Return of the Revenge of the Son of Saying Hi to Josiah!

[Puyon]

Greetings!

Woke up at 7:30 this morning for no real reason. And around 8, I went to a parade. I very... dull parade to be honest. My mom and I were following the marching band but all the percussion was missing. And all of the percussion players are the most energetic. And all the songs sounded so... bleh without it. And there was barely an audience. Whatever audience there was, they were all following the groups. We looked more like an angry mob than anything. And there was little notice of the parade, and plenty of traffic built up. I walked 3 miles or so, and my feet aren't all to sore! I impressed myself by being able to walk that long without whining about it.

[Josiah]

Hi! I did some cooking yesterday for the potluck after services today. You know lemon chicken? Well, I make something a little like that but instead of the lemon it's more like pepper, pepper, pepper chicken. It turned out really good (assuming you've got nothing against black pepper) but it packs quite a punch for something without any chilis.

[Saber Knight]

Hey.

And all of the percussion players are the most energetic. And all the songs sounded so... bleh without it.

ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR THE BRASS SECTION IS THE MOST ENERGETIC TRUMPETTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, States for DI was today! I went as a manager since we lost... but at closing ceremonies, before they announce placings, they give out Reinassance awards (basically, awesome construction) and the Spirit of DIscovery (spelled like that on purpose OH DI IS SO CLEVER) awards, which is for... kind of vauge, but just having... well, the spirit of DI! So, we were at awards, and they were announcing Spirit of DIscovery awards, and they were like "This one goes to a secondary level (high school level) team from Spinning a Tale (our challenge) from.... *insert Saber's town here" and we were like "WAIT WE'RE THE ONLY SECONDARY LEVEL TEAM IN ALL OF *insert Saber's town here* OH MY GOD THAT'S US" so we awkwardly went up there and looked confused and one of the appraisers asked "Are you guys competing?" and we were like "DUDE NO!" and she was like "GOOD COME ON UP!"

It was honestly one of the best things ever. It was a different feeling than getting a DaVinci (highest honor in DI for creativity) or moving on to States or Globals. We weren't even there as COMPETITIORS! We got it because 4 out of 5 team members on our team are coaches and ALL FOUR TEAMS WE COACHED went to States this year. They said that meant we had truely found the Spirit of DI and were able to pass it down because we embodied it, or something. It was honestly just amazing.

The team I'm coaching didn't place, but I didn't expect them to, and it was their first time at States, so we were happy enough for that, and I'm glad they understood that. However, the team my friend coaches (and I co-coached with him last year) PLACED 1ST AND IS GOING TO GLOBALS!!!!! It was sooooooooooo exciting :D Their skit was FANTASTIC! Improv... and it was just brilliant. They're SO funny, and absolutely adorable. They had to integrate myths about trolls in Iceland into their skit.... and trolls are supposed to turn to stone in sunlight, so one of the kids (who is playing a troll) is talking, then suddenly walks over and goes "GAK! SUNLIGHT!" and collapses to the ground... it was hilarious :)

Ahh... today was such a busy day... the kids from my team and my last year team were all like "SABERRR PAY ATTENTION TO ME!" ALL DAY and I was like "AHHH I DON'T HAVE AS MUCH ENERGY AS 10 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS, SORRY GUYS!!!" ...but it was a blast :) I love DI so much.

[Puyon]

and trolls are supposed to turn to stone in sunlight, so one of the kids (who is playing a troll) is talking, then suddenly walks over and goes "GAK! SUNLIGHT!" and collapses to the ground.

Now, I know that I was supposed to think of mythological Trolls there... but is it bad that I actually think that the same thing could happen to an Internet Troll...?

[Josiah]

Hi! The 3DS comes out today. I didn't have one pre-ordered (thought I would still be in Japan and all) so I thought of running into town and seeing if I can grab one before they sell out...but I don't think I'm going to bother. I do want one, but none of the launch titles interest me all that much (Rayman 3D is really the only one I'd consider getting) so I guess there's no rush.

[Metalheadz]

Hey!

Well, I hate it when coincidences in my schedule happen... I learned that this retreat for my church confirmation was just this Sunday, which is the exact same date of my SkillsUSA competition in Hampden, Virginia. One way or the other, I will have to miss my competition to go to the retreat, and vise-versa. I really can't decide which is more important to me, but hopefully I can make arrangements soon. But still, I wish I could've just planned a little more ahead of time, and none of this would've happened. I hope I can still make both the retreat and the competition, though, so I'll need to make use of those opportunities. But other than that, I feel like my life is alright, just enjoying myself to some cookies and playing guitar, too.

Peace out!

[Saber Knight]

Hey.

Ugh, Metal, that sucks. I get schedule conflicts all the time, and I HATE having to decide between two things that are really important to me :(

So, the scores came out for DI States! My kids ended up placing 7th out of 13 teams... which I am totally fine with. What made me ecstatic is to see that they 3-way-tied (which is ridiculous, you rarely see 2 way ties, even) for 2nd in Instant Challenge! At the beginning of the year, they were HORRID at Instant Challenges... to see that they've gotten so far is wonderful :) I got to watch their IC (you get to bring in a coach but I couldn't go at Regionals because I was competing at the time) and it was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life. Part of it involved building a free-standing structure and I was sitting there, thinking AGGHHH DO THIS, DO THAT, IT'S TOP HEAVY, NO IT'LL FALL BUT YOU CAN FIX IT IF YOU DO THIS but you can't let any of that show, so I just sat there smiling. To know that they did so well in it is exciting :)

However, the elementary team that won... HOLY CRAP THEY FREAKING HELD 685 POUNDS WITH A 10.97 GRAM STRUCTURE! That's a weight held ratio (weight held/weight of structure, what you're scored on) of 62.44 which is higher than ANY OTHER ONE... even higher than all of the middle school and high school teams! MADNESS! There was also one team that held 790 POUNDS with a 24.34 gram structure... not as great a WHR, but still impressive!! My kids held 325 pounds with a 18.99 gram structure... which I'm still proud of :) It's overall been an awesome year, even with losing at Regionals (speaking of which, the team that beat us placed last at States... couldn't help but feel smug at that). I can't believe next year is my last year in DI. It's crazy...

Next year, we're gonna take it all. I can picture us with the trophy already :)

[shauni]

Cha!

Busy weekend for me. I went watching a friend of mine who is a base player in a metal band at a surface festival Liverpool auditions gig on Sunday, and out of 6 bands his got through to the next round in Manchester! I'm made up for him!

Anyway, I'm doing fine at the moment. It's really sunny at the moment and with the clocks going forward an hour yesterday it is staying lighter for longer. I'm really enjoying the odd little bit of nice weather we are having. Although at night it is freaking freezing! BRR!

Not getting the 3ds till something good comes out. I might get a dsi if they fall in price due to the new console release though.

[Josiah]

Hi! If you already have a DS there really isn't much point in getting a DSi unless you absolutely have to have something from the download store.

[shauni]

huh...really? I have the original DS Fat. It's battery is only lasting me five hours before it needs a charge again. I might get a DSi second hand if there is one going for like £60. i just want the DSi features for some of the games I've got, plus it might actually be compatible with my router!

[Josiah]

Hi! Personally I'd just keep your old DS until you get a 3DS since it's backwards compatible. Or, if you really have to get a new DS, go with a Lite since its cheaper and has better battery life than the DSi. There's nothing wrong with the DSi, but I never found the cameras to be all that incredbile and there's only a handful of good downloadable games available. And if you'll be getting a 3DS sooner or later anyway...

[Puyon]

Hey!

The 3DS, though it sounds good, it's stupid expensive. And has a limited amount of games too. I'll wait much later when the prices go down and when (or if) there are better games released for it... and when I have my own money to buy it ^^;

[PoisonWing14]

Moi,

Ohmaigrasshoppers...My head...it feels like there's some kind of space alien, worm-like creature crawling through my head...this headache isn't the nauseous kind of headache either. It's the kind where all you want to do is drive a screwdriver through your head just to make it stop...but, I ramble.

Today at my school was "wear red to support Japan" day. I have no shirts, coats, sweatshirts, or even socks that are red, so I just wore a red bandana. I was already wearing a hat on my head though, so I wore the bandana cowboy-style. It made my friends wonder if there are any "cowboys" in Japanese culture. I then went onto explain that the idea of cowboys came from the men on horseback who led the longhorned cattle from Texas, up into the Indiana-Illnois-Ohio area. Then I went onto a tangent talking about the old western movies and then was about to get into the story of Brokeback Mountain, but then we needed to get to homeroom, so, oh well.

I got my DSi XL a while ago, and I was thinking about getting a 3DS, but 1.) I have no money for it, ans 2.) I always forget to pre-order things. I guess I'm just going to have'ta wait untill the prices go down and then next new thing comes out....again. (This always happens. I swear I'm at least a year behind everyone else. I haven't even gotten Soul Silver yet, and some of my friends have already beaten Black/White while I'm still working my way through Platinum. =_=;; )

[Metalheadz]

Hi!

Was I the only one who experienced the small crash on the forums last night? *shrugs* It's just good to be back on the forums now.

I'm off to school in just a few minutes, and I think life is going good as I know it right now. I did have a dream last night of a really good friend who moved, and she doesn't have a Facebook nor do I have her number so I cannot contact her. I miss talking to her and having her around, I'm feeling quite nostalgic having fun with her at the pool and stuff while we were kids. Good times, but that dream suddenly kept me thinking a lot... Hm, but aside from that, I had quite a blast for a 4-day weekend.

Peace out!

[Silver]

Heso! No, I couldn't get on the forums at all last night, either. Which was quite a shame. Because I had intended to post THIS:

I am officially in a new house now! And I've... mostly unpacked. I mean, there's still a bunch of stuff crammed in boxes, but all the important stuff (read: video games and manga) is out and prominently displayed on my gigantic bookshelf. Which, apparently, is the wall. I was like, "They're taking the bookshelf, right?" and then they were like, "Hah! That's funny." So... I have a gigantic wall-encompassing bookshelf now. No room for my desk, but... giant bookshelf.

And I have a PS3. And Little Big Planet and FFXIII.