April 27, 2011
We came from four corners—the Bronx,Queens, Penn Station, and Grand Central—to support Rain at the TIME 100 Gala,4/26/11
Well, the day started with all of us hopping on trains to meet each other at Penn Station.
I was texting from my train until it went underground and the signal was lost. We (me, Diva, Stormy, and Tara) eventually found each other around 2:15 pm after a little confusion on where to meet up, and what each of us looked like.
I found Diva with Stormy and Tara near the Borders on 33rd Street and 7th Avenue. We decided to get lunch, and Diva showed me a picture of Rain's buddy (Ronnie Yang, I believe) that was taken nearby. We walked toward that area, but we apparently just missed them. We then had lunch, and Stormy had a smoke outside.
We all hopped in a taxi for Lincoln Center—yay!—but arrived in the wrong location. I asked a security person where the Frederick P. Rose Hall was located. He told us where to go, and we ended up walking two blocks over to 58th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues, toward the mall which also housed the Rose Hall. I believe it was around 3:30 to 4:00 pm by then. I spotted the TIME Red Carpet in the mall, so we had the right place eventually!
They had already set up outside the mall entrance with rails. People with clipboards were running around. We went downstairs to the Whole Foods and had coffee because it was still too early. Diva had to leave us to run an errand, so we just hung out right there for a bit. After a while, I started getting anxious that Diva might be stuck somewhere… but she texted me that she was on her way back.
Eventually Stormy wanted another smoke, and so I stayed behind to wait for Diva.
Diva returned at about 5 pm, and texted me that it was getting crowded outside. We four all met up back at the TIME Red Carpet to stake our spot, but we couldn't decide where... LOL. We ended up moving location a few times.
A lot of other fans were also there for Rain, some of them standing in the middle section against the rails (the side facing the mall entrance… the place was like an L-shaped configuration). We stayed in Spot #1 for a while, then decided to move. Stormy saw more Rain fans a little further away from there, and so we tried Spot #2 for a while as well. One girl had a light-up sign that was very interesting and cool; her group stood by the corner of the rails near the doors to the mall. (In hindsight that was actually the better spot.) Then we decided to go around to the other area of the rails facing away from the signs that were put up for media, and where Rain was supposed to be.
Diva went first to scope out Spot #3, and signaled to us. We began to follow... only to see that someone was interviewing her! I believe it was a KNN reporter (Scorpiola's peeps?). After that, we stayed right behind the area Rain was supposed to show up in and where the Asian media would be stationed. The whole distance, where media would stand in front of us and the celebrities would walk in front of them, was about five feet.
Guests came and went, and interviews took place while we patiently waited.
I hate signs, so I politely declined when Stormy whipped out the ones for her, Tara, and Diva. I was tweeting updates on my phone constantly, until almost 7 pm(when people would start arriving for the gala). » It was during that time that we caught the attention of YTN reporters, and they interviewed Stormy and Tara about Rain! I was standing near Stormy, but I hate video cameras more than signs so I didn't get in the lens' eye. Another reporter took our picture (all of us)—I don't remember who they were. We spoke to several people, some tourists who had no idea what was going on but found it interesting to see. We met up with a new girl who was shy to approach us at first but stayed with us throughout the end. Stormy gave her a sign.
Finally, at around 7:15 pm, Rain showed up! I spotted someone in his entourage, I think his manager, who looked right at me from a distance. Then Rain’s head peeked right behind him… and it was mayhem from that time. My heart was beating like crazy. He was so handsome in his tux! I almost didn't believe I was standing there seeing him walking by from only about seven feet away. It felt like a dream somehow, like it wasn't happening. [It's called Rain Paralytic-Catatonia, and there is no cure. It has to somehow wear off, or be derailed by Rain Hysteria. Sounds like that's what happened...? — Stephe ^@@^
We lost all calmness and dignity as he came closer and instead started acting like rabid fan-girls... LOL. [Yep. That's what happened. Ha! ^@@^] The girls began shouting "Oppa!" "Jung JiHoon!" and other things (see the videos from Diva and Tara) and the girls waved their signs. Tara and Diva recorded video. Stormy and I took photos... or tried to. Dang reporters were in the way and it was hard to get anything good!
Rain made a brief statement to the reporters in front of us... but despite our shouting, sign waving, and me jumping and waving my hand to get his attention, he never saw us. Awww. (I was sick the past week; my voice was getting hoarse, and so no shouting from me). Right before Rain's interview finished, a reporter in front of us pointed his camera at Diva and she told him off. [ROFL! That's what I'm sayin! ^@@^] So he got right in front of me, and I told him, "Shoo! Shoo!" and waved my hand to get him to leave so I could get a decent picture of Rain. By that time, Rain was going toward the entrance of the mall. We heard shouts of "Baby!" and then girls screaming. The people I spoke about earlier who were near the entrance got to see him really well. Lucky fans!
After he left our sight completely, we gave each other big hugs and parted ways. I took the train back uptown to the Bronx, the girl who hung out with us traveled back to Queens, Diva went downtown to Penn Station to catch her train, and I believe Stormy and Tara got a taxi to Grand Central.
So all in all it was tiring, the day was really hot, but it was SO worth it. To see him up close was amazing, and he did look tall in person and very, very handsome. The only disappointment I felt was that he didn’t see us cheering him on because it was so crowded. I don't think he was disappointed though, since there were a lot of people there just to show support for him.
I hope this account won't disappoint my fellow Cloud sisters. I wish you all could have been there with us to experience it. The whole time I was nervous about not getting good footage or photos to share with all of you who were anxiously waiting for updates, but we did very well I think.
Source: Gigi_rou @CloudUSA
Videos credit: Divalcious@youtube.com & stormoftara@youtube.com
Thanks also to Stephe, Managing Editor, cloudusa
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