Hit-and-miss with LG

A coworker of mine told us yesterday about LG's promotion at a local mall where they're promoting their new smartphone at half the price. They were going to have the promotion for only one hour, between 2 and 3 pm. So, of course, some of us were really thrilled, myself included, at the opportunity of getting a good phone at half the price. I didn't even think twice; I've been wanting to have a phone that had WiFi and a camera , but never really made it a priority.

So three of us took a cab to the mall and headed for the event. It didn't take long when we found the place. It was already 2 pm, but there wasn't the expected activity. Their booth was cordoned off, with about a crowd right inside (probably early prospective buyers), and a bunch of onlookers beyond the cordon. After asking around, we learned from one that there was a fairly long queue, stretching even to the ground floor (we were on the fourth). When we tried tracing the line, we overheard someone on the line speaking to one of the officers in charge that stubs were given to 100 customers who had been here early, and that only 100 units will be sold off. We heard enough, so my coworker and I decided to give up and go our own ways.

We were the lucky ones fortunate enough to walk away easily because we didn't invest a lot of time and effort in trying to get a discounted phone. But there were hundreds who waited on the line, and I'm sure there were some who asserted their rights to be serviced. There was even one lady carrying a toddler on the line! I mentioned this to my coworker, but she said that even if we told them, they wouldn't believe us. I couldn't agree more.

This site posted a few sensible tips that other cellular promoters might want to take a page off of.

EDIT - It seems that there were even less units sold, 20 to 30 instead of the 100 posted. Oh, this is not gonna go down well. LG is a really good brand, and their phones are doing well. This kind of bad rep will really have a huge backlash...

Otanjobi, Yona-chan

He would have been 33 today. It's 9 am where I am, and it looks like it's raining outside. Seems like the sky is being sympathetic today.

I had a little token I wanted to give him for this occasion: a vintage-style camera pendant. I had reservations giving it because it's something women usually wear here. I've yet to see a guy wear vintage-inspired necklaces here or abroad. I really thought that it was an appropriate present since he liked taking pictures. I had even considered looking for a different necklace chain so that it would look more masculine. I wonder if he would have liked it...?

I wish I hadn't waited then. I know I'm deluding myself in thinking that giving him a small token would change what happened. I keep telling myself of that sad fact.

There was an update from Gaki's site where Yongha's gym instructor talks about him. Looks like Yongha's been carrying the burden of his father's illness since late last year! Seeing Raymond's story, and realizing that Yongha's been carrying that burden all this time... it's making his death more 'tangible'.

(x-posted at my LJ.)

'Stars' by Park Yong Ha

Gaki posted the lyrics in original Nihonggo, in Chinese and in romaji. Check it out here.

It was played during the burial, and was considered a premonition to the tragedy. Like Sandra (Gaki), I don't believe that to be so. I doubt he had a hand with the lyrics, and was only coincidence that it could be associated with his passing. Me, I shall cherish this song even if it will bring me tears from time to time...

A little something for you, Yona...

I'm slowly accepting the loss, but it's not easy. Yesterday, Saturday, I got to talk with Gaki, Yuki, and two more of PYH's fans. And somehow, the burden of grief was lighter, because we got to talk and share our experiences of how Park Yong Ha touched our lives in a way.

Gaki is also holding a tributes page of sorts, and send in any kind of tribute for PYH. I've sent a couple, plus I recorded a song that's been a favorite of mine. Copy of the song and translation below. And you can listen at your own risk here. I'm not much of a singer, so I hide my inefficiencies with my guitar. ^^;

PAGLISAN by Color It Red

Kung ang buhay ay isang umagang nakangiti

At ikaw ay ang lupang sinusuyo ng bituin

‘Di mo man silip ang langit

Di mo man silip, ito’y nandirito pa rin

CHORUS

Kung ang lahat ay may katapusan

Itong paglalakbay ay makakarating din sa paroroonan

At sa ‘yong paglisan

Ang tanging pabaon ko

ay pagi-big

Sa pagbuhos ng ulan, sa haplos ng hangin

Alaala mo ay...

Nakaukit sa pisngi… ng langit…

Di man umihip ang hangin

Di man umihip ika’y nandirito pa rin

(CHORUS)

Translation:

LEAVING

If life is one smiling morning

And you are the earth being wooed by a star (by the stars)

Though you may not see the sky

You may not see it, but it is there

CHORUS

If everything has an end

This journey will get to where it’s going

And at your leaving

My only token is

Love

At the falling rain, the caress of the wind

Your memories…

Are etched on the face of heaven

Though the winds may not blow

May it not blow, you will still be here

(CHORUS)

Sentiments...

... I have them up at my LJ. I don't think I have the strength to relive those feelings by doing a second post.

HE'S GONE????/

I'm in denial right now, trembling, and at a complete loss for words. Please say he's not gone!!!

"Love Story" female lead is unveiled!

Allkpop reported on its website that Coffee Prince's female lead, Yoon Eun Hye, will costar with Park Yong Ha in the remake of the Chinese movie "Comrades: Almost a Love Story". Read more here. My thanks to Angelofthewaters for the holler--literally.

Park Yong Ha's tweet

Here's a translation of his tweet earlier. Seems like Korea is out of the running in the World Cup.

"We lost...but a good job is a good job!!! Clapx3~Everyone, let's clap for Korean warriors (=national team players) who will come back with heavy steps with warm heart^_____^ Good workx2!!"

Credits to seunghoeyecandy from MBLAQAttack through Yuki-chan for the translation. ^^

"Stars" at first blush

I've been remiss with my posting! Soooooo sorry!! ^^;;;;

I finally, finally got hold of my Stars album after waiting a couple of weeks to literally have it in my hands. I was out of town, and the package arrived two days after I left! Of course, I nagged Yuki-chan to bring it the moment I got back.

Gaki didn't like a lot of the songs there, sadly. I do agree that "if" is good. After a couple of listens, I almost agreed that some tracks weren't that great.

Yuki-chan mentioned that track 3, 1秒先の未来 sounded like a theme from a kdrama. =P The others, imho, sounded like a slow club song, like "Alone", "monologue", 紫陽花 . Track 8, 心ほどいて , had a retro-y feel to its intro. I'm not up to speed on song genres, so you'll have to forgive me. But that's just how I felt like these songs sound.

Track 11, 11 終わらない旅 is another nice upbeat song. It feels like it's Park Yong Ha's song for the World Cup. According to the machine translator, it means "ending journey".

One Love and Saiai no Hito were already favorites since I've heard both online, and I have the Saiai no Hito single.

Surprisingly, the carrier title is the most mellow song of the bunch. Because it's titled Stars, I was thinking of something upbeat for some reason. I'm forgetting I'm listening to a balladeer here. Haha.

Overall... I guess I expected more upbeat songs, because that's what I used to listened to a lot before discovering Park Yong Ha (although I started to listen to Bach Cello Suites). In comparison, I'd have to say his Love and Once in a Summer albums were much better. Still, this album might grow on me eventually.

I'd still encourage folks to get the album regardless of what I think. We all have different tastes, after all. ^_^

I was puttering around the web while waiting for an important email when I stumbled upon this piece of news. Warner Brothers studio is interested in acquiring the rights of Park Yong Ha's new series! That's interesting, considering they haven't even cast his female lead yet. But it makes some sense because the original article mentioned that the studio owns the rights to the original Chinese movie.

Still, this would mean a huge break for anyone in the lead cast because they have a foot in the door and into the Hollywood scene. And better yet, really go global! Hoping this deal goes through. XD

Source.

Yondari!

Catch some of the latest Yongha diary clips from this uploader. Looks like he's lugging a little new toy around.

New kdrama from PYH???

According to the Dramabeans' website, Park Yong ha will be joining a drama remake of a popular Chinese film, to be titled Comrades: Almost a Love Story. Main source of this news here (in Korean). Oh Soo-yeon of Winter Sonata and Autumn Love Story will pen the series, while Ji Young-soo of Oh! Pil Seung Bong Soon Young directs. Check out her site for more info.

I kind of share some of the commentors' misgivings about the series being turned into a melodrama, what with the former WS writer being involved. And like javabeans, I'm willing to give it a shot. After all, I did dredge through On Air just so I could watch PYH, so this shouldn't be any different.

The website also says filming starts in July. If that's the case, how about his concert series? I saw in Etsuko's blog somewhere that PYH has a bunch of concerts in Japan this June. Does the guy ever know how to take a break?

(ED--Also found a similar update in PopSeoul)

PYH vid alert!

Someone uploaded a live studio version of Park Yong Ha's "One Love". Catch it before it's gone!

Developments!

I can't believe that there has been more than one development with PYH over the week!

One: His single One Love is out on the market now. I'm trying my bestest resist buying that because budget is tight. But I'm dead set on getting his Stars album.

Two: He has a twitter account!!! I was over the moon when gaki posted this lovely piece of news. There could be an issue of not being the genuine article. He posted pictures of himself taken from his phone to prove his identity, so I'll go with that for now. I don't see the harm of following him on Twitter.

Three: An English-subbed interview on youtube!! Finally, an interview of him that I can understand. It was nice of him to dedicate his songs to his fans; it's almost always expected from an artist. But what I find most endearing that he wanted to encourage his fans through his songs, understanding there being an economic recession. That's so sweet! However, I feel that he could could have said more; the interview felt restricted and not freestyle. Ah, well. A fangirl must get what she can...

PYH sports a new look

Saw this latest video courtesy of a loyal PYH uploader of him promoting his latest single, it seems. I don't know what to make of this new look. Is it for a shoot or something? It could just be me, but I've seen a lot of his 'dos, and this one just doesn't do it for me, unfortunately. While it does make him look younger as always, that undercut is just... =/

Some screencaps from that vid:

Squee-ful moment

Waaahhhh!! It's here!!! XD

The CD-DVD single I ordered, Saiai No Hito, is just here sitting on my desk, teasing me to rush straight home and load it on my player. So, SO tempting...!

Next thing I want to order is Park Yong ha's latest still-untitled album--that, or his One Love single. But I think the album's the best way to go. It's just that I have to wait until June for it to ship out. *sigh* Well, it's not like it will take forever to get it... ganbatte!!

It's almost there...

Dear me! The national election is now less than a week away, and I still haven't made up my mind! T_______T

It feels like college, defending your thesis. The enormity of what you're about to do doesn't hit you until the last moments when you're in front of your professors, who holds the fate of your future in their hands. Well, this time, the stakes are much, much higher.

I pray that I and my fellow countrymen will make the right decision come Election Day...

Decisions, decisions...

I've eluded temptation today. But how long will it last, I wonder?

A colleague at work bought an Olympus camera over the weekend, and Colleague #2 told me earlier today how she wanted to get one of her own. To make matters worse, Colleague #3 piped in to mention that the Lumix LX3 is on sale in one of the camera shops here in Manila. Of course, I jumped online right away to look up the model... and just made me drool and dizzy with the info and feedback on that and other models. Looking over owner's feedback on it is making me change my mind about getting any Canon G Series compacts anytime soon, since the Lumix one is pretty competitive. And the lower price is certainly a big deciding factor.

I'm slowly warming up to the prospect of getting a point and shoot digicam that has decent features of a dSLR, since I feel that other features of a dSLR would be wasted on me at this time; not to mention the thought of lugging a big camera around. I'm not so sure I'm ready for that kind of commitment yet.

And I think the same goes with Colleague #2. She seemed dead-set on hitting the camera shops and hunting down her ideal digicam, but the enthusiasm petered out by the end of our shift when we discovered the LX3 carrying a heftier price tag that what was expected. Too bad. But she was also setting her sights on a Nikon D3000, citing her possibly blooming interest in photography, and wanting to learn to go manual. I posed a few points, even making a passing analogy that you don't start out learning to drive in a Ferrari (although a Porsche should have been a more appropriate parallel, but you get the idea =P).

We're both novices in photography, so I can't really claim superiority or anything, but I do know some folks who sold their DSLRs and never upgraded, or that they got one but hardly ever bring it. My father owns a sweet manual Nikon FE that I'm trying to learn whenever I'm in the mood can, and that's not often. I know some of you out there would rationalize that having a dSLR would be entirely different. I somewhat agree. Though it still doesn't change the fact you'll be lugging it around. Yes, size matters somewhat to me, specially if I am to travel and I want to snap pictures right away. There's also the notion of not wanting to attract too much attention.

Whatever savings I have is safe. For now. But that would change, I know.

PYH clips online

Young Yong-ha watching a magician... check out this video. Park Yong-ha is simply watching this magician, then later participated in the later part of the clip. I just can't help but notice how very aloof he was in his younger days, then he warmed up when he established a singing career. I guess he's gotten over the shyness as he got to interact more with fans and other people.

Back to the clip. When it was his turn to volunteer, his thumbs were tied. Tight. He actually blurted out in pain! And are his thumbs turning blue?

ED--Latest clip from Yong Ha Diary. Check it out while it lasts!

Some PYH dancing

I never thought I'd find this little gem, thanks to this webmistress who inadvertently lead the way. This was a dance number with the contestants of the Miss Korea Pageant in 2003. So ParkYong-ha can dance after all! I'm not putting down his efforts; he was actually quite good there. The moves may be simple, but was done well. Besides. they can't have the contestants do complicated moves in their formal gowns and high heels, could they?

I'm just pleasantly surprised because if you check out this segment from On Air, and from a clip in one of his Japanese fan meetings (I'll put it up when I find it), you'll see why. His movements were kind of awkward, and one can tell that he's not used to dancing. Which is okay, since not everybody are dancers and can think up moves on the spot. And it's not a bad thing that he can't dance well, either. I think a lot of his fans find it cute. And good for him for trying for his fans. ^_^

Goodies, goodies, goodies!!

Gah! What is this? YesAsia has five new items for release on PYH! It's bad enough (bad enough in a strange, good way) that I can't easily afford a lot of these, much less understand them (coughEnglishsubtitlespleasecough). Well, I just need to exercise a bit of good judgment and pick what I like most, save up for it, and slowly work my way to build a collection. Ganbatte! (-.-)

A little doodle

Weekdays are always hectic for me, so it's a little treat when I get home and manage to sneak in a bit of surfing time.

I just wanted to share a little sketch I did last month while I was at the office. I haven't been seriously drawing, so I cherish these little roughs I do. Can you guess who this is?







平日は常に多忙、家に帰るているインターネットを行うには良いです。

小さなスケッチのシェアは先月事務所でした。私は真剣なので、私はこれらの小さなものを大切に描画されていない。あなたは誰これは推測？








평일은 언제나 정신없이 바쁠, 집에 갈 수 있습니다 인터넷을하는 것이 좋다.

작은 스케치 점유율은 지난 달 사무실어요. 난 진지하게, 그래서 내가 할 작은 일들을 소중히 드로잉되지 않았습니다. 수 누군지이게 뭐게?

Let's start the ball rolling with my latest fixation: Park Yong ha. I just have to express my fangirlish notions somewhere or I'd go insane. XD

The interest started around 2002 when Winter Sonata was broadcast locally. I recall was a little attracted to Bae Yong joon, but somehow, it shifted to his rival in the series. And who wouldn't be? I didn't really follow the series, but looked forward to Park Yong ha's scenes when I did catch it.

So it was only natural that I was thrilled when I learned he was going to star in his own series called "Loving You". Both "Winter Sonata" and "Loving You" were dubbed locally. so I was a little disappointed that I never got to hear his voice. And since he never starred in any other shows, the interest in him simply faded.

Who knew he'd been making waves in Japan all this time?? As a singer, no less! I'm into anime, but I wasn't seriously into Jpop. So it wasn't until late 2009 that I got re-introduced to Mr. Park Yong ha. I saw him again in "On Air" when it also got shown locally. He was thinner, edgier (not that thinner and edgier are bad!), but I wasn't keen on picking up the drama for some reason.

But it was from an online search when I was bored one day that I became hungry to know more about him. The fact that he reinvented himself and was successful made him all the more attractive. Not all actors can launch into a singing career if they can't carry a tune can they? And how he could! <333 I'm so happy for him that he succeeded, and continues to do so.

So now, I've got a lot of his songs now, and I plan to collect his CDs when I can. I've already got "Present", and I plan to make my collection grow!

Also, I want to share the Yongha-ssi love I find to fellow English-speaking fans, knowing how very difficult it is to find his works, harder still if they are translated to English.

********************

최근 관심을 갖고 시작 : 박용하. 내가 미쳐 가고 싶지 않기 때문에 나 자신을 표현합니다. ^ ^;

2002 관심을 시작할 때 "겨울 연가"를 표시 네이티브. 배용준에 소환 매력은 먼저, 그러나 그의 라이벌로 변경되었습니다. 누가 그럴까요? 난 추종자 오전별로지만, 그것을 지켜 박용하를 참조 나.

흥분 이끌 것이었다 쇼 천연 때 발표 "러빙 유"자기 자신의. "겨울 연가"와 "러빙 유"목소리를 교체했다, 그래서 슬픈 그의 목소리가 들리지 않는했다. 그는 낮은 있었어요 관심이 절대 쇼를 만든 후.

유명한 일본 그는 전 깨달 았죠 안돼?? 가수로! 애니메이션은 나의 흥미, 완전히 Jpop 없습니다. 2009 박용하 씨는 또 나중에 년 도입. 또 그는 "에어"가 여기에 표시 온에서 본했다. 그는 얇은, 더 강렬 강렬 (그리고 좋은 슬림이다!)하지만, 관심에 결석을 보여줍니다.

검색을 나중에 인터넷을 시작하고 굶주림에 대한 정보. 실현 박용하는 자신이 만든 새로운 성공했다. 몇몇 배우면 좋은 노래 안 부르고 성공. 박용하 수 있어요! 성공을 위해 그에게 행복은 계속됩니다.

이제 노래를 수집 박용하와라면 가능 나 CD를 수집합니다. 이미 "현재"는 성장을 얻은 수집.

- 용하 공유 아저씨 사랑을위한 다른 영어 스피커로 열심히 정보를 얻을 수 있습니다. 세게 만약 영어가 아닌.

파이팅!


[여기에 번역 제공. 제발 용서해 나쁜 문장 만들기. v^^;]

********************

開始の最近の関心：パクヨンハています。は夢中になるのですか私はために自分自身を表現する必要がありま す。

2002興味がネイティブ冬のソナタ"を示す起動時に"。ペヨンジュンにリコールの魅力は、最初はライバルに変更しました。誰がそれをしないか？私は、追 従午前は非常にそれを見てパクヨンハを参照してください私は。

興奮を発表したのはいつの自然"を愛するあ なた"自分のショーがリードする。 "冬のソナタ"と"あなたは"声の置き換えられたラビングので、悲しい声を聞いたことができませんでした。彼が低下していたの関心は決してした番組を、 後

で有名な日本の彼は私が実現していない？？歌手として！アニメは私の興味は、完全JPOPのれません。 2009氏はパクヨンハ再び年内の導入。再び彼が見られた"オンエア"がここに示す。彼は薄く、より強度激しい（良いスリムです！）が、利益のないことを 示す。

インターネット検索やって起動については、空腹その後。実現パクヨンハ自身が新しい成功を収めたと なった。いくつかの俳優がいる場合曲よくない歌っ成功した。パクヨンハができます！成功のために彼に幸福と続けてい る。

今の曲を集めてパクヨンハのと午前ばできる私は収集のCDを。既に"現在"は成長が得収集す る。

-ミスターヨンハ共有愛のために、他の英語圏の人は、一生懸命情報を得ることです。はHarder場合英語ではな い。

がんばっ！


[ここでは翻訳が提供される。ご容赦ください不良文作り。 v^^;]

Maiden posting

Ahhh... first post. These firsts are always the toughest to start, aren't they? But once the idea sparks in your head, your imagination can sometimes get ahead of your typing. ^^

Welcome to Oriental Flavor, where anything and everything is explored--with an oriental twist, of course.

Why oriental? Because it's who I am, where I come from, and how I came to be. And from time to time, posts will be translated in different languages, depending on the topic in the posts. It's not like it hasn't been done before. I've seen posts redone in a second language.

And before you go "ooh"-ing and "aah"-ing, let me say now that I am not fluent in any other language than what I grew up with. I'll only be tapping into the help of machine translators like Google's translator or worldlingo, or whichever has better translations. Any better ones you'd recommend is welcome!

And why the translations? Because I want to express myself and reach out even to other folks whose first language is not English. And since my succeeding posts would mostly revolve around pop culture, I'd like to go beyond the language barrier and reach out to others who share the same interests.

Do stick around and explore with me.