Day Eleven: Del Mar Fair: The Sequel

6/22/13, 11:07 AM PDT

Owwwww. Ow, ow, ow, ow, my neck hurts. It's an indescribable pain, it's not searing or unbearable, but it's not exactly pleasant either. And it doesn't hurt to move it. I just can't move it as fast as before, nor can I turn my head as far. But it'll wear out eventually. This is the second time I've landed on my neck, and it's pretty similar to last time.

Maybe third time's the charm and I'll die the next time I land on my neck. Hopefully, I'm wrong, but just to be safe, I'll be taking it pretty easy during parkour from now on. Probably going to be limiting the number of flips I do because they're impractical in the real world.

Alright. Time to write now. Be back in a bit.



Same day, 1:43 PM PDT

So my computer blue screened on me, which reminded me to finally clean out the dust filters that clogged up the fans. Haven't done that in about five, six months? Even though Darren recommended that I clean it out once a month. I try to remember, but it's hard to stick to a schedule when I have so much to do.

Speaking of "so much to do", I better start my summer assignments soon, or at least planning out the reading/outline schedule. Plus, I have to get writing on this week's blog entry, have to start my new short film script, have to get supplies together to build the remote control car that I want to make, oh boy oh boy better get off video games and back to work.



Same day, 6:22 PM PDT

Getting really into writing my script. Got the basic outline down, just filling in a lot of the details. Also, looking up a bunch of intros/music in spy movies/games, notably the intro to Skyfall, Casino Royale,  and Snake Eater so that I get a feel of what spy music and Bond intros look like.

And yep, it's gonna be a spy movie. But don't take it too seriously, it's not meant to be dramatic, serious action. Trying to make it a bit outrageous. Plus, it'll be my first real short film, which means zero-budget. Gonna have to cut costs a bit, and by a bit, I mean gonna be pretty much using household materials since I have absolutely no money.

Or, I could get a job. Dad's been encouraging me to apply for a part-time job at Target, which I'm considering just to fund my film without pissing off my parents by straining their wallets.

Back to writing. Wait no. I lied. Headed to the Del Mar Fair again so my family can watch Big Time Rush perform live while I roam the fair again. Awwww yeah.



Same day, 8:15 PM PDT

Fair again. Pretty much all by myself since the family's watching the concert. Seeing as I'm incredibly thrifty, I've decided not to spend any money and instead just people watch, which in itself is plenty interesting. Noticing the kinds of people that hang around each area. Obviously, the majority of teenagers spend their time where the rides are, with a small handful near the food stands. Female teenagers especially, I've noticed near the photo booth, although there's a bit of diversity there too. Adults, they're a bit more varied, but I've noticed that the "tougher looking" adults with wifebeaters and tattoos are usually around the games areas, with their wives and girlfriends. The more "average" adults are pretty varied in terms of location. The men tend to be near food or occasionally shops, while the women tend to be around shops mostly. Not stereotyping, just an observation.

Group and couple interaction's interesting as well. All-male groups of three or more are all around the rides, obviously. Haven't noticed any male groups any place else. Mixed groups too, mostly around the rides, but I saw one around the shop area. Female groups... They're everywhere. Couples are interesting too. Teenage couples, just like in school, tend to hold hands while staying as far apart as physically possible, maybe to further showcase that they're in a relationship. Adults are closer together when holding hands.

I've also noticed that while roaming the area, not a single games stand employee approached me to try their games. Maybe because I was alone, maybe because I look like a serial killer, not sure which. Speaking of looking like a murderer, I've noticed that the guard at the center of the fair's been looking at me suspiciously. Then again, I circled that guy like 50 times, so he probably thinks I'm a pickpocket or something. Don't know why since I look like the nerdiest thing ever with my half-bowl cut hair, my cloth shoulder bag, and my "Dunder Mifflin" shirt, but hey, criminals come in all shapes and sizes.

Haven't made my way to the kid area yet in the center of the racetrack, so I will be there shortly. After buying some food, probably.



Same day, 8:54 PM PDT

Rode the skyride thingy that goes over the entire park. Alone. Even though I have a fear of heights.

It was surprisingly relaxing, even though I was dangling my feet in the air. Took a bunch of pictures. One girl looked back up at me as I took a picture of the fair below me, which was pretty awkward. God, I'm brimming with awkwardness.

See her? A bit below and to the right of the center of the picture,
next to the stroller, looking right at me? Yep. Awkward.

Anyway, visited the children's area. One word describes it all.

Asian. Asian kids, followed by Asian parents EVERYWHERE. Of course, I'm not complaining, but WOW. The density of it surprised me.

ASIAN. ALL OF IT. Not complaining, of course.

Now currently in the arcade area of the fair, or whatever you call the main room. It's filled with board and video game, and TV game show info, along with a handful of arcade games. They had an auction corner where they were selling off a bunch of guitars signed by people that performed last year.

Switchfoot and Cobra Starship's somewhere there too.

One was signed by Cody Simpson, which may or may not interest a few of you. I probably know who you are if you're willing to bid on such an item.

Current bid? 400 dollars.

A group of people were playing giant Jenga, which was ridiculously entertaining, especially with commentary from black people. I managed to catch the game during its last few turns, where the majority of the tower was already a wireframe in essence. A lady managed to pull out a block after 15 minutes of Jenga setup, which was ridiculously tense. She pulled it out and the crowd cheered in celebration. The black people gave a huge "Boo-yah!" which cracked me up.

Lady in question. Note the black guy to the
left of her in the maroon shirt.

Then, the next guy went. He was in a very, very tight spot. Half the tower was balancing on one center block, he'd have to be a master Jenga player (Jengaer? Jengær?) to top that.

Of course, he wasn't. And it tipped over. But not after 3 minutes of hilarious black guy commentary. They were easily the loudest people in the crowd that gathered to watch this giant Jenga game, but every time people laughed, they shushed them forcefully, which was ridiculously funny.

Also, guy gave me two tickets on my way out of the thing. Don't know what I can ride with two tickets, but whatever, free stuff is free.



Same day, 9:42 PM PDT

Bought some food. Cheeseburger from Grantburger. It was decent, but incredibly hot. Like scalding hot, I've never had a burger burn my tongue before today.

Sat alone at a picnic table while eating, which was interesting because every other table was stuffed to the gills. But I'm not complaining, it was pretty peaceful.

Then, went around to go look for the cheapest drink around. Decided to buy it at this fish and chips stand, which sold bread bowls with soup. Reminds me of Panera and how Kayla tried to sneak it in.

Back on topic, the drink. It was a three dollar drink. Wait, no. No it wasn't. Let me rephrase that, it was a three dollar cup of ice. Because I only got three sips out of that cup before I hit ice. I mean come on, you fair food sellers already pull outrageous prices on the most ridiculous meals and you make thousands of dollars in profit every year, yet you still have to resort to scamming people with ice cups?

DAMN IT, I'M STILL THIRSTY.

You sicken me. You sicken me like the probably undercooked burger that I just ate, because I'm feeling a bit sick to my stomach and the California Health Inspection didn't exactly review your stand, Grantburger, if that's even your real name.



Same day, 10:18 PM PDT

What is this now, the third hour of roaming the fair? Pretty tired. And there's still no sign of the concert being over.

Now looking at the less visited areas of the mall. Just looked at their mineral and gem exhibit. Asked one of the exhibitors a bunch of questions on gem purity, hardness, and techniques of how they cut gems because why not, I mean more knowledge, right? Turns out, the guy gave me a mini-lesson on how to cut gems with a machine thing, which was pretty cool.

Phone's pretty low on battery now. Gonna go explore some more while using my backup battery, I guess.



Same day, 11:01 PM PDT

Went to the Student Showcase in the fair as they finally left the concert. They had some very nice artwork on display.

Ooh, pretty.

This one was my favorite though.

Who's that Pokémon?

They also had what I think is the winning robot from the FIRST Robotics tournament they had this year, which I took part in last year. Well, somewhat. I kind of did CAD designs, helped out in judging the website, and wrote two blog posts for the site, but other than that, I didn't do much.

Hello, Frisbeebot.

Oh, and apparently, they have a bunch of yearbooks on display and gave them all rankings. Did you know we were second place? Well, technically, second place but tied with a hell of a lot of other schools.

Not bad, huh?

This is one of the schools we tied with.

HOLY CRAP, THERE'S A GODDAMN WOLF ON THE COVER.

And then there's Scripps.

I don't know how Scripps Ranch's yearbook beat ours, I believe that our yearbook was superior in every aspect.

Well... maybe the font change on the "H" was a little strange. But that's a minor complaint.

Also, bwahahaha, my Scripps friends, I know what your yearbook photos look like.



Same day, 11:45 PM PDT

Finally in the car, headed home. Traffic's slow to a crawl, so I'm taking the time to update this.

Reached 11,628 steps today, which is pretty good.

Wooper's feelin' pretty good right now.

Also, apparently maxed out my Watts in the Pokéwalker, probably because I haven't sent Wooper to the DS in years.

Probably should go do that now.

Also, dad says I should have gone to the concert because quote "there were a million hot chicks up in this." How the hell my dad picked up that vocabulary, I'm not sure. But it led to a conversation on what I'm looking for in a girl, which I hate talking about with my parents because they judge me harshly about being "too picky." I'm sorry if I have high standards because I take dating seriously, mom and dad.

But they did bring up a point. I haven't dated anyone since high school started and I'm already a Junior. Maybe I should try to get a girlfriend now. Maybe.

So, anyone interested in dating me? Send in your application via Facebook, complete with resume, past job experience, and an essay describing why you want to be my girlfriend (500 words maximum). Many will enter, few will win, valid only to citizens or permanent residents of the United States and its territories.

HAH. Just kidding. As if I'd be selective enough to need applications for someone to be my girlfriend and to have geographical restrictions. I'm not selective at all. In fact, the more appropriate term would probably be "desperate." Haha, yes indeed.

*quietly weeps*

"Don't worry, Michael. I'll always be here for you."

Aww, thanks, robot frisbee thrower.





RFotD: Online dating research reveals that women are most concerned about a potential partner’s height, while men are more concerned about the weight of a possible date. Men even just an inch under the average height and women more than 20 pounds overweight have a tougher time getting a date. Well damn it.

SGAT: None really.

Day Ten: Near Death Experience

6/21/13, 9:04 AM PDT

Woo! We've hit double digits on the day count! Which may or may not be a good thing because it means summer's roughly 1/8 of the way done. God, it's going a lot faster than I realized.

Dropped my sister off at school. Was a little more irritated than usual this morning since dad woke me up at 6:30 even though my sister's school starts at 7:48. I'm not a morning person, realize that. So if you have to wake me up early in the morning, please do so gently. Don't take the route my dad did and knock violently against the other side of my wall like the police trying to enter a drug house.

Played a bit of SSBB. Getting better at using Zero Suit Samus, but still have a long, long way to go. And no, I'm not using her because I'm a pervert. It's because she's ridiculously fast and has so many options that she's unpredictable. Promise.

Wow, I can't believe you think I'm using ZSS because she's hot. I could just as easily use Falco, but the second that player selector lands on Samus, you're all "WOW, MICHAEL, YOU JUST WANT THAT ZSS, DON'T YOU."

Well I don't.

*ahem*



Same day, 1:14 PM PDT

Ridiculously tired, so I napped for a good two hours right then and there. Seriously have to keep track of time and stop sleeping at 2 AM, it's not healthy running on five hours of sleep when I don't need to.

Anyway, now just kind of wasting time before I have to pick up my sister. Brawl, half-chatting on Skype, mostly trying to wake up and get out of wooziness from the nap.

Also, you might have noticed that I didn't run today. I wanted to, but my sweatpants are in the laundry and I don't have another pair. I don't want to run in jeans, so I kind of didn't run today. I can hear your jeers already, but I'll make it up with parkour tonight, promise!



Same day, 3:44 PM PDT

So went to pick up my sister from school. On my way there, I forgot that I had to deliver something for my mom to someone in the school, so I practically sprinted home to get it.

I don't really know what the thing is. They looked like styrofoam on rigid plastic straws, like styrofoam lollipops. Upon inquiry, mom said they were sponges, and that it was for cleaning someone's mouth, but I don't know how you could use it as that. Whatever.

Played a bit more of SSBB. Practicing against randomized level 9 characters. I win roughly 40% of the time, usually against mid and low-tier characters, but I managed to beat Falco once. It's pretty difficult to control ZSS's spacing and I keep thinking that her down air's just a downward kick that spikes, like most other characters. Apparently not. I've learned that the hard way through a handful of suicides.

ZSS's grapple recovery is also pretty difficult to get the hang of. For some reason, I keep thinking her Zair grapples to the edge, but it's really sideB/upB that does it. So killed myself a few dozen times with Zairs as well.

...Terminology flying over your head again? Sorry, I can't help it, I'm a Smash nerd. Sort of.

Also, parents bought tickets to a Big Time Rush concert at the Del Mar Fair, so I'll be going tomorrow again. Not to the concert, mind you, but I get to explore the fair again. Should be fun, bwahaha.




Same day, 10:55 PM PDT

(Font may or may not be different here on out since I copied and pasted from my iPhone)

Parkour. Wow, I'm tired.

Tried a few things. Ran up a tilted wall, made it pretty high. Got a piece of chalk, wrote a few lines at the highest I could reach. Well, I reached a little higher, but you can't see it amidst the sea of handprints on the wood. I'll upload the picture I got tomorrow for technical reasons which I will get into later.

Also tried a distance kong, roughly 15 or so feet. Aaaand landed on my neck.

It hurt a lot, and I'm pretty lucky to not be paralyzed from the neck down. But holy crap, gonna be taking a break from parkour for a bit.

Well, gonna be taking it a little easy from now on. Don't want to die in my teenage years and bring down the national average life span.

And the worst part? When I got home, I was on my computer, headphones in, casually browsing Facebook when THE POWER GOES OUT. Thought I died right then and there.

I think it's a message from whatever deity exists, telling me to appreciate life. And dear god, do I appreciate it.

It's gonna be a bit problematic now though, since I have to shower in total darkness. Wish me luck.




RFotD: The only female mammals to undergo menopause (natural cessation of menstruation) are elephants, humpback whales, and humans.

SGAT: None really. Almost died. So there's that.

Day Nine: Braces and the Del Mar Fair

 6/20/13, 10:17 AM PDT

GOT MY BRACES OFF. Dropped off my sister, then FINALLY GOT MY BRACES OFF.

Had an Asian guy with a very frustrated tone cut off my braces with a miniature pipe cutter thing, which kind of hurt. Then, lady doctor took a PNEUMATIC DRILL TO MY TEETH. They made me wear these glasses and when they drilled out the glue, I could smell smoke and saw plumes of particles from my mouth. It also hurt.

Then, they took a bunch of pictures of my teeth and face and made me feel like a convict. X-ray which gave me brain cancer, and they wedged two bits of plastic into my gums called "retainers."

Thank god, I finally got them off. Feels so strange to feel my teeth again instead of cubes of metal and wires. This retainer's gonna take some time getting used to though. I'm probably gonna have a funny voice for a bit. C's and S's are kind of difficult to pronounce right.

I'm gonna thound like a nerd, guyth! Oh thweet irony, I acthually withed that I would have a nerdy acthent a few dayth ago. But I wanted to conthrol thith thing, not be thuck with it forever.

Ah well. I'll get used to it. And wow, writing in a way that mimicks my voice is pretty difficult.



Same day, 10:51 AM PDT

Awwwww yeah, on my way to the fair. Parents let me go after all, which was pretty awesome. Party van, baby!

Tired as hell though, only running on five hours of sleep. Probably gonna fall asleep sometime on the fair.



Same day, 4:06 PM PDT

Didn't fall asleep like I said I would. Holy crap, was today fun.
Everything was awesome, everything. The drive in Kayla's party van was pretty cool even though I half fell asleep. It mostly consisted of camwhoring and me calling Christina fat and her plotting her revenge later. *psst, this revenge thing's gonna pop up frequently later, so you might want to write it down or something so you can remember it*

Upon arrival, we had to wait at this long line to get into the fair. It wasn't really a line, more like a mob of people all walking to the same place, but I guess there was some form of order. So when these teenagers tried to walk past everyone by taking the empty spaces, she yells "Okay, so what makes you guys think you can just walk past all of us in line, huh?" And I can tell she was genuinely angry. I felt the embarrassment on the kids' faces when they walked back and awkwardly stood next to us.

That's why it felt satisfying to hear the attendant say "This was no line, fill in all the empty spaces you can." That's right, mean old lady screaming at kids, I'm rubbing it in your face.

Oh, and we found Mario too.

Quite accurate, is it not?

Then, we went straight to the rides. Rode the Crazy Mouse or something, which hurt A LOT because of all the sharp turns it made and the fact that I sat alone in a ride designed for two people. The seats weren't exactly grippy, so every time it turned, I'd slam into one side. It hurt.

Then we rode the Magnum, which had a pretty... racy design.

I mean, I guess...

This one was pretty fun too. It spins and those little cars can spin and flip independently and THEY DO IT FREQUENTLY. When I rode with Brandon, it did a backflip twice in succession and I could see my necklace thing hang in front of my eyes like gravity had turned off. Maybe hang is a bad way to describe it, it more or less floated in front of my face.

Quite elegant.

Then we rode Storm, just like last year, and all of our chests hurt from the intense centrifugal force the ride created. I stuck my arms and legs out and they swung like ragdolls limbs, which felt pretty awesome. Tilt a Whirl, and all of us sat in one side of the machine which made it SPIN LIKE CRAZY. It was pretty ridiculous.

After about an hour, two hours of this, we decided to find some food. Which, by default, meant Chicken Charlie's.

If I could find one picture to sum up America, it would probably be this.
But with an eagle and dead terrorists in the background.

We didn't try anything too crazy though. The new Sloppy Joes look absolutely disgusting, so we opted just for chicken strips, fries, and ribs instead. I'd say it hit the spot, but it really, really didn't.

Then we went to the animal exhibition area. SO MANY ADORABLE ANIMALS, LIKE RABBITS AND PIGS AND COWS AND GOATS. ALL SO CUTE. JESUS.

IT LOOKS LIKE AN EWOK. Sort of.

LOOK AT THAT NECK.

SQUEE.

DAT HAIR.

"I don't really feel like doing anything today."

Freshly shaved alpacas look ridiculously funny.

They had a section for kids' art too.

Truer words have never been uttered in human history.

After this, we kind of just roamed everywhere.

Found this ugly thing. It was standing next to this doll stuck in
the rails. (Christina, don't hurt me please, I'm kidding)

She punched me frequently for making fun of her, but I think it was pretty worth it.

Hand carved dinosaur statues, aww yeah.

Dogs playing poker. What more could you need?

Soon, we headed out, but not before Kayla's grandpa decides to buy this GIGANTIC TELESCOPIC AMERICAN FLAG POLE. Didn't get it by itself in any pictures, but because of its sheer size, it of course snuck its way into a few shots.

Like this one. Also, the exit.

One last photo before we leave...

I'm not sure if the sun was just bright or if I blinked in this photo.
Same thing for Brandon.

And we got on Kayla's car and left. Got dropped off and immediately passed out on my bed, tired as hell.

Same day, 9:52 PM PDT

Woke up about an hour ago. Not planning on doing much for the rest of the night, probably going to work on the movie script/figuring out more of my camera's functions.

Oh, and I brought my Pokéwalker to the Del Mar Fair. Look at the step count.

I swear it was this, but tenfold because my legs were ready to give out
by the time I got home. Also, yes, Wooper's my favorite Pokémon.

RFotD: The San Diego County Fair brings in approximately 50,000 people each day that it is open. Last year, it reached a record attendance of 1,517,508 guests. For comparison, San Diego's Comic Con only averages 120,000 guests annually.

SGAT: None really. Did get to hang out with friends though.

Day Eight: Lights, Camera, OMGPOP

6/19/13, 9:02 AM PDT

New story! Rewrote The Purge, tell me what you think! Read it here.

Dropped my sister off, then ran for about 25 minutes. Strange, I was starving during the beginning of the run but when I got home, I felt stuffed. Does that happen a lot with you hardcore runners? Because I'm used to bursts of physical activity from parkour, not anything long distance, so I wouldn't know if this is normal or if I'm dying or something.

Anyway, gonna try and get my driver's license this summer, which means taking that traffic laws and signs test.

Actually, looking over the DMV requirements thing, there's a lot to do. They need a vision test, which reminds me that I have to start wearing my glasses, but anyway, wow, I have a lot to do to get ready to drive, which I guess is understandable.



Same day, 10:09 AM PDT

Anonymous person asked me on Tumblr how my movie was coming along and I felt so bad that I haven't been working on it at all. So, starting today, I'm going to focus heavily on writing a script, improving my mediocre VFX skills, and figuring out all the functions that my camera has so I can make the best possible amateur film.

Also, going to film camp around July, August-ish, which is going to be incredibly awesome.



Same day, 11:33 AM PDT

Jesus Christ! Found a gigantic spider in my room. If you've known me for more than a day, you'll know that the one thing I hate more than anything in the world are spiders. Killed it on sight, with a rubber band.

Then, got curious. Did some research in the species and apparently, these types of spiders actually kill and eat MORE POISONOUS SPIDERS. But they're harmless to humans.

Oh god. I've made a huge mistake. But they're just so freaking DISGUSTING. Their long, slender legs that just reach out and touch EVERYTHING. Imagine that thing feeling its way through your face while you're sleeping, that's why I don't like spiders. And centipedes. Anything with a million legs that crawl is disgusting.

Of course, I'm not cruel. I gave the spider a viking funeral, just like every other spider that's fallen to my hands. Flushed down a clean toilet. Requiescant in pace.



Same day, 5:46 PM PDT

Figured out a lot of the functions on my camera, which is neat. One step closer to that film I want to make before summer ends.

Played a bit of online Mafia with the Skype Group, trolled around pretty much. Currently on a Derren Brown marathon. If you haven't seen this guy's work yet, it's amazing. He's a hypnotist, illusionist, and generally awesome guy and a lot of his shows and TV specials are the most entertaining and interesting things I've ever seen. He does funny things, some dark things, but always manages to be entertaining. You should watch his stuff, it's all over YouTube, just search Derren Brown.

And no, his PR team didn't pay me to write that. And if they did, I'll never admit to it.



Same day, 8:39 PM PDT

Fell asleep because I've been running on about five hours of sleep. For about an hour, just lay passed out on my bed, face down in the pitch black.

Felt pretty good, pretty relaxing. Now I'm playing SSBB, seeing if I'm still good. Which I'm not. *quietly weeps*

Haven't played this game in forever, used to be really, really into it. But the magic died out and so did the skill and now I'm trying to get it back. Get it back for glory.


Same day, 11:26 PM PDT

So those SSBB rounds only lasted about 12 minutes before I got sick of it. Success? I'd say so, yes.

Player OMGPOP with Angelo, Khai, Kevin T (for a little bit) and the Skype Group, absolutely schooled them in Draw My Thing and Hover Kart Battle. Blockles and Sky Pigs, Khai cheated to his advantage and/or sold his soul to Satan in exchange for an OMGPOP advantage.

Kayla practically died of laughter at a drawing of the Mona Lisa. This is the drawing.

THIS WAS HER DRAWING

Perfect resemblance, no?





RFotD: Apple’s name recognition was so low in Japan in the early 1980s that refrigerated trucks were used to deliver shipments of Apple computers because workers thought that the boxes contained perishable fruit.

SGAT: 

Day Seven: Kazoo Hero

6/18/13, 11:10 AM PDT

Watched a bit of The Amazing Spider-Man on TV today. I don't understand why everyone hates that movie, I think it's a great new perspective on Spider-Man, much more loyal to the original comic too. But I guess people just love Tobey Maguire and Mary Jane and Green Goblin.

Don't get me wrong, I love Raimi's trilogy, but I like the new one so much more.

Anyway, gonna be finishing my story today. Lot of work left to do on it because of how unmotivated I've been, so wish me luck!



Same day, 4:01 PM PDT

Ended up procrastinating even more. Started out watching the Spill review for The Purge just to see if I agree or disagree with their opinions and inevitably, that spiraled into TWO HOURS of watching Spill reviews, which eventually led to a hell of a lot more procrastination.

Now I'm back on track, typing away at the rewrite of The Purge. Don't you worry.



Same day, 8:52 PM PDT

Lots and lots and LOTS of work to be done on my story. Jeez, I procrastinated WAY too much. Curse you, Skype Group for being so entertaining with your karaoke parties and your Tumblies. *shudders*

Oh, more on the karaoke, absolutely ROCKED IT. Even at songs that I didn't know, I always got in top three out of the four of us. Always got first place except for one song, "Skyfall" by Adele, because Kayla practices that song in the shower and Angela used her AutoTune there.

Yep, I just rock. My vocal prowess is unmatched.

Well... vocals prowess and kazoo skills. And it's not even really a kazoo, more like a comb and a piece of paper, which is a pretty viable substitute.



Same day, 10:16 PM PDT

Realized that I forgot to exercise today, so I did a few push ups, sit ups, and a few parkour related exercises with ridiculous names. Seriously, my coaches come up with the strangest names for exercises. Salmon jumps? Diddy kongs? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

To be honest, a salmon jump looks exactly how it sounds like. You go in a squatting position, jump up, flop your body like a salmon, and return to starting position. It sounds silly, but my coaches say "it works out your abs and your legs at the same time." I guess it works because after a few of those, my stomach ached. Or maybe that's because I swallowed an entire chicken drumstick a few minutes ago, can't really tell.

As for Diddy kongs... they're too weird to describe, you have to see it.

Also, a bit disappointed that I won't be going to the Del Mar fair with the Skype Group, but I guess it's a bittersweet thing since I'm getting my braces off that day and I do get a lot of time to work on my stories which I haven't been able to do for a lot of summer, so there's that.

Still would rather go to Del Mar though, but my parents are complaining that I'm doing too many things with my friends even though they complain all the time that I'm on the computer 24/7. But I guess that's life, all about finding the perfect balance.

Ooh, random thing that just popped up in my head, I should learn to be more social. I'm gonna go talk to random people when I pick up/drop off my sister tomorrow.





RFotD: At 325 pounds, William Howard Taft (1857-1930), who was dubbed “Big Bill,” was the largest president in American history and often got stuck in the White House bathtub. His advisors had to sometimes pull him out.

SGAT: None yet.

Day Six: The Day It Begins

6/17/13, 1:23 AM PDT

More server modifications. Now, I'm CONVINCED that this server has reached its full potential.

I'm so tired.



Same day, 11:40 AM PDT

Wow, another pretty vivid dream. Again, more Minecraft, so I think it's safe to say that's a pretty obvious dream sign. Gotta get used to reality checking.

Also, I seem to have writer's block. I'm kind of stuck in a plothole of my story. Working hard to go around it though, don't you worry.

Oh, and apparently, there were furlough days today, so I didn't drop my sister off today, which sucks since now I didn't wake up early enough to avoid the summer heat. Ah well. I'll go later in the afternoon.



Same day, 2:51 PM PDT

AAAAAAAAAAGH. Not feeling the writing motivation. GRAAAAAAGH. Feeling the urge to procrastinate, this isn't good.

But rrrrrrgh, everything is just so addicting. Music, videos, games, how does anyone get things done before the last minute?! Such is the turmoil in my mind, the eternal conflict between productivity and procrastination, like oil and water competing to cover the world's oceans. To write or not to write, that is the question, but where is the much needed answer, where is the solution, where is the elegant mistress that is motivation? Where is the drive, where is the desire to write? Hidden beneath the videos of cats and songs of dubstep that I expose myself to? Certainly not, so where indeed?

...Woah, that... that actually wasn't that bad, huh? I think I found it.



6/17/13 3:46 PM PDT

Jogged on my treadmill for around 45 minutes at a 5mph pace. So with the calculations, I ran 3.75 miles, which isn't too bad I guess. I'd like to run it faster though, but hey, one step at a time.

I was pretty dumb though and decided to just go to a standstill immediately after running for 45 minutes straight, so for the next ten minutes, the world was CRAZY. I can't describe it, everything was just wobbly and I felt taller than usual. It was pretty, as you kids call it, "trippy." I'd say akin to lying down for a few hours, then suddenly standing up.

Drug users that read my blog, is that feeling you get when you use heroine or something?



Same day, 4:00 PM PDT

Woah. Large explosion sound near my house. If there's anything in the news about an explosion, then you'll have heard it here first, folks. Source me.



Same day, 10:10 PM PDT

Are you sitting down? Well you better be sitting down because I've got some pretty amazing news for you guys. Ready? You found a comfy chair yet? Yes? Alright, here it comes.

Today was UNPRODUCTIVE.

There. I said it. Six days into summer and today's the first day that was pretty boring.

Well, technically, it wasn't that boring. I jogged, then fixed up my server, then worked on a decent chunk of my story, then just went on Tinychat with the Skype group for a bit, but other than that, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING PRODUCTIVE.

UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH, SO HARD TO FIND MOTIVATION TO WRITE.





RFotD: In Moscow, there are stray dogs that have figured out how to use the subway system to their advantage. SOURCE.


SGAT: Nothing really.

Day Five: Father's Day

6/16/13, 1:09 AM PDT

Up pretty late studying psychology for my next story. Pretty excited to write this one, especially since I might be able to write a better story than one that's been shown in theaters. Yep, it's a rewrite of The Purge. I threw out all of the main characters and kept only the concept of "the purge" in the story. If you haven't seen the movie or don't know what it's about, The Purge depicts a thriving America where all crime is legal once a year for a twelve hour period.

I won't disclose any of my story's plot in here, but I do plan on making a significantly better story than the one in the current movie. So look forward to that in a few days!

Same day, 11:03 AM PDT

You know those incredibly vivid and realistic dreams that are so believable and realistic that you're not sure whether or not they happened? Well I just had one. I dreamt that I was at the park, then I was suddenly in a camp in the mountains, a million feet in the air. But it was weird since the camp looked like it was made of Minecraft blocks, and there were cube-shaped holes everywhere, as if some griefers hit the place. Then, I was suddenly at home, on my computer, talking to the Skype Group. I looked outside the window and the sun was coming out. I thought that I had stayed up until 6 AM and decided to go to sleep. That's when I woke up.

Skype group, please tell me whether or not this actually happened, I kind of just passed out last night. How late was I online on my computer?

Oh, that reminds me, gotta relearn how to lucid dream. So far, a common theme in my dreams has been Minecraft, the Skype Group, and parks, which means that every time I encounter one of those things, I have to perform a reality check to make sure I'm not dreaming.

I can tell I'm getting closer to lucid dreaming since the dreams are getting more vivid and memorable. Means that my recall's improving, which is critical in lucid dreaming.

Sorry if all this terminology's just flying over your head, I drone on a lot. And that shows how addicted I am to Minecraft again, if one of my dream signals is Minecraft.

Anyway, deviating from dreams, dad played "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the car on our way to church.

I scream-sang the hell out of that song. It was the most beautiful thing ever.



Same day, 12:38 PM PDT

Fashion Valley. Wow, this place got really fancy. Well, I mean, it was pretty fancy before, but now, it's even more so, especially the food court. Dang.

Even more interesting, the pigeons and various avian life have actually gotten much braver than before. I swear, at least five sparrows had the guts to fly inches over my head. The pigeons are now so accustomed to the presence of humans that they are walking within kicking range now. If I so desired, I could probably put a French fry on my foot, wait for a pigeon to come by, and punt him to the moon.

But I doubt it'll be effective because they've actually developed TASTE PREFERRENCES. I saw a boy throw a French fry at a bird and it rejected it, opting to eat fried noodles instead.

Now about to watch "Star Trek: Into Darkness" in Fashion Valley's theater. It's a lot smaller than the Regal theater that I'm long accustomed to.

It's surprisingly crowded. But maybe that's just an illusion since my living room is just marginally smaller than this theater.



Same day, 3:35 PM PDT

HOLY CRAP STAR TREK WAS AMAZING. EVERYTHING WAS SO PERFECT. THE EFFECTS, THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, OH MY GOD. And I never thought that Sherlock Holmes would be a Dalek.

But first, some trailer things. Oh my god, I love trailers that show up in Sci-Fi movies. Elysium and Ender's Game both look pretty decent, but what really caught my eye was PACIFIC RIM. JESUS CHRIST, THE ENTIRE TRAILER IS JUST OH MY GOD. MONSTERS AND MECHAS SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE ME.

Okay, back to the movie, HOLY CRAP, IT'S SO PERFECT. KIRK BECOMING MORE SELFLESS, SPOCK BECOMING MORE EMOTIONAL, THE DRIVE AND SUBSEQUENT REVEAL OF KHAN, JUST SO BEAUTIFUL.

We chose Star Trek over Man of Steel and let me tell you, it was SO WORTH IT.



Same day, 5:14 PM PDT

Man, I'm exhausted. Lots of roaming in Fashion Valley. Bought Dippin Dots, a ritual we do every time we go. Then, went to Brookstone, where I heard some pretty awesome dubstep being played in a portable speaker. Asked the dude playing what the song was and eventually got his SoundCloud, which was pretty cool.



Same day, 11:26 PM PDT

More Synch-erm... TogetherTube with the Skype group, more server tweaks, yep yep.

...Please don't let this be the day that summer starts to be uneventful.





RFotD: A row of corn always has an even number.

SGAT: None really.