Meet Halfway

On my way to Greek class today, the man in front of me was mouthing the lyrics of the song being played in the jeepney. I took my earphones off to listen to the song. It's Colbie Callait's Realize. To my surprise, the guy beside me was also softly singing along under his breath. Seeing how absorbed they were with the song, there's probably a girl in each one's life whom they kept missing on and they never had the right time to come together to settle differences and misunderstandings. They're probably wondering when that time will come.

You guys, I'm sending my hopes that you and that girl will meet halfway and agree and be together for life. It's not going to be that simple but if you realize something between the two of you, then it's going to take a lot of work.

Happy Birthday!

Photo by Ree/Aaron Cabay

Happy birthday!

This is the most awkward greeting that I am compelled to craftily dodge every year. I appreciate the greeting but what do you exactly mean by it?

Do you wish me a happy birthday, or do you mean that it’s a happy day whether that is true or not? Or do you mean that it’s a day for me to be happy whether I like it or not? Or do you mean that you own a preconceived notion that I will hold a banquet for you to be happy on? Or you merely want to be courteously different today by replacing hello and how are you? 

Well, happy birthday!

Things I've Done As A Fan

I consider myself a Super Junior fan—not the whole of K-Pop. Most K-Pop fans have more than one fandom and since I only have one group to root for, I don't think I qualify as a K-Pop fan. 

But after reading Korea Boo's article 9 Things K-Pop Fans Should Do At Least Once In Their Lifetime, I surprised myself and am probably a K-Pop fan after all.

1. Go to a concert

I had no idea what happens in a K-Pop concert. I went to Super Junior's Super Show 3 in Manila and was blown how super the 3-hour performance was. It really lived up to its concert title.

Super Junior performing Don't Don

Super Show 3 about to begin.

2. Eat Korean food

I cannot think of a Korean food I don't like. I have yet to find it.

짜장면! Jjajangmyeon! (Black bean sauce noodles)

3. Watch a drama or a movie

Well, there's no K-Pop star in the current drama I'm watching but Park Shin Hye sings and so I think that counts as K-Pop?

Photo by SBS Drama

4. Sing at a noraebang

Noraebang is the Korean videoke. I haven't really been to a noraebang place but I have sung from noraebang machines. One was in Korean Cultural Center where every after exams, our teacher sends the noraebang machine to our room so we can all sing. Another place where I sing noraebang is in World of Fun SM North EDSA.

Lyrics on screen for I Can't Believe It by Younha.

5. Learn a dance to a song

Becoming a Super Junior fan has also ended my two decade loathing on dancing. So far I've learned to lamely dance Sorry Sorry.

6. Attend a fan meetup in your neighborhood

I once volunteered to distribute albums that were ordered from Korea and for other times, I claimed albums that I ordered. I was also walking in a mall and happened to pass by an activity center  and found out it was a Super Junior convention. I was curious about what happens in those kind of events and so I paid the entrance ticket and attended. My hunch was 100% correct. My ears were deadened by screaming girls over a 30-second commercial.

7JIB MAMACITA Meet-up 

7JIB MAMACITA Meet-up

5JIB A-Cha (Mr. Simple) Meet-up

7. Watch a performance live online

The first performance I watched was MAMA 2011 Singapore where Super Junior attended and performed. It amazed me how I felt so present in Singapore even if I was only watching through a screen.

8. Send fan mail or gifts

During concerts, fans throw gifts on stage for the performers to pick up. If your gift is interesting enough, some performers can pick your gift up during the concert to play with it or eat it (some pass on pizza or chocolates). After the concert is over, the production team gathers all gifts on stage and gives them later to the artists. I didn't throw mine on the stage. I asked a bouncer if he can place it on stage for them to pick up later.

Siwon likes reading and so I thought he'd be interested to read this one.

What gift doesn't include a note?

9. Wait for a group at the airport

I think this is the only thing I might never do. I'm not into keeping vigil because I love my sleeping time too much.

20 Things You Might Not Know About Me Blog Tag

Because Alyssa Chua tagged me, here goes my answers. Even if these are knee-jerk answers, they're honest ones. ;)

Question 1: How tall are you?  

5 feet and 2 inches

Question 2: Do you have a hidden talent? If so, what?

I can burp as loud as a bullfrog.

Question 3: What’s your biggest blog-related pet peeve?  

When fonts don't work the way I want them.

Question 4: What’s your biggest non-blog related pet peeve?  

Cigarette smoke

Question 5: What’s your favourite song?

My favourite song in the 4 minutes than I'm in is I Love You, I Want You by Apple Mango. The next minutes would have different answers.

Question 6: What’s your favourite Etsy shop that isn't yours?

I don't have any. Because I don't know what Etsy is. Haha.

Question 7: What’s your favourite way to spend your free time when you’re alone?

Thinking out loud and scolding myself--in Korean. Other than that, it would be ultimately: reading.

Question 8: What’s your favourite junk food?

Any brand of potato chips. Oishi released a new one but I can't remember the exact name.

Question 9: Do you have a pet or pets? If so, what kind and what are their names?

I had a stray cat. His name was Cottontail. He's dead. We have a dog who's half terrier and I don't know what the other half is. His name is Sniffles. I hope he lives longer.

Question 10: What are your number one favourite non-fiction and fiction books?

Non-fiction: Philippians Fiction: All my favourites

Question 11: What’s your favourite beauty product?

Human Nature Lip Balm.

Question 12: When were you last embarrassed? What happened?

I can't remember because I'd be embarrassed to replay it in my memory.

Question 13: If you could only drink one beverage (besides water) for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

Water with ice.

Question 14: What’s your favourite movie?

The "favourite" questions are impossible. Each would have a separate post of its own. The topmost would be Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Rurouni Kenshin series.

Question 15: What were you in high school: prom queen, nerd, cheerleader, jock, valedictorian, band geek, loner, artist, prep?

A loner bookworm. Because I just want to do nothing but be alone with books.

Question 16: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

Philippines, forever and ever.

Question 17: PC or Mac?

MAC ALL THE WAY!

Question 18: Last romantic gesture from a crush, date, boy/girlfriend, spouse?

He made a video in Taiwan where he posed as an Adidas store employee.

Question 19: Favourite celebrity?

Today it's Takeru Sato. Tomorrow it might be Liam Neeson. And the day after tomorrow, it might be Sean Astin.

Question 20: What blogger do you secretly want be best friends with?

Jen Chae of www.frmheadtotoe.com

#20ThingsBlogTag

Christin Alvarez Answers

This post is loosely based on the micro-interviews in a blog I follow in The Gospel Coalition website. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the answers of the interviewees and thought it would be some fun to answer them myself.

1. Where were you born? Quezon City, Philippines

2. When did you become a  Christian? I don't have an exact date as to when I really became alive in the Spirit, but I do know that the Gospel story began its work in my life when I was nine when my dad shared it to me.

3. Who is one well known pastor/author/leader who shaped you as a Christian and teacher? I don't think I can limit this to just one: John Piper, Francis Chan, Tim Keller, Matt Chandler. 

4. Who is one lesser known pastor/friend/mentor who has shaped you? Richard Park, Franco Ferrer, Derek Ross

5. What's one hymn you want sung at your funeral? This is hard. I love hymns. Maybe... Like A River Glorious

6. What kind of nonfiction do you enjoy reading when you aren't reading about theology, the Bible or church history? Missionary biographies. Tolkien or Lewis biographies. And Wikipedia. 

7. What is one of your favorite Non-Christian biographies? Jose Rizal biographies of various authors and well... Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton

8. What music do you keep coming back to your iPhone (or CD player, or tape deck, or gramophone)? Storm, Take Me Away, and You Can Shake the Mountains by Lifehouse; The Real World by Owl City; and 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman (I know it's kind of new but I can see myself in the future always coming back to this song)

9.  Favorite food? Another hard question for someone who loves to eat almost anything. I love any food that is Filipino, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, and anything Asian (Thai, Indonesian, etc.)

Let  me know if you'll do this. I'd love to read your answers!

John Huss (Jan Hus)

John Huss portrait from Wikipedia

John Huss of Bohemia (around 1369-1415) in contrast to the humanistic elements which had come into the church--and which led to the authority of the church being accepted as equal to, or greater than, the authority of the Bible and which emphasized human work as a basis for meriting the merit of Christ--Huss returned to the teachings of the Bible and of the early church and stressed that the Bible is the only source of final authority and that salvation only comes through Christ and his work. He further developed  Wycliffe's views on the priesthood of all believers. Promised safe-conduct to speak at the Council of Constance, he was betrayed and burned at the stake there on July 6, 1415. (taken from How Should We Then Live by Francis Schaeffer)

This was 599 years ago today. Let's remember those before us.

Isang Libong Milya (A Thousand Miles)

More than a year ago, I went to Indonesia with a friend for work/missionary purpose. On the way home to Manila, we decided to make a short video of our flight from Indonesia-Hongkong-Manila. It was a spur of the moment let's-make-a-video-for-fun during layover and I didn't expect that the actual outcome would be a fun way to reminisce our trip.