Hi everyone -
Sorry I am so slow - been extremely distracted lately by BYJ and ....... BYJ. I'm sure you all empathize! He's as dashing as ever, no? If he's found a "look" that works, I'm not sure I mind seeing him in it day in and out ! :D
Anyway, a bit of a fair warning. Day 2 was completely "sans" BYJ. I know many of you would choose not to read stuff that is not about him directly, so this is your chance to click out!
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Hee, "One down! ". Yep, she's been eliminated, yay! Slowly, sis after sis nod off, and ahhhhhh......the room thanks us for achieving peace and quiet in the room at last!
Must have been very late when the we fell asleep because my sheets were barely wrinkled at all, but we're up early on May 31st for what was expected to be a full day. Weather was kinda gloomy and soupy, and my "looks" matched it perfectly too - I do look astonishingly like a direct descendant of Herman Munster when I don't sleep - face a bit ashen and greenish, hair taking on its own personality, dark concentric hollows encircling my eyes. My sis begs me to do society a favor and stop shunning makeup, but hey, remember, since I don't walk around with a mirror all day, I am not the one that has to suffer the fate of looking at my awful face - haha, pity the world! Anyway our moods were quite the contrary - filled of hopes of the unknown, of rumors of the casts' planned rehearsals and of more great sisters coming into town...!
Anyway, we were up early, but apparently not early enough. Some sis later said that BYJ was seen talking an early am walk around the hotel - aiyo! YJ-ssi, for a smart man, you sometimes really don't act it! (sorry, just kidding!) Sheesh, didn't you know you were supposed to coordinate your schedule with me? :)
Although he was supposedly flagged by his guard, actually it was really a great feeling to know that he's found the time and a way to enjoy the charming views of the riverside walks running behind the hotel! We walked it ourselves later that day, and it was quite possibly the most tranquil and non-oxygen deprived moments of my entire trip. Well done, YJ-ssi!
Anyway, it was a good thing he didn't bump into Munster mishio - or else he would've thought that he was night walking or something...gosh, is it really day or night?! haha. The sight of me by the river is like pure pollution, you know? You should all thank me for not ruining such a rare and precious moment in his life. For the record, I accept your "thanks" in all forms of communication! :)
Anyway, shortly after 9am, we were congregated in the big and spacious lobby of the hotel after gobbling down a scrumptious breakfast(me, so bad!)...... of water and bread! The lobby is quite aristocratic looking, no? Perfect location for a BYJ sorority convention :) which was really what it was quickly becoming. With every passing the hour, we kept bumping into more and more, new and old familiar faces as anyone that visited the Imperial Hotel that day found reason to course through the hotel lobby at least once.
By a gentle hand from above, it was there that I ran back into one of my favorite sisters K - a kind and gentle being who will always take up a special place in my heart for she is actually the first Japanese sister I ever met and befriended. Although we don't communicate as often or easily as we'd like, her caring actions demonstrate the kind of unconditional kindness and thoughtfulness that I never knew humans were capable of. Yes, K - we were meant to know each other, no? Thank you so much for everything!
Amongst many others too many to name, I should mention that we were also in the honored presence of the famous Korachan, whose amazing abilities with the computer graphics and the creative have reduced mature women to drooling children a few times too many. Oh...she is so talented, and so thoughtful too - take a look at these homemade goodies she prepared to us!
Don't they look professionally made? down to the neat and tidy packaging......!
I swear - I don't even have the faintest idea where to start to make stuff like that, much less make it that nice!
My most notable impression of her - well... She is simply a being who's thoroughly warm and comfortable and calm and inviting - all nerves of meeting her simply disappear right away as she puts you at ease from the first moment you meet her! In Chinese custom, I would describe her face as "gut meen seung" - loosely translated as a face full of harmony and good vibes and usually someone expected to be rewarded with a life of good fortune. For everything you do/have done for us, thank you so so so so much, Korachan. The pleasure was all and totally mine!
From Korachan, I found out that one of the donated tickets came from...........fellow L.A. sister baba-san herself! Talk about coming full circle ! I had no idea until then or I would have thanked this lovely sister a lot sooner. Thanks .... your generosity and consideration made another sister's dream come true! She is truly the epitome of the kind spirit of this family!
During one happy moment, our small group of sisters tried to take a group pic - heehee, I line up but hid behind someone on purpose. Sorry, it's another of my diseases, this photo shutter phobia of mine. Hope no one was terribly offended, but I not only dislike seeing myself in pics, I am paranoid of exposure. Sorry to one and all!
Most importantly, with all the sis busy posing their best around the couch, we just flagged...a man, any passing man, to do the clicking duties. This super, super nice and kind gentleman happened to come along and agreed to help without any hesitation. In fact, he really got into it and did his best to move people around until they got a one-of-a-kind shot! So considerate. Haha - oops and guess what? Turned out he's from the upper echelons of Key East! Whoops indeed! Well, give the man an "A+" - he chatted with us briefly, and then even helped a sister with an arm cast to carry her luggage a good distance. wow - does all this goodness rub off of HRH's shoulders or the other way around or both? chivalry - just a lovely sight!
and haha- wonder what he thought of us ordering him around??!! :D And I wonder if these stories - stories of fans having a grand 'ol time because of BYJ and BYJ only - ever trickle back up to the big man himself? He would be so pleased to know that...I should think.
Anyway, let me digress for a moment. The one thing that was different about "official meetings" and other set "dates" of formal meetings with other sisters is the lack of true quality time. Speaking honestly, it was nerve-racking at many times, like there was a pinball boing -ing around in my head. Remember ...we're not beautifully coiffed and dressed in our Sunday's best and sitting down for a carefree lunch, dinner or tea with a protected and unlimited period of time to chit-chat leisurely.
At these official events, we never know how much time we have before we have to run and take our places for whatever we were taking our places for. As expected, we had temporary and frequent interruptions at the hint of this or that commotion - be it Mr. Shin passing through after his breakfast, a sudden rush of movement by a group of fans, a shreek here and there that can mean anything from "BYJ is coming" to "Oh...that was gross" - whatever it meant, it would stop everyone's conversations dead in their tracks and eyes darting around like arrows. Frequent reports would filter through the crowd - regarding the rapidly growing number of crowds outsides, security activities, etc. - enough to drive most brain wires to overheat.
Who's in charge of monitoring such activities? No one officially, but for our group, it was yours truly by default. I think when you travel as a group, each persons' abilities and attributes naturally lead one to assume a certain set role within the group. Some are better with keeping track of expenses, some take marvelous pictures, etc. etc.
My biggest and most wonderful credentials ? ? None other than 2 arms and a pair of willing legs, so I somehow have been chronically assigned to the footwork department :) Won't elaborate, but a playback of the hotel security tapes might be quite amusing - that munster chick must have entered and exited the lobby over a dozen times that morning!
Anyway ladies, mishio says it's time to go line up with the hundreds & hundreds of ladies waiting outside!
I mean, if he were to sneak out just 10 feet away while we were just chatting in the lobby - I think fists would fly and heads would roll. hahaha. Once we assume our positions outside the hotel, the countdown clock officially began. And once you have a prime viewing spot, it is in your interest not to move and lose it. So............mishio's duties as a "runner" accelerates!
"OH..Mr. Shin was said to be in the lobby again - mishio, go check that out and report back!"
ok.
"Oh...Mr. Yang and Mr. Bae (i.e. the new BOFi honcho) have just now been spotting grabbing a bite in the cafe. mishio - go check that out and let us know what's going on inside."
okie.
"Oh...someone said the security is starting to assemble in the lobby. can you see if that's true?"
ay, ay ma'am!
"oh...forgot this and that from the room. Can you run and grab it?"
ay................!!!!!!
my feet start to scream! just you wait ladies - wait till I develop some real skills and I'll quit my "girl-friday" job as quickly as you can say b-y-e! hahahaha!
Actually, it's kinda fun for me since standing still in place is not my forte. And I think you can understand, no? It's so boring to just wait and wait so that when you're inside, you want to know what action is going on outside. When you are outside, you want to know what's happening inside.
Now, maybe you can get any idea why I was so exhausted? And dear sisters that I met casually while congregating outside the hotel...maybe now you can understand why I was so frazzled and distracted and cannot carry on decent conversation....? A big "sorry" to everyone - you see, OMA had a lot of homework for me at any given time... :p
By now, you've read jaime's post about the less than perfect weather conditions and the more even further from perfect "wait" we chose to endure. Yes, us sillies chose to do it by our own accord.
What's more remarkable is how the ladies I wanted to meet...all ended up in the same general vicinity amongst the hundreds of ladies lining the entire long exit path of the hotel.
This looks like a good time to thank our princess once again for being such a proactive and thoughtful switchboard operator. Hee, I saw this outside Softbank's building while on the trip and guess who I thought of? :)
Come to think of it, she is really the glue that holds much of this family together. Speaking for myself, I know I probably wouldn't still be a fan, or would have crept back underground at the very least, if not for her steady encouragement. ( Ummmm....then again, is that a good thing? hahahaha :P just kidding, girl!)
Anyway, once she found out that my trip was a "go" , despite the fact that there were just a few days to spare before the big event, she worked mighty hard there in the background to connect me up with cloudnine, jaime and tomato99, all of whom touched me so much with their generous offer of assistance while I was in Japan. Gosh - I am such a nobody, and these sweet ladies were worried about me, the foreigner, bumbling around lost in Japan? They were so right of course - I did get lost often, but I did find my way home eventually. Thank you, thank you again ladies - your consideration is just too much! How is it that, before such a grand event and with all the busy stuff you've all going on in your life, you can still all instinctively think of others before yourselves?? Just amazing!
But haha, hopefully by now you know that I'm not much of kidnap target - who would want to lift this sack of potatoes anyway? (haha, ok too much kidding around)
Anyway, slowly but surely, as if destined by fate, one by one these sis just started appearing in front of me. Unlike many fans, with exception of my blog - which is essentially a one-way dialogue, I've maintained quite a barrier of privacy in this byj world. Nope, I haven't ever communicated with any of them before, with the exception of a rare run-in at a blog comment box or on quilt. Without knowing what to expect...it was really nice that the meetings happened without warning rather than planned, so I didn't have to endure a case of nerves.
Most amusing - was my meeting with tomato99.
Now ladies........especially the newbies, please take note! when chosing an id, do choose carefully! Heehee, no offense, but with nothing to go on, my mental image of this superquick superstar contributor on Quilt was.............well...........it was that of a "tomato." haha. What a wrong image that would be - for this statuesque and confident lady that stood before me was everything but the semblance of a ruddy and plump and round tomato! No fair -we are sooooooo misled - kakaka !!
Let's backup a bit, shall we? With my frequent zip ins and outs of the hotel, I had actually lost my prime first row"waiting" location somehow. So, rather than be squeezed to the 3rd or 4th row, I took a quite look around and imitated the other ingenious sis by balancing myself on one of the series of circular short 2 feet posts lining the parking exit, in order to gain a better vantage point. Hee - it was just as I was digging hard for these buried acrobatic skills (i promise, they are there somewhere! ) -trying to balance my both feet on this 6 inch diameter circular perch - when this sleek and modern looking lady came up to me ........ "Hi, I'm tomato!!"
Whoa! Who00000a!
Mishio capsizes! - and with that, I lost balance and had to jump and abandon ship or...err...perch!
Her - all full of grace.
Me - sighhhhhhh.........all full of disgrace :(
To my credit, I saved some face by acting like I meant to get off my step to greet her! :)
Hey, I can act! If tomato99 vouches for that, I can see a role as an "extra" on YJssi's next drama!
(What a lovely impression I made, huh?)
Anyway, over the years of being in the family, I've come to identify certain sis as either possessing "luck" or "no luck" when it comes to BYJ. It's part of every person's destiny that we can try to change but cannot really alter. Certain notable sis - they're golden, as if their life clock beats in step with HRH's. You know what I'm talking about, right? These ladies are the ones that never seem to wait much and they are rarely disappointed. And no, I'm not in that group.
But perhaps tomato is ! ( Of course I don't really know) But after we've been at it for 4 hours, she arrives just a short while before he's almost ready to drive by. Fortunate? or Fate? Haha -
The point being that we never really know if we will see him or not, but given the exact same end result for all hundreds of us, some of us seem to born to be day laborers, if you know what I mean!
Anyway, our encounter was quite brief but pleasant, with me mostly being tongue-tied and in awe . I'm sure we would've had a lot more to say to each other if....ahem....Mr. BYJ had not decided to get jealous (haha!) and decided to divert our attention towards him :P..... But with the heightened intensity around us, she had better quickly zip to find a a good viewing spot herself!
Jaime & cloudnine? I had the pleasure of "bumping" into them after a few tries of coordination by Korachan (sorry & thanks for the running around) who had to work hard to intercept me while I was involved in my various missions in and out of the lobby. We all ended up in the same general area at the end - seriously what a coincidence, huh?
Cloudnine was...........obviously not puffy and irregular like the clouds, either! :D
She is the picture of classic elegance and professionalism in dress and mannerism. How does she manage to not have a hair out of place? I don't have the answers, but she does - it's obvious.
Jaime? The fashionable one, as you would gather from reading her blog entries.
Dressed in a cropped babydoll white jacket, black pleated mini-skirt and ankle leggings with white flats(memory serving me right?), my first thought was...................where were those 4 inch leopard print stillettos she promised? hahahaha :) OK. Wrong date. That was supposed to be June 1st outfit, right Jaime?
I've always said that I am a slave to comfort. Actually, I envy those people that have the sense, energy, creativity, and figure to carry off the season's best trends. I can't and won't try to conduct any more fashion experiments after many years of hilarious and downright outrageousl attempts, that's all. And secretly, I'm glad that she isn't sporting 4 in heels, or she'd be talking to my scalp the whole time. She's kinda tall too by my standards, you know?
Anyway, both cloudnine & Jaime arrived together - you've read her description already. For starters, they didn't frown at the sight of me, and that gives them very very high marks in my book! haha. They relayed some of details of their ride from the am - it was Jaime's first shinkasen ride (what a thrill!) and cloudnine, the reliable guide, made all the arrangements. And we talked a bit about what happened in the am and who we'd met, but again, time was brief and scattered. Although I had to run off to deal with my "busy stuff," I remembered being relieved by the sense of ease I felt with these 2 ladies and how non-stressful it was to converse with them.
After we go back to taking our places, I cannot tell you how much longer it was.....but one by one, those 7 to 8 black vans starting to file out. Once while I was inside, I took note that E Ji Ah was one of the earliest to depart. Knowing that he won't be far behind, that's when I quickly scurried back out to take my place in line. No point, it turns out, as you all know by now that his car passed without a gap in the window. In fact, if the black tinted windows weren't enough, BYJ's car had an extra layer of thick cloth lining the windows. I guess opaque isn't really opaque enough ?
Surprisingly, I wasn't too disappointed. I guess after years of more disappointments than not, my natural and protective defenses have taken over. And sometimes, it is good to take a look around and re-set our gauges. When I get greedy and hope to get a good look at him each and every time, I just have to take a look around me and learn a lesson - On this day, I saw some ladies who were thrilled to tears just to have a chance to send him off with a cheer while others were happy enough at the mere thought of him having seen the fans on the line. That's infinitely more selfless than I am..!
As the crowds disbanded, I found cloudnine & jaime again - they looked pretty involved in making arrangements for their next plans. With some friends coming over to meet us for a bite, we said some quick good-byes and went about our business. Once back in our hotel, I remembered thinking "geez, mishio, how absentminded of you? " How rude I was for not inviting them to lunch? So I convinced the strict Imperial Hotel operator to transfer a call to their room. But...no go. Part of their group had already rushed off to check out Osaka Dome (bad, bad yj-ssi - it was late already!) and the other half of their group had much, much, much better plans in place - so envious lah! Bubble bath already being drawn and a massage to follow? Just heavenly - exactly where I would rather be!! And dinner? Jaime's appointment card is full! They already have plans..... Gee, why can't I ever be that organized? I'm always playing everything by ear.........!
With no time to waste and our stomachs mad as heck (5pm already and bread and water breakfast long dissolved), we rushed off to a nice Japanese seafood restaurant in the hotel complex to meet our local friends.
Unfortunately, talking always take precedence over eating when you haven't seen your pals for a long time - errr...where did all the food disappear to? I ended up appeasing my tummy with a piece of maki or two before we hurriedly took off for the Dome.
The only excitement there was that Mgr Yang, the last one to leave the dome that day, made a quick exit by jumping onto a taxi. With him gone, that pretty much signals that no other big stars would still be present. So, we took our time ,walking leisurely around and checking things out. That's where I took the pics of the busy-bees working inside the dome on my May 31st post - won't repeat myself here.
Along the walk paths to the Dome, we were impressed to see many cute and impressive signs - such as this one. Seems like the local businesses went all out to welcome the event......they took the time to write these to invite BYJ himself & family to come to their restaurant! Sure, the extra business wouldn't be bad either, but it was still a nice thing to see!
Think it was a quarter past 22:00pm when we finally schlepped back to our hotel. Was really worried that it was too late to meet Jaime, but haha - when I called her room and cellphone, this girl is still out somewhere partying! So we found some other pals in the hotel to visit, and by 22:30pm, I began to worry that the lack of an answer might mean that she was already sleeping. At the risk of interrupting her BYJ dream, I decided to make one more call. Surprise - she had just stepped back in, and we hurriedly made plans to meet in the lobby in 15 mins.
To my chagrin, when I arrived in the lobby, cloudnine & jaime were already waiting for me. They were excitedly sharing the story of their lovely dinner and they photo-op with the giant teddy-bear Mr. Shin - good for you gals! His new haircut is pretty becoming and he's really quite cute when he smiles a big one - hope your pics came out great!
And aaaaaaaackkkkkkkk - there was....there was... a mystery honor guest present! OMG! It was pallet! Do you know how many times people have to go to Japan to have the chance to run into her? I can't believe that standing before me was this super talented artist! Faint..........!
Guess this gentle and tender lady needs no introduction. (if you need an intro, ..hmmmmmmmm.....you a fan or not? haha) We've seen her countless sketches that she generously shares with all of us - I was able to finally tell her in person how impressed I was that her drawings not only capture the physical semblance of BYJ but also his spirit! She was even thoughtful to prepare an assortment of her famous drawings - for me??!!! Faint.....! When I saw them, I couldn't believe it - my eyes stretched open so wide they were going to explode. Oh my.....this was a monumental moment (!)....my very own set of truly, truly original sketches by pallet - with her every detailed stroke and filled with all her loving care! Thank you for such a precious, precious gift, my dear pallet, and thank you even more for a lovely chance occurance!
Oops - look at the time! cloudnine & pallet had an urgent appointment with the TV as TSWWG was coming on at 23:00pm, so we literally had 5-10 minutes before they had to run to their dream man! How can blame them? As you can see, at official events, time - the ever precious commodity - is scheduled to the minute - it is that hectic!
Meanwhile, I'm starving (really, really starving by now) and the only place open in the entire hotel + adjacent shopping complex is the hotel pub. With no other options before me, jaime was kind enough to endure through this loud and noisy, smoke-filled room with me (my apologies, and thank you!). As you've read, wenni also joined us and soon, the conversation was directed towards our day's trials and tribulations, with wenni sharing detailed accounts of her previous 3 days in Osaka. There was a loud and boisterous weddng party next to us, while other sisters who knew any one of us in our party were frequently coming to and fro- some tried to join us, some stopped just to say "hello" - it was a bit chaotic over all, with flashbacks of my college dorm hang-out scenes revisiting my mind there for a while. Sorry jaime - we never got off to much of a conversation, did we? I don't know if my rapid eating habits proved the most "intimidating" but promise I'll actually chew properly next time, ok? Thanks for your goodies (!) and thanks more for making the effort to greet scary munster mishio!
Not long later, jaime's fatigue is obvious, and both she and wenni retire for the night. My pals and I stay on ......well, I AM NOT DONE EATING MY DINNER OF NUTS and JUICE - the only food available at this hour!...and as I quickly survey the room, some of BOF's longtime admin/secur staff (not Mr.Shin of course, he had a supremely important task the next day!) were still drinking and chatting the night away at the table next to ours. Now if they don't have a need to turn in yet, why should we? :p As they threatened to close down the place, we had no choice but to file out and call it a night!
As you can see, even with BYJ around today, we can still have pretty full and exhausting days, and I can somehow manage to write pages - thanks to this diverse and lovely family!
Sorry I am so slow - been extremely distracted lately by BYJ and ....... BYJ. I'm sure you all empathize! He's as dashing as ever, no? If he's found a "look" that works, I'm not sure I mind seeing him in it day in and out ! :D
Anyway, a bit of a fair warning. Day 2 was completely "sans" BYJ. I know many of you would choose not to read stuff that is not about him directly, so this is your chance to click out!
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Well, 4 nights were all I had in Japan, and day 2 came roaring at me a bit too quickly as nights quickly blended into days.
After our 7-11 escapade, we decided to conduct a marathon of jaw exercises by chatting about everything from nothing to the ridiculous. Well...we haven't seen each other in a long time and there was much to catch up about.
We gabbed through unpacking, gabbed while showing off our latest BYJ surprises from our luggage, gabbed with each other even through closed bathroom doors (haha, talk about the most lonely ladies on this planet!) while the other is washing up for the night. You know how that goes - sometimes, it felt like "life on perpetual rewind" for even when there was nothing else to say, we would repeat and repeat the same stories over and over again (good grief - why do we do that?), but it was all good - it's good practice for when we all become grandmamas! :p Bottom line is that we used up our saliva as quickly as we were capable of producing it. (Goodness, if I am already so repetitive like that now, what'll become of me when I get to the retirement home? :p )
How to stop? Hmmm....tough question. Sometimes I think that we're actually secretly competitive with each other and manifesting that as a nightly stamina contest or something, haha! (kidding, of course) Yes,it was like we were daring each other.........to fall asleep! haha. Inevitably, the "weakest" one amongst the few of us will suddenly fall silent and cease to respond all of a sudden - (hmmpt - how rude! :p ). Everyone turns to glare at her, at which point the timing is such that we'll be greeted with....a weird noise ?
Hee, "One down! ". Yep, she's been eliminated, yay! Slowly, sis after sis nod off, and ahhhhhh......the room thanks us for achieving peace and quiet in the room at last!
Must have been very late when the we fell asleep because my sheets were barely wrinkled at all, but we're up early on May 31st for what was expected to be a full day. Weather was kinda gloomy and soupy, and my "looks" matched it perfectly too - I do look astonishingly like a direct descendant of Herman Munster when I don't sleep - face a bit ashen and greenish, hair taking on its own personality, dark concentric hollows encircling my eyes. My sis begs me to do society a favor and stop shunning makeup, but hey, remember, since I don't walk around with a mirror all day, I am not the one that has to suffer the fate of looking at my awful face - haha, pity the world! Anyway our moods were quite the contrary - filled of hopes of the unknown, of rumors of the casts' planned rehearsals and of more great sisters coming into town...!
Anyway, we were up early, but apparently not early enough. Some sis later said that BYJ was seen talking an early am walk around the hotel - aiyo! YJ-ssi, for a smart man, you sometimes really don't act it! (sorry, just kidding!) Sheesh, didn't you know you were supposed to coordinate your schedule with me? :)
Although he was supposedly flagged by his guard, actually it was really a great feeling to know that he's found the time and a way to enjoy the charming views of the riverside walks running behind the hotel! We walked it ourselves later that day, and it was quite possibly the most tranquil and non-oxygen deprived moments of my entire trip. Well done, YJ-ssi!
Anyway, it was a good thing he didn't bump into Munster mishio - or else he would've thought that he was night walking or something...gosh, is it really day or night?! haha. The sight of me by the river is like pure pollution, you know? You should all thank me for not ruining such a rare and precious moment in his life. For the record, I accept your "thanks" in all forms of communication! :)
Anyway, shortly after 9am, we were congregated in the big and spacious lobby of the hotel after gobbling down a scrumptious breakfast(me, so bad!)...... of water and bread! The lobby is quite aristocratic looking, no? Perfect location for a BYJ sorority convention :) which was really what it was quickly becoming. With every passing the hour, we kept bumping into more and more, new and old familiar faces as anyone that visited the Imperial Hotel that day found reason to course through the hotel lobby at least once.
By a gentle hand from above, it was there that I ran back into one of my favorite sisters K - a kind and gentle being who will always take up a special place in my heart for she is actually the first Japanese sister I ever met and befriended. Although we don't communicate as often or easily as we'd like, her caring actions demonstrate the kind of unconditional kindness and thoughtfulness that I never knew humans were capable of. Yes, K - we were meant to know each other, no? Thank you so much for everything!
Amongst many others too many to name, I should mention that we were also in the honored presence of the famous Korachan, whose amazing abilities with the computer graphics and the creative have reduced mature women to drooling children a few times too many. Oh...she is so talented, and so thoughtful too - take a look at these homemade goodies she prepared to us!
Don't they look professionally made? down to the neat and tidy packaging......!
I swear - I don't even have the faintest idea where to start to make stuff like that, much less make it that nice!
My most notable impression of her - well... She is simply a being who's thoroughly warm and comfortable and calm and inviting - all nerves of meeting her simply disappear right away as she puts you at ease from the first moment you meet her! In Chinese custom, I would describe her face as "gut meen seung" - loosely translated as a face full of harmony and good vibes and usually someone expected to be rewarded with a life of good fortune. For everything you do/have done for us, thank you so so so so much, Korachan. The pleasure was all and totally mine!
From Korachan, I found out that one of the donated tickets came from...........fellow L.A. sister baba-san herself! Talk about coming full circle ! I had no idea until then or I would have thanked this lovely sister a lot sooner. Thanks .... your generosity and consideration made another sister's dream come true! She is truly the epitome of the kind spirit of this family!
During one happy moment, our small group of sisters tried to take a group pic - heehee, I line up but hid behind someone on purpose. Sorry, it's another of my diseases, this photo shutter phobia of mine. Hope no one was terribly offended, but I not only dislike seeing myself in pics, I am paranoid of exposure. Sorry to one and all!
Most importantly, with all the sis busy posing their best around the couch, we just flagged...a man, any passing man, to do the clicking duties. This super, super nice and kind gentleman happened to come along and agreed to help without any hesitation. In fact, he really got into it and did his best to move people around until they got a one-of-a-kind shot! So considerate. Haha - oops and guess what? Turned out he's from the upper echelons of Key East! Whoops indeed! Well, give the man an "A+" - he chatted with us briefly, and then even helped a sister with an arm cast to carry her luggage a good distance. wow - does all this goodness rub off of HRH's shoulders or the other way around or both? chivalry - just a lovely sight!
and haha- wonder what he thought of us ordering him around??!! :D And I wonder if these stories - stories of fans having a grand 'ol time because of BYJ and BYJ only - ever trickle back up to the big man himself? He would be so pleased to know that...I should think.
Anyway, let me digress for a moment. The one thing that was different about "official meetings" and other set "dates" of formal meetings with other sisters is the lack of true quality time. Speaking honestly, it was nerve-racking at many times, like there was a pinball boing -ing around in my head. Remember ...we're not beautifully coiffed and dressed in our Sunday's best and sitting down for a carefree lunch, dinner or tea with a protected and unlimited period of time to chit-chat leisurely.
At these official events, we never know how much time we have before we have to run and take our places for whatever we were taking our places for. As expected, we had temporary and frequent interruptions at the hint of this or that commotion - be it Mr. Shin passing through after his breakfast, a sudden rush of movement by a group of fans, a shreek here and there that can mean anything from "BYJ is coming" to "Oh...that was gross" - whatever it meant, it would stop everyone's conversations dead in their tracks and eyes darting around like arrows. Frequent reports would filter through the crowd - regarding the rapidly growing number of crowds outsides, security activities, etc. - enough to drive most brain wires to overheat.
Who's in charge of monitoring such activities? No one officially, but for our group, it was yours truly by default. I think when you travel as a group, each persons' abilities and attributes naturally lead one to assume a certain set role within the group. Some are better with keeping track of expenses, some take marvelous pictures, etc. etc.
My biggest and most wonderful credentials ? ? None other than 2 arms and a pair of willing legs, so I somehow have been chronically assigned to the footwork department :) Won't elaborate, but a playback of the hotel security tapes might be quite amusing - that munster chick must have entered and exited the lobby over a dozen times that morning!
Anyway ladies, mishio says it's time to go line up with the hundreds & hundreds of ladies waiting outside!
I mean, if he were to sneak out just 10 feet away while we were just chatting in the lobby - I think fists would fly and heads would roll. hahaha. Once we assume our positions outside the hotel, the countdown clock officially began. And once you have a prime viewing spot, it is in your interest not to move and lose it. So............mishio's duties as a "runner" accelerates!"OH..Mr. Shin was said to be in the lobby again - mishio, go check that out and report back!"
ok.
"Oh...Mr. Yang and Mr. Bae (i.e. the new BOFi honcho) have just now been spotting grabbing a bite in the cafe. mishio - go check that out and let us know what's going on inside."
okie.
"Oh...someone said the security is starting to assemble in the lobby. can you see if that's true?"
ay, ay ma'am!
"oh...forgot this and that from the room. Can you run and grab it?"
ay................!!!!!!
my feet start to scream! just you wait ladies - wait till I develop some real skills and I'll quit my "girl-friday" job as quickly as you can say b-y-e! hahahaha!
Actually, it's kinda fun for me since standing still in place is not my forte. And I think you can understand, no? It's so boring to just wait and wait so that when you're inside, you want to know what action is going on outside. When you are outside, you want to know what's happening inside.
Now, maybe you can get any idea why I was so exhausted? And dear sisters that I met casually while congregating outside the hotel...maybe now you can understand why I was so frazzled and distracted and cannot carry on decent conversation....? A big "sorry" to everyone - you see, OMA had a lot of homework for me at any given time... :p
By now, you've read jaime's post about the less than perfect weather conditions and the more even further from perfect "wait" we chose to endure. Yes, us sillies chose to do it by our own accord.
What's more remarkable is how the ladies I wanted to meet...all ended up in the same general vicinity amongst the hundreds of ladies lining the entire long exit path of the hotel.
This looks like a good time to thank our princess once again for being such a proactive and thoughtful switchboard operator. Hee, I saw this outside Softbank's building while on the trip and guess who I thought of? :)
Come to think of it, she is really the glue that holds much of this family together. Speaking for myself, I know I probably wouldn't still be a fan, or would have crept back underground at the very least, if not for her steady encouragement. ( Ummmm....then again, is that a good thing? hahahaha :P just kidding, girl!)
Anyway, once she found out that my trip was a "go" , despite the fact that there were just a few days to spare before the big event, she worked mighty hard there in the background to connect me up with cloudnine, jaime and tomato99, all of whom touched me so much with their generous offer of assistance while I was in Japan. Gosh - I am such a nobody, and these sweet ladies were worried about me, the foreigner, bumbling around lost in Japan? They were so right of course - I did get lost often, but I did find my way home eventually. Thank you, thank you again ladies - your consideration is just too much! How is it that, before such a grand event and with all the busy stuff you've all going on in your life, you can still all instinctively think of others before yourselves?? Just amazing!
But haha, hopefully by now you know that I'm not much of kidnap target - who would want to lift this sack of potatoes anyway? (haha, ok too much kidding around)
Anyway, slowly but surely, as if destined by fate, one by one these sis just started appearing in front of me. Unlike many fans, with exception of my blog - which is essentially a one-way dialogue, I've maintained quite a barrier of privacy in this byj world. Nope, I haven't ever communicated with any of them before, with the exception of a rare run-in at a blog comment box or on quilt. Without knowing what to expect...it was really nice that the meetings happened without warning rather than planned, so I didn't have to endure a case of nerves.
Most amusing - was my meeting with tomato99.
Now ladies........especially the newbies, please take note! when chosing an id, do choose carefully! Heehee, no offense, but with nothing to go on, my mental image of this superquick superstar contributor on Quilt was.............well...........it was that of a "tomato." haha. What a wrong image that would be - for this statuesque and confident lady that stood before me was everything but the semblance of a ruddy and plump and round tomato! No fair -we are sooooooo misled - kakaka !!
Let's backup a bit, shall we? With my frequent zip ins and outs of the hotel, I had actually lost my prime first row"waiting" location somehow. So, rather than be squeezed to the 3rd or 4th row, I took a quite look around and imitated the other ingenious sis by balancing myself on one of the series of circular short 2 feet posts lining the parking exit, in order to gain a better vantage point. Hee - it was just as I was digging hard for these buried acrobatic skills (i promise, they are there somewhere! ) -trying to balance my both feet on this 6 inch diameter circular perch - when this sleek and modern looking lady came up to me ........ "Hi, I'm tomato!!"
Whoa! Who00000a!
Mishio capsizes! - and with that, I lost balance and had to jump and abandon ship or...err...perch!
Her - all full of grace.
Me - sighhhhhhh.........all full of disgrace :(
To my credit, I saved some face by acting like I meant to get off my step to greet her! :)
Hey, I can act! If tomato99 vouches for that, I can see a role as an "extra" on YJssi's next drama!
(What a lovely impression I made, huh?)
Anyway, over the years of being in the family, I've come to identify certain sis as either possessing "luck" or "no luck" when it comes to BYJ. It's part of every person's destiny that we can try to change but cannot really alter. Certain notable sis - they're golden, as if their life clock beats in step with HRH's. You know what I'm talking about, right? These ladies are the ones that never seem to wait much and they are rarely disappointed. And no, I'm not in that group.
But perhaps tomato is ! ( Of course I don't really know) But after we've been at it for 4 hours, she arrives just a short while before he's almost ready to drive by. Fortunate? or Fate? Haha -
The point being that we never really know if we will see him or not, but given the exact same end result for all hundreds of us, some of us seem to born to be day laborers, if you know what I mean!
Anyway, our encounter was quite brief but pleasant, with me mostly being tongue-tied and in awe . I'm sure we would've had a lot more to say to each other if....ahem....Mr. BYJ had not decided to get jealous (haha!) and decided to divert our attention towards him :P..... But with the heightened intensity around us, she had better quickly zip to find a a good viewing spot herself!
Jaime & cloudnine? I had the pleasure of "bumping" into them after a few tries of coordination by Korachan (sorry & thanks for the running around) who had to work hard to intercept me while I was involved in my various missions in and out of the lobby. We all ended up in the same general area at the end - seriously what a coincidence, huh?
Cloudnine was...........obviously not puffy and irregular like the clouds, either! :D
She is the picture of classic elegance and professionalism in dress and mannerism. How does she manage to not have a hair out of place? I don't have the answers, but she does - it's obvious.
Jaime? The fashionable one, as you would gather from reading her blog entries.
Dressed in a cropped babydoll white jacket, black pleated mini-skirt and ankle leggings with white flats(memory serving me right?), my first thought was...................where were those 4 inch leopard print stillettos she promised? hahahaha :) OK. Wrong date. That was supposed to be June 1st outfit, right Jaime?
I've always said that I am a slave to comfort. Actually, I envy those people that have the sense, energy, creativity, and figure to carry off the season's best trends. I can't and won't try to conduct any more fashion experiments after many years of hilarious and downright outrageousl attempts, that's all. And secretly, I'm glad that she isn't sporting 4 in heels, or she'd be talking to my scalp the whole time. She's kinda tall too by my standards, you know?
Anyway, both cloudnine & Jaime arrived together - you've read her description already. For starters, they didn't frown at the sight of me, and that gives them very very high marks in my book! haha. They relayed some of details of their ride from the am - it was Jaime's first shinkasen ride (what a thrill!) and cloudnine, the reliable guide, made all the arrangements. And we talked a bit about what happened in the am and who we'd met, but again, time was brief and scattered. Although I had to run off to deal with my "busy stuff," I remembered being relieved by the sense of ease I felt with these 2 ladies and how non-stressful it was to converse with them.
After we go back to taking our places, I cannot tell you how much longer it was.....but one by one, those 7 to 8 black vans starting to file out. Once while I was inside, I took note that E Ji Ah was one of the earliest to depart. Knowing that he won't be far behind, that's when I quickly scurried back out to take my place in line. No point, it turns out, as you all know by now that his car passed without a gap in the window. In fact, if the black tinted windows weren't enough, BYJ's car had an extra layer of thick cloth lining the windows. I guess opaque isn't really opaque enough ?
Surprisingly, I wasn't too disappointed. I guess after years of more disappointments than not, my natural and protective defenses have taken over. And sometimes, it is good to take a look around and re-set our gauges. When I get greedy and hope to get a good look at him each and every time, I just have to take a look around me and learn a lesson - On this day, I saw some ladies who were thrilled to tears just to have a chance to send him off with a cheer while others were happy enough at the mere thought of him having seen the fans on the line. That's infinitely more selfless than I am..!
As the crowds disbanded, I found cloudnine & jaime again - they looked pretty involved in making arrangements for their next plans. With some friends coming over to meet us for a bite, we said some quick good-byes and went about our business. Once back in our hotel, I remembered thinking "geez, mishio, how absentminded of you? " How rude I was for not inviting them to lunch? So I convinced the strict Imperial Hotel operator to transfer a call to their room. But...no go. Part of their group had already rushed off to check out Osaka Dome (bad, bad yj-ssi - it was late already!) and the other half of their group had much, much, much better plans in place - so envious lah! Bubble bath already being drawn and a massage to follow? Just heavenly - exactly where I would rather be!! And dinner? Jaime's appointment card is full! They already have plans..... Gee, why can't I ever be that organized? I'm always playing everything by ear.........!
With no time to waste and our stomachs mad as heck (5pm already and bread and water breakfast long dissolved), we rushed off to a nice Japanese seafood restaurant in the hotel complex to meet our local friends.
Unfortunately, talking always take precedence over eating when you haven't seen your pals for a long time - errr...where did all the food disappear to? I ended up appeasing my tummy with a piece of maki or two before we hurriedly took off for the Dome.
The only excitement there was that Mgr Yang, the last one to leave the dome that day, made a quick exit by jumping onto a taxi. With him gone, that pretty much signals that no other big stars would still be present. So, we took our time ,walking leisurely around and checking things out. That's where I took the pics of the busy-bees working inside the dome on my May 31st post - won't repeat myself here.
Along the walk paths to the Dome, we were impressed to see many cute and impressive signs - such as this one. Seems like the local businesses went all out to welcome the event......they took the time to write these to invite BYJ himself & family to come to their restaurant! Sure, the extra business wouldn't be bad either, but it was still a nice thing to see!
Think it was a quarter past 22:00pm when we finally schlepped back to our hotel. Was really worried that it was too late to meet Jaime, but haha - when I called her room and cellphone, this girl is still out somewhere partying! So we found some other pals in the hotel to visit, and by 22:30pm, I began to worry that the lack of an answer might mean that she was already sleeping. At the risk of interrupting her BYJ dream, I decided to make one more call. Surprise - she had just stepped back in, and we hurriedly made plans to meet in the lobby in 15 mins.
To my chagrin, when I arrived in the lobby, cloudnine & jaime were already waiting for me. They were excitedly sharing the story of their lovely dinner and they photo-op with the giant teddy-bear Mr. Shin - good for you gals! His new haircut is pretty becoming and he's really quite cute when he smiles a big one - hope your pics came out great!
And aaaaaaaackkkkkkkk - there was....there was... a mystery honor guest present! OMG! It was pallet! Do you know how many times people have to go to Japan to have the chance to run into her? I can't believe that standing before me was this super talented artist! Faint..........!
Guess this gentle and tender lady needs no introduction. (if you need an intro, ..hmmmmmmmm.....you a fan or not? haha) We've seen her countless sketches that she generously shares with all of us - I was able to finally tell her in person how impressed I was that her drawings not only capture the physical semblance of BYJ but also his spirit! She was even thoughtful to prepare an assortment of her famous drawings - for me??!!! Faint.....! When I saw them, I couldn't believe it - my eyes stretched open so wide they were going to explode. Oh my.....this was a monumental moment (!)....my very own set of truly, truly original sketches by pallet - with her every detailed stroke and filled with all her loving care! Thank you for such a precious, precious gift, my dear pallet, and thank you even more for a lovely chance occurance!
Oops - look at the time! cloudnine & pallet had an urgent appointment with the TV as TSWWG was coming on at 23:00pm, so we literally had 5-10 minutes before they had to run to their dream man! How can blame them? As you can see, at official events, time - the ever precious commodity - is scheduled to the minute - it is that hectic!
Meanwhile, I'm starving (really, really starving by now) and the only place open in the entire hotel + adjacent shopping complex is the hotel pub. With no other options before me, jaime was kind enough to endure through this loud and noisy, smoke-filled room with me (my apologies, and thank you!). As you've read, wenni also joined us and soon, the conversation was directed towards our day's trials and tribulations, with wenni sharing detailed accounts of her previous 3 days in Osaka. There was a loud and boisterous weddng party next to us, while other sisters who knew any one of us in our party were frequently coming to and fro- some tried to join us, some stopped just to say "hello" - it was a bit chaotic over all, with flashbacks of my college dorm hang-out scenes revisiting my mind there for a while. Sorry jaime - we never got off to much of a conversation, did we? I don't know if my rapid eating habits proved the most "intimidating" but promise I'll actually chew properly next time, ok? Thanks for your goodies (!) and thanks more for making the effort to greet scary munster mishio!
Not long later, jaime's fatigue is obvious, and both she and wenni retire for the night. My pals and I stay on ......well, I AM NOT DONE EATING MY DINNER OF NUTS and JUICE - the only food available at this hour!...and as I quickly survey the room, some of BOF's longtime admin/secur staff (not Mr.Shin of course, he had a supremely important task the next day!) were still drinking and chatting the night away at the table next to ours. Now if they don't have a need to turn in yet, why should we? :p As they threatened to close down the place, we had no choice but to file out and call it a night!
As you can see, even with BYJ around today, we can still have pretty full and exhausting days, and I can somehow manage to write pages - thanks to this diverse and lovely family!
16 comments:
mmm... so you didn't go to JFK? :p
anyway, must be nice to at least know that he's not all that far from you...
and.. thanks for sharing this. though sans YJ, still a great one. love the pace and the seamless fluidity of how you penned your thoughts and the events of the day, punctured with the occasional self-deprecating humour that i've come to love so much... and i also thoroughly enjoyed the bits where you described tomato, cloudnine and jaime. my sentiments exactly! these ladies have the natural-born ability to make me feel like such a klutz... :p
me too think that tomato comes across as a confident modern woman who knows her mind and probably mine too, hee! cloudnine is just classic elegance and on-so-refined and fine too, of course! and jaime, yea... so nonchalantly and fashionably chic... and the best part about it is that she makes it look almost effortless :)
p.s. and me love love love the association with mickey! he's my fave character of 'em all, you know... and yea, me too saw the mickey deco and all at the softbank outlets when i was in tokyo last month...
and please........ i didn't do anything at all, except to forward some email amongst you gals. glad that you all eventually found one another.
Ha ha Mishio, although sans YJ, I enjoy reading this posting very much, especially with the description of Tomato, Cloud Nine, Jaime and the pics of their ID.
can't wait to read take 3...
I laught a lot,you are very funy,and yes that is a good thing,
love how you descrive the other sisters so well,
and even wuth out him this was a great read.
I enjoy it very much
And for having done so much that day I admire the dedecation and the devotion that you had during all your trip.
Moontime
Hello Mishio,
I have been silent reader of your blog and I can't help but admire your way of writing, its entertaining can't wait for the part 3 of your osaka adventure. I've already read a few inside stories of those who were lucky to attend the osaka event and I'm really waiting for your version....
jelen
hi,
you are making me blushed in front of my PC....
i actually did not wait long enough for YJ and his team to leave hotel.
i said "hello" to some bae sisters who were waiting in line there and headed myself to hotel lounge for coffee and cake.
(i am more a greedy type....shrugs)
tomato99
Hi Mishio,
I really don't deserve such a nice description, which was too much for a plain old ajuma.
To be honest I was a bit nervous about meeting smart, sensitive, and a great writer Mishio, but later I found you a also sweet, brisk lady. I feel very sorry for our too short meeting and I couldn't do anything for you. Maybe next time?
cloud nine
Haha, couldn't resist indulging in a little math after reading bb's comment. Here are my conclusions:
Mishio is currently ~60% closer to YJ now he's in NY rather than Seoul. However, Mishio is still almost (84%) as far away from him as bb normally is when he's in Seoul. Nevertheless, when YJ is in Seoul, Mishio is a whooping 200% further away from his home than bb. And as for me, it would be 230%(sniff, sniff).
Great post, Mishio!
Hi dear mishio,
What a wonderful 'Take 2'! As princess said, I am a fan so you can imagine the excitement and nervousness of finally meeting you in person!
Thank you for giving us the details of your hectic day, so I understand a bit more about why you seemed somewhat distracted. You probably had a hundred things going around your mind that day, and I was not sensitive enough to spot that. Exhausted, dehydrated and starved, my dear mishio, I hope you will have much much better condition next time with Yong Joon.
Hahaha, now that you described it, I realize that I must have looked like a giant panda bear to you, white & black & white! Hehe, I think with the dark circles around the eyes to match too that late night in the hotel bar :)
Please, may I dare expect Take 3 in Tokyo?
love ... jaime
taking a quick break in the middle of the day here ladies (**ducking under the table with laptop!)
hi bb -
with your assurances, I'm mighty glad that my impressions weren't too presumptious and too far off base, since I only had literally minutes with these lovely sisters!
and...with me, it's never how much you do or how much time you spend but always, always, always...I always look at the meaning behind the actions. I think I have a pretty good gauge going (with regards to myself, and sometimes a bit overly critical. I don't really care for a bunch of sugary words from people whose actions aren't equally sincere. On the other hand, I've come to love many sis who are a bit less suave on the surface, but have the sweetest purest heart in the world...
what the heck am I babbling about when I've just a few minutes? Just thank you, ok?
hi camille,
thanks for staying awake during this long read. Your stamina is most admired :P
Hi Moontime!
Oh.......thank you! thank you! If I can make one person giggle just once, my day has been productive. You are so very sweet with your kind words!
hi jelen!
nice to meet you! your id is sooooo familiar to me...but I believe it's the first time meeting you officially...
Mannaso-pangapsumnida!
you too, are so very kind, but the truth is that I'm such a bumbling fool that most of these are simply factual writing rather than any innate ability. thanks for enduring my blog!
haha tomato!
blushing....would make you look like a tomato after all!! wish I could see it! haha
well...in retrospect, I have to add "smart" to your list of attributes. Wish I was cultivating my waistline with you at the cake shop rather than bone spurs on my foot!! ooooohhhh....don't remind me - those patries at the Hotel cake shop look so divine (!!!), and I never even tasted a crumble.....:(
hi cloudnine,
likewise, sorry for so little time - it's my fault, and always my style to blow in and out of Asia on short notice. Don't ever feel that you needed to do anything at all - the fact that you took the time to seek me out and offer your generous big helping hand speaks volumes about the kind of person you are!
Next time....next time... won't be far away, I'm sure!
gosijo!
huh??
double huh??
hahahahaha - you con't to amaze me...
I really want to package you up and send you up to Silicon Valley so that you can be a prototype for better computers in the future. Look at your mind go, dear! wow!
More to the point, professor gosijo:
when and how can we make that percentage drop to 0%, huh??
hi jaime,
still wondering...why do I make people nervous? not like I threatened to sit on people and squash them with my mighty rear end or anything? hahaha - just kidding.
anyway, standing in line and our heads turning at every passing black car is certainly no condition to meet. But that's what MR. fate handed us, and we did our best to make it work. Both of our schedules were mighty full, weren't they?
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