The Past (2011-2020)

Pre-Birthday Celebration a.k.a Ian Somerhalder “Stalking” Day

First of all, I would like to thank Penshoppe for bringing Ian Smolderhalder in the Philippines and for giving us, the fans, a chance to see him in person even if it’s just from afar.

Yesterday, Lea Rose and I met up in SM MoA where we waited for Ian Somerhalder. The event was set up for 3pm and we were there around 1pm, and the place was filled with girls, mostly teens. We were positioned about 15 feet away from the stage and there was still a bit of room around us. Around 2:30pm I noticed that the crowd was getting bigger, the space around us was diminishing.

People started screaming when they changed the monitor’s feed to show
the fans.

When Ian finally arrived, some people saw him go inside the backstage and the screaming started again, and then we were pushed two-feet forward. I thought it was funny. I was wondering where the space came from as the whole place was jam-packed even before the pushing. That was what I called “first” wave. The second wave pushed us another 2 feet, and the third another foot. Seriously, where did the space come from?

Lea Rose and I, in the middle of the “sea”.

The program didn’t start till another 10 minutes and before that, people were chanting, screaming, and getting ready to take pictures. I thanked everyone for coming to my birthday. LOL. I also thanked some people who were fanning themselves because the air was going in our direction too. By this time, I was standing too close to the person in front of me that her hair was sticking to my sweaty skin.

Mr. Emcee whose name we do not know. If ever he said it, I didn’t hear it.
Ian came out taking a video of the crowd. More pushing ensued.
It was his idea to sit like that.

He’s so nice! When they sat down, people started pushing again so he moved to that position and asked everyone to stop pushing as the people in front where getting squished.

I would have had lots of pictures but most of the ones I took where either out of focus or blurred because once I think I have the shot, I’d get pushed. And the most clear pictures I have of Ian are derpy, I’m not posting them. Most of these are cropped. Enjoy~

Sitting pretty.
SMILE!
GAH! SO HANDSOME! <3
So near, yet so far. 🙁

Them lucky bitches. 😐

View from above, courtesy of PublicityAsia.
We’re somewhere in the middle.

After the event ended, we waited at the backstage in hope of seeing him again, even if it’s just a quick pass-by. Unfortunately, he already left. People still waited though long after we had left.

We felt like we’re teenagers again. LOL.
Still waiting for someone who’d already left. 🙁

Most of us didn’t believe the people who kept saying he’d already gone because there were still people going in and out of the room and nobody was attempting to clear the place up. But then when the big bosses and managers left, they showed us that there was no one else inside. Boo. 🙁

Anyway, the interview was mostly about the environment and Ian’s foundation. Honestly, I did not understand most of the things they were talking about because the audience was too loud. But I did remember him saying that he’ll be back for sure because ISF (Ian Somerhalder Foudnation) is teaming up with Penshoppe, and because he loves our country and he thinks it’s really beautiful here and that we’re the most unappreciated country. He also said he wants to visit all 1,700 islands.

This was my first time to be part of an event like this. I don’t usually go to these things but it was quite fun. We weren’t prepared for what happened because we didn’t expect it to be like that. We were thinking there will be an area with chairs and be like a first-come-first-served thing. And then they’d close that area and people could just stand behind the barriers and the pushing would have been somewhat prevented. Although no one was actually hurt, there was a girl who fainted or was hyperventilating after everyone left.

Because of this experience, I have come up with tips on how to prepare for an event like this.

  1. Do not bring bags or any thing that is bulky. You can either leave your things in the car or bring someone who’s not interested with what’s going on and have that person hold your things while you “go to war”. IF you really need the bag, make sure that you…
  2. Have at least a bottle of water. In events like these you have to be there early so you’ll have a good choice seat/position. Of course there’ll be a lot of waiting and if you leave your spot, it won’t be there when you get back.
  3. Vantage point is a must. It was our mistake to stand in the middle of the enclosed area. We barely saw Ian’s face, I saw him mostly through the zoomed camera lens. People on the second floor had a better view of him and I bet there were less pushing.
  4. Girls, tie your hair. I know some girls like to keep their hair down because it makes one look prettier or something. But if you sense that the area is going to get cramped, make sure to bring something to tie your hair with. Once the pushing starts your hair will be on someone else’s face, in more unfortunate situations, someone might pull your hair to piss you off. Besides, the celebrity will barely notice your beauty anyway unless you’re REALLY drop dread gorgeous.
  5. Bring a small towel/tissue to wipe your sweat. All the waiting and the people around you will make you sweat like a pig despite the venue’s a/c system. After the event, most of us were drenched in sweat.
That’s all I could think of right now. If I missed something or if you thought of another thing to remember for this kind of event, leave a comment below and I’ll add it to the list. Next time Ian comes back, we’ll be prepared. XD