2011. Already?
Jesus, the time flies. Also hate how it takes like 6 months for me to get used to writing "11" at the date section of forms/checks instead of "10". Well, I'm determined to make 2011 just as amazing as my 2010. So far? It's been quite good!
Nicole, one of my best friends in Taipei, took me to Hua Shan (華山）an open space off Zhong Xiao East Road where there are many art exhibitions and what-nots. They change frequently and I recommend a visit if you're in Taipei. It's a nice place to chill with friends, look at art, act sophisticated, shop, and eat.
Just an example of some of the cool scenes at Hua Shan
One of the art exhibits that Nicole wanted to see was "Ji Mi" a Taiwan-based artist who is quite popular within the country.
The inside was well-decorated, even on a seemingly limited budget. They seemed to want to capture a child dream-like atmosphere with cool decor dispersed throughout the maze-like set-up.
Examples of Jimi's characters
His/her art is very colorful, yet there's an underline tone of sadness and loneliness in his work. I think I heard he/she had a very sad childhood growing up. I don't know if that's really true, but I wouldn't be surprised judging from the art work. But overall, I really do love the artwork and his/her sketching and coloring technique. Simple, clean, yet deep
Nicole and I, camera whores
Having fun with an art piece.
Another example of sad, emo Jimi's work
Look! Nicole is disappearing into THIN AIR!!
So anyways, start of a new year. Also, got into TOP 10 of SUPER IDOL competition. So what's the best way to celebrate both of these events?
A MAKE-OVER!!!! WOOOHOO!!! sponsored by Super Idol
This is me, before the transformation...
The contestants for top 10. We are all really good friends and it's kinda cool how all of us are very different in terms of our style of music/performance. I'm the Singer/Dancer of the group
Everyone getting ready to get purttty!
The Make-over Team!
Getting my hair bleached and colored. The last time I got my hair colored was in 6th grade and my dad yelled at me saying "ONLY GIRLS COLOR THEIR HAIR, CHANGE IT BACK TO BLACK!!"
and ever since then I never colored my hair....until now.
Bleached! So weird seeing myself blond for the first time in my life. I'm also sad my hair loss it's smoothness....
but a small price to pay in order to look different and sexyyy (hopefully)
the Transformation is almost done！！！ The color is a blend of dark green, yellow, and brown. So what else needs to be done?
Well, they thought my eyebrows were too dark (like 'black fuzzy catepillars' as my stylist put it) so they dyed those as well.
In front of each contestant's station was a form and picture of each of us telling the stylists about our appearance pros and cons.
Pros: 1) Sunshine (meaning happy and optimistic) and cute (thanks!) Boy-next-door look, and Dance King of Season 5
2) Exercises regularly, noticeable toned arms.
Cons: 1) Jawline is too obvious and strong, need to be aware of camera angles and accessories in drawing attention away from it
2) Legs and Butt are quite FAT, don't give him tight pants. (THANKS)
**I remember when I saw this for the first time, I scoffed and glared**
Complete!!! Super Idol Top 10! HERE I COME!!!! I realized after I got my hair done, more people on the streets recognize me. I think it's cuz they look at my hair and think "weird" and then they look at my face. hahah
It's kinda cool that people are starting to know my name and recognize me more and more. I'm not too used to it, and constantly need to make sure I'm not picking my nose or a wedgie in public.
Funny thing is, 6 out of 10 people who say "Are you Rong Zhong Hao from Super Idol 5?" are mid-aged mothers. It's so cute, cuz they always pull me aside or go out of their way to say "ADD OIL!"
It's also funny that the first few days, everytime I passed a reflection, I would be startled by my own reflection and automatically think "who's that?!" I guess I wasn't used to my new hair color
So, my MOM promised to visit me if I got into top 10, so the moment I got in, she kept her promise and booked her ticket and actually CAME!! She also asked me if I wanted anything from the states, and the only thing I could think of was:
Krispy Kreme donuts. (what a fatty)
F*cking Heaven. Original glazed, Chocolate covered, and Jelly donuts exploding in my mouth. I engulfed them with no guilt. Nom nom nom
Our outfits are all chosen by a wardrobe director now and this was my outfit for our advertisement coming up for Chinese New Year (hence the red). If you have a Taiwan mobile, you can vote for me by making my performance your ringtone! Too bad most of you reading this are in the states :( Bummer!
Link to voting:
http://www.ciaomobile.com/service/DMK-100-W01029/508.html
On the other hand, on the downside of having a wardrobe director dress us, sometimes we end up with outfits like the one pictured below.
Don't let the smile fool you, behind it is me crying...
Actually I'm just kidding, the more I wore it, the more I told myself, "hey, it's different, but sometimes you just gotta trying something new" in this case, being completely pink and Easter-y was my deep, shameless plunge into something new.
So, I don't know if you guys remember last year, but I got to perform behind Teresa Carpio as a back-up singer and dancer on Hong Kong's biggest stage (Hung Hom Stadium) in front of 8,000+ people. This year, Harlem Yu, a famous singer in Taiwan/China, asked us (previous and former Super Idol contestant) to dance behind him in a performance in Xiao Ju Dan (Little Egg Stadium) the largest stadium in Taiwan. In just 2 years, I've been able to perform on the biggest stages of HK and Taiwan. Isn't that really cool? I know it's not a big performance or a big deal, but to me, it's a start and I'm grateful that I had the chance to do it! Thank you, God!
The "Artist" Break room. Hear that? ARTIST! haha
The stage during rehearsal time. That is JJ Lin on stage. I snuck in to take this picture. So ninja
I got a employee pass! I feel important haha. The show was called "Super Red-White Concert" where they split artists into two groups and did a friendly competition to see which color's artists performed better. It was a cool night! We got to sit in the front row and got to be on TV. My favorites of the night were Wilber Pan, A-lin, and Elva. I saw Wilber in the hallways backstage and I said hello. He then waved back and said "HEY!" as if he knew me, but then he realized he had reacted too quickly and had no idea who I actually was. Then it got awkward cuz I knew he recognized the wrong guy, so we both scurried in opposite directions. hahah
I don't think I look like him, despite what a lot of people say. He had a cool performance that night.
Us, getting ready for the performance backstage
SHINEE, famous Korean boy band, came to perform!
Look at all those people!!! I don't know the count, but I'd say at least 5000+?
Yay! Great show! Confetti Explosion everywhere! Elva and Show closed the show
We then got to eat at the celebration dinner. Some people didn't go cuz it was late and they were tired. I go where free food goes, so of course I was there.
So, competing for top 8, I'm starting to get more and more nervous. However, having support from friends and family means a lot to me, especially in the form of gifts. One of my fans from Kaoshiung (which is a city in southern Taiwan) couldn't come see my performance, so instead, she sent flowers to wish me luck. It was a great surprise and made me really happy to see the support! Thanks Alina!!!
At the end of the night, Wang Jing Han was voted as Top 9. We will miss you!!!! She is also known as "Kung Fu Girl" cuz her personality is really cool and calm and obviously, she knows kung fu, so it's weird to see me holding her in what the Chinese call "the princess lift"
TOP 9 of Super Idol!! Go Go GO!!!
Man, I love these guys! Haha. After 6 months of competing and performing with each other, we are bound to become more attached so when one of us gets eliminated, we all get really upset ;(
Top 8 is split into two episodes (one is coming up this Sunday, January 30) and the second is a MONTH later (2/19) because of Chinese New Year (most businesses close-up and everyone goes on vacation) I myself will be taking a trip to southern Taiwan, to Kaoshiung with my friends for the holiday, so i'll make sure to blog about that! ;)
Until then, take care and Happy Chinese New Year! Year of the Rabbit! Leap to Great Success and Great Health! (i'm so fob now)
