2011 diary

Hi hi sisters ...... after the 2011 calendars, the BYJ diary is also released! To be honest, I'm a little surprised at how 'un-feminine' it looks this year. In the past, they had shocking pink, deep purple, bright red .... or neutral color like shiny silver to suit everyone's taste. Hehe, but I guess they decide to go more 'subdue' this year. So well, if I really have to choose, I'd go for the pastel - mint green :) Now next year, please give me back my pink or blue, huh?

They give you 3 pictures so you don't get stuck with the same face 365 days a year. Haha, they even have colorful patterns on the back, so just in case when your hubby or boss walks in, you can quickly switch it to a more 'business-like' diary, so smart, eh?

As usual, there are more handsome pictures inside the diary so you have something pleasant to look at in case you are bored waiting at the doctor's office @@

Hehe, I don't mean to sound like a BYJ salesman, but I really enjoy using the calendar and diary all year round. I always have a smile whenever I look at them. So dear sisters, please don't just keep it wrapped in the original plastics, open and use it well, ok? Take care!

LoveBaeYongJoon is born!

Hi Hi dear sisters ..... I am so happy to hear from bb that she has created an English BYJ site for us to gather and share our love for Yong Joon. Her site is appropriately called LoveBaeYongJoon! How thoughtful of her to give us this space on the handsome prince's birthday :) What can I say? I am just super super impressed ! Thanks princess and tomato san for your generosity, please access ......

http://www.lovebaeyongjoon.com/

Tokyo Dome 3D

Hi Hi sisters …….. hope you had a nice weekend. Even though I have left Tokyo, there are still so many outings I wanted to write about. Hmmm …. How about starting with that Tokyo Dome 3D movie in late May?

One of the venue was the chic Roppongi Hills Toho cinema, it was literally just steps away from my Tokyo residence. Many of Yong Joon’s old dramas like Winter Sonata, Papa, Barefooted Youth and TWSSG were shown there during weekday mornings. So, if some Japanese sisters recalled bumping into a droopy-looking ajumma donning her pyjamas and hair-rollers in the cinema drooling over Yonsama, sorry, that would be ‘moi’!


I still remember that was a busy week with TWSSG movie Chapter 3 also happened to be showing next door.

Just a snapshot of some BYJ merchandise in the display case before the sales people threw me out :)

Hehe, as I mentioned before, this country bumpkin had never watched a 3D movie before, so it was pretty cool when the usher handed me this futuristic doohickey at the door @@
As I was curiously examining my new toy, the familiar sweet melody of Winter Sonata came on. Aye .... why was there snowflakes dancing all around me? There ....... our handsome prince, with his usual charming smile, was taking each step slowly towards me?! It was so clear, it was so blue, he was so close! Sigh, of course this was only my illusion @@ My imaginery love-rival CJW just cut right in front of me?!

Thanks to the strategically-positioned 3D cameras on the stage and the magnifying effect of 3D eyeglasses, I could actually distinguish the ‘depths’ or ‘layers’ among different objects. Can you see the varying depths of CJW, her monitor, his monitor and Yong Joon here?

Now, the floating balloons and the audience inside the Dome really exemplified this 3D effect @@
Surprisingly, the Winter Sonata Anime event only occupied about 40 minutes of the 2-hours movie. More scenes from the ‘Beauty of Korea’ book event were shown, especially on Yong Joon's writing the postcard and reading passages from his book. So touching!
It was a pleasant reminder of the forgotten details from last September and was wonderful to re-live those 2 precious days with Yong Joon and our sisters.
Yes, compared to those blockbusters like Avatar with fantasy settings and graphics which fully explored the 3D technology, the Tokyo Dome Events would not present as an ideal 3D candidate. But to us fans, we are talking about simulating Yong Joon within our same physical space - as if he was close enough that we could almost reach our hands out to him, how cool is that! Of course, that was just the amazing 3D capability coupled with pure fan’s fascination. I thank Yong Joon for his brilliant sense on the pulse of the world, so this ajumma can proudly pronounce that “YES, I’ve watched 3D!” Hope you enjoy :)

2011 calendars

Hi hi sisters .... thank you for your kind comments, even though I have been absent for a while. Hehe, still didn't miss much from Yong Joon's camp. Yeah, I read about his leisurely time in Hawaii and California, guess we also benefit from his trip as the handsome prince did his 2011 calendar shoots with his new look @@

Wall calendar - 8 pages

Desk calendar - 16 pages

Both calendars include a bonus picture card and a special QR code - which I think fans can use their mobile phone to access the 'calendar shooting and making' footage. Hehe sorry, I can only make out this much with my poor Japanese. The 2011 calendars are available for ordering from JOB/goods ......

You know, I swear to myself as I was unpacking boxes and boxes of BYJ goodies from my Japan shipment that I will never be a BYJ shopaholic anymore! God knows I am still finding nooks and crannies in my cabinet to stuff those BYJ goodies. But, but ..... the moment I saw this picture of our handsome prince with his super long legs (and sockless!), slender body and refreshing smile, all my determination just fly out the window :) Haha, who wouldn't want to look at this face on your desk everyday in 2011? There is no excuse not to be happy and well anymore, don't you agree?
Thanks Xiaoyi for the pictures

Bumpy re-entry

Hi dear sisters ...... as I am typing here, I feel like a third person occupying someone else’s body. My eyes are seeing the open blue sky and the rich green foliage here in Toronto while my heart is still lingering in the colorful world and bustling crowds in Tokyo.

It seems like ages since I learned about this distinguished man named Bae Yong Joon, started writing about him at this very same desk, looking out to the same view of swaying trees and neat houses. Five years later, the trees in my front yard are now higher than my house and the leaves are so dense that I do not have to worry about nosy neighbors pressing their noses against the windows to check on me anymore (haha just kidding :) In this faraway Canadian city where life is peaceful and quiet and nothing ever seems to change, no way on earth would I ever dream I had the chance to come this close to the world of Bae Yong Joon in Japan!

Yes, 2 ½ years ago, my dream did came true. I called it a dream because it’s not a pre-planned agenda, but more of a very timely, fateful opportunity. Compared to migrating to Canada during my teens, moving to Japan at this ripe old age of course cannot be considered as a life-altering event. But the people, the culture, the history, the beauty and the love we experienced in Japan have totally cleansed, refreshed and recharged our dormant and tired spirits (hmmm.... sounds like a skincare commercial, huh?), we will never look at things the same way as before!

Miahnae dear sisters for not writing for so long and making you worry. As you can guess already, it was a very bumpy emotional and mental re-entry for us. Not a single day did I not think about Tokyo, my dear Japanese sisters and Yong Joon. I try to suppress my thoughts and sights on anything Japan so I would not miss them so much. It is a losing battle though whenever I read about how much my dear Japanese sisters are missing me also, tears will uncontrollably stream down my face, sob sob :(

This week, I decided to pick up Winter Sonata (for the 20+ times @@) and re-watch Yong Joon at his most brilliant moments. All the warm feelings about unconditional love, truth and purity re-surface from looking at the handsome prince's lovely smile. Will it really do any good for anyone to hide myself in a shell and carry on with my mourning of the time in the past? Or should I be thankful for what I have received already and be strong and positive to face what’s ahead of me. Thank you my dear sisters for your encouragement and staying with me through our BYJ journey :) Now, let's rock n' roll .......

Too cool to miss

Hi hi sisters ..... thanks for being so understanding. Some survey said moving is one of the top 5 stressful events in life. I believe this is especially true considering this is a 'half way around the world' move. From the outside, I think I still appear quite calm, but inside I am actually very confused. Not only that it's heart-wrenching to leave the country I love so much and the dear friends I've made here, but I have grim problems facing me back home (oh well, that's another long story). Eventhough hubby is quite an efficient man, but he is too busy to attend to every little detail. So it leaves 'this little obasan' to figure out the moving logistics which is a disaster, as I am definitely not a logical person.

This scene of Yong Joon running up the 'seemingly never ending' stairs really resonates with how I feel now - charging uphill in the dark, one step at a time, cautious but optimistic. Hopefully when I reach the top of the stairs, it's all smooth sailing and the road will be flat. Well, I only have one belief in my mind which is : If we can make it all the way over here, we can certainly make our way back home :) As long as our family is together, anywhere in the world is home to us. Oops, what am I doing? I should be packing now, why am I still blogging?! Hope you enjoy these captures .......









Thanks to flare in cafe.daum.net/BYJGallery

Too cute to miss

Hi hi sisters ..... long time no 'talk'! Things are getting busy (hehe at least mentally) here as we are wrapping our lives up in Tokyo. Haha, that doesn't mean I have forgotten about Yong Joon and our sisters. I went to quite a few Yong Joon events like the Tokyo Dome 3D movie, Gosireh Hwa in Lotte Hotel, and my farewell party at Gosireh proper. Will try to write about them before I leave, hehe the keyword here is 'try' but I think you can understand :)

Anyway, you must have seen his Megane Ichiba CFs already. I found some captures of him making his ever-so-cute pouty lips! Makes me want to poke his cheeks, hehe :) You think he's getting a bit tired or bored when he did this? Please enjoy!


Another cute one @@ Thanks to flare - cafe.daum.net/byjgallery

Actor's passion

Hi sisters .... just finished watching the 3rd chapter of TWSSG 3 - 別れのきざし, the omen of separation. I’m not going to bore you again by repeating the details of the movie. In brief, this chapter started with Damdeok retrieving the green dragon sacred relic from Chuoro, all the way to Sujini leaving Damdeok thinking she was the black Sujak.


You know, I walked away from the cinema thinking to myself, “my gosh, BYJ is really an amazing actor! From his eyes expression, to his facial muscles, to his tender smile, to his body movements; every single cell inside this man is a creation of art! Pity that he does not have that hot passion for acting now.”

You probably have read that translated article in suehan's blog from My Daily's reporter Bae Kook Nam - 'Bae Yong Joon, Lee Young Ae, who are they?'. Now, I don't necessarily agree with the opinion of the reporter that because BYJ and LYA are top stars, they need to continue to act to please public expectations. However, I do like to highlight the examples of 2 elderly actors, I quote .....

"Lee Soon Jae, 77 years old, has been acting for 54 years : I'm going to retire if I keep making mistakes and disturbing others due to my memory lapses.

Yoon Yeo Jeong, 63 years old, has been acting for 44 years : I want to continue acting until I am not able to memorize the lines.

They have made the viewers and audiences cry and laugh through countless dramas and movies for such a long time, and we were touched by their realistic and truthful talent. "

You can't help but admire the passion and work ethics of these 2 actors. Some people are born performers and entertaining others is their lives. Yong Joon has said it multiple times that he is not a born actor, he has to make tremendous effort to immerse himself in the character he plays. Being a perfectionist as he is, he seems to have that gift that everything he does will turn out brilliant! Appropriately our actor Yong Joon is wearing many hats now - business man, ambassador, traveller, photographer, author, traditional arts enthusiast ..... , and so does his passion for all these roles expand. Acting seems to be a familiar and repetitive task now, something that he had experienced and conquered; unless a refreshing and challenging role presents before him. Of course I am just like every other Bae sister out there; waiting, hoping, longing that Yong Joon would act continuously on one drama after another. But seeing 'acting' is NOT really a breezy and glamouros life always, especially when our prince getting hurt!

Reading how fulfilled and carefree Yong Joon is in pursuing what he enjoys doing like travelling, golfing and just hanging out with friends, I somehow think that he is glad to be under the radar right now. What is going to trigger that passion for acting in BYJ again? Maybe that special script, inspiration or mentor? Just hope that it'll appear sooner than later :)

TWSSG II - すれちがいの運命

Hi hi sisters ...... as promised, I’d like to write about Chapter 2 of TWSSG - The Destiny of Missing Encounter. We’ve read some positive reviews so far, quite an improvement to the first one, huh? Maybe the story was gearing up to the climax of the carefree Damdeok evolving into a mighty king, we were able to enjoy our handsome prince’s acting in many scenes :

Well, to start, we were already off to a winner – a drool-worthy scene @@

His very distressed fight in the rain - disbelief, anger, pain, longing - all written on his face.

Having faith in himself first, so others would have faith in him! Ahhhh ..... don’t we all need a little 'faith' in ourselves too?

His oh-so-naughty drinking scene :) I am still amazed by his superb change in facial expressions – from oblivious to playful to mischievous to commanding, all in seconds! Who says the man only has a pretty face??

Hehe, I remember writing a post about this scene - love with authority. "The man in front of you is ‘King’ ah!" ..... a victorious smile :)

The second chapter covered all the way to Damdeok and his army reaching the foot of Chuoro’s Gwangmi Castle. There were many sub-plots to cover and each scene also happened very fast, but the flow didn’t feel choppy at all. Being an epic production like TWSSG, Director KHJ nim of course would not throw away his precious footage of those large-scale fighting and war scenes. It was a mixed feeling to watch Yong Joon again, in a drama that he put so much of his blood and sweat in.

The 3rd chapter will be out this Saturday, as well as the BYJ 3D in Tokyo Dome. Now the big question for the Japanese sisters is : how are they going to divide their time on both movies? Hehe, I think for myself, I'd like to space the 2 out in at least a week's interval so I can savor each one slowly :) Good night!