Penlights!
Today was a really rough day for a lot of reasons, so I'm just going to take this chance to show off my penlight collection, because it's something small and easy to talk about it and I'm happy with it.
I obviously don't have a penlight from every single concert and tour I've attended for a variety of reasons (it was ugly, it was sold out, it felt redundant with one I already owned), but especially recently, I do usually buy them when I can. It's hard not to when you know you'll be the odd one out for things where they want you to have the same colours, and stuff like that, which has been pretty common these days. It's also a nice memento and fun to use during times when no penlight is sold (like Countdown), to show what group you like and what concerts you've been to (older concerts = bragging rights?)
I arranged this photo in the order that I saw the concerts; it's a little bit of a cheat since while I saw Summary 2011 before any other concert, I didn't buy the penlight at the time (it's ugly??) and then felt regret since it was my Johnny's show and bought it at Mandarake at a later date. But otherwise, the penlights are in the order that I got them! So, going from the top row, left to right, we have:
① Summary 2011: This thing is ugly as all getout (why is only the "I ♥" the light?) and not very practical (it's on a spring and bounces around), but it was from my first show, so I had to buy it after the fact. XD;
② JUMP WORLD (2012): This was my first concert in a concert venue (rather than TDC Hall)! It was essentially the Japan leg of the Asia Tour, an it was a struggle for a lot of reasons (JUMP was a struggle in 2012 for a lot of reasons), but the penlight was pretty cute, and saw me through a lot of concerts afterwards! It's a pretty standard Johnny's penlight.
③ Sexy Zone Spring Tour 2013: I got my next penlight a long time later because Sexy Zone didn't have a penlight at their New Year concert that year. It sucked. This one was quite cute though, despite being similar to the JUMP one. I also used it a few times.
④ Generic Johnny's Shop Penlight: After a few junior events, I was frustrated with not having anything to use, so I bought this on impulse one day… and I've never used it since OTL
⑤ Kis-My-Ft2 Snow Dome 2013: This penlight is a weird shape (a snow globe XD) and it only has Christmas colours (white, green, red), but it's the only KisuMai penlight I have. XD; I went to the next tour, but sadly, the rainbow penlight was sold out D:
⑥ Gamushara!! J's Party (2014): This was a highly coveted item because it was only sold at the first Gamushara, which was extremely poorly planned and, as a result, caused many people to pass up on the penlight. The only way to get goods was to stop while essentially running into the venue to get a good spot, and a lot of people didn't want to miss their chance to be closer to the front. I've used this penlight tons of times (hence never using the star),
⑦ Sexy Zone 2014 Tour: The first on the bottom row is the member-coloured colour-changing penlight from the concert right before things went to shit. It was a pretty amazing penlight, and many Sexy Zone fans still use it so that they can support their member of choice (especially Marius and Sou fans).
⑧ Hey! Say! JUMP Live With Me (2014): The Live With Me penlight is unusually shaped, but the way the light works (LEDs shining from the bottom into various cuts in the plastic pane? I don't really know how it works, honestly) is really cool. It's also really light weight, which is nice, considering JUMP's next penlight…
⑨ Sexy Zone Summer Concert (2014): I never actually used this penlight because I bought it after the concert. That was the show where they did three shows in one day, and we hit for 10 am, so we had to get up at 4 am to get the train and get there in time for the early show. Obviously, we didn't plan in time to get goods, so I didn't get this until I was done. I'm not even sure why I bought it, to be honest.
⑩ Hey! Say! JUMP s3art Tour (2014): This is by far the cutest penlight I own, and also the heaviest. It is SO HEAVY. It might have a rival in JUMPing CARnival (bottom row, far right), but that one is like twice as big… OTL It's so cute, but it makes my wrist hurt when I use it for too long. XD;
⑪ NEWS White Tour (2015): I had never been to a NEWS event before, but the White goods were really nice, so I was happy to buy them! The only weird thing about this penlight is how round the light part is? It would be a little easier to use if it were flatter, but it's not nearly as weirdly shaped as other penlights I have XD;
⑫ Gamushara! Summer Station (2015): After the fiasco that was goods at the very first Gamushara! J's Party, there were never any Gamushara! goods again until this summer. Unfortunately, they sold out of a lot, and they sold out of this penlight before I was able to get one. I came back and got one the next day, though, because Junior penlights are hard to come by, and it's a really nice bright LED that changes between maybe 5 different colours. I have no doubt that I'll find some occasion to use this.
⑬ JUMPing CARnival Tour (2015): This penlight is really ugly, huge, and heavy, and I have no idea why I bought it |D; I pretty much automatically buy the penlight these days so as not to get screwed over on colour changing, but there was really no need for this one. Oh well, I want to spend money on JUMP, so it's fine. XD;
Hopefully tomorrow is a better day. Trying to keep looking forward to this weekend, at the very least…
I obviously don't have a penlight from every single concert and tour I've attended for a variety of reasons (it was ugly, it was sold out, it felt redundant with one I already owned), but especially recently, I do usually buy them when I can. It's hard not to when you know you'll be the odd one out for things where they want you to have the same colours, and stuff like that, which has been pretty common these days. It's also a nice memento and fun to use during times when no penlight is sold (like Countdown), to show what group you like and what concerts you've been to (older concerts = bragging rights?)
I arranged this photo in the order that I saw the concerts; it's a little bit of a cheat since while I saw Summary 2011 before any other concert, I didn't buy the penlight at the time (it's ugly??) and then felt regret since it was my Johnny's show and bought it at Mandarake at a later date. But otherwise, the penlights are in the order that I got them! So, going from the top row, left to right, we have:
① Summary 2011: This thing is ugly as all getout (why is only the "I ♥" the light?) and not very practical (it's on a spring and bounces around), but it was from my first show, so I had to buy it after the fact. XD;
② JUMP WORLD (2012): This was my first concert in a concert venue (rather than TDC Hall)! It was essentially the Japan leg of the Asia Tour, an it was a struggle for a lot of reasons (JUMP was a struggle in 2012 for a lot of reasons), but the penlight was pretty cute, and saw me through a lot of concerts afterwards! It's a pretty standard Johnny's penlight.
③ Sexy Zone Spring Tour 2013: I got my next penlight a long time later because Sexy Zone didn't have a penlight at their New Year concert that year. It sucked. This one was quite cute though, despite being similar to the JUMP one. I also used it a few times.
④ Generic Johnny's Shop Penlight: After a few junior events, I was frustrated with not having anything to use, so I bought this on impulse one day… and I've never used it since OTL
⑤ Kis-My-Ft2 Snow Dome 2013: This penlight is a weird shape (a snow globe XD) and it only has Christmas colours (white, green, red), but it's the only KisuMai penlight I have. XD; I went to the next tour, but sadly, the rainbow penlight was sold out D:
⑥ Gamushara!! J's Party (2014): This was a highly coveted item because it was only sold at the first Gamushara, which was extremely poorly planned and, as a result, caused many people to pass up on the penlight. The only way to get goods was to stop while essentially running into the venue to get a good spot, and a lot of people didn't want to miss their chance to be closer to the front. I've used this penlight tons of times (hence never using the star),
⑦ Sexy Zone 2014 Tour: The first on the bottom row is the member-coloured colour-changing penlight from the concert right before things went to shit. It was a pretty amazing penlight, and many Sexy Zone fans still use it so that they can support their member of choice (especially Marius and Sou fans).
⑧ Hey! Say! JUMP Live With Me (2014): The Live With Me penlight is unusually shaped, but the way the light works (LEDs shining from the bottom into various cuts in the plastic pane? I don't really know how it works, honestly) is really cool. It's also really light weight, which is nice, considering JUMP's next penlight…
⑨ Sexy Zone Summer Concert (2014): I never actually used this penlight because I bought it after the concert. That was the show where they did three shows in one day, and we hit for 10 am, so we had to get up at 4 am to get the train and get there in time for the early show. Obviously, we didn't plan in time to get goods, so I didn't get this until I was done. I'm not even sure why I bought it, to be honest.
⑩ Hey! Say! JUMP s3art Tour (2014): This is by far the cutest penlight I own, and also the heaviest. It is SO HEAVY. It might have a rival in JUMPing CARnival (bottom row, far right), but that one is like twice as big… OTL It's so cute, but it makes my wrist hurt when I use it for too long. XD;
⑪ NEWS White Tour (2015): I had never been to a NEWS event before, but the White goods were really nice, so I was happy to buy them! The only weird thing about this penlight is how round the light part is? It would be a little easier to use if it were flatter, but it's not nearly as weirdly shaped as other penlights I have XD;
⑫ Gamushara! Summer Station (2015): After the fiasco that was goods at the very first Gamushara! J's Party, there were never any Gamushara! goods again until this summer. Unfortunately, they sold out of a lot, and they sold out of this penlight before I was able to get one. I came back and got one the next day, though, because Junior penlights are hard to come by, and it's a really nice bright LED that changes between maybe 5 different colours. I have no doubt that I'll find some occasion to use this.
⑬ JUMPing CARnival Tour (2015): This penlight is really ugly, huge, and heavy, and I have no idea why I bought it |D; I pretty much automatically buy the penlight these days so as not to get screwed over on colour changing, but there was really no need for this one. Oh well, I want to spend money on JUMP, so it's fine. XD;
Hopefully tomorrow is a better day. Trying to keep looking forward to this weekend, at the very least…