The BWS Experience

And so it happened...

Finally, I was able to attend a Byeon Woo-seok fanmeet!

Last year was such a letdown because I failed to secure tickets, but yes, this year sumakses tayo ;) I think Dunkin' announced the fanmeet around May. I knew I had to get tix, by hook or by crook. This ahjumma,  who used to dismiss fanmeets as a waste of money (because it costs as much as a concert and would last only for an hour or so), was willing to spend 7500 for SVIP tickets. Well, that was when I thought there was a meet & greet/hi-bye session. When I found out that there was none of that, okay na ako sa VIP or Patron. 

There were three of us planning to watch- me, my friend AS and cousin M. Feeling ko napilitan lang si AS to watch para samahan ako, to which I am very thankful. When I told M about the fanmeet, super game naman siya. When the mechanics on how to get tickets came out, M and I planned on going to the venue early so we'll be able to surely secure tickets. Ticket selling starts at 6am on July 5. We planned on being there at 5am. Feeling ko pa na ang aga-aga ko na niyan... but, boy, was I wrong. 

A week before ticket selling, I was invited to AS's niece's birthday party. She asked me what my plans were and I told her that M and I were planning to going at 5am on the day itself. Sabi niya sa akin, "Ano ka ba? Wala ka nang maabutan niyan! Yung iba nagca-camp na." Natulala ako bigla. Nag-iisip na kung gagawin ko ba 'yun? GAGAWIN KO BA 'YUN??? (Oo, ginawa ko)

AS said she'll accompany me to "camp" so we could secure tickets. Plan was I will "overnight" in their house and we will be at Dunkin' Sheridan at 12 midnight. With AS's sleuthing powers, she found GCs that were talking about their plans on camping for the ticket selling. Original venue we wanted to go to was their Sheridan branch because it's the newest and biggest and I assume maganda at malinis ang CR. May mga ganun pa akong considerations, diba? So anyway, as early as July 3 in the afternoon, there were people already there. In the GC, para walang dayaan in the unofficial queueing, you had to send your photo in the store with a timestamp of the time and location every three hours. EVERY. THREE. HOURS. Which means that if you don't live nearby, you had to stay there. Around July 4 PM, less than 5 pa naman sila so no need to worry pa. Dumadami na sila by nighttime and at around July 5 around noon, there were already 50 of them.

I left home at around 230pm July 4. Planned to pass by Dunkin' Pasig (our back-up branch in case masyado nang maraming tao sa Sheridan), then pass by the Sheridan branch just to see what's the ganap, then to AS's house where we would be killing time before leaving at 12mn. 

Arrived at Dunkin' Pasig at around 3:30pm. The volunteer fan was sitting at the first table. I asked about the queue and she gave me two numbers. Their queueing system in Pasig was, aside from your number, you had to post a selfie in the store every three hours. So makakaalis pa ba ako? That was when, my friends, I decided to stay there. I mean, andun na ako plus I really wanted these tickets, diba? But, still I couldn't believe what I was doing at that time. Napapailing talaga ako. OMG Byeon Woo-seok, look what you made me do? LOL. 

AS arrived at 9pm. I think the official queue started at around 11pm. So we spent the night sitting on monobloc chairs, on the sidewalk of Pasig, under a tent. Buti na lang hindi umulan. Overnight, I think I only got around 45 mins of sleep. Ang sakit ng katawan ko. 

The process was slow cos they started making people write on that paper na hindi ko naman alam kung anong silbi dahil marami pa rin namang scalpers ang nakakuha ng tickets and wala namang nag-check ng ID upon entry (kasi ano naman iche-check nila?) at 6am. They could have done that earlier para at 6 sharp, puede na pumasok yung una. Well, we were done naman na by 7:30am. We got lower box tickets. I wanted Patron sana, but oh well wala na so ano gagawin ko? Still, I was happy that we were able to secure tickets already. Pasok na sa banga, in other words ;) 

official queue numbers

the loot

After two weeks of wait, it's D-DAY. At may bagyo, bow. M and I agreed to meet in Gateway at 3pm. Sabi niya hindi ba masyadong maaga? I said, I will be there at 3pm. She can meet me later when she arrives. Punta na lang din daw siya nang maaga :) You see, I live in a flood-prone area and since it has been raining incessantly, I had to leave before the area gets flooded. At this point, I don't care if I won't be able to come home after after the event. What's important is that I get to the event. Crazy, diba? LOL. I mean, I can sleep at my cousin's house or I can always book a room somewhere in Araneta. Mapupunta sa wala yung pinila ko overnight? Sorry, NO. 

So I was there. Had very early dinner and coffee. Got our banners. Walang nakuha na freebies from other fans :( Went inside and got our tote bags, etc. And come 7pm...

Araneta was packed

in fair, hindi naman siya ga-langgam kalaki from
where we were

Sunjaeyaaaaa!

for a big dude, he looks so adorable

adorable

super adorable!

but of course, the highlight-
BWS singing

He sang three songs all from Lovely Runner's OST! And super happy that I Think I Did was included ☺

Three days after, I am still basking in the euphoric experience of seeing (albeit from afar) and hearing him sing live. Estoy feliz. Y agradecida. I hope there's a next time. 

P.S. I liked how the emcee hosted the show. I have nothing against Kring Kim (I actually watch her podcasts) but I didn't like how she hosted BWS's fanmeet last year.