I slept late last night reading my old livejournal, one that I kept in 2005-2007, back when I was a legit, crazy Johnny’s Ent./Jpop fangirl. It was indeed bittersweet and I suddenly missed my old fandom friends – people whom I spent hours in a day with, just spazzing over Yamapi, Nino or Tegoshi.

95% of them were foreigners and I exchanged snail mails and presents with them, called them overseas and even hung out with them when they visited the Philippines. Now, I don’t even remember most of their names, let alone how they looked like. And for that, I felt it was apt for me to repost this entry here, which I wrote on April 23, 2006 because it’s timely and it’s the truth. These are but some fandom realities.

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If you are reading this, chances are you’ve been or you’re part of a fandom one way or another. Perhaps you spend a lot of time online, trying to learn more about your idols (Asian or Western) or your favorite TV shows and movie franchises. There’s a big probability also that you’ve purchased their DVD’s, downloaded their pictures or watched their concerts live. There’s something really exciting about being part of a community that shares the same interests with you. However, I think many people give too much to their fandoms for their own good. I should know. I am one of them.

This is not even about wasting away your parents’ hard-earned money for a limited-edition boxset or failing your exams because you chose to do the layout of a website instead of studying. This is about making friends with fellow enthusiasts whom you meet online (or otherwise) and trusting them with your life, when the sole thing you share anyway is your desire to get in your idols’ pants.

Hair Makeover 2013

I seriously needed a hair makeover. Last time I visited the Hairshaft Salon at The Podium was just before Big Bang’s concert last October. That was like half a year ago. WTF. My hair was up until the small of my back already, rather damaged, faded and is overall not very healthy. I particulary waited until my Cebu-Bohol trip was done before I scheduled a hair makeover session with my awesome stylist (since April 2010), Miguel! [click to enlarge photos]

This was what I looked like prior to the session. Faded hair was faded.

I didn’t really know what I wanted except that I wanted a lighter, browner color and that I wanted to look like Lee Hyori (I showed him her photos). LOL. The team (yes, team because many people will work on your hair) first colored my roots and after rinsing it off, he proceeded to cut my hair. And boy, did he chop off a lot! Sorry, I didn’t get to take photos of that. After the haircut, Migs asked his assistants to get some foil for my highlights.

Top: Five people were literally working on my hair. ; Bottom: Closer look at the foil. Because why not, right??

You see, when I ask Miguel for a certain color, he doesn’t just get a bottle of dye and put it on my hair. He uses as much as three different shades to achieve the over-all look so there will be “movement” and the colors will come alive. Though it takes about 4-5 hours, the results are always… first class.

About two weeks ago, as I was looking for some things in my room specifically on top of my cabinet, I chanced upon my Tupperware box/chest full of letters given to me by friends and some, by strangers. It’s always been there in full sight but for some weird reason, I took it out that night and opened the box. I was overwhelmed with memories and emotions. Most of those notes and letters were from 1996 – 2003, the very crucial years where I was molded into the person that I am today. [click photos to enlarge]

Can you spot the Backstreet Boys postcards of win? How about that floppy disk? Is that a plastic cherry???

I opened those letters one by one and it made me ask, “Why don’t we write letters anymore?” I realized that the letters stopped coming in around ’03-’04, when the internet became much more common in the country. I suppose we just sent emails or electronic letters instead because it was obviously more convenient. Texting had been around since the 2000s here but it didn’t deter us from penning down our messages because our love and stories couldn’t be contained within 150 words.

I’m pretty sure that I’ve received many lovely and thoughtful emails, Facebook messages and blog comments from people over the years but these tangible letters are just… priceless. Maybe it’s because we were still kids then, very impressionable and silly and we felt the need to exchange letters with our friends because it was Halloween or just because we wanted to tell them that our crushes waived to us during lunch. Sometimes, too, we received special birthday cards from the loves of our lives.

The sole letter/card that I’ve received from my first love, Joseph.