REMEMBERING 2009

Inspired by PJ's reflection of the year, I decided I wanted to do something similar.

Before I move onto the year 2010 that I'm looking so forward to, I want to remember all the great times that I've had and the many emotions that I felt at certain events that overcome the lower times of 2009.

I don't even think anyone reads this, but i want to come back to this later on and remember all the great times I wanted to remember about 2009. Of course there are too many times that a photo wasn't taken, but looking through my pictures, I found many that took me back to the time I felt something from the event.

It's not gonna be in an order because my pictures aren't saved in chronological order haha.

on January 1st 2009, I remember my mom and I joined her friends in SF to see the very first sunrise because it was supposed to be this beautiful thing with it being framed by the golden gate bridge. and as you can see, we could see EVERYTHING. hahaha. we started off the year with this beautiful scenery hahah. and i remember the drive home was the hardest drive cuz we were both pretty much sleeping and the coffee from ihop wasnt keeping me up. hahah

SPOP staff 2009 were many of the best people that I've met at UCI. being able to staff with a good number of these people have taught me many things about myself and others, and I don't wanna ever forget about the great times I had at Spoptics and random hangouts that I got to know people on a level that I couldn't with most dancers.

It was weird doing SPOP 1 again for some reason. being a returner and not a CP was VERY comforting and to have jenevieve take over this first one was SO great, and i learned a lot. and i was a little bit rusty, but it was fun picking it back up and being able to be a part of other people's TFO's. BBBBB was the only time i did returner for the hall, and it was really fun

but CPing, was one of the best things that I got to experience this summer with SPOP. I went through a lot of emotions through these, but learned SOO much. and for the first time in 2009 i was proud of myself for being able to live up to what i wanted to do as a CP. i wanted to thank off of my staffers for being so supportive and understanding to my CPing style and helping me see something that i couldnt see in myself. HIGHLIGHTs of 2009 for sure. and im sorry to the CP's that said that I shouldve been more sensitive to the other CPs that couldnt put that much money into making them for their halls. (but for my defense, i only spent 3 bucks on each tank and had the rest, and took my own time to make them for my staff)

This day was fun because me and joyce invited everyone but the macs were the only ones that showed up. turned out to be hella fun and we made a 3D apple. the day regina engraved "a shit ton" in my head

i remember i have THE MOST fun when i perform for welcome week. Something about a fresh new year, and the great number of people that I love that come to support make me have the most fun when I dance for welcome week. i really love welcome week performances. maybe because i rarely get to perform at school.

This reminds me of the time that we were all still thinking about applying for returners and thinking about the new incoming staff. not knowing if i was gonna get to be a returner for SPOP and wanting the best for the program had a lot of emotions going through me. Obviously turned out for the best, and am so thankful for it. Great coords they were.

My first year dorm-mate reunion. Whispering Woodies 2006-2007. I loved how no matter how long its been, some people never change, and we can all still be the same. This night was interesting to see how some people grew closer, and some people grew farther. My dorm-mates will always have a special place in my heart.

something about seeing kei and tina at every competition brings me a sense of comfort. the ones who really inspired me and encouraged me to be a dancer in high school. Theyll always be my idols. we now hold a special HS dance bond that always brings us together when were back at home now. Vibe 14.

This isn't a picture of me, but I wanted to remember that I got these stoles for KM. i dont think we ever had KM stoles and we finally got them this year, and they looked really. It was great seeing mike bui regina and clarizcel being able to showcase their accomplishments on KM for graduation.

PCN this year was really special to me because I was a part of the choir, and not just part of modern. It really showed me a different light about filipino culture and the people that I didnt get to interact with until I did choir. I had so much fun experiencing a fresh new taste of people in the PCN production. I miss you all!

And PCN was my last time sharing the stage with Jay Mcdaniel. Fellow class of 2007. I fucking miss you. you bring something no one else can bring to my experience on modern. i miss the blunt things that you were able to say that i couldnt even say. and you always having my back meant a lot to all of us. Thanks for being apart of my KM experience. i miss you jay.

KASA dance off 2009 in LA. wow my first and last KASA dance off. One of the best things that I got to experience this year. I forget how much i love being part of a production, and bringing it together with other great people. All the dancers were so dope this year and the choreographers had a lot of chemistry working with each other. the experience was just so fun for me. I have nothing but good memories about KASA dance off. I really wish i got to do it three years ago, but this year made up for that.

When KM went to stanford to perform for their korean culture show. The performance was fun. ill remember attempting the breaking part and failing miserably. and how both my parents came to watch LOL. and being able to see christie and eunice and lizzie. and that all night cafeteria in the first picture, that any of the students can go to whenver, and they can just eat...whenever?! we were so intrigued by that. hahaha Ill remember sleeping in the big common room because they wouldnt let us sleep in the same room cuz we were differnt genders? haha and the hardcore lambda guys hitting on the girls and always being separated. haha interesting experience, but always so grateful for being given the opportunity to do what we do.

spicy leg photo shoot day. we all wore plaid just for a day of taking pictures. Im not gonna sum up things with my spop family into one picture cuz theres more later on. haha i love my family.

The workshop that I taught fireflies. This piece surprisingly got a lot of good feedback. haha I'll remmeber not wanting to use this song because I heard that tony was gonna use it. and then he never used it. hahah fun times. the workshop was packed and didnt get to finish teaching my piece but nonetheless had a great time being able to share my artistry with the KM family and public

Spicy leg thanksgiving. I loved that my son put this together, and had so many people still show up. I'm proud of my family for staying so genuine and always proving to me that they are GREAT GREAT people. I love spending time with this family that I brought together with Diana. even after a whole quarter and three months after SPOP had ended, we can always still come together as a family to celebrate each other (ralph, stacey and diana missing)

When we found out coords 2010 I had many many emotions going through my heart and thoughts through my mind. but the main thing that I felt was that the team is in such good hands. and in the end i was so glad it wasnt me cuz this gave me the chance to finally be okay with letting it go. it was a relieving feeling. everything happens for a reason.

Of course fucking Surreal PROM 2009. This experience is always one of my favorites. to share the stage with fellow UCI dance crew members and friends that will support each other in this community?! how could i ever pass up on an opportunity like that?! I've gotten closer to my already team mates, but built new bonds with new friends and stronger bonds with the ones that i only knew from the stage. Highlights of my dance life of 2009 for sure.

welcome week before the kababayan general meeting. i just remember i was in such a good mood, and wanted to drink my favorite snackbite before me and joyce went to go sing the national anthem. Good times. haha

When me and my spuddy went to go watch RENT on the last day that it played at the OCPAC. this musical was SO moving i actually cried. I was heavily sick that day, but was still able to fully experience this musical for what it was. SO much better than the movie haha. I just remember relating every emotion from this production to how i was feeling about modern, and my life. its crazy how one musical can move you so much. it was so raw.

HOW could i forget this vegas trip with some of my favorite people. we called it part one cuz were gonna have more (which i really hope we do) but we got hooked up SOO much from the one and only. notice the double fisting of alcohol. FREE clubs and FREE alcohol. CRAZY. i would like to say the best time i had at a club, but i bang my head so hard on a ice chest that it kinda ruined my buzz hahaha

Some people tell you they love you constantly. Thank you Jamie Lee. you are truly one of the best people I have ever met.

When KM went to go support chris for his first solo. I love this because it shows the life is not about dancing, for most, and i like to celebrate what people love to do, whether its dancing or not. we were very proud of chris this night.

One of the last practices with the KM 08 team. what a trip. preparing for VIBE 14. enough said.

On my choreo day this summer, so many spop people came to support me and dana. I felt SO much love and support just so that I could teach a little piece, and was so thankful for people who come to learn what i love to do. teal gold and royal coming together. thank you again for those that came. (and helped us reach the record # of people that came to take class in the summer haha)

spvegas. even though a lot of people didnt have that great of a time, i still did haha and I just remember my pants matched her dress haha. and this was the first time i went clubbing in vegas since i had turned 21 so it was a really fun experience within that itself. doris was my vegas clubbing cherry popping buddy.

Some people remain your friend no matter what and where they come from. Thank you Sonia Park.

Hikari's Boogizone class. even though the shady videographer didnt come, great friends like tina and kei came to support and take the class. again, we have unlimited conversations with these two, and share that special bond. thank you kei and tina. and sorry to ramy amy darina and marko for waiting while we talked for a long time outside..

I was really proud of this three way mixer we had with two other spop families because it was really fun and dry. and really hot haha. but either way we had a lot of fun. this was the ginger bread houses we made, and ours was the party house and the other house was the goody goody house haha. great times. white christmas theme

rino nakasone came to teach for a KM summer class. need i say more.

This picture brings back an emotion that i had that morning in vegas. sorry to marko for posting this. haha. but this was the FIRST time that it hit me that i was an oldie. it was weird. i hadnt really felt like an oldie til this. just listening to the things that marko was saying just really took me back to how i was when i was a newbie and how i looked at my oldies.

in 2009, i met the biggest toad of my life. thanks abe.

this picture really captures and brings me back to the time me and diana revealed ourselves as the discussion leaders/parents. what a trip

princeton 2009. one of the funnest trips that ive had with modern. what a blessing to have been given this chance to perform at princeton. from irvine. hahaha my favorite time to bond with the other oldies, and made some good friends from princeton. it was seriously like harry potter. haha look at the first picture.

for my best friend edwin's birthday, we all met up in LA, and there was this used lynbrook reunion. i love it when we randomly have these great reunions and i get to see people that i hadnt seen in ages. haha not everyone from lynbrook wasnt even pictured

im posting this one, because this was pretty much my first tikko. my first action shot that was like pretty legitimately just me. hahaha i remember i felt cool when i first saw it. haha

There's something special about being able to STAFF with your spopper. Michelle Wong was my spopper SPOP 2008. and its crazy that i was able to staff with her. Like a full circle. its inspiring that we are all part of this cycle that we keep flowing in UCI.

If you don't know me.. i fucking LOVE finals week. One of my best memories of UCI are in finals week. Theyre just SO much fun. I'm gonna miss finals weeks so much. hahaha lounging til 8am every morning, because we can. studying with your favorite study buddies and planning a game plan for where your gonna study and when you were gonna eat and sleep is all part of the finals week experience that i love. i just dont like taking the actual final. haha

returner revealing 2009. need i say more? hahaha i had a whole post about this before this post. (which was a while ago haha) but either way, you can tell that this meant a lot to me and showed me a lot of things about SPOP. This core group of returners that keep the SPOP cycle flowing was the reason why I believe so much in this program. thank you all.

FSSJ alum after sungod. its crazy how we all started in FSSJ. and being where we are now, i love that we can all still connect through where we first started.

Meeting charice pempengco. She...wasn't the brightest girl but was a BOMB ass singer. hahah obviously. im so filipino. myxTV!

My first contemporary class with Will and Marissa. CRAZY dancers that inspire me EVERY single time i watch them. thanks for the fun class!

This was the first time that my home friends and i all went drinking together. it was a weird feeling that we were all old enough to go do things like this but a very good feeling. we will be doing this pretty often haha. i love my home friends.

WHO wouldve thought that my returner revealing video would have gotten me this. This unintentional award was surprisingly a good feeling knowing that people had a good time impersonating me for something that i had fun making for the staff. hahaha

This one is the DC clubbing event. This night I was able to go because I was on break from KM. it was a really interesting feeling. the feeling of what it would be like when i wasnt on modern. it was good that i was able to show support to DC at the same time. I had fun. But had that slight empty feeling for not being at practice.

Some people try to understand you no matter what and stay true to you as a friend. Thank you Kevin Duh. and for having a matching outfit.

SPalumni party. seeing my STAFFER from his purple year is a trip. i love that i still keep in touch with him

at prestige housewarming. macfams. something about just us four brings me back to the fondest times of my KM experience. I love thinking about how we were really a family.

some of us ASUCI people with gym class heroes lead singer. Shocktoberfest 2009. Also my first shocktoberfest without modern. what an interesting feeling too. definitely questioned myself for what i wanted.

Body Rock awards. definitely a highlight of my year as well. had NO idea that we were gonna place so we were already waiting in the lobby to leave. and we were still confused when they called us. hahaha third place never felt so great. what a refreshing night-morning

body rock trophie with the oldies. this picture means a lot to me

claws (aka boiling crab but no line) with my KFAM. i remember i was so excited to have a Kfam and was just excited to be a part of yet another great family. TEEN TITANS ftw! and also my first time getting hot sauce in my eyes, and didnt know how much it would hurt. haha never again

Disneyland with some of KM. hadn't been to KM since like feb/mar. so it was really nice to be back. i want my pass back.

It's always weird being recognized for what you put into something. cuz you do things because its solely what you want for the betterment of whatever organization your doing it for. so to get recognized for what ive done for KM was one of my most grateful feelings that i had for 2009. thank you KM.

The best home friends that ive had. edwin aaron and caleb. always there for me. always the same when we get back together for any break or time we make to see each. the beauty of friendship that has history like that of home friends.

MACFAMS food break bento night. This night holds a pretty high spot in my memories actually. not getting any sleep to cook for 30 people just for a food break. if you think about it, its pretty crazy. who would do that? we would. and what why i love being a mac. thanks joyce for doing everything with me. and i was/am really proud of always having the most alumni support that comes out and helps us. macfams ftw literally. i seriously miss all the macs.

like this one. the father. the one who brought me up on this team, and who i have to thank for everything that ive learned and tried to pass on about KM and macfams. haha maybe not everything. but hes taught me too much. this was the last time i saw him before he moved back up to norcal. one of the most influencial guys in my life.

a family dinner for thanksgiving. nothing else needs to be said.

one of my favorite vegas trips with some of my closest people. regina died this night. after this warm family dinner.

this picture illustrates the vegas strip walking feel. im gonna miss it with these people that ive been so used to going to vegas with for three years.

I just like this picture because when we first starting training for HHI, we took a picture everyday like this telling ourselves "if tikko came and took a picture, we wanna look like this." and this one was our favorite. hahaha

SPICY LEGS. I dont know where to begin, but these people are the best thing that happened to me in SPOP Royal year. They are my kids, my family, my everything. Knowing where we started and how far weve all come, is a crazy feeling. It's seriously the perfect family that i could ask for and everyone plays that different role. i know every parent says this, but i have the best kids on staff, hahah. thank you to my kids for being the greatest things that happened to me, and to my wife diana for helping me to bring up the best family. one of my TOP highlights of 2009 easily. what i love even more is that they are all doing great things after SPOP and changing the world. yeap, those are my kids.

Royal year color revealing. i didnt have any other picture haha. but it works cuz i got to share it with one of the most impactful friends Jamie.

This picture really brings me back to my summer nights after SPOP ended. Careless nights that ended at 7 am 8 am every morning cuz we all just wanted to hang out and do nothing. go to the beach, feel the warm waves, enjoying the summer life. I miss those nights.

mike and lawrence. I saw these guys here at a random spop gathering that we had from gold year, and what i love about them is that no matter how famous theyve become, theyre the same fucking amazing people that i met 3 or 4 years ago. and to know that they were also the ones that picked me to be a part of KM back in 07 is also crazy. my life long role models.

random oldie hang out that i had a lot of fun just eating together. we never have time to get together enough to feel complete like this. it was a really warm feeling.

early mornings that were typical body rock hell weeks. im gonna miss these nights. definitely a must when your on a competing team. haha

KMCIA love bomb. one of the best ideas that brought unity to our teams. thanks MCIA for inspiring others to be genuine and giving. We should really get going on that love bomb for DC haha

mixer with 220 after sungod at abe's place. haha what a fun night. we had a freestyle circle that was epic. everyone went in and did random things. hahaha

macfams 2009. me and regina missed CPing so we made these tanks.

something that i really miss. VDC study sessions. i wonder if this will happen ever again. these study nights hold a very heavy part in my memory. ever since 2007, going from brian me joyce and aakriti through the 2008 class and this years 2009 class, its come a long way and been through a lot for me. or maybe its just me cuz i still live there LOL. how sad.

oldie guys at the bar cuz we were all finally 21 in vegas. crazy how time flies.

hands down, the funniest and most awkward performance that ive ever done. Soul of Korea 2009. and cant forget joyce's waving hahaha

a SPOP picture that we took at a KMDC mixer. its great how we can integrate things like this. being in two different crews we can still come together and reminisce on these great times that weve all shared together through a different program

I was really proud of us for actaully even putting together this KMDC mixer that weve been trying to do officially forever. great times with two teams that share the same love and turf. its about time we came together to party haha

USA teams: kaba modern, so real cru and poreotics

it was such a fun experience being able to represent the US in a world level.


hip hop internationl 2009 was one of my favorite memories of 2009. being able to put together just a 2 minute set to represent who we were to compete with the different styles of the world and to even make it TO the world level was a blessing. 3rd place in the US and 11th in the world was enough for me to be grateful for everything that i had. to even be standing and dancing on that stage was an experience in itself. and to have had to perform and compete 4 times to get to the world finals was so nerve wracking. Ive never been as nervous as world prelims in my life. i thought i was gonna die from being so nervous that night. thank you KM for this great great opportunity.

PCN with my lil's lex and june. enough said about that, except that IM SO FUCKING PROUD OF THEM.

my birthday dinner--thanks for coming. i remember having to wait over two hours. and aakriti was scaring the workers there cuz we were demanding to get seated haha.

working the door at my birthday par-- i mean PCN pre party. this party pretty much felt like my birthday party cuz i turned 21 that night. this picture really shows how much i love working the door. hahaha i LOVE working the door-- so many of my clubbing memories are in this booth. thanks aakriti and angelee for taking care of me afterwards hahaha

when me and hikari took our mom to disneyland. she hadnt been in a long time so she had a really good time.

car rally with my lil lex. hes gonna be on sytycd someday. just watch


the only picture that has our "supposed to be" entire oldie class with geo. hahha

practicing for KM auditions 2009 was surprisingly much funner than i remembered from previous years. but we took breaks to study cuz we had midterms. haha it was fun sneaking into these rooms and finding out there actually was internet.

KM newbie debut. this performance meant something to me cuz obviously the first time the newbies 09 performed with us, but also beacuse it was the last time that my vibe piece performed.

caleb's birthday. i think i came a day early hahah but we had a good time. this was our korean family portrait. i shouldve black and whited it.

i twitpiced this picture from fall 2008 when my great grandma passed away this year. i had never lost anyone before especially in my family, so it was shocking to lose her. and i didnt know how to take it at first. the following week was painful because small things would remind me of her, like the slow dragging footsteps of old people i specifically remember at langson. Rest in Peace great grandma, i love you and i miss you.

haha finals week fall quarter. definitely one of my favorite finals weeks. great times with connie chow

wow. i dont know how to put this one into words.

KM oldies 2009. beginning to end (almost) but this marks the end for most. I've met some of the best people within this class. I have met true friends, brothers, artists, visionaries, leaders, and people within this class. I've been loved, betrayed, hated, appreciated, taken for granted by people in this class. I've laughed, cried, fought and smiled with people in this class. but above all, i love these people no matter what. They've helped me become who I've become and helped me find myself especially in this last year. We'll never be together like this again, so 2009, thank you for bringing us together under the arcs of crawford. I will never forget the most rewarding experience i had with these people that i truly love.

Now that I look back, 2009 was pretty bomb. I'm looking back and I'm so thankful for all of the great things that happened to me.

Now I can await 2010 without looking back.

Thank you for everything 2009.