Monday, November 29

Here I go again...

Here I go again...



Hummin': La-dee-dee-da-dum...


Warning: Long post...but it's rather interesting.


I had promised myself that I wouldn't watch soap operas ever again. I know, it sounds like a hasty decision, but read on and you will understand.

I was never the type to watch telenovelas and enjoy the similar, out-of-reality plots. But the first time that I tried watching a telenovela, I found myself a devoted follower, waiting like a hungry, salivating mutt for episode after episode (albeit in VCDs before the fever hit this country). I fell for the whole package (the story, the characters and all their paraphernalia) head over heels in loopy, psychopathic, fan-crazed love.

So after recovering from that "disorder", (it took me quite a while) I stayed away from any kind of novelas, whether they may be Spanish, Filipino, Chinese or Korean. I made sure that any kind of that mushy hodgepodge do not even come close to entering my system again. I just didn't want anything to do with it.

Then came the latest Korean-novela, Lovers in Paris.

No, I did not watch it on ABS-CBN, even when all my family members (except my bro) and friends religiously fawned over it every weeknight. Whenever the timeslot for that soap came around, I repeatedly told myself like an old woman gibbering a spiritual mantra, "It is better safe than sorry."

No one could have changed my mind.

...Or so I thought.


Lovers In Paris: The Collapse of my Resolution



I was strong, steadfast, determined. But the same culprit, who had me watching my first ever Chinovela, had me once again. Yesterday, my determination officially crumbled to pieces.

She excitedly proclaimed, "I have Lovers in Paris in VCD!!!"

And I replied without a hint of interest, "Uh-huh" and continued eating my lunch.

"Let's watch!" came the excited, high-pitch shrill of her voice.

"Uhm, NO."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to be hooked again...make that, EVER again." I meant it too.

"Arte mo ha..." Rebuffed but persistent, she tried again. "Come on, just try one episode."

"That's what I did the last time! I tried one and I ended up watching seasons 1 & 2, their other individual soaps, bought all their albums, spent thousands on concerts, squeezed myself in a press conference just to snap a few shots of him, transformed into a giddy fan who melted at pictures of them and became a moderator for a fansite!"

She got my point. "Ehhh..." was all she reasoned.

I thought I had won, but then I felt myself being dragged to the sofa.

It was deja vu. I still have that memory of her pulling me to the living room, making watch with her and translate what little Mandarin Chinese I could understand. "Sit and watch," she ordered.

I stood up. "Oh no...no, no, NO." I said it as firmly as I could.

"Sama mo..." She said, hurt was evident in her voice. "I always watch alone. Where's the fun in that if you don't have another person crying or laughing or gushing with you?" She sighed dejectedly.

"Hay nako...'wag mo akong dramahan." I wanted her to know I wasn't changing my mind, but my voice just didn't sound convincing enough.

"I've only watched a few of these episodes on TV, but I know it's really good. You'll like it, promise." When she's in this mood, it's hard to get her off your back.

"That's what I'm fearing," I confessed. One of her eyebrows raised up quizzically. "I'm afraid that I might like it TOO MUCH."

"Please? Please? Please? I don't want to watch alone..." She begged, her voice dropping to its knees and her eyes going all puppy-ish. "Please?"

The fourth one got me. I heaved out a sigh, sat my big tushie on the couch and motioned for her to start the DVD player.



We slept at 3:30 AM. I have paunchy eyebags and a sore throat.

Need I say more?



PS: My only consolation is that the story's engaging, but the guys aren't my type at all. At least I know I wouldn't be digging through sites for pictures of them anytime soon. LOL!

PPS:
My sister's selling VCDs of Lovers In Paris. Anyone interested? Leave a tag. Hehe!

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Header image by Flóra @ Flickr