Category: YouTube

New York and KCon NY 2016!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Wow is all I can say.
So a few months ago I agreed to go to New York for KCon with my friend Jasmine. I didn’t really know what to expect. Jasmine is really the one that is a huge fan of KPop and so I knew she would probably appreciate the experience more than me. Especially since her favourite band Seventeen was going to be there.
I’m not saying I’m not a fan of KPop though. I got into KPop around 2013 with Girls’ Generation however I never really listened to anything other than SNSD, so you can imagine how upset I was to find out this was going to be the first year Girls’ Generation was not going to be at KCon NY. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the people who were attending KCon NY this year. It’s just that I didn’t know a lot about the artists that were attending. But I did my research.
Anyway, fast forward to June and soon enough I was on a plane for the first time on the way to New York.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. Until this trip I had never left the country, never been on a plane, never even been to a concert. And so, to say this experience was a life changing one is very much true.
As soon as we got to New York, we passed out. It was only around 9 p.m but we were exhausted. A lot of travelling will do that to you, so we called it an early night and woke up super early the next day. We arrived into New York a day early which gave us an opportunity to explore the city and see the sights.
I was super excited about this because I have always wanted to go to New York. It’s one of those places you have to go to because you see it so much on TV and in movies. And in particular for me, I wanted to go to New York because it’s where the TV show Gossip Girl is set. All I ever wanted on a trip to New York was to be like Blair Waldorf and sit on the steps of the MET. And I got to do just that.

Of course we got to see a lot of other great sights when we were in New York. We got to see Times Square, Central Park, 5th Avenue and so many more things. However since we were only there for one day we didn’t really get to explore any of these places. We sort of just whizzed passed them on a tour bus. But I hope that one day I get to go back to New York and experience everything properly. I did however get some nice photos that day.

Later on in the day, Jasmine and I headed to the Prudential Center in Newark to check in to KCon and also attend Klub KCon. Which was a show the day before the convention started where one of the performing artists would make an appearance. We had no idea who was going to be showing up there but Jasmine had hoped it would be Seventeen. And as luck would have it, it was SEVENTEEN.
I had looked them up once I had found out they were going to be at KCon and that Jasmine was in love with them and I can completely understand why she loves them. Their music is catchy, they are good looking and there are thirteen of them. What’s not to love?
So it’s safe to say the fangirling started early with us haha.

Seventeen!

After Klub KCon we met up with some friends Jasmine had made online and hung out with them. They were all super nice and of course, huge KPop fans. One of them actually makes KPop reaction videos on YouTube and so we actually filmed a couple of reaction videos for his channel which was really cool. We also found out that some of the artists were staying at his hotel and he ended up sharing an elevator with some of them which was crazy. I don’t know how he stayed so calm in that situation as I know most people wouldn’t haha.

The next day was KCon day 1 and Jasmine and I had 2 fan engagements that day, Seventeen and Ailee. Jasmine really wanted to get the Seventeen hi touch but unfortunately we ran out of time to be able to find one but at least we got to go to the fan engagement. I think they were the artists we saw the most at KCon haha.

After the Seventeen fan engagement, I got to go to the Ailee hi touch event which was amazing. Ailee is one of the artists that I had known about before attending KCon and I really loved her music so it was really exciting to get to meet her. She’s so pretty in person and is also super charming and funny. I just love her so much. And so to be able to meet her was amazing. I have no words to describe it.
The hi touch experience was pretty crazy too. It went by so fast. It was literally just a second because I couldn’t think of anything to say to Ailee when I approached her. I just grabbed her hands and then just like that it was over. I know that at these events you don’t get long with the artist and if you do spend too long with them security do tend to move you along but still I wish I had thought of something to say to her haha. Other than that it was a pretty amazing experience.

Ailee!

 After the fan engagements came the first concert. The concert was incredible. I’m sure everyone says the same thing about watching their favourite artists perform live but this concert was insanely good. And even the artists we didn’t know that well, such as Crush and Dynamic Duo we ended up loving. There are no real words to describe it, it was just an unforgettable experience.
And during Ailee’s performance there was a technical malfunction and her backing track disappeared yet she still kept singing and she was FLAWLESS. I mean she sounded so good live without the backing track. It was insane. Luckily they were able to recover from the technical fault but no one was complaining about Ailee singing acapella.
Then Seventeen performed two stages and Jasmine was not prepared for that. I got really excited during their second stage when they did a cover of Balloons by TVXQ because that was one of the first KPop songs I ever really really loved. So that was also amazing.
Like I said, Crush and Dynamic Duo were insane – we didn’t know them before going into the concert but seeing them perform it was easy to see why so many people do love them and so we are definitely going to have to look into them more because their performance was so good.
We also really loved BTOB’s performance even though there’s was more like ballads compared to everyone else’s which were more upbeat and poppy. But still – it was incredible. I loved every single second and it was just a great show. Jasmine even lost her voice a little bit because of all the screaming haha.

Crush

The next day during KCon Day 2, Jasmine and I spent more time looking around the convention stands and also attended the Mamamoo fan event. Jasmine was able to get a Mamamoo hi touch and so was super excited about that.

She told me that Hwasa and Wheein really loved her Squirtle t shirt that was wearing which was really great. Although the Mamamoo fan event was quite short because they were running late but I’m glad that Jasmine got her hi touch, even though it wasn’t for Seventeen.
We originally had a lot of fan engagements for Crush and Dynamic Duo but because we didn’t know them we traded most of them for other things like the Mamamoo fan event and also a Seventeen fan event.
Mamamoo!
After the Mamamoo fan engagement it was time for the second KCon Concert. This was going to be a really exciting night because this was the night that BTS was performing. And a lot of people were only attending KCon to see BTS, so we knew the crowd was going to be insane this night.
While we were waiting for the concert to start Jasmine and I started to talk to the ladies in front of us. They told us about how they were at the concert the night before, but were sitting in a different section and also how they got some of the Seventeen members to do the ‘jam-jam’ dance with them. And then they explained their plan to see who they could get to do the dab during the second concert. Basically all they were going to do was do the dab anytime one of the artists came down the stage towards them to see who would do it back and Jasmine and I agreed to be a part of the plan.
The ladies were thrilled that we agreed to be a part of the ‘dab off’ and they also enlisted the help of several other people in our section. This ended up being the highlight of our night as we got several members of BTS to do the dab during the concert.
It was kind of insane because the first person to do the dab was Eric Nam. He was talking about his new music and possible dance moves for us to do during his performance of the new song and one of Jasmine’s friends knew about the dab plan, and so she did the dab right in front of Eric Nam and then he did it back!
So crazy, and then later in the night when BTS was performing several members also did the dab. I’m not sure which members of BTS but they did it. They probably thought we were crazy and we were but hey, BTS noticed us so that’s something.
And then towards the end, one of the members, Jimin was walking back up to the main stage and when he walked passed us Jasmine was throwing him hearts to see if they would do it back and Jimin threw a heart at Jasmine! She basically all but fainted in that moment. She couldn’t believe what had happened but everyone around her saw and we were so happy for her.
Then at the very end of the concert Jungkook from BTS started to dab insanely along the stage and one of the other members of BTS goes up to him and asks what he is doing and he POINTS TO OUR SECTION where we were sitting. Which is also unbelievable haha. I know he was making fun of us but that’s not the point. We got BTS to dab. Insane.

We found out at the end of the concert that the ladies that initiated the ‘dab off’ have a YouTube channel. They are called the KPop Mamas. And they were just so wonderful to us and so nice. We loved talking to them and fangirling with them and they definitely made the second night at the concert so much better than the first.
I think that’s one of the best things about coming to a convention like this, you meet amazing people. And not only that but you have an instant connection because you both share a love for something and are passionate about it. It’s definitely an incredible experience.

Other things I enjoyed in the second concert included Eric Nam – just Eric Nam in general. My heart melted when he came out on stage with roses, sadly I was too far away to receive one of them. That and he sang a little bit of acapella for us and also performed a new song of his in English. On top of that, he also did a special stage with Ailee which I loved. Mainly because no one was expecting Ailee to perform on both nights.
I also really enjoyed Day6 playing their instruments and singing their songs. And of course Mamamoo were also really good. They did a little collab with Day6 which again. no one was expecting which was great. And who can forget BTS, they closed an amazing show.

On our final day in New York, Jasmine and I decided to spend it in Times Square and did a little bit of shopping. It was kind of hard to navigate around the streets of New York with a suitcase and so we thought it was better to stay in one area.
I also found out New York was celebrating pride the day we were in the city and while I wanted to go to pride in New York, I knew going with a suitcase in tow was not going to end well. That, and we didn’t want to stray too far from the train station because we had to get back to the airport for our flight.
Fast forward a few hours later and we were still in the airport because our flight was delayed. It was delayed by two hours which kind of sucked. It was also a long flight back to the UK and so I was exhausted by the time we got back. It is not easy to sleep on an airplane.
Soon enough though I was back home, showered and in my pyjamas, ready to sleep.
And now here I am still talking about KCon almost 2 weeks later haha. I’m sorry I’ve been posting about it non-stop lately but it was definitely such an amazing experience that I wanted to share with people. At least my version anyway. I promise that I will officially stop posting about it now. After all the vlogs have gone up I swear that will be the end haha.
I still can’t believe it happened though. I mean I still don’t think I have fully adjusted to my normal life yet because I’m still living for the KPop craziness. And if anything, I would definitely do it again. Maybe not next year because my next target is to go to Vidcon, but definitely I would go back to KCon. I met some really amazing people, and I got to experience a new place with one of my best friends and so, yeah, who wouldn’t want that?
Anyway, I’m going to go now. I have a lot of Sims to catch up on and also I need to fix my sleeping pattern haha. If you want to know more about the adventures Jasmine and I got into in New York I also vlogged the whole thing so you guys can check that out on my YouTube channel. Other than that I hope you guys are having a good summer, and hopefully I have a new blog post for you guys soon!
~ Courtney x

Hello Summer!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

It is officially the start of the summer holidays for me and I could not be more excited!

It has been a crazy first year of uni and I am so ready to take a break from everything and just chill. This is the first time in a while that I have felt chill about anything. During the semester I was always moving, always doing things, always felt like I had to be doing things. I never really took time to stop and just breathe. So that’s my main focus right now. Just to take a deep breath and be chill.
I am also super excited because I have some plans this summer to keep me busy.
The first one being my YouTube, I am picking that up again. YouTube is always slow during the year because I don’t have time to edit and film videos. But now that I have more free time I can be doing that a lot more.
I have plans to launch a brand new YouTube channel this summer. It is actually launching at the end of this week – Simming and Such. It is going to be where I post all of my Sims content from now on. I have been thinking about this for more than a year now and I have finally decided to do it. I have just been feeling really inspired to make more sims videos lately and since that content is very different to what I post on my main channel, I thought it was time for a new channel.

On top of that, I am also going to be posting more videos to my main channel. I know I haven’t really been posting there a lot lately but I do hope to pick up again on vlogging and making other videos. I don’t think I’ll make quite as many videos as I did last summer but I definitely do want to make more. So also subscribe there if you haven’t already!
Another thing I am super excited about this summer is that I am going to KCON NY! If you don’t know what KCON is, it is a K-Pop convention. They hold two in America, one in New York and one in LA. My friend Jasmine, is a huge K-Pop fan and is in love with the line up for KCON NY and so we are going there at the end of June and I can’t wait.
I’m not the biggest fan of K-Pop (in comparison to Jasmine who is a mega fangirl) but out of all of our other friends I would be the one to listen to it the most so I am excited to go.
It’s going to be the first time I ever leave the country and also my very first concert and so I am definitely going to enjoy it no matter what. It’s just going to be a whole new experience and so I can’t wait to go. Explore New York, and also experience KCON. It’s just gonna be an amazing opportunity so why pass that up?
And of course I’ll vlog the whole thing so I can share with you guys haha. Can’t forget to do that.
Another thing that I plan to do over summer is keep up my writing. I got really into writing again over Easter and so I want to keep doing that as well. I have always loved to write things and so I really want to do that as well. I went almost a year without writing anything new, story wise and it sucked and so I don’t want to do that again.
Along with writing, I also want to blog more. Because I find sometimes blogging is better than making a YouTube video. Just depends what I feel like sharing. So I want to do that. Although I think I’ve been okay with keeping up my blog. But I definitely feel I could post a bit more often.
I think another thing I want to do over summer is get a job. As much as I love all my free time to keep up all my hobbies I also need to think about getting experience for when I actually go to apply for jobs after uni. So I will have to look into that as well.
The last and probably the most important thing I want to do this summer is have fun. No matter what I am doing I want to enjoy it. Because otherwise all the time is wasted in my opinion. Oh, have fun and also spend time with my friends who will be coming home from uni for the summer. It’s important to make time for your friends, especially when you don’t get to see them that often.
And so, it looks like this summer is going to be a busy one for me. But I like it that way. I’d rather have it where I always have something I could be doing rather than always thinking I have nothing to do. Because I have a lot of summer ahead of me and I know if I didn’t do anything over the whole summer I would regret it. So yes, here is to a busy summer.
~ Courtney x

April Favourites 2016

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I think I might be a little bit late with this but I thought I would share my favourites from last month with you guys anyway. Normally I make a YouTube video talking about my monthly favourites but this month when I sat down to make the video I didn’t like how it turned out and so I thought a blog post might be more fitting. Plus it doesn’t hurt to mix things up every once in a while. So without further ado, here were some of my favourite things from last month.

Suits



I always end up with TV shows in my favourites, this month being no exception. Suits is the newest TV show to enter my life and I am obsessed. At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The TV show was suggested to me by a friend, and I’m one of those people that doesn’t usually take TV show suggestions from people. It sounds weird but I just don’t do it, I’d rather find TV shows on my own. But I’m really glad I decided to take my friend’s suggestion on this one.
I am currently two episodes away from the end of season 5 and I am dying to know what happens next. My friend says that I’ll be crying by the end of the season and so I’m partially dreading finding out what happens but I think I’m willing to risk the heartbreak rather than not knowing at all.

The Amazing Race


Another TV show that I have been loving in April has been the Amazing Race. This season in particular is a favourite of mine because it had two of my favourite YouTubers in it: Tyler Oakley and Blair Fowler. They were not in the same team, however I still enjoyed watching both of them on the show. I was really sad to see Blair and her dad eliminated early on in the race, however I have confidence that Tyler and Korey are going to win the 1 million dollars.
We are only one episode away from the final of the Amazing Race now, it’s kind of crazy to think how much time has passed but I have loved every second of this season. Especially Tyler and Korey, they are just really fun to watch. And even if you didn’t know who Tyler was before starting the season, I’m sure you’d end up loving him by the end as well.
As for the other two teams in the final I like them a lot too. Although I’m still #TeamTylerAndKorey all the way.
If you are interested in knowing more about my thoughts on the teams in this season of the Amazing Race, I actually made a blog post talking about them a couple of months ago. So feel free to check that out.

Nashville


Yet another TV show that I hold near and dear to my heart. I discovered Nashville about a year and a half ago and have been in love ever since. Surprisingly, it was another recommendation from a friend.
I have just really been loving this whole season of Nashville because it has been super dramatic. There is never a dull moment and since the show came back after Christmas I have been dying every episode.
I’m also really loving the show because Juliette has returned and I could not be happier. Juliette is my favourite character on the show and so when she was absent for a few weeks I really missed her. So I’m glad she’s back again. I also have found the storyline between Maddie and Rayna really heartbreaking. And don’t even get me started on the whole Will thing…If you guys follow me on Twitter then you know all about my feelings towards this show.

Neko Atsume



Finally, a favourite that’s not a TV show! So I have seen photos of Neko Astume on the Internet before. The first time I saw it was on Twitter and I wanted to know what it was about. I resisted getting the app for ages because it didn’t seem worth the time but now that I’ve downloaded it I am obsessed.
If you don’t know what the game is, it’s a Japanese game, Neko Atsume translates to Kitty Collector. And that’s essentially all that you do. You buy toys/food and set them in a garden to lure cats in and then you check back in the game every so often to see if there are any cats there. You can’t do anything with the cats other than click on them to find out information about them and take photos of them but that’s all you need the app to do.
I know it doesn’t sound like much, but I find myself checking this game at least 50 times a day. And if you follow me on Twitter then I’m pretty sure you have seen my many photos of the game throughout the last month.

Animal Crossing


So technically I would list Animal Crossing as an all-time favourite of mine. I have loved Animal Crossing since I played my first AC game for the DS when I was about 7/8. But in April I found myself playing more Animal Crossing than usual.
This is because I finally went out of my way to purchase a GameCube controller and Animal Crossing for the GameCube. (I didn’t need to buy a GameCube because you can play GameCube games on the Wii.) I have played the GameCube version of Animal Crossing on an emulator before but it definitely doesn’t compare to having the actual game.
Plus, it was the only Animal Crossing came (apart from Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival) that I didn’t have a physical copy of and so I needed it in my life.
On top of playing Animal Crossing for the GameCube, I have also just been playing a lot of my other Animal Crossing games in general. I don’t know what it is about the games I love so much I just love every part of it. And so I’m super excited for Nintendo to release it’s next Animal Crossing game.
Also, if you’re wondering why I haven’t gotten Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, it’s because it’s for the Wii U and I don’t have a Wii U. And also because it’s a spin off game and therefore I don’t feel like I can justify buying a new console for a spin off game. I also don’t have money for the Amiibo Figures although I think they are really cute.

And so, those are all my favourites for the month of April. I was about to type my usual YouTube outro here but I realise that doesn’t make sense in a blog post haha. But I hope you guys enjoyed reading about my favourites, let me know in the comments what your favourites were for last month and I should be back with a monthly favourites video (hopefully) next month!
~ Courtney x

Girl Online On Tour Book Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

My 7th blog post this month and my second 2nd book review. I’d say I’m on a roll.
Today I am reviewing Girl Online On Tour by Zoe Sugg. I wasn’t really sure if I was going to get this book because when I read the first one I was convinced that it was aimed at a younger audience and I didn’t enjoy the story. However, I decided to give it a chance Zoe had released a number of signed books you could preorder online and so…I gave in. I might have only done it for the signed Zoella book but I knew I couldn’t leave it unread. Especially when I know Zoe has so many fans and someone else would have appreciated the book a whole lot more. So I decided to see where Penny and Noah were headed and honestly, I really enjoyed it.

If you read my book review of Girl Online then you know it was probably the only YouTuber book I didn’t like so I wasn’t sure what to expect with the sequel. But Zoe definitely stepped up the game with this one. I tried not to have high expectations after the first one and I didn’t even really know much about the story. I hadn’t really thought much about what Girl Online On Tour actually meant. But it literally meant Penny was going on tour with Noah.
And I think that’s one of the things that really changed this book from the last one. Because life on a rock tour is so fast-paced and crazy the story had to reflect that. Which meant the pace of the book was a lot faster than the first one. There were things going on all the time and I just felt like I had to keep reading because I wanted to know what happened with all these things.
I feel like with Girl Online, Zoe was just testing the waters with her writing. And now, she knows what she can do and she wanted to showcase that. I could tell her writing had improved, which I was really glad to see. It still has the same style and tone as before but there was just something a little bit different. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s because there has been no ghost writer scandal with this one. Not that I was ever mad about that. Or I’m just getting used to the style of Zoe’s writing. Either way, I am glad to see Zoe is improving her writing skills. Because she can only get better from here and I love seeing that.
Okay moving to the actual story. So many things. Lots of spoilers ahead.
First of all, I totally related to Penny when she had to stop publishing her blog. Last year I had a similar thing go down where I basically had to stop something I was doing and it was awful. It feels like you are being told you aren’t allowed to express yourself like you’re being censored. And it’s not good.
You should always be allowed to express yourself as long as it isn’t offensive or hurtful to others. Although I know that can be hard now because people can get offended quite easily. But if you’re doing something you enjoy and you don’t intend for it to be offensive or to hurt people then you should do it. Although you should be careful if it’s personal or involves friends and family.
That’s what I have learnt about the whole thing and in this book Penny learns a similar thing so I think that made the book more enjoyable.
If you can relate to the character of the book it’s so much easier to read. At least, I feel that. Or if you have a connection with them.
Something else that kept me reading was the mystery. Who was sending all those messages to Penny? I have to admit I had my suspicions about Megan and Pegasus Girl. I would have loved if it was Pegasus Girl. Only because people online can’t always be trusted. That really would have been a twist.
However, that was a bit of a letdown. The reveal was still shocking because I never expected it but…then when it was revealed and the reasons behind it I kind of felt like it was cliche movie. I should have seen it coming. I think I’m more mad at myself for not figuring it out than the actual outcome haha.
Also, I’d really love a friend like Leah Brown. She really surprised me by being really nice. I think I’ve been watching too much Pretty Little Liars because I have to stop jumping to the conclusion that every girl character is secretly a bitch. I mean a girl should be able to take another girl shopping and give her a glam makeover without there being an ulterior motive right? At least, I’d like to think so.
As for Penny and Noah…well I actually liked how they ended. I think it was the right decision and I love that they are able to both pursue their passions. I thought that was a really great theme to the book. That you should pursue your passions because you could just end up living the dream.
It really inspired me. I remember being like Penny and not knowing what I was going to do with my life. I still haven’t got it quite figured out but I am piecing together things I want to do and going for it. One of them being my blog. I identify a lot with Penny and her blog, I’ve been blogging on and off since I was about 11 and I know how it feels to have a place to vent. It’s great.
Something else I loved about the book was Alexiot. I loved the ship name, I loved the big romantic gesture…I loved the whole thing. That was a love story I could totally get behind. It was so cute.
Another big thing in the book was the progression of Penny’s anxiety. Just like Zoe, Penny suffers from anxiety attacks and I really appreciate that Zoe was able to incorporate that into her book. I think it helps a lot of people who don’t have anxiety get an idea of what it feels like sometimes. It also helps a lot of people who do have anxiety and how to deal with it.
In the end, I’m so glad there was a happy ending. I feel like after everything that happened in what felt like a short amount of time everyone deserved the ending they got. I also couldn’t imagine a novel written by Zoella ending sadly.
I’m really glad I gave this book a chance because I ended up loving it a lot. And while yes, it’s a little cliche and predictable it’s a good read. I learnt I was way more attached to the characters than I thought I was too. I was happy, sad, and I even think I yelled at my book a few times.
I would definitely recommend this book to you if you loved the first Girl Online book. And even if you weren’t a fan of the first book, you should give this book a chance because you might end up liking it. I still think it is aimed at a younger audience than some of the other YouTuber books but that’s okay. I think if she did something for an older audience it would be very off-brand.
And so, those were all my thoughts on Girl Online On Tour! I hope that you guys enjoyed reading. Let me know what you guys thought of Zoe’s books in the comments below. I think the next book I am going to read will be Username: Evie. So look out for that book review coming soon (I hope. Depending how fast I read and if I actually have enough to say on it to write a book review.)
~ Courtney x

Fangirl Overload – Pretty Little Liars Season 6B

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

This show.
I swear.
If you guys have been following me on social media for a while then you know all about how Pretty Little Liars makes me feel. And now that we are into the second half of season six things have never been so intense.
We are only three episodes into season 6B and yet I’m already freaking out hysterically. I have so many questions and thoughts about how this season has been going. The five-year time jump has really changed the game and it’s hard to believe that just a few months ago we found out the identity of A.
So much has changed and yet it still has that PLL flair that makes you want to come back for more. I love it, so much so that I have already made two videos talking about the second half of season six already. If you want to know all my thoughts on Pretty Little Liars right now check them out below:

And if you want to know my thoughts on future episodes then follow me on Twitter. I always tweet when I’m watching the show because I always have so many thoughts to share.
I’ll be so sad when the show ends because I don’t know if I’ll ever find a show to replace it. But I don’t have to worry about that for a while. I just have to think about making it through the rest of the series without freaking out too much. Although I don’t think that’s possible. It is Pretty Little Liars after all.
~ Courtney x

Meeting Bianca del Rio!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment
Last week my friends and I went to our first ever drag queen show. We were super excited because the drag queen we were going to see was one of our favourites. Last year we all got addicted to the TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race and ever since then we have been wanting to see a drag queen from the show. And we finally got the opportunity.
So we bought our tickets, got all glammed up and mentally prepared ourselves to meet the one and only Bianca del Rio. Bianca was the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 6 and considers herself to be an insult comic. She is hilarious. And even more, glamorous in person.
When we first got to the venue we had no idea what to expect. We had never been to this club before, much less a drag queen show. The vibe there was pretty good. Lots of good music, lots of fabulous people. But as we got closer to the start of the show, the more people showed up and soon we could barely move because everyone was pushing to get a good view of the stage.
My friends and I were were lucky that we got there kind of early. That way we could claim the area we kind of wanted to be in when the show started but we still got pushed around quite a bit. That was the only downside to the whole thing. Too many people.
But once the show started you didn’t think about that. All you could focus on was the fabulousness that was taking place on stage.
The first two performances were by the two drag queens that host the special guests at the club. They both did lip sync performances which were amazing. Most drag queens are known for their lip syncing and these girls were perfection. And their backup dancers were giving me life.
And then finally, the queen herself appeared on stage. She looks flawless in person. And at first, I had my doubts because it had been a few years since Bianca was on drag race so maybe she looked different from when she was on TV. But no. She looked perfect. In a fabulous black gown no less. Kaftan realness.

She opened the show by explaining how everyone thought she was going to be on Big Brother and how she wasn’t going to be releasing an album anytime soon. Of course, she was her hilarious self.
So worth the wait.
Next Bianca turned to ask for people in the audience. She was going to hold a lip sync contest. But she wanted it to be a fair competition so she was looking for four different specific people. And I was one of those people.
I was in shock.
I had no time to process and next thing you know I was being brought onto the stage.
I couldn’t believe it. I was on stage with BIANCA DEL RIO.
It still feels like a dream.

When I found out we had to lip sync I was worried. My first thought was: oh my God what if I don’t know the song?!
I’ve watched enough Drag Race to know if you don’t know the words to the song you are lip syncing to then you’re out. And I was the first one to lip sync. So if I didn’t know the words but the other people did I was screwed.
Luckily, when the music started to play I got into it. They played Sissy That Walk by RuPaul and that’s when I felt more at ease. That was the one and only RuPaul song I knew the words to so I knew I could do this.
I was hesitant about it at first. Because I was on stage with about 200 people watching me and a bright spotlight blinding me. But as soon as I started to lip sync I just owned it. It was go big or go home and I went big.
It was a blast.
I have no idea how to describe the experience I just thought it was so much fun.
Unfortunately, I didn’t win the lip sync battle but I came in second. So I’m taking that as my victory.
When I got off the stage and was reunited with my friends we all freaked out hysterically. I mean no one was expecting that.
Later at the meet and greet, Bianca was so nice! She hugged me and my friends and thanked me for being such a good sport. And I got a photo with her.

I still can’t believe it happened. It all just happened in such a blur. But luckily I had friends who decided to document my lip sync performance. That was uploaded to Facebook the next day. I could have cringed about it but instead, I embraced it. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I was going to do it. I mean ever since Drag Race I have wanted to walk that runway and lip sync for my life. So I guess this was me half fulfilling that dream.
And if you guys are interested in seeing a little bit of how my night with Bianca Del Rio went I did vlog about it. Of course. So check that out below:

It was a fab night and I really enjoyed myself. And I think that’s the most important thing. So my advice for this year is to embrace the opportunities that come your way. And have a blast. Because life’s too short so live it up and party.
I have recently found myself saying “party” a lot and I owe it all to Adore Delano. She’s another drag queen from RuPaul’s Drag Race season six. I think that’s a great catchphrase to have. Because life is to be enjoyed. And what better way to enjoy it than to party?
So I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience meeting Bianca del Rio. If you wanna see me lip sync for my life check out my vlog. And let me know in the comments below what song you would lip sync for your life to.
~ Courtney

Binge Book Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

My first book review of 2016! Exciting!
Today I am reviewing Binge by Tyler Oakley. First of all, I love Tyler Oakley so I’m sorry if this comes across as biased. But technically all my book reviews are a little bit biased because I love all the YouTubers. And I can’t help if I also like their books.

Tyler’s book was a fun and quick read. I seemed to find myself getting through his book faster than some of the other YouTuber books that I’ve read. I think it has something to do with Tyler’s writing style. His writing style is similar to a lot of YouTubers as he writes as though he were talking directly to you. Like if you didn’t have the audiobook you could still imagine Tyler was reading it to you. Which is what I enjoy about YouTuber books they are casual and fun. Yet can still touch on serious topics without being too serious.
Which was Tyler’s book in a nutshell. He bounced from talking about the serious issues such as his eating disorder to talking about his favourite Disney princes.
I enjoyed this approach to the book because it made it fun. I think it was done in a way to show that life isn’t always bad and it isn’t always sunshine and rainbows either. It’s a mixture of both. And I’d rather have a mixture of happy and sad stories rather than just having a happy one or a sad one. It’s about balance.
Which is ironic considering Tyler’s book is called ‘Binge’ and it’s about bingeing on certain things. And in this book Tyler shares his experience bingeing on the good and bad things in life.
To be honest, I was surprised at how much Tyler was willing to share about his life with us. I know all YouTubers have been spilling the tea in their books but Tyler’s shocked me the most. I think it’s because I was seeing a different side to him. It’s hard to imagine him as anything other than the character he portrays online. I think it’s refreshing to learn about the person behind the camera. That’s another reason I like YouTuber books. They expose the real person and not the one we see on a screen.
Tyler’s book was very real. The stories he decided to share with us were personal and things that I never knew Tyler had experienced before. Such as his eating disorder or his first heartbreak. The things people typically don’t want to share on the internet. Reading these stories honestly broke my heart. I mean it’s hard not to feel sad reading about the hardships people have gone through. But reading about how they dealt with the problem or overcame it changes how you view a person. It also makes me feel proud of them because they have come so far from where they once were. And I’m glad that Tyler decided to open up about these things and share what he has learned from his experiences. I know it will help a lot of people who are struggling through similar things.
On the other side of things, you have Tyler’s comedic chapters which I enjoyed a lot. These were the ones where you got to see the Tyler Oakley we all know and love. This was him showing his character. In his book Tyler explains he is both @TylerOakley and Matthew Tyler Oakley. He is both the person we see on screen and this other person that we don’t see. And to see both sides of him is great. He’s basically like Hannah Montana and Miley Stewart.
I loved all of Tyler’s funny chapters. I don’t think I can choose a favourite. They were all so entertaining. One of the chapters I wasn’t expecting that made me laugh a lot was the one about Tyler’s unexpected Toemance. I don’t have much to say on the chapter other than the puns were ev-er-y-thing.
I also enjoyed the photos of foetus Tyler. But I’m a sucker for any baby YouTuber photos. They just add so much more to the book. Because if you’re going to tell embarrassing stories about your life why not throw in the baby pictures too?

Overall this book was a great read. And when I finished reading I was definitely ready for more. So I’m hoping Tyler announces book 2 very soon. I want more gossip. All tea, all shade, hunty. I also recently watched Tyler’s documentary Snervous which goes hand in hand with his book. So I definitely recommend Tyler’s documentary if you haven’t seen it already.
And so thanks for reading another YouTuber book review! The next YouTuber book I am going to be reading is Girl Online: On Tour so look out for that book review soon. Also, if you haven’t already, check out my review of Zoe’s first book Girl Online.
~ Courtney x

Merry Christmas!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment
❄️ Merry Christmas Everyone! ❄️
I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and that you get everything that you want from Santa!
If you don’t celebrate Christmas, then I still hope that you have a great day and are able to spend it doing something you love.
My Christmas gift to you all is first of all, that photo of me above. That is indeed a snapchat filter thing. Looking fabulous.
Secondly, I wanted to let you guys know I have officially completed vlogmas 2015! Yes, that’s right I vlogged for 24 days straight. I’m very proud of myself for doing so because I could have just given up and been lazy but no I stuck it out.
So if you are interested in seeing what December was like for a first year uni student who is not so festive then please feel free to look at the following playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS-A2-2r_dIQxI2tDqUg0HXwZIjW4yyve
Once again Merry Christmas guys! And I hope you have a fabulous day!
~ Courtney x

Attempting Vlogmas!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys,
So I just wanted to make a quick little blog post to tell you that I am attempting Vlogmas this year!
If you don’t know what Vlogmas is, it is the name that YouTubers give to their daily vlogs in December as they vlog from the 1st to the 24th December. And this year I have decided to try and take part.
I did attempt Vlogmas last year too, however it was not very exciting. I was so bogged down with school work that 99% of my vlog was me complaining about all the school work I had to do which is not fun.
Vlogmas vlogs are supposed to be festive and happy and so this year I really want to try and make my vlogs festive. So I hope that you guys will join me and get into the Christmas spirit because I really believe that this year I can pull off a really festive Vlogmas!
Earlier I uploaded Vlogmas day 1 to my YouTube channel so check it out below! (And don’t forget to subscribe so you know when I post a new vlog!)

~ Courtney x

Cinema Tickets and Selfies | Pages 169, 178 & 183 | The Pointless Book 2

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hey guys!
Today I am bringing you another Pointless Book 2 blog post, this time we are rating movies and taking selfies. Productive.
As always if you guys wanna check out the video it will be below:

The first page I did was page 163, which asks us to stick in cinema tickets and rate the movie. Luckily for me, I’m a huge cinema ticket hoarder. I started my cinema ticket collection in 2011. I just love movies. So for this page I decided to choose movies that I had seen more than once, because then it would be okay to part with the cinema ticket. This is what my page looked like below:

So the cinema tickets are bigger than the page in the book, so I have to fold them when I close the book but that’s okay. The movies I chose were Breaking Dawn Part 1, New Year’s Eve, Fifty Shades of Grey, Jurassic World and Fantastic Four. I haven’t actually seen Fantastic Four more than once but it was my most recent cinema ticket so I added that too.
My ratings were:
  • Breaking Dawn – 5 stars – I love Twilight with a passion and saw this movie four times in the cinema. I’m a Twihard through and through.
  • New Year’s Eve – 4 stars – I thought this was cute. I mean it had a lot of actors in it that I liked and the story was fun and I liked Valentine’s Day so this was similar.
  • Fifty Shades of Grey – 3 stars – Y’all know all my thoughts about Fifty Shades, if you wanna check out the blog post where I talked about it, it’s here
  • Jurassic World – 4 stars – Surprisingly thought it was good even though it was about dinosaurs. However Chris Pratt totally swayed me.
  • Fantastic Four – 2 stars – Definitely not one of my favourites. Plus it was a remake and the last half of the movie was cliche and boring.

So those were my movie reviews, as you guys can see I’m easily impressed at the cinema haha. As long as I don’t fall asleep during the movie I usually consider the movie fine.
The next page that I did was page 178 which was basically just to take a selfie with the Pointless Book and the Pointless Book 2 so here are some of my fabulous selfies:

And finally the last page I did was page 183, which was basically just colouring in but I still wanted to do it because who doesn’t love colouring in?
And so that brings us to the end of another Pointless Book 2 blog post. I hope that you guys liked it, and if you guys wanna check out more of my Pointless Book 2 videos you can click the link to the playlist here.
~ Courtney x