia put it back on”, “Malaysia… you make my life complete” and so on.

Grumpy Smurfny

Seo

Tiffany also said that it’s the first time they sang Back Hug overseas. They said that they were touched with our pink ‘Finally, You’re Back’ balloons, and Sunny (despite her grumpy mood that day) still remembered our ‘Finally, You’re Here’ fan event from 3 years ago! They were sorry that Yoona was unable to join and hope that we will invite them again soon.

Taeyeon

Seohyun

“Please have us back.” – Tiffany.

“It’s the first time we ever performed this long with our fans, outdoor in this weather!” – Tiffany.

They looked genuinely happy for their trip in Malaysia, and we can’t feel any prouder. In total there were 18 posts from their social media about their trip here. They care. *wipe tears*

Healthy Yul

After the concert, we went straight to the airport, to send them off. There were fans waiting too but this time, we behaved. The security tightened even more, and there was a wall of guards around them as they walked. They walked proudly (lol), without worrying about the fans hoarding them. They were split in two groups, for security reasons. Sooyoung, Taeyeon and Seohyun were in a group, and I remember Seohyun being really friendly with fans, she even accepted gifts. But honestly I was more focused on the second group, because both of my biases were there lol. Sunny, Hyoyeon, Tiffany and Yuri came in the last group. Sunny walked at the front, and I said to her clearly, “Sunny, thank you for coming!” She noticed me and waved and smiled at me. I felt so special at that moment haha. I said the same thing to Hyoyeon but she waved at everyone. Tiffany didn’t bother with us at all, but she looked so cute in her pink hoodie. Yuri too was ignoring us at first, as she kept plugging in her earphones as she walked. I kept calling her name and soon begin to complain in Malay words out of frustration, and then she looked at me and waved. Lol why.

Bye bae

 

Cool lah konon

They all waved at us once they passed the gate towards security, and that’s where you got the swag fany pose pic captured by my friend.

Swag sangat

I watched them through the observing glass tower until they disappeared at the duty free stores area. They were still waving at us even when they were going through the customs check. I caught Hyo and Fany waving at my direction in my fancam. Tiffany was especially adorable like a little kid as she waited her turn for check.

Bae and Sunny

 

There it goes, my best 2 days in 2015 so far. And unexpectedly, I care about the 8 girls again. Oh well, I guess I’ll continue to support these girls.

 

BLANC & ECLARE Pop-Up Store in Kuala Lumpur by Respec.Co.

A friend asked me to do a review on B&A sunglasses, so here I am.

Beginning from 10th December till 4th January, an eyewear company called Respec.Co is opening a popup store in Lot 10, a well-known mall in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Me and my friends had decided to go there on the first day, just to look-see as if we were going to the museum. We were confident that we won’t buy anything, since the prices are going to slay our wallets off.

We arrived at Lot 10 around 11am, hungry and tried from walking and also got distracted with H&M before we reached the pop-up store. But once we got there we were excited with a large Jessica light box photo underneath the clear wordings, standing proud and loud – BLANC & ECLARE.

There were a few people there, from the look of it, they seemed like potential casual buyers, and were eyeing the handsome looking B&E pieces on the display. When we got there, a guy from Respec.Co who was friendly and nicely dressed approached me as I was ogling at the 10 different shades that I had only seen on the computer screen. I acted like I barely know the brand and let him do the explaining.

He said it’s a new high-end brand by Jessica. He asked if I knew Jessica lol. He then explained that B&E are really unique pieces and that there are only 100 pieces in Malaysia that they brought in. It was designed in Italy by Jessica and her team and later on was manufactured in China. But although it was made in China, the quality is on par with the ones that are made in Europe. They were also selling another brand, MUZIK. (Other Soshi members were seen wearing MUZIK a few times.)

One of my friends asked the difference between B&E and RayBan or other brands in the common eyewear shops. It was actually a good question.

The guy explained that B&E are handmade unlike RayBan and most common retail names that are manufactured in factories. B&E is categorized as designer items, as in we know who the designer is, unlike RayBan or the shades you picked up at H&M. He then pointed out that B&E sunglasses have double ‘hooks’, unlike most glasses.

He recommended me The New York, so I picked it up and tried it on. And gosh, I loved it. It looked solid yet it’s light, and the engraving of the names was also very well done. Or maybe I’m just biased lol. He also showed us the casing, a triangle shaped black leather with the logo engraved at the front – really handsome-looking little thing.

I’m not an expert in sunglasses department, so I called my sister to ask her about the price. She said that’s the normal price for sunglasses. She bought Marc Jacobs before and that cost her a lot even though it was out of season and on sale. So for a designer brand, with new designs, the price was normal, and actually cheaper compared to others. I noticed that the other brand, MUZIK, and their lowest price were around RM 1000.

After a few minutes of thinking, I bought it. Well, I spend my RM 880 on meaningless things in the past like random concert tickets, so owning a designer shades sounds like a better idea after all. Their staff was overjoyed, lol I was their first customer and the manager guy even announced that I was the first person to own B&E in Malaysia.

And then came the choosing part. There were 5 personally signed sunglasses by Jessica out of 100, and if I’m lucky I might own it. He put 3 boxes of ‘JFK’ (New York) on the table and asked me to choose one. It was so nerve-wracking but in the end I was unlucky. Sad.

The staff then showed us one signed B&E shades that belonged to their boss. It was a real signature by Jessica, neatly on white, The Seoul. They said that on the brighter side, I can wear my shades at ease without worrying about the siggy wearing out.

They added that they’re trying to bring Jessica to Malaysia soon, if it all goes well. One of the staff also said that Jessica is also working on a solo career, though I’ll never know the legitimacy of his source.

Anyway I went home happy and satisfied, with New York by Jessica Jung.

I don’t think the sunglasses are overpriced, as she wanted B&E to be a high class designer label, not retail. It may seem like an impossible dream for some people, for a Korean Idol to own a designer brand with international recognition, but I’m sure success is on her way. And one day she will prove it to those people who ridicule her effort to achieve her dream.

Good luck Jessica Jung. Good luck Blanc & Eclare! 🙂

P/S:

I’ll always feel a little bitterness whenever I see Soshi, Jessica-less or whenever I see Jessica, Soshi-less. We’ll never know what happen behind closed doors, and it’s pointless to point fingers.

As long as they’re all doing well at what they do, whether it’s singing, acting, (dating lol) or business, it’s enough for me as a fan.

소원

We’re in the most challenging phase we’ve ever been through. I thought the black ocean in 2008 was the worst phase, but even through the darkness at the time, there are always pink lights peering through. But now, we’re at risk of losing the pink light.

Without it it’ll be pitch dark.

I was puzzled at first, why would the most stable fandom be shaken by yet another dating news? I couldn’t understand why the local fans and some ifans were so disappointed by what happened. The usually calm and most supportive fans were openly voicing out their disappointment, and some even leave. Some were quick to judge them, including myself, to think they are too sensitive and delusional.

But after a while, I could understand them.

They’ve been investing their time and energy, supporting the girls by any means possible and shielding them from negativity from ground zero. But then this happened. By the person they trusted the most in the group, the leader herself. It’s as if all their effort of ‘building a wall you can’t climb over’ was in vain. It was the worst scenario possible, because it’s as if the wall was destroyed by the people it’s supposed to protect.

But, to turn your back against them and leave in the middle of a crisis like this is unfair.

I don’t know about you, but to me SNSD used to bring me a lot of joy. Though I’m not that crazy of a fan I once was (lol I’m a casual fan now) I never forget the times the girls made me smile.

How many of you listen to their songs when you were stressed?

Watch their shows and laugh your heart out to forget about your problems for a while?

Went to their concert to travel to meet new friends and have a great time?

Spent hours writing/reading stories about them when you need an escape from the real world?

We run to them when the world was too much to bear. But now when they are being put in that situation, we leave them. It’s unfair.

The girls are public figures, idols who dedicate 80% of their lives in front of the public eyes. It’s different for us. We can love them wholeheartedly one second and then we lose interest, went to do different things, or go on dates, got married maybe settle down and have children. They will be just a mere memory.

But the girls, they’ve been united as a group past the idol expiration date – 7 years. They did their best the first 6 years, and actually still are, but how long will this goes on? They are like us too, human beings, not real goddesses.

At this point it doesn’t surprise me if some of the members wanted to take a break, pursue other goals or even settle down. All their hard work since they were young kids had been paid. They’ve reached their current goals and achieved success at mid-twenties. It’s normal for them to do so. I won’t judge their choice of men either, because they’ve done so much through the years, following company and fans requests. Can’t they at least choose who they want to love?

Maybe what Taeyeon did with her IG did cross the line a bit. As love struck as she was with him, she should be more mature and professional handling her SNS account. The SNS account that she claimed to be just for her fans. But knowing Taeyeon, she’s the type to flaunt the things she likes, look at the tons of Ginger posts. She must really like him. Love can make people lose their logic sometimes.

Always remember that Taeyeon is just God’s creation, like you and me. She may look flawless on the outside, but the truth is she’s just a young woman. Sometimes she’s humble; sometimes she became a bit proud. But it’s human nature. She did apologize, it was quite quick and I doubt the company had control over that. She did her part, she wanted to make things right.

Now it’s our turn to be the bigger person and forgive.

 

Seoul Spring Trip 2014 Day 2 – Food & Culture Academy, Sejong Centre, Namdaemun, Hongdae

26/3/14

The primary reason for this trip is this, to get the certificate from the Food and Culture Academy. The place was located near Gwanghwamun, and it was 800m walk from the subway. Silly us for thinking that 800m is a short distance by walking. But we get to enjoy the morning scenery along Gwanghwamun road and a few times distracted by the delicious smell of Red Bean Fish Bread (Bunggeoppang). I was worried that they didn’t sell it anymore since it’s a winter street food, so I was overjoyed when I saw the stall haha.

It wasn’t hard to find the place, the direction on the website was clear enough. The teacher, Jay was expecting us. The academy seems empty with only two teachers around. Jay told us that the others were sent out on site to help with a drama shooting. She was a nice young woman and she speaks fluent English too. The class was fun and informative. The teacher was friendly and understanding. We made a Bibimbap with seafood because we told them that we don’t eat meat. She got curious and asked us about Halal meat and Muslim diet. And I kinda enjoyed explaining it to her.

“In Islam, we slaughtered the animal in the name of God, whispered it to the animal and make sure it was ready. We did it in the least painful way for the animal to die. We don’t simply eat meat that we don’t know how its life was taken away.”

 

The bibimbap was great. So delicious. I can’t even describe. And my sister graduated with a Bibimbap Degree that day! LOL

We stopped by a cute café, Chateau Chocolate because it was so cute. It’s a small place and it sells chocolates! The hot choco was yummy! I also bought a bag of Bunggeoppang for the road teehee.

We went to Kyobo Bookstores since we’re already there. But before that we made a stop at Sejong Experience Centre, the entrance near the King Sejong huge statue. It was a nice underground museum. Everything about King Sejong and also Admiral Yi was there. We accidentally found a calligraphy booth for tourists and wrote our names in Hangul! We even asked the pretty staff to write one for our Milk Moustache Café! In the meantime, we managed to join the 4D theatre for Admiral Yi and the glorious story of how he leads his army of only 15 ships defeating 300 Japanese ships.

We finally found the bookstore after wandering a while. I bought No Breathing DVD! I was so excited with No Breathing and haven’t even watched it unless I get the original DVD or watch it in the theatre. Got the DVD, special first print edition. Yay. I also grabbed an SM The Ballad mini album, without knowing why.

We went to Namdaemun next, to buy gifts for the loved ones at home. Got so tempted with the fluffy Hotteoks and bought some! We then relaxed a bit at A Twosome Place café across the street.

For dinner that day, it’s Hongdae’s Turkish Kebab! Isn’t that Arab guy adorable? :3

 

Next: Day 3 – Snow Crab experience at Noryangjin Fish Market!

Seoul Spring Trip 2014: Day 1 – Dongdaemun, DDP & Myeongdong

25/03/14

We’re back to the Hangul land again! And this time it’s just in time for Spring! Well, it was supposed to be springtime but somehow the winter refuse to leave earlier and we only managed to see the blooming flowers on the last day of our trip haha. But the weather was so pleasant; it wasn’t so hot and not so cold, just perfect so we’re not complaining lol.

This time my sister and I decided to stay at Hongdae (Hongik University), the place where I stayed last summer with my friend, The Granny. We were there for Soshi concert lalala. Anyway the place is called Neo Seoul Guesthouse, located near Hongdae city centre. Last summer it was called Blu: Guesthouse Seogyo, not sure why they changed the name, maybe some problem between the popular Blu: Guesthouse chain and the owner, I’m not sure, but the place is still nice as before.

I like this guesthouse because it’s clean and spacious, also their cable TV and the free breakfast. There was also the resident cute puppy living there, last time it was only a puppy but now it’s all big and grown up haha. But the owner keep the dog on leash most of the time, so it was okay for us.

This time we’re not really depending on an itinerary, we only have a loose list of places to go lol. The first place we went after check in was Dongdaemun. Been to Seoul twice but I’ve never set foot at the infamous shopping district.

As soon as we get out of the subway, we were directly at the entrance of the newly opened DDP, Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park. It was only been opened for 4 days and we were already there! Probably we’re one of the earliest Malaysian who set foot there?

DDP was amazing. AMAZING. We were in awe most of the time, mouth gaping with ‘ooohs’ and ‘ahhhs’ as we walked into the architectural monument. It was designed by Zaha Hadid, a female Iraqi-British architect. It was shaped like a real-life spaceship. It was huge and there were exhibition halls on each floor. When we were there, there was the Seoul Fashion Week going on, and the ground floor was filled with stylish people and models. Photographers were snapping photos randomly, I don’t know if there were celebrities attending, because almost everyone there looked like they’re ready for photo shoot. For a moment I felt like I was in Capitol, from Hunger Games Trilogy. And I was dressing like a District 12 tribute lol.

 

But inside the building was filled with old people lol. The entrance is free, so I guess the old locals from around Dongdaemun were to visit first. Grandmas, grandpas and ahjummas were filling the expensive stylish seats on each floor, it was quite a funny sight.

 

 

 

Found an SM STARDIUM pop up store inside DDP. Lots of EXO stuffs and very little GG stuffs. Overpriced.

We went strolling around Dongdaemun after that, buying clothes that were really cheap and stylish at the streets. Almost everything was on bargain and it was so tempting. Haggling was kinda fun too, as I asked for ‘Coffee money’ every time. They understood the term well lol!

It was almost dinner and we realized that we haven’t had lunch. We looked for the famous Dongdaemun Grilled Fish Street but failed! I don’t know why it was so hard to find it, and we settled at Holly Coffee to recharge.

Desperate and hungry, I dragged my sister to Myeongdong to pay another visit to one of the hottest Mat-Jib (famous) restaurant, Myeongdong Eommoni Jib! This place was listed in the KTO halal place recommendation. We ordered the famous dish of the place, their Haemultang (Seafood Stew) and a seafood pajeon. The owner, not sure the halmeoni name was there, greeting customers in her signature uniform. She wore the same clothes like every day…

 

 

After dinner we continue shopping at the usual places, the annual cosmetic shopping at Banila Co. and Nature Republic. We also went to SPAO for their cheap but high quality shoes and clothes.

 

Next: Day 2 – Food & Culture Academy, Sejong Centre, Namdaemun, Hongdae