Traffic. I really hate traffic. Especially if it is December traffic. Most especially if it is a December pay-day weekend traffic. But traffic did not stop me from making my way to Move Stars Cafe for MNL48’s December Seitansai.
It has become quite a routine for me, and although I don’t know how long I can keep this up, I’m taking matters on a case-to-case basis. Traveling from Cavite to Quezon City is no joke, especially since I do it for five days a week already. But attending MNL48 events has become a huge part of my routine that not being able to attend one makes me feel empty.
The December seitansai is the third such event in the MNL48 calendar and many fans already know the drill. This month, the celebrants are Faith, Brei, Necca, Essel, and Lara and the event attracted more fans than before, partly because Faith is a wota-favorite, but partly because there’s a lot of first-timers on-board.
I don’t think I’m going to do a full account of the event since it’s still basically the same pattern as the previous ones. For example, the girls still just performed only three songs: Aitakatta-Gustong Makita, Umiindak na Saya, and Pag-IbigFortune Cookie. I was hoping for a live performance of First Rabbit, but I guess I was out of luck.
The program is a bit tighter and flowed much better than last month’s. The highlight of the event for me is when the messages for the celebrants were given by both fans and family making the girls very emotional. At the end of the day, these very young girls are living mostly away from home and are undergoing intense training, and who knows what other tasks. Any message from a family member or a close friend is bound to get them emotional.
The general feeling I got from the whole thing is that the girls are asking us to always be there until the end because they say that we are the source of their strength. But the truth is, I think some of the fans have started to get their strength from the girls so it has become a “give-and-take” affair. There is absolutely no practical reason that a person who travelled far for five days to get to work, will still be doing it on a weekend where he’s supposed to be resting. But here we are, letting ourselves be entertained by these idols, and making us forget our worries for a few precious moments, but long enough to give us enough strength to stand back and continue with life.
As cheesy as that may sound, it’s actually true, at least from my point of view. I’ve been having some trouble with my day job which is making things difficult for me as a writer, since my worries and anxieties tend to spill over even to the hobbies that were supposed to keep them at bay.
During the merchandise selling after the main seitansai program, I approached Kay to buy another three copies of the second single from her. She kissed all three copies (prompting me to not dare open them, but that’s another story), and the staff was kind enough to let us stay within the merchandise area so that we can interact with the girls.
Now, I’ve never really been the type to try and make the members notice my blog. I always felt it wasn’t really right or proper to fall over myself in trying to make the girls promote it in their social media accounts. Nevertheless, I told Kay that I am maintaining an MNL48 blog, and that I am sorry I wasn’t able to feature her before. I’m not even sure what kind of reaction I wanted, as the words came out of my mouth before I had the chance to stop them.
But surprise, surprise! Kay confirmed that she has read my blog, and even told me the site (Back2gaming.com). I was speechless, I was floored, and I was happy. It means so much to me that someone I cared about in MNL48 actually reads my blog.
I felt proud, validated, and it restored some needed self-confidence in me that somehow, I might have been doing it right if I managed to reach the people I was writing it for. I knew Ash used to read it (no idea if she still does), and now I know Kay reads it. That’s two out of 48 regular members not including the Kenkyuusei. But those two are really very important to me that I am really grateful and very willing to take any morale boost this little fact brought me.
Why the staff allowed us to stay in the merchandise area and interact with the girls, I have no idea. Maybe it’s because our crowd was manageable. Maybe it’s because it makes us buy a lot more merchandise than we’d normally would. Or maybe they were just being kind that day. Whatever it is, I am grateful for letting us interact with the members, and it made the long trip very worth it.
Before I end this week’s entry, I’d like to highlight the merchandise I bought during the seitansai, as well as some “freebies” that were passed around by Team Faith. I bought an official photo-album and I really love it. I initially planned to get a Team L design, but seeing as I also liked some members who are part of the other teams, I chose the “Team Neutral” design.
As for the photo-cards, I purchased a Sela from another fan for the whopping price of PhP500. I didn’t mind the price, but Sela scolded me for buying a marked-up photo-card even if it was hers (making me appreciate how practical this girl seems to be). Later, when Ella told me that my dimple was cute, I immediately bought a photo-card set with her picture in front which she had in front of her. (She must have asked them specifically from the staff). Guess what? In addition to Ella, I got a Brei, and a complete Sheki set. Yep, the two-time performance power-house of a center, and her complete Series 3 set is mine.
Over-all, the girls look comfortable during MCs, and as usual, their performances were great. I would have loved to see First Rabbit, but maybe I will in their upcoming mini-concert on December 23, 2018.
MNL48 is gearing up for a great finish. I really hope that this momentum will carry over next year as the girls will have increased mall shows (or at least it was implied that the shows will increase), the January seitansai, their appearance in the Asia Festival, and possibly their next handshake event.