Sunday, December 16th 2007

Concert Day Two!

Pagi2 abis sarapan aku dan Itjan langsung ngilang. Pergi ke Siam Square, tepatnya ke Hard Rock Cafe, biasalah kalo pergi ke LN banyak bener yg nitip. Abis tuh, jalan bentar udah nyampe lagi ke MBK. Di situ belanja macem-macem, aku beli dvd concert, tas buat adek dan gelang karet warna oranye bertuliskan Thai yg artinya Long Live the King. Bingung kan kenapa tiba2 kepikiran gitu. Karena di konser hari pertama anak2 Dong Bang pada pake hihihi. Jadi aku beli dua dan langsung dipake.

Tepat jam 12 kurang kita berhasil kembali tiba di hotel. Pamer gelang ke anak2. Pada pengen.. tapi kan cuman beli buat diri sendiri. Gelangku satu dirampok Imel *sobbing*. Trus Imel, Manda dan Susu ngajak ke toko Korean Star di deket hotel Ariston. Jadi kita ngga bareng rombongan naek bis ke Impact Arena. Berlima naek taksi, anak2 pada ke money changer dulu karena udah keabisan baht. Karena di sana ngga banyak barang yg menarik dan kocek emang dah menipis, aku cuman beli gantungan kunci doang. Setelah itu, kembali dgn taksi kita menuju Impact Arena.

Mengingat hari ini dapat tiket duduk di SG dan SH, kita berlima ngga perlu ngantri. Mana venue nya juga baru dibuka jam 3. Akhirnya kita pergi makan siang dulu di McD, di gedung exhibition hall. Sekalian juga liat2 tuh exhibition. Bagus tuh acara pameran. Semua produk Thailand ada. Sayang kita ndak punya waktu dan duit untuk liat-liat. Setelah itu kita balik ke Impact Arena yg udah dibuka. Langsung menuju official goods. Pengen beli poster version 2. Kemaren ndak berani beli karena dpt standing pasti poster bakal remuk. Ternyata keputusan yang salah. Posternya udah SOLD OUT, baik version 1 maupun 2. Selain poster, strap hp nya Jejung juga udah sold out. Keliatan emang secara internasional, fan base nya Jejung paling besar.

Karna udah ngga punya kerjaan laen nunggu pintu dibuka jam 7 dan badan pegal semua, kita memutuskan untuk balik ke exhibition hall buat Thai massage. Tapi antrian panjang banget, baru bisa masuk jam 6 sore. Waktunya terlalu mepet, jadi batal deh. Balik ke Impact, antrian buat yg seating section udah mulai terliat. Kita pun ikutan. Antrinya rapi dan tertib jadi bisa sambil ngobrol. Mengingat pengalaman di hari sebelumnya, aku ngga mau ngambil risiko dan menitipkan kamera di deposit counter. Sebelum masuk, menyempatkan liat2 jualan di pinggir jalan. Beli bando yg nyala2 dan celengan Xiah (soalnya yg Micky ndak ada).

Tepat jam 7, pintu dibuka. Kita pun melewati security dan tas digeledah satu-satu. Sempat salah naek, akhirnya aku dan Itjan menemukan SG dan tempat duduk di F14 dan F15. Sebelum konser dimulai, anak2 dari TVXQ Event membagi2kan lima light stick warna warni. Nanti dipake waktu solo project. Selain itu, khusus pas Jejung solo, kita dikasi banner putih dgn tulisan ungu: Sexy Hero Ah!

Konser dimulai tepat waktu juga, jam delapan malam. Enjoy banget nonton konser malam itu. Meskipun sequence lagunya sama, tapi anak2 Dong Bang explore sisi panggung yg beda dgn hari sebelumnya. Satu-satunya yg mengganggu adalah seorang fans Thai di belakangku. She kept screaming in my ears, like it makes any different. I mean, those guys can't even hear her, but she kept screaming. Even her friend sat next to her felt irritated.

Some highlights about the concert.

• Lagu My Page. Junsu membuka rompinya. It's the first time I guess. Pas konser di Korea dan di hari sebelumnya ngga tuh.
  
• Lagu Balloons. Unlike the previous day, kali ini kapal terbangnya pada lancar semua. Micky dgn kencang memacu kapalnya ngejar2 Junsu. Junsu tadinya kabur. Tapi pas di sisi kiri panggung, dia membalikkan kapalnya dan tabrakan ama Micky.
• Lagu Hug. Hari sebelumnya kan yg disuruh joget itu Yunho. Kali ini Junsu. Jogetnya lucu banget, kayak orang maen silat, dan member laen ngasi semangat: Go Junsu! Go Junsu! Udah gitu lima2nya iseng banget ngumpul di depan kamera di sebelah kanan dan nyanyi di situ. Kan pada bawa2 banner gitu. Bannernya ada dua rata2. Satu dilempar ke fans, satu dipake. Tp yg Junsu punya ketangkep fans. Sempat agak lama tarik2an, akhirnya Junsu merelakan tuh banner buat fans di BL.
• Setelah Encore Hug, berdasarkan pengalaman hari sebelumnya, memutuskan tetap stay di arena. Bener aja. Selang beberapa menit kemudian, Micky dan diikuti ama yg laen muncul. Kalo hari sebelumnya cuman lari dari kiri ke kanan panggung, hari ini mereka lari keliling arena. Sambil menyapu tangan ke bawah, nyentuh tangan para fans. That was very nice of them!
  

Ngga terasa another 2.5 hours berlalu sudah. Pada capek semua, tapi tetap semangat cerita di bis walo bentar. Karena abis itu semua tertidur. Nyampe hotel, masih harus packing. Besoknya mau ke Dream World dan malamnya terbang ke Singapura. Jadi jam 9 pagi udah harus check out.

Saturday, December 15^th 2007

Concert Day One!

Akhirnya hari ini sampai jugah. Pagi merupakan acara bebas. Aku dan Itjan pergi jalan2 sekitar hotel aja. Beli handuk buat dibawa ke konser mikirnya bakal keringatan dan panas banget. Sekitar jam 11 kita balik ke kamar dan istirahat bentar. Apple nyuruh kumpul di lobi jam 12 siang. Pas turun ke lobi, anak2 udah pada siap dengan perlengkapan perang masing-masing. Ada Lola dan Yaya dgn bando bertuliskan Xiah nya. Imel dan Susu dari pagi ke bandara buat ngambil paket kaos TI. Untung mereka tiba tepat waktu sambil lari2 bawa kardus. Kita pun naek ke bus dan langsung melaju menuju tempat makan dulu. Di atas bis, kaosnya dibagi, warna merah dgn tulisan TVXQ Indo warna putih yg glow in the dark.

Lunch nya di Suki Family. Steamboat nya biasa aja, kalo ndak dikasi sambel malah ndak enak. Tapi anak2 abis juga makannya, malah ada yg nambah nasi segala. Ngga lupa di hongnam (baca toilet), anak2 pada ganti baju. Setelah kenyang, bis pun datang menjemput lagi dan langsung membawa kita ke Impact Arena.

Impact Arena letaknya dekat bandara Suvarnabhumi dan agak jauh dari downtown. Karena kenyang dan lelah jalan2 hari sebelumnya, anak2 pada tidur di bis. Pada bangun waktu Apple ngomong di sebelah kanan jalan layang udah keliatan Impact Arena nya. Sesampai di sana sekitar jam 3 siang, pada foto dulu di terik matahari dengan banner TI. Udah pada ngga sabaran untuk liat venue concert dan ngantri. Rombongan pada garis besarnya terbagi atas dua grup: standing AL dan standing AR (Note: AL sebelah kiri penggemar YooSu dan AR sebelah kanan penggemar ChangHo, sedangkan penggemar Jejung silakan milih mo di AL or AR).

Bisa nebak aku milihnya di mana. Pasti AL dong. Meliat antrian yg cukup panjang kita pun langsung lari2 cari tempat AL ngantri. Sempat salah ngantri di BL, akhirnya kita dapat tempat ngantri di ujung. Antrian udah kayak ular, berkelok-kelok dan panjang.  Karena arena baru akan dibuka jam 7 malam, sekitar 4 jam kemudian, aku akhirnya pergi jalan-jalan liat2 sekitar. Ada official goods dijual. Yg antri beli banyak. Aku akhirnya ikutan beli deh, kaos dan strap hp Micky. Udara yg panas banget buat anak2 mulai pada pake payung dan handuk nutupin wajah.

Menjelang jam 7, antrian yg tadinya rapih mendadak berantakan waktu semuanya berdiri dan maju nggak jelas. Pas jam 7 antrian lebih kacau lagi karena dipindahkan. Aku, Itjan, Lola dan Yaya terdesak ke pinggir belakang. Imel dkk udah ada di depan tapi mereka sempit2an banget ngga bisa bergerak. Takut pingsan, semuanya konsentrasi bernafas berebut udara segar di atas *bayangin ikan yg megap2 bernafas, seperti itulah lautan fans di BL. Setelah berjuang ampir setengah jam himpit2an, akhirnya bisa nyampe juga di dalam. Dan ohh, ampir lupa cerita. Aku berhasil menyembunyikan kamera. Jangan ditanya kusembunyikan di mana, yg pasti kalo security sampe nyentuh daerah itu, bisa dikategorikan sexual harassment. Sampe di dalam, kita foto2 dulu pake hp. Kamera blm berani dikeluarkan sampe lampu padam.

Menjelang jam 8 malam, mulai diputar iklan Yamaha, yg jadi sponsor utama ini konser. Bosen banget deh liat tampang Golf and Mike di layar. Jeda bentar yg diisi dgn lagu One Love nya SMTown. Kemudian mulai dibacakan pengumuman konser dalam lima bahasa: Inggris, Chinese, Japanese, Korean dan Thai. Jeda bentar diisi dgn lagu Show me your love nya Suju + TVXQ dan setelah itu…..

Sirene mulai bunyi… Di layar besar di panggung, diputar video opening. Ceritanya tentang perang berkepanjangan, bumi gersang. Dan our heroes landing on earth. Keren banget deh openingnya.

Ngga lama muncul TVXQ beneran dari bawah dan lagu Phantom pun mulai. Seketika fans pada jejeritan dan merapat ke depan. Bajunya sama kayak di concert Korea, hitam dan merah. Micky cakep banget. Aku pun ngeluarin hp Nokia N81 dan mulai ngerekam. Eh baru setengah jalan, udah disapa ama security yg serem. He can’t even speak in English. I said to him it’s a cellphone, not a camera. Glad he understood and left me. Tapi aku udah ngga semangat ngerekam dan memutuskan ikut nyanyi dan teriak saja. Kan aku punya light stick nya dua. Karena hari itu ultah Junsu, aku ngeluarin yg Xiah aja. Cuman kocaknya, stick yg diacungin ke atas tulisan Xiah, nama yg diteriakin: Micky! Micky!

Urutan lagu.. kalo ada yg ketinggalan, atau urutan berubah harap dimaapkan, berdasarkan ingatanku sajah.

1. Phantom
2. Million Men. Di tengah lagu ada cewe pake tali melayang di udara dan nyebarin uang.
3. The way you are. Video intronya keren deh.
4. Rising sun. Ngga pernah bosen ama lagu ini, dan mereka emang enerjik banget di sini.
5. One. Di sini ganti kostum. Lagu yg buat aku jadi suka TVXQ. Mana intro nya bagus. Ditunjukin video cewe yg jatuh ke laut. Trus di panggung, ada curtain tipis dan video+lighting yg buat kesan seakan lagi di dalam laut. Si cewe dgn bantuan tali, jatuh tenggelam dan diselamatin ama member TVXQ (pake stuntman, bukan member beneran). Pas mulai reff (Someday I lay my love on you..), curtain nya jatuh dan kelima member jadi jelas lagi terlihat. Sumpah keren banget, dan suara Junsu tetap prima gitu.
6. Midhuyo. Tiap jeda satu baris lirik lagu, fans dengan kompak teriak nama member.
7. You’re my miracle.
8. Junsu’s solo: My Page. Huaaaaaaa… dance Junsu keren bangettttt…! Di tengah lagu, dia pake topi dan mulailah siraman air dari atas kena ke badannya yg menari-nari. Sexy abessshhh.. Dan eng ing eng.. at the end, dia ngelempar topinya ke bagian standing AL. Seketika 7 orang menghilang dari pandangan, berebut topi. Satu persatu fans berguguran. Posisi terakhir setelah beberapa lagu adalah Febi versus 1 org fans Thai yg kuat banget. Imel berusaha keras menjatuhkan tuh orang. Topi Junsu yg sedikit robek berhasil diperoleh anak TI yg keilangan 5 lagu! Ternyata ikan putih pembawa keberuntungan itu adalah untuk topinya Junsu!
9. Micky’s solo: One Last Cry. Satu-satunya lagu yg aku apal full song. Micky nyanyi di tengah panggung, jadi aku cuman bisa liat punggung dan pantat doang. So kadang2 terpaksa liat layar gede di sisi kanan dan kiri panggung.
10. Yunho’s solo: Spokesman. Rapper nya siapa ya? Wajahnya mirip ama adeknya Micky. Yunho ada 3x tuh ganti jaket. Kejadian kocak told by Novri yg di standing AR. Di depannya ada cowo agak melambai gitu berjaket merah. Sepertinya dia fans berat Yunho. Sehingga waktu Yunho mulai berjalan ke depan, dia langsung teriak2 YUNHOOO… dgn suara cowo, dan sambil bener2in rambutnya. Wkakaakak.. kita yg cewe aja udah ngga merhatiin penampilan lagi liat suasana konser kayak gitu.
11. Hey! Girl!. Ada lima cewe2 ndak penting yg raba2 dan dance uri namja yg nyanyi sambil duduk.
12. I wanna hold you.
13. Changmin’s solo: When I first kissed you. Changmin pake sleeveless dan sering maen ke standing AL. Yay!
14. Jejung’s solo: Crying. Meskipun suara JJ terdengar lelah.. tapi penghayatan dia di lagu ini patut diacungin jempol.
15. Drive. Intro nya sumpah lucu banget. TVXQ Theatre. Ceritanya mereka ke showroom mobil. Our Yoosu kocak, Micky dgn tampang dork nya liatin wiper. Trus mereka diusir ama si owner. Trus pada pergi ke tempat mobil bekas dan bertukang buat mobil. Udah jadi, Micky ngelapin pinggir mobil dgn pantatnya, such a cute dorky! Abis video lucu itu, muncul deh mobil yg dikendara-in oleh Micky dan Yunho. Yg laennya nyanyi di samping sambil nemenin mobilnya jalan ke depan. Semua pada mencar di sluruh sisi panggung. Di akhir, semua memandu para fans buat teriak oh, oh oh oh and TVXQ.
16. You only love. Mereka nyanyi sambil duduk. Di setengah lagu awal, wajahnya ngga keliatan, hanya berupa siluet dgn latar warna merah menyala. Setelah itu baru deh lampu sorot maen dan each member terlihat jelas.
17. Dangerous mind
18. Triangle. Jang Ri In nya cuman nongol bentar, itu juga di bagian atas panggung aja, ngga turun ke bawah.
19. O Jung Ban Hap. I’ll never get bored of this song. Mana middle nya selalu diremix dgn versi beda-beda gitu. Di sini Junsu dance L, you know lah yg tangannya satu di bawah dan kakinya bentuk huruf L. Bajunya Micky yg robek2 di bagian depan gitu. Cuman benang2 doang nutup perut dan dadanya. Sementara Changmin pake baju yang super duper sekseee.. V neck tapi jauh banget bentuk v nya ke bawah sampe2 itu *maap* pentil buah dadanya nongol ke mana-mana.
20. Remember. Para member pada keliling panggung dan ngumpul di tengah. Panggung tengah naek ke atas dan muter, jadi semuanya dpt liat every member dgn jelas. Pake mantel putih panjang, kayak prince semua.
21. Timeless, Xiah n Jang Ri In. Suara Junsu emang prima banget. Udah capek gitu tapi suaranya tetap bagus dan stabil.
22. Balloons. Video intro nya itu yg kartun. Critanya pada pergi ke taman hiburan tp ndak punya uang buat maen wahana. Akhirnya satu2nya wahana yg gratis yg maen kapal putar. Kelima2nya udah keliatan siap2 dgn kapal2an (kayak mobil kecil gitu siy). Pas intro Balloons, mulai deh satu2 menjalankan mobilnya keliling panggung. Tapi mobil Micky ndak mau jalan. Dibantu bentar, akhirnya mau jalan tapi lambat. Micky jadi ndak bisa maen2 deh. Mobil Max juga stuck di panggung antara AR dan BR. Mobil Junsu paling lincah, mana kencang banget dan Junsu nya lucu banget ngendara-in sambil joget2 gitu. Masing2 ngambil spot di ujung panggung dan kita kebagian Junsu. Kyaaaaaa…. He’s so cute and full smile. Mungkin karena ultah hari itu.
23. Hi Ya Ya. Di sini para member mulai keliatan relax. Mereka pun membalikkan mobil kecil ke panggung depan dan rajin keliling panggung. Nyebar2 kertas dan juga maen loncat tali.
24. Perayaan ultah Junsu. Ke panggung bagian tengah, disediakan kue tart dgn gambar pohon kelapa (padahal katanya mo gambar dolphin). Semua nyanyiin lagu ultah: Happy Birthday to you3x , Happy Birthday Junsu. Abis itu pada timpukan kue. Kepala Junsu jadi berselemak dgn kue, mana dia ampir jatuh kepleset pula karena licin. Micky dgn rasa sayange minta handuk dan meletakkannya di kepala Junsu. Mereka ngobrol dulu dgn fans bentar. Another Yoosu moment waktu Micky ngeliat Junsu kok agak jauh ke kanan. Dia pun narik lengan kaos Junsu buat mendekat. Cuteeee…! Setelah itu member ngucapin terimakasih dan goodbye. Para fans pun teriak2 DONG BANG SHIN GI.
25. Hug (Encore). Semua tampil relax banget. Make pernak-pernik dari fans dan mungut2in hadiah. Micky ngambil topi gajah dan dipake.Di tengah lagu Yunho disuruh dance sendiri di depan kamera. Lucu. Setelah selesai, Micky yg sempat ngutip hadiah bola meletakkan bola itu di tengah panggung dan ditendang oleh Junsu. Langsung deh barisan BR pada rubuh semua memperebutkan bola.

Ngga terasa udah 2,5 jam dan ngga mau percaya kalo konsernya udah berakhir. Fans ada yg udah keluar, termasuk Imel yg haus banget karena berebutan topi. Aku masih stay dan ternyata Dong Bang sempat keluar bentar. Cuman lari dari kiri ke kanan panggung dan sebaliknya, dipimpin oleh Micky. Dies!

Di bis dalam perjalanan balik ke hotel, ndak ada yg tidur. Semua sibuk cerita pengalaman. Nana heboh banget dgn fancam nya. Semua member dia punya fancam kecuali Jejung. Imel dkk cerita pengalaman memperebutkan topi. Dan itu topi pun digilir untuk dismell dan foto dgn topi. Sumpah, topinya wangi banget. Huaaaa.. malam itu seneng banget and can’t wait for the second day of the concert!

Friday, December 14th 2007

Morning call jam 6 pagi. Rasanya masih sejam deh tidurnya, tp harus udah nyeret badan ke kamar mandi. Berhasil sarapan jam 7 pagi dan ngumpul di lobi jam 8 pagi. Apple udah siap sedia dan bis pun membawa kita jalan2 keliling Bangkok.

Tugas pertama adalah menyusuri Chao Praya, sungai yg membelah kota Bangkok. Sungainya asli lebar dan airnya banyak. Meski warna sungainya ngga bening tapi sungainya bersih loh, ngga kayak kali Ciliwung. Di ujung dekat suatu temple, kapalnya berenti dan ada tiga pedagang yg jualan. Ngga ada yg beli souvenir. Anak2 pada beli roti untuk dikasi ke ikan yg banyak banget di sungai itu. Ikannya gede2, ikan patin dan semuanya berwarna hitam. Tapi kmd Apple cerita kalo dari beribu2 patin hitam di sungai itu cuman beberapa ekor aja yg warnanya putih. Katanya kalo kita bisa liat tuh ikan putih, bakal beruntung. Anak2 langsung semangat nyari tuh ikan sambil lempar2 roti. Eh benerrr.. ngga lama kemudian muncul ikan nya, di sebelah kiri kapal dan deket banget dgn tempat dudukku. Sontak semuanya pada teriak dan pindah ke sebelah kiri kapal. Apple sampe stress kapalnya bakal oleng dan jomplang ke sungai. Nana dan Manda langsung teriak Jejung! Jejung! Sapa tau tuh ikan bisa membawa keberuntungan untuk bertemu JJ.

Kemudian kapal pun singgah di Wat Arun. Sebaik turun kapal ada yg potret2 solo tiap orang. Sebelum mendaki tangga candi yg curam banget itu, kita poto bareng dolow. Sayang ngga pake banner TI, tapi latar belakang candi wat arun nya bagus banget emang buat latar belakang poto rombongan. Ngga semua orang naek ke atas krn tangga yg super duper curam itu. Yg berhasil naek dgn semangat ngelilingin candi 3x, katanya bawa keberuntungan. Semua demi TVXQ dijalanin deh.

Di bawah candi, ada toko2 jualan souvenir. Karena kata Apple harga di situ lebih murah, anak2 pada borong souvenir. Aku sendiri berhasil membeli 1 boneka Thailand paling gede, 2 snowball, 2 t-shirt tulisan Bangkok, 16 gantungan kunci, 10 pembatas buku, dan 6 bolpen. Pas mau cabut dari Wat Arun, ehh di depan udah ada yg jualan piring dgn foto masing2. Takut ntar tuh piring dikasi ke kantin sebelah dan dliatin ama semua org yg akan maem di warung itu, terpaksa duit 200 baht ku pun melayang… hiks.. hiks..

Setelah kembali ke pelabuhan semula, semua pada naek bis dan tempat pemberhentian berikutnya adalah Royal Gems yg jauh benerrr di ujung dunia. Udah gitu kok ya mahal2 tuh perhiasan dan batunya. Dengan mempertimbangkan isi kocek dan buat kenang2an pada diri sendiri, akhirnya aku membli sebuah cincin perak dgn batu peridot. Warna hijau emang cocok katanya buat yg lahir di bulan Mei. Well, actually, disuruhnya pake Emerald atao Jade. Mana tahannnnn.. mahalll bangetttt..

Setelah itu pada laperrrr… akhirnya Apple membawa semua ke restoran paling gede seBangkok, namanya Royal Dragon. Katanya bisa nampung 5 ribu orang dan pelayannya pake sepatu roda. Tapi kemaren itu kayak sepi deh, udah gitu pelayannya ngga pake sepatu roda. Makanannya juga biasa, yg enak tuh yg belut goreng, soalnya sayurnya pake mangga gitu rada asem.

Abis maem siang, kirain kita bakal ke MBK buat shopping (dan ngeker barang2 TVXQ). Ngga taunya masih singgah di tempat madu. Nyempatin diri foto bareng si pembuat madu alias lebah2 nan lucu. Dan di sono beli madu royal bee 350 baht.

Akhirnyaaa kita di-drop juga di MBK. Plaza shopping super gede di Bangkok. Karena cuman punya waktu sejam, aku dan Itjan misah dari anak2. Hanya sempat nuker duit dollar ke baht, beli teropong buat nonton konser dan beli tas. Yg laen nemu toko CD yg koleksi TVXQ nya lumayan banyak dan pada borong.

Pemberhentian terakhir adalah Cassiopeia Global Party di Ariston. Proses daptar ulangnya agak lama, tapi lancar2 aja. Tiap orang ditanya suka membernya yg mana, dan dikasi ID card dan Christmas wish card dgn ganbar member favorit. Karena ceritanya di sini aku sudah kembali ke cinta lama (setelah sempat selingkuh ke Junsu), aku milih Micky. Lagian dia ganteng banget di foto ID card ituh. Sebelum mendaratkan pantat di meja paling ujung, daku sempat berkeliling dulu liat2 situasi. Di ujung kanan bawah ada yg jualan souvenir TVXQ. Aku memutuskan membeli light stick merah dan kalender Micky dan Xiah. Agak ke ujung kanan atas, dipajang barang2 sumbangan charity SM untuk dilelang malam itu. Ada pakaian bekas photoshoot Prince in Prague dan poster TVXQ yg ditandatangani Max. Di sebelah kiri panggung, dipajang door prize untuk malam itu, ada All About DBSK 2, poster2, buku Prince in Prague dll.

Ndak lama, acara dimulai. Acaranya macem2, ada performance dari fans Thai, games, perkenalan, lelang, perayaan ultah Junsu, wawancara dengan promotor (Adamas) dan door prize. Performance dari fans Thai agak menimbulkan debat berkepanjangan di meja, yg nari tuh cowo atau cewe. But never mind, perf nya mayan meskipun kurang tenaga pas Rising Sun. Yg kocak itu penari latarnya, I forgot her name. Pas games dance lagu TVXQ sumpah kocak banget. Sayang ngga sempat ngerekam. Acara paling seru waktu lelang barang2 Prince in Prague dan poster. Here is the result.
Poster dgn tandatangan Changmin : 2,600 baht
Baju Micky : 3,300 baht (Imel nyesel setengah mati ngga ikutan lelang)
Baju Jejung 1 : 6,000 baht (hidup Mandaaaa!!!)
Baju Jejung 2 : 10,300 baht (komporan Nana aseek juga)
Baju Yunho : 15,500 baht (hasil komporan Erin).

Perayaan ultah Junsu oleh fans dibuat sederhana. Dgn menyanyikan lagu Happy Birthday dan tiup lilin di atas 2 kue, dan yg meniup lilin diwakili oleh fans yg berultah di bulan Desember. TI terwakilkan oleh Lola.

Ngga terasa udah jam 11 malam dan acara harus selese. Sebelum bubar, seluruh fans foto bareng. Seingatku yg nongol selain dari Indo, ada Phillipines, Singapore, dan Canada. Kita pun balik ke hotel dan sleeping beauty karena D-Day adalah besoknya!

To be continued… 

I'll post this story in Indonesian. If I have time, I'll write the English version.

Thursday, December 13th 2007

Cabut ke Cengkareng. Agak deg2an ada yg ketinggalan, krn baru packing malam sebelumnya dan lagi ada ortu di rumah. Mana boong segala bilang ke Bangkok ada tugas kantor, bukan nonton konser. Nyampe CGK jam satu siang. Udah ada Itjan, Lola n Yaya. Maem dulu di McDonald. Abis itu gabung ama rombongan TVXQ Indo laen. Foto dulu pake banner TVXQ Indo baru check in dan boarding ke pesawat Air Asia.


Hampir empat jam kemudian mendarat juga di bandara Suvarnabhumi. Bandaranya bagus deeeee. (bandara manapun dibandingin ama Cengkareng ya pasti lebih bagus). Ketemu ama rombongan dari Singapura, ada Susu, Nana, Manda dan Hani. Dan ketemu ama Apple, our tour guide selama kita di Bangkok. Karena bakalan malam banget nyampe hotel, kita disuruh dinner di foodcourt bandara. Ampir buat rusuh di situ. Resto nya kan system kupon. Mana yg jaga counter Englishnya kurang. Susah deh menjelaskan. Krn ngga ngerti, anak2 pada nuker kupon 100 baht pake uang 1000 baht. Mbak counternya pusing nyari kembaliin dan sepertinya memaki2 dlm bahasa Thai. Sebodo amat deh, yg penting bisa makan malam.

Setelah kenyang. Kita menuju bus dan membawa semuanya ke hotel SD Avenue. Hotelnya mayan jauh dari airport, sekitar sejam perjalanan. Hotel bintang 3, tapi nyaman. Kamar mandinya juga bersih. Karena udah lelah banget dan besoknya bakal ada morning call jam 6 pagi, cuman sempat unpacking dan kemudian nyungsep ke balik selimut dan sleeping beauty.

To be continued…

Sebagai penduduk pinggiran yg berkantor di JakPus, rasanya bersyukur banget ada angkutan yg namanya busway. Apalagi musim ramadhan gini, semua org pengen berbuka di rumah. Meskipun di busway itu aku jarang dapat duduk dan umpel2an (bahasa apa ini ya?), ngga terlalu masalah selama waktu tempuh ke rumah bisa jadi sejam (tadinya 2 jam kalo naek bis biasa). Selama berbulan-bulan naek Busway dgn pemberhentian halte Bank Indonesia - Dukuh Atas - Departemen Pertanian, banyak bgt suka-duka berbusway ria..

1. Antrian. Heran kadang liat mental kita. Dan herannya aku ngga bosen2 nya negur org2 yg nyerobot: NGANTRI DONG BANGGG (mostly cowo soalnya). Dan cuman dpt reaksi pura2 ngga tau, namun tetap melaju.
2. Empati. Sering liat di sebelah, ibu hamil ikutan berdiri. Pernah ada kejadian, setelah sekian lama, tuh cowo baru nyadar mbak di sebelahku hamil (after 30 minutes gitu loh). Dia pun dgn ramah menyilakan si ibu duduk. Dan sepertinya hal itu menyadarkan pria di sebelahnya yg dgn sontak menanyakan padaku yg sedang berdiri di depannya: "Ibu juga lagi hamil?" Aku melepas earphone Ipod dulu dan dia mengulang pertanyaannya. Yg ada aku sebellllllll.. mentang2 tampang pucat, kepala pusing dan emang lagi gemukan... Tadinya mo ngerjain aja pura2 hamil, tp untung lagi puasa, ngga bisa boong. Belum lagi empati ama org yg bawa anak kecil, kesian bo' pas mo masuk tuh sering kegencet2.
3. Rebutan. Ini yg paling aku hindari, makanya aku sering dpt berdiri. Males bgt liat tuh org kayak ikan di kolam yg laper berhari2 terus dikasi makan. Pernah ada anak gadis rebutan tempat duduk dengan kakek2. Mereka berdua end up pangku-pangkuan hihihi. Si aki mah cengengesan genit sementara si gadis langsung berdiri dgn wajah kayak kepiting rebus.

Mumpung Gubernur kite udah berganti niy, mo ngasi masukan ama Bang Fauzi tentang busway nya tercinta, terutama Koridor VI yg jadi langganan gue..

1. Uji coba perubahan jalur mbok ya jangan pas puasa dan ketika jalur biasanya lagi dibenerinnnnnn...
2. Itu mobil pribadi yg masuk jalur busway ditangkepin napa. Heran ama org2 egois yg masuk jalur busway dgn kendaraan pribadi. Mereka siy enak, kalo macet duduk di mobilnya yg berac itu. Kite di busway, desak2an berdiri dan ikutan macet ama tuh2 org. Padahal kita dgn alasan mulia global warming dan efisiensi, rela meninggalkan mobil pribadi di rumah.
3. Stasiun dukuh atas 2 itu dikasi pembatas deh, antara jalur yg datang ke situ, dan jalur yg keluar. Kalo perlu dikasi listrik atuh pagar pembatas, biar ngga ada yg nyalip2 antrian. *psikopat mode on*
4. Konsisten ama omongan. Dulu aku sering tuh ke halte latuharhary. Udah cautious mode on, nanya dulu ke abang sipir nya, BBG ndak? langsung ke ragunan kan? Dijawab Insya Allah. Di halimun aku diturunkan krn mereka mo BBG. Bingung sendiri aku dgn makna Insya Allah itu apa...

Meskipun begitu, saat ini busway merupakan angkutan umum pilihan 1 bagiku, kecuali aku udah punya kemampuan loncat yg brilliant, mungkin KRL express yg ngga berenti di Tanjung Barat bisa jadi pilihan lebih baek.

Saturday, July 28^th 2007

Meet and Greet

It was supposed to begin at 10 o’clock. The fans already gathered at Jitec. They chatted and waited patiently. Finally the MC, two guys began the program. They mentioned the personal details of each member in Paran and they began throwing questions to the audience who were mostly girls (I only noticed two guys, one of them is Korean). Yep,it’s quiz time! The goodies are quite good: Paran second album, first single, (both with signatures), and t-shirts. I recognized some people who won the merchandise such as suli, ibuaan, and mrs.ben. And after that, Paran members began to enter the stage. They stood for a while, introducing themselves and answered questions from the MCs. Neo said that he likes Jakarta, the girls are all beautiful *I know it sounds cliché and cheesy but hey.. it’s okay as long as the fans are happy* and Neo wanted to make one of them as his girl friend *ugh, okay, so you want to have a girlfriend Jakarta branch*. After that they sat and began to sign the pictures. About ten minutes later, the fans, 5 people each time are allowed to go to the stage shaking hands with them and getting autographs. Unfortunately the signatures are only applied to the pictures provided by the management; the fans can’t have them on their personal belongings. And there were no photo session with the fans. Fans were still happy, tough. Perhaps it’s because they’re so nice to fans. One fan whose right hand get bitten by dog and had stitches mark on it, was asked by each member when she shook hands with them. Each time she explained what happened to her hands. That’s so caring, rite? And another cute thing happened when my friend *wave to ibuaan* got up on stage. She’s a mommy and you can see it from her appearance. She took Ryan’s hand with both hands and said: you are very handsome! Ryan blushed right away. Haha I guess he didn’t expect to hear that from ajumma. After all fans had their chance to greet Paran, then it’s time to say goodbye. Paran members said thank you and invited all to see their concert. The meet and greet was so fast but all fans are satisfied enough. Paran went to have lunch and rest before doing the rehearsal (again).

 

Rehearsal

I don’t know what time exactly it began since I went here and there, up and down the Mangga Dua square. When I stepped in Jitec around 3.30 pm, it was almost over. They probably had been there for an hour. I could only hear them singing two songs: There's Nobody Like Him and Uptown Girl. They wore casual outfit, Ace with white t-shirt and jeans. He’s an awesome singer! After it’s over, AJ was trying to do hand stand. There were like 3 attempts and none of them succeeded. I mean he could do it but not for long. After that they went back to hotel room, got some rest.

 

Finally.. THE CONCERT

Okay, so I’ve been waiting for this concert since it was announced but I didn’t have time to listen to their songs. Miannn.. it’s just that my job at the HR department was so demanding couple weeks back. I listened to their songs the night before and I memorized none . It was scheduled at 8 pm but some audiences were a bit late due to traffic jam. So it was delayed for 45 minutes. The fans were very loyal waiting for the band despite the hunger for not having dinner.

The lights were out exactly at 8.45 pm. The crowds began to cheer. I swear it seemed like we had full audience while in reality there were only half of the venue capacity filled with people. The opening tune was from movie Godzilla. Then they began to sing With Paran-Y as the opening song. Soon it was following by (not in proper order) :

-         Five Steps

-         Once

-         She and I

-         Love frame

-         Burn the floor

-         I lay my love on you

-         Your heart beating inside me

After 5 songs I think, there was 10 minutes break. Too bad the EO didn’t play some MVs or whatever just to fill the break.

For the song Once, the footage of Lovers in Prague was played as the background. And if I’m not mistaken, AJ did solo dance in Five Steps. It was awesome. And Ace, he’s my favorite. His voice is superb. Watching him shaking hip like that made the audience in hysterical mode. The communication between Paran and the audience was built very well, some thanks to the English capability of AJ. He said that they felt hot, not because of the weather, but because the atmosphere created by the audience. During one particular song, the audience started to threw dolls as presents to each member they like. Too bad no one thew it to P.O, he’s such a nice guy, really! Ryan held and kissed the doll he got which made the audience more hysterical.

They said that the slow song There's Nobody Like Him is the final song. The slideshow of Paran pictures was played as the background. When Ryan pictures wall over the wall, he pretended not recognizing it and asked the audience: Who’s this?

Since some of the audience knew that Uptown Girl would be the last song, they began yelling: We Want More! And the others followed in unison. Paran got back to the stage again and sang Uptown Girl as the real ending song. Then they said goodbye, stating they would be back again someday and left the stage. Well, the concert lasted only one hour and everyone there agree it’s so short and they want more. So I really hope these guys can come back to Jakarta and held bigger concert. See ya then.. Fighting!

 

P.S. Many thanks to Cantrik Enterprise for successfully bringing Paran here and Ita for giving an All Access card to me . I really hope this first KPop concert ever in Jakarta will open the opportunity for other Hallyu stars to come here.

Trying to spare sometime to write my story…

 

When my friend offered me a job to be a photographer during Paran visit to Jakarta, I was a bit doubtful. I was afraid I wouldn’t do my job properly and chasing them around like fans. But I guess it’s good to add my experience in photography field so I took it and here comes my journey.

 

Thursday, July 26^th 2007

Arrival at Cengkareng Airport

Nothing much I could say. They arrived late and appeared in the front gate looking awesome. Luckily the fans were not so many. The EO had prepared some little girls to give flowers to the members. And after that they took pictures with them and went to the crowd. Ryan was the most cheerful one. He greeted fans, shook hands with them. They went to the cars. All of the members jumped to one car and stayed for sometime there. Ryan, wore his black glasses again, waved to the fans, and one time made a love sign with his hands when some fans yelled Saranghe. After that another car arrived and two members changed the car, one of them was Neo, I think. Then the cars took off while most of the crews and staffs still stayed because of the luggage hadn’t come out yet. I heard their cars stopped for a while and continued to go to Novotel hotel. I didn’t go to the hotel, I prefer to go home because tomorrow’s schedule will be tight. But my friend told me they had dinner first around 11 pm and then went to their rooms to get some rest.

 

 

Friday, July 27^th 2007

Interview with Media

I went to Novotel around 7 am, had breakfast while driving ^_^. I went straight to my friend’s room and passed P.O, but I couldn’t even recognized him *silly me*. Then we were busy preparing the media interview. It was supposed to be held at 9 am but it started an hour later. They were all in good mood. There were like around ten medias and each got 10-15 minutes interview time. The most interesting questions posed by Sky FM from Bandung. They asked Ryan what kind of fruit represents Neo. After some thoughts Ryan answered: Durian. Neo directly smelled his body *LoL*. Then Ryan explained, that when people saw Durian for the first time, most of them were reluctant to know its taste. But once they knew it, they like it and sometimes addicted to it. Good answer, Ryan! They also sang some songs and I heard they tried to sing Inikah Namanya Cinta (Indonesia song popularized by ME). The tunes were okay, but the lyrics: bwahhh.. I guess they’re not ready to sing it on stage. They also took pictures with the interviewer and were willing to read notes in Indonesian. But the cutest one was AJ. He seems tired and during the break between media, he rested his head on Ace’s shoulder who sit next to him. And sometimes he even laid his body on three chairs trying to get some sleep. It was cute. He talked the least while Ryan was the most talkative one. This session ended around noon. And they prepared to go to Global TV.

 

Global Room

They’re doing live on MTV Global Room. When waiting to the cars at the fifth floor lobby, Ryan was trying to do some magic show to some girls crew (the makeup artist I think), but it didn’t succeed ^_^;. We didn’t go to Global since we need to prepare for the prescon thing, but we saw the live show from hotel. AJ was the most talkative one there since his English was awesome. They also sang First Love and a Beatles song. They seemed excited despite the quick lunch they had previously. They only had burgers eaten in cars on the way to Global Studio.

 

Press Conference

When I arrived at Red Tomato restaurant, EX Plaza, some press people were already there. I noticed some fans also waiting for Paran.  They went down through escalator around 4.30 p.m. Took pictures first with the restaurant owner and then seated in one row. Not so many questions poured to those guys. One question I remember the most is the one asked by the biggest media in Indonesia, Kompas daily newspaper. He asked first in Indonesian, why Paran chose Teresa Teng’ song since it’s kind old, hard to sing, and they seemed to had various song’s genre. The interpreter seemed to misunderstand the question, since Paran answered differently. But the reporter asked again in English and then Neo answered frankly Paran sings that song only to be closer to China based fans since it was popular there. They didn’t have another consideration. Cute thing happened when the pizzas and drinks were served in front of the members. I guess they’re just so hungry and because the pizzas from Red Tomato are very delicious, they started to eat them. Four of them actually since Ryan was still busy answering the questions. But I guess he just can’t take it anymore and asked the reporters to give him sometime to eat the pizzas first ^_^;. Near the end of prescon, the promoter gave Paran blue jacket with member’s name stitched on it. They wore it right away and Ryan made a cute pose with it. Through my lens I noticed how sleepy AJ eyes were. And it turned out right, soon as the prescon was over, AJ put his jacket around and slept in his seat. He’s soo indifferent in cute way. Later the bodyguards suggested him to get sleep in long chair and he changed place right away. All I can see was his long legs and blue jackets ^_^;. He got to wake up soon because the new club of Paran Indonesia was there to give them presents (tshirt) and before going to dinner place, Paran spared their time to get pictures taken with Red Tomato staffs and some fans who had waited patiently there. They’re soo good to the fans.

 

Dinner with Paran

Well it was Friday after office hours, so you can imagine how’s the traffic in Jakarta especially Thamrin-Sudirman area. It was sooo crowded. We arrived late at Han Gang restaurant and Paran members were in the middle of dinner. I didn’t dare to take pictures as it might disturb their dinner, but I managed to get some after the dinner. They didn’t have time to chat with the fans but some members were willing to give autographs and the group again had pictures session with the fans. It was only 5 minutes and so many people took the pic. They were all tall that I had to peek below the armpit of one Korean photographer. Sooo it was 9 pm and we all had tiring day.. but Paran still got job after the dinner: rehearsal until 11 pm. I didn’t see it, I just wanted to go home. I heard there were fans sneaking to the venue to see the rehearsal.. hmmm I might saw them before but I didn’t know their names.

 

to be continued...

I got an email with subject: UCLA Anderson Admissions Decision. You know the problem of admissions office letter, the first word tells you everything. To make it short: I failed. The exact sentence they send me: we are unable to offer you admission to UCLA Anderson School of Management for Fall 2007.

Eventough I expect this coming, I just can't help feeling down.

Referring back to the conversation I had with Ika on phone:

Ika: It's not fair. The ones who were rejected by US universities seemed very happy that now they can apply to Oz uni.

Me: Then sing a song. You are worried when you have been accepted while I'm also worried that I haven't been accepted anywhere.

One month ago, when I got the waitlist letter from Johnson School, I was so sad. But today, waiting for the annoucement from Marshall School, I'm more relaxed. I did my best. I've taken three times GMAT and two times TOEFL. And I even flew to Singapore for an interview. If God want me to give more effort by applying to other universities, then be it. Maybe from the start I was destined to have schools outside US. Whatever will be, will be.