It’s hard to believe a week ago I was surrounded by tens of thousands of Hallyu loving fans from around the world, all gathered together to celebrate one epic weekend of awesome, but I was. (Talk about having your mind blown!) In an effort to keep this most epic of weekends from being lost in the depths of my decaying zombie brain, I’m sitting here, ready to document my adventures. I’m not sure how well I’m gonna survive this (the feelings are still a bit intense) but I’ll do my best. Are we ready for this? Then let’s go!
First of all, let me start off by saying that having BTS in your city mere days before you fly to LA is almost too much for one zombie to handle. Between the massive post-concert feels, the friends coming and going, the “work” preparations and the general insanity that comes with any sort of extended trip cross-country, there were quite a few moments when I felt as if my head (and/or my heart) was going to explode. Things were so crazy in my world that by the time I boarded the plane and settled myself in for my 4 hour flight to LA, I was thanking all the powers that be for the chance to just sit and do nothing for once. Needless to say, I didn’t do a lot during my flight other than listen to music, watch MVs and save baby pandas from the evil monkey and you know what? I enjoyed every minute of my in-flight slothiness! Of course having your bestest blogging buddy with you the entire time also helps the time pass enjoyably. Though I’m not sure how enjoyable the trip was for those around us. I’m pretty sure we got more than our fair share of “looks” from other passengers. I guess running into a pair of rainbow haired, K-Pop singing, BFFs isn’t something a lot of people experience in a day… Imagine that!
Once in LA I was greeted by another of my dearest friends and Oh! What a happy reunion that was! Only those who know the agony of having your bestest friends live half a country away can understand what it’s like when you’re finally reunited with a friend you love like a sister. It’s a beautiful moment, to say the least. Once again I may have gotten more than a few “looks” from people but really, can anyone blame me from letting my happiness show? I hadn’t seen my friend since we saw VIXX together last November… A celebration was definitely in order! (I guess maybe I should learn how to keep my expressive side in check but really, where’s the fun in that?)
From the airport I was whisked away, off to explore some of the wonders of LA I’d missed the last time I was there. Taking me to The Grove, I had a lot of fun wandering the Farmer’s Market, just soaking things in, happy to be back in the city I’d fallen in love with last year. As much fun as it was to window shop the stores of The Grove, it was the food that really called to me. Oh my word! Never in my life have I been surrounded by so much amazing food at once! I felt as if I’d died and gone to foodie heaven! Offering goodies from every corner of the world, it took every ounce of willpower I had to not buy one of everything, just so I could taste it all. Though I managed to resist the temptation in the moment, I’ve since decided I need to go back to that glorious food paradise with a massive appetite and a pair of stretchy pants because, yeah… I need to try ALL THE FOOD!
As we wandered The Grove, my friend was gracious enough to point out the exact spot B.A.P recorded their “Coffee Shop” MV and I had stop everything I was doing and just remind myself to breathe. It was a definite fangirl moment and I’m not at all ashamed to admit it. I had a massive attack of B.A.P feels when I was in LA last year so it only makes sense I do it again this year… The feels were just a bit different this time around… *sigh* Oh B.A.P, how I miss you! *sobs*
Moving on…
From The Grove it was off to see some of the more iconic Hollywood sites, including the sidewalk covered in stars and all the hand/feet prints in the sidewalk outside of the Chinese Theater. I may have gone a little crazy taking pictures of all those stars but hey, I act like a tourist in my own city so I have no shame in being a tourist in a place as touristy as Hollywood. I’m proud to say I have pictures of The Muppets, Tinkerbell and Godzilla’s stars saved on my phone alongside Darth Vader, C-3PO, R2-D2 and Harrison Ford’s foot prints. Yup! I’m a major nerd and I let it show that day! Oh what am I saying? I let my nerd side show every day!
Walking around Hollywood is an experience everyone needs to have at least once in their life. It’s almost impossible to explain what it’s like, seeing so many iconic landmarks and such in person. Plus the whole atmosphere of the place is just something you need to experience for yourself. When you’ve got Optimus Prime walking beside Captain Jack Sparrow you kind of find yourself at a loss for words. I will admit I had another fangirl moment when my friend pointed out the life-sized Shrek BTS’ Jin had his picture taken next to when he was in LA. Yes, I’m a dork for letting such a silly thing make me so happy but we already knew that so it’s no big deal!
From Hollywood it was time to head back to my friend’s house because as hyped up on feels as I was, I had just traveled half-way across the country running on almost no sleep and taking it easy for a while just sounded like a good idea. Of course no trip to LA is complete without a stop at In-N-Out, which we hit on the way home. Having never had an In-N-Out burger before, I was curious as to what all the hype was about but now I know and I totally understand. I think from now on I’m going to adopt GOT7’s philosophy and make sure the first thing I do in LA is grab an In-N-Out burger with everything on it!
Once fed and settled comfortably in the most fabulously K-Popped room I’ve ever seen in my life (my friend’s daughter was gracious enough to let me borrow her room for a couple of days), it was time to relax. Of course for fangirls such as myself and my friends, relaxing really means working on fan signs for the upcoming weekend festivities. Being the artsy-fartsy dork that I am, I happily spent my evening helping my friend’s daughter make a sign for Monsta X’s Wonho as we chatted about anything and everything.
I don’t know how late I stayed up, nor does it really matter. I went to bed surrounded by all kinds of K-Pop gorgeousness (something I could never do at home because if I tried my husband would kill me) and woke up one very happy zombie. But that’s a story for another day…