Shiny new Smiley Town *bling*

[Gavin Luper]

Hi everyone. I'm alive and just thought I'd say hi since I haven't posted here for eons. I'm in the middle of researching the Apocalypse for English ... it sucks.

Hey I just saw that Michael Jackson got out of his trial for having the flu. What a dingus.

Opinions on the man, people?

I think his songs were awesome (Thriller is a personal favourite between me and my mates) but he himself is a moron beyond words.

[The Decapitated Mole]

Wow, this sure has become Smiley Town.

Also, happy Easter to everyone! I actually had a pretty good one, cause first I woke up, right? Then we had my mom's service at the church at like one, and I saw all my family and friends from old times, and after the service, we had my entire extended family that was there [meaning... Uncle Les, Uncle Pedo[don't ask], Uncle Dave, Uncle Allen, Aunt Laurie, Aunt Wendy, Aunt Jean, Cousin Pam, Cousin Mary, Cousin Matt, Cousin Noah, Cousin Ike, Cousin Eliza, Cousin Joby, me, my brother, my dad, and our dog, which is more people than have EVER been in our house] for a party with dinner and dancing, but without the dancing, and it was pretty cool, and then I didn't go to school monday because I was feelin kinda blue, and I had 2 projects due, hey that rhymes, I can do it too! and then today the bus drivers came and told us there was no school, the details of which can be found in The Life of a Headless Mole chapter 15 - Bomb Threat! So that was my easter. Now, after that party, we have a ridiculous amount of soda that I will probably go through within a week [60 cans?! I spit on 60 cans!] and i got an easter basket from my aunt! So I just gotta hope that it'll be smooth sailing from here, and that I can get that project that I stayed home to do yesterday but still didn't done.

o_0
jimm

[mr_pikachu]

Since we've got the forums back now, I guess I ought to ask the question that's been on my mind lately. Are we going to have the Golden Pen Awards this summer (or winter if you live in the southern hemisphere), or will it be skipped due to all the recent chaos on TPM? Just thought I'd bring it up, since we're a few weeks into summer over here now.

[dratinihaunter13]

Hope Smiley Town comes back soon (thought it didn't seem right that the forum hasn't been posted in for a month...)


Let's just make this topic smiley town. i'm beginning to think some topics just aren't coming back, since LV can just link to her old chapters and my fic's been wiped off. either way, we still need a place to talk amongst ourselves :). i'll sticky and rename the topic.

[Chris 2.1]

Whoo! At least these GP's won't accuse me of high blood pressure

*crickets/silence/any noise suggesting nobody is laughing*

Anywho yea I'm for it. GO GP's!

[mr_pikachu]

Well, if the awards are on then I suppose I should get back to my regular reviewing habits... tomorrow! (Go procrastination!) I've got a lot to catch up on, thankfully. And I guess I should finally publish another fic chapter, since it's been several months.

Yeah, I'll do that. Tomorrow. :wink:

Before I forget, did you get any news about your audition, Chris? *crosses fingers* :smilie:


P.S. Hey, wait a second... I have the first post in the new Smiley Town! Woohoo! :biggrin:

[Darien Shields]

Hey. I haven't been paying attention... again. :s: Well, I'm here now. I'll help out with the GPs if it is required, although I really don't know anything about them... I hardly even knew I'd been nominated in the Silver Pencils earlier (was that last year?) until Iveechan or someone IMed me half way through. Huh, well, anyway!

I'm just sittin' on my hands these days, playin' WoW, downloading fansubbed sentai and stuff, so I'd be able to work on this. Or writing... *scratches chin*

Oh, and huzzah for the return of Smiley Town.

[Lady Vulpix]

I missed the Silver Pencils too.

[Andrew]

Hey guys, I'm pretty much moving out of home on the 1st August if all goes to plan.

This'll be brilliant for me, because well... its MOVING OUT!

I won't have a Tv or a Pc, but I'll be like.. LIVING! HURRAH! I may be getting 200 dollars to live off of per fortnight after rent, but I am MOVING OUT! And so I'm also looking for a job....

So yes, this is all funded by me, not my mum or father, so I'm planning on scamming the tax department in order to get a new PC. You know, if all goes to plan. Otherwise, I'm going to have to save for one.

Mind you, I'll still be able to use the uni Pcs during that time before I get my own and yea

Just letting you all know.

(Copied and pasted from Mod forum) LOLS

[mr_pikachu]

Hey, way to go, OzAndrew! That's certainly good news. I just hope that you're able to get your hands on a computer of your own...

Yeah, I think some more awareness about the Golden Pen Awards might be nice. I think quite a few people were unaware about the last Silver Pencils.

I'd be willing to help with the Golden Pens too, if there's anything you trust a non-mod to do. :smilie:

[PancaKe]

^_^

I am so flat out with school work I should be doing.

I'm grumpy at my bf.

I'm tired because last night I stayed up till 3 am with friends watcing Spanglish and Hide n Seek. Both pretty cool *Shrugs* Could bitch about them but - alas - I am le tired.

About the awards... I will help with them - I have all the old files and stuff somewhere.... but as for running them, thsi time I think I will sit out. *sigh* I just cant handle it at the moment sorry!!!! :( But I will help out with stuff if need be. ^_^;

Anyhoo

xoxo
bye

[Darien Shields]

Whatever happened to the post about 'what would your fic opening/ending tune be?' (i.e. if it were a TV show)

That had some merit... I can't see it on the forums now. I'll 'ave a look for it and post another one if I can't find it...

How is everyone, BTW? Nobody's talking as much as we usually do. Summer must be a busy time ^_^;

Anyone seen "Batman Begins"? I really want to see it, but my friends keep bailing on me ~_~.

[Chris 2.1]

Guys: No nws on the audition yet. Should hear soon, like, really soon. *waits*

[The Decapitated Mole]

Yeah, I've been doing more this summer than ever before, which is really good, because it means I'm getting a helluva lot of excercise [not because of what I'm doing with my friends, but because they all live about five miles away and I have to ride my bike EVERYWHERE(including the eye doctors when my glasses broke, ~_~)], which would be really good for soccer next season except that I decided not to play for the school this year in protest of the school board deciding that you have to pay to play sports [which I wouldn't really have too much of a problem with if I didn't know why. Friggin' school board running out of money cause they built a useless new high school school[for a while they were actually talking about closing an elementary school, eliminating Kindergarten throughout the city, and getting rid of all bussing for high schoolers], and they tried to sue the board of Aldermen about a month ago because they wouldn't let them raise the superintendent's pay to 150,000 dollars a year [a steep raise from the current 125,000 salary he's getting now]. Sound fair to you? But I've ranted about this subject since the first day I walked into the friggin high school, which I'm sure I'll post another rant about eventually, seeing as the ones I had in the old smiley town/everywhere else are gone. Oh well, good luck with your audition, Chris, I hope you got the part! And Darien, I haven't seen Batman Begins, but I've heard it's the best live-action batman movie to date [a few of my friends have seen it twice!], so I'd say check it out.

o_0
jimm

[mr_pikachu]

Tara: Sorry to hear things are going that way. Well, hopefully they'll get better soon. Speaking of the Golden Pen Awards, what happened to them? I haven't heard any discussion about them in awhile...

Darien: Hey, get on AIM if you want to chat! I've been on there several times in the last few days. No, I haven't seen Batman Begins. I haven't heard much about it myself.

Chris: Well, I hope to hear about it soon! Good luck, again! :smilie:

Jimm: ...Wow, that's a long rant... I hope the protest goes well. Sounds like your school's pretty messed up right now. And BB's that good, huh? Hmm. Well, I guess it's at least worth looking into, despite my usual lack of interest in superhero movies.


Everyone: The Fanfic Trivia Game is BACK! That's right, people! The Writers Lounge is again hosting the one and only game to challenge, intrigue and excite the members of Fanfic! So get over there and get in the game!

[Darien Shields]

Darien: Hey, get on AIM if you want to chat! I've been on there several times in the last few days. No, I haven't seen Batman Begins. I haven't heard much about it myself.

It's a little thing called sleep perhaps you've heard of it? The Land of Nod had deported me for a while, but after working through a lot of paperwork they took me back, and I'm just enjoying it =P

Seriously, though, I had to go to bed early-ish to do things with my friends. See, when I'm not at school I usually operate on "Dartopian Time". That is I stay up until the not-so-small hours (sixish. Although some good kids TV like Pokemon comes on around eight or nine, sometimes I stay up for that) and then go to bed, and awake sometime between lunch and dinner (as a consequence of this I've started having lunch in the middle of the night.) However, when I want to go to friends', or have friends over, I have to try and sleep early... it's awkward. Why can't everyone just embrace the night, like me? ^_^ Anyway, since Mr Pikachu only logs on in the tiniest and queerest window of time (my best theory is that it's the only window of time when his planet's orbit is close enough to earth to connect to AIM) I can only talk to him if I stay up to around sixish. >_< Freakin' timezones. I say we just spite the sun, declare a universal day, and have half the world work in the middle of the night.

I just saw Batman Begins (with my family, since my lame-ass friends all bailed, even after I got up at 2pm) and it a-{insert string of obscentities here}-mazing. Best Batman movie ever, hell, best Super-Hero movie ever (sorry Spidey. Mary Jane ruined it for you.) The casting's great (Christian Bale is an excellent Bruce Wayne. My only gripe would be his Batman Voice sounds a bit weird), oh, mild spoiler warnings (if you don't know what bad-guys are in the film), Alfred's excellent (not really the same as the Alfred you remember, but still good), Ra's Al Ghul is perfect (looks right, acts right, fights right), the Scarecrow is mother-fsking scary with and without his mask, (not-quite) Comissioner Gordon is great too, you can see him totally growing into the guy in the animated series, Morgan Freeman's character is great too. The effects are brilliant, nothing ever looks too CGI (unlike *cough*Episode III*cough*), in fact, the only thing that I can think of off hand that is definately CGI, are the bats when they're flying everywhere, and the only reason I can say that is because using that many live bats would scare the pants off any of the actors. The story's brilliant too, works on its own while linking to the sequel.

If it weren't for the prospect of the two sequels, I'd pretty much call it quits now and commit suicide, because it would look like the appex of human achievement, with nothing else we could do to top it.

Just kiddin'. But it is good. You'd have to have a really good reason not to see it.

New Harry Potter book is out. I didn't intend to buy one just yet, but my parents seem to have snatched a copy already, so I'm gonna have a read. I hope Harry dies at the end of this one, because I'm a saddistic guy ^_^

[mr_pikachu]

Actually, Darien, it's usually about two in the morning over here when we chat. So it's not just your planet that's got bad time zones; mine is awful as well.

And about the Harry Potter book... well, if it wasn't for the inherent spoilers in the official HP6 thread in Entertainment (within Misc.), I'd direct you there for my comments. I'll put it this way: Although pretty much everyone in the discussion there either disagrees or is ignoring me, I happen to believe that there are things in the book that should not be read by ten-year-olds. I've held a few offline discussions about it with some of my friends, and it would appear from those conversations that there's more to it than simply my naivety about today's pre-adolescents. But I'll let you form your own opinions, and I won't spoil any plotlines. I'm nice that way. Or something. :wink:

Anyway, I've gotta go for the moment, but I'll see you all around (*coughFanficTriviaGamecough*)!

[The Decapitated Mole]

Bleh bleh bleh. I don't know about all of you, but when I was 10 I was swearing more than I do now, and we had sex-ed in fifth grade [ok, so I was ELEVEN, so sue me] at my school. I happen to live under the philosophy that nothing is offenseve except racism. And the number of teens and adults who read the Harry Potter books now are significantly greater than the number of ten-year-olds, because the first harry potter books came out in the nineties, and the fans who were all little kids then have grown up with the series, and many adults have jumped on board as well. And Rowling can't keep pandering to little kids, especially since the books are about 16-18 year olds, and you can't expect them to go around acting like they're still 10 and 11, because nobody does that. I hope.

I would've posted that in the Harry Potter topic, you know, but I can never think of the right thing at the right time and going back there now is a whole thing... But I really don't want to get into, like, an argument about this or anything, because I get into this type of argument with tons of people and I'm sick of having it. I just don't get offended easily.

Hey, Mr. Pikachu, you just signed on! Whata coincidence because I have to go! Thanks for the support regarding my protest, though. Maybe it'll make some impact. You never know, with me being the president now maybe my actions will have consequences. That's a scary thought.

o_0
jimm

[mistysakura]

Well, on the topic of Harry Potter, I didn't post in Misc because I don't really go there and also I've discussed it quite a bit offline, but anyway I do agree that some things would not be suitable for kids. Like Dumbledore around chapter... 23-25-ish? (Can't refer to the actual event as I don't like spoilers myself and know how they ruin books for others.) However I do agree with TDM that although these are on the children's bookshelves, it is only appropriate for Rowling to deal with more mature and darked themes as the books progress. Although some people I know have said that Rowling's doing it on purpose for whatever reason, the wizarding world's at war, Voldemort's gaining power, and surely it would be unrealistic not to deal with dark matter by this stage. (Am not implying anyone in this thread said she shouldn't.) It is a bit sad to think of the children who are Harry Potter fans, but I personally think that I'd rather have a more realistic, better book than one appealing to all audiences.Although I'm curious as to what rating the 6th moviewill have.

[Darien Shields]

You think that's bloody, you ought to hear my new fan fic idea.

The title abbreviation is HPatBR

C'mon, guess what it is!

Omniscient Judge: Mr Pikachu is not allowed to guess, since I told him the answer.

[The Decapitated Mole]

Harry Potter and the Battle Royale!

o_0
jimm

[Darien Shields]

Harry Potter and the Battle Royale!

o_0
jimm


Dammit. You're right.

[mr_pikachu]

Ada: Actually, that wasn't even what I meant. Themes like that don't disturb me as much as... uh... some of the other issues that appeared earlier. (I've got a headache, so I don't want to think about how to be clearer to you and yet more vague to others.)

Jimm and Darien: Ha! That was good. Perhaps your abbreviation was too obvious, Darien? :wink:


I'm actually online at a halfway decent time tonight. Joy! :biggrin: And the Fanfic Trivia Game is back up and running. Double joy! :biggrin::biggrin: And the Golden Pen Awards haven't happened yet. Tri---

Wait... :p

[Darien Shields]

Jimm and Darien: Ha! That was good. Perhaps your abbreviation was too obvious, Darien? :wink:

I'm actually online at a halfway decent time tonight. Joy! :biggrin: And the Fanfic Trivia Game is back up and running. Double joy! :biggrin::biggrin: And the Golden Pen Awards haven't happened yet. Tri---

Wait... :p


What sort of abbreviation would you suggest? One that's not based on the actual name of the idea?

Well, anyway, I'm still in love with the idea of "Harry Potter and the Battle Royale". I'll assume you all know who and what Harry Potter is- if you don't this idea couldn't possibly be very interesting, but anyway, if you don't know what <I>Battle Royale</I> is, then read <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Royale">this</A>, the Wikipedia article about it. Put in the simplest of terms, it's when you take a class of high-school kids, dump them on an island, give them weapons, and tell them that only one can live, and that they must kill everyone else to get out. Ooh, wouldn't this just be swell for Harry Potter? Watching them all kill each other in Hogwarts, no less.

The one thing I don't know is- Who should win?! Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville (by some enormous fluke), or Draco...? Oh, decisions, decisions.

And what about these Golden Pens?! How do we get 'em going? Do we have to nominate things? I will go and look for things to nominate if that's the idea. What are the categories, though, for that matter?

[Chris 2.1]

I don't think anything's been decided yet.

[PancaKe]

I'm too tired to make any valid decisions at the moment. I should be in bed - its 1.50am. However I'm waiting for the paint on my canvas to dry so I can work on my assessment for art.

Hooray, I'm so smart, starting the night before.

[Darien Shields]

Well what were the areas in the Silver Pencils?

I noticed recently that the entire "Completed Fiction Archive" is gone. Assuming there's no way to get it back from backup or the old server, we should try and set out to retrieve some of the fics that were there. I know Captain Pringle still polks about here sometimes, and I have his AIM screen-name, so I'll try to convince him to post TEL, and maybe when PancaKe's finished her art project and gotten a good night's sleep she can tell us about LVH ^_^; BTW, good luck with the art thing.

What other fics were/should be in the archive, and what were their authors, so that we can try and re-assemble it? Actually, maybe I should make a topic about this...

[The Decapitated Mole]

The silver pencils were more member-oriented awards, and I think it was decided when we did the whole naming thing that the golden pens would be more fic-oriented.

Also, I know that the original misadventures of Hiro were in there, as were several fics by A Grilled Fish. It's a shame that the archive is gone.. :(

o_0
jimm

[mr_pikachu]

If you want to take a look, the categories for the previous Silver Pencils Awards can be found at this link: http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/index.php?topic=32087.0. However, Jimm pointed out that those Awards may have been more member-oriented, so it might not be the best indication of potential topics for the Golden Pen Awards.

[dratinihaunter13]

The Archives Category link under the archive forum description on fanfic's main page takes me right to the completed archive. is the link not working for anyone else? Here (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/index.php?board=88.0)

[The Decapitated Mole]

Well I'll be a monkey's so-and-so. It's ok, DH, I can see the archive, too. You're not crazy yet. I guess it's just the link from the archive section of the boards that doesn't work..


EDIT: and here (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/index.php?topic=31169.0), for those who are interested, is the info on the Silver Pencil awards.

Anybody else but me think there should be, like, a generic plaque for each awards ceremony that the winners can take as many of as they win? No? Okay then, I'll just... go over here in this corner.


o_0
jimm

[Zcade0]

I can't wait for the golden pens if we have them this year. I saw them last year on the old forms when I wasn't a member. To get to the archives don't you halve to click on the link below where it says the compleat fanfiction archive?
Go TEL!!!!!! w00t!! Is it possible to recover more of Dark Sages Yu-Gi-Oh fics? There some of my favorites. If I can help at all with the golden pens I'm free.

[Darien Shields]

So the archive exists, but it's just in the wrong place- in Archives, not in Fan Fiction... hmm. Well who do we talk to to fix this?

Plus these look like a good place to start for the GPs:


Fiction Awards

Best Overall Fic
Best Uncompleted
Best New Fic (under five chapters)
Best Cast
Best Plot
Best Writing Style
Most Original Character
Best Plot Twist
Best Chapter
Best Poem/Short Story

Although maybe we want to sub-divide more...?

[The Decapitated Mole]

Well the old Golden Pens topic is floating around in here as well, on page 3 or 4 or someodd, and the awards from back before the ceremonies had names are back there too [I found them in my search for the Silver Pencil topic], maybe we could get ideas from there?

o_0
jimm

[Darien Shields]

I found this (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/index.php?topic=24638.0) with an advanced search, but that's all I got so far.

ZyuRanger! ZyuRanger!
Kyoryu Sentai! ZyuRanger!

[mistysakura]

Here are the old Golden Pens categories:
General Fic Awards
Best Fiction Overall
Best Non-Pokemon
Best Dark
Best Trainer
Best Comedy
Best Romance
Best Action
Most Original
Most Realistic
Best Writing Style
Best Plot
Best New Fic
Most Promising
Fic Moments
Best Cliffhanger
Best Plot Twist
Best Pokemon Battle Scene
Best Mystery
Best Chapter
Characters
Best Male Leading Role
Best Male Supporting Role
Best Female Leading Role
Best Female Supporting Role
Best Non-Human Character
Best Villain
Funniest Character
Best Character Based on a Board Member
Most Original
Best Overall
Best Relationship
Best Original Cast
Member Awards
Most unusual Board member
Best New Writer
Most Dedicated Writer
Best Writer
Most Dedicated Reader
Best Newcomer to the Boards
Most Rounded Member
Miscellaneous
Best New Pokemon
Best Location
Best Setting

Eh, feel free to start a discussion I suppose. I think that at this moment a more general awards ceremony (like the GPs) would be preferable to a more member-based awards (like the SPs); post if you've got any ideas guys.

[The Decapitated Mole]

I'm all for having the SPs be member-oriented and the GPs more fic-oriented, although there should be some general member awards here as there were general fic awards in the SPs. Other than that, I'm fine with those categories.

o_0
jimm

[dratinihaunter13]

well there are 7 member awards already on there. thanks for finding the list ada.
ok, i can start a nominations topic with this list if there are no objections or suggestions, but just in case i'll wait a couple days so people can see this. i think it could do with some cutting actually, there's a lot of awards up there and we don't really have a whole lot of fics this year. but it's fine either way.

[Gavin Luper]

Thanks Ada for the list of old topics ... I have a list that's pretty similar, just has a few different topics on it.

DH - do you think we should have a suggestion topic first? Just for a week or two, if you agree, just so we can make sure that everyone's able to suggest topics, even if they aren't all included. I dunno, seems like a good idea, that way we have all suggestions then they can be compiled into one nominations thingo...

Oh, and for nominations, yeah, we will have to prune quite a few categories - or will we? What fics are eligible in the GPs - because it's been a long time since the last Golden Pens (from memory, something like 18 months?). As such, there'll be a back up of fics that have never been considered for GPs...

I dunno if any of that made sense, as I'm considerably worn out right now. But yeah, maybe us mods should all confer on MSN or something?

*implodes*

Anyhoo, cheers!

[Darien Shields]

Don't mean to interupt talk of GPs with randomness- but I just got my exam results back! I got an A in Maths and English, a B Latin (Grr, thought I was gonna get an A!) and Physics, and a C in Modern Studies.

Squee.

Anyone else get exam results wherever they are?

[The Decapitated Mole]

Uhm... got mine back in June, since that's when I got out of school.. I got... let's see... B- in Spanish, D in math [somehow I still got a B as my grade, sweet], A- in English, A in World Studies, B in Art II, and B- in Science. And I didn't study at all.

So... this topic's been silent for a week. Any news on the GPs?

o_0
jimm

[mr_pikachu]

Well, I'm frustrated at the moment. One of my college courses for the upcoming semester had a time change that gives me a conflict, so now I'm scrambling to find a course to replace the altered one with. It's great of them to tell us less than two weeks before the semester starts. That gives me so much time to confer with my advisor, who will be gone all week. Rrgh...

And what is happening with those GPs, anyway? I can't think of any concerns (other than maybe renaming the "Best Mystery" category... I never did like the name I gave. It's far too misleading). What does everyone else think?

[dratinihaunter13]

congrats on the good grades fellas! and lots a luck on that schedule change mr_pika. they do the same thing where i go and it's a mad scramble to find a new class that fits. whatever happens should work out for the best, don't worry.

There's a suggestion topic for the Golden Pens a few topics down right now. So bring all the ideas and talk about that over here (http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/index.php?topic=42675.0). then we can get these awards moving!

[mr_pikachu]

By the main page, do you mean Page 1 of the forum? Because that's a bit of a tight category... there are several ongoing fics that I can think of instantly that aren't on that front page. (Knights to Remember, To the Rainbow's End, Lisa the Legend, Electric Buggy to Victory, Yu-Gi-Oh! Virtual Disaster, The Quest for the Legends and more come to mind.)

Also, as I mentioned in Smiley Town, the "Best Mystery" category under Fic Moments is very misleading. (I should have done a better job when I came up with that name.) I think it should at least undergo a name change.

[Tainted]

Sorry to interrupt all the brilliant conversation and whatnot but I figured I'd come here to say that I'm sort of back. I'll be popping in every once in a while pretty much solely in Fanfic. Why? Cause I love you guys, that's why.

Purely heterosexual. So you can't call me on that.

As for any recent writing? Well, I've got an extremely original futuristic fantasy type-story I might decide to post here that tells three seperate stories all existing in the same little galaxy. That and I've got tons of songs laying around.

Well, enough of my shit. How're my favorite fanfic-goons doing?

Adieu,
Zak Hunter

[mr_pikachu]

Doing pretty well, thanks. Nice to hear you'll be rejoining us. :)

In other news, I am back in the dorms and ready to start the next semester. Other people, however, are not. *glances at .hacker*

Does anyone else have/get to go back to school soon?

[Tainted]

September sixth. School will save me. All summer I've been working nine-to-five from monday to friday, coming home, eating and working out, then going to bed. The weekends are my only chance for party salvation.

At least I'm rollin' in dough, now.

Adieu,
Zak Hunter

[Lady Vulpix]

I've already started working for university again. I have to write the official specification for a project now.

[The Decapitated Mole]

Blah, I go back on the 31st [30th is the official first day, but it's just for the freshmen] and I'm not looking forward to it, really. This is the first summer in a long, long time that I've actually gone out and done a lot. Like this week, Wednesday was the only day I wasn't busy with something, and I've already got plans for tomorrow and tuesday. It doesn't help any that almost NONE of my friends are in my classes [Scott is in my spanish class and Sam is in creative writing, but that's it except this girl Jen who thinks I'm hot in my health and gym classes..] and I'm going to have the last lunch of the day for the entire year. Add that to the fact that I feel like an asshole every time I see one of my friends from the soccer team, which I decided not to do even though they changed the pay to play rule, and this school year is looking to be shit.

Plus I think I'm going to have to miss the Franz Ferdinand concert I've been looking forward to since June because it's in New York AND it's on a Monday. Fuck I wish they were coming to Boston this tour, since it's only about a thirty minute drive as opposed to the several hours to New York from here. I'm really hoping I can go, though, not only for the concert which would be awesome, but so I can see my super cool crazy semi-out-of-work-actor cousin who lives there, in addition to my less-crazy-but-still-cool-legal-secretary-and-part-time-hippie?-former-dreadlock-possessing cousin who also lives there. Oh well. maybe next tour.. >_<.

But yeah. As you can see, I'm really not looking forward to it.. And then there's the fact that I still have no fucking idea what I have to do as president, or when I'm supposed to do it by, since the teacher who was in charge of telling us about that stuff last year had some sort of problem with me [fuck, she even told some of my friends they shouldn't be friends with me anymore, bloated pregnant bitch] so I was pretty much kept out of the loop. Damn.

o_0
jimm

[classy_cat18]

At least some of you had a summer/winter break. I only had one week. One week! There's no such thing as a summer break at Virginia College! I love computer animation, really I do. But I love sleeping just as much.

[Lady Vulpix]

This was the first time I've had a winter break in several years.

[mr_pikachu]

Well, school's officially back in session for me. The first two days have been pretty nice; my professors seem alright for the most part. I hate getting up in the morning, though! :P The homework hasn't really started, but it will very soon.

I'm sorry to hear that, Shonta! Virginia must be a rough school to only give one week of break. Is it one of those colleges that has three semesters a year, or are they just cruel?

[classy_cat18]

No, mr_pikachu, they keep me there almost all year. I get two weeks off after summer and spring semesters, four weeks after the fall semester and one week after winter semester. I also get Fridays off.

[mr_pikachu]

Oh, wow, four semesters! That is tough! At least you get three-day weekends, but still, that has to be difficult. I'd imagine it would be almost like a full-time job. How do you handle all the work, in addition to your time on TPM (and wherever else you may go)?

I feel bad now about making a fuss over school starting... my transition's nothing compared to your marathon, Shonta! Yikes.

[classy_cat18]

It's not too tough. I just tell myself to take some time off. Most of my work's done at school anyway. They understand that the software needed to do the work is very expensive.

[mr_pikachu]

Well, I'm about ready to start my second week of classes for the year. Things have gone pretty well thus far, and I'm looking forward to another good week.

I'm psyched about baseball right now. The St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in the majors right now, and they're looking good for the playoffs. What's great is that they've been playing extraordinarily even with several of their startes injured. If they can get some of them back by October, then the Cards could have a legitimate shot at winning the World Series this year. If only Scott Rolen could come back before then, it'd be perfect. But his injury has pretty much sidelined him, and now it looks like he'll have to have season-ending surgery. It's the right move, because we need his skills for the long-term. But it's still frustrating.

Pujols doesn't look like he can come back to win the Triple Crown this year. Derrek Lee of the Cubs just has too much of a lead in batting average, and Andrew Jones of Atlanta has 40 homers (compared to Pujols' 35). He's about to hit 100 RBIs, but the other stats are looking out of reach. And with Derrek Lee earning so much of the spotlight, it looks like Pujols may have yet another 2nd place finish in the MVP voting. Nevertheless, though, he's been a powerful force in getting the Cardinals into an excellent position in the standings again. And I believe we just signed him through 2010, so we won't be losing his presence any time soon. :D

[Chris 2.1]

I start Acting school tomorrow,
I start acting school tomorrow,
I start acting school tomorrow,
HEY!


Oh, sorry, just a new song I'm working on.

Anyway as the song suggests I start acting school tomorrow! Don't act too surprised, you won't have heard of it. It's the North England Institute of Music and Drama (AKA NEIMD - catchy?)

Should be a hoot. Like an owl. Hooooot.

Bye!

[Lady Vulpix]

Nice! I hope it goes well. I went to acting school for many years, but it didn't turn out so good in the end. I don't know if I'll try again somewhere else eventually or leave it as it is.

[mr_pikachu]

That's cool, Chris. Hope it goes well.

And whatever happened to that movie role you tried out for? I never really heard how it went...

[Chris 2.1]

Lol oh yea! I got called back twice, and was down to the last 10 lads for the part but got a letter one day...*sob* and wasn't called back. But I was very pleased how far I got.

So when you ever watch Notes on a Scandal, remember who nearly got the part!

+ NEIMD was fun.

[mr_pikachu]

It's cool that you made it that deep into the competition, Chris. Kudos to you! That's something very, very few people can claim. When you do get a movie role, let all your fanficcing friends on TPM know, okay?

Well, I'm fully into the semester now. Things are going well so far; no real troubles to speak of here. It's nice. :D

Something I've been wondering... where the heck is Tara (PancaKe)? I haven't seen her for awhile... hope she isn't grounded or anything.

[Lady Vulpix]

I've been wondering the same.

Congratulations on getting so far, Chris!

[Chris 2.1]

heh thanks for the support guys. I'll hopefully have a lot more acting xpirience (and get a little further) now I'm in acting school, since they sort out a lot of work for you to help pay your bills. Fingers crossed!

[classy_cat18]

Good luck to you, Chris 2.0. Hope you land that dream part.

I've recently transferred to the 4 year Animation and Game Design program. Right now I'm sneaking in a post here because the teacher's gone and I'm stuck. My animation project's coming in smoothly, and it's the same for my Combustion project. Maybe I'll post my work in Fanfic once it's rendered and graded.

[mr_pikachu]

Chris 2.0/Brit Chris/ShinyMarill: Go for it! Keep working on your acting skills and abilities, and don't give up hope for the big break! :yes:

Shonta: Ah, so you're going into game developing? Or is it just close enough to what you want to do to make it the right major? Either way, it sounds like you're doing exciting work. Then again, I've done some programming myself, so I know it can get pretty tedious... but working on animation must be incredible. I hope your projects turn out well, and I'm hoping to see more of your work in Fanfic soon! :D

[classy_cat18]

mr_pikachu: Yeah, I want to go into the game industry. But animation is as tedious as programming. So much goes into a good animation that it's enough to boggle the mind. Think about that the next time you see a computer animated movie. But it's very rewarding in the end.

[Gavin Luper]

Dum de da ... Tara hasn't been on TPM for ages, but she's definitely still in existence because i spoke to her last weekend, so she's still floating around, I dunno why she hasn't been coming on.

As for me, I've got exams, they begin in one week from today with History on the Friday, so it's STUDY STUDY STUDY for two weeks ... then holidays. It's going to be a huge relief when all this is over. Wish me luck!

Cheers!

[classy_cat18]

Alright, found one of my final projects! This one's from my Intermediate Modeling class. I know it doesn't look perfect but for some reason the program wouldn't let me render it. Here's a rough draft. It's supposed to be a Ford Focus WRC.

[mr_pikachu]

classy_cat18: Hey, that's awesome, Shonta! Even though I can still see the grid lines, I can imagine what it'd look like if it was rendered. That's very impressive! Are you going to be doing motion with your projects, too? Because that would really be something!

With the quality of your plotlines in your fanfics, I bet you'd be great at game developing, even if it wasn't in the actual programming department. Lookin' good! ;)


Gavin: So Tara's not out of the loop completely? It's odd that she wouldn't come to TPM, then. Good luck on your exams, though! Hopefully you'll be able to work more on LTL when you're done! :yes:


And as for me, it's the weekend! Hopefully I'll be able to relax a little this time around. Last weekend was very hectic, so I'm going to try to avoid a repeat. :P

[Lady Vulpix]

I got a new job! Which means now I'm working 4 hours a day as a programmer while still working as a teacher at university. My fic updates so irregularly that you probably won't notice a difference, but I guess I'll be around a bit less frequently. But I'll remain active, I'm not going anywhere.

[mr_pikachu]

Well, I'm glad your life seems to be going well, Gabi. I'm sorry to hear that you're going to be on Fanfic a little less, but unfortunately, we all have to have a life outside of TPM. *sighs*

Things are still going pretty well over here. I've got some exams in a couple of weeks, so things will be hectic pretty soon. But for right now, life is good. :)

To top it off, I'm looking forward to a Pokemon TCG tournament tomorrow... :biggrin:

[Gavin Luper]

Dum de da ... forums are still dead, it would seem.

Just to spark off some interesting conversation, has anyone heard about International Talk Like a Pirate Day? Awesome concept. It's on September 19 (that's this Monday) and the general idea is that you talk like a pirate for some of the day. At home, school, work, wherever! I've completely lost the link to the website about it, but that's the basic idea of it. So tell your family, friends and everyone else on TPM, and spread the word!

And in other news, I'm in the middle of my final school exams, I've got one each day from monday to thursday, which is why it's so ironic that I've been more active on TPM in the last week than I have been for months ^^

I should be studying ^^

Oh and I'm going to Perth next week so I might not be on!

Cheers!

[Chris 2.1]

I heard of talk like a pirate day last year. It was a great day. Arr!


Anyway last night was a mates 17th bday so there was 100+ of us crammed into a tiny village hall. It was so cool seeing my mates again from school, and some of the live bands rocked. My mate sang some james blunt, coldplay, even kat stevens. He purely rocked.

Anyway it was BYOB so once the beer ran dry some of us went to the pub. I mixed my drinks and am REALLY paying for it now. I have work in a couple hours, and my eyes hurt so much.... >_>

The price to pay for a good night.

Anyone noticed I say anyway a lot? Heh.

[mr_pikachu]

Gavin: I've heard of the ITLAP Day, but I've never participated in it. Is it fun? Oh, and how do you have time to go to Perth if you've got four exams? Seems like a busy schedule...


Chris: Well, I suppose if you enjoyed it, that's not too bad. Just as long as you're legal in Britain. ;) And don't we all have words we say frequently?


Well, I'm frustrated right now. The local Pokemon TCG weekly tourney has three rounds, and then the top four players play a two-round single elimination tournament. With ten people at the tournament, and a 2-1 record for myself (with one of the wins and the loss against two very difficult opponents), I figured I'd be in the final four for sure. But there was one player with a 3-0 record and four with 2-1, for a total of five with at least two wins. (The 3-0 guy was in the final four automatically.) And instead of deciding who of the two-game winners would make it to the final four based on who everyone played, they just drew an entry card randomly to decide.

Guess who didn't get to play in the finals? :(

[classy_cat18]

Aww, somebody needs a hug. *hugs mr_pikachu*

Good news for me. I completed my computer animation project, my Combustion project, and made a perfect score on my final Art exam. When I can get my animation project on a CD I'll find some way to show it to you. My stepmother is in Alabama, too. I don't know for how long but she's a very kind woman that's big on giving me jewelry on my birthday.

[The Decapitated Mole]

Yeah, I'd heard of Talk Like A Pirate day, too, but I didn't know when it was..

In other news, I plan on becoming reclusive rather soon due to some personal issues which I'll undoubtedly share with all of you sometime in my aim fic. Suffice it to say I'll be spending much more time online, and subsequently on TPM, so you can expect to be seeing more of me.

Also: Congratulations on the perfect score, CC! You should be really proud of yourself for that.

[Lady Vulpix]

I heard about Talk Like A Pirate Day last year, but that only works on English-speaking countries. I wouldn't know how to talk like a pirate. http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/9157/undecided4ro.gif

[PancaKe]

um... I thought I would just let you guys know that I decided to resign from being a mod.
I dont do much anymore, I've become heaps busy and don't have all the time that I used to.
Heck, I haven't posted in like, forever.
I was just a name on the page.
So I figured it may as well be someone elses name there, who might actually do stuff.
*shrugs*
I'm not leaving forever. Just leaving the responsability. :)
xoxo

[Chris 2.1]

McYikes

Sorry to hear you're resigning, Pancake.

Ok, has ANYONE (Like, anyone?) in the UK heard the story about the girl who ran off with Pete Doherty? I KNOW HER! She's on my course at college. Here is a lowdown:

A few friends went to see Babyshambles play at our local gig-playing-place. They got talking to them and Tasha, the girl in question, snogged him for ages. Then they went on their tourbus and hung out for ages. Anyway then the bus driver started moving, so most of them ran off and stopped the bus. But Tasha stayed, wanting to be with Pete and deciding to be a model.

She is monsterously thin.

Anyway a police search went underway after she didn't turn up by Friday. She was found, while two of her 'friends' sold the story to the paper The Daily Star. It was in on friday. Anyway the two friends (Dane an Katy) each got £11,000 for selling the story. As for Tasha, she got....wait for it...

£40,000.

The fuck!? she didn't even do an interview. Anyway APPARENTLY Hugo Boss have signed her for a contract! And Manchester agencies have contacted her.

I hope she isn't signed to Hugo Boss because nobody deserves it less. She is a fame-fisher - she goes around looking for ways to be famous, and she is horribly thin and looks like a cocker spaniel (not even opinion - it's true!). She doesn't deserve it. In my eyes she'll be known as 'the girl that ran off with pete'.

She isn't on our course anymore. Either she got kicked off, or she's too rich to care.

I hate karma.

[Jaffa]

McYikes

Sorry to hear you're resigning, Pancake.

Ok, has ANYONE (Like, anyone?) in the UK heard the story about the girl who ran off with Pete Doherty? I KNOW HER! She's on my course at college. Here is a lowdown:

A few friends went to see Babyshambles play at our local gig-playing-place. They got talking to them and Tasha, the girl in question, snogged him for ages. Then they went on their tourbus and hung out for ages. Anyway then the bus driver started moving, so most of them ran off and stopped the bus. But Tasha stayed, wanting to be with Pete and deciding to be a model.

She is monstrously thin.

Anyway a police search went underway after she didn't turn up by Friday. She was found, while two of her 'friends' sold the story to the paper The Daily Star. It was in on friday. Anyway the two friends (Dane an Katy) each got £11,000 for selling the story. As for Tasha, she got....wait for it...

£40,000.

The ****!? she didn't even do an interview. Anyway APPARENTLY Hugo Boss have signed her for a contract! And Manchester agencies have contacted her.

I hope she isn't signed to Hugo Boss because nobody deserves it less. She is a fame-fisher - she goes around looking for ways to be famous, and she is horribly thin and looks like a cocker spaniel (not even opinion - it's true!). She doesn't deserve it. In my eyes she'll be known as 'the girl that ran off with pete'.

She isn't on our course anymore. Either she got kicked off, or she's too rich to care.

I hate karma.


:eek: :eek: :eek:

That is so F**king freaky... I can remember reading it on digitalspy and laughing my head...

She wants to get famous for the wrong reasons... She wants to be a 'celebrity'... Like Jordan and Jodie Marsh... *pukes* The type of stardom that doesn't last.

I wouldn't mind being famous, but for doing something, not someone. Like acting, altough that's a mere pipe-dream.

Anyway, don't hate karma. She may be rolling in it for a while, but knowing what Pete's like, that 40k'll be shoved up her and Pete's noses faster than you can say 'Kate Moss'.

Just remember to point and laugh when you read she's been booked into the priory or done for possession.

Just a quick question, is their anybody else that thinks Doherty's a complete tw*t, or am I the only one?

[mr_pikachu]

Tara, I'm sorry to hear you're resigning. It's too bad that life got in the way, but hopefully you'll be able to spend more time with it now without having to worry about Fanfic duties. I hope you do stick around, though. It's nice having people like you here.

I don't have any idea who those people in the story are, so I can't really comment on that.

[PancaKe]

^_^ Ill still be hanging around.

Ill make the effort anyway.

gah, my dog smells.

That chick sounds like she wants to be another Paris Hilton - but that might jsut be my opinion. Paris Hilton looks like a horse anyway IMHO.

Does anybody remember Bronze Umbreon from the boards? Yeah, I met up with him the other day in Parramatta :) It was cool. Just random infomration :)

[dratinihaunter13]

lol, i remember bronzie. next time you see him tell him i said what's up =-o!

[Bronzie]

Nothing much, whats up with you?

[Gavin Luper]

LMAO ... excellent.

Anyway: Tara - make sure you still hang around and keep in contact!!

And um ... in other news ... exams finished last week!! So, school is all over, all that's left is my TEE in November. Went to Perth straight after exams too. If any of you here ever happen to go to Perth (in Australia, not the other one) then make sure you go to King's Park, especially if the weather is nice. It's an absolutely beautiful view and the most relaxing time you can possibly have so close to the city.

Hmmm ... that was kind of random, but it is a really nice place ^^.

Cheers!

[Drago]

Wow, Smiley Town. These things still exist? Well obviously. Heh.

It's all spiffy to see all the sights and smell all the aromas of the fanfic forum again after months of actually being outside where the sun lives, though it seems that the tides are a-changin' round these parts again, what with Tara retiring from modism and me noticing that classy_cat18 actually mentioned Minty Thrill in the fanfic trivia section. Wee! Thanks classy. It lives on!! :D

To describe my week, I went to Wagga to visit my sister. It's a six hour drive each way, which isn't much fun. Though I got DK: King of Swing while I was up there. And it's is SPIFFY.

Say... I just realised something, since I don't write fanfics anymore (or haven't been to TPM for five months for that matter), isn't it improper for me to be socialising with all the writers in the writers lounge? Ooh, suitably cheeky of me. :heh:

[mr_pikachu]

Hey, DragoKnight! It's good to see you here. Great to have veterans like you back! :)

I've had a pretty good day. I got two essays and an exam back, and all were high As. I knew I worked harder than usual on them, and I'm glad it paid off. I also had a quiz which I feel very confident about. But the best part is that it's the weekend! *cheers*

It looks like the Golden Pen Awards are coming to a close, too. Good luck to everyone who was nominated. Let's hope dh and Ada can get those results out quickly!


EDIT: Oh, and before I forget, today's my three-year anniversary of registering for TPM. Woo!

[Lady Vulpix]

Congratulations, mr_pikachu! And welcome back, DragoKnight!
I'm having my first semi-free day in three weeks! Yay! I'll see how much I can write today.

[Edit: I've congratulated you on your anniversary and I've only just realized it's mine too. I've been on TPM for 5 years today! ^_^]

[Gavin Luper]

Congrats to mr_pikachu and Lady Vulpix on your respective anniversaries!

And DragoKnight! Great to see you back here again! How was your exile? And ... why was your exile? ^^ Anyway, welcome back!!

Anybody heard about Bali? A series of bombings tore through Kuta again on Saturday night, roughly three years after the original Bali Bombings. About 30-odd dead, including 3 Aussies, and dozens more injured. But apparently this one wasn't aimed at westerners like the 2002 bombings were - it was mostly local Balinese who were killed. This is apparently going to ruin their livelihoods as tourism makes up 80% of the Balinese economy. They are really devastated apparently.

Terrible stuff ...

[mr_pikachu]

Thanks for the congrats, Gavin!

Jeez. That's awful about Bali. A lot of really small countries thrive on tourists, so anything that keeps them away completely destroys the locals' economy and their lives. Hopefully they can get everything repaired quickly and start some sort of a campaign to draw people back.

[Gavin Luper]

Indeed, but it seems tourism there is going to collapse again. Heaps of Aussies live and work in Bali/Indonesia as it is our closest neighbour. After the 2002 bombings some left but eventually things returned to normal, more or less. Lots of people go over there all the time for holidays now; it had almost returned to normal. And then they go and bomb the place again. Reports are coming in of heaps of Aussie expats in Bali preparing to leave after this attack, especially as there are rumours of more attacks in the next few days. So the tourism and hospitality industries in Bali are going to be crippled, it seems. The poor Balinese people; to a large extent, they are the ones who have been hurt by the attacks.

Hmm ... not really Smiley Town at the moment is it? :keke: My apologies.

Cheers!

[Drago]

The recent Bali bombings are most tragic. It's a crippling blow not just now, but in the long run... Twice in such a short span, that's concerning and a serious blow. I remember visiting Bali back in the early days, but I wouldn't dare at this point. It's a sad reminder of the state of things.

On a merrier note, I thought I'd spread the lovin' and also throw a congrats to mr_pika for becoming the new mod of fanfic. Yeah I know there's a topic for it, but I'm a lazy git who can't click that many places at once. I'm damn sure you'll be an active contributor to running this hizouse. And jeez, that means that page 4 of this topic is overflowing with replies from mods and super mods and such. Y'all are like ants. Only with administrative powers...
No, I'm not quite sure what I'm on about, in case you're wondering.

Anyway, my absence is easily explained by my joining a local gridiron team in June. Training takes up a lot of time and I actually discovered myself a life out of the house, causing all sorts of shenanigans and the like. Much less time for the computer, much more time for stealing clothes off clotheslines at 3 AM. Long, long story.
Of course, I'm in year 12 and got this whole studying thing crammed down my throat... So I've sorta almost kinda been studying, too.

In any event, I contemplated dusting off the old writin' pen and jotting down a bit of a fic once more, but until I can decide what it'll be about (Something old? Something new? Something borrowed? Something... blue?), that pen will just be tapping pensively on the desk. ...Aww who am I kidding; I've never had a writing pen. :P

[mr_pikachu]

Yeah, Bali's in a bit of a crisis right now. Hopefully they can get the economy up and running again.

...Hmm. Gavin was right; this town really isn't very Smiley at the moment.

Thanks for the congrats, DragoKnight! Hopefully we can liven up the forum! ^_^ And yes, it is a little scary now, isn't it? Heh. Lots of administrative ants... I know there's a joke I can make here somewhere, but I just can't seem to find it. Meh, that statement can pretty much stand on its own, anyway. ;)

Stealing clothes at three in the morning? Do tell! I'd like to hear this one.

And yeah, pencils are much better. *nods*

[classy_cat18]

What? mr_pikachu's a mod? *looks at list of mods* You are! Well, well, well. Congrats, mr_pikachu.

On an unrelated note, I started classes yesterday. Intro to CAD (Computer Aided Drafting), Photoshop II, English Comp I, and Art Appreciation I. I'm taking the latter two today. For my last batch of A's I got a $15 gift card to iTunes. I was in the kitchen yesterday singing "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" last night!

[mr_pikachu]

Yeah, I've been modded. It's like being a newbie all over again. ^^; Thanks, Shonta. I appreciate it. :)

What's Computer Aided Drafting, out of curiosity? I would guess at its meaning, but I already know I'd be completely off target. So, to skip a step, everyone can point and laugh now. ;) (...But seriously, what is it?)

Do you like country music, Shonta? Even though Oklahoma's characterized sometimes as a state full of cowboys, I'm actually not much of a country fan myself. Although a few songs, such as that one, are catchy.

...And now it's stuck in my head. Crud.

[classy_cat18]

I can't really explain what Computer Aided Drafting is. They use it in architectural companies to give their customers a 3D view of their building just by using blueprints. I hope that cleared things up a little.

I like all kinds of music, but I'm not a hardcore fan of country. I mainly listen to mainstream country. I even went through a phase when I was into the Dixie Chicks. But it's mostly hip-hop for me.

[PancaKe]

congrats to mr pikachu!! ^_^ woot

[mr_pikachu]

Hey, thanks, Tara! I appreciate your support. I really do. Thank you!


I think I understand what you mean now, Shonta. I've seen programs like that before. And I understand your sentiments about country, even if I don't agree with hip-hop. To each his own (or in this case, her own). ;)

[Gavin Luper]

Hi everyone, time for my weekly-ish post! ^^

Well, the end of this week signifies my second-last week of school ever. A week from now I'll be getting ready for Graduation! It's the most terrifying feeling, having to leave not only school but so many friends behind, the next week is going to be really shitty, but at the same time, it will be great to finish school, and it's easy to stay in touch with my closest friends, in any case. Anyway, it's a strange thing to experience on top of the exam study/pressure ... good when this is all over. :D

In somewhat better news, my lack of activity last term seems to have paid off, at least as far as my school results are concerned. I got 4 As (English, Chemistry, History and Physics) and a B for Applicable Maths, so I'm stoked.

:D:D:D

^^ Wow, how boring have I become, divulging my GRADES to random people?

More interestingly, I'm going to the Randolph Stow Awards tonight. A short story I entered in the contest has apparently placed quite highly, though I don't know how well it went. In any case, it's great to have a story go well in a writing contest. I'll let youse know how I went later. :keke:

ANYWAY ... I just thought I'd post to revive Smiley Town a bit, there's not much smiling/talking going on in here!

Uh ... yes. Back to vegetating/studying I spose.

Cheers!

[mr_pikachu]

Hey, congratulations, Gavin! I hope you did well in the writing contest, and major congrats on graduation! It's scary, but you'll be thankful for the effort you put out to get to it. Especially once the event's over. ^_^;

My week has been pretty cruddy so far... I've had a cold/flu thing, a guy I was supposed to interview for a class let me down (it's not easy writing a story on a guy with only random internet articles to work with, let me tell you), I got a less-than-desirable grade on an exam I took last Friday, and I've got an exam on Monday which I'll be studying for all this weekend. Ugh. :P

But now that I'm procrastinating on TPM, I'm happy. Long live the procrastinators! Woo! :D

[The Decapitated Mole]

Hey everybody. Yes, I'm still alive [OH NOES?!?] and yes, things seem to be going well for me?

Oh, and I totally went and saw Franz Ferdinand in Boston last saturday. It was the most amazing fucking thing I've ever seen, let me tell you. They're so much better live than in the studio that it's, like, ridiculous. If you ever get a chance to see them, do not pass it up. And make sure you don't get stuck behind a girl with a MASSIVE FUCKING HEAD WHO WON'T STOP LEANING OVER AND TALKING TO THE PERSON NEXT TO HER FOR FOUR HOURS!!! Jesus christ, woman, if concerts were made for you to have chats in there wouldn't be a band at all, there would just be a big couch. And you wouldn't be allowed to sit on the couch, either, if you did that they'd throw you out. You'd just stand around for hours complaining about how much you want to sit on the goddamned couch. And people would PAY to get in!!!

yes.

[dratinihaunter13]

The album I heard from Franz Ferdinand is great. Every song on there worked for me, which is pretty rare O_o; . good to hear you are doing well mole.
my grades have been good except for biochemistry which is eating me alive. god i hate it. so much. which sucks cuz i'm planning to try med school after undergrad. that might require a little bit a talent in biochem, i dunno maybe. *siiiiigh* getting challenged in a class is such a drag. hopefully whatever i get doesn't sully my med school app. life's been good otherwise. me and three other guys won a volleyball tournament last weekend, which is amazing cuz i'm terrible at the game. as a prize we each get to name a dvd and reslife goes to get it for us. I don't know which dvd to get and my deadline is by tuesday! any suggestions? if i can't think of one i think i'll just make it a free christmas gift to someone. that's always good.

[mr_pikachu]

Jimm: Sorry to hear you didn't get to enjoy the concert to the fullest extent, but I'm glad it was enjoyable nonetheless. And I like the idea of the annoying talking lady concerts... might try to start one of those sometime. :D


Martin (that is your name, right?): Never heard Franz Ferdinand myself, though I've heard good things about them. I might listen to a CD of them at some point. It's too bad that biochem isn't treating you well. Challenging courses are never any fun, are they? And congrats on the volleyball victory! Hmm... I'd suggest something like The Emperor's Club. Or any Pokemon movie. Whatever works.


Everyone: Sorry I haven't been as active lately; I've been battling some sort of cold/flu thing. It's been driving me nuts. Add a couple of exams, several essays, numerous reports, and roommates who choose the worst nights to watch loud movies at 3 in the morning, and things've been a little tough lately. But I shouldn't have any major obligations for a little while, so once I blast this cold out of my system I should be able to get back into the full swing of things here. Yay! (Or "[random expletive]" if you dislike my reviews... hehe. ^_^; )

[Gavin Luper]

Hi everyone ... another weekly post ^^

Well, I got 2nd place in that writing contest last Friday, which was absolutely awesome, I'm stoked. It was a short story so I might post it up here once I have the time. Anyway, that was awesome for me.

And yesterday was muck-up day (last day of school). Possibly the best day of my school career - we graffitied our uniforms for the day and ran into town from up on a high hill, screaming the whole way. Followed by a day of more screaming and laughing and water fights and mud wrestling. Awesome fun. And then graduation was at night - last night. It is actually quite surreal, the elation of leaving is cancelled out by the sadness of farewelling the place and so many great people. And all the friends...

ANYWAY, it's really weird but good ... it definitely hasn't sunk in that we won't be spending every day together at school anymore. But for now, I have exams to worry about still ... so I'd better get back to studying.

:biggrin:

Cheers!

- Gavin.

[Lady Vulpix]

I finished correcting 2 exams and corrected 2 projects today (of course, they were #0 rojects, which are a lot easier to correct than others). One of the projects didn't even compile. I hate it when students hand in a programming project that doesn't compile, they didn't even care to try it themselves! Of course, they probably couldn't try it since the floppy disk it was on was unreadable. They wouldn't have a copy in their hard disk they could compile, right? Not when it's much easier to hand in a blatantly wrong printed code and a floppy disk that doesn't work. Sorry for venting out, I just hate it when students don't care about what they do.

[classy_cat18]

Gabi: I've seen those kinds of students. But if they're like me, they were probably thinking that it would've been better to turn in something other than nothing.

I made it into the 3D Elite! What's that, you may ask? Why, it's just a group of the most talented computer animation students at my school working on a project to show at SIGGRAPH and the Sidewalk Film Festival that's held in Birmingham! I'm working on animation. I'll have my name in the credits and everything!

[Lady Vulpix]

Wow, congratulations, Shonta! That sounds like a great achievement. What's the project about?

[mr_pikachu]

Gavin: Whoa, that's awesome! Second place in the contest; you should be proud! Obviously, though, everyone here knows you deserved first, without a doubt. *nods*

And good job with making it through to graduation, too! It is kind of a weird feeling, but its got to be nice to move on. Any plans for the future?


Gabi: Ugh, yeah, that's never good. They probably got desperate and looked for a disk that they thought they could use as an excuse... little did they know you'd be able to get the junk file off it! It's pretty bad when they couldn't even get the project to compile. I've had a few projects that still had logical errors when the due date arrived, but I always managed to get them to compile. Even if it didn't work properly, at least it worked somewhat.


Shonta: Hey, way to go! That sounds like a real honor! Congratulations on making it into that group, and good luck in the competition! And like Gabi asked, what are you doing for the event?


Everyone: Well, it's the weekend! :yes::yes::yes: Still dealing with midterms over here, but they'll be over at last in a couple of weeks. And then we have to study for finals... bleh. :P But, I'll be enjoying my freedom (see: procrastinating) while I can. :)

What are all of you doing for Halloween? I'll probably just be gorging on candy, myself. :D

[classy_cat18]

Gabi and mr_pikachu: The project is a 3-5 minute animation. The animation is about this animal activist that finds a bird in a pet store and frees it. Unfortunately, the bird gets hit by a truck. All my assignments are animation. No modeling or texturing.

What am I doing for Holloween? According to my church, I'm not supposed to be celebrating it. It's a pagan holiday. I might watch a couple of horror movies and pig out on sweets but that'll be it.

[dratinihaunter13]

congratulations classy! For halloween we got a lot of little kids running around our apartment complex, so I'm thinking we should grab some candy tonight to fend them off come the 31st. My roommate's birthday's on halloween too though, so we're considering taking candy out of the kiddies' bags when they get here, as a birthday present for the roomie ;). wahahahah

and yea mrpika, i'm martin. originally pronounced marteeeeen but not since my folks came to the US

[Lady Vulpix]

Ouch. Poor bird.

I don't do anything for Halloween, since I'm in Argentina.

Martin, where did your folks come from?

[dratinihaunter13]

Peru - Lima and Puno mostly. Suramerica 4ever Gabi ;)

[Lady Vulpix]

Hehe. I knew two girls from Peru personally. We went camping together once. They were nice.

[mr_pikachu]

Aw, man! Just when I thought we could team up and rock those Aussie mods' world USA style, you tell me about this, Martin! So I'm the only native American FF mod... er, so to speak. I'm not a native American as in "Native American", I'm... augh, I was born in the US, dang it!

*cries at lack of coherency in his own posts*

Aaanyway, shifting gears for a moment, I just got back from helping my grandparents move. My folks have been trying to get them to move closer for ages, and they finally found a house they liked a few months ago. So, now they're living in it. And stuff. ...Yay?

Oh, and Shonta, a lot of churches say that Pokemon is the stuff of the occult. Not saying that the claims about Halloween are nearly so far-fetched as those made about Pokemon... just trying to put it in perspective. ;) Heh, a lot of churches around here are throwing Halloween parties... freaky. :eek:

[Lady Vulpix]

And here we don't celebrate Halloween... I'm not sure whether it would be good to have it or not, I think it's good to celebrate as much as possible, but old traditions are getting lost quickly and being replaced with foreign ones, and I don't like that either. I like cultural exchanges, but not cultural replacement, if that makes any sense.

On a completely unrelated note, Brian, aren't you playing Lingo anymore? It was good to have you there, and now no one is playing it. :(

[Drago]

It all makes sense now! dh is, in actual fact, Martin Gramatica!! Admit it!!

My Halloween was uneventful, as you would expect, the holiday having nothing to do with Australia whatsoever. A bunch of kids from down the road demanded candy at 6:30 (not in costume, not even saying trick or treat. It was all about ze LOLLIES). I chucked a couple Milky Ways their way in the spirit of things, high off nostalgia from my trick or treating days back in Canada (where scamming dear grannies of the good candy was an art).

Of course, while checking the mail later on, I found that the little twerps had left the wrappings in my front yard. Typical. Next year I'll take Blackadder's advice, and make their present a fist. You can use it again, and again, and again.

Then to top off my evening I was attacked in Animal Crossing and had my items turned into pumpkins by a candy-obsessed mouse named Limberg. Never pictured Limberg to be that sort, but now I know for sure.

...I seriously miss the days when Halloween meant something. So what if they laughed at my Sonic the Hedgehog costume, that thing was revolutionary for its time.

[dratinihaunter13]

haha, no thankfully i'm not martin gramatica. he may have a more powerful foot, but i'm more accurage inside 5 yard field goals ;).

don't worry brian, i was born in Chicago. my parents moved to the u.s. right before i was born though, so my first language was spanish until i started going to school, then i had to learn english, and now my english is better than my spanish >_<. just about everyone in my huge family's in peru though, i miss them i wanna go visit again =(.

[classy_cat18]

DragoKnight: That's why I don't celebrate Halloween in Animal Crossing. You'll never know when your hard earned items will turn into pumpkins. Trick or treat! And those kids had no right to make fun of your costume. Sonic's cool, there's no denying that.

Luckily for me, I had some Buffy DVDs to watch today. I wish I had a party to go to like the one at Birmingham-Southern. They would show a movie on a big screen outside. Last time I went it was Final Destination.

[mr_pikachu]

Gabi: Yeah, I think I understand what you're saying. Better to relish timeless traditions than to say "out with the old, in with the new," eh?

And I'm playing Lingo again, so I hope that is satisfactory.


DragoKnight: Ah, yes, Halloween is indeed an art in more ways than just the creation of costumes. I had an entire system in my mind of routes and alternate routes based upon how many trick-or-treaters appeared to be in each area (for it is of the utmost importance to reach as many houses as possible before the good candy is gone). I remember that some kids used to bring multiple costumes so that they could visit the house of this rich lady (who always gave a wide variety of king-size candy bars) multiple times. But I, finding this a dishonorable method of obtaining candy, resolved to find more honest and efficient ways of gaining the great bounty of All Hallows' Eve.

And Sonic did indeed rock. He was much cooler back in the olden days than he is now, though.


Martin: Well, I guess I'll have to settle for that. ;) Just kidding. Actually, it's cool that you're bilingual. I've always wondered what it might be like to understand other languages, and I've failed quite miserably at learning Spanish in my multiple attempts. And hopefully you can visit your family sometime soon.


Shonta: Buffy? As in Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Meh, I never really could force myself to watch that. Maybe I would have gotten hooked had I watched a little of it, but it always sounded so corny to me. *shrugs*



I really should be studying right now. I mean, I really need a good grade on tomorrow's midterm exam if I want to keep my GPA afloat. ...Aw, heck with it. TPM's of more importance than real life, anyway. ;)

Well, I've just recovered from a cold/flu, and I'm now slightly hyper, though long beyond sanity. I've spent the past few weeks alternating between studying, browsing TPM, and writing a fun little computer program. And now I grieve, for I am forced to study texts I can barely understand - and I doubt I'd want to understand them, frankly.

...Aaanyway, just wanted to know how everyone else is, as we haven't had a Smiley post for almost a week. So... reply, dang it! (And play the FF Trivia Game while you're at it! :yes: )

[Lady Vulpix]

Thanks for playing Lingo, thanks for understanding and good luck tomorrow. :)

[Gavin Luper]

Last exam (Physics) is tomorrow morning. HURRAH! And then it's off to sunny Mexico ... er ... Jurien Bay ... for a week of LEAVERS!

*explodes*

Cheers!

[mr_pikachu]

Gabi: Thanks. I did surprisingly well on the exam, obviously, considering that I read the material that the test was over during a period of two days before the exam. Hooray for procrastination once again! ;)


Gavin: Hey, glad to hear it! But out of curiosity, what are leavers? I don't believe we have those here in the states, and I've never heard of them at all.


Well, I'm probably going to be up most (i.e. all) of the night working on several essays that are all due over the next couple of days. (Did I already say hooray for procrastination?) So, I figured I'd start the night on TPM, work for about three minutes, and then alternate back and forth between five hours of TPM and fifteen seconds of work.

Procrastination rocks. :cool:

[Gavin Luper]

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Finished ... after so many years ... :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

Words can't even come close to describing how happy I am right now.

Um, yes, going on leavers as of tomorrow morning. 'Leavers' (called Schoolies over east ... and over here by some weirdos) is when all the school leavers who have just finished year twelve (ie finished school forever!) ambush small coastal towns for a week of sex, drugs and rock and roll. And alcohol. Lots of that. Of course, not for us responsible people ;)

Anyway, I should get back to bouncing off the walls. Good luck with those essays mr_pika!

Cheers everyone!

- Gavin.

[Lady Vulpix]

Brian: procrastination is a dangerous tool, but it can be useful occasionally. I doubt I would have achieved the top grade in my language theory exam if I hadn't started typing up the first chapters of Quest of Twelve during the 2 previous weeks. That made me feel a lot better and gave me the energy I needed to keep studying.

Gavin: is that the same as a graduation trip, or is it different?

[Gavin Luper]

Back from leavers. Was awesome.

Gabi: I dunno, what's a graduation trip? Leavers is basically everyone going south or north in a big group and staying there for about a week. Parties and a lot of drinking follows. GREAT FUN.

Anyway, I'm back now. So modding duties have returned to full capacity, or whatever. Hurrah!

Cheers!

[Lady Vulpix]

A graduation trip is when a whole class that's about to graduate goes somewhere for a week, or maybe longer. Here in Argentina, Bariloche's the most popular location for graduation trips.

[Gavin Luper]

Oh ok, is it a school-run thing or a completely student-led thing? It's different in that we go after our exams are over and we have already graduated.

[mr_pikachu]

Hey, good to have you back, Gavin! Again, congrats on graduating, and I hope you had a blast at leavers!

And Gabi, when you say that the class is about to graduate, have those students already passed their requirements, or do they have something (like finals) left to complete? Just wondering how Argentinians (sp?) usually handle those trips.

[Lady Vulpix]

It's normally organized by the students, but sometimes the school authorities help. There are agencies that are dedicated to handling graduation trips and extracting as much money as possible from the students. I'm glad my class didn't use one of those agencies when we went on our trip. Normally there are some exams left after students return from their trips, but since no one can retake the last year of high school, it still means you're not going to attend classes there anymore. (Students who fail one or more subjects on their last year can take the final exams any amount of times until they pass).

What is it like in your country?

[mr_pikachu]

Well, my school actually didn't have a graduation trip (*cries*), but those who do typically arrange it themselves. Usually each student has to donate a set portion of money determined by dividing the total cost by the number of seniors (basically making everybody pay their way). The trips often go to places like New York City, Washington D.C., the Caribbean, etc. Of course, the trips sometimes don't go as planned... the suspected murder of a high school girl earlier this year is only one of many examples.

As for exams, if the students plan the trip, they usually have it after all the exams are over. Here, if you don't pass the course due to a bad final, you usually have to take the whole thing over again if you want to graduate. And since most seniors don't want to risk that, they tend to schedule the trip after finals so that they don't have that possibility to worry about.

[Gavin Luper]

Gabi, your system sounds awesome, if you can take the exams until you pass them ... that would be good.

We're lucky in Western Australia, we've already graduated before we do the final exams. Our year's marks are final and we've left school already. All we have to do are the TEE (Tertiary Entrance Exams) to determine what score we get for University qualification. It's pretty good. And then, after the TEE, we go on our trips, once we are completely free, it's awesome!

[Lady Vulpix]

Well, it's good except for some teachers who have this kind of reasoning: "it's your last year and you can't retake it, you have one foot out of school already, so why bother with classes? Let's talk about football instead." My physics teacher was exactly like that. And my chemistry teacher didn't talk about football, but kept repeating the same things again and again and only taught us around 20% of what we were supposed to learn on that year. I had to learn the rest at university, and only because the half-year chemirstry course happened to be one of the pre-requisites for computer science. Most of my classmates have probably never learnt what an ester is.

*Looks at her postcount.* Nice, it's a palindrome.

[PancaKe]

hmmm...

hi?

[Lady Vulpix]

Oh, hi, Tara! It's nice to see you around here. Are you still writing?

[PancaKe]

only for school.

im doing a major work in english extention 2 ~ where i have to come up with a novella.

i have a year to write it.

should be fun ^_^;

how is everyone?

[mr_pikachu]

Hi, Tara! It's good to see you!

Things are going pretty well around here, I think; the writers are still writing (and we have a brand-new crop of them, haha), the readers are still reading, and even though fanfiction discussion is a little slow at the moment, I'm sure it'll pick up soon enough. It does seem to be a little cyclical that way. :)

That project for school actually sounds kind of fun, despite the nature of the smiley beside it. Although I can certainly see how it could be frustrating. You'll have to let us know how that goes. No procrastinating, now! ;)

(...Procrastinators forever!)

Anyway, we hope you stick around Fanfic. It's been lonely without you the last couple of months! :( Here's hoping you keep coming back! *clinks glass ceremoniously*

[dratinihaunter13]

hey tara!

i've been busy with school and work at the genetics lab. Finals are the next couple weeks for me so I won't be around much. i'm starting to see how impossible it would be to be a doctor and a writer at the same time (no we can't all be crichton).

[classy_cat18]

I...*bangs head*...hate...*bangs head*...financial aid. They had me sign a sheet that I had already signed twice! Why do I always have to have a hard time at financial aid?

Well, my classes are approved. I have a Sound & Video editing class, English Literature, and Cultural History. The problem is that two of those classes begin at 2:00 (one during M&W, one during T&Th) so I'll be getting home even later.

[Gavin Luper]

Ah yes Tara, that's it, come crawling back, eh? ^^ Hullo.

dh13: ecch ... exams. good luck with them!!

classy_cat18: Financial aid sounds like a big bucket of crap! With reference to your classes, what do M&W and T&Th stand for?

Well, being free from school is righteous. Apart from working a few full time days at the supermarket the other day :mad: it's been great. Veging out today and then going bowling with my mate. :biggrin:

Cheers!

[classy_cat18]

classy_cat18: Financial aid sounds like a big bucket of crap! With reference to your classes, what do M&W and T&Th stand for?

Monday and Wednesday and Tuesday and Thursday.

[mr_pikachu]

Martin: Yeah, college can be really rough. I'm dealing with a ton of essays right now before exams, so I feel your pain. As cliched as the phrase may be.


Shonta: Oh, jeez, I know what you mean! They completely screwed up my account, and I missed out on a bunch of classes I really wanted to take because they wouldn't let me register. They somehow botched the paperwork and gave me almost ten thousand dollars worth of debt in my account. By the time it was sorted out, I had to choose from the worthless courses that were left over (i.e. that nobody else wanted to take, for good reason). :P


Gavin: I am a sad, sad little man, because my mind flashed to a scene from a romance movie I saw recently, whose title I pathetically cannot remember. But I do remember that the plot centered around a lady who had a traffic accident, and who suddenly woke up and found herself invisible to everyone except one guy she had never met and who, to her bewilderment, had moved into her apartment. ...Why can't I remember the name? *screams*


So, yeah, I'm masochistically writing exams and studying for finals. Oh, the woes of the college student.

[PancaKe]

gavin im not crawling back to anyone.
besides if i was crawling, i wouldve sent you more than one text message.
lol

^_^; yeah omg I went to this really good extention 2 writing day yesterday!! It was SO helpful! Omg!! lmao i sound like a noob again XD
but seriously, it was extremely good.
if you guys want, I can post up the notes. we had an author come and talk to us about starting a fic, and about characters and setting and things like that. It was just such an excellent speaker. I'll post the notes, but later.

I'm lazy right now.
And I'm working in an hour and need to shower.
hey wow, they rhymed!!!

^_^ augh DH!! your STILL here? you're like the dinosaur of the forum!! *hugz* when your a doctor you can fix all my problems (not that im sick).

and yay for mr pikachu *hugz* i'm glad your making a better mod than i did. XD

[mr_pikachu]

Hey, wait just a minute, Tara! Don't you start talking like that! You were a great mod, and I certainly haven't proven myself yet. So stop with the self-degradation already! ;)

And an author talked about starting up a fic? A fanfic? If that's right, well, that's awesome! (Not to harp on ff.net again like I always do, but since they always get all the attention, fanfiction has been given a bad name to the public and even to authors. ...Yeah, I'm harping. So sue me.) If we've got a pro who's endorsing fanfiction like that, then that could be good for the future of writing. :biggrin:

And Martin, you've definitely been around longer than the rest of us. Gavin's been around longer than both Ada and me (although Ada was modded first), but dh, you've been a fanfic mod since the oldest version of the TPM forums I've found! Congrats on surviving the stone age, and welcome to the future! :yes:

[mistysakura]

Hi Tara, it's great to see you here! You're always welcome (just be sure to stay clear of Gavin, lol). And it's cool that you're still writing. It would be great if you posted the notes, thanks in advance. I'm sure lots of people here (including myself) would be interested. About raising the profile of fanfiction... well, even off ff.net, my impression is that most fanfiction isn't much to harp on about. there's some decent stuff, but it's not really anything special. Although, to be fair, I guess most internet fiction would be like that, so it's unfair that fanfiction gets all the blame. But I guess even I myself, who should really know better, discriminate against fanfics -- when I hear of people reading fanfiction, I do think that they're reading the trashy stuff. So anyway, to wrap this tirade up, I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's obviously not good to have to stereotype that all fanfiction is bad, but when you look at most fanfiction, it seems as if it almost deserves its bad reputation.

But AI suspect Tara is using the word "fic" to refer to fiction in general. As in "an original fic".

On another topic, yes we're all alive and well. And I won't go into the whole self-degradation thing; I'll just say that mr_pika and Tara are both great mods in different ways. On the other hand, I'm sure dh loves being called the dinosaur of the forum, heh.

And as to myself, it's the time of year when school isn't out yet but everyone's just lazing around because they're not in the mood. Exams went better than I expected, so I'm happy about that. Just another week or so until the end of school...

[dratinihaunter13]

RAAWWRRR!!! glad to hear your exams went well ada. and tara that speaker must have been awesome. i love when writers come into class and start talking about stuff like writing characters and keeping good habits and stuff. if i become a doctor i'll push for tpm to get free healthcare nationwide.

despite finals, there's a fiction competition deadline coming up for my college so i might be putting up some non-pokemon related stuff in a bit. hopefully i can scrounge up something to submit. i'm competitive about nintendo, foosball, and whoever calls shotgun first on the way to the car... but not writing for some reason O_o;

[Lady Vulpix]

That reminds me... it's an early Sunday morning. What am I doing here not writing?! *Goes to fix that.*

[Chris 2.1]

*Appears*

I haven't been around here for a while.

Dunno why really, I guess everything in ASB's been a bit hectic. I'm still writing, On Ch26 of MV, so I'm nearly 13 Chappies ahead of the readers, since theyre on Ch12 :P. I haven't really got any posting readers so it's a bit of a low blow, cos one part of my fic I loved was discussing chapters with the readers.

But I'm still plugging away because I've put a lot of effort into Monica's Vendetta.

As for the ASB Fic, we're currently at the OzAndrew 2-parter. And I've spent considerable time plotting future chapters until about Ch17.

Yea, I'm way too organized. But at least it keeps me inline. I'd hate to arrrive at a chapter and think "whoa....no idea's for ANYTHING..."

Go me!

[Gavin Luper]

Dum de da ... no work today, so finally I get a chance to sit down and do nothing. Hurrah. Might do some writing later. Or send out the bloody practice reviews for the FFRO (which I'm going to get around to ... eventually ...)!

Oh, Tara, those notes sound pretty good. I'm usually not that into authors giving tips and stuff for writing, I prefer to be completely freelance (or some other word that makes sense) as I am really stupidly stubborn when it comes to people telling me how to write ^^ ... but still, I wouldn't mind having a look at them, if you can. :biggrin:

And now it's off to kill some time. Hurrah!

Mr_pika, you remembered the movie yet? :p

Cheers!

[mr_pikachu]

Yeah, it would be interesting to see those kinds of notes. It's nice to get tips from a professional author.

As for myself, I'll be starting finals this week, so I probably won't be on as much. (If I am online as much as I've been lately, I probably won't even remember enough to put my name on the exams.)

And Gavin, no, I haven't remembered the movie title yet. But it was the "Righteous" line of yours that made me think of it... And let's see that FFRO! :yes:

*runs off to procrastinate some more*

[Lady Vulpix]

I managed to write a little yesterday, and bought 3 books, which is always a good thing. Then I went to see Joan Manuel Serrat in concert, with my mom and my grandparents, and some of my mom's friends, and I met one of my brother's friends there. It was exciting to see 3 generations gathered to see the same person sing. And he sang some of his old songs and I wanted to sing along but had to do with singing to myself since singing aloud would have bothered others. Anyway, it was great, but it finished too late for my liking and I got very little sleep last night, which means today is a less than productive day for me, but I can always read some webcomics and go to bed early tonight.

Oh, and I got a raise at work! Without even asking for it. Now that was surprising! And gratifying.

[Gavin Luper]

OK, mr_pika, FFRO Practice Review is done at last, it'll be sent out in the next day or two.

Gabi, congrats on your raise! That's great!

Anyway, I wrote something today. :D And discovered Killing Heidi's new album is coming out in February next year, which is always something to look forward to.

But as if to make my day worse, work called me in and asked if I could work 4-7. And I said YES! :mad: I'm working/have worked every day this week except for Monday, which sucks ... but at least it's money I suppose.

Cheers!

[PancaKe]

well, gavin, welcome to the REAL world.
where you will work, and complain about work.
and then you will get a very interesting text message from me.
and it will proclaim the P word.
it begins with p
and ends in enis.
and lmao you are so funny.
XD

as for those notes, lemme stop being lazy and ill post em i promise xD

[Gavin Luper]

Lmao ... Tara I got it ... as you well know ... damn your second message though. I do not love it! (Well, not in that way. Ecch.)

Evil child. This is not the end. Muahaha.

Cheers!

[PancaKe]

i know its not the end.
you love it in the end.
XD sorry !!!!

[Lady Vulpix]

Thanks, Gavin. :)

What's the use of sending a text message when you've already told the other person its content?

[mr_pikachu]

Is there perhaps some witticism
Behind Tara's fanaticism?

...

AARGH!

[Chris 2.1]

Roses are red,
Violets are Blue,
Some poems rhyme,
But this one doesn't.



Meh I tried.

[Lady Vulpix]

Well, I laughed.

[Greyfox]

Grey has returned.

[i]-Grey

[Gavin Luper]

Welcometh back.

Well, Tara's messages concerning penises have ceased for the time being. This can only be a good thing. Although I haven't spoken to her for a few days ... it may not be over yet. Ecch.

In other news - NARNIA! Hehehe. I don't know about anyone else, but I've loved The Chronicles of Narnia since I was a little kid, and now the second book in the series, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, is coming to cinemas on Boxing Day (well, in Australia, anyway). I absolutely can't wait to see it. Has it been released in the UK/America yet? And what does everyone else think about the fillum?

Cheers!

[mr_pikachu]

Chris: Yeah, that poem always seems to catch me off-guard. You end up laughing even though you know you shouldn't. Heh.


Grey: Welcome back!


Gavin: Yeah, the Chronicles of Narnia was a great series. I haven't seen the film myself, but I've heard it's quite good. (And yes, it's been released in the U.S.) I'm just hoping it won't be as big of a disappointment as the Harry Potter movies have been.


Everyone: The end of finals has arrived. Now all I need to worry about is the next semester. ...Please excuse me as I go cry in the corner.

[Lady Vulpix]

Cry? Why are you crying?

I've seen/read many versions of book 2, but not the original, which I intend to read soon (I'm talking about Chronicles of Narnia). I wonder why no one's made any movies of any of the other books. I've read book one and I liked it once I got used to being treated like a little and not very smart child (which took some effort). It's a pity such a good story is almost ruined by the way it's told.

[mistysakura]

Welcome back Grey!

On the topic of the Narnia series, well I guess they were meant for little kids, so we can't exactly fault the writing style, although many older people love the books as well. I quite enjoyed them, but now that I think about them again, I'm not a great fan of his use of Christian motifs. I don't mind them myself, since I know what they are and I know where I stand on the subject, but it's seems a bit strange for younger kids. A subconscious conversion, almost. Perhaps it's just me overreacting, since the kids wouldn't pick up on the motifs anyway, but I don't like it.

As for the movie, I will go and see it; the previews look great. And I'll be seeing Harry Potter sometime too, just for the entertainment. They're not the best movies ever, but I'm never really disappointed because I pretty much treat the books and movies as separate entities, and don't make comparisons between my perception of the books and the movies. Although one thing I was really disappointed about was that they left the Marauders out of the third movie.

[Gavin Luper]

I love the way the Narnia series is told, I first read them when I was a little kid, so the narration was well-suited. And now, reading them as an older person, it's still wonderful. I like the spiritual stuff C.S. Lewis weaved into his stories, it was a nice touch.

As for the Harry Potter movies ... I really like them all, the first two especially, because they were treated more carefully. The third was great too, but cut a bit too much for my liking. The fourth book was my favourite of the entire series so far, and so the movie was good but a bit of a let down, as it cut SO much out, and everything seemed a bit ... stilted, almost. It doesn't have the "masterpiece" feel about it that the original two did. The new Dumbledore also doesn't help, I don't think he is particularly suited to the role, especially compared to the late Richard Harris.

[Lady Vulpix]

Although one thing I was really disappointed about was that they left the Marauders out of the third movie.
Same here.

As for the Christian motifs... are you referring to Adam and Eve?, because that's not strictly Christian, even though it is religious. It was a bit odd when I first saw a movie about the 2nd book, but then I got used to it and didn't mind.

[PancaKe]

the only reason i stopped penis abusing you was because i ran out of credit.
so there.

penis.

how funny if i got banned for that XD
lmao knowing some people i probably would


... i should write that in huge letters all over the topics.
that would be entertaining.

well at least it would be entertaining for gavin.

xoxo you love it

[PancaKe]

ps.
me and bronzie are "kinda" going out.

[Lady Vulpix]

And you had to double-post for that? Tara, you used to be a mod, I shouldn't need to tell you not to SPAM.

[Gavin Luper]

*looks at Tara's post*

*dies*

Wench.

:biggrin: :rolleyes:

[Dragonfree]

Heh, I read Chronicles of Narnia as a child and somehow never got all the Christian stuff until years later...

But I think the movie will be good; everybody I've talked to and has seen it said it was awesome. Besides that the trailer looked nice. :3

[Gavin Luper]

Heh, I read Chronicles of Narnia as a child and somehow never got all the Christian stuff until years later...

But I think the movie will be good; everybody I've talked to and has seen it said it was awesome. Besides that the trailer looked nice. :3


I didn't really get it at the time either ... I think I kind of got the connection that Aslan was like Jesus but that was all. Then, reading it again afterwards, suddenly you pick up on a lot more stuff. I really like it.

[PancaKe]

lmao
double posting = spam is dumb.

so much for being a good example,

and i am so not a wench you wench.


omg Dragonfree - I so have to reread chronicals of narnia. I remember the first one, and I remember bits and pieces being christian related. I cant wait to see the movie ^_^ everyone at my church is raving about it n stuff

[Gavin Luper]

Long time no post in here, it seems!

Well - hullo everyone.

School goes back today, which is really weird for me because I'm not going back, seeing as I've finished school. It's a great feeling. And I also got the day off work, so I'm about to sit down and do some Italian lessons - I'm teaching myself some Italian so that when I go to Western Europe (esp Italy) later this year, I will be able to speak enough to get by.

Just to kickstart some kind of discussion, what languages do the rest of you speak (other than English, obviously), and do you think they'll ever come to any use?

I used to know a bit of Japanese when I learnt it in high school, but I've forgotten it now; aside from that, I know some limited Italian from my parents (I'm half Italian).

So - what about everyone else?

Cheers!

[mistysakura]

Heh, went back to school today; my last year ever, and everyone has mixed feelings -- excited, scared, sad (because it's our last "first day at school")... Myself, I'm jsut going to give my best like I've done every other year, and concentrate on the present.

Anyway, It's really cool that you're going to Western Europe. Besides English, I know Chinese (fluent Cantonese, and a bit of Mandarin), because I'm Chinese, and I'm also studying Japanese at high school. I'd really love to continue Japanese at a tertiary level, perhaps on the side as a diploma. As to whether my other languages will come to any use, well I think that being bilingual gives me a certain advantage is careers and stuff, especially since there's quite a large Asian community where I live (although my Chionese is really bad for a native speaker). Japanese, on the other hand, will probably come to no real use whatsoever, but I'm just going to study it because I love the language and learning about the culture. Of course, it's a bonus if I get to use it.

So that's about it.

[mr_pikachu]

Wow, you're Chinese, Ada? I never would have guessed! So, which is your first language; English or Chinese (and if Chinese, Cantonese or Mandarin)?

Hats off to people who know multiple languages. As for myself, I know about enough Spanish to get by at restaurants where the staff members barely know any English. (That means I don't know very much.) I doubt that what I know will be of any significant use. However, I have seriously considered learning Japanese, even if only so I can view anime and manga without having to rely on fan-translations. (The later Pokemon Adventures mangas are a prime example of what I'm thinking about.)

...Does that make me an otaku? I hope not...

[mistysakura]

Well, my first language is Cantonese, but my family moved to Australia for a couple of years when I was 2, so there's not much difference. In fact, now that I live in Australia (again), my English is much, much better.

Funnily enough, I first learned Japanese because I wanted to read manga as well. Five years down the track, I still can't read manga (too many colloquialisms), and have lost interest in manga, but I've fallen in love with the language. Heh, if you're an otaku, then I'm just a nerd.

[PancaKe]

bout time somebody posted in here ><
damnit. lol

um i cant speak any languages. well, obviosly i speak english, but aside from that, nothing. bits and pieces of jap, fluent pig latin (but i dont think that counts), and thats it.

^_^

um... it would've been helpful though to know German. then i could've gone to germany when I was overseas in 2003. Would've loved to go there. Come on, who wouldnt want to go there?!

[dratinihaunter13]

i know spanish through my family and a little bit of italian from me just being interested in the language. i want to be fluent in italian and it's not that different from spanish but eh, who's got the time these days. what would be cool is knowing some of that british slang, like saying someone was all sixes and sevens or something. like in that austin powers movie. =)

[Gavin Luper]

I'm half Italian and half British, and I'm determined to get more in touch with the Italian side of my culture by learning the language. But I keep putting it off - no idea why though, since I really, really want to learn it.

Oh, and dh ... this is for you mate:

"You are all sixes and sevens."

:D Cheers!

PS: I too can speak pig latin.

PPS: I don't think that Austin Powers quote is right.

[Lady Vulpix]

I speak Spanish as my native language and English as a second language. I'd like to learn more languages... I need to find the time.

Pig Latin is not a language, just a transformation of English. In that case, I can speak Jeringozo (a variation of Spanish) and timti-dim-tintirintintín (a more annoying variation that I made up when I was in primary school), and some Beilers (a language I created but haven't finished because a true language can never be finished).

It's nice to see the Smiley Town active again. :)

[mr_pikachu]

Oh, so it's a competition now, is it?

Well, I can speak decent Java, and I know a bit of JavaScript as well. I've even got a bit of knowledge of Perl. But I'm even better at talking chess. So don't make me go Sicilian on yo' ***, now!

[PancaKe]

lmao.

1 5p33k 13375p33k c0z i pwn j00

[Gavin Luper]

I AM Sicilian Brian. Take that. Stronzo. (jk)

[mr_pikachu]

Oh ho! Cocky, are we? I oughta' sic a pig on your eighth for that one!


P.S. Yes, Smiley Town has returned! :)

[Greyfox]

Intrigue. I have Aim too... but no one wants to know my name :what:

[b][i][font=Palatino Linotype]-Grey

[Lady Vulpix]

Are we going to get started with computer languages, Brian? Because in that case I know C++, PHP, Java, JavaScript, Logo, Visual Basic, some C, some Haskell, some C#/ASP.NET, some Prolog, some Smalltalk and some Pascal. And some Bash too, if it counts.

[Gavin Luper]

Are we going to get started with computer languages, Brian? Because in that case I know C++, PHP, Java, JavaScript, Logo, Visual Basic, some C, some Haskell, some C#/ASP.NET, some Prolog, some Smalltalk and some Pascal. And some Bash too, if it counts.


I know how to type english. Sometimes with no typos!

[Lady Vulpix]

Don't you mean English? :rolleyes:

[Dragonfree]

Let's see, I speak fluent Icelandic, English, HTML and CSS, some Danish and Javascript, and a bit of German, C# and VisualBasic.

[PancaKe]

basic html pwns.
especially when it makes your writing bold
and im aware i had to use ubb code here.
shutup

[Lady Vulpix]

Ah, right, HTML is a language! I can speak it too. :P And even some XML, and since we're at it, also LaTeX.

[Toxicity]

My languages include English, French, Italian, and some HTML and CSS, although it isn't exactly brilliant.

*shifts eyes as people shout "WTF? Laura's back!"*

That's right, bakas! After a long hiatus and writing a little on another forum, I've decided that TPM needs me again. I've rewritten Sooner or Later, and I hope that it'll turn out great, despite the lack of feedback on the forum I posted it on.

So, how has TPM/Ummmm been without me? Any different, or just the same?

[Lady Vulpix]

A lot more quiet, actually. I even used ummmm as a DMFA chat once. Welcome back, Laura! It's nice to see you again.

[mr_pikachu]

Laura: Hey, welcome back! It's good to see you. You clearly know more "real" languages than I do... hehe. :D We'd definitely be happy to have some of your writing again.


Dragonfree: Holy... that's a lot of languages! And several real languages, as well! *is impressed*


Grey: So, I take it you haven't made it to Cheers yet? ;) *adds to buddy list*


Tara: Aw, there's no shame in that. We all believe you. Of course you know HTML. Yeah, we believe you. Trust me. ;)


Gabi: Argh! **** you omnilingual people! Your powers of communication infuriate and disturb me!


Gavin:
I know how to type english. Sometimes with no typos!

Don't you mean English? :rolleyes:

Zing!

[Lady Vulpix]

Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you, let alone infuriate you. Those are just ways of communicating with computers, though. I wish I knew that many ways to communicate with people.

[Gavin Luper]

Bleh. Capital letters aren't important.

And all those weird things aren't real languages ...

Don't mind me, I'm just grumbling. (Although those languages honestly AREN'T proper languages.) I just got home from a long day at work and I've now got to go to the dentist in a couple of hours. Poop.

[Dragonfree]

Heh, you don't need to be impressed, mr_pikachu. We're all made to learn English, Danish and either French, German or Spanish here.

[PancaKe]

awww, Gavin, why going to the dentist for?

the last time i went to the dentist, i got teeth pulled out :( just to make room for my wisdom teeth. They still have to take out two more though. It's kinda weird, I hate being at the dentists, but pulling out teeth is one of those sick things i actually enjoy. XD when I was little, I always used to rip out my teeth when they got wobbly, and it was so much fun!

haha lol

[Gavin Luper]

Got two fillings. Huzzah. Otherwise, all is well.

Going to Perth AGAIN tonight. It's back and forth lately. This time, it's an awards ceremony tomorrow night; I'm getting a Certificate of Excellence (for getting 10 A's over year 11-12 at school) and a Certificate of Distinction for English (means I got in the top 0.5% of the state for English). I'm pretty stoked about it all actually, it's good to get some reco; it's just a pain to have to go to Perth again for the presentations. But oh well.

In other news - TV shows are coming back for the year at last. In particular interest to me are Spicks and Specks, the Glasshouse and (oddly) Desperate Housewives; the first two being really great Aussie shows.

Anyone else watch/like Spicks and Specks or Glasshouse? Or Desperate Housewives, for that matter? ^_^

[mr_pikachu]

Sorry to hear about the fillings. Hope they don't hurt too much or anything.

But Desperate Housewives? I just lost all faith in you, Gavin. I mean... Desperate Housewives? Come on! ;)

[Greyfox]

While I dont' certainly approve of Desperate Housewives, I must certainly agree with you on another subject, Gavin Luper: Killing Heidi, indeed, does rock.

[b][i][font=palatino linotype]-Grey

[Gavin Luper]

Alright, I can accept the fact that Desperate Housewives isn't that good; it's just got me hooked I think. ^^

But ... *gasp* ... *splutter*

The Arbiter - you've heard Killing Heidi's music? And you like them? Egad, this is so rare! Are you from Australia or have you heard them somewhere else?

Heh, it's really rare to find people who actually like Killing Heidi in Australia lately ... the band were really, really popular in 1999/2000, then they got overexposed, had a massive backlash, and then people seemed to hate them. But their music is as good as ever!

In case you can't tell, I'm very passionate about Killing Heidi, one of my favourite rock bands.

^^

Cheers!

[Greyfox]

No, I'm not from Australia, Gavin Luper (southern United States, actually). I was just scanning through AMV.org and happened to find a video with Killing Heidi's "Weir" as the track. Then I remembered how rockin' you said they were, and proceeded to download the video.

The video was crappily done, but the song was excellent. I then proceeded to download all the songs I could find, which unfortunately, is only four...

[b][i][font=Palatino Linotype]-Grey

[mr_pikachu]

Okay, I have to ask. Grey, did you take Gavin's advice on music entertainment before or after you found out he liked Desperate Housewives as a TV show?

Sorry. Just can't help myself. I know I shouldn't talk, really, but that was too easy. (For future reference and mockery, my honest answer, when asked for my favorite band, is "Whoever's on a Pokemon CD." But let's not go there, if we haven't already.)

In other news, I did not get enough sleep last night. At all. Woohoo!

[Greyfox]

Before, but that's not the point, Mr. Pokemon OST Collector :p.

[b][i][font=Palatino Linotype]-Grey

[Gavin Luper]

Ah yes. The video for Weir is pretty poor, that was made before they were famous. But I still like it. And the song is brilliant.

You can listen to a few of their other songs at their myspace, the link to which is in my sig.

^^ Pushy, aren't I?

Cheers!

[Dragonfree]

Fwee, my birthday. :3 I'm getting Pokémon XD. Much yay.

[Lady Vulpix]

Happy Birthday, Dragonfree! I hope you enjoy your new game... and the day... and the year.

[Greyfox]

For my birthday, I got to give two-thirds of my paycheck away for bills. :-(

But more importantly... happy birthday, Dragonfree!

[b][i][font=Palatino Linotype]-Grey

[mr_pikachu]

Happy birthday, Dragonfree! I hope you enjoy the game and the day!

*sees Gabi's post*

Er... and the year... and the... um... decade! Yeah, decade. That's it.

And Grey, it serves you right for mocking Pokemon music! ;)

[Gavin Luper]

Happy Birthday Dragonfree! Enjoy the day, best wishes, etc etc.

Cheers!

[Toxicity]

Although it's belated, Happy Birthday, Dragonfree!

I'm also questioning whether or not to bring my fanfic over here now. Nobody really at SPPf(the forum I'm at now) is seemingly reading it. I'd link you to it, but I'm not sure if it'd violate forum rules or not. It's just...I want somebody to look into it, I guess.

[Greyfox]

It's unwise to mention the green forums 'round these parts. People have died for it.

Regardless, it's nice to see you back, Sango.

[b][i][font=Palatino Linotype]-Grey

[Lady Vulpix]

There's nothing wrong with mentioning it. The rules say you mustn'tlink to other pokemon main sites, but that doesn't mean you can't talk about other pokemon sites. Just don't start another site war because we've had way too many.

Laura, I've posted parts of my fic in 3 forums: here, BMGf and Tsuyoi's Lair. Here I got a regular reader and a few irregular ones, on TL I got comments up to chapter 13, and on BMGf I got no replies at all. What I learnt from that is that the same story can get different responses depending on where you publish them. So don't put yourself down if you've posted your story in one forum and got no replies. I don't know what your fic is about, but it may be a good idea to post it here.

[Blademaster]

...Dentists, schoolwork, awards, and music...?

What exactly is this thread for again? :confused:

[Greyfox]

Exactly...

[b][i][font=palatino linotype]-drew

[mr_pikachu]

Basically, Smiley Town's just a place for fanficcer to relax and chat.

I agree with Gabi about the fanfic thingie. You might just get a good-sized bunch of readers here, Sango. And if the green forums (ha ha... I love that old joke) are ignoring it, then it can't be half bad. ;)

[Drago]

University!!

...Sorry, that just kind of came out of nowhere, didn't it? I just thought I'd waddle my rear back into the topic and see what's the hizzaps around these here parts. I don't post often enough to be a regular at Smiley Town, I reckon. I'm more of a farmer living on the outskirts of town, occassionally popping in to have a quick chat and buy myself some cornbread.

On a more relevant note (relevant to me at least), today was my orientation day with Victoria University, and come Monday, I'll officially be a freshman. Nobody actually says freshman in Australia, but I'll be the first.
I feel like such an independent young man, I'm tempted to go hit the pub and engage in fisticuffs with the locals. Good fun.

I tell you what Sango, I know it sucks when your fic goes unloved. I personally promise now that if you post it here, I will reply. :jump:

And finally, the obligatory :heh: smilie. I love that thing.

[Blademaster]

I tell you what Sango, I know it sucks when your fic goes unloved.

(maudlin sigh)

Don't I know it... :redface:

[Lady Vulpix]

I think that's something all of us writers know.

[mr_pikachu]

Yes, that's something we all go through at some point. Just be persistent, though, and you'll win over readers.

And Drago, just make sure you don't get into fisticuffs with the locals of Smiley Town. Have fun at VU, though, and share the lingo! :D


P.S. That smiley is indeed a vision of awesomeness.
^
|
|
|
[Not a real word!]

[Lady Vulpix]

We found 6 dictionaries with English definitions that include the word awesomeness:
Tip: Click on the first link on a line below to go directly to a page where "awesomeness" is defined.

General dictionaries General (6 matching dictionaries)

1. awesomeness : Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, 10th Edition [home (http://www.m-w.com/), info (http://www.onelook.com/?d=mwd&qs=awesomeness)]
2. awesomeness : Dictionary.com [home (http://www.dictionary.com/), info (http://www.onelook.com/?d=ict&qs=awesomeness)]
3. Awesomeness : Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia [home (http://www.wikipedia.org/), info (http://www.onelook.com/?d=wik&qs=awesomeness)]
4. Awesomeness : Online Plain Text English Dictionary [home (http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~ralph/OPTED/), info (http://www.onelook.com/?d=anu&qs=awesomeness)]
5. awesomeness : Webster's Revised Unabridged, 1913 Edition [home (http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/webster.form.html), info (http://www.onelook.com/?d=art&qs=awesomeness)]
6. Awesomeness : AllWords.com Multi-Lingual Dictionary [home (http://www.allwords.com/), info (http://www.onelook.com/?d=all&qs=awesomeness)]

All this and more at OneLook.com (http://www.onelook.com/?w=awesomeness&ls=a). :D

[mr_pikachu]

O_O

1913 Edition?

I stand very happily corrected. :biggrin:

[Lady Vulpix]

I'm glad, Brian. The good thing about people like us correcting other people like us is that we don't feel offended by each other's corrections.

[Gavin Luper]

:what:

Oh good God, there's two of them.

^^

[Lady Vulpix]

And only now you realize? :P You and I haven't been talking much, have we?

On a side note, what's up with the trivia game? It can't be that hard!

[Blademaster]

(shrugs cluelessly)

That question you asked seems to disagree, Foxy Lady... :rolleyes:

[starjake]

Are there any more spaces in Shiny Smiley Town so I can join the neighborhood? I'll even take a loft, being the starving artist I am. As long as I have a piano (to make music) and a computer (to write) I'll be fine...

Oh, yeah. I guess I should keep my YGO cards too. Everyone needs a hobby to spend FAR too much time and money on, right?

And, yes, awesomeness is a word. I have been using it for several years now, which means that it's a word, regardless of whether or not it's in the dictionary.

[Gavin Luper]

Welcome to Smiley Town, starjake! Take a seat on the sofa over there near the karaoke machine, if you like. The waitress will serve you in a moment.

Oh, and Gabi, you must be right. We haven't talked much - I really didn't know you were a grammartarian too. All my illusions have been shattered ...

As for the Trivia question, I don't think it's that hard, but I don't read the fic in question, and I'm not so desperate for plaques as to trawl through the fic endlessly to find the information that I won't understand.

On second thoughts, I AM that desperate, but I'm just lazy.

Better get back to work, I reckon. On my 1 hour lunch break. Bleh.

Cheers!

[starjake]

KARAOKE!!!! (Takes out quarter from pocket) Happiness...

I'm really not aware of why my college holds a class at 7:45 in the morning, especially a World History class, and double-especially a World History class with a teacher as entertaining as Professor Binns. At least it provides me with a chance to do my Music Theory homework (the class I have right after World History).

Shmeh.

[Blademaster]

starjake gets to sit next to the karaoke machine? Where does that leave me?

(Gavin hurls overturned trash bin at my head)

:dead:

[PancaKe]

bah.
kareoke
i have that at my house.
my mum is obsessed lol



gah im sooooo tired. im also sick thanks to my mate.
grr

[Lady Vulpix]

I hope you get well soon... but what did your mate do to make you sick?

[Drago]

I hope you get well soon, too, and be sure to make your friend sick back at some later time for vengeance!!

So I thought I'd pose the question, who remembers what they did for their birthday when they could legally drink? Odds are, I won't remember last night's events very long. I'm tempted to just pass out right now as it is. That hangover is starting to come on out of nowhere...
Anyone want to hear the story of my adventure at the strip club? There's no inappropriate content, I assure you... Well, other than the fact that it's set in a strip club. :heh:

[starjake]

Well, seeing as how that day won't come until September, I couldn't tell you what's going to happen. Probably nothing, seeing as how the the Fall Musical will be underway and I'll most likely have practice that night.

Oh well. I suppose life goes on.

[Gavin Luper]

I haven't turned 18 yet, my birthday's not until June, but even then, I'm quite sure I'll be able to remember everything quite well. For some reason my brain seems capable of simply deflecting any amounts of incoming alcohol, and I never seem particularly affected by drinking. Granted, I usually stop drinking once I feel considerably drunk, so I never actually test the limits ... nor do I intend to, really (at this stage, anyway). Drinking a lot is not my thing at all, although I'm sure my 18th will be an exception.

In other news, some year 12 girl I know called me and asked me to her school ball (Prom for you Yanks) and I said yes, which is pretty unusual for me. I went to the same school as she does now and she's a cousin of a friend, so I know her a little; she is nice enough. Anyway, it will be weird going to a School Ball where I know very, very few people and I'm kind of regretting saying yes to her now ... plus I'm hoping she realises I'm going with her as a friend, not as a possible-future-boyfriend. Egad. I'm scared now.

Anyway, that was a rare moment of me talking about my personal life. :O

Cheers!

[mr_pikachu]

Gavin: Ah, don't be too worried. If you think there's any chance that the two of you don't have the same idea of what your relationship is, then just let her know your side of it (before the actual night of the dance, that is). I'd think everything would be fine then. Besides, if it's not what she expects and wants, then she might just decide to ask someone else, thus alleviating your obligation and/or regret.


Drago: Well, seeing as the drinking age in America is 21, it'll be awhile before I get there. Obviously, I'm very uncertain as to what might happen three birthdays from now, so I can't do much to answer your question beyond that.

And as for your adventure, I only hope your memory is solid enough to remember the things you'll need to remember. Like the various loopholes in laws. Those can be very helpful, especially when the judge asks you to explain yourself. Very good for the bail issue.

...What?

[Gavin Luper]

That's pretty sound advice, Brian. For me, anyway. I might do that I reckon - there's still 3 weeks before the Ball.

Cheers mate!

[Lady Vulpix]

Here in Argentina there is no age to drink legally. You're just not allowed to buy alcoholic beverages until you're 18, but there are no laws against drinking something an older person bought, which I think is odd. Anyway, when I turned 18 I made a party at my house, and I invited some friends from school (which I had graduated from in December), the group who had gone to Israel with me in December/January, and my old friends, one of whom had promised to surprise me and did so by revealing she was pregnant when she arrived. One of my school friends made a joke about me being able to be put in jail now. Alcohol wasn't mentioned, as they all knew I didn't like it. By then I was probably the only one in the party who had never got drunk and didn't intend to.

[Blademaster]

Yes, it's me again, here with a new chapter!

This is where the story may get a bit more familiar, so with any luck more than one person'll reply afterwards... :p

Anyway, let's get on with it, huh?

Here goes...

(By the way, I looked back, and the chapter title doesn't really suit this chapter, so I altered it a little.)













Chapter 2


A Slow Start


A few days later, on the opposite side of the island of Kanto, sunlight streamed down on the villa known as Pallet Town.

Pallet Town, also known affectionately as 'the town where shades of journeys await,' is a small town near the southwestern tip of Kanto, where most beginning trainers of Pokemon go to get their Trainer's License and, more importantly, their first Pokemon.

Getting a Pokemon from the Pallet Town Pokemon Laboratory was a cause for excitement, to say the least. It was like making a new friend, getting a pet, opening a long-awaited Christmas present, and becoming an adult all in one fell swoop. Most new trainers, ranging from the ages of 10 year-old kids to full-grown adults, would be so ecstatic over this venture that they'd lose sleep for days before the big event.

Near the center of the small town, however, one new trainer wasn't very excited at all.

The young girl looked out her living room window in a bored way, hand resting on her fist.

She was an attractive youth with long brown hair that fell to her waist, shining green eyes, and a gorgeous face. She also had quite a stunning figure, at least for a 12 year-old. She was currently clad in a yellow T-shirt with a symbol on the front resembling a Chinese or Japanese katakana, as well as knee-length dungaree shorts, long socks, and white sneakers. A few large white pearls were strung through her hair, compliments of her father's Clamperl.

'So,' she thought, unexcited, 'today's the big day...'

BOING!

'Today's the day I get a Pokemon. Whoopee... most kids beg for a pet; I'm being forced to get one 'for my own well-being...'

WHOMP! BOING!

'My own well-being... Yeah, right. I'm just doing this 'cause Mom wants me to grow up to be her exact duplicate. Like mother, like daughter.'

BOING! BOING!

The girl turned towards her little sister, who was bouncing on the couch while playing a video game.

"Pamela, will you please turn that thing down?" the girl groaned.

Pamela didn't reply - she was currently enamored in the action of her game.

"I mean it, Pam!" the older girl said sharply. "I can't even hear myself think over here!"

Her 7 year-old sister paused her game and giggled.

"Trust me, Linda," she said with a big grin on her face, "that's not because of the video game!"

The older girl, Linda, frowned.

Linda Hennessee was different from many of Pallet Town's younger residents. She got bored easily, and she wasn't too active, either. She'd passed up becoming a Trainer when she was 10, then again when she was 11. After turning twelve a month earlier, her parents had begun to grow concerned. After all, their daughter could grow up to be a professional couch potato unless she started becoming more active soon.

And so, after a long talk (which was murder on poor Linda), a compromise was reached: Linda would try her hand at Pokemon training for a month; then she'd return home and make a choice; she could continue training Pokemon, or she'd be forced to get a job at the market in Viridian City, just north of Pallet.

And as much as Linda hated to be active, she hated taking orders even more...

"Shut up, Pamela." Linda sighed. "I'm not in the mood right now..."

"Aw, come on!" Pamela said optimistically, resuming her gameplay. "Why are you being such a sourpuss?"

Linda rolled her eyes.

"Uh, because Mom and Dad are practically forcing me to become a Pokemon Trainer, that's why!" she snapped.

"Oh, don't be so upset." her sister told her. "Everyone likes Pokemon! They're everywhere: They're on TV, in the news, and there's even some in my video game! See?"

Linda looked at the TV.

"Pamela," she said slowly, "that's a Mario game."

"So?" Pamela asked.

"So," Linda explained condescendingly, "there are no Pokemon in Mario games."

"No, not true!" Pamela shot back, proud to know something her sister didn't. "There's one right there!"

Linda looked back at the screen.

A 2-D Mario was climbing around on what Linda assumed was a mountain.

The outside world was a confusing and dangerous prospect, one the Jothokians dared not to even reveal their existence to, but at least some good video games came from it.

That was Pamela's opinion, anyway.

"Where?" Linda asked.

"Right there!" Pamela insisted, moving Mario across the screen.

With a crumbling noise, a small blue creature with a smiley face popped out of the ground.

"That's a Whacka." Pamela explained.

"So?" Linda asked, now getting impatient.

"So," Pamela said, now sounding like her big sister, "I've looked in Daddy's Pokemon books, and that Whacka looks like a cross between a Diglett and a Quagsire; that's where they got the idea for him from! I just know it!"

Linda shook her head and turned back to the window.

"Whatever."

Pamela frowned.

"What's wrong, Linda? You don't like Pokemon?" she pouted. "Not even Claptrap?"

Linda sighed.

"Of course I like Pokemon," she admitted, "but-"

"YAY!" Pamela squealed, hopping off the couch and running out to the backyard. A moment later, she returned, carrying in her hands a basketball-sized creature resembling a blue clamshell, inside of which were several ice-blue 'pearls' surrounding a serene-looking pink head shaped, again, like a large pearl.

"See, Claptrap?" Pamela said to the Clamperl in her hands. "See, see, I told you she likes you!"

"Clamperl!"

With a high-pitched call of his name, the small Pokemon began to clamp and un-clamp its shell merrily, smiling cutely at Linda.

Linda couldn't help but smile. She did like Pokemon; it was just the thought of being outside and on the move so much that rubbed her the wrong way.

"LINDA!" a woman's voice called from upstairs. "LINDA, IT'S 11:30PM!"

Linda raised an eyebrow, though her mother couldn't see it.

"So?" she asked under her breath.

"You've got to be at the lab at noon, right?" Pamela asked.

Linda nodded grimly.

"Yeah." she said. "And that's when my sentence begins..."


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Twenty minutes later, Mrs. Hennessee's car slowed to a stop outside the Pallet Town Pokemon Laboratory a few miles away. The long, ceramic-white building was adorned with a huge Pokeball over the front doors and several tall towers behind. Sounds of Pokemon and high-tech machinery emanated from the structure.

"Well, here you are!" Mrs. Hennessee said, sounding positively chipper.

"Yeah." Linda replied, not anywhere near as happy.

Linda's mother gave her daughter a thoughtful look.

"Oh, Linda," she said empathetically, "I know you think that you'll hate being a Pokemon Trainer, but I'm sure that you'll see just how wrong you are soon. Training Pokemon takes a lot of hard work, but it's so rewarding - you'll make new friends, you'll get to see the world, you'll have so much to show for your responsibility when you return home, and you'll have a lot of fun!"

Linda looked away from her mother.

"You had me at 'hard work.'" she replied flatly.

Mrs. Hennessee sighed as her daughter got out of the car.

"Come back home when you're done." Mrs. Hennessee instructed. "I want to see what Pokemon you get; I'm sure Pamela will, too. Good luck!"

With that, Mrs. Hennessee drove off, leaving her daughter in front of the Laboratory.

"Well," she sighed, "here I am..."

'Quick, am-scray before somebody sees you!' a fervent voice in her head told her.

Linda contemplated this for a moment, but then she realized that she wouldn't get far.

Besides, after her parents found her out, she'd likely be sentenced to work at the Viridian Pokemon Mart until she started collecting her social security.

Linda took a deep breath and nonchalantly walked up to the door, ringing the bell.

"Just a minute!" a young man's voice called from somewhere beyond the door.

Linda stuck her hands in her pockets and kicked at the ground while she waited.

A moment later, the door opened, revealing a man in his late twenties with spiked black hair, dark eyes, and a friendly disposition, clad in a white lab coat, jeans, and white sneakers.

"Oh, Linda!" he said, smiling warmly. "I've been expecting you!"

Linda forced a small smile.

"Hey, Professor Sketchit." she said casually.

Professor Tracey Sketchit had taken over the Pallet Town Laboratory 7 years earlier, after the Lab's previous caretaker - Professor Samuel Oak - died of heart problems. Many in Pallet had initially doubted that he, the Professor's scatterbrained assistant at the time, could pick up where Oak had left off, but Tracey had surprised them all by effectively running - and improving - the lab ever since, earning his Bachelor's Degree in Pokemonology in the process.

"Come on in!" Prof. Sketchit urged her, beckoning for her to enter.

Linda sighed to herself and followed him inside, into a room with several computers and advanced pieces of equipment lining the walls.

Prof. Sketchit. walked to a small table surrounded by a few padded chairs. A few sheets were laid out on the table, as well as a pencil.

"Have a seat." he instructed. "Make yourself comfortable."

Linda obediently sat down.

"OK," she said, trying to sound interested in what she was doing, "so how do I choose what my first Pokemon is?"

Prof. Sketchit smiled and gathered up the papers on the table.

"This is how." he replied, handing her the papers. "In order to ensure maximum compatibility between a Pokemon and its Trainer-to-be, I don't just give a Trainer his or her first Pokemon anymore. Instead, you've got to take this."

Linda looked at the papers, slightly puzzled.

"And, this is... what, exactly?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That," the Professor, replied, "is the PPT: the Pokemon Placement Test. I have a cousin who lives in Toreen, to the north; he told me about this system a few years ago. I've been using it, too, ever since."

Linda groaned.

"I hate tests..." she whined.

Prof. Sketchit laughed out loud.

"Don't worry," he assured her," there are no wrong answers. This is just to see what Pokemon you'd be best suited to start with."

Unfortunately, Linda had stopped listening after 'There are no wrong answers.' She grabbed the pencil and began to fill out the test.

Prof. Sketchit raised an eyebrow.

"Excited to finish, are you?" he asked with a grin. "Alright, I'll be outside working on the new Water Pokemon habitat expansion. Call if you need anything."

As he exited, Linda crossed one of her legs over the other and got to work.

'Name,' she thought, 'Linda Hennessee.'

She wrote that down in the appropriate spot.

'Age, 12.'

She wrote that down.

'Date, July... uh, 16th? Or is it the 17th?'

She looked up and around until her eyes fell on a calendar.

August 4th.

'Oh, yeah...'

She wrote the date down.

After getting down basic information, the questions began to get more complex.

'Ugh, I HATE these stupid fill-in-the-bubble tests...' she thought, irritated.

Linda quickly scanned over the test, eventually finding the last question.

The question was numbered '84.'

'I have to answer 7 dozen of these dumb things!?' she thought in anguish. 'Screw that!'

Linda set down the papers and folded her arms.

An idea came to her.

Linda glanced around to see if anyone was watching her.

No one was.

Smiling sneakily, Linda began to fill in random circles, not even bothering to look at the individual questions that she was answering.


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Ten minutes later, Linda smiled, satisfied with herself as she checked over her test papers once more.

'Well, everything looks OK.' she thought. 'No missed questions, all pertanent info is here... I think I'm ready.'

She placed her hands behind her head, leaned back in her chair, and relaxed for a little while.


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About twenty minutes later, Prof. Sketchit returned, apparently surprised.

"Done already, are you?" he asked, his smile not wavering. "It usually takes new applicants at least twice as long to finish! You must really want your first Pokemon!"

Linda gave him an unreadable look.

'If only you knew...' she thought sarcastically.

"Oh, well, I guess I can understand." Prof. Sketchit added, walking to the main computer. "I was the same way when I got my first Pokemon..."

Linda stood up and followed the Professor, who fed the test papers into a slot next to the computer screen. The computer began to hum and beep as it read Linda's test answers.

"But," he cut himself off, shaking his head, "that's ancient history that I'm sure you don't want to hear about..."

Linda shrugged.

"Didn't think so..." Professor Sketchit said with a snicker, removing a few small objects from a drawer under the computer screen.

"Here." he said, offering Linda a small metal object, colored red. "Your Pokedex."

Linda stared at the small object in his hand and sniffed.

"Uh," she said, "not to be a pain, but I kinda don't like this color..."

Professor Sketchit nodded.

"OK, no problem." he responded, taking back the metal device and replacing it in the drawer before pulling out another one. "How about blue?"

Linda smiled and nodded.

"Blue's fine." she said, taking the Pokedex and flipping the front of it open. The Pokedex was a door-shaped piece of colored metal (in this case blue) that could be flipped open like a folder. Inside were several buttons of different colors and shapes, at the center of which was an LCD screen beside a round light situated inside of a Pokeball-shaped dial.

"Alright, now you just have to input your ID into it." the professor told her, also handing her 5 unexpanded Pokeballs (Unfortunately for her, the only vacant Pokeballs he had were the standard red-and-white models.).

Linda looked at him, puzzled.

"Right... how do I do that again?" she asked, pocketing the Pokeballs.

"Just press that green button under the screen to turn it on; then, press your thumb against the screen. The Pokedex Registration Database will handle the rest."

Just then, the computer beside the two made a sharp noise.

"It's done!" Prof. Sketchit announced as the machine produced a printout. As he looked it over, Linda pressed the button on her Pokedex that she'd been told to.

'Pokedex registration now active.' it said in the voice of a youthful but obviously robotic female. 'Please input fingerprint identification.'

Linda pressed her thumb against the screen, which ran a green laser over itself as it analyzed her fingerprint. Finally, the laser vanished.

'Fingerprint identification verified.' the Pokedex said. 'Recipient identified as Linda Hennessee. Age, 12. Gender, female. Status, beginning trainer. Zero Pokemon seen. Zero Pokemon owned. I look forward to assisting you in your journey, Linda.'

With that, the Pokedex turned off.

'Well,' Linda thought, flipping the small device shut, 'I hate to disappoint you, but...'

"Well, Linda," Prof. Sketchit said, interrupting her silent musings, "the computer has analyzed your test and, according to your scores, your best starting Pokemon would be this little guy."

He pushed a series of keys on the keyboard, and a small metal panel opened, revealing another LCD screen. Prof. Sketchit pressed his index finger against it, allowing a veil of light energy to scan his fingerprint.

When it was done, a green light beeped above the scanner, which slid back into the computer; out of the wall next to the computer slid a thin steel box.

Professor Sketchit removed a twisted key from his pocket and inserted it into a lock atop the steel container.

With a soft click, the professor unlocked the flat safe, which flipped open like a book to reveal Pokeballs of all colors and models.

Professor Sketchit reached into the box and pulled out a brown-and-white Pokeball.

"This," he said seriously to Linda, expanding the ball, "is your first Pokemon, chosen specifically for you. I hope you'll be very happy together.

Linda took the Pokeball in her hand, nervousness building up inside her. She could feel the warmth and movement of a living (though currently atomically reorganized) being within the Pokeball.

A being that was her responsibility, whether she would become a full-time Trainer or not.

A being that she'd chosen completely at random and may not be properly suited to care for.

Thinking ahead wasn't on of Linda's strong points.

"Uh, Professor?" she began.

The Professor looked back at her.

"Something wrong, Linda?" he asked kindly.

"...The test score... How reliable is it?" Linda asked.

Prof. Sketchit smiled.

"It hasn't given me one wrong answer in the four and a half years that I've been using it." he said, sounding proud of that fact.

Linda didn't know how to react to that.

"Don't worry, Linda." the Professor reassured her. "Like I said, there are no wrong answers. I'm sure you received the Pokemon that's right for you."

Linda's nervousness faded a little, but she still wasn't convinced.

"Well," she muttered, turning towards the table at the room's center, "here goes something..."

She clutched the Pokeball in her hand, then tossed it gently onto the table.

The Pokeball bounced once, then it opened, revealing a sphere of white light inside that darted out of the ball and expanded, settling into a solid form on the table.

The light faded to reveal a strange little creature.

He was about the size of a small dog, with sandy-orange skin and a small round body supported by 4 stubs of legs. On the front of his body was a head at least twice as big as his body, with beady little eyes and a jagged mouth that seemed to smile a crooked smile.

The small creature blinked sleepily, then swiveled his oversized head and looked up at Linda.

"Trapinch?" the small creature said in a high-pitched but slightly gravelly voice.

Linda's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"Linda," Prof. Sketchit said, "this is Trapinch. Trapinch, meet Linda, your new Trainer."

Linda and the insectlike Pokemon stared at each other for a moment.

"Uh...hi." Linda said uncertainly.

The Pokemon cocked his head to the side.

Linda was silent for a moment, until she remembered the Pokedex in her hand. She pointed its light at Trapinch and flipped the top open.

"Name: Trapinch." the computerized female voice reported. "Order: Ground. Genus: Ant Pit. This Pokemon is skilled at surviving in the arid desert, being able to survive for over a week without water. Its powerful jaws allow it to chew through tough cacti, absorbing water and nutrients in the process without injuring itself."

Linda shut the Pokedex and pocketed it, lowering herself to the Trapinch's level.

"Trapinch, huh?" she asked. "Well, I'm glad I got you instead of something big and ugly..."

"Pinch?" the Pokemon replied.

She offered Trapinch her hand.

Trapinch glanced uncertainly at Linda, then trotted up to her hand and sniffed it.

The Pokemon's crooked smile broadened...

In the next instant, it'd opened its jaws wide and shut them on Linda's hand. The small creature hadn't bitten her hard enough to hurt her or break the skin, but when Linda pulled her hand back, the small Pokemon stayed clamped onto her.

Linda lifted her hand quizzically; Trapinch was still biting onto it, hanging from her hand like an ornament from a Christmas tree, apparently content to stay in that position for an unknown amount of time.

Prof. Sketchit chuckled.

"He likes you!" he said happily.

"He has a funny way of showing it." Linda said, sweatdropping.

"Oh, don't mind that." the Professor replied. "He'll get bored soon and let go."

"How soon is 'soon?'" Linda asked, attempting to shake the creature off.

But Trapinch thought Linda was playing, so he simply shut his eyes and held on tight.

Professor Sketchit shrugged.

"A half an hour." he said. "Give or take."

Linda groaned.

Prof. Sketchit almost laughed, but he thought it better not to, for fear of insulting Linda.

Insulting Linda was not a good idea.

"You can give him a nickname, if you want." the professor said off-hand.

Linda held up her hand so that she could look into the Trapinch's eye.

The Ant Pit Pokemon looked back, staring at her in a carefree, almost blank manner.

Linda glanced down at the creature's jaws, which were still locked tightly around her knuckles.

She sighed.

"I think," she said thoughtfully, "I'll call him... Chewy."

Professor Sketchit stifled a laugh as best as he could.

But Linda heard him. She glared daggers at the professor, causing him to flinch slightly.

"Uh, that is... Chewy is a great name! I love it! Chewy... heh..." Prof. Sketchit corrected himself, stuttering slightly.

Pokemon Prof. Sketchit understood.

Girls, on the other hand...

Linda nodded like a parent enforcing a rule upon her child, then turned back to her new Pokemon.

"What do you think?" she asked him. "You like the name 'Chewy?'"

"Trap, Trapinch!" the Ground Pokemon replied affirmatively.

But it still wouldn't let go of her.

Linda sighed.

"Chewy it is." she said, picking up his Pokeball with her free hand. "Return."

A pink beam shot forth from the ball, enveloping Chewy in a pink light. The small Pokemon barely flinched as it was atomized and converted into potential energy, then sucked back into the ball.

"Well..." Linda began.

The professor raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked softly. "Is everything OK?"

Linda paused, then nodded.

"Yeah, fine." Linda replied. "Um, thanks, Professor... I don't know what else to say."

Prof. Sketchit smiled.

"Then don't say anything else." he replied. "Thanks is just fine."

Linda pocketed the Pokeball containing her new Trapinch.

"Well, I should be getting home." she told the professor.

He nodded.

"Alright." he said as he walked Linda to the door. "If you ever need anything, you know where to find me."

"I'll keep it in mind." Linda replied. "Thanks."

Prof. Sketchit nodded and shut the door behind Linda, who took a deep breath as she walked down the sidewalk.

'Well,' she thought on her way back home, 'that could've gone worse... I'd have hated to wind up with a Grimer or a Rhyhorn!'

She removed Chewy's Pokeball from her pocket and examined it.

'Instead,' she thought, 'I got you...'

And deep down, inside the complex workings of her subconscious mind, affection towards the little Trapinch began to grow...











Well, there's the second chapter! So, like it? Hate it? Come on, I need some feedback, people!

Anyway, the focus is gonna be on Linda next chapter, following her home and then out on the open road.

Hopefully, she'll begin to get more into the spirit of Pokemon training in the process...

Keep an eye out for the next chapter, entitled "Catch of the Day."

Don't forget to review!

And if you have any character/Pokemon ideas, let me know! New ideas are always welcome!

[Greyfox]

I've been legal age for about... five months now. The only thing I did for my twenty-first birthday was work... a lot.

I'm not a fan of alcoholic consumption, but that's just me.

[b][i][font=Palatino Linotype]-Grey

[starjake]

*Looks at calendar...sees 21st birthday coming up in 7 months*

I suddenly feel old.

[dratinihaunter13]

I'm 21 on the monday of my spring break. ironically, we're going to mexico to party, when i think i could have drank there at age 6. 21... i gotta start making a life for myself huh? crap!

[Drago]

Dammit, I say you win Martin. I mean, how many people go to Mexico to party?? That just sounds wild.
If I were you, I'd hit the Kahlua early and often. ;)

[Blademaster]

(wakes up from Gavin's trash bin assault at opportunity to make bad joke)

Yeah, go to Mexico and drink all the booze that you can!

...Just don't drink the water! :biggrin:

[PancaKe]

psch. its not legal for me to drink until im 18

but i hav been drunk 3 times before.
its fun until its not.

lol

i fell off the lounge and got a brusie on my forehead.

[starjake]

i hav been drunk 3 times before.
its fun until its not.

Now that, my friends, is true wisdom.

*sighs* Why does my internal clock not wind down until four in the morning? It makes my life something awfully close to hell.

[Blademaster]

Why does my internal clock not wind down until four in the morning? It makes my life something awfully close to hell.

(shrugs)

Maybe the same reason that I'm always coherent so late: You're jacked-up on caffeine all the time?

(looks around)

What? It's true - I've counted; in one week, I drink an average of 4 hot chocolates and 2 cofees (Both from 20 oz. cups, by the way.), as well as 84 cans of Coca-Cola (12 oz., I think.).

I've built up some resistance to it, but more than 2-3 cans before bedtime still keeps me awake for awhile... :-/

[Lady Vulpix]

And I drink 3-5 cups of tea every day.

Mmmm... tea!
http://static.flickr.com/1/1000040_40583a593b_m.jpg

[Blademaster]

And I drink 3-5 cups of tea every day.http://static.flickr.com/1/1000040_40583a593b_m.jpg

No wonder they call you 'Lady Vulpix.' I'd turn red and start breathing fire if I drank that much tea, too! :p

...

Oh, man, even I thought that joke was bad... :redface:

You know what's fun? Mixing a whole bunch of caffeinated stuff together, and then drinking it.

I once made a Chocolate Sprinkle Iced Coffee Coca-Cola Ice Cream Float that way...

Don't ask...