100th BLOG POST

If you haven't put the clues together yet (looking on the sidebar, the announcement of a special), this is my 100th BLOG POST! And to commemorate it, I have decided to write a history of the first 99 posts.

The reason I wrote this blog is because I liked reading my cousin's and my uncle's (David's is defunct, basically, and Uncle Scott's is a website now), so Uncle Scott introduced me to Blogger. To say the least, making this blog has been a blast.

2007

Now when I created this blog in 2007, I was young and wasn't the best at writing and executing ideas. However, I manged to dedicate this blog to my inspirations. Then I published my first announcements page after the dedication. Of course, I wasn't internet savvy at the time and I published a few no-nos (such as where [it] was happening, when it was, etc...) that I later corrected. Then I decided to keep you all caught up with my theater life with the Secret Garden arc that lasted for three posts. I also caught you up with the latest news and my less privacy invasion-able personal life. I caught you up with the Summer Explosion of the year in a two-post arc, and I revealed to you randomness with Friend Day. I also revealed my vacation of the year in a five-post arc. I also gave you announcements and let you help me decide on a movie viewing (I don't know what's up with you all and not voting; it's not deciding anything political!). I made a worthless shout-out and let you know about my roller coaster attraction. I also put some random posts and celebrated the holidays. I let loose my imagination, and made a more formal shout-out with "Eragon." I talked about ice cream and I advertised my family's blogs. And right after that, the infamous Kingdom Hearts: The Post series was released. (Due to unfamiliarity among my readers the Kingdom Hearts: The Post series has been canceled, btw). I revealed to you a flash game from another website and I released my first quiz (which should have been deleted). I continued the defunct KH:Post series, and broadened my horizons of the w.w.w. by embedding a song on this blog (which is no longer working). In August, I let you know more of my time on the w.w.w. and my personal life, while educating you on this blog, and informally completing the KH: Post series/ trilogy. I told you about my first baseball game and I hit my first hiatus. It wasn't too long and I came back to celebrate Thanksgiving. And then in that same month, I hit a 6-post-in-one-day record (which nobody commented on.....). To end the year, I gave you a history on the "BLOG Report," gave some movie tips, and discussed the Christmas holiday.

Total Posts: 48

2008

I celebrated New Year's and I shared my meeting with Mitt Romney. In March, I started the infamous READER'S CHOICE AWARDS! . Now I personally thought that I clearly stated how to put in a comment! Must I add a picture? X( . I showed the winner and the winner's prize, and I showed you my imagination in "My Turn' which did NOT go as planned. I added some delayed news, talked about pets, and showed my favorite feature of this blog: The Blog Theater, which began with the Phantom of the Keys. I gave you some insight on the Phantom origins and discussed my confusion over the Super Smash Bros. ratings. I celebrated July 4th once again. I talked about my first burger and told you about a miracle... well sort of; you need to read it and find out. I talked about the impeding hurricane with a twist, and about my ride on the Incredible Hulk Coaster and my financial advice (:( ?). I competed '08 with a tale about my cat and another cat. Also during 2008, I recieved strange comments by some commmercial companies, including "runescape power levelling", "runescape money,"jordan shoes," and others. You can look at their superficial comments on your on time.

Total Posts: 19

2009

I celebrated New Year's to open up the year and revealed the unrelated Phantom sequel Christmas or Xmas? I discussed my excitement over the new KH game of the year, advertised el inglesio Espanol en mi escuela, told you about Summer Explosion 2008, and gave you a link to an awesome video. I gave you more KH news and talked about my dad's shaving. In the next three months I talked about UrineTown and senorwooly.com. I published my first videos and talked about Busch Gardens. To close '09, I showed you Tim Hawkins.

Total Posts: 16

2010

I began blogging (after a long hiatus) in March with "My First Sermon." I threw out an April Fool's Joke and a tale of spam(?). I talked about my fad about Phantom of the Opera and told gave you a link to my friend's mission trip video. I talked about Pirates of the Caribbean 4, gave you a link to a news article, showed you an awesome video, and announced Recollection: A Series That Recalls Summer 2010 with a Sappy Name. I stalled a little and did "Teamwork," "Election Day," and "You Decide" (on which most of you did not comment on!!!). Then finally, I published the Recollection series.

Total Posts: 16

And now you can celebrate this post with everyone else. You can celebrate by commenting and giving me your feedback on this post or the blog in general.

This has been an amazing time as long as I have had this blog, and this is the end of the first part of the blog you could say; a milestone. So tell your friends about this blog and get ready for more posts. In fact, I've got something special planned that's going to replace another post.... So get ready, and adieu!

~Adam J

P.S. I'll try to fix these italics soon. This posting system is very glitchy sometimes, and the italics are being that way. So I'll get on it ASAP!!!

Adventures in Shopping (and Hotel-Staying): The Finale

I'm just going to cut to the chase and leave the monologue when I talk to ya'll directly till after the adventure.

Okay, so you know how I've been advertising the places I've gone too? Well, know I'm going to quit reviewing and tell you of my personal experiences when I was at the hotel and when I went shopping.

Chapter 1: Strange Times in the Hotel

You know how sometimes a stay in a giant hotel can be spooky? Like being on the thirteenth floor and scared that a ghost will get you in room 1313? Or if you're in bed and you hear strange noises that make you convince yourself that it's just the A/C? Well, we experienced something much worse; more terrible than even that!!!!

So we got back from a restaurant one night, and needed to get to our room. We got there and noticed that there was a strange, loud, obnoxious buzzing sound outside. We dismissed that and hit the elevator button. It can take a while for an elevator to get from floor 15 to 2, right? So we waited. And waited............ And waited. And guess what? We WAITED! Finally, we couldn't take anymore of the wait and decided to get physical. (While you read this next part, imagine the song Eye Of The Tiger playing). So we marched out and walked to the stairwell. We blamed the elevator on "stupid, rambunctious teenagers" and walked up a flight of a stairs, and then another, and then another, until we finally got to floor 10. We were aching and could not stand it. What makes it worse was that a select few wore flip flops! (Song Ends) So we walked to our room soon after and turned on the light. But the light did not come on. (Think The Twilight Zone theme now). We walked around to find out which lights worked and which did not. We found out that the middle of the room had working power, but the ends did not. However, the sink worked in the kitchen. The TV worked in the middle of the room, too. We called the lobby to find out what on earth was wrong! Apparently, since so many hotel guests must keep the power on all day and all night, there was a power outage. It stayed like that till morning.

Chapter 2: What's in My Pants?

Have you ever had a time when you left something in your pants that was important or expensive and put them in the wash? I have with a game but my manual saved it. There was one instance like that this summer, but it didn't happen to me....

Well, you always need something to keep you busy when your mom shops for clothes, right? Well, you bring your valuables like your Nintendo Dual Screen or an iPod or a library book to keep you busy when you're bored at the hotel or when your waiting for someone to stop trying on clothes. Ben thought that way and brought the iPod we had. It was a Shuffle so it was considerably smaller, but not as small as the stick they are today. Ben got bored and kept the iPod in his pocket after getting tired of patriotic songs. We shopped and shopped and shopped and went to our hotel room. We put our clothes in the dirty clothes pile and entertained ourselves. We washed the clothes as well. Mom asked sometime later, "Hey Ben, where's the iPod?" in her stern voice. "Uh-oh."

The iPod took a little bath. On the bright side, it did not break. (For a similar story, look at A Miracle, Well sorta. Just Read and You'll find out.)

Chapter 3: The Lit. Bit

How could someone not talk about their purchases? It's times like these when you say "Thank goodness for coupons!"

So when we first arrived at the hotel, the mgmt. laid out a convenient stack of coupons. One of them was a book store so those who know me know that I was psyched! We visited the Book Warehouse across the street and I got a Dracula (which I happened to be reading during this time) fan fiction novel and Mom got my purchase's sequel. I was not overall pleased with the Warehouse, and I am content with my local Barnes and Noble.

Also, after Mom finally talked us into plaid shorts, I got some and a dark blue Tommy Hilfiger polo (which is my most favorite combination of clothes. In case this is on your final exam, know that Adam J's favorite fashion retailer is Tommy Hilfiger). And of course we visited the outlet shops. I'm not a huge fan when it comes to outlet shopping, but luckily I was in an earnest search for sunglasses, which I later found at Seaworld!

Epilogue

So that was vacation in four blog posts. I don't know how you can't comment after you've been desiring Recollection: A Series That Recalls Summer 2010 With An Overly Sappy Name as I've found out from your comments. Speaking of which, bloggers love their comments from their readers, so comment! comment! comment! And now, I am finished with the series of Summer 2010.

What to expect in the coming posts: Specials, Stories, and Random Other Things.

Next Up: A Special

Boggy Creek

Forget about the sappy name that I used to announce this post in the last post. It was too far-fetched; too cheesy. Anyway, before I begin this shorter post, I strongly ask that you would vote in You Decide. I really have good ideas; I just don't know what order I would execute them in. Okay, without further ado... well, you know the rest.

In actuality, I've been posting out of order of chronology. This event happened after Seaworld, and before Busch Gardens. Anyway, we pulled in, put on sunscreen, and entered the gift shop for reservations. We looked at the baby gators/crocodiles/caimans (who knows what they were), and my brother purchased a necklace with a gator tooth. Finally, after several minutes, we got onto the airboat to check out some gators for a 1/2 hour. We had to put on headphones so we didn't go deaf because of the loudness of the airboat. So off we went.

So we saw some gators, and saw the driver especially tick off a momma gator. We saw a small amount of gators because it was still a bit early. It was a fun experience nonetheless. Tip: If you experience this attraction, KEEP THE HEADPHONES ON! My headphones were a little off, and my left ear was a bit pained. Warning: Because the attraction is water-based, there is a possibility who may get mildly wet, but not soaked like Splash Mountain. Be sure your camera (there are some excellent photo ops) is waterproof and can take awesome pictures despite speed. Your ride can get boring because there isn't always a gator at every bend.

Another highlight of this attraction in Kissimmee, Florida is that after your airboat ride, you have an opportunity to hold, feel, and touch a gator, and purchase this moment on camera for a mere approximate of US$15!

That's it for now. Soon, I will release the supplementary details of the summer (i.e. shopping). Well, see you then.

Busch Gardens: The Return

Welcome to Part II of Recollection: A Series That Recalls Summer 2010 With an Overly Sappy Name! Now without further ado, I present to you, my awesome visit to Busch Gardens.

Okay, I know I've posted about Busch Gardens before and this is probably the umpteenth time I've talked about it, but this time was different. This time was... SPECTACULAR! So we got into the tram, noticed the Skyride was closed due to the construction of the new Cheetah Hunt (coming Spring 2011), and went on many many many different rides and attractions. We got there close to the opening of the park. What we thought was going to be a day where we would have to just worry about sunburns... well, you'll find out. ;)

First, we headed to the Morocco side of the park, which is better known as, the Gwazi side of the park. That's right, ladies and gents, my FIRST wooden roller coaster (and Mom's worst nightmare). Of course, being the new roller coaster daredevil (in case you haven't been charting my fear factor on a line graph), I wanted to try something new. Mom was the only other person who rides coasters who was with us, and she always to drag me on coasters (:P), so you could say this was her turn in the tank. In case you haven't heard, Mom HATES wooden coasters period. The only reason she went on the dueling wooden is because of moi. Here is a list of quotes that occurred during the duration of the ride:

"When will this hill end?" -Mom
"AGHHHHH! I! Don't! Like! This!"- mom
"Ow!" -Mom
Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh." Mom
"This is shaking!" -Mom

(In case you don't know, Mom HATES heights too.) And then after the ride, being the Einstein I am, I get off the ride and say, "I know how to hold on to the lapbars in that ride! You put one hand on the one closest to you, and then the other hand on the one on the other persons seat." In actuality, it makes the ride more fun; like you're in a rodeo. YEE-HAW! However, we only experienced the Tiger part of the attraction, not the Lion. Mom couldn't stand it.

Then we headed towards the wallabies and walked past the Sesame Street Safari of Fun. If you are looking at a map of Busch Gardens right now, you'll know what's next: The mother of all Floridian coasters:

SHEIKRA! *crowd goes wild, Uncle Scott/Aunt Jeanne are in shock, etc....* I braved it. Tip: If you go on this attraction, go in the SECOND ROW in the MIDDLE. The Second Row experiences the same as the front except in seems safer and there's a lesser chance you'll fall plumetting to your death if there is a ride malfunction. Let me tell you, SheikRa is very fun, smooth, and gives you an adrenaline rush. Unlike the Kraken, SheikRa leaves your legs solid due to the short duration of the ride.

Then we visited Jungala and checked out the animals. However, what we didn't expect was the coming storm. Mom and I were about to try Kumba until the ride was closed because lightning was within a one-mile radius. We headed back to Jungala and stayed in the Tiger viewing area and waited for people to be seen on SheikRa which would say if the rides were open. WE waited... and waited... and waited.... and waited... until it was done. Mom and I rushed to Kumba before it closed and I found one of my favorite coasters.

Kumba was an interesting experience. On one experience, it started on the lift hill and everything was normal. Then we went on it again. Every thing was normal again... until it started raining. Yep, as soon as we got in the middle of the lift hill, it started raining. We experienced the many inversions... in the rain! And then at the end when we should have just went to the unboarding section, they had to make an announcement that the ride would be temporarily closed before they brought the train in. By the time they brought out train in, we were soaked! We went on it again later. Dad took Ben to a fearfall ride in Jungala, so Mom had to keep her fanny pack. Luckily, Kumba allowed fanny packs on the ride, but where was Mom supposed to keep her sunglasses? Hmmm... I'll let you think about the possibilities. In the ride photo, it looked a little weird to say the least. As an aside, you could say this was my first water ride!

We rode the Scorpion again, but skipped Cheetah Chase and Montu. We did not watch a show there this visit. If you can't tell, there is still a final chapter needed to close the Busch Gardens book in my "library." I believe that that is all for this visit.

Next Up: Boggy Creek: A New Horizon.

SeaWorld: Finally

You can now finally see the event that was announced in June. This is the new series "pilot" you could say, so let's get cracking (foreshadow!).

To open up I'd like to start with a very fun family theme park we visited. SEAWORLD! We haven't been at Seaworld since I was in second grade, so this brought back some memories and definitely created more memories.When we walked up and into the park, we took the picture by the whale on the wall as usual. Then Mom and I rode the AWESOMEST COASTER EVER: Manta!!!

In Manta, you get seated like you were getting on an inverted coaster (i.e. Montu), and all of your body parts are strapped in without you even knowing it. When it's time for lift-off, it turns you on your stomach, and then you stay like that for the duration of the ride, giving you the illusion like you're flying. One part I remember clearly is when they do a corkscrew. The coaster usually has a sound it makes as it speeds along the track. Manta was making that sound, but when it flipped you, there was a moment of silence, except for the chorus of riders going "Woah!" in amusement of being literally on their back. I would strongly recommend this ride whether you're a coaster fan or not. Tip: Don't sit on the far right. You may get wet as you zoom past a waterfall.

We then saw and did the usual, ate the tasteless, expensive pizza, and went on the Wild Arctic motion simulator ride (only precaution: It can be rough). And then I rode something I never rode before:

I rode the Kraken. My first floorless coaster!! It's a milestone. While SheikRa (foretaste!) is very smooth and does not flip you as much, Kraken can be merciless and may leave you a little dizzy if you are not used to its flips and turns without a floor.

That's all I can remember. If you want to see pics of SeaWorld, I recommend you look on my mom or dad's Facebook page. It was very very fun.


Up Next: Busch Gardens: The Return

You Decide

Ok, I know you all want to hear about the summer and I'll try to get that to you by this weekend, but I really want to get this off my chest. I don't know if you all know this, but when it comes to literature, I try to multitask, and I often fail at it. So, this is what I want YOU to do, fellow readers. I want you to decide what I should begin to write after I finish my current project: The Storekeeper.

Your choices are as follows:

Sci-fi Novel (Unnamed as of yet [See Announcements])

The Knight's Pursuit Sequel (No official name yet [See Announcements])

Love the Musical (A musical with an official name)

The Deception of Oncirea (A proposed script for Summer Explosion 2011 [see prior posts for basic Summer Explosion details])

With your help, this may be life-changing. With your help, I will be organized. With your help!.... I don't know; I was making up stuff. If I look in My Documents and find a story I did not list, I will immediately include that detail on here.

FYI This does not affect the outcome of the Floridian Gubernatiol Race. Put your vote in the comments. Thanks for your support.

Election Day

Well, the election day is over, so I thought I would tell you a strange dream I had that intermingles with this.

On Halloween night, I had a strange dream that it was Wednesday, and the election results were revealed. The names of all the appointed candidates were revealed, but the only two I remember were the following:

Rick Scott became Gov. Rick Scott

Gov. Charlie Crist became Sen. Charlie Crist.

Again, Recollection: A Series That Recalls Summer 2010 with an Overly Sappy Name will be premiering in the very near future (no lie). I just thought this would be an interesting post. And now, I will leave the readers to a political debate in the comments box. Proceed.