The Philippine Pediatric Society just had its annual convention and my pediatrician aunt from Pangasinan had to attend.
They stayed at the Sofitel Manila, one of the poshest hotels in the city (at least in my humble opinion). Doctors' accommodations are usually sponsored for these things and my aunt usually lets me tag along. In return, I watch over my cousins while she attends the conference and business meetings, and catches up with her residency friends from Manila.
The room had a nice balcony.
Look at that smog. I wonder if the sky was bluer before the automobile was invented.
There are times when I dread these things because my cousin Matthew can get a little... bratty. Thankfully, he's less pushy and more subdued this time. It's a nice change from last time (I made him cry), but it also reminds me that the cousins are growing up fast.
Matthew.
I purposely brought my camera so I can capture the sunset. But because of a brief (2-hour) jaunt in the pool with a 7 year old, I missed the actual sunset by minutes. I got the orange glow instead.
The schedule for all things thesis was handed out yesterday and I feel the anxiety creep over me slightly. I admit that I'm a little behind and the schedule was overwhelming.
So I planned a small solitary photowalk for myself today. I originally planned it to be in UP because I have a morning class, but I'm a little sick of UP at the moment so I decided to go to the Quezon City Memorial Circle.
It almost didn't push through because it was so hot. There were tons of clouds in the sky, but none of them seemed to want to block the sun.
Since it's not a weekend and it was 10 o'clock in the morning, not many people were around. The park was very quiet compared to the weekend family rush and afternoon tambay hours for younger people.
Some high school kids were practicing sabayang pagbigkas.
I visited the flower garden. The last time I was here, it was still new. I had hoped that improvements have been made.
The plants are still intact, but I was a little disappointed because some areas were overgrown and lacked maintenance.
They had a small pond inside, which was clear the last time I visited. Now the surface is covered by algae. I'm not sure if the green muck is healthy for ponds. I don't know if there are still fish here.
It's a bit dirty too.
The plants are thriving though, and I guess that's the important thing.
Ah vandals. Kayo talaga.
I left the flower garden and took a look at the newly paved lane aligned with Quezon Avenue.
Then I looked at to my left and was surprised to find a legit pond, which was not there the last time I visited.
There are huge tarps bearing the photos of Filipina photographer MM Yu and French photographer Lea Eouzan for the month-long exhibit KM1.
I think I spent more than half an hour beside the pond.
I am glad that there is something like this that people from all walks of life can enjoy. The park is not perfect, and it cannot serve the whole city, but anyone can see the effort. Besides, Quezon City is facing an unimaginable number of problems today, a huge one is the growing population of informal settlers. It is better if the government prioritize those problems first before overhauling its parks and recreation.
But I do hope that there will be more places like these in Metro Manila, where people can come in and enjoy themselves without having to pay anything, where they can go with their family and friends and lovers and just be with other people from other walks of life---people whom they share a city with.
I am also glad that even though the park is already established, there are still things to look forward to in the future.
I cannot explain my love for Big Bang. You can take away all the other K-pop groups, but leave Big Bang and I will be happy.
Some of my "hipster" friends can't understand why I like K-pop, and why I am willing to pay 3k to go to a concert featuring five weirdos who sing songs I can't understand.
But Big Bang is different! You can take away any other K-pop artist away and leave Big Bang alone and I'll be fine. They are over the top, creative, colorful, original, and they have what Filipinos call dating or angas. They have the sort of swag that comes naturally to them. While other boy groups need to don similar costumes and not-so-complicated choreography to assert their star power, Big Bang's members can stand on their own as solo artists, and they can meld together to form a mismatched group that works.
The R&B artist, Taeyang: Wedding Dress
The androgynous songwriter and fashionista: G-Dragon: Crayon
The funny and amiable Daesung: Wings (I don't know why this doesn't have an MV yet)
Maknae Seungri: Strong Baby
The deep-voiced rapper and the Filipinos' favorite, T.O.P.: Turn it up.
The photos I took were taken via point and shoot (stupid SM rules), which was disappointing because the girl behind me managed to sneak in her DSLR.
But it was ok, because I wasn't there to take pictures. I was there to PARTY!!!
Unfortunately for us stragglers, it was raining
while waiting in line
We missed half of the opening act due to lateness (and the lines! Ugh!). We were running to the box when we heard them singing Alive from outside. It was torture. My brother proclaimed that his rushing song is now "Alive", because he has never run so fast in his life.
But all was well and we caught up with the show.
Whoooooooo!!!
We didn't buy the official VIP fanlights (even though I really really wanted one) because they cost 1200Php and we didn't have money left. Ah, sembreak.
Daia and I at the Upper Box C
Segways and bikes.
Fanboy Topy
Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri
GD and TOP
The arena was jampacked with VIPs
I didn't know some of their early songs. I wasn't into K-pop yet at that time. In fact, some of the first songs that got me into the K-pop fandom come from Big Bang.
They were still very totoy then. They weren't as polished or as mature, but they were already charismatic. YG took good care of them, I think.
Anyway, back to the concert...
With siblings. Ate Cathy wasn't supposed to be there (she had an exam the next day).
This girl in front of us recorded the entire show on her iPad. I don't understand why a lot of people do this. You see them through the screen all the time, why not forego the screen once you see them live?
The lights were astounding.
They sang "Cafe". Their falsettos are all impressive, and Daesung killed it with his solo parts.
Yes, GD is wearing a skirt.
Everyone SCREAMS when TOP comes out.
Their three vocalists also sang their solos. GD and TOP had their own rap performances.
Taeyang's Wedding Dress
Daesung's "Wings"
TOP wearing a bunny ear headband thrown by a fan.
I can say that this has been the most fun I've had in a while. I'd like to thank Big Bang and their team and all the people who made this possible. My 3k was so much worth it.
We started receiving funny messages from co-fans.
"Nabuntis at nanganak ako nang ilang beses."
"TOP: uhmmm.... Audience: AAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
Since a lot of the lyrics were in Hanggeul, we sang along like:
*mumble mumble* Baby... *mumble mumble* Cause you should be my lady!! *mumble mumble*
In the end, it doesn't matter even if I can't understand or even sing their songs. Seeing them live just makes me tingle all over. I remember clutching my cousin by the arm and just screaming how happy I was that I was there. I was with the group whose voices accompanied me during jeepney rides, kept me up while making plates late at night, made me want to dance alone in my bedroom, and uplifted my mood through college.
