Jiro Wang, You're Beautiful Inside and Out!

Jiro Wang with his Cosmopolitan Award
for being one of Taiwan's most beautiful in 2012

He wears a smize (smile with your eyes) while he looks around his adoring fans. His lips finally curve and his pearly whites register his signature grin.  Jiro Wang’s face lights up the room as the fans’ screaming reaches its deafening level. He knows that he has to show his best for everyone who came just to see him. Not only the Jiro Wang who is an idol, a singer and an actor, but also the Jiro Wang who people from around the world came to love for his big heart. He always makes it a point to personally connect to as much people as he could during his events. He never complains when he’s tired from signing thousands of CDs and posters. He continues to smile and wave even when he’s about to drop from exhaustion. He helps people in Taiwan and China by making a microfilm for children with mental disorder and donating tents, clothes, food, and other necessities to hundreds of victims of the Sichuan earthquake recently just to name a few. 

He is Jiro Wang. He’s beautiful, inside and out.

Huang Tai Jing is the latest role Jiro’s portraying for the Taiwanese version of You’re Beautiful. He was handpicked to star as the lead role Hwang Tae Kyung, which was played by Jang Geun Suk in the original Korean idol drama. A lot of speculations came out even before it was announced that Jiro Wang will be the 3^rd Tae Kyung after the Korean and Japanese adaptations. He did not deny nor confirm that he’ll be doing the drama series and even said on Weibo that he’s not beautiful, what he knows is he’s a handsome man. Park Shin Hye even went to Taiwan for a cameo, but even after pictures of her with the Taiwanese Go Min Nam came out, the actor to play Tae Kyung was not yet verified. Jiro was insanely busy during this time, shooting and promoting for different projects which include Absolute Boyfriend with Korean actress, Gu Hye Sun, who became famous as Geum Jan-di in Boys Over Flowers; Go Go Go (Jie Jie Li Zheng Xiang Qian Zou) with Chinese actress Ruby Lin, who is also the producer of this drama; Beautiful Kingdom, a movie with mainland China actors; Boy, Boy, Boy/My Boyfriends (movie); K.O. One Returns, a sequel to his Taiwanese drama series with the same title; and his first solo album, What Are You Waiting For?

He bounces from one country to another, from Taiwan to China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia for tapings, shootings, concerts, and promotions that it seems like he cannot squeeze another drama in his tight schedule. However, everyone was pleasantly surprised when the cast of You’re Beautiful was finally confirmed and Jiro will play Tae Kyung. When asked how different Tai Jing from Tae Kyung, he answered that he is more manly and serious compared to Geun Suk’s sensitive and almost childish portrayal of A.N.Jell’s lead singer. This comparison with the Korean Tae Kyung is putting a lot of pressure on Jiro since the former was able to popularize the drama worldwide. Ratings will be the number one factor. If he pulls this off, together with the whole cast, he is totally made.

You’re Beautiful stars Jiro Wang as Huang Tai Jing, Su Li Wen/Lele  as Gao Mei Nan/Mei Nu, Huang Ren-de (黃仁德) as Jiang Xin Yu, and Evan Yo as Jeremy. They are the Fabulous Boys of A.N. Jell. They held a successful press conference and fans event last May 6 and 10, 2013 respectively. The reception for the cast and anticipation for the drama were quite positive during the events that fans around the globe can’t wait to watch the show. You’re Beautiful premiered last Sunday night at 10:00 PM through Taiwan’s Formosa TV. GTV will have its first showing on May 18, 2013 at 9:00 PM coinciding with Singapore’s Channel U, and Hong Kong’s TV Drama Channel 1, on the other hand, will televise it at 7:30 PM.  

Here’s a sneak peek:

Click here for the 12 minute teaser.

The rest of the world would have to wait when their country’s TV networks will buy the series to be shown locally. It will be the same here in the Philippines where we’re still waiting for Jiro’s Absolute Boyfriend dubbed in Filipino to be televised at ABS-CBN’s channel 2.

Jiro Wang Update:

Jiro is presently wrapping up K.O. One 3 and has just finished shooting for a horror movie entitled, Horrible Dolls (Wraith or Blood Dolls) which was filmed in China and Japan. He also recently gave painting lessons to mentally disabled children. He will be having his first solo concert in Japan with one show on May 31 (Osaka) and two shows on June 2 (Tokyo).

The Day I Met Jiro Wang

photo courtesy of Jiro's fans in FB

Note: This is a very late post (7 months old) of the day I finally met Jiro Wang in person. 
Scroll down at the end of this blog for an update on Jiro.

It was the second day of September in 2012. My cellphone's alarm clock woke me up at 5:30 in the morning and I took a peek out of the sheets. I felt cold and stiff, then wondered, "Where the heck am I?" I looked around, saw a small lamp hanging by the head of my bed, and to my left side, my sister was sound asleep snuggled under thin bed sheets. I do share a bedroom with my sister, but I don't remember ever having an air conditioner. A few seconds passed and finally my brain cranked itself up. "Oh yeah, we're in Hong Kong and today is THE DAY!" I woke my sister up, told her that we need to go out early since we were expected to be at the venue at 7:00 o'clock, and I wasn't sure how we could get there on time. It was our first trip to Hong Kong and we got lost a couple of times the previous day when we visited the tourist spots. Since my sister and I have always been slow in the AM, we walked out of the hotel at 7:30. We were staying along the Tsim Sha Tsui area, and it was a short walk towards the MTR station, so I thought it wouldn't take a long time to get to Causeway Bay. We took a ride going towards Hong Kong island, got off the Admiralty interchange station, and took a very long walk going to the blue line where we need to catch the subway that will bring us to the Causeway Bay area.  Good thing when we reached the terminal, Windsor House was just a couple of blocks away. We walked along Great George St. going towards Victoria Park and a few minutes after, we saw the place where we'll finally meet Jiro Wang in person!

Windsor House in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Jiro Wang's What Are You Waiting For autograph signing event
held in Windsor House Hong Kong last September 2, 2012

Upon reaching the Windsor House, we saw a group of teenage girls huddled just outside of the mall. They were busy preparing LED and sign boards with Jiro's name and some words in Chinese (obviously, I don't understand any of it). I tried to find Teresa, who I talked to in the forum site of www.jirowangzfamily.com and who was nice enough to enlist me to join their group. At first, nobody wants to talk to me since I can only address them in English. I was afraid my Mandarin was so bad, that I might even say weird things to them. Fortunately, Samantha came to the rescue! She speaks fluent English and I was able to say that I'll be joining them during Jiro's event. She directed me inside the mall and asked me to wait in an area where we could watch the show with a good view. 

Samantha (the girl with blue highlights) and members of the jirowangzfamily

Teresa Wong, admin/coordinator of www.jirowangzfamily.com,  is very nice and accommodating

Waiting for the show to start, my legs were turning into jelly for standing up for more than 5 hours that I thought I would faint, but loud screaming on the right side of the stage electrified my senses. At a little after 15:00, Jiro Wang appeared on stage. My first glimpse of his handsome face was so surreal that I thought I was dreaming. Only the loud voices and shrieking of girls pulled me earthbound and let me know that everything was happening for REAL! 

One of the first few pictures of Jiro I've taken during the event

Jiro sang some of the songs included in his album and was game enough to participate in the activities with his fans. Even though I couldn't understand a word they were saying (my brain keeps on shouting: sub-titles, please!),  I was so happy that I really don't care at all. The next thing that happened after Jiro's mini concert, definitely made all the fatigue go away. We lined up towards the stage to have our CDs signed. My sister, Karen, who didn't have one and couldn't enter the area for autograph signing, was very lucky that day. One of Jiro's fans, who stood beside me, had two albums. I asked her if she could just let my sister borrow one of her copies, so that she could see Jiro up-close. She was kind enough to agree and that's how my sister and I came to meet Jiro Wang, had the CDs signed, and shook his hand. 

Jiro signing my CD :)

I remember how warm and firm his handshake was. He has long, slim fingers and his hands were kind of smallish for a big guy like him. His face looks the same as how I see him on TV, but I was able to witness how smooth and delicate his skin seems to be, his muscles are beautiful, and his smile is unforgettable. He's so cute that I wanted to just squish his face, but I was also so star struck that all I could do was say, "Hi Jiro!"

me and my sister, Karen
(the woman beside me let my sister borrow one of her CDs so that she can also meet Jiro)

The experience left me so exhilarated that after seeing Jiro up-close, I seem to float and felt quite disoriented. My sister, Karen and I didn't want to leave the Windsor House while Jiro was still there, but hunger and exhaustion took over. We didn't have a choice but to say goodbye to everyone and take a last glimpse of Jiro, who was enjoying signing autographs for hundreds of his adoring fans in long queues in front of the stage.

Here are more pictures from the event: 

photos with watermarks courtesy of tungstar/ent.qq.com

My autographed CD and freebies from Love More:

Jiro Wang update: 

Jiro will once again visit Hong Kong tomorrow, April 20, 2013 for a Love More event. I wish I could be there, but I can't. :( So, anyone who wishes to see him in person, have a CD autographed, and even take a picture with him, be at the Sasa store Room 101 2/F, 2-6 Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The event starts at 1:00 PM.

Visit https://www.facebook.com/JiroWangOfficial for more updates on Jiro.

Remembering Love: The Yuan Family Legacy

My Lola Tachi and Lolo Pidiong during one of their dinner dates

One of my aunts recently posted old family photos. Most of which are of my grandparents and random pictures from the 1940s to late '80s when the old house along Sande St. in Tondo, Manila still exists. This old house was a quiet witness to the Yuan family's love and happiness. Fond childhood memories are forever etched on the walls of our minds, because the solid structure has long been gone. 

Child's Play

I remember playing with my cousins in the master bedroom on the second floor. We take turns acting out as a ghost to scare each other. One time, since we were trying to escape getting caught by the scary monster, we all got in our grandmother's four-poster bed. The weight of more than 10 children tested the bed's strength: all of us came crashing to the floor when the wooden slat got loose and turned 90 degrees. Instead of crying, we laughed out loud, but our parents came rushing in the bedroom and we received an earful from our Lola Tachi. I also remember our other favorite hangout: the dirty kitchen. We usually sit around and tell stories, jokes, or do pranks. Our favorite was to wait for somebody to go through the door and say that whoever comes in is ugly, smelly, or any other thing that we find funny.When somebody gets through the door, we will all laugh out loud. The unfortunate person would then be dumbfounded and try to find out what's wrong with his face or if somebody put a note on his back. Our victims' reactions would only make us laugh harder. We even made one of our cousin's cry, and this again earned us another lecture from our grandma.

Picture taken at the dirty kitchen, our favorite hangout,.
L to R: Jomar, Kuya Jovel, Honey, Jaja, Niño, me, Sheena, Jeng,
Charm, Shine, Lola Tachi, Karen, and Michelle

Sibling Love

My dad and his siblings, all 9 of them and with their own share of squabbles, always show us how to care for your own family. They usually tease and deprecate each other during reunions, but they never try to leave anyone out especially in times of trouble. I remember my dad sending money to one of his brothers or sisters in secret.  He didn't earn much just before he retired, but he pushes himself to find ways to help in his own way. His siblings do the same thing. I remember my aunts and uncles trying to pitch in so that we'll have money for school during hard times in the past. However which way the wheel turns, everyone will be there to help in their own way.

L to R: Tito Jun, Tito Efren, Lola Tachi, Lola Pining, Tito Awe, Tito Joey,
my dad (Jun), Tito Manuel; squatting: Tito Lino and Tito Oscar

Back: Tito Bobby; L to R: Tito Lino, Lola Tachi,
Tita Ruby, my dad, and Tito Oscar 

L to R: Tito Efren, Tito Relly, my dad, Tito Manuel,
Lola Tachi, my cousin Niño, and Tito Bobby (seated on the floor)

Back: Tita Luz; L to R: Tita Letty, Tita Mayet, Tita Evelyn,
Lola Pining, Lola Tachi, Tita Ruby, and Tita Monie  

Back: my mom; L to R: Lola Tachi, Tita Evelyn,
Tita Letty, Tita Ruby, Tita Luz, and Tia Monie (front) 

Remembering My Lola Tachi and Lolo Pidiong

Lola Tachi and Lolo Pidiong, wearing his military uniform

I don't remember anything much about my grandfather, Elpidio Carbon Yuan, Sr. because he died even before I turned two years old. Maybe a few snippets will come into mind, but I'm not even sure if they were my own memory. My dad told me that he was a soldier who fought during World War II. He fought as a guerilla against the Japanese.

It's always my Lola Tachi, whose full name is Presentacion Valbuena Yuan, who has been there for us.

She took care of us when my parents cannot find a nanny. She had been there for me, even before I can walk until she began to deteriorate due to dementia. She was always proud of my achievements and she loved listening to my stories. She also didn't get tire of taking care of her children and all of her grandchildren. As far as I know, she didn't play favorites, but she always made me feel special and each of my siblings and cousins.

She used to cook our favorite meals and even went to the market by herself to buy ingredients. She'd been doing it for a long time, that we didn't realize that she was getting old. It only hit us, when she tripped and fell going home from Pritil's wet market. From then on, she became vulnerable and weak due to old age. The worst that happened was when she fell, broke her hip, and had to undergo surgery. She became older in appearance and started to have symptoms of dementia. The time came that she can only remember her husband and children. It was very sad, especially for us -  her grandchildren. But, we love her and will always do, even after death.

Happy moments with Lola Tachi
L to R: Michelle, me, Tita Monie, Charm, Shine, Jeng, my mom, Tita Luz, Jaja;
front: Karen, Lola Tachi, Tita Ruby, and Kuya Jovel