November 12

Exactly one year ago, I was sitting on my bed, facing my laptop, and spazzing about Cho Kyuhyun. Tonight, I’m still sitting on my bed, facing my laptop, and thanking everyone who greeted me on Facebook because I’ve passed the FPGEE!!!

Dream #1, accomplished.

Today must be a lucky day.

Ten/Ten/Ten

Because today is 10/10/10 (and it’s not gonna happen again until after a millennium), I’m writing a blog entry, just so people of the future will know that The Silent Spectator was alive on this very special day.

I started the day with a prayer, and with a status update on Facebook saying, “Today is 10/10/10! I must be lucky today!”

On Twitter, I checked the Trending Topics only to find out that Kim Hee Chul was on #1, even surpassing Solomon Burke who just passed away.

Today I went to my aunt’s work and washed my clothes there. (Yes, we do wash our clothes there ‘coz my aunt’s a private nurse and her patient Jim lets us use his washer and dryer whenever we wish).

I was sitting on the corner while Jim was watching TV so I was able to catch an episode of Born Different, a TV program which features people who were, like the title says, born different. One of these people was Brooke Greenberg, a girl who basically has all the physical and mental characteristics of a toddler except the age, because last January 8, 2010, she turned 17. Her doctor compared her pictures when she was 5 and when she was 15. No difference.

After the 7PM mass, I told the priest that 2 weeks ago I asked him to pray for me for the FPGEE, so even though it didn’t turn out easy, I was confident that I would pass just because he prayed for me. He smiled at me and then I started to walk home. It was only 8PM but it was dark already, maybe because Christmas is approaching. The farther I walked, the darker it became, and the faster I tried to walk. And then, there was a raccoon.

Forty Days: Day 39

“Be my lab rat! Hope we’ll succeed in our experiment together,” said Tere on Facebook, Sat. 6:09am.

Forty Days: Day 23

Do you have a Twitter account? I do.

Since the birth of Friendster, a lot of other social networking websites have come out: MySpace, HipStir, hi5, Tagged, Facebook, Twitter, and the list goes on. However, it seems that most users of these social networking websites are not so social after all. Like, for example, in Twitter. According to an article in TIME magazine, the vast majority (more or less 90%) of Twitter users are inactive; that is, they’re just followers and not active tweeters. They just use Twitter to follow their favorite celebrities and get updated on their idols’ “what-abouts.”  FYI, a user can only be considered active if he/she has at least 10 tweets and 10 followers.

As of this moment, I have 12 followers and 10 tweets. So, by definition, I’m an active Twitter user. Hooray for me.

Forty Days: Day 13

Hello, (my name here)! I am glad that the program in Ovada worked for you. I will pray that you will be successful in taking the FPGEE and the TOEFL. I am into the first month of my internship with RiteAid here in Fresno, Ca and slowly coping with the system and the new environment. Cheers.

That was my favorite professor’s message to me on Facebook.

Sir J.A. was one of my professors in college. Even though he got mad at me once for playing the piano and disturbing his class next door, the fact that he’s my favorite professor won’t ever change. Aside from his intellectuality, one thing I admire about him is his genuine love for our profession. Just seeing him is enough to remind me how wonderful Pharmacy is.

What’s wrong with that?

I’m a bit upset right now because I uploaded a birthday video for Kyuhyun and tagged my Facebook friends in it but instead of appreciating it they’re saying things like I’m an addict and that I’m scary. What’s wrong with what I did? I’m just a fan who wanted to greet her favorite singer a happy birthday but because she couldn’t do it personally, she did it by uploading a piano video containing her birthday message, thought it would be nice to share the video with her friends, and tagged them in Facebook. Now tell me, what’s wrong with that?

Kimmy

1:12 am and I’m still up! I’m chatting with Kpop-addict friend (let’s now call her Kimmy) on YM. We’ve been chatting for like 2 hours! She “PM”-ed me on Facebook and asked for my cellphone number so she could text me about Kpop updates (this girl is an addict, you know). Then she told me a story on how she met Kim Bum!

She said when she heard that Kim Bum was coming to the Philippines, she got so hyped up that she immediately called her uncle who was friends with the president of RC Cola, the product that Kim Bum would endorse. She asked for the president’s number and dialled it as soon as her uncle hung up. She was able to talk with the president; however, the president said he didn’t handle Kim Bum’s schedule, and that it would be better if she would just contact ABS-CBN since they were going to interview Kim Bum in one of their programs.

Snapshot of Kim Bum's CF for RC Cola

So Kimmy called up her friend, Sara, who had some friends working in ABS-CBN. Kimmy contacted one of them and found out that Kim Bum would be guesting at “Entertainment Live.” Bad news was that Sara’s friend was working in the news department and not in the entertainment department. Good news was that despite all that, Kimmy never lost hope. Moments later, while desperately thinking of how she could meet Kim Bum, Kimmy heard her phone ringing. It was her uncle, the friend of RC Cola’s president! He told her to meet him at Gerry’s Grill just in-front of the ABS-CBN complex! Kimmy was so excited; she called up her friend La La, and together they went to Gerry’s Grill just as her uncle had instructed.

There outside Gerry’s Grill was the van of Valerie Concepcion (host of “Wowowee”), and Kimmy’s uncle waving at them to get inside! He even introduced them to Director Bubut Mortiz! By riding Valerie Concepcion’s van, Kimmy and La La were able to enter the ABS-CBN compound and watch “Wowowee.” (Kimmy even showed me the album while telling this. She’s got lots of pictures of Willie Revillame and Pokwang!)

Willie Revillame, host of "Wowowee"

After “Wowowee,” Kimmy and La La got out of the studio along with the myriads of people who had just watched the show. The two of them tried to get into the studio of “Entertainment Live” next but the crew wouldn’t let them. So Kimmy and La La stayed outside at the parking lot, waiting, hoping. Minutes later, a huge van stopped just a few meters from where they were standing. Coming out of the van were a lot of what looked like personal bodyguards. They opened one of the van doors and let someone out. Then they walked toward the gate, toward the studio, toward them! In the middle of this troop of bodyguards was a small familiar figure which was no other than Kim Bum!!! All of a sudden, Kimmy was like “OMG!!! This is unbelievable!!!”

Kim Bum passed by them and entered the gates, still accompanied by his battalion of bodyguards, while Kimmy and La La were left outside. Nonetheless, it seemed that it was Kimmy’s lucky day after all because at that moment Director Bubut saw them from the gates and immediately let them in. So in the end they were still able to watch “Entertainment Live” and catch the whole live interview of Kim Bum! Moreover, Kimmy was able to take lots of pictures although it was prohibited. Anyway, who wouldn’t break rules just to take a photo of her ultimate crush?!

Kim Bum during the Interview

After narrating her obviously long story, Kimmy asked for my YM ID. I logged in on YM and now we’re still talking about Kpop, Korean dramas, SuJu, Kyuhyun, Donghae, and all of her celebrity addictions, even the late Michael Jackson! We even talked about her ex-boyfriend and how her wide collection of Korean dramas helped her get through her depression.

It feels good. I genuinely feel happy right now that someone who I was not so close with at school is opening up herself to a complete stranger like me, telling stories about herself, her passions, and her struggles with her friends. During this conversation, I learned a lot of things about Kimmy. Gosh, she really did have a lot of crushes at school! I feel happy that somehow we managed to connect to each other through what seems like a very petty thing like our love for Kpop. I’m glad that I found someone who shares the same “likes” as me. I’m so happy to have this Kpop-addict friend. So glad to have Kimmy.