SHINee "Everybody" mini album review: Noona likes!

First of all, I will take this moment to say- SHINee's back!! (haha, get it? :D *lame joke*)

But anyhoo, honestly, these boys have been working SO hard this year! It's like S.M Ent. just decided- " hey y'know what, let's get those SHINee boys back to work. We have other artists besides EXO too... Now where did that Super whatstheirname go?"

But seriously, SHINee's been releasing video after video, releasing SO many songs- and hell, I can't imagine how worked they must be! But most of their songs this year have shown their versatility. Since Lucifer, they have shown us that they're growing up too. They're no longer the noona's sweethearts that they used to be (although in my heart, they will always be noona's boys) *yes Taemin, I am looking at you; I am not noona to the others, haha* With the album Dream Girl- they did show a lot of their usual happy, love-struck self. But here is where I feel S.M made a brilliant move- Dream Girl (The Misconceptions of You) is filled with more cute-sy songs, while Why So Serious? (The Misconceptions of Me) is much darker, grittier. I feel this was very observant and clever since one generally does tend to exaggerate one's own faults and negativity while simultaneously overplaying your loved one's good traits- even making up characteristics where there are none- because admit it, you're just blindly in love to notice the dark bits.

Now back to the main topic- Everybody, their latest album.

Fabulous- yes. Jewellery is love. But honestly, I was hoping for something more..different? This somehow didn't cut it for me as a teaser pic, but that's just my opinion.

TBH, my first reaction was:

When the video teasers,etc started coming out I didn't really pay attention . But then the video of Everybody was released, and I was just like "oh hot damn, that choreography! hmm, the song's pretty catchy too, though the dub-step doesn't really let SHINee show their true vocal talent,etc,etc" But little did I realise that this was just the tip of the iceberg. 

Who knew Taemin would grow up so much? ♥～(‘▽^人)
(Also doesn't he remind you of Jaejoong from his Mirotic days?)

Taemin- please GAIN some weight! Noona is happy about you growing up, but please eat more!  ( ≧Д≦)

I shall try to be brief in my review but please bear in mind- I have a tendency to ramble (-_-" )

In my mail: Funky new tees!

Just to be clear, first things first- even though I haven't watched ALL the Star Wars movies (though I plan to), Darth Vader is still one of my favourite villains of all time. (Along with- just to name a few- the Joker and Mocambo! :D) So when I saw funny t-shirts with Darth Vader on them, on sale, I just had to buy them! 

Besides that- one of them was a design which was previously sold out. And I shall mention this again- it was ON SALE. 20% OFF. The following was my reaction at the computer screen:

Le packages!  (‘∀’●)

The packaging isn't anything fancy- just a big plastic bag with a paper tissue in the shirt's folds. But it shipped pretty fast. I ordered them 2 days ago and they arrived this morning. Plus the shipping is FREE! (that is- it is included in the price itself). 

Plus, they have a "T-shirt of the Day" which is basically 20% off the normal price. 

And now, on to the t-shirts:

Vintage games? 8-bit? DARTH VADER? Yep, I love these shirts! ♥

CLAMP haul + SHINee's back! (and hopefully, so am I)

Hello world!
I am back from my very long hiatus brought upon me by college finals and stuff. Although I still have a few entrance exams to give.. (￣◇￣;)

But anyhoo, in other news, I mage a big CLAMP haul last week. I really missed buying manga and I was over the moon when I found out that Dark Horse and Viz Media were coming out with omnibus editions! Especially old-school CLAMP manga like Tokyo Babylon and X- oh my God- the art, the plot, the gore, the detail! (｡’▽’｡)♡

Here are a few pictures:

FINALLY ARRIVED! (^0^ )

On top is the last volume of Tsubasa (Vol. 28) and it is almost double the size of the normal volumes! No colour pages though! :< ( I was hoping there'd be a few seeing how it is the last installment in this epic tale!) But nonetheless, I still love it! :3

Now, on to Tokyo Babylon. 

Stuff from Korea Tourism

So I had entered a contest last month, held by Korea Tourism and I won, so huzzah! The package arrived on Valentine's day, but thanks to exams, I couldn't post about it :/

When I found out I was one of the few who had won, I was like "really?... really?! ... gimme, gimme!"
So anyhoo, here's the stuff I won :D

 

So SHINee! *0* I haven't dared to use it yet! :<

Currently being used by my sis since I don't own a touchphone*okayface*

Haha, a jigsaw which I at least shall never solve :P

An alarm clock + pencil stand + it can play music and show the temperature :D

Super cute magnets! These babies are currently up on my fridge! :3

Lol, now I am set to go- now if I could only get a passport and visa :P

I don't know why but I found this very awesome C:

By the way, if you love Korea too and want to go there + you're Indian, do like Korea Tourism India's page!

In other news, college finals are in a month or so. I should REALLY start studying seriously (>.<)

Also, here is a video of Terry He's acapella cover of "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz. It is SO well done! This guy is amazing! I just found out about him *instant fan* ~ ♥

Gym so far, fitness goals and Taecyeon

Okay, so I have been going to the gym for the past week now. Not much change yet. My weight is still the same for starters. However I think that may be my fault considering the fact that I haven't really paid much attention to my diet. And especially considering that I have binged like crazy on Chinese food and chocolate! Orzz..( ;__;)

But I'm now going to change that- hopefully increase my tolerance of veggies for starters, and maybe reduce my pork intake. (Bacon, why u so addictive?!)

Secondly, I am going to aim for the following fitness goals:
1) Manage at least 20 push ups by the end of the month (yeah, I suck at push ups)
2) Do 60 inclined crunches every day or so.
3) Increase my calcium intake which basically means at least drink a glass of milk everyday

Well, only 3 goals for now to keep it a bit more achievable.

By the way, remember 2PM whom I adore for their hotness and fitness? Well, here's a snippet from an interview they had with Men's Uno magazine in Hong Kong:

"Body-building is a form of mental building

Speaking of advantage, what gives them a head start are their bodies, which are likely to be more built than a fitness trainer. No matter how packed their schedules are in Hong Kong, the six guys always have exercising in their mind. They enquired about the location of the gym the moment we got to the hotel, and before the cover shoot for men’s uno, they were up as early as 7.30AM to train to show their best form in front of the camera. “No matter how busy, we spend half an hour exercising every day. Many asked us how we obtained our figures. The answer is simple, sustained daily training and regulation of diet. To us, exercising is not only training our bodies, it’s a form of mental training. When we are stressed or feeling down, we exercise. Our mood will be more relaxed after exercising and we are able to face the problems with a more open mind.” Junho said."

[Full interview is here.  ]

Dammit, 2PM, I wish I had your discipline!

Also, I found Taecyeon's most likely workout. (He's my bias btw, and he also has perhaps the most ripped abs in the K-pop industry!)  

Click here to go read his most likely workout.

and, here's a random gif of Taecyeon being cute~

Also, on another, but related note, here's 2PM's sexeh video of Masquerade (I couldn't find better quality, boo :C ) By the way, at one point in the video don't they look like Arrancars from Bleach?

Lol, I can believe Grimmjow becoming a member of the JYP family if he was real! :D

What I think about when I go to the supermarket

Ah, so this is just a random post of some of the cute stationery-type things I come across.
I'm a sucker for cute things, not even funny. So there I was, in the store, wearing a manly looking tee and then I suddenly burst into a big grin looking at all the cute stationery! I am VERY sure the shop assistant took a double-take at that. When I walk anywhere, I am usually straight faced and kinda scary looking. I see something remotely cute or funny or Kpop related and I'll be all cute suddenly. Weird right?

By the way, I went into the detergent section, and THIS, this was exactly my reaction. 

 

Also, here are some random pictures of the cute things I found.  Haha, by the way, another reason I go to the stationery section is to read all the stuff written in Korean :P

A rubber stamp set.

The rubber stamp set was cute but I decided against buying it, well, because:
a) I wouldn't use it.
b) My family's already tired of the useless but cute things I have stacked up at home.

A Hello Kitty coin purse, teddy bear post-its, an elephant sharpener and an owl eraser (from Accessorize)

and some magic balloons set xD

And, OMG, the new SHINee album! WANT SO MUCH! All the songs sound SO good! This one has become a recent fave! It sounds very DJ Clazzi-like :D

Fast and Furious February

Lol, okay, sad title. But anyhoo, it is true. Most of February has already passed, and I didn't even realise! Haven't posted in quite a while. *le gasp*

However, it is not COMPLETELY my fault. After all, first I had exams and then there was my birthday (HUZZAH!) So yes, have been busy studying, drinking copious amounts of chai, getting fat and procrastinating. 

But a lot of stuff HAS happened. And things. (Lol, Walking Dead reference- started getting obsessed with that show too recently.)

For starters, exams were horrible but the results were..well..not bad. Well not as bad as I thought they would be anyway. Which is good.. I guess.. right? :P

Anyhoo, after that I had my birthday on the 21st. And I got two presents from my sis- one being the present she owed me for last year's b'day :/

But it was K-pop. And it was good. 

So much love! Lol, and a Molang phone charm too, hehe.

  

Woot! Got my bias's- Onew's card in the SHINee album! :D

My other present (for this year) was a supercute satchel by Accessorize, D'oh!-whose picture I forgot to click! :C

And this was a super lovely bouquet from a friend who came visiting me on my b'day when she realised I was alone on my actual b'day! :')

In other news, I also created another diary to keep track of my daily finances, etc. 

The front- cut up pictures from the SM pamphlet and the ZE:A album extension.

And the back- also ZE:A's album extension :P

Also, in other news- I have gained weight. A LOT of it. As a result of exams I guess. So I have resumed gymming and I hope I get into shape soon! I need my brain to be alert and healthy for the upcoming finals! :O

[I was actually considering having a separate weight loss and health section on my blog where I could post about stuff like my progress and new things that I have learned about being healthy.]

Anyhoo, more posts shall be coming up now that  I am relatively free! :D 

On another random note, have you heard LED Apple's cover of Mr Taxi by Girl's Generation. It is way more awesome than the original! ~ <3

Exams. Urgh.

Okay, so even though I'm really supposed to be studying right now, i just HAD to post! It has been more than a week and I feel.. dead. 

Though I have been overdosing on chai like crazy, making me some kind of a caffeine driven robot. (not yet a zombie- that was the case last semester)

Exams aren't really going too good since I'm finding it hard to get my study mode on. And K-pop really doesn't help my cause.

Lol, by the way, here are a few pics of stuff around me while I was studying (because I have been leading a hermit's life for the past 10 days or so)

Simplex tables. Nothing that simple about them.

Random sketchy attempt at Donghae in my second year Stats notebook :D ( I was obsessed with SuJu-M's Super Girl back then!)

When my kpop obsession had just begun in late 2010 :D (wow, I get really distracted in class)

Yes, I just ordered my Econometrics book from Flipkart. I always love their free bookmarks! ~

Flip side of the bookmark. Lol, do read!

Bought a new bag, mainly for the geeky print! More about this later ^_^

Seeing all my random doodles in my notebooks really brought back memories! It's strange how my obsession with K-pop still remains, but its just become more developed and mature (haha, I think I just made it sound like some teenager!)

But on another note, I should go study now. I hope I do relatively well! My finals are yet to come! (>.<)

Wish me luck!

Also, on another note- Clazziquai's released a new video! Huzzah! I love these guys- they were probably my first favourite Korean music artists (even before I knew what K-pop was!) I love their music, it's very different from mainstream K-pop. ♥

Yay! I have bangs!

My sis gave me a fringe after much bugging her! Lol, she's like my makeup artist AND my hair stylist!
I love my new bangs! Got them again after like what- 15 years?

Heehee, the one standing is me and the one with the ":P" is my sis~

By the way, here's her blog- Beauty and the Cheap. SHE IS AWESOME!


YAY! I have ulzzang/ Taemin-from-Sherlock-like hair now! :D

"Bish, I have extensions and my hair is STILL better than yours!"

On another random note, I was rookie hunting on YouTube and look at what I found! It's SO stuck in my head! By the way, I love the blondie~ <3

Do check them out! I like supporting the new guys! Hope they make it! (and I hope they get rid of the autotune! )

Handmade notebooks + 2PM = ♥

Hello beloved online community,

How art thou today? Hope thy life’s been well.

Lol, okay I’ll stop now.

So anyhoo, today I shall show two mini notebooks I made from paper around the house. I made one for my sis and one for me.

Here is the first one, made for my sis, and which is super kawaii ne?

It’s EXTREMELY simple to make.

1. All you need is a bunch of blank paper, some thread, and a needle and decoration stuff.
2. Then fold the paper into half and simply stick it in the centre.
3. Then find a thick coloured paper to make into the cover and just stick it to the back and front of your pages.
4. Decorate your cover however you want and voila, you’re done!
5. (OPTIONAL) You can even stick a ribbon near the spine, between your back cover page and last page to create a bookmark.

Or better yet, you could just follow this tutorial (it’s a bit lengthy but it’s awesome if you want to make one of those pretty, hardbound notebooks) 

Here are some more piccies of it:

The owl and heart stickers are from Accessorize and were my sister’s idea. The pink polka dot stickers are from Crawford Market (30 or 40 bucks for a 1000 of them!~)

And also, here’s mine:

 I LOVE 2PM and all their beastly hotness~! (Okay wait, that sounded disturbing. But you know what, I am a creep at times. >:D)

So here are some more pics of this:

My bias(es)~

back cover

So yes, I am a kpop (+ 2PM) fangirl AND a very bored dorkus who has better work to do (like study regression analysis!)

By the way notice the “Fly to Seoul” reference *wink,wink*

In case you don’t get it, here’s what I am talking about:

It’s the ad for Korea Tourism which made me fall in love with kpop in the first place! (Alhtough technically, my first favourite Korean artists were the Clazziquai Project)

This jingle/song was so stuck in my head, I would just keep singing “FLY TO SEOUL! ...*doesn’t understand the Korean words*...DANCE DANCE, DANCE...*more Korean words*...BOOM BOOM BOOM!" *does the dance*

Dear Korea tourism, if I ever go to Korea, I expect to spend a day with 2PM 
DO YOU HEAR ME?

A DAY. BEING BACKSTAGE. SHOPPING WITH 2PM.

 AND DANCING WITH THEM.

 AND WALKING AROUND WITH THEM.

 AND WHATEVER OTHER EPIC STUFF THE VIDEO PROMISES.

*makes intimidating gestures*

Schoolyard bullying and the fight for equal rights

Hey guys! So this isn't exactly a rant here. Okay, maybe it is. It's something that's been going through my head for quite some time now and that is this whole system of school hierarchies. Back in school, I remember there was this whole categorization system on the basis of your looks, wealth and grades (much like when you grow up huh?) 

But what I'm trying to say is- this entire system of categories and stereotypes really pissed me off. Not only because it was illogical, but because it was downright unfair.Especially to those of us who are more heavily built. 

When you're a kid- not even 13- other kids would be picking on you for being chubby, or skinny, or getting better grades, or for losing in games. This is acceptable up to a point. I'll give them some things for being young and of underdeveloped minds. After that, it just gets outright twisted. You see kids as young as 8 years worrying about their weight. Kids crying about the fact that they can't run as fast as the others.

I have been a victim of pointless bullying. Although not to a creepy extent. But bullying nonetheless. Being an English speaking kid in a Hindi speaking area wasn't exactly very comfortable. First I was called "Angrej" (similar to being called foreigner). Then later I was bullied for being chubby. I was called fatty for a lot of my life (whether as an insult or sometimes, even in fun, it hurts us you know?)and this pissed me off the MOST. Because this one aspect of being "fat", sidelined a LOT of the achievements I had,like being good at art, or writing. In fact, I think getting better marks made it even worse in some ways. So I was the fat nerd now. Though I didn't care for it a lot of the time, but after a point, the bullying just got to me, and something in my brain snapped. 

When I was a teenager, I hated being called fat so much, I went onto this whole "hostility mode" where I'd restrict my food intake and be hostile towards anyone who even looked at me funny. Although strangely enough, this was also the time I had some of my most intellectual moments where I discovered "non-conformity" and how and why it was hated by our society. That was the time I realised - I was meant to be a logical human being, with the same rights as any man out there. I had the right to speak my mind and be myself, whether society liked it or not. I had great intellectual potential going to waste because I cared about what others thought. I then fully saw a picture of peer pressure which I had not seen before completely.

How I looked at the society around me ( and often, still do), except the Spencer Tracy bit

I noticed that the girls around me were more susceptible to criticism. More likely to change themselves to fit in. And I realised I was becoming a part of them by trying to lose weight. And that was when I decided, "I am taking a stand! Screw you and your sexist, misogynistic expectations!"(And this applied to girls and boys, both) And so, for the second time in my adolescence, something snapped in my brain again. And this time, for the better. 

Being a fat kid in South Asia isn't really easy and being chubby isn't as widely/easily accepted among women. So taking this stand was hard. Very hard. But I stuck to it. Although I must say, a lot of people in school were really narrow minded when I tried to explain gender equality and its importance to them. It's like they REFUSED to believe that such a thing existed, especially the guys. All the same I stuck by what I believed and even developed good friendships as a result too. [And by the way, it's not like all guys are jerks, many of them can be pretty understanding and nice too. And even women can be sexist by supporting things such as "size zeros", etc. ]

So anyhoo, I am happy now. In fact after entering college, I discovered even more people who thought like me and found enlightenment in sociology, which showed me an even more logical approach to the matters that bothered me about society. (It's awesome when you read a book which talks about stuff which you always thought of for years!)


In fact, I will add to that and say I am a happy, self loving individual who hold my rights and freedoms very dear to me. And any person who thinks they are superior in any way due to their sex, IQ or whatever other shit they can think of, all I can say is: