My First Coldrain Concert @ Seattle, El Corazon, 3/9/16

Woohoo!

Yesterday marked the first ever concert that Coldrain had in Seattle and also my first time seeing them live. And I gotta say now, I was not where near disappointed! Let me start off with my day for you guys.

Before walking to El Corazon with my two friends, Tomina and Chantel, I hung out around Westlake Center for a few hours after class while suffering with a dying phone.

Luckily, once we met up, Mina had us stop at Daiso to buy an umbrella before heading out. Thank god she did. We had to share one umbrella with 3 people but that was honestly so much better than nothing.

And the weather didn't pick up either. It rained all day and all night AND it got windy. Fabulous. Needless to say, we froze our toes off. 

(But it's 6:30pm the following day right now and I feel good! Well, if you ignore the sore neck and shoulders. But no cold!)

Me and Mina!

We were the only 3 in line for 2 hours (arrived around 2-ish pm, didn't get inside til 6) and so we headed inside to use the ATM once getting the OK from staff/security. Doing so, Chantel and I saw two members of Coldrain; Sugi and I think either Katsuma or Ryo.

Throughout the time outside the venue, we often saw Katsuma walking back and forth. We saw Ryo maybe 2 times along with Masato. I also got to see Paul, Shane, and Josh, but I only said hi to Paul and Shane. Despite being out in the cold-rain (sorry not sorry) for so long, it was all worth it.

Chantel

This is us inside the venue before the show started!

My view from my spot. El Corazon is a tiny venue and you're literally against the stage if you're front row, therefore a lot of people just casually climb up onto it and stage dive. There was a lot of stage diving happening from both the fans and lead singers.

I honestly can't believe how close we got to be! If we went to any of their concerts in Japan this would not happen. I was so close that I'm pretty sure I accidentally hit Masato with my hair when I headbanged and also whenever I closed my eyes, only to of course open them again, Masato's knee would be right in my face. Thank god none of the members decided to kick lmao but I loved how close I could be to them!

I got really close to Ryo too, which I quite enjoyed. Too bad Yokochi stayed in his little area! Then again, the stage is tiny and Masato and Ryo were in his way. 

In no particular order, they performed VENA, Wrong, Die Tomorrow, Runaway, Gone, and the Revelation.

Greeeeaaatt greatgreatgreatgreat performance. They really put on a good show and my friends and I made sure to rock out hard and cheer for them as loud as we could. 

After their set ended, we cheered the members names (more like screamed) and Ryo nodded as acknowledgement and Yokochi....Oh man. He turned just a tiny bit and smirked. I DIEDDDDDDDDDDD.

As soon as their set was over, we left the area, freshened up, and headed straight to Coldrain's merch booth! Masato was the first and only one there. I bought the black shirt, sticker, key chain, and the VENA album CD. I totally forgot to compliment him on the performance so I left only to return back to the table a couple minutes later. I didn't wanna bother try shouting at him as the next band was performing so I wrote what I wanted to say in a tweet and just showed him my phone lol but he said thank you and placed his hand over his heart and afiauhjnlfalk ;A; I hope a lot of people bought their CD because they totally gotta!!!

I met Katsuma next :3

I also gave him an early birthday present, which I hope he opened later that night and liked! They're all really nice guys. I also told him how they played a great show after I took the picture. Not much happened so I left after that.

I went to their merch table a lot ok haha especially to meet all the members! Ryooooo<3

I was too shy to ask for a picture and so Mina pushed me and I couldn't really get his attention or speak loudly but Sugi noticed and told Ryo for me. God bless.

Ryo walked around the table so he could stand beside me for the selfie rather than leaning against the table like the others and I'm really thankful for that!!! But we got suuuper close and omg.

Of course, I took a pic with Sugi next! Thanked him and also told him about how amazing their performance was. How cute, right? Ahah. My friends said that he's the member who likes making all kinds of faces for pictures.

Same deal with Yoko and I was shy as well! I'm disappointed half his face is blocked but still happy and thankful. He's so handsome and talented oh my gosh. 

Collage of all!

Once that all finished we stayed around their merch table and chilled out. We stood here (pic above) to watch Silverstein and it was great too. I haven't listened to them in a long time so I don't know any new music. But they played a couple old songs, including their first song on their first ever album and just wow!!! Thank you Silverstein for bringing back my middle school memories hahaha

We decided to leave soon after the concert ended. We were cold and tired...plus I had class the following morning and Chantel had a flight to catch the next morning. She's going to see them again and I'm so jealous!!!

Overall, this experience was amazing and I'm so happy and glad I was able to share it with my friends.

I hope Coldrain made many new fans that night and will continue to make fans the rest of the tour!!!!

Yay to an awesome concert experience!!!

What is the GazettE to me?

Ahh, this is one of those times where I talk about motivation, but for once, I’m not drowning myself in self-hatred or loathing or anything negative. if you don’t know, I’m a person that really lacks motivation and I especially lack in taking action when I do have sparks of motivation. It’s one of those things were it’s there for 5 minutes and if I don’t take action right away it just disappears and I’m left just with you know, laying on the couch doing nothing except thinking about what I’m doing with my life and regretting shit (lol). 

But anyway, as I’ve been setting big goals for myself the past few weeks, I’m feeling excited and happy for those plans, but of course, I understanding those feelings won’t be constant every day, minute, hour, and heartbeat of my life.. When does that ever happen anyway? Everything in life will have it’s up and downs and it depends on the situation and day... you never know what’ll come at you. But what is constant I’d say, is my current source of motivation and inspiration. I’m sure it’s obvious to the people around me how important music is to me and how much I consider GazettE and music in my life when I make decisions. I have no regrets with that at all. Music is just one of my main priorities, but not in a “i’m a musician to be” way, although I just bought a bass and who knows--okay off topic.

 Honestly, I make A LOT of decisions based on GazettE and I’m highly aware of that and how bad it may look, however, currently where I am now, I’d definitely say it’s thanks to them and all my wonderful friends I’ve met throughout the last 7 years. And where I am right now feels pretty good, or at least okay. Nothing bad, but I’m making progress and keeping my parents proud. I’m finding my way through life and I’m growing up and quickly getting more responsibilities as an adult. I’m only 20 (21 in Oct) but that just means more serious things will be shooting my way soon. I’ve definitely made a bunch of mistakes and some embarrassing ones too, but it’s all part of a learning experience, no?

If you haven’t noticed, the GazettE is my main motivation. They are my inspiration. I’m sure many of you have an artist as a big inspiration, right? Let’s talk about motivation and inspiration from others besides family here. My mom is great and all, no not great, she’s AMAZING and I love her but besides her being that super mom, I’m all for GazettE being the extra push I need as well. I need both of them in my life.

 My happy source is GazettE. A lot of my choices are because of GazettE. They’re literally reason I began working and I work my ass off while being a student just so I can support my hobbies and favorite band. I faced so many challenges during that too and it wasn’t a happy sight, but mom and the band kept me going. 

Those five guys (lol) allowed me to find more amazing and interesting things about another culture that isn’t one I’m used to since I’m from North America. I’m currently surrounded by an Asian-American type culture, more specifically, Cambodian/American. I’m willing to learn a new language, heck, I’m willing to move to another country to learn more things! This band is helping me through life even if it is just by listening to their music and meeting other fans and having that wonderful connection. They make me so happy and they keep me going. This is one of the reasons why they mean so much to me. The other reasons... I don’t even know. It’s nothing I can put into words cause I just can’t explain. It’s just one of those things you KNOW deep inside. It’s there....but you can’t put words to it. 

I know 100% that if I had never gotten into J-rock and GazettE, I’d be a totally different person right now. It’s crazy how much people you don’t even know personally can affect you.

Hi guys! Gosh, it's been a long time since I've blogged. I definitely need to make a post soon about my Japan trip back in September! It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad I went. I got to see the GazettE live and ate delicious food... and of course when it came to time to head back to the airport I was just bawling.

Anyway, classes started a few weeks ago and I'm finally taking Japanese classes. I wanna do my best in that class and learn as much as I can in all the classes they offer then continue to more advance classes once I'm in university. Now that I think about it, I have a lot to do. I don't know which universities to apply to yet and I want to study abroad to Japan for at least a year so I gotta look into that as well. 

I figured I'd make this post to write what I've learned so far in Japanese. We started to learn grammar on maybe the 3rd week? So now we're actually doing sentences. Asking for personal questions such as name and school info, where someone is from, yes or no question, and a few questions like "what is that over there?" "How do you say that in Japanese/English?"
So!! I'm going to introduce myself a little bit and tell you about Reita, Ruki, and Aoi of Gazette lol....

はいじめまして。れいだです。どぞよろしく。わたしはだいがくせいです。にねんせいです。(ok thats all I know so far about what to say about myself lolol)

Aoi | 葵 | あおい

Ruki | ルキ| るき

Reita | れいた

こちらはれいたさんです。れいたさんはにほんのかながわからきました。こちらはるきさんです。るきさんもにほんのかながわですよ。 あおいさんはにほんの三重県からました。

Speaking of which! the GazettE released their teaser video for UGLY and made a new website. Check out for more on my gaze fanpage http://oranginaislife.tumblr.com !
(I'm just lazy to make a post with all the details and links rn tbh but yeah)

Thanks!

Why is brainstorming for tattoos so hard?!

Is it cause I might truly be uncertain? Am I just really that clueless on everything including this?

I want one, I really do... but I'm still trying to figure out what the hell I want. For sure though I want one underneath my collarbone and if I can think of something nice that'll fit the area I'll get one there. I do want to get one there first...

Honestly, I want something to represent my favorite band but more importantly, one want that will represent my family. So it would be nice if I can come up with something really good that I could use that isn't just tattooing my mother's maiden name. If I can think of something small I can put it in that area then my second tattoo can be on my arm. It'll hurt like fuck but I want one on my wrist actually.

I also wanted to refrain from the whole... tattooing lyrics thing but I found a line I can use that has multiple meanings to me and if anyone asks about it I can totally bullshit something that makes sense.

With just words going across it'd be perfect underneath the collarbone... but I want something even better.

For the mean time, I just gotta continue thinking up ideas then waiting awhile to see if I still like that idea. Maybe when I travel in the near future something will just BAM! inspire me and I want it printed on me lol

For one that represents my family, maybe my mom can help me...

Sunny Seattle

Spriiiiiiiiiiiiinnggg!!!

I understand why some people hate Spring, but at the same time I don't. The only thing I hate about it is... ALLERGIES! Right now, there's so much pollen, or as my lovely peers like calling it, plant sperm (tru tho), flying around that it honestly looks like it's snowing. What else is there to hate about Spring though? I suppose if you live in a state where the weather is generally hot, Spring and Summer would suck ass but I live in Seattle and the sun makes me so happy. I actually get stuff done and feel a lot better, so those are both bonuses in the season. I think another one we, students, can agree on would be the fact that there's summer break. Well, for college students it depends if you take classes or not but I sure as hell won't~

Enough about the weather~

I have a lot of activities/travel plans coming up within the next few months. VEGAS and TOKYO! I'm really excited and the timing is coming up so quick. Now that I have a new camera I'm going to do my best to take a million photos but I'm not too sure on Videos. I've always wanted to do a travel vlog kind of thing though you know? We'll see.... my camera isn't the best though but as long as it still works.

Other than those trips coming up I've created a group for fans of Japanese Rock in WA state and our first gathering is next month! Woooooo!

Let's make friends. ☆

Let's see... After those, I'm still waiting for the GazettE to announce their release date for DOGMA. I know it's going to be a fantastic album and I cannot wait to hear the songs LIVE! I love this band so much ahah... I had a dream that it was going to be released on August 15th of 2015 so if that comes truuuee....... ;)

And speaking of releases, I highly recommend Miyavi's newest album "The Others"! I'm still waiting for my copy, which I should receive tomorrow, but I already heard a few songs and they're so GOOD! I'm so proud of how much he's accomplished throughout the years and his music never ever disappoints! I also recommend Taylor Swift's Bad Blood cause holy shit I cannot stop. It's so addicting...

REITA (Ba. the GazettE)

He's on the cover of Silver Accessory!!!

http://www.smart-silver.com/jp/index.html

Release on May 28th

He looks great....isn't he adorable? So adorable. I'm also happy that he's on the cover of this. He was recently on Rock and Read too. I wonder which member would be next on a cover?

It's probably obvious but I'm totally buying iittt >w<

Alright, it's about time I end it here and stop coming up with shit to write about lol

Thanks for reading, have a great day!

You know.... I love traveling. I absolutely fucking love it. It makes me so happy and just gives so much satisfaction... I guess that's because it's a vacation. No work, no usual at home responsibilities, and usually it's at a place where I'm surrounded by strangers. Well, being surrounded only by strangers can make it a bit frightening, especially if there are language barriers. But if I fuck up and embarrass myself, I'm just going to fly back home where no one will know about it! Except me.

I would honestly fly anywhere to see GazettE if I could. Anywhere. If.

I know I should save my money for college and other very good priorities but music gets in the way so much and it's the main point of my travels, not that I regret anything, cause I don't.
Fuck. In 2014 I was able to visit Japan again but two months later I flew to LA for ONE OK ROCK! Now here I am already planning another Japan trip.. Honestly, I want to travel as much as I can before it becomes harder for me to do so because of university and if I find a decent, steady job that's good for my adult years. (Until I find something even better).
when it's a vacation at some place entirely new, if everything is going well, it's absolutely fun and maybe even life changing.

I hope that people who want to travel to a different country or state will be able to do so. It'll take time but I'm so sure it can happen.

This summer, I'll be flying out of state to see FALL OUT BOY for the very first time and meet a wonderful online friend of mine. I'm excited but I actually keep forgetting I'm going to see FOB. I'm going to be very mad at myself if I forget the FOB shirt I bought specifically for that day.

Here are some out of the window airplane photos before I took off to Mexico and LA!

(Now that I have a new phone, I can't wait to take better photos while in the plane)

New Bedroom + HAIR

I've cleaned my room for the 3rd time and it's officially cleared out of unnecessary (at least most) junk and it's nice and tidy!

So as I promised, here are photos of the new layout and furniture! I rearranged some posters but the others are left up. It'd be too much work to switch them around and change it.

The window was a great spot to hang my towels! 

♥

I was in need of a bookcase! All of my things were on my desk and under my bed and even in my old, broken dresser lol

the majority of things in it are GazettE related too.

A clothes rack specially bought for only my GazetttE shirts lolol

im deep in for them

Other than that, I got rid of my blonde hair today. I'll totally miss it but I love being back to black hair! 

Well, that's pretty much all for now. New room and hair. I don't have much to say about them~

thank you!