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[itsmesamaviles]

MY HEART-THUMPING FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH BOOK DEPOSITORY [A Review and Tutorial]

REVIEW

To most of the people that I talk to, I’m only a fan going crazy over Korean pop idols (i.e. Infinite’s L is asdfghjkl). Only a few of my close friends that I am, in fact, originally a bibliophile; a word which here means a person who is practically in a romantic relationship with books.

A few weeks ago, I was in a bookstore at a mall waiting for my friends to come. We were planning to go see a movie that day. I wasn’t supposed to buy anything apart from a movie ticket and sour cream-flavored popcorn. But, a particular book flirted with me. I was at the Young Adult section of the bookstore and there was this one book that outshined all the others. It was like the world slowed down and the book emitted a glorious ray of light around it while Bye Bye Sea’s Fading Starlight played on my head.

It was a book entitled “The Knife of Never Letting Go” by Patrick Ness. As I was reading the synopsis at the back cover, I found out that it was actually the first book in a trilogy called “Chaos Walking”. I rummaged through the shelf to see if the other two books in the series were there while mentally convincing myself to not buy all three books at once. Luckily and unluckily, I only found the last installment of the trilogy. But I didn’t want to buy the first and third book without the second one. It was all or nothing. So, I decided to just buy the first book and resolved that I should just probably wait for a few days for the bookstore to re-stock the second book.

I came back to the bookstore after a week and sadly, there were still no stocks of the second book (which is entitled “The Ask and the Answer”, btw).

I was desperate.

I called the bookstore to have me in their waitlist should the stocks arrive. I made a request in their website to re-stock the book. I contacted friends from other cities and asked them for a favor to buy me that particular book. But, all of these failed.

I had no other option but the last one. The dreaded choice: ONLINE SHOPPING.

My family and friends know how apprehensive I am with online shopping. I don’t hate it. I just feel uncomfortable that I am doing a transaction that involves money and a few of my personal information over an unsafe place called the Internet which is why I have never tried it before.

But, I was desperate.

I scoured the entire Internet (this is a hyperbole) for online shops that sell books because I know that whatever is sold in the market now are also sold online. I came across a few sites but they looked shady and fishy based on some comments and reviews. Until, I stumbled upon a nice-looking website of Book Depository.

Sure, their website looked cute and legit but I had to be sure because they boast their FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE. And practically, we all know that nothing is free in this world. So, I read a few reviews and luckily, there were a couple of reviews from Filipino bloggers which were collectively positive.

With my right hand on the keyboard and my shaking left hand holding my debit card, I made my FIRST EVER online transaction. Book Depository specifically said in their FAQs that the books would arrive to the Philippines in 7-10 business days. This means that I have to suffer from uncertainty for 7-10 business days.

Was it successful? Well…

Yes! After 12 business days, my book arrived in very good condition. You can just imagine how much air I let out in relief when the guard of our office handed me the package.

So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would I rate Book Depository?

I’d say an 8.5. It was actually very smooth apart from the instance that the books arrived 2 days later than what they said and they were dispatched a day later than what they said on the page and I had to give them a message about my concern. I’d also like to point out how efficient their customer service is. They typically reply within a few minutes or hours. And also, the FREE SHIPPING that they were very proud about was actually a lot faster than all the other free shipping services I’ve observed when my friends do online transaction from other online stores.

Would I order from Book Depository (BD) again?

Definitely! But, this would be on a case-to-case basis. Some books are cheaper at the local bookstores than in BD. Some books aren’t available at the local bookstores but are available in BD. So, if the book that I want is cheaper in BD or if it isn’t available at my local bookstore, I’d opt for BD.

 TUTORIAL

After reading my chronicle, some of you might want to jump in and do the same thing as I did. So, I compiled sort of a step-by-step tutorial on how you can transact at BD without hassle.

Create an account. While you can buy a book at BD without creating an account, I would suggest you create one so you can keep track of everything. Also, there is a bit more advantage to creating an account and I’ll tell you why later. Go to www.bookdepository.com and at the top-right corner, click on Sign in/Join. You will be directed to the login page. In the Join section, fill in the details. They don’t need much, just your e-mail, your name, and a password for security. Once you click Register, voila! You now have your account.

Browse or search for the book that you want. BD has a very wide collection of books. I even found the novel my friend, who is now a budding romance novel writer in UK, in the list. Just make sure you know the title of the book, the author’s name, or possibly the cover design. Or, you can browse through the categories if you’re in for a fresh read. Once you have chosen the book that you want, click it.

Read the description and details. You will then be brought to the product page of the book. Make sure you read the description and the details to confirm that it is indeed the book you are looking for. Now, here’s the little perk of having an account I was talking about earlier. If you are not yet ready to buy the book, you can add it to your Wishlist. You can create different folders and organize the books that you want depending on the urgency, the genre, the price, or however you like them. This way, you keep track of your priorities. If you are ready to buy, click on Add to Wishlist. You will be prompted to confirm your order. If you want to order more than one books, you choose to continue shopping and check-out later. When you are finished placing your orders, click on Basket/Checkout. Again, you will need to review your orders after that. If you are 110% sure, click on Checkout.

Proceed to check-out. You will be redirected to the page where you enter your debit/credit card details and shipping address. As far as I know, you can use a VISA or a MasterCard. They also have an option to check-out with Paypal. So, if you have a PayPal account, you may want to opt for that. Check the details you entered multiple times. Your credit card details and shipping address are very important things for you to not run into problems later on. Once everything is complete and correct, click on Buy Now. Congratulations! You just made it!

Track your order. You will be given a tracking code for your order. Take note of it because you can track your order. To track your order, just go to the My Account at the top-right menu and go to Order Status. Enter the tracking code and you’ll see if you’re book is already dispatched. 

The dispatching of the product is displayed in the product page. If it said that the book is dispatched in 2 days and you ordered on a Wednesday, your book should be dispatched on a Friday. You can then start counting the number of days from the time it was dispatched to its expected date of arrival at your doorstep. You can find how many days they can deliver to your country here: https://www.bookdepository.com/help

I hope that this loooooong post helped you a little. To conclude everything, I would recommend Book Depository to those who want to buy a book and wouldn’t mind waiting for a little longer or to those who are desperately looking for a particular book they want.

Happy book hunting!

[itsmesamaviles]

THE ULTIMATE FILIPINO FAN’S GUIDE TO ATTENDING A K-POP CONCERT (Part 1)

INTRODUCTION

One of every fangirl’s (or fanboy or whatever, fanperson) ultimate goal is to attend their favorite group’s fanmeet or concert. We all have that sense of accomplishment when we think that we get to finally see them in flesh and blood and not just be restricted with the rectangular devil we call the computer screen.

As a K-Pop fan for quite a few years now (don’t ask when I started, you’ll make me feel a lot older than how I already am), I have observed a lot of people running into some problems and complications while some get to watch their idols on stage. I started becoming a fan while I was still a student and believe me when I say that the hardest time of being a fan is when you’re a student and your funds are limited. It is even a little hard for some young professional fans to attend like a concert per year. So, here, I am going to share to you what we may call an intensive guide to attending a concert by your favorite artist.

Before I start, there are a few things that you should keep in mind:

Ø  There are mentions of specific K-Pop groups along the way and please don’t misunderstand this blog as a guide to attending a concert only to those particular artists. (Give me a chance to spazz and share my experiences too, you know. Sometimes, I cannot just contain my feels. Asdfghjkl.)

Ø  Most of the tips included here would be primarily applicable to fans that are from provinces, which is a very racist way to call places outside of Metro Manila. (We should really stop calling ourselves as “provincial fans”.)

Ø  This guide is based on my experiences so far. You shouldn’t be limited to just following everything I write here. Do the deed of researching because there might be more affordable and more effective ways out there.

Ø  Lastly, ATTENDING A CONCERT IS A LUXURY AND NOT A NECESSITY. I understand that the feels can’t just be controlled sometimes but we should always remember that most of the things we do as a K-Pop fan are luxuries. They shouldn’t be our priority. Our families, friends,  studies and work should always be above our love for K-Pop. Huwag tayong magpakain sa sistema.

Without much ado, let’s begin!

 PREPARATION

Una sa lahat, UTANG NA LOOB MAG-IPON KAYO! This guide would be for nothing if you’re not willing to shell out some time, money and effort. The Golden Rule for every international fan: SAVE UP!

“Eh, Kuya. Mayaman naman sina mommy. I can make hingi naman ng money from them,”  some of you may say.

SAPAKIN KO KAYO. Please lang, it’s not your money. It’s your parents’. Pinaghirapan nila yan.

Now, if you’re in the class that are just trying to make ends meet like me, set aside a small part of your salary (for working people) or baon (for students). Kahit wala pang announcement ng concert or ng fanmeet, always set aside money. You’ll never know kung kalian totopakin ang mga event organizers and talent companies ng idols niyo. Nakakainis pa naman talaga yung mga nakikita ko sa SNS ko na:

“OMG! May World Tour ang XXXX! Sana kasama Pilipinas!”

(event organizers announce the Philippine leg of the tour/concert)

“*insert string of Filipino curses here* WALA AKONG PERA! *curses* TEAM BAHAY NA NAMAN AKO NITO!!! #sosad #iyaknabessy #sadlife”

KASALANAN MO YAN! STRESS!!!

I have learned the hard way during Infinite’s INFINITE EFFECT WORLD TOUR 2015. A few months prior to the announcement, may feeling na ako that they’d be having a concert sa Pilipinas pero pinagsawalang-bahala ko lang. I had to do exhaustive means just to be able to see them during the concert. (INFINITE is my ultimate bias group, by the way. AKIN SI KIM MYUNGSOO.)

So please, learn to save up. Ang pag-iipon ay hindi lang din naman para sa K-Pop sh*ts. It’s also generally for our benefit as a person.

Okay, I’ve decided to divide the guide into shorter posts para di masyadong overwhelming. So, hanggang dito muna ang first part. My next post will be about the real thing na talaga. It’ll be about when the announcements are made and you’re all set na mag-aksaya ng pera. See you soon!

[itsmesamaviles]

[LITERARY] Stalker

She was standing there in the middle of the stage in all her goddess glory. The song just ended and the spotlights were all shining towards her, the glittery make-up on her face twinkled and her hair flowed freely from her side. She was panting and I swear, even her breathing was beautiful.

I was at the second row seats of the audience, cursing at the people in the front row for buying the tickets before me because if there was one thing I really wanted that time, that was to be in front and show her I will always be 100% there in every performance, showing her my 100% support.

She knows me. Our seats were right next to each other in class on normal days. On most days, I would just stare blankly on her empty seat and think of where the beautiful girl could be. Could she be practicing for another sing and dance performance? Could she be in the studio recording a new song? Or, could she just be out with her celebrity friends spending the life of the rich and famous. The funny thing is, when she’s around, my mind goes blank and I would just adjust my eyeglasses that were slipping down my nose because of the sweat building.

“Hey, nerdie. Could you lend me the notes of our lesson yesterday?” she would say with a sweet smile.

I couldn’t speak or move. It was like she had a spell put around me. She knows a little about me and she knows that I was just an ordinary classmate sitting beside her. Little did she know, I know everything about her: where she lives, when she goes out to practice, her taste in food, her preference in cloths, and her ideal guy.

I’m not her ideal guy. Who would love a short, thin guy with round eyeglasses like me? With my looks, she’d even be embarrassed to have me as a friend. But, God knows how much I wanted to be her hotshot boyfriend. I’d love to be that one guy she loves. I’d love to get hated by her male fans. I’d love to be the lucky one who can only touch her in ways I could imagine.

One time, I was on my way out the school gate and I felt warm fragile hands encircle around my neck. I thought my heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second and turned to look around. She was just inches away from me. Her scent was strong and I could feel her hot breath on my face. We didn’t move, primarily because of shock. I didn’t know how long before we realized but as soon as we did, we stepped away a little from each other.

“I’m sorry. It thought it was someone I know,” she spoke silently.

So yeah, she really didn’t know me.

I opened my mouth to speak and closed it again, realizing that I still haven’t formulated the words I wanted to say. I repeated this movement a couple of times that I looked like a silly goldfish feeding on fish food. She chuckled and what she did next took every remaining soul I had in me. She swooped in back and trapped my head in her arms.

“Whatever. I might as well spend some time with a classmate and make some new friends. Come on. Let’s go to the karaoke bar.”

When we were there inside the karaoke room alone, I thought at how silly it was that most of the love stories start and end with a relatable song. She sang her heart out and to me, she had the most beautiful crystal voice in the world (even though there were a couple of times she went off-key).

She passed the microphone to me and I declined. “No, I don’t know how to sing.”

“Sing or I’ll make you eat this microphone,” her voice was threatening yet it sounded like it came from an angel whispering softly.

I browsed through the songbook and ended putting in the number keys for 10cm’s “Stalker”.

I know what my problem is too I’m pathetic and I’m nothing special She’s embarrassed of me It’s sad but who am I to say anything

Liking someone who shines If there is a standard I don’t understand but I have nothing to say Because I’m a quiet person with glasses

I love you this much, I want you this much But I can’t do anything, I can only look But do I make you that uncomfortable? Am I the bad one? But tomorrow, she will just show her back to me again 

A few karaoke sessions and after school coffee shop hangout after, she told me how nervous she was as her first concert is getting near. I didn’t tell her I was going. I lied and told her I’d be out of town. She didn’t look heartbroken so I guess that was okay.

I thought a full minute has already passed and she was still in the same position on stage. Her eyes started roaming the audience and appreciating how full the concert hall was. Until, her gaze stopped on me. She grinned and mouthed “Meet me after.”

I was standing on the cold parking lot underground. I know which one her car was and I stood there, hands on the pocket of my trench coat and hopping every now and then to keep myself warm. The elevator door opened and she came out. She was running towards me and practically jumped on me. I stepped back a little to maintain my balance.

“You said you couldn’t come!” she yelled at me and even though her voice almost broke my eardrums, I still love her.

“Surprise!” I chuckled.

I could feel her hug getting tighter and her lips brushed on my cheek, planting a soft kiss. Thank God it was cold or it would have been really embarrassing to see my blush.

She whispered, “Thank you. This really means a lot to me. You’re the best. Thank you. I love you, my friend.”

[itsmesamaviles]

[ALBUM REVIEW] MONSTA X – The Clan Pt.2 GUILTY

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way a very professional, musically-inclined genius so this review isn’t as technically accurate as you would expect. I am trying to make a review based on the perspective of a normal fan or music listener. THIS IS A PERSONAL PREFERENCE-BASED REVIEW. Any statements that might be considered derogatory are not meant to harm or bully the artist but are rather forms of metaphor to help me convey my point as clear as possible. If you feel offended by any part of this review, feel free to reach out and talk to me. I don’t tolerate cyber-bullying and I’d like any misunderstanding cleared out in a calm manner.

Hello, guys! After a very long time of not blogging, I’ve decided to get back on it as I just felt the need to write. This time, I’d be concentrating more on writing about stuff that I really love which would lead me to K-Pop and, to be honest, everything Korean. Lol.

Without further ado, let me start by a review of Monsta X’s newest release!

Monsta X has always been a special group to me. They’re one of the few groups in K-Pop whose journey I’ve witnessed since their pre-debut. I’d ask for an apology in advance if this review is a little biased. My fanboy genes cannot help it.

Back in 2015, Starship Entertainment broadcasted a survival show called NO.MERCY where a handful of their trainees were pitted against each other for a shot at debuting in the K-Pop scene. At the end, 7 boys were chosen: Shownu, Wonho, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Jooheon, and I.M., forming Monsta X.

They debuted on May 14, 2015 with the release of a music video and a mini-album, both titled “Trespass”. Since then, the group is slowly gaining popularity among Korean and international audience.

On October 4, 2016, Monsta X returned with a mini-album entitled GUILTY. This marks their fourth comeback since debut. GUILTY is also the second installment the The Clan series, the previous one entitled LOST.

You know, it’s pretty normal for a loyal K-Pop fan to wait for the exact time the artist drops their music video or album online. We should really thank the creators of the Internet for making things very accessible to us.

My impression of their title track “Fighter” might have been influenced by my thoughts while watching the music video. You can watch it below.

I did not personally liked how things turned out here. Part 1 with “All In” was a very sensational concept with all the dystopian, Divergent-inspired look and feel to it. Fighter felt like Starship decided to tone down the material and concentration of the concept. I mean, seriously, what the hell was the gummy bear doing in the music video? The MV was not something I would really watch over and over again because I liked it. (I did watch it over and over again because you know, music show support.)

After a good night’s sleep and with fresh senses, I took the time to listen to the whole album. It consists of six (6) songs. Fighter (which is their title track), Be Quiet, Blind, Queen, White Love, and Roller Coaster made up the mini-album. I’d like to point out three (3) tracks from the album.

FIGHTER

Listening to the song without the MV was much better. The musical make-up of the song stayed true to its title. It didn’t sound like a title track though. It sounded more like a soundtrack for a movie with a boxing or mixed martial arts concept. I think they really wanted it to come out that way. To be honest, this isn’t their best song and it was quite disappointing that they chose this as the title track. It’s a song that I would listen to once in a while but I really wouldn’t listen to it every day. It’s catchy. It stays in your head… well, for like an hour and then you start to slowly forget about it. If there’s one thing that I like about this song just for the sake of pointing it out is that the part distribution was the closest to perfection. You can hear every member and their arrangement made them more memorable. I’m quite happy that Wonho finally got more lines because we should really start appreciating how commendable his voice is.

BE QUIET

THIS IS THE BEST SONG EVER! TRUST ME THIS IS THE BEST SONG… in the album, at least. When the song started, I had to go double-check my player and see if I was still listening to the album or it suddenly shuffled to a track made for the hiphop survival show “Show Me The Money”. I might be biased but I think a lot of people would agree that this song highlighted how charismatic I.M.’s rap can be. He slayed his rap. Period. Listening to him spit out wildfire lyrics with his signature deep angry voice made me realize how much big of a potential this kid has. (I’m an I.M.-biased fanboy. No stealing.) To me, this is the song from the entire album that reflects who Monsta X really is. I see them as angry, untouchable delinquent kids and this song perfectly depicted that. It’s short, full of electronic sound and pounding bass. It’s like they’re telling us, “You don’t know what we’re capable of. Don’t mess with us.”

WHITE LOVE

One of the things that I always look forward in every release is their track that I personally term as the “180-degree track”. This is the track that is so different. Monsta X always includes a track that sets apart from their angry, angst-y title track. Their songs like Honestly, Amen, and White Sugar are songs that have a sweet feel to it, characterized by the heavy RnB or ballad influence to it. In this album, White Love is their 180-degree track. I think this song is so different from all their previous mellow tracks. It was quite amusing to listen to it. It’s like I know and I recognize their voices but it doesn’t sound like them. It has heavier guitar accompaniment than their other songs so it’s a little closer to being an acoustic track. Oh, and there’s no rap in this song. So, what was the rap line doing? They sang. THEY. FREAKIN’. SANG. My. Adorable. I.M. sang. I. Almost. Died. Hearing Jooheon sing wasn’t a surprise. I already knew he had vocal potential but it was I.M. that surprised me the most.  I also liked the way how this song was produced and gave emphasis to the members’ vocal skills. It’s not a noisy song and it felt like their singing was actually louder than the musical accompaniment.

Overall, I’d give this album a 7.5 out of 10 stars. It’s not perfect. It’s not the best. But, this album perfectly reflects how hungry and desperate Monsta X is. They want to be recognized so bad that it makes me sad. If there’s a way I could assure them that they do not need to work so desperately because in all honesty, they are already globally-recognized. Their fanbase is growing. If I could get the chance to tell them something, I’d tell them to stop showing off and start making great-quality music. I want them to not aim for a win. Winning on music shows is one of the most notable achievements a group in K-Pop could achieve. But, I want Monsta X to be someone who would get this win because of the good music they produce and they deserve to.

Well, this leaves me with one thing to do. I’m only hoping for a better and much more mature Monsta X in their next comeback. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I still need to watch some tutorial videos on how to get a very pleasing make-up and get myself ready to meth them in the upcoming fanmeet on November 27, 2016.

Monsta X will be in the Philippines for “THE FIRST ASIA FANMEETING: MONSTA X IN MANILA 2016”. For more details and seat purchase, go to SMTICKETS here.

If you want to listen to the entire GUILTY album, you can buy it on iTunes here.

If you want to know my thoughts and review about a particular album or song, go ASK  me and I’d gladly share my thoughts.