An AFA '09 Post.... Or Something Like It

Prologue:
Okay, so I changed my mind about a "proper" AFA '09 post, due to the LARGE amount of photos and the inability to arrange photos chronologically thanks to Blogger's sucky photo management system. So I'll just post up the photos I like. The photos from the entire trip are already in my Facebook photo album anyway.

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Friday, 20 November 2009

Rhea, Yih Chien and I departed for Singapore in the FirstCoach bus from Bandar Utama at 8 a.m. We got through Singapore customs around 1 p.m. and the bus dropped us all off at Novena Square. Me and Rhea were feeling pretty hungry, so we bought a curry puff each, then we took the MRT to Bugis, where our accommodation for the trip was located. It's a backpacker guesthouse called Superb Hub @ Bugis and it was a nice little place. The owner was very friendly, the place was clean and it was situated near to the MRT station as well as Bugis Junction. Probably the only thing we could complain about was that the toilet was kinda small.

After unpacking our stuff and resting for a while, we took the MRT and went to Singapore Plaza for some shopping with Yvonne. ^^ YC could probably write a story about our "destined" meeting with her at the Dhoby Gaut MRT elevators, lol

First things first, LUNCH! What better than fast food that you can't get in KL, right? So we went right to MOS Burger to eat.

Me with my yakiniku rice burger and Rhea with her chicken teriyaki burger.The Christmas decorations are all up in Singapore! Wheee~ We've reached Orchard Road! Pretty, aye?

Our last stop before going back to the guesthouse was Kinokuniya, where Rhea managed to find her Axis Powers Hetalia manga. Yay~~ ^^

Yummy Food: Fried mars, sausage & potato, takoyaki

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Saturday, 21 November 2009

It's THE BIG DAY!! The day we'd been dreaming for, rushed assignments for and acquired money for.
Tickets started selling at 9 a.m., so we were up by 7 a.m. We took the MRT to City Hall, where YC stayed back to wait for Yvonne, while me and Rhea went ahead to Suntec Convention Centre to queue up for tickets. 8.30 a.m. and there was already a sizable crowd there. 9 a.m. and the place was PACKED with people. O_O

Waiting in line to buy tickets. Yatta! We finally got our tickets! (S$15 for one-day entry)
A guy with a reporter-type video camera even took a video of us with the tickets, probably because we were squealing like rabid fangirls in our excitement. -___-"
Tamagotchi! Hahaha, so cute right?
Domo-kun plushies! Rawr!
The Moe Moe Kyun maid cafe, just opening for business.
Looks like the maids are getting a pep talk before starting their jobs for the day.

The insanely huge and awesome Bandai booth.

And here are just some of the figurines on display, courtesy of various figurine companies and Danny Choo.

See who I spotted!
↓The Tokyo Dance Trooper himself!

This is what Danny Choo looks like without the Storm Trooper helmet. Tee hee!

Okay, now for the cosplayers. ^^
Zero from Vampire Knight aiming for, yup, the eneloop doggie's butt. LOL


2 very good-looking cosplayers. I think they're in D.Gray-man uniforms, but I'm not really sure. AND I forgot to ask them. *facepalms*


Rhea's favourite: America-san from APH.

We even managed to get Jason from Friday the 13th to pose for us.

A very amazing Ichigo Kurosaki cosplayer.

There were many other fantastic cosplayers walking around on that day, but I'm too lazy to post all their photos. Sorry!!

Now it's time for the AFA '09 Regional Cosplay Competition!!
We managed to snag places in the last row of seats. Bwahahahaha!

The 3 judges and the 2 pretty hosts. Yes, that is Kaname☆ on the left. ^o^

One of the finalists of the cosplay competition and my favourite!

Kaname giving one of the super cute Thai contestants a hug. Awww...

All the contestants up on stage, waiting for the final results...

...which went to team 00 Evolution from Singapore! Congratulations, Gundam-san! ♥

After the competition ended, we left to go for lunch. There were many other cosplayers outside the exhibition hall, getting their stuff ready and posing for cameras.

K-On! cosplay group.

Weird but hot combination: Yuuki Cross from Vampire Knight (left) and black and white Chii from Chobits (right).

I'm starving! It's time for lunch~
My yummy curry chicken chop rice and iced lemon tea. ^^

This was YC's idea! Our loot from AFA '09 (well, most of it anyway). XD

Four very happy people!

Today was a very memorable day too, because I finally got to meet my "jie" - Yvonne!
Thank you so much for dinner and bringing us around Clarke Quay and Esplanade. I'll treat you to yummy food when you come to KL next time, kays?

This photo is kinda dark, but I like it. ✿

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Sunday, 22 November 2009

Our last day in Singapore. It was a wonderful 3 days with wonderful people. In the morning, we went to nearby Bugis Junction and Bugis Village to shop for souvenirs and stuff before going back to the guesthouse to pack and leave. We actually managed to find The Plaza where we were due to depart, with the help of one very friendly citizen. (I guess we were looking kinda lost on that overhead bridge, lol) Also, thank you to Uncle Andrew and Aunty Melissa for their efforts to help me locate The Plaza. It turned out to be The Plaza @ Parkroyal along Beach Road. Haha~

The bus left The Plaza sharp at 5 p.m. and we arrived safely back in Bandar Utama around 10 p.m. My parents and bro picked me up and then we went for "tong shui" at SS2 before going home. ^^

So... Before I end this post, let me show you my favourite 'loot' from AFA '09 - a Code Geass R2 Suzaku/Lelouch pillow!

That's all for today! A big thank you to all the people who made this trip possible and enjoyable; I hope that we can go again next year for AFA 2010!

✿ -Laura

My "Mei-chan no Shitsuji" Craze

You know that I'm in trouble when you see me dedicate a whole post to something in particular.

Well, let me get straight to the point.
Lately I've been obsessed with watching メイちゃんの執事 Mei-chan no Shitsuji, a live action J-Drama from a manga with the same name.

Synopsis:
After her parents' death, Shinonome Mei finds out that she is the heiress to the extremely wealthy Hongo family. Shibata Rihito, an extremely handsome S-ranked [highest-ranked] butler, is appointed by her grandfather to serve her. Her ordinary life turns upside down when she is sent to St. Lucia's Girls' Academy, where every student has their own personal butler! Her childhood friend Shibata Kento (Rihito's younger brother) decides to enroll as an apprentice butler so that he can stay close to her.
Once at St. Lucia's, Mei has to face various obstacles in the form of catty classmates, bizarre lessons, weird traditions and much more besides. However, somebody in the academy has malicious plans to kill her! Will she be able to adapt to her new life and face the challenges that lie ahead with the help of her best friend, her amazing (+ hot!!) butler and her own strong determination?

I must say, the drama is quite different from the original manga. First of all, the characters are much older in the drama (the original Mei-chan is a 13-year-old loli shota -_-"). Secondly, the storyline has some main aspects from the manga, but it can be said to be almost completely different. So far I have only read until chapter 19 of the manga, it doesn't seem to be following the original plot. Third, an important character has been drastically changed in the drama. Manga Grandpa was a jovial, friendly, cat-loving old man, but drama Grandpa seems to be a heartless, scheming, uncaring old geezer. O_o And the Kento in the manga was waaaay more bishie than drama Kento. Oh well, we'll just have to see how it turns out.

Now that we have all the wordy parts outta the way, it's time to share my favourite section - the pictures!!

Mizushima Hiro as the super hot S-ranked butler, Shibata Rihito

Eikura Nana as the female lead, Shinonome Mei

Sato Takeru as Mei's best friend, Rihito's younger brother and apprentice butler, Shibata Kento

So basically, in the first episode you have this...
...who then turns into this!
Of course, where would drama be without the usual bunch of catty classmates that Mei-sama will have to gradually win over. XD

Episode 5 will definitely have fangirls like me screaming for joy at this scene and hitting the rewind button to watch over and over again.

Such a sweet scene. ^o^
(*click* picture for animation)

Oh no! St. Lucia has this "ironclad law" that might cause them some trouble:
"Love between a lady and a butler is prohibited !!"

How is it possible to not fall in love with such a nice + hot guy?! Not to mention almost all of the other students have similar complexes going on too.

I wouldn't mind having one of those virtual reality glasses Miruku-chan made though. The ones that make you see this when you put them on.

OMG! *nosebleeds* XD
(Note: To enjoy the animated version of this particular image, please click on the picture. Due to the size of the image, uploading it here has been a real pain. >_< Sorry!)

Yup, so that's about it. I am officially a Mizushima Hiro and Mei-chan no Shitsuji fan now.

I am so doomed.