Chronicles of the Bored: April 2014

I’m not sure if I have ever mentioned it to you guys, but, I’m quite the fan of Taylor Swift. Every fan remembers how they got into the fandom no matter how much time has passed. I remember my becoming a SONE vividly, like it was yesterday. Just like that experience, I remember my becoming a Swifty (not sure how that name came about but it’s so cute isn’t it? XD)

It began back in 2012 when her Red album was released. I chanced upon her single, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together on the radio and at first I thought

What is this song? It’s a bit borderline kiddy with the repeating lines and the talking in the middle. What a typical hook song.

But obviously that thought didn’t last long. After I found out it was a Taylor Swift song (wondered why I didn’t recognise her voice when I heard it the first time. I usually can pick out artists’ voice when I hear them over the radio), I gave it another chance and listened to it again and boy it got me hooked. And then, with recommendations from Jen and a friend of Chingoo’s, I checked out her entire album because they said it was so good and so different from her previous albums.

Let me get this straight first, growing up I’ve heard tonnes of Taylor Swift songs on the radio and most of the time, I thought they were just so-so because I’ve never really given them much thoughts before. I remember myself saying

“Yea she’s a good singer but her songs are pretty boring ‘cause they sound the same most of the time”

But Red, Red was different. It had many other styles and it blew me away. It was so good! I found myself repeating the album over and over and also the individual tracks that I liked. I had tonnes of fun because Chingoo and her friend liked it too and for that few weeks, Taylor was all we could talk about. Chingoo said she was going crazy because her friend/dorm-mate was sharing/talking about Taylor whenever they’re home and I’m talking about Taylor whenever we were in class together. I found it to be funny but though she complained, Chingoo didn’t dislike it.

We talked about the videos we saw on youtube, older songs we newly discovered and everything! Even her cat, Mer (which by the way is the CUTEST kitty EVER I’m not even kidding). I went on to youtube and started my own research by watching her interviews, funny videos and music video BTS clips. I came to a conclusion that Taylor is a hilarious, adorable and awesome person! Her videos with Ellen were the best! If you thought they are funny by themselves, the two of them are even more hilarious when together! Taylor needs to get on her show sometime soon XD

a video of her cat that Taylor shared on Ellen's show

and you can also check out this video Taylor posted on her insta XD

When news reached that she’ll be coming here to KL for her Red Tour, I knew I had to go. I even found a buddy to go with me! Everything was set until tragedy struck us – the online website that sold the tickets said they were sold out.

SOLD OUT, the two nightmare-ish words to every ticket buyer on the planet. It really did felt like the world was ending. I was filled with regrets like ‘why did I not buy the tickets sooner!!!!’ and ‘why did I rely on others when I could’ve gotten it myself!!’. Questions like those swam around my mind for a few days before I finally calmed down. I asked around online if anybody was selling tickets but everything turned out fruitless. It was so depressing, really, to know that you could’ve avoided the whole situation if only you acted on your gut feeling instead of relying on others.

After trying to brainwash myself with

“It’s ok, it’s not the end of the world. You missed Rainie Yang’s concert last year. What difference does this make?”

I went on a self-imposed Taylor Swift boycott, just to save myself from the depressing thoughts.

I avoided anything Taylor Swift like a plague because it’s just so depressing, the thought of not being able to attend her maiden concert in Malaysia, especially when I’m so close to the venue. If I were hours away like I was when I was still studying, it would’ve been a whole different story. But now, I am so close! I’m only half an hour away, at best, from the venue. I almost cried when I put her single ‘Sweeter Than Fiction’ on during karaoke with my colleagues because the MV was clips from her Red Tour.

So yes, I deleted my Taylor Swift playlist, avoided listening to any of her songs if I can help it since the beginning of March. It has been almost two months now. Every now and then the radio plays her songs but I can’t change the channel because it’s not my car so I just bear with it. It didn’t make it any less depressing though.

Today I went out shopping with my sister; she wanted to spend her book vouchers so I brought her to Borders in The Gardens. After shopping I had dinner (she’s meeting up with her friends later to eat) and we went window shopping for a bit and I passed an outlet that sold tickets for Red Tour. There was a standee outside the shop with this written sign

And I thought

“Wait, what? I thought they were sold out!! How is this even possible??”

So I went in to ask the lady at the counter and she said there were still four tickets left and I immediately contacted my buddy. Her reply was rather disappointing so I asked my sister if she wanted to go with me and she said yes! So I went back to confirm with the lady and she was quite nervous when doing the purchasing because she didn’t want to disappoint me if in case someone else bought the tickets from another outlet. When the purchase went through, she and I sighed in relief and I have never been happier spending money (other than the case when I bought the tickets to see TVXQ last May that is..and when I bought Girls’ Generation’s first photobook lol).

After the purchase and exiting the store, I clutched the tickets like they were my life line and squealed in joy, jumping up and down and the whole shebang!

“OMG I’M GONNA GO SEE TAYLOR SWIFT!! OMG I’M GONNA SO SEE TAYLOR SWIFT!! OMG!!!”

That was all I could say for a good ten minutes. I think I weirded out my sister while I was fangirl-ing because I’ve never shown my family that side of me before. She has only seen me as a sometimes serious, sometimes clumsy and comical sister, never as a fan. She has never seen me spazz and has never heard my voice go up a few notches when I do. I think she sort of gotten to know her sister a bit more today haha!!

And now, I’m in my room, jamming to my favourite Taylor Swift songs and I’m really happy! I’m so happy about today. I’m going to see Taylor Swift! I’M GOING TO SEE TAYLOR SWIFT!

Do you have any idea how egg-cited I am?! Do you have the slightest idea?! My friends were all happy for me because they know how depressed I have been over this concert. They even helped spread the word I was looking for tickets. I thank you all for being supportive, really, thank you so much.

Let the countdown begin! 46 more days till June 11^th, 2014!

See you soon, Taylor! Can’t wait for the big show! Xoxo

525,600 minutes

That’s how many minutes there are in a year, if it weren’t for the song Seasons of Love, I wouldn’t have bothered to count.

Doesn’t that figure make you think? There are so many minutes in a year, what have we done with them? Have we done anything meaningful with them? Did we waste them away slowly one by one? I probably did.

How do you measure a year?

Another interesting line, don’t cha think so? Which is part of why I like that song a lot, it has meaning, unlike the loud songs nowadays.

I read somewhere that everybody in this world exists, but not all lives. Do you understand what was implied? All of us exists, we exist everyday going about doing our what we’re supposed to do. Be it attending classes, going to work or just sitting around doing nothing. We exist. But to live, I believe, is another matter.

Life is too short to be wasting time doing something we don’t like. But the sad reality is, a lot of us are because it is ‘the right thing to do’. We might absolutely hate the university we’re studying in, or the company we’re working for. We hate it but we endure it because it is the right thing to do. Do study and get a degree and that will lead to a supposed better life in the future. It’s so sad that we’re bounded by such obligations. How tragic.