uh, that was... O_o this... little girl, she was like... 8 or 9ish... I looked out my window, under my blinds, and she was walking slowly and... there were no adults around which was odd enough by itself, but then like all of a sudden, she turned to my house [like, not just a casual glance, her entire body was facing my house] and just... started staring at my house. It was really creepy. I was getting kind of freaked out, but then this older man walked from where she had come from and I was all "thank god, he's her dad and he'll make her keep walking" but then he turned next to her and started staring at my house too. uhhhhhhh o_O!! Then I went to go to the bathroom and when I came back they were gone. It was weird though.

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. nothing more. x_x I made like 3 icons! Yay! Had to restart my computer between each one, though x_x sigh. Can't wait to get a new computer.

Huh. Listening to the first single off of Simple Plan's new CD, Welcome to my Life. I like it. Very catchy and poppy, like the songs off their first album, but musically it's a more mature, I think. Lyrically, it's even a bit more mature. The lyrics work well with the music, IMO. So yeah. It gets a thumbs up from me :)

duuuude. 3 days of band camp left >:O It feels like we just started. Man.

uhhh geez. I say that marking time for a bazillion million counts [which is equal the the amount of counts in the first movement] is a lot harder than marching them. >:O gah my calves are dead x_x

Lunch was pretty blah. I tagged along with Cindy, Andrew, Miri, and Eric to Del Taco, but I wasn't really involved with their conversation so at 12:20 I was like "Ah screw it I'm going back to the school." Walked back most of the way with Justin, Richard, Steven, and Seung, since... they had left like... 10 minutes before me but walked really slowly and I ended up catching up with them. Ooh and then I saw Lulu waiting for her bus at the bus stop outside of the school and I said hi :)

Mr. Austerman is actually pretty cool. All the back row went with him outside to work on different crap. I think I'd like him a lot more if we hadn't had Mr. Dawson last year.

but duuuude the end x_x gack and die.

Ahhh I'm tired. Dude last night at like 9:30ish I decided to take a nap, but it ended up more me falling asleep and not waking up till my mom came into my room at like 11:30.

Tomorrow is September 1 >:O I'm so bitching about getting a new computer starting tomorrow afternoon :)

woosh. That's it, I guess.

a;slkjf my private teacher is against marching band. He doesn't see the point in marching and playing at the same time and doesn't think it's good for my music playing ness. Or something. >:O alsk;fjd god wtf. I was more pissed off than ever in the lesson and I had a horrible headache, but at the end he was all "You were in a really good mood today. Keep up the positive attitude!" Uh. Ok? O_o

I've found that driving is really relaxing, though, for me. I don't know. Like, I was still pissed off at my mom but when I drove to my lesson I started calming down, and after my lesson I was pissed at my idiot teacher but as I drove more I felt better. Huh. Still have a horrid headache though. >:O

;akf god I'm tired. I feel like taking a nap. x_x

OHOH! New issue of AP came! woooo it came on time! It came early! adlfkj ah yes! <333 Green Day on the cover. Great article about them. Oh, and there's a full page on Letter Kills! Awesome! ...not much else. Article on Tsunami Bomb! But otherwise... eh but it's still awesome. Just not as much articles on bands I like as usual. Whatever, gives me more bands to check out :)

a;lskfjd geez I'm tired. awwww no Olympics tonight. Or for the next 4 years. Damn. alkjf sigh. I want to sleeeeep. x_x

omfg I'm so fucking pissed off x_x After band camp was over today, my mom said she had to go talk with Bentley and whoever about the roster thing she volunteered to put together and I should wait in the car and it'd only be 5-10 minutes. I ended up waiting there for a freaking hour. This is bad enough on its own, but in addition to this, I had had a headache and slightly felt like I was going to throw up since mid-lunch and ALSO my lessons changed back to Mondays at 6:30 [the absolute worst time possible, not that my mom or my teacher give a shit about my schedule and what I think] and I forgot since all summer they've been on Tuesday and I thought I would have tonight to practice, but... I wouldn't since I have my lesson tonight, and so I had to rush home and practice before the lesson. But, because of waiting for my mom, I have a full hour less than I would have. a;sodkfj omfg al;sdjfkl ahhhhh so pissed off. When she realized it would take so long, she should've come back, let me drive home, and then driven back. I live so close, it'd take like 6-10 minutes, at most. But since I don't have my license, it's not like I could drive myself or even entertain myself by driving around in circles. l;aksdjf god I'm pissed. And of course tonight is the lesson, and so I'll be even less tolerant of his annoying habits than usual and he'll yell at me for not smiling [like yeah, great encouragment there] because I'm pissed and tired and not feeling well asl;kdfj and I hate how I always have to be smiling or laughing and I have to fake my way through the lessons and I can't ever be unhappy or upset or all as;lfdkj and ahhhh I just want to go to sleep and I was thinking about taking a nap when I got home but now I won't have enough time to alskdfjla;ksdf;alksjdf;lkj.

blah.

Registration. Uhhh my schedule is crazy.
1) French 3
2) HCS-2
3) HEnglish 2
4) AP US
5) HAlgebra 2
6) Wind Ensemble

al;skdfj ahhh wtf French first period?!?!?! When will I study?! I mean, I knew I wouldn't have it 6th because of Wind Ensemble, but ahhhh. I would've liked to have it 4th, 5th acceptable as well. al;skjfd and ahhh Algebra 2 5th period?! alkfj I liked having it first >:O Although Justin said that this means I probably won't have Shulman, which is good. Though if I had it 1st, I'd probably also not have Shulman. uhhh I guess the rest is all right. English and history just moved up a period, science down two. Still >:O My block schedule will be Wednesday: French, English, Algebra; Thursday: Science, History, Band. How crazy. >:O I liked my schedule last year better. Though I suppose, last year's was sort of backwards from the year before as well. Still, last year's worked well >:O I liked that schedule. gah. I guess I should see how it goes first before complaining. So far all I know is Galaxy has French 1st period as well, which means she's in my class, which is good, because French without Galaxy would be weird.

mmkay I guess that's it. I should go practice now. Goddamnit. Dude I just marched and played for like 2 hours and played for another 2 hours. Is another half hour really going to do me that much good [answer: no, not with this idiot teacher]? geeez overplaying and overpracticing can make things worse >:O I just want to stay home and sleeeeep x_x asldkfj geez.

mmkay I'm cool so I'm writing little things on the CDs I got when I went to Spectrum last week >:o

The Matches: duuude they mention Loveline in one of their songs! <333 that's so freaking awesome. They remind me of Mest.

Melee: Dude. They're like... a crazy combination of Maroon 5 and Motion City Soundtrack. They have the sort of... jazzy subdued feeling of Maroon 5, but the vocals are more subdued than Adam Levine's and they're more classical. They have the same sort of classic, mellow sound as Motion City Soundtrack, but the vocals are a little smoother and deeper than Justin-Pierre's. Yeah. They're cool though.

My Chemical Romance: dude. Duuuude. You know with some bands you listen to them and on the CD there are like... a lot of really good songs, but then there's this one song that you just... connect with for whatever reason [or maybe no reason whatsoever], and it can make you feel horribly depressed but... it's just so beautiful that you have to keep listening to it? That's what every single song on this CD is like for me. <333 They kick so much ass. Why did it take me so long to buy their CD? >:o

that's all. :)

duuude it's been like 2 hours and my computer is still functioning :O whoo. Only problem is no one's online and I've finally caught up on livejournal and... now I'm bored x_X I want to go watch some Olympics, but... I'm afraid to leave my computer in fear that I'll never get it to work again x_x le sigh.

uhhhhhhh. yeah. School starts a week from Thursday. craaaaazy.

"Dear University High Students and Parents,

Welcome back to all returning students and a warm Trojan Welcome to our new students and families!"

Heeee. A warm "Trojan Welcome". Hee. I'm like 12, mentally.

Oh, and dude. When I read the beginning the first time, I somehow missed the "University" part, so it was "Dear High Students and Parents." hehehe. Even how it is... with the University, if you didn't know that the name of the high school was University... it sounds kind of funny. Yeah, ok. I'm having too much fun with the registration forms x_x

x_x blogging quickly to let people know not to expect to see me online for at least a few days, if not a few weeks. My computer's gone from horribly bad to horribly worse. It's amazing I even managed to get this far. The past few days, it's been freezing before I can even open my internet browser. al;fdkj goddamnit. My mom did say I can get a new computer in September, though, and Wednesday is September 1, so... I'll just hope I can get one relatively soon. x_x goddamnit alsdkfj ahhhh.

Uh, quick recap of the past few days since I haven't been able to blog: uh band camp woosh, car wash yay, found Falling Leaves thankfully and finished it yesterday, started A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, last night of Olympics tonight which makes me sad because the Olympics are cool and the next time they'll be on, I'll be 19 and going into my sophomore year of college [presumably] which is weird to think about.

ok that is it. Hopefully I can either get it working or get a new computer soon x_x

woosh. Today band camp was better than it was yesterday. Less sore as well, which is kind of odd, because it would make sense to be more and more sore everyday, but whatever, not complaining.

Started drill today. Wheee. It'll be more gack and die when we start to put the music to the drill, but for now, it's yay. Drill minus the music is better than basics >:o

uhhh lunch went to Albertson's/Del area. woosh. It's fun going off campus for lunch, but it'd be too... hurried I guess when school's in.

oh, got fitted for uniforms. Mine from last year fit just fine. It was actually a bit loose, which is odd, since I would think I've gained weight since last year rather than lost it. I don't know. Maybe my uniform expanded over the summer? That happens often, I'm sure.

gahhh I could barely stay up until midnight to watch the Olympics last night >:o I was falling asleep periodically at like 10.

new layout goddamnit >:o stupid computer. I don't know. Maybe after band camp, before school starts? eh.

er signed up to do the car wash from 10-12. I think I'm doing something with Annie [spectrumming?] after that, so I didn't sign up for the whole time. uhhh she needs to call me though because... it was more a mention than a set date and time thing >:o

I lost the book for English I was reading, Falling Leaves. I'm like... 5/6 done with it, and I was going to finish it this afternoon because my computer is an ass and I won't be able to stay on for that long, but I was looking for it in the family room, where I left it last, and it wasn't there. >:o goddamn cleaners. Or goddamn mother. Not sure which. But I know exactly where I left it and it wasn't there x_x ack, I have like... what? 2 weeks? oh geez like two weeks exactly. 2 weeks to finish that, read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and do the AP reading. Eh I'll do that reading this afternoon instead of Falling Leaves, I suppose, since I know where my AP US book is.

mmkay.

ahhh >:o doubly sore/tired today.

The Disgusting Thing [aka Rosa] asked me if I wanted to go to UCI center place thing for lunch and I had nothing better to do so I agreed and then all of a sudden Cindy and the tiny Jason that Cindy finds so adorable were coming too and then Mike Tseng offered Rosa a ride because he, Schmee, and Alex were going there [...I think] and Rosa asked if he could give all of us a ride so instead of walking like yesterday, I got a ride there. Wheeee. Then back after stopping also at Albertsons and... woosh. Band playing ness.

Uhhh I felt better playing than yesterday. Like... I didn't suck as much as I sucked yesterday :) The first time we marked time and played it was actually a lot easier than yesterday, even though my mouth piece was tilted to the left which is kind of odd, but then the second time it was harder than before today, but not as hard as yesterday, but that's kind of odd since the mouth piece was in the correct position. Huh. I think I was just more tired the second time. Blah, that'll suck for marching, though, because... marching and playing for 7-10 minutes straight is rather tiring. eh.

uhhh football game a week from Friday >:o I hate you goddamnit ahhh. Football games=:D. A football game on the very last day of band camp when we're already sore and tired from the previous two weeks and have only had 1 1/2 weeks to learn the first movement=:(

geez I'm tired.

errrr but beach party!! a week from next Tuesday. wheeee beach parties=:DDDDD.

mmkay I'm off.

Woosh with the camp of bandoness. >:o

A lot better than last year, but... well, this year I actually know how to march and I know more people in band. So... that's to be expected. I felt special because she moved me to the center line with all the veterans. :D Oh, and in sectionals I was used as an example for forward marching [proud]. Though my mark time is still horrendous :)

Went to Del/Albertsons/Starbucks for lunch. Whee 90 minute lunch. How crazy.

Uh then the band part. Eh. It was all right, but... I still suck at tenor x_x gah. I'm better than I was when I first got the tenor two months ago, but... that's not saying much. and wheee I get to go from here to a tenor lesson in like half an hour. x_X great. Oh but geez, she had us mark time while playing and alskdjf it was freaking hard with a tenor. I was all ack and gack and die. The mouth piece kept slipping from my mouth and my thumb kept slipping from the thumby holdy thingy and they were freaking whole notes and I couldn't play them. gahhh. I was so spoiled last year with marching clarinet. Clarinet is the absolute easiest instrument to march in the entire band. alkfdjlkj goddamnit. Stupid heavy tenor that slips away. >:o Plus the tenor's missing finger pads and that would be ok, but one of them is for when you play the middle and high C and you play that note a lot and... it really hurts after awhile x_X goddamnit I want to march clarinet >:o Tomorrow will be ok, but Thursday we start with our instruments, and... I'm going to fail miserably.

mm and yes, tenor lesson soon. goddamnit. I think 3 hours of playing the tenor is more than I need in one day. I improved more today in class than I ever would in one lesson. So there.

It was really cool seeing everyone again, though :)

oh and hahah.
Someone: [to me] Your hair!
Justin: [after like a minute or two of being around me] Oh, I didn't even notice.

Psh. Annie didn't even recognize me last Thursday. Two ends of the spectrum: not noticing and not even recognizing me. Woosh. I don't know. It amuses me.

alksjfd my bed looks really comfortable right now >:O

I think I got more worn out and sore playing tenor for 3 hours than marching for 3 hours. Huh.

ok I'm done.

geeeez. Summer completely and totally fucks with my sleep schedule. Getting up at 11 AM every day totally throws me off. Except, well last Monday I got to sleep in even though the cleaning lady came, because my mom was flying in from Minnesota and didn't get in until noon. But today x_X today cleaning lady came and so I had to get up early to clean up my room. Before the cleaning lady came. Of course. My mom makes sense. But geez it's getting tougher and tougher for me to get to sleep, and last night it took me until 5:30, which technically really isn't last night, but this morning. Le sigh. 2 1/2 hours of sleep. Fun. Maybe I'll actually be able to fall asleep at midnight tonight.

Band Camp tomorrow! I'm mostly excited but partially eh. My summer's finally been getting interesting, and now I all of a sudden have band camp and school looming over the horizon. All summer I've been waiting for band camp and then school to start and now that my summer's finally gotten good, I want to spend a little more time enjoying it. Plus, I remembered the part of band camp where I'm marching for 3 hours in the hot sun. And that part of school where, yeah, ok, I won't be bored all day and yeah, I get to see my friends all the time, but I have these pesky little things called essays and tests and projects. Yeah. Sigh.

uhhhh. I miss Olympic swimming x_X

I want to make a new layout goddamnit but my computer disagrees >:o Someday. After the Olympics, most likely, because I won't have the patience or time to deal with my computer and PSP until they're over. I bitched to my mom about my computer yesterday [worst it's been in awhile; I turned it on at like... 10 or 11ish, blogged and all, stayed on for about half an hour, then it froze, restarted it 7 times and each time it froze/crashed immediately, and I finally gave up and watched the Olympics for the rest of the day] and she told me I can't get a new computer till September because we won't have any money until then, or something. gah. Dude, it's not as if I'm being greedy and I want the newest state-of-the-art computer. This one will barely function. I just cannot use this one anymore. alskfdj geez. I can't even run any anti-virus software crap because my computer crashes/freezes in the middel of it. asl;kfdj sigh

uhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah. I want to go to a concert >:o And if not, I want to go to the Gravity Games [which take place in October in Ohio, btw :) Yeah, that's really going to happen]. sigh.

...I should really get to doing the English/AP US reading sometime soon.

Spectrumming yesterday with Tiffany, Tina, and Danny. I got My Chemical Romance, The Matches, and Melee CDs. Oh, and when we were walking this dude came up to me and asked if I wanted to listen to his band and so I did and they were good so I bought his CD for $5. They're called petticoatthieves. Then at 5 we went saw Without a Paddle, which was really funny. I love Seth Green <333 and fruity gay elf! bwahahahhaha. Very slashy too :)

Then Olympicsness >:o Damn no more swimming x_X That makes me sad. Now they're doing track crap. Swimming's more appealing to me for several reasons. For one, you can really only run one way, you know? The distance changes, but the running looks the same every race. But there are loads of different swimming races, there's more variety, so it's more exciting. Plus, I was on swimteam for a long time, so swimming is just more interesting to me. It makes me miss it, not that I'd ever go back to it now. Oh, and then you have the fact that with swimming you have a bunch of half-clothed, dripping wet men hugging each other very tightly after races. Even if the people are from different countries. You just don't see that in track. And stepping away from slash, the people of swimming just seem so much smarter, nicer, and more interesting. I mean, for one, the swimmers always congratulate each other after a race, even the people from other teams, but you're lucky if the runners even shake the hands of people from their own country after a race. And when they talk to the runners, they always sound just... boring, arrogant, and... annoying. Swimmers are more articulate and interesting to listen to.

So yeah. Oh, and no more Michael Phelps, which is sad, because I came into this on the fence about him, but he's just so talented and after a bunch of interviews I've heard from him, I can't help but like him. I'm still planning on writing that slash, btw x_x

mmkay. Band camp starts on Tuesday >:o I can drive there! Wheeee!

ok that's enough for now.

Olympicsness of Last Night:
Awww to Carly Patterson. Good on her. The US has done better than like... ever in gymnastics this year: both AA golds and both team silvers.

The commentators for NBC, especially for gymnastics and especially Al Trautfuckingwig, need to shut up. Though, Al does win the gold medal for Best Quote of the Night with this: "You can really tell who is shaping up to be gold, silver, and bronze medal contenders." This is, of course, after only two gymnasts have gone, neither of which posted incredibly good scores [a 9.4 and a 9.5; solid, but nothing to instantly point to them as medal contenders] and neither of which ended up medalling. Yeah. Great job there, Al.

Oh, and also? Markus [sp? Marcus? I've seen it both ways] Rogan is the most awesomest dude in the whole entire world. So there.

God I hate Blogger sometimes. Stupid fucking ad. Why is it like that on my blog?1 On everyone else's blog, it's at the top. Yet somehow, mine magically jumped in front of everything >:o goddamn blogger to hell [even if they're still better than xanga and most of the other crap out there]. Geez.

eh. I kind of want a new layout. I really love the graphic for this one, though, and if I do a new one, there's a very good chance it will still be skateboarding focused. That, or Thoogie-focused. But, uh, we won't talk about that anymore. shhh.

we need to do more stuff before Tuesday >:o

whoaaa. This song came on KROQ and they hadn't said anything before it but I could tell immediately it was Good Charlotte. And it was. They aired the first single off their CD which comes out... uh... September/Octoberish time called Predictable. They already have the video out too, I found. Hm. I sense icons coming out. I lie. They filmed. Hasn't been released. Making of the Video is September 8 on MTV at 6 PM.

The song was pretty good. I don't think it was as catchy as past singles. It sounded more mature. I liked the non-vocals pretty well, I thought their instrumental sound had improved. The vocals aren't bad either. Hm. I'll have to hear it more to really judge, though. The first half of it I was just in absolute shock so... I didn't really hear it very well.

Hm. Haven't done much of anything today, but it's been a good day anyways. woosh.

ETA: Upon relistening, I've found that the new GC single is actually pretty powerful when you, you know, actually pay attention to the lyrics. So yeah. I think I'm liking it more now, because it... it's more emotional, I guess.

omfg. That. Was. Amazing. I love Paul Hamm. He is just... omfg so spectacular. That was incredible. geez.

...yes. woosh :)

wheeeeeee. that was fun :)

Went to Ruby's with Jackie, Annie, Emma, Richard, Nathan, and two of Annie's friends [well one was a friend and one was a friend of the friend], Kevin and Wesley. Then hung around Barnes and Noble for awhile :)

umm... OH! And then I drove both Jackie and Annie home! :DDD I didn't crash or anything [proud]. ...yeah anyways.

ok back to Olympics.

Don't deny Olympic slash.

And that's all Pieter van den Hoogenband/Ian Thorpe. Michael Phelps is sooo totally jealous of their relationship, what with his total crush on Ian Thorpe and all. Gah, there aren't any great Michael/Ian pics at the yahoo pages. Sure I'll find some somewhere, though.

Seriously. Men in tight, barely-there suits exchanging flirtatious looks, hugging, and kissing each other. Oh, and manboobies. Lots of manboobies.

God, I forgot how amazing the Olympics is. I forgot how much I loved it back in 1996 and 2000. Though, I suppose, at those times, I probably liked them for slightly different reasons...

wheee today's shaping up to be a great day.

Uhhh woke up at around 11. After lunch, drove to Office Depot to get school supplies. First time really parking in an actual parking lot! Didn't hit anyone [proud]. I love getting school supplies <3 [I'm such a dork :D]

ooh and yesterday at like... 5:50 I was flipping through the channels and on one of the cable FOX channels, they had this vert comp thing and there was Bob Burnquist and Bucky Lasek and other awesome people! and I got all excited but I only got to see 5 minutes before it was over x_x But! I checked the TV schedule! And there was a repeat at 2 AM. Sooo I taped that. Aaaand when I got back I watched it.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. In a way it kind of sucked, because they only showed all of the first round, and then they showed highlights of the second and a little of the third with highlights. They also had a BMX vert competition, which included Dave Mirra which is cool. Oh, and the skateboard vert included Bob Burnquist, Bucky Lasek, Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Sandro Dias, Andy Macdonald, and... I know there was a 6th that is one of my favorites but I forget who x_X There were 10 total and the only other one I remember is Chris Gentry, but I don't really like him for this one reason that I don't feel like going into. hmmm who else? Whatever, that's good enough.

a;lskdfj and it kicked ass because A) Green Shoes, B) voice!, and C) aslkdfj he finally fucking took off his hat/helmet. geeeez. So I'm happy I have that on tape. And no one knows what the fuck I'm talking about but that's fine. Oh, and cute Bob/Bucky moments :DDD After Bucky's last run, Bob had already gone, but he slid down the ramp to where Bucky was [because Bucky had fallen], helped him up, and started talking with him on the side of the ramp. <333

BMX was cool too, but they showed even less of that.

mmm so yeah. That kicked ass and I have it on tape! Wheeeee! Next time I feel like crap, I'm watching that.

oh and then Ruby's later and more Olympics tonight! woosh. That 4x200 Freestyle Relay was fucking amazing last night. geeeeez. Awww Michael Phelps was the first to go over to Ian Thorpe [who was still in the water because he swam the final leg] and shake his hand and stuff. <333 ok I'm done with my slashiness x_x

but yeah. :)

!!! I just realized that I've been making graphics for over two years now. That seems like a long time, but then when I think of it, I can't imagine not being able to make graphics. Hm. I've definitely come a long way in that time, though. Heh. You should see my first banners. No, actually, you shouldn't, because they'll scar your eyes with their ugliness :)

mmkay and now rant.

I hate hate hate the American media and their absolute focus on gold for the Olympics. I mean, gold is great. Duh. But... geez. An American gets a silver and then someone will interview them and be all "Oh, how are you deal with losing the gold and only getting silver?" or even when they win gold, for swimming at least, they'll be all "Are you disappointed you didn't get gold?" And of course the whole Michael Phelps thing with breaking Mark Spitz's record 7 golds in one games. He's never said he cared about that. He said he'd be happy with one gold, and he got it, and he's stayed true to that. Last night he was saying that all he wanted to do in that race was race against Ian Thorpe [omgthey'resoinlove<333] and he got to do that, so he's happy and bronze is still a great achievment.

I mean honestly. It's just disgusting. Jenny Thompson "only" got 5th in some event and they were saying how disappointing it was an how she's lost her skill or whatever and it's so STUPID and ANNOYING and she does not fucking deserve that because it was a tough race and omfg. That's especially true to the Phelps thing. Because DUDE. Did you SEE that race?! That was fucking amazing! And it was super close, too. He wasn't even expected to medal, that's not his event, but he still stuck with it and bronze is an amazing achievment for him. But all they care about is now he can't break Spitz's record and omg he didn't get gold how embarrassing and it makes me want to vomit because geeeeez. Way to teach kids that gold is the only important thing and you should feel ashamed for anything else you get. Phelps broke the American record for that race too! >:o Shattered it. That's pretty goddamn impressive, I'd say.

It's seriously just... ugh! I'm so sick of it! The American media is teaching everyone that gold is all you can get and you should be ashamed for anything else and I'm SICK of it. Plenty of athletes are thrilled to get bronze. Plenty of athletes are thrilled to even get into the semi-finals, much less the finals and then win a medal. It's sickening. I mean, geez! Oh I remember back with the relay that the US got bronze for and South Africa got a surprising gold, beating everyone by a mile [well not really, since the race wasn't a mile long. But you know what I mean]. And then the media afterwards was asking the U.S. team, "What went wrong?" Uh. The other team was faster. That's what went wrong. Geez. It's so horrible. It's like, either the U.S. gets gold, or something went terribly wrong. It's all our own fault. It couldn't possibly be that the other team is, I don't know, faster and BETTER than us. Noo. That would NEVER happen. We're the almight United fucking States of America, goddamnit, and we're never less than perfect, except when we are, and other teams beat us, but they were just lucky and we were having an off day and next time you can be sure we'll beat them because we're just that goddamned fucking amazing.

No wonder the rest of the world thinks of Americans as so arrogant and self-centered. I mean, it's what the media trains us to be our entire lives. I don't know how they can expect anything different.

Cut and straightened >:O

gahhh my lesson was worse than it has been recently. I think it was because today, I had it at 9:30, and I'm so not a morning person, so I was less tolerant of his stupidity than normal. Ooh but I drove there! And then back :D wheeeee

duuude that Wil Ferrel sketch on the Rock Against Bush Vol. 2 DVD is the most kickass thing in the planet <333

Oh! What I learned today! It's all right to hit cars if they have a sticker in support for Bush on their car :) Hey, don't yell at me, my mom said so. I noticed that the two cars I saw with stickers for Bush drove really poorly. And the second I saw had the sticker in the very center of their back windshield, which is illegal >:O!!! Quite the poorly informed person.

mm womens' gymanstics tonight! My favorite event! Yay! And more Michael Phelps. I was kind of on the fence about him before, but then after last night's bronze, when the interviewer woman was all "How disappointing is this bronze?" and his response being all "I'm happy to have just one gold, and this bronze is still a great accomplishment" and stuff made me totally love him. And I am so ranting about the media in terms of the Olympics and medals for America in a moment.

...yeah actually I'm done, so I'll post, I'll catch up on LJ, then I'll rant. wheeee.

Men's gymnastics and men's swimming. Manboobies, oh my.

That Ian Thorpe/Michael Phelps/Grant Hackett/Pieter van den Hoogenband race was the most aaawesomest swim race I've ever seen. Woosh.

uhhh today's going to be a very long today. gah.

woosh. uhhh Olympics crap this morning. Dude, remind me to stay away from the TWOP boards after like... 6 AM. x_x I'm getting spoiled for the freaking events. ahhhh goddamn NBC. They should show the crap live goddamnit x_x

surveyish thing!

01. I miss somebody right now.
02. I don’t watch much TV these days
03. I love olives
04. I love sleeping
05. I own lots of books
06. I wear glasses or contact lenses
07. I love to play video games
08. I’ve tried marijuana
09. I’ve watched porn movies
10. I have been in a threesome
11. I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship
12. I believe honesty is usually the best policy
13. I have acne free skin
14. I like and respect Al Sharpton
15. I curse frequently
16. I have changed a lot mentally over the last year
17. I have a hobby [does writing slash count? no? ok.]
18. I’ve been told I: (women) have an applebottom, (men) am packing.
19. I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me
20. I’m really, really smart (when I want to be)
21. I’ve never broken someone’s bones
22. I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal
23. I hate the rain
24. I’m paranoid at times
25. I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free [...what about painless?]
26. I need money right now!
27. I love Sushi
28. I talk really, really fast [when I'm really excited]
29. I have fresh breath in the morning
30. I have semi-long hair
31. I have lost money in Las Vegas [but that was because it fell out of my pocket. Still. Technically!]
32. I have at least one brother and/or one sister
33. I was born in a country outside of the U.S.
34. I shave my legs (females) or face (males) on a regular basis [...sort of.]
35. I have a twin
36. I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past
37. I couldn’t survive without Caller I.D.
38. I like the way that I look sometimes
39. I have lied to a good friend in the last 6 months [...I don't really remember. But I don't think so...]
40. I know how to cornrow
41. I am usually pessimistic
42. I have a lot of mood swings
43. I think prostitution should be legalized [...don't really care either way.]
44. I think Britney Spears is hot [ew]
45. I have cheated on a significant other in the past
46. I have a hidden talent
47. I’m always hyper no matter how much sugar I have [coughtiffanyandanniecough]
48. I think that I’m popular
49. I am currently single
50. I have kissed someone of the same sex
51. I enjoy talking on the phone
52. I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants [during the summer. A lot of the time I don't see the point in getting dressed when all I'm going to do is sit in my room on the computer all day long.]
53. I love to shop [depends for what]
54. I would rather shop than eat
55. I would classify myself as ghetto
56. I’m bourgie and have worn a sweater tied around my shoulders
57. I’m obsessed with my Xanga or GJ [ewww Xanga.]
58. I don’t hate anyone. I dislike them.
59. I’m a pretty good dancer
60. I don’t think Mike Tyson raped Desiree Washington [...I have no idea.... o_O]
61. I’m completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother
62. I have a phone
63. I believe in God
64. I watch MTV on a daily basis
65. I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months
66. I love drama (As in theater)
67. I have never been in a real relationship before
68. I’ve rejected someone before
69. I currently have a crush on someone.
70. I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life
71. I want to have children in the future or maybe not [...wtf? I want to have kids. But maybe I don't. o_O]
72. I have changed a diaper before
73. I’ve called the cops on a friend before
74. I bite my nails
75. I am a member of the Tom Green fan club
76. I’m not allergic to anything
77. I have a lot to learn
78. I have dated someone at least 10 years older or younger
79. I plan on seeing Ice Cube’s newest "Friday" movie
80. I am very shy around the opposite sex sometimes
81. I’m online 24/7, even as an away message
82. I have at least 5 away messages saved
83. I have tried alcohol or drugs before
84. I have made a move on a friend’s significant other in the past
85. I own the "South Park" movie
86. I have avoided assignments at work to be on Xanga or GJ
87. When I was a kid I played "the birds and the bees" with a neighbor or chum
88. I enjoy some country music
89. I would die for my best friend. [...well I don't actually have a best friend, so...]
90. I think that Pizza Hut has the best pizza. [>:o]
91. I watch soap operas whenever I can
92. I’m obsessive, anal retentive, and often a perfectionist about some things
93. I have used my sexuality to advance my career
94. I love Michael Jackson, scandals and all
95. I know all the words to Slick Rick’s "Children’s Story"
96. Halloween is awesome because you get free candy
97. I watch Spongebob Squarepants and I like it
98. I have dated a close friend’s ex
99. I have cut my self before
100. I am happy at this moment

woosh. >:O

x___x;;;

uhhh last night I stayed up late like usual but... I didn't really feel like going to sleep, so I stayed up till like... 2 AM ish. Which was a bad idea. Because around 2:15, I heard my dad walking around, and all of a sudden, I heard him opening my door to check on me. gahhhhhhh.

He was all "You're still up?" and for some reason I quickly was all "I had trouble getting to sleep, so I figured I'd stay up for a little and tire myself out. I didn't realize it had gotten so late." No idea where I pulled that from. It is sort of true. It's harder for me to get to sleep during the summer, especially as of late. He was just all "hm" and I was all "I'll go to sleep in a few minutes" and he was all "All right."

I was so freaked out, though x_x Over a year and no one's come in to check on me while I've stayed up. Geez. He wasn't angry or anything. Just kind of surprised and... like he didn't approve. But it was ok.

errrr what else. Had an odd dream last night [or really this morning] but I don't feel like going on about it. Maybe later.

Woosh! More Olympics tonight! Wheee. x_x I still can't believe I want to write an Ian/Michael. I need serious professional help.

Dear lord.

I've gotten the urge to write a Michael Phelps/Ian Thorpe.

Please help me.

x_x;;;

I'm going to cry. Ah. I wrote this lovely long post about today, and then Blogger ate it. Goddamnit! >:O

OK. ONCE AGAIN.

Olympics last night was cool :) Aw, Ian Thorpe cried when he won! How cute. Even if I did hate him at the Sydney games.

Woke up right before 11 this morning and so I watched some more Olympics until 11:30, when I went online for a little bit. Then my dad got home from jogging and asked if I was going to spectrum, which I was. Then he was all "Want to drive there?" and I was all "...on the freeway?" and he said "no, you can go on side streets" so I was all "Sure!" Sooo I ended up driving myself to spectrum! Wheee!

So, then I spectrummed with TIffany. It was fun. I got Rock Against Bush Vol. 2, Thursday "War All the Time", and From First to Last "Dear Diary, My Teenage Angst has a Bodycount". Also got the new Revolver with a bunch of cool people on the cover and which also has an article on Taking Back Sunday and Warped Tour. We called Annie and stuff. Wheeee.

uhhh oh and then Tiffany needed a ride, so I drove her home! Yay! See I'm a good driver :) Then drove home! Woosh!

So yeah. That was fun.

Mm I'm going to watch Rock Against Bush Vol. 2 DVD and then Olympics!

Ok. I'm going to fucking write a Bob/Bucky, since I've had it in my head all weekend. Nothing is going to stop me, not even the fact that they have wives and children. So there. And Annie, you shut up >:O

oh oh wait. I had a dream last night! Ok, so a mosquito bit me and I got the West Nile Africa virus/disease/something and I was all worried and I was talking on this phone that's like my phone at home except I was at school with it and I wasn't supposed to be on it and George W. Bush was the principal and he saw and he started yelling at me and I told him to go talk to John Kerry, who was my teacher, because he knew and he could explain it but I couldn't for some reason, and so he told me to take me to John Kerry but it was a really crowded area and I couldn't find him and in the process of looking for Kerry, I lost Bush accidentally [not that that's a bad thing] but I was all concerned with my disease so I continued to talk on the phone and then I was sad because it was fatal and it meant I was going to die but then I woke up and was relieved because I didn't really have that disease. :) Wow, run-on sentence, much? But yeah. Heh, it's amusing to think about now.

ok, that's it!

Tiffany: The shoes I was talking about. [the guy on the ground's shoes] I... don't really know why I want them. I just... like the... style of the shoe. It's not really puffy, it's like... narrower? I don't know. I just like them. So yeah.

Nice day so far.

Woke up just before 11, then stole my parents' TV to watch the Olympics. Watched a little swimming prelims and then my dad came home around 12 and asked if I wanted to go driving which, of course, I did.

Soo I went driving around Turtle Rock Drive once and then he said we could get In 'n Out for lunch, sooo I drove us there. Wheee I drove to In 'n Out and back! [proud] I'm such a better driver than I was last Saturday. I'm proud.

mm then back home and watched more Olympics till 5. Only prelims for the most part, so it wasn't as exciting as it could be, but it's still cool. Plus, tonight they have some swimming finals and shit, which should be fun to watch.

And now off to watch more X Games videos at expn.com and then more Olympics from 8-12. wheeee.

This day just kept getting better. :D Friday the 13th, who? ...or, I guess, what? Whatever.

So after watching stunt vert, I waited till after dinner to see best trick. When I was eating dinner, I remembered I wanted to see what was going to be on for the Olympics [first official day of events tomorrow!] so I grabbed the TVGuide. It said to check the sports highlights page, and I went. For kicks, I wanted to see if they listed the rerun of the X Games that I saw earlier on the same page. But instead of finding that, I found one that said ESPN2, 10:30 PM, Day 3. More reruns! Wheeeeee! Unfortunately, it'd go till 11:30 PM, which is past my "bedtime" [not that I've actually gone to sleep at that time for ages. Not that my parents know that fact]. I figured I'd just ask my dad and he should be ok with it, though he is more strict than my mom in a sense. I thought by that time he'd be asleep anyways, so he probably wouldn't even notice if I did stay up till then, but I figured I might as well ask.

Sooo I went back to my room and watched the practice of skate best trick. Wheee that was cool.

Green Shoes! They're like Brazil, except that makes sense! ...even... if I'm not, at the moment. shhh. aslfkj goddamnit would he take off his freaking hat/helmet, though?! x_x ...yeah. I make sense to me, and that's all that matters, so [sticks out tongue].

Uhhh I really don't have to say much because the practice was basically like the actual event, considering... that's... all it is. Practicing a trick till you land it.

Mm so after watching practice, I went to do the bird cages and ask my dad. He was asleep when I went to ask [keep in mind that it's only 9:30 PM at this point. Yeah. Really could've just not asked]. But I asked and he said yes immediately, so whatever.

Ok so went back and watched the first two videos of the actual event. Awww Bob looked so bashful when they were announcing him to everyone. <333 There really isn't anything to say here, because they actually did air most of this event. I watched to where the commercial was and then stopped, because it was nearly 10:30 and I didn't want to miss any of the highlights of X Games [...that I've already seen once. Shhh.]

So yeah. Went to watch, and you want to know which event they did first? Skate Best Trick. And you want to know where they picked up the coverage? Right after the commerical. Oooh. So that worked perfectly.

Again, nothing to say, other than [and I know I said that before, but shut up] omfg alskfdj geeez I still adore Bob's expression when he landed that trick. He instantly was like... gaping. So shocked. It cracks me up every freaking time. And I can't keep a straight face when they refer to Sandro Dias as a pitbull. He's just this... tiny little chipmunk thing, man. So adorable :D His accent reminds me of Javier's [from Felicity].

uhhh then they went to the Moto X Prelims and showed the first run of Nate Adams and Travis Pastrana and the second runs of Brian Deegan [x_X remind me of the disappointment, why don't you?], Mike Metzger, Nate Adams, and Travis Pastrana. Holy hell, I still can't believe Travis went for the 360 in his second run, and after seeing that fall again... he didn't even move for a few minutes, and didn't stand up for like 5. I cannot for the life of me understand why he'd compete the next day, much less how he physically could. AND he managed to land silver. I just... no words for him. Well, actually, yes, I have words. He is fucking amaaazing. He's just so... wow x_x Just wow.

aaaaand then it was over and back here for this :) I'll probably end up watching the rest of the videos for skateboard best trick tomorrow, even though I saw the end tonight. Whatever. Ok, so I may seem completely and totally pathetic for being this obsessed over things I saw a week ago. But dude, if watching these videos and reruns can make me this giddy? Then I'll take it. I mean, let's compare: Monday I was depressed as fuck. Today I was happy as hell [...that's a really weird analogy. Both are. They really don't make any sense whatsoever. Oh well]. Monday, no X Games. Today, X Games. Sooo I don't care if I seem pathetic, I'd much rather feel like this and be pathetic than feel like I did Monday.

god I can't wait till Gravity Games. 37 days. sigh.

mmkay I'm off.

wheee. This has been one of the most fun days I've spent simply sitting in my room. :)

Woke up at 10, made myself breakfast, went to parents' room to eat it so I could watch TV. Randomly checked out that OLN channel and... what do you know? An episode of the Gravity Files was on! Wheee! It was the one with Ryan Nyquist, the bike stunt dirt one. I would've rather seen the skate vert one since I missed a little of it and I like that event more, but it was still awesome to see.

After that, I went back to my room to play that game I downloaded yesterday and then at noon I made myself lunch and went back to my parents' room to see what was on. Nothing of interest on the OLN and they were playing crappy videos on Fuse, but I started flipping through the guide thing they have and it said that at 12:30 [this was like... 12:15] they would have day 4 of the X Games on ESPN! Wheee X Games repeats! Only an hour, so it would obviously just be highlights, but it was better than no X Games.

So, after 15 excrutiatingly [...I don't even think that's a word] long minutes, it came on. Started off with BMX Stunt Dirt and they showed only Ryan Nyquist's last run. It took all of 2 minutes. Then they did a brief thing of Supermoto. Took like... 5 minutse. Thennnn they did a brief thing of Big Air! Wheee! They showed the last two runs, which were Danny Way and Bob Burnquist! So I was obviously happy. Then there was like 45 minutes left, and they did Travis Pastrana and Nate Adams's first runs of Freestyle Moto X. Then they had the second run of... someone. The... dude. I forget. Shut up. Then they did the second runs of Travis and Nate. Whee. ...then it was over. Aw. But! I stuck around longer than I did last time, and since Freestyle Moto X was the last event of the games, they showed this end montage of some of the highlights and some of the well-known athletes talking, including Bob Burnquist, Bucky Lasek, and... well other people, but I was mostly excited about Bob and Bucky.

So after that, I was all nostalgic and then I remembered that I had taped Big Air and Supermoto from Sunday. So I grabbed that and watched Big Air. Wheeee.

But I stil wanted more, soooo I remembered they have this raw, un-cut footage from the X Games on expn.com which like... you can hear what the commentators say and everything that's happening during the breaks and stuff, and you can see runs they didn't show. It's basically like the games without commercials, interruptions, or any censoring.

I was itching to see skate vert again since I had been kicking myself [...not literally] for not taping it and then when I remembered the expn.com stuff, I decided to watch that first. So I watched two videos of practice for skate vert and then 4 videos of the actual event.

Skate Vert - Uncut!

"There's no such thing as a switch nollie. ...unless you want to call it that."

Heh.

Shaun White: Mmkay I'm going to try not to repeat anything I said back when the actual thing aired because... that's... kind of stupid and redundant. Only thing I wanted to say here is ahhhh I feel so horrile for him, and during the break, the commentators were saying how he was so ripped off on his second run. Awwww.

Sandro Dias: Heee. His nickname is something like the Pitbull, but he reminds me so much more of like... a chipmunk. He's so freaking adorable. He's like a little kid.

Andy Macdonald: I'm sure I mentioned this the first time, and I know I mentioend that he had something about Skateboarders for John Kerry on his skateboard at Big Air, but I finally saw for sure what was on his skateboard for skate vert, which was "Regime Change in the USA" or something like that. And yes. So much agreed.

Mathias Ringstrom: They didn't show us any of his runs when they aired it last week, so I didn't know what to expect with him. His first run was really impressive, and he had great technical combos. I was surprised it only gained him an 83.33.

Rune Glifberg: Heh. They interviewed him after his first run, which they didn't air last week, and it amused me. The interviewer was horrible and kept asking stupid questions and he was just "Eh, I don't know." Then before they had commented that he was saying he was having trouble with the bowl and how to incorporate it and crap, and then the interviewer asked him about the bowl and he was all "Well, I would've designed it differently, but that's just me." Which amused me for no reason whatsoever.

Bucky Lasek: First run was really awesome. They showed shots of his wife, though, after he nailed some really awesome moves, and she just looked insanely bored. Psh. I wanted to hit her. She bothered me.

Bob Burnquist: Wheee. I got to hear his voice again. This has become like an obsession of mine, because after hearing it during Gravity Files... it surprised me how low it was, but then I was trying to remember it I forgot exactly what it was like. So it was nice because they asked him questions about the bowl and I got to hear him talk again :) Duuuude if he would've nailed that last trick, he would've medalled. No doubt about it. I mean, he got a freaking 88.00 even after falling. If he had landed it, there's no way he would've have gotten at least bronze. Oh, and there was this really cute moment... like ok, they were announcing everyone [which they again didn't show during the aired version] and after they announced Bucky Lasek they showed him looking over to his left and Bob was there and Bob like grinned at them and they were looking at each other all cutely and it was a really adorable moment. Duuude they so need doubles back. Man I'm still pissed about that. Bob and Bucky would have owned it. I mean, they're the perfect duo. Bucky has consistency and so much skill, and Bob has so much creativity and originality, and of course skill. Bucky'd have the technical moves, Bob would have the crazy ones that no one else would ever think of. Perfect. als;kf yeah. And Bob would make a better wife to Bucky. At least he was excited after Bucky's first run. ...shhhh. There's nothing there, what are you talking about?

But yeah. That made me so freaking giddy. Ahhh I can't wait till Gravity Games goddamnit. 38 days! I put it into my watch :) dude Winter X Games kick ass, but it doesn't hold a candle to Summer X Games. aslfkj geez I can't wait till next year.

Ok so I stopped to blog, but I'm going to go on and watch Skate Best Trick practice and the finals and other stuff as well. Don't know how long it will take me, because 6 videos took me about 3 hours, and there are like... ok fine there are 6 videos for that too, and if those are like these, it should take me around 3 hours. But yeah, don't expect to see me on AIM tonight, at least not until like... 10-ish, because AIM slows down my computer too much and half the time it won't even work because I don't have enough memory anyways.

Oh. And one last thing. People who call my house need to freaking leave messages x_X Because the phone rang like a million times today, and I don't answer the phone because I hate to take messages for my parents since they're usually the only ones to get calls and it's safer to just screen the calls, but then you can't screen the call if no one leaves a message, and my parents were the only ones to call today to leave messages and they called like 3 times and PEOPLE NEED TO LEAVE MESSAGES AAAAAH. i'm ok. :)

And I'm off. wheeeeeee.

Wheeee writing fics I'm satisfied with and then getting awesome reviews is a total mood lifter. Dude, next time I get super depressed, I should just look back at old fics I posted at hott_baguettes and see my reviews. They make me happy :)

I think you are now one of my favorite writers on here. :)

Duuude that's like whoa to me. Being one of anyone's favorite writers? That's so cool. <333

Everything you write is good.

I should show her my het from last summer. That'd probably change her mind. Oh, no, my first Buffy fic! Ahah no. :)

wheeeeeeee I'm feeling giddy. I found this really cool simulation game where you're like the president of this university and you run everything and everything. It's really cool :)

ahhh I have the urge to write again. Heh. This is what writing a fic you actually like does to you. Maybe tonight? I write better at night x_x I don't know why. I'm more inspired? Yeah. Ooh, maybe I'll finally write that third part to The Art of Growing Up. Or or the sequel to The Simplicity of Asking a Guy Out. Yeahhh. Maybe. Or or I could write that fic I got the idea to write back in June and have never started because I could never get a grasp of what it'd actually be about.

Dude I'm so happy :DDD

Ahhh.

Oh, and I can't wait till Gravity Games. Is it just me, or would Bucky Lasek and Bob Burnquist make a good pairing? What?! They were doubles partners in vert skating for like, ever! And Bucky was all "If you love him as much as I do..." Shut up I don't care if they both have wives and kids. Shhh. They'd make a cute couple. ...ok go away. ...yeahhhh so! :) Gravity Games! Wheee!

Ah I'm not going to be able to drive tomorrow x_x My mom's leaving and my dad'll be at work all day and I've found it kind of hard to drive when you don't have a car. And Saturday I doubt it too x_x But but! I can drive to people's houses if they need picking up for Spectrum! I just... probably can't drive on the freeway to spectrum yet. The freeway still freaks me out x_x

erm. I'm feeling so random and giddy right now. I think people should just ignore this post. I'm weird and not entirely coherent when I'm like this.

I want a new layout. But then, I don't want a new layout. Ah, I like how I don't even make sense to myself.

...woosh ok I think I'm done.

Finished my fic! I'm actually really satisfied with this one. See, I really like some of the fics I wrote back in like... February/March, but then after the one I wrote that is probably my favorite of everything I've written, I just got into this huge funk, and I don't think I've written anything nearly as good as the stuff I was writing back then. But this one is actually pretty close to that level, and for me, it's really reminiscent of those fics. So I'm very pleased. Even though in 2 minutes I'm sure I'll be able to find something horribly wrong with it.

I went driving for nearly an hour! First went up on Turtle Rock Drive and then in that parking lot at the Turtle Rock Community Center. I practiced parking in between cars and such. I'm getting really good at parking now. I'm always within the lines, and usually I'm slightly crooked, but... I'm still within the lines. Only problem I have is not pulling up far enough, but that's not like it's really hard to fix. I have the hard part down fine. So then we went back to Turtle Rock Drive but instead of going where I've gone before, my mom decided to challenge me, so we went to the Strawberry Stand. Which meant I had to go down Ridgeline! [gasp] The speed limit there is like... 55 mph. I went like... 50 mph, which is really good for me. Oh, and a cop passed us, which I'm proud of because that means they went past us rather than pulling me over. Then went on... it's University, I think? then right into the stand. The problem is... when I went right on University... there's an arrow there. And when I was going it was a green right arrow, so I was like "no problem, I can go through" but then it turned yellow and red before I got there and I slowed down and stopped, but I mistook it for a normal light, so I turned right on a red arrow. Not supposed to do that :) Against the law, and all. My mom was all "accelerate" because cars were coming behind me and I did and I didn't even realize what was wrong until I parked in the lot at the Strawberry Stand. My mom just kind of laughed at me. But hey, I didn't crash, and... well, ok, yeah I kind of broke the law, but... it could've been worse x_x

Then... went back, turned left onto University and went the long way home. Which means I went all the way to Culver, turned left, went all the way to Campus, turned left, and then... went home. That part really wasn't too hard, except when I was turning right back onto Turtle Rock Drive so I could get to Amalfi and all I turned too slowly and a little too sharply and the car behind us got mad and went around us all fast. Psh. Oh and then I had to change lanes and get into the left lane, and... I think I did it all right because I signalled and looked over my shoulder [unlike the last time I changed lanes...] and into the mirror and all that good stuff and I didn't hit anyone or anything, so... I guess I did it right? but for some reason I'm still unsure of it. Oh, and I'm still having trouble parallel parking at my house. I ran into the curb again today x_x I think I need to work on that. Oh well, I've been driving less than a week, there's still time for that. :)

So yeah. It was still a pretty successful drive, other than that whole... illegal turn. But as long as I didn't kill anyone or crash into anything, I think it's still a pretty successful drive. :) And I'm getting really good at parking, so there.

Oh, and I got a chocolate strawberry at the stand :)

Ooh one last thing. The governor of New Jersey came out as a gay man and then resigned from his position today. That's like whoa.

mmkay. Only thing I'm doing until band camp is spectrumming Sunday so far x_x Need to do more stuff!

ok, that is all.

Hm. New American Classic is probably my least favorite song on Where You Want to Be [Taking Back Sunday], but I find it really pretty when it's acoustic.

...my mom's last day here until like Monday x_x gah.

Driving later? I think.

er Spectrumming Sunday :)

Had a few odd dreams last night, but they're all too vague now to talk about.

uhhh I started a fic last night :) I'm really pleased with it so far. It's about half-way done I think.

I find it weird that after 10 1/2 hours of sleep, I'm still more tired than I usually am when school is in session.

mmkay that's it.

>:O I hate you all!

...not really. Uhhh.

This morning was ok. My mom woke me up at 8 to ask if I wanted to watch Warped Wednesday, but today is the last day, and it's like... highlights from the past weeks so I was all "let me sleeeep x_x;;;". But once I'm awake, it's kind of hard to get back to sleep. So I drifted in and out of sleep untill about 10, listening to Kevin and Bean. I had a lot of weird dreams. I only remember two vaguely.

The first... I think Annie, Jackie, and Tiffany were sleeping over at my house and it was morning and I was waking up and Jackie and Annie were already awake but Tiffany was sleeping and they had Derek [my bird] and they dropped him on her which woke her up and then she started freaking out. ...that... actually seems like something that would happen in real life.

Second had to do with some marching band field trip except it was like to the woods and we were all in cabins and it was weird and it wasn't for a competition or anything, it was just a random trip. But I had these cool pyjama pants which were like doubled over from the knee down, and when you pulled the first layer up, there was like this pocket and small light for like... money and stuff. ...it was really random. There was a lot of stuff going on in that dream, but I don't really remember much of it.

uhhh so yeah. Thennn I drove around Turtle Rock Drive a few times and then practiced parking for like 15 minutes in the parking lot at the Turtle Rock Community Center place. Then we went for gas and to Albertsons [my mom drove both places because I didn't trust myself to park in the Albertsons' parking lot x_x I'm waaay better at parking than I was, but... I don't trust myself around other cars yet], then back up to the parking lot, practiced parking a few more times, then I drove back to my house and parallel parked on the hill. Uh. Heh. And drove over the curb. x_x Yeahhhh not the best parallel parking I've done. Well my mom told me to back up closer to the curb, so I did! ...I don't think she meant that close, though.

erm. Spectrumming Sunday, since Annie can't go Saturday. Wheeee. I still want to see Without a Paddle >:O Better see that sometime.

I really like this layout. But I still have the incredible urge to make a new one. The sad thing is, if I were to make a new layout, it would be X Games/Gravity Games/Bob Burnquist/Travis Pastrana/Ryan Nyquist/etc. related, and this one is already X Games/Bob Burnquist/Bucky Lasek focused, so a new layout based on the exact same things is kind of... stupid and unnecessary. Even though I think the next layout I do will end up being related to that stuff. Oh well. asf;lkj gah but I can't wait till Gravity Games :)

It's sad that I've been blogging every day pretty much since school let out, but when school's in I tend to miss a day or two every once and awhile, yet when school's in I have so much more to blog about. Eh. Oh well.

I'm bored. We need to do stuff. >:O

Back to The O.C. fiction :) wheeeee

oh wow, that was so cool.

See, my kitchen's being worked on right now, so I had to eat dinner in my parents' room. Now, before, when I said we had OLN, I had just checked TVGuide.com because that lists the channels we get in this area. However, I wasn't positive. So when I was in my parents' room, I decided to make for sure. We do get it. It was right before 6 and the listing for 6 PM caught my eye: Gravity Files. Gravity Files of course reminded me of Gravity Games, and while I was sure it had nothing to do with Gravity Games, I checked the info anyways. And it said something about focusing on skateboarding, moto X, and BMXing and stuff. Looked interesting and my parents aren't home Tuesday afternoons/nights, so I decided to watch it.

First half hour [because one episode was on at 6, another was on at 6:30] was focused on vert skateboarding, which of course got me excited. Oh and I found quickly that Gravity Files was actually like a pre... thing to Gravity Games. So they did have something to do with each other.

Anyways, so then, they had an annoying woman host who talked annoyingly for a few seconds. But THEN she brought on her guest host. And who was it?

Bucky Lasek. One of my favorite skateboarders :D He talked about skateboarding and shit and it was cool. :D Then they had this montage of past Gravity Games, and it featured people like Bob Burnquist [<333], Bucky Lasek, Sandro Dias, Andy MacDonald, and Pierre-Luc Gagnon. So, needless to say, I was already very pleased with this show.

So commercials, went to bathroom, and when I came back it was already on [short commercials! not that that's bad] and Bucky was talking about some skateboarder. He was saying a lot of awesome things about him and kind of joking around about him and then he was like "If you love him as much as I do," [the inner slash obsessor in me went "eeeee" at that], "you'll love this next segment." And in my head I was like "Bob Burnquist!"

And it was Bob Burnquist.

eee :D

His voice was a lot lower than I expected. I realized I haven't really heard him talk, at least not enough to remember so it was cool hearing him speak. He sounded really intelligent. He also just seemed really grateful for where he was in life, really appreciative to his fans, and really loving of his family [duuude have you seen him with his daughter or son? So cute! I bet he's a really great father and husband {...I think he's married. I read an interview of him a few years ago, after having his first daughter, and he wasn't married then because he said he didn't need to be bound by that, they were bound by spiritual ties and whatnot, but he has a son now too [...at least... I think?] so I think he might be married now}]. They had clips of him skating too. Ah it was awesome. I want a repeat so I can see it again. He's just so fucking kickass. I can't wait for Gravity Games :D

Bucky talked more throughout the thing which was cool and he also had segments with Andy Macdonald, Pierre-Luc Gagnon, and Jake Brown. Pierre-Luc Gagnon really has almost no trace of an accent, except when he's saying certain words, like "American" [more like kEHn instead of kUHn] or words with the "th" sound. They all seemed cool.

Then after that! There was a BMX stunt dirt episode. And who was co-hosting? Ryan Nyquist! My favorite BMXer! Wheee!

He seemed really nice and cool too. Joking around and all. There were segments with BMXers too, but I don't remember their names very well. They were all Australian, though, which really amused me for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

So yeah. That was really awesome. alkfj dude so now that I know I get OLN, I'm either making sure I get COX Cable on my TV before Sept. 20, or I'm totally stealing my parents' TV from Sept. 20-25. :DDD

...it's sad how giddy that hour of TV made me. But dude. DUDE. My top two favorite skaters and two other skaters I really like, a whole episode on vert skating, which is one of my favorite events, if not my like... absolute favorite, Ryan Nyquist, and a whole episode on BMX Dirt, which is another one of my favorite events. Ahhh. I so can't wait till the Gravity Games <333

Today I should be feeling really crappy [not feeling good, no driving today, lesson], but I actually feel a lot better than I did yesterday. Yesterday I was crashing from the X Games high. gah. Everytime I feel really awesome I end up crashing pretty hard. I miss the X Games still, and it's only been 2 days. Geez. I really want to watch the Gravity Games. I think it should be on NBC, but no one's mentioning anything about it. I found out that we actually do get OLN, so if worse comes to worse, I'll beg my mom to let me steal her TV for 5 nights. I mean, she usually never watches anything on the extra Cox Cable channels anyways, so if she had to watch something, she could watch it on the family room TV. And she did say she was going to work on getting the TV in the family room Cox Cable as well, so who knows. By then, I may even be able to watch it on that TV, which would be good.

Uh, the TBS/FOB/MBR concert. Went to ticketmaster, and it's not listed. Searched for the venue, and it had no events listed. The rest of the dates on the first leg are listed. I'm quite doubtful at this point I'll be able to get tickets. I think it may have been cancelled. Oddly enough, I'm not incredibly upset about that. [shrug] Don't know why. My mood's been swinging like crazy the past few days. Maybe in a few more days I will be more upset. But really, it's just another concert, and I'll have other chances to see them, even if it's not all together.

Spectrumming this Saturday? I want Rock Against Bush Vol. 2.

I still have 2 books for English to read and the AP reading to do [actually I read to half-way through chapter 2 a month or two ago, but I think I'm going to reread it, since I remember nothing about it]. Sigh. I was planning on finishing that these weeks before band camp. Oh, and I was going to take everything down from my walls and put it back up again. I'm still planning on that, I'm just waiting for a day when nothing happens. I'm thinking next Wednesday.

A week from today, I'm going to get my hair cut/straightened. Wheeee. ...course this will cause everyone in the world to inform me that my hair is straight and shorter. Right. Because... I would've never figured that out myself. Sigh. People really need to not point out the obvious all the time.

ahhh my mom's going to Minnesota for her writers' convention, so it's just me and my dad this weekend. Eh. That'll be ok, I guess. Kind of weird when it's just us, but... I'll live. Besides, he tends to spoil me a lot more than my mom does, which is always nice. And he said he could take me to spectrum and wherever.

this is a rather random post. Hm.

uhhhh my kitchen really needs to be finished.

The Olympics start this weekend. Looking forward to it. I love to watch... well, a lot of the sports, but mostly gymnastics. I still remember the first Olympics I saw, 1996, in Atlanta. USA Women Gymanstics getting gold. That was crazy awesome. Should be cool :)

woosh. yeah.

Ooh, I drove for an hour this morning. Sunday I did too before X Games, but all I did was circle the parking lot at Turtle Rock Elementary for half an hour. But today, I went on Turtle Rock drive, all through random streets up there too, and then I went along like... the back of Turtle Rock, which runs into Culver. So then I drove down Culver and turned right on Campus. Oooh big streets! This one car was mean when I was turning onto the back street of Turtle Rock x_x I was going kind of slow because I had just stopped and turned at a stop sign and there was another coming up ahead I had to stop and turn at, and the car just like whipped around me and was going like... twice as fast as I was x_x Psh. Oh and then when I stopped at the signal on Culver to turn right on Campus, I didn't realize I was going so much faster so I started slowing to a stop behind a car too late and so I had to slam a little harder on the brakes to stop in time, but I was just fine, and I was just coming to a stop when my mom pulled the emergency brake x_x She has no confidence in me. I was stopping! Sigh. Plus, my turns are loads better. Oh oh and I parallel parked twice! ...with my mom's help a little, but the second time I did it mostly on my own. I was a good distance from the curb too. So there.

uhhh other than that I've done nothing :) asl;kfj I want to watch the Gravity Games. They really need to tell me if it's going to be on NBC, because all I can find is OLN broadcasts, and I don't think we get that [though I still have to check]. It was on NBC last year for sure and I think it has been since like 1999, and NBC partially owns it or something. So they should be airing it. Right? Because I really have to see this x_x so many favorites! Ah I'm so much more into it all this year. I mean, I thought I was into it last year, but... that's nowhere even close to how obsessed I am this year. wheeee. They need to air more major extreme sports events on channels that I actually get. Sigh.

er yeah. We should do stuff the next two weeks. Ooh ooh I want to see Without a Paddle. It looks amusing, and plus, Seth Green! Yay! :) ...so yes.

oh dude. I forgot the funniest moment of the day.

Ok, so this kid won 50 free slurpees in this contest.
Announcer: What are you going to do with your 50 free slurpees?
Kid: [pauses, thinks about it] uh... I don't know.
Announcer: ...maybe drink them?
Kid: [pauses, considers this] Yeah!

heeeeee.

ahhh. I checked to see when the Gravity Games air. They're sometime in September, but all I can find about TV schedules is that something like 17 hours of it is airing on... the OLN. Some sort of sports network. I don't even know if we get that on Cox Cable o______o That better fucking not be the only channel it's airing on, because dude. I took a look at the qualifying athletes, and:

Skateboarding: Bob Burnquist, Bucky Lasek, Andy Macdonald, Sandro Dias, Pierre-Luc Gagnon.
Moto X: Travis Pastrana, Mike Metzger.
BMX: Ryan Nyquist, Dave Mirra

Dude. a;lsdkfj ahhh I have to watch. Last year it aired on NBC, right? Or something like that? dude... asl;kdfj I have to see this! x_x;;; Guess I'll have to wait a few more weeks to see. I'd want to go too, but... school will have started at that point, and it's kind of in Ohio. So... not a great chance of that happening. ;laksjdflkj yeah.

Awww damn, I love the X Games.

So much to say and no place to start!

I guess before commentary, I'll do the whole... actually going to see Big Air thing :)

Sooo we got there a little after 11 AM, which is when practice started. We went to the front Will-Call, where they were supposed to have our tickets. They didn't. However, my mom said a friend from KROQ got them for us, and I think the person thought she meant we won them, so she sent us to KROQ Will-Call in the back of the area. Ah, that took forever. They kept pointing us in all different places. Finally we went to Athlete Registration [...I have no idea] to get the tickets. Again, they didn't have our tickets. But then. Dude. "Oh, I'm not going to worry about it, the name probably got lost in e-mail, that happens," and we got two tickets. That's so goddamn crazy. Dude, anyone could just go back there and be all "Yeah, so I won these tickets..." and they'd totally give them to them. Crazy.

So yeah. Tickets in hand, we went all the way back around the front for Skateboard Big Air.

Skateboard Big Air
Standings:
1) Danny Way — 91.66
2) Pierre-Luc Gagnon — 86.33
3) Andy Macdonald — 85.00
4) Jake Brown — 83.33
5) Jason Ellis — 79.33
6) Bob Burnquist — 47.66

Andy Macdonald: I adore Andy Macdonald more every minute. It wasn't enough that he was fucking crazy at Big Air and landed amazing tricks. Oh, no. He also showed the top of his skateboard, which showed his support for John Kerry. Ahh. <333 He was incredibly impressive in this event and awesome to watch.

Pierre-Luc Gagnon: Dude, this year, he's been like the Nate Adams of skateboarding. Silvers all the way around. Remember my shallow dislike for him at Skate Vert? Yeah, that's gone. He's just so impressive. You can't deny that he has serious skills. He's almost always flawless and puts down just the most incredible moves. He's such a consistent, technical skater. Which is also like Nate Adams, actually. However, PLG? Has definitely got some style, which Adams lacks. Rather young, too, so I look forward to seeing what else he has in store for us.

Danny Way: Ah, the man who made this event possible. The man who created the super huge jump. It was no surprise that he took the gold. Only skater to even go off the high jump. Very impressive. Huge airs. I remember seeing him in practice. He was landing pretty much everything. I knew at that point that this man would win, before I even knew who he was. He was just... so fun to watch. So incredible. I have the utmost respect for him. Let's just hope the other riders practice this year and can give him a run for his money at the next X Games.

Bob Burnquist: <333 No surprise that he was my favorite for the event. Over the past few days, he's become my favorite skateboarder period. What he lacks in consistency, he totally makes up for in creativity and originality. He is constantly thinking up things no one would ever dream about. Part of the reason I like him so much. His placement was a bit of a disappointment, though I wasn't expecting him to medal. However, several things: for one, he injured his knee/leg twice last Thursday. And then he competed in Best Trick the following Saturday. That man is crazy. Most normal people would have quit after Thursday, or even after Best Trick. I don't know how he does it. He just has some sort of willpower. No, even more so, I don't know why he does it. Because today, he went all out. Dude, I mean... he was going switch[foot? whatever. It's the opposite of normal. ...basically, as they drilled into us several times, it's like throwing a baseball from your left hand when you're right handed. It's weird, wrong, and you don't have nearly as much speed or power.] That's just freaking crazy. He didn't land a single one of this quarter pipe jumps, but... he was close. And dude, the fact that he consistently got in the 40's even when making only one jump is a testament to how difficult and crazy he was. I mean, there were only two other scores higher than his when only making the first jump; the first was by Way, and that was going off the high ramp, and the high ramp you have a possible 50 total points, while the lower ramp you have only a possible 40. The second was by... uh... someone. Jake Brown, I think. And that was the only really high one he got. His other was in the 30's I believe. Bob, though... consistent. Seriously. laksjdf geez. He's medalled in every X Game since 1997 and competed in all. This year was sort of disappointing for him, but I chock it up to injuries. I mean, seriously, he was really close with a few of those. Oh, and did I mention, he injured his leg and one of his arms again twice today? Seriously. First and third jump. Yet he still went up for a fourth. asfdl;kj he's just crazy, and that's why I love him. If his legs were in working condition, he would've stuck one of those. I think his legs were just too weak and couldn't support him when he came in for the landing, because the impact of the Big Air jump is just so much greater than the vert ramp. I still just simply adore him and I am really looking forward to seeing him compete when he's fully healed.

And off the commentary, about seeing it all live: man was that crazy. 3+ hours in the direct sunlight, standing. Painful. But it was amazing. It's so different seeing it live. I don't know... how to explain it really. It's just... it's there, and it's happening right in front of you, and... wow. The tricks are like... a million times more impressive when they're happening there right before you. It was just so awesome. I can't wait till next year. I am totally planning on getting tickets to either Skate Vert, Skate Vert Best Trick, or Moto X Freestyle Finals. Because man. It's just... whoa. I'm so happy I went. :D But remind me next year to be a VIP.


Supermoto
Standings:
Ben Bostrom, Las Vegas, Nev.
Eddy Seel, Spa, Belgium, -3.586
Jeremy McGrath, Encinitas, Calif., -11.119
Steve Drew, Temecula, Calif., -13.729
Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., -16.038
Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., -16.905
Juergen Kuenze, Heidenheim, Germany, -28.942
Mike Metzger, Meniffee, Calif., -31.601
Micky Dymond, Placenta, Calif., -60.468
Jeff Ward, Newport Beach, Calif., -74.216
Kenny Bartram, Stillwater, Ok., -113.265
Steve Hengeveld, Oak Hills, Calif., -129.606
Gary Trachy, Orange, Calif., -199.497
Doug Henry, Torrington, Ct., -3 laps
Benny Carlson, West Bend, Wis., OUT
Grant Langston, Durban, RSA, OUT
Travis Pastrana, Annapolis, Md., OUT
Chris Fillmore, Oxford, Mich., OUT
Thierry Van Den Bosch, Arinsal,And, OUT
Brian Deegan, Temecula, Calif., OUT

Brian Deegan: ...what the hell was up with that? He didn't even race. I have no idea what happened there. O_o It's not as if he was injured or anything. Geez. That was disappointing. X Games for Brian this year as a whole has been really disappointing. Hopefully he'll come back in 2005 with a vengeance.

Jeremy McGrath: Man, I thought for sure he'd win. There's so much hype surrounding him, I just figured he was a shoo-in. He did lead for several laps, and I was actually pulling for him. But eventually he got passed. He did put on an impressive show, though.

Uh as a whole. I wasn't really interested in this event, but watching it, it actually was a lot more exciting. ...and that's kind of it. Even if it was better than I thought and I enjoyed watching it, I really don't have anything to say about it.


Bike Stunt Dirt:
Standings:
1) Corey Bohan — 93.66
2) Chris Doyle — 90.66
3) T.J. Lavin — 88.33
4) Gary Young — 88.00
5) Joey Marks — 88.00
6) Mike Aitken — 87.66
7) Allan Cooke — 86.33
8) Ryan Nyquist — 84.33
9) Brian Foster — 82.00
10) Stephen Murray — 77.66

Ryan Nyquist: Man. This has really been a disappointing X Games for my favorites. Ryan was my favorite going into the event. First X Gamer I ever favored, so he's like... extra-whoa for me. But... all around disappointing. Didn't see the first run [BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T FUCKING SHOW IT x_x], second run... wtf was that?! big trick first set, then flying by the second and third?! wtf?!, and third run... ahhh it was looking so nice, but I just fucking KNEW he'd crash at the fourth set. Sigh. He's still a really impressive BMXer and I hope he makes a major comeback next year. He's so much better than eighth.


Moto X Freestyle Finals:
Standings:
1) Nate Adams — 93.80
2) Travis Pastrana — 92.00
3) Adam Jones — 90.20
4) Beau Bamberg — 89.40
5) Ronnie Renner — 89.00

Nate Adams: Finally broke the silver medal streak. Not that silver is bad to have. Nate laid down a flawless, technical run. Yet, I still don't see any style from him. His glory run was the first time I've ever seen him have fun out there. He's just so serious. First run, everything was clean and perfect, but... it was like... textbook perfection. There was no excitement. His determination in winning gold has definitely been a hindrance to him, IMO, since... he's so focused, he forgets that he, you know, actually enjoys this. I do think he deserved the gold and I'm glad he finally got it, but I'm hoping this will break his "gottagetgoldgottagetgold" focus and he'll actually add a little style and excitement to his runs next year.

Travis Pastrana: "So, it must be really difficult laying down all these huge tricks without being able to see out of your left eye." "Actually, the vision's not so much of a problem. It's really more the concussion, broken toe, and tweaked wrist." And that sealed my Travis Pastrana love forever, and officially made him my favorite Moto X rider. [Yes, this is including Deegan.] I don't have any clue in the world as to why. But it did. Yeah, after the crash last night, Travis Pastrana ended up suffering a mild concussion, black eye, scraped cheek, broken toe, and tweaked wrist. And then today, he competes in both Supermoto and both runs of Moto X Freestyle, managing somehow to get silver. I have no idea. This man is incredible. Last year I wanted to hate him for his perfection, his... al;ksdfj just... how amazing and breathtaking and flawless he was. And now I love him for it. Plus, I have that whole thing where I love when athletes keep on going at it even when they're hurt. God, Travis is insane for doing what he did today. He did not pull the much-hyped double backflip, and I really don't blame him. Sure, I was eager to see it, but I was even doubtful that he'd pull it before the crash. And dude. Well. I might've been a little more upset, but he still manages just to be so entertaining and spectacular with simple [heh] backflips and normal tricks. He got a 92 the second run, which really wasn't far from Nate's score. And I can guarantee, if he pulled a 360 [...and, of course, didn't crash], he would've gotten gold. No doubt. His run was amazing, and add one of his 360s? Damn. It would've been perfect. I mean, I think his 360's really are the best I've seen. He gets so goddamn FLAT. It really looks like a 360, and not just an off-axis backflip, as Deegan's and most of Adam's do. However, I totally don't blame him for not doing one. I mean, first run of prelims, his 360 causes his tire to blow out and his whole run to be blown. Second run causes him a concussion and all those other pesky little injuries. I can imagine him being a bit tentative about pulling another one so soon. Geez, but really. He is now my favorite Moto X rider. I mean, I love Deegan. Really. And he's totally awesome. He will forever be one of my favorite for landing the first 360 in competition last year and being so kick-ass and crazy. But this year was disappointing, and... Pastrana is totally pushing the bar. I mean, double backflip? Are you kidding me?! You know we're going to see it next year. I hope Pastrana takes a long time to recover and then starts working for next year's games. Really can't wait to see him next year. Should be insane.

Oh, and one last thing. ESPN/ABC/whatever really need to stop latching on something to hype. They hyped the goddamn double backflip all freaking weekend. Even today, after a concussion, broken toe, tweaked rist, and black eye, they still were reminding us that, hey! Pastrana can supposedly do a double backflip! Maybe we'll see it! And even after the first run, when Pastrana specifically said "No double backflip today. No big moves. Just going to have fun," and seeming very sincere about it, they were still saying "...you know, he might pull a double backflip to snatch the gold from Adams..." Dude. DUDE. HE'S NOT GOING TO DO IT. GET IT OUT OF YOUR HEADS. They overhyped all the "battles" as well. Like, Clowers versus Buyten! DUDE CLOWERS GOT OUT PRETTY EARLY COMPARED TO THE FINAL BATTLE! AHHHH! x_x;;; Their battles just... weren't. They really need to lay off that and let the battles happen by themselves.


Wow. So it's over. Goddamnit, I really wish it was two weeks. At least a full week. It's not as if they don't have enough events. They didn't even air mens' street skate, womens' street skate, womens' BMX, or womens' inline. If they aired that AND brought back both doubles and skate park, they'd totally be able to last a full week. Sigh.

But yeah. It's finally over. Enjoyed it all the way. Most of my favorites didn't win and there were a lot of disappointments along the way, but it was still exciting and amazing.

Dude. I love the X Games. <333

dun dun dun!

Moto X Freestyle Prelims
[The standings are at the bottom of the page if you want to see them before my commentary, but I wanted my commentary first.]

Let me explain something about Moto X Freestyle Prelims: top 5 of the prelims make it to the finals tomorrow night. So, if you sucked today, we wouldn't be seeing you tomorrow. They have prelims for other events as well, but they don't usually show them.

Going into the prelims, there were some huge names: Mike Metzger, Brian Deegan, Nate Adams, and of course, Travis Pastrana.

Obviously, my favorite was Brian Deegan. I figured it was pretty much assured these four would make it. They are the best of the best and are consistently dreaming up new ways to risk their lives on a motorcycle.

Nate Adams: This kid is consistently perfect. He is incredible with the technical aspects and can get down the hard moves. However, I think he lacks... style. Flow. Originality. He's a great rider, but he needs more... spark, which is why I believe he consistently gets silver rather than gold. I think he really just needs to step it up and... I don't know, have some more fun out there. Then he'd have a real shot at gold.

Brian Deegan: Damn. As I said, my favorite going in. His first run was pretty solid, could've been better, but he seemed like he was holding back a bit. He wasn't in the top 5 before his second run, but I figured he'd be explosive during the second run. I was very wrong. I think the 15 second lap around the entire course waving to his fans should've been my first clue. He just... wasn't taking it seriously. He finally started his time with a backflip, then did a technical trick, another backflip, rode around a lot, one or two more technical tricks, and then... that was it. He pretty much just... had fun. While that's not a bad thing, he seemed like he was just throwing the prelims entirely. Like he'd already decided he wasn't going to make it and why bother with the second run? Sigh. I love him and all, and I always will for last year, but... geez. That was stupid. He just... hasn't really seemed very... dedicated this year. Last year he was out for blood, this year it seems like he's just fooling around. He's supposed to be the prince of darkness! Sigh.

Mike Metzger: Another major disappointment. I've heard all this great crap and stuff about him, he's the godfather of Moto X, etc. but geez. Didn't see it at all at Best Trick or Step Up. Still, I figured he was saving himself for something really massive at Freestyle. And then... nothing. He wasn't bad, and he didn't goof off as much as Brian, but... he wasn't very impressive. A few flips, a few technical tricks, and then... eh. Very disappointed in both him and Brian. They better come back with a vengeance next year.

Travis Pastrana: Holy mother of hell, this kid nearly gave me a heart attack. Ok, so last year, I tried to hate him because he got the gold even though he had a 360 after his time was up, and Brian got bronze even though he landed the first 360 in competition before his time was up. Still, I couldn't manage to this year. Well, first I heard about the double backflip. Anyone who is at least going to attempt a double backflip gets major points in my book. Really, I've found, I don't care so much who wins, as long as the medalists put on great shows. A double backflip constitutes a great show to me. Plus, he just seems so likeable. I wasn't really worried going into the prelims since I figured he was a shoo-in. I mean, Travis Pastrana not making finals? That's unheard of. He's gotten gold in every X Games Moto X Freestyle event he's entered in since... either 1999 or 2000. I mean, this kid is amazing. So, his first run. Starts off huge, back to back backflips with variations in each. He's not about to let me down.

...and then, he does a 360 on a 50 ft jump. He lands it kind of screwy. His front tire blows. He calls a timeout, as you're allowed to do if your bike is having probelms, but you only get 2 minutes for a timeout. His time ran out. Still, this is Travis Pastrana. Second run, he surely would be on fire.

So second run. Starts off strong with another back to back backflips complete with variations. Does some more technical tricks, a backflip or two. All flawless. He's got this down. He's totally made the prelims.

Then he does a 360. Same jump. Worse landing. He falls. Didn't have to do the 360 to be guaranteed a spot. He would've made it without it.

For several minutes, people were crowded around him, and he wasn't getting up. I was freaked out beyond belief, both about whether he was all right and whether his score would be enough. It was, and he got second [though it was only one point above fifth, so it was goddamn fucking close]. He got up around that time as well, though he did have two people helping him walk.

omfggggg TRAVIS! >:O!!!!!!! ;alkjsf jeopardizing a;lkdfj it all ahhhhhh x_x gaahhh he didn't have to do that. I was so fucking scared. Geez, I'm glad he made it, but who the fuck knows if he'll even be able to compete tomorrow?! Much less be able to do a double backflip. x_x And I really wanted to see that... sigh. Ahhh I adore Travis for his amazing skills and going above and beyond everyone else but you don't fucking risk everything in the prelims! sigh. a;lskdfj I was so afraid something like that would happen second run, and I was just thinking as long as he doesn't attempt a 360, it'll be ok. And then he did, and he fell. GAH. I really hope he's ok. ...and I really want to see that double backflip.

Standings:
1) Nate Adams - 93.80
2) Travis Pastrana - 89.60
3) Adam Jones - 89.20
4) Beau Bamburg 89.00
5) Ronnie Renner - 88.60
6) Kenny Bartram - 88.40
7) Mike Metzger - 86.20
8) Bryan Dowdy - 86.00
9) Brian Deegan - 85.40
10) Matt Buyten - 84.00


So. That was certainly stressful.

alskf BUT X GAMES! TOMORROW! EEEEE! AND I'LL BE THERE! ...well, for Big Air. BUT THAT'S STILL REALLY AWESOME! EEEE!

a;lksjf and I'm going driving again tomorrow morning with my mom for half an hour before we leave. ahhh so fun :DDD Then I comeback from X Games and I get to watch Moto X Freestyle Finals! Such fun :D

ok that is all! Tomorrow is looking very good :D

More coverage!

Bike Stunt Park
Standings:
1) Dave Mirra — 94.00
2) Ryan Nyquist — 92.66
3) Ryan Guettler — 92.00
4) Gary Young — 91.66
5) Steve McCann — 91.33
6) Morgan Wade — 86.33
7) Colin Mackay — 85.66
8) Chad Kagy — 85.33
9) Van Homan — 83.66

Ahhh. I liked Dave Mirra for Bike Stunt Vert, but for Park I was totally favoring Ryan Nyquist. He was the first X Gamer I ever favored and he's... I don't know. All the more awesome because of that. I remember his kick-ass-ness last year. He did put down an amazing first run, but I guess it just wasn't enough. Dave Mirra's first run... crash and burn, and I was beginning to like... not worry as much. But his second run was kick ass. I didn't think it was enough to overtake Ryan but... it was. I do have to hand it to him, though. He put together an awesome second run. Oh, and he did this amazing trick, and then when landed he veered off to the side and up on this little bump type thing accidentally, but managed to turn that into another trick entirely. So yeah. He is really awesome. Ooh, Ryan Guettler. He was aaawesome. Totally unexpected too [...by me, at least]. And he had a nice under the lip/above the chin piercing :) ...because that's what's important in Bike Stunt Park. Sh. No, but he was awesome.


Agressive Inline Vert Skating
Standings:
1) Takeshi Yasutoko — 95.75
2) Marco de Santi — 92.75
3) Eito Yasutoko — 92.50
4) Shane Yost — 85.00
5) Taig Khris — 83.25
6) Fabiola da Silva — 83.00
7) Vinicius Rosa — 82.25
8) Thumper Nagasako — 81.25
9) Cesar Mora — 76.25
10) Marc Englehart — 58.00
11) Nel Martin — 58.00

My longshot favorite was Fabiola da Silva. She's crazy awesome, especially since she's the only woman in the event and she can skate just as kick-ass as the men. Plus! She's Sandro Dias's girlfriend :) And Sandro Dias is absolutely adorable and kick-ass, so... I favored her by association. She did lay down some crazy shit. However, the craziest shit-layer was Takeshi Yasutoko. Ok, so I admit, at the beginning I didn't want either Takeshi or Eito to win gold or silver. They've dominated the top two positions for years. But then I saw Takeshi. And holy fuck. That was so fucking amazing, I can't even begito describe it. It was just like whoa. I wanted him to win from there on out, since it was clear Fabiola wouldn't. Eito fell on his first run pretty early on, but his second run went a lot better. Still, I didn't think it was nearly as wowsome [though it was pretty amazing] as Takeshi's. Glad that Takeshi won, though I would've liked to see Fabiola a little higher.


Skateboard Vert Best Trick
Standings:
1) Sandro Dias
2) Pierre-Luc Gagnon
3) Danny Mayer
4) Colin McKay
5) Bob Burnquist
6) Jake Brown

Duuude. I adore this event. I sooo want to get tickets to this event next year. It's fucking craaazy. I wish it'd gone on longer. Sandro Dias... ahhh I adore him. He's just so adorable. Got gold with a 900 [think it had a variation, like backside 900 or something]. But my favorite to win this was Bob Burnquist. Because dude. He just cool. I love him. He just... one thing didn't work, he'd try something else entirely. He'd come up with the craziest moves that absolutely no one would've ever thought of. He did land one pretty goddamn cool one, I thought. I suppose it wasn't as whoa as the other moves, but it was pretty awesome. Pierre-Luc Gagnon and Danny Mayer were throwing the craziest shit down. Colin McKay... not sure what he was doing. I guess he landed something, but what I mostly remember from him was... failing a lot and not looking like he was trying very hard. I think he did nail something in the end. Jake Brown just kind of tried for the 900 the entire time and didn't get it. He was getting pretty close near the end. Felt bad for him, but... I don't know. I don't think the same trick should be awarded a medal after it's already been done, you know? I mean, Tony landed it in both 1999 and 2003 for gold. Sandro did this year too. Of course it's one of the most difficult moves in skateboarding and only three in the entire world have landed it, but... I want new tricks. The kind of stuff Bob Burnquist, PLG, and Danny Mayer were doing. That was some crazy shit. I totally like PLG now too. I know I was all... shallow dislike with him because he looked soulless/dead, but he's totally redeemed. I knew he was a great skateboarder, but MAN were those tricks amazing. So he's cool too. :)

Oh, and one last thing. The look on Bob's face after he landed that trick was priceless. He looked so shocked. Ahhhh <333 so adorable. I am sooo looking forward to seeing him tomorrow :D [heh that sounds so personal. "Yeah, I'm going to be hanging with BobB tomorrow! Yep, just chillaxing~ with my dawgs." Um, no. I mean, looking forward to seeing him compete live. Ahhh]


...I think I'm going to do a separate post for the Moto X Freestyle Prelims. Because dude. They so deserve their own post. Like whoa.