Earlier in September, a friend of mine informed me that Taeyang would be performing in San Francisco, CA through an event sponsored by MTV.  Instantly, my interest was piqued because, sad to say, I've never attended his shows or any Big Bang concert for that matter!  >.< I've only loved him from afar - by watching variety shows online, reading interviews, and re-living moments through fancams and blog postings. 

So I thought to myself, "Here's my chance!" and asked, "Where do I buy tickets?  Sign me up!" - only to find out that you have to enter social media challenges in order to win tickets.  My heart sank.  Me?  Social? Very funny... I live in a cave - Kansas, to be more exact.  My neighbor behind me has a horse in their backyard and I drive by a herd of cows every morning on the way to work.  I barely tweet and only get on twitter for Big Bang news.  Instagram?  Only when my girl does something funny.  Facebook for family.  Vine? Pinterest? Forget about it.  There's no chance in hell I was going to win even if I entered.  And with the date of the concert being pushed from Oct 5th to the 10th... it made me a little uneasy.  So I put the concert out of mind and told myself to wait for the next time the guys had a tour in the U.S. 

But eventually a final date was set and the daily challenges started to roll out.

Then the first set of winners were announced.

I was floored.

It was easy.  Too easy.  If they could win with a simple entry... then why couldn't I?  It didn't have to be fancy... It just had to show that you were socially inclined to network with others and attempt to meet all the criterias of the challenges. 

And so it began.

I spent the entire last week of September retweeting and liking other people's postings and helping everyone promote their entries and mine.  Let me tell you - I've never been more social in my life!  There were moments between challenges where I felt like a used car salesman.  No shame, whatsoever.  When my fingers got tired, I gathered my courage and tweeted the man himself for help!  [Sidenote:  I do not tweet Taeyang on a regular basis!  I just like to talk to him in my dreams >.< ]  I even reached out to my friends here on AFF to help me retweet my entries because I was so desperate to win.  And while there were some fraudulent entries going on (people creating fake accounts, etc), it still didn't dampen my spirits because this was Taeyang!  After waiting three long years for a new album to drop - an album we all knew that was already completed back in April, this private concert event was like our light at the end of the tunnel.  A beacon in the night.  A promising sign for YB fans that an imminent album release was near.  This coveted event was going to put an end to our long wait.  It was going to be the comeback performance of the year.

I had to win.

I just had to!

[Here were some of my crazy entries:]

 

In the end, I won four challenges and a girl I helped couldn't attend so she gave her set to me. 

Ten tickets. 

Just like 'that'. I kept half of them for my cousins and myself, and gave out the remainder to YB fans on AFF and twitter. 

So did the Music Experiment meet its goal in combining music and social media?  Apparently so.  I've never been more out of my shell until now.  Even my cousins were eyeing me a bit strangely because they've never seen this side of me before.  I purposely blocked off a section of the night of the concert just so I could meet up with friends before the show.  My family thought I was crazy.  But I couldn't help it.  Meeting a stranger is one thing.  But knowing that a person shares the same love in music and artist as you do?  Despite any differences in ages or where we hailed from, I already felt a connection.  It took the edge off any initial awkwardness and I was able to relax and be myself.

Making new friends and seeing Taeyang.

What more could I ask for?

Hmm... How about humiliation?

LOL!

So... the night before the concert, Aimee Lee Lucas - dancer, performer, and choreographer extraordinaire, held a dance workshop at UC Berkley.  If you don't know who she is, look her up!  Know her!  She is more recognizable for her work through Kpop and working with various YG artists but her talent can truly stand on its own.  She owns her own business and teaches workshops all over the world.  When I found out she was teaching a "Ringa Linga" dance workshop, I jumped on it!

Too bad I'm not a dancer.

But when in Rome... 

I mean, when would a chance like this ever come up again?  Thankfully, my cousins agreed to go with me.  It wasn't as if I'd ever see these people again.  No one would remember how horrible my dance skills were or wonder why the heck I was even there.  I felt confident walking into the gym room that night.

Very confident.

Until I discovered that over half of the students in the class all attended UC Berkley and probably majored in or took some sort of dance class as an elective.  The twenty-somethings all knew each other and were already showing off their hip-hop [or in mine & Tabi's case, "hep-hop"] skills before Aimee finished taping her private interview before the class started.  Little did I know, the camera would be trained on us later! I felt like I was in high school again... the new kid.  Very nervous.  Scared.  Old.  Yes... a very old ajumma. >.<

Needless to say, I tried to stay in the back of the class as much as possible.

Would I ever do it again?

Yes.

Absolutely!

Yes!

After warming up and breaking the ice, I got into it.  My moves were more hesitant and timid in comparison to everyone else's, but there were a few others who were just like me.  Learning.  Growing.  Aimee made us switch places so we weren't always in the back and she moved around the room so we could see up close how the steps were choreographed.  She was patient and took all of our questions!  We didn't do the Ringa Linga dance from the MV because it's not what she does.  Instead, Aimee taught us her own version of Ringa Linga.  And I think that's what made the dance even more special.  She's an original, in every sense of the word.

 

This workshop isn't part of the Music Experiment, but I wanted to share because it's something that I did out of my comfort zone - and something I would've never done had I not been there at the right moment and at the right time.  In fact, my entire trip to San Francisco is something I would never done.  It's just not me. 

Or was it? 

I never would've known how capable I was of letting go and having fun unless I tried.  So, although it was scary at first - although I had doubts about everything - winning tickets, going to San Francisco to see Taeyang in concert, attending a dance workshop I had no clue about... it was all worth it in the end.  I discovered strengths about myself that I never knew.  And it's a lesson that I'll take with me wherever I go.

[Next:  The Concert]