OK, so it has been more than a month now, and I still find myself overly excited whenever I see Hanson and the photos I took of their March 31 concert here at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino - Cebu. It took me this long to get a post started basically because I struggled so hard to remember all the details of that day's activities. It was a loooong day, and you could probably say that it was one of the most tiring weekends of my life. I wanted to recount the events exactly as they happened, so that when I look back and read this post, I could remember how it really happened, and so that my children would learn how much of a badass fangirl their mother used to be.
I am not going to get into details of my fangirl life, but please let me tell you how it all started. [insert flashback musical score here]
It was the summer of 1997, and I just got off fourth grade. By this time, I had declared myself to have been in love with Devon Sawa, due to his blink-of-an-eye appearance on Casper, of course along with Christina Ricci's forehead. I was getting tired of Devon because all the girls at my school were carrying around notebooks with his pin-up as covers. It was sickening. And then, I saw it: "MMMBop" on MTV. This is the part where I die of nostalgia, but for your sake, I will try to be alive until the end of this post.
So there. It was love at first sight. Three blond boys, playing instruments, singing, and for the love of God---roller-skating! I was in heaven. I felt the world melt around me. I was alone in the room, with my television set and that fangirl dreamy stare. My mother had to snap me out of the trance.
Tell me, who can resist this?
I could have sworn that this song was written for me. MMMBop it, or I'll shoot.
From that moment on, I vowed to love Hanson, to give them the kind of attention any stalker fan would give their idols. That was my moment of truth.
[end of flashback]
You could only imagine the look on my face and the happiness in my heart when I learned that they will be coming back to the Philippines---and they were playing a show in Cebu, my hometown! I was out of breath, literally. I had to rush to the ladies' room to compose myself so that none of my officemates would learn how sick of a fixated fangirl I am. It was too much for me---believe me!
Truth be told, I immediately contacted everyone I could just to make sure I got front row VIP tickets. You see, in 2004, they came to the Philippines; and while they were playing at the Aliw Theater, I was at home, kissing my Hanson posters and crying myself to sleep. Why me, God? Why me? Why did I have to be so poor at the time? Why did I have to be a college student depending on my close-to-nonexistent allowance? My heart bled, and it took so long for me to recover.
In all of my fandom, I never really imagined them coming over to Cebu. I knew they were going to come back, but I never thought they would play this close to home. It was heaven. The universe was finally siding up with me.
In December, I got hold of my tickets. The moment it touched my palm, I knew that something good was about to happen.
Happiness in a piece of paper
This, of course, would not be possible without the assistance of my friends Abby, Mae Ann, and Kikai, who have wholeheartedly contributed to the realization of my fangirl dream 15 years in the making. FIFTEEN YEARS! Yes, I waited that long.
March 28, 2012
Hanson arrived in the Philippines. Hours and hours before they did, Taylor posted a video of them at the airport, ready to board the plane for Tokyo (stopover) and then the Philippines. I was hyperventilating. I mean, I knew they were coming, but the feeling of them actually telling us to prepare for their arrival was beyond words. I. WAS. DYING. INSIDE.
When they arrived, they went straight to ABS-CBN to do "Bandila" with Boy Abunda. I was set to work that night, and I was worried I could not get access to any TV at work. Well, yes, you could always Google and YouTube everything nowadays, but I wanted to watch it real-time. Thank God for Internet live streaming; it has saved my Hansonified soul. I got to watch the episode, and all I did during the entire interview was cry. My officemates were laughing at me, and they were not discreet about that.
Here's Taylor looking all hot and sexy after a 30-hour-plus trip from Tulsa to Manila:
Tito Boy: Westlife or Backstreet Boys
Tay: Westlife. Basically because the Backstreet Boys were never boys. They were men.
March 29, 2012
Having just gotten off work, I did the usual: I took a half-bath, turned on the laptop, went online, and tried to finish some of the tasks that I had left (most were due, haha!) I went to Twitter and saw an update that Hanson will be doing "It's Showtime." I rarely watch TV, but I had to see them. I was expecting some sort of short performance of MMMBop, and Jhong Hilario and Vhong Navarro would be dancing to it (side note: why do names have to have an extra H. I don't like this country). But then, all they did was promote the concert, their album, and told everyone that they were having an album signing later that night.
Here's Hanson with Anne Curtis and Karylle:
Help me out here: Is Anne holding Isaac or what? My eyes are playing with my head.
March 30, 2012
The day of the Smart Araneta Coliseum concert has arrived. All my Manila-based Hanson friends were getting prepped for the night. It was a long day: MOE for Hanson.net fan club members (Click here for information on how to join the official HNet FC) and then the concert itself. Meanwhile in Cebu, I was meeting up with my VisMin Hanson friends so we could all talk about our strategies for the next day.
I went to work later that night, backpack and other essentials on hand. I had asked permission from my partner that I would not be home until Sunday afternoon. This was finally it.
March 31, 2012
This is the day of all days. It was finally March 31. I had waited since November for that day to arrive, and it did. I was in one piece. I had been nervous because some weeks before that, I got rushed to the hospital. Good thing I was able to break out in time.
That morning, Dhanah from Hanson Philippines sent me an SMS, telling me that they were there at the Waterfront Hotel already. I was psyched even more! As soon as the clock struck 8AM, I rushed down the office building and headed for the WH. Magill, an officemate, had arranged to have me allowed to do an early check-in, and also had our rooms upgraded from standard to premium. It had already been a great deal when Toby, my friend Mayzette's boyfriend, agreed to book our room for us so we could get the special 30% PAGCOR discount. So with all the strings pulled, we ended up paying only PHP3000 for a room that was approximately worth PHP7000+. The odds were in my favor that day.
So I settled into our hotel room. I was sleepless, groggy from last night's tasks, and hungry. I had not eaten since lunch the previous day. Before I knew it, Mel and the gang arrived, ready to take on the Hanson fever we had all been so looking forward to for the past days.
We paid only ~PHP370 each to get this room! Sweet!
And then off to the airport we went.
