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Kaleidoscope Tekulo

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Blog Entries posted by Kaleidoscope Tekulo

  1. Kaleidoscope Tekulo

    Meat

    By Kaleidoscope Tekulo,

    So, for my New Year's resolution, I decided that I would order only Vegetarian or Vegan options when eating out. Last night I ordered pasta with sautee'd mushrooms. When my food came out, they gave me pasta with meatballs.
     
    Now, when this happens I don't send the food back because then the establishment usually tosses the food out. When that happens with meat, to me it feels like the animal got killed just to wind up in the garbage (not to mention it's pretty darn wasteful). So, I didn't say anything and started eating a few bites of pasta.
     
    Little did I expect, the waitress caught the mistake and brought me pasta with the mushrooms. They still offered me the pasta with meatballs, as they said they were just going to throw it out. I told them I would take it to go.
     
    So, apparently when the food was brought back to the kitchen, tragedy struck. Someone was high fiving someone else, and when they brought their hand down, it landed in the pasta with meatballs. Sauce apparently splashed over three people. Contaminated, the establishment tossed it out.
     
    So, yeah... Life is meaningless.
     
    GET OFF MY LAWN!
    ~Tekulo <3
  2. Kaleidoscope Tekulo

    Memento Monty

    By Kaleidoscope Tekulo,

    Not really a "something creative" but I had some charcoal pencils I hadn't used yet, and I wanted to do something RWBY related. A sketch of Ruby seemed like the least I could do. Rest in peace, Monty.
  3. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    As some of you may already know, Akano, KK and I are currently on a family vacation.
     
    Here's where I'm at right now: Currently only our mom and I are awake. I figure I'll be the first person up normally (I'm the only real morning person in our family). Unfortunately, my younger sibling genetics are just itching for a practical joke (can't argue with that kind of biology).
     
    So, I'll be looking for a marker.
     
    My question is "What should I draw on Akano and KK's faces?"
     
    With any luck they won't see this entry by the time the deed is done. XP
     
    Thank you in advance for this most noble of causes.
     
    Drat... No marker. I tried my best to get Akano with a G2 pen, but it woke him up when I was writing the F in "Farm Animals" =/
     
    Looks like I'll need to think of other whacky hijinks for this trip. XP
  4. Kaleidoscope Tekulo

    MLK

    By Kaleidoscope Tekulo,

    So, I didn't really see anyone else blogging about this, but today is Martin Luther King Jr Day. I hope everyone at least takes a moment to either do some research or partake in some quiet contemplation today.
     
    MLK Wiki
     
    Eh, maybe not the best place to start some research, but I'm none too well-versed in history, so I don't have too many tried and true online resources. If anyone does have some good resources about today, I'd love to check it out! In the meantime, I should prolly check the personal library. I've been taught about MLK since I was a kid, but memory tends to be none too reliable, and there's always more to learn.
     
    At any rate, let's not forget this man or the progress he made towards tolerance and equality.
  5. Kaleidoscope Tekulo

    MOC

    By Kaleidoscope Tekulo,

    Okay, so before all of the talented peeps on here rip my head off for being terrible at life, let me just begin this entry by stating that I have no skill whatsoever in building with technic pieces.
     
    http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/TheVahiToa/MOC/image.jpg
     
    I had a bag of Bionicle pieces from a gift Akano got me from when he went to Brickfair. I tried to use only what he had given me, but I ran out of pins and pin-axels. I call him Patchwork. Or maybe Scrapper. No real backstory for him as of yet, but I imagine him as a gentle giant and spiritual guide to my kingdom of minifigs. He has the ability to bestow supernatural abilities to them and has done so at least twice. I assume he has the ability to take them back as well, but whether or not he has done so is debatable.
     
    I kinda wish I had a giant gear to stick on him somewhere, but it's fine. I might go back someday and work on his lower torso at a later date. He's just so distorted and strange that I can't help but love having him around. ^^
     
    Now then, Billy...
    GET OFF MY LAWN!
     
    ~ Tekulo <3
  6. Kaleidoscope Tekulo

    Monster High

    By Kaleidoscope Tekulo,

    So, my friend and I spent some time together today watching Monster High on Netflix.
     
    There is a character named Draculara. Her voice sounds like this
     

     
    mixed with this
     

     
    GET OFF MY LAWN!
    ~Tekulo <3
  7. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    So, just to update a few things.
     
    We also know the author's first initial is F. Old Man McGucket's first name is Fiddleford.
     
    Also, while I saw a left hand on the front of the journals, my brother Akano pointed out that the symbol is just an outline and that there is no way to tell if the palm of the hand is facing the cover or the journal or not. Basically this means that the symbol could depict either hand, right or left.
     
    How can we find proof? The six-fingered glove Grunkle Stan put on was for his right hand. Those types of gloves normally aren't ambidexterous. We don't know for sure whether the author only had six fingers on one hand or not, but if it was only one hand, my money of where the extra finger is located is the right hand. Old Man McGucket has his right hand bandaged to his knuckles, and when viewed from the side it looks completely covered along the side.
     
    Theory: The author lost his extra finger somehow and then wrote in the journals. I have a feeling Bill had something to do with it. Proof of this is the bloodstains in journal 3 on Bill Cipher's page.
     
    Granted, none of this evidence proves without a shadow of a doubt that Old Man McGucket is the author, but at this point I'd say it's somewhat likely. The identity of the author could still be someone we have yet been introduced to.
     
    Also, more on the identity of Stan's sibling. Dipper, Mabel and Stan all share the last name Pines. This means his sibling was likely male as Stan is from an older generation where typically the man's last name became the family name. If this is true, then the twin theory seems to hold some merit. It's possible. Some people think the young Stan poking his head out of the Mystery Shack was actually his twin brother (in Time Traveler's Pig). It's interesting.
     
    Another recurring theme in Gravity Falls is the year 1982. This takes place in the summer of 2012 meaning that 1982 was thirty years ago. The old room in the shack that held the body-swapping rug was not touched in many years. Behind the door, there is a calendar of July 1982 present. My theory is that the Shack belonged to the author previously. What's also interesting is that below the calendar on an end table, there is a pair of glasses. These glasses are on Bill's wheel. The author's notes on the wheel have these glasses circled with three exclaimation points pointing at them.
     
    I don't think these represent the author, as the six-fingered hand was also on that wheel. In fact, if he'd just recognized the symbol, then why not point those exclamation marks to his own symbol as well? I think the glasses belong to someone the author knew personally, someone he knew well enough that they would leave their glasses in his home. Someone he wasn't expecting to be involved in all of the weirdness of Gravity Falls. I think this might play a role in three words that were written down in the journal.
     
    Trust no one.
     
    MUAHAHAHAHA!
     
    ~Melon Lord
  8. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    Gathered friends,
     
    It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you all of the passing of Akano: Toa of Electricity. You know, this dorkus. He was found on a beach this morning somewhere in Australia. As to what he was doing there, there is strong evidence of a kangaroo boomerang war with sharks and lazerbeams. It is believed Akano bravely fought off twelve sharks, six kangaroos, five platypuses and a duck before succumbing to a deadly splinter from a boomerang accident. Truly a tragedy.
     
    Many will remember Akano for his comic series here on BZPower, truly the only noteworthy thing he has ever done with his life ever. Others may remember him for his physics lectures on his blog, but let's be honest, only nerds pay attention to those. It is a travesty that such legacies shall never be continued. He was also probably like one minifigure away from completing the latest wave of blind bags too.
     
    From a young age, Akano has always had an interest in science. He would place string on an ice cube and then add salt to perform the darkest of sorcery known to man. He was always eager to learn and would never shut up when he learned something he thought was interesting. I mean, I have learned things just by knowing Akano that I never knew I cared so little about. Akano was also fascinated with ancient Egypt, which makes it even more curious why he would travel all the way to Australia. I mean, that's not even close to Egypt.
     
    As per his will, Akano shall have his lips sewn shut, his eyebrows plucked and the rest of him mummified. The mummy will be put on display as a warning to small children of what happens when you pick a fight with Australian fauna. May he rest in peace.
     
    Pay your respects, then get off my lawn,
    ~Tekulo <3
  9. Kaleidoscope Tekulo

    Movies

    By Kaleidoscope Tekulo,

    After watching the Oscars, I was in a mood to watch some movies yesterday (also, wow can Lady Gaga sing!). So, I spent like twenty minutes trying to figure out how to hook up our DVD player because the sound wasn't working, and then watched The LEGO movie and UP; two of my modern favorites.
     
    THIS WAS A BAD PLAN!
     
    So... many... feels... ;-;
     
    If I really hated myself I would have thrown The Fox and the Hound into the mix because the part where she abandons Todd in the nature reserve and reads that poem is... it's just too much... ;-;
     
    SMASHING!
     
    ~Nigel
  10. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    Keeping this susinct, I moved back to Ohio for medical reasons. I had a second mental breakdown, failed to set up proper doctors at the West Coast, and I had to pack up, move and say goodbye in less than a day (which wasn't easy on two different levels).
     
    I'm going through a long and expensive process of getting a new diagnosis. I am on new meds now. Some professionals seem to think I'm bipolar. We'll see.
     
    So yeah I was reckless with my health, I was overworked and constantly making overtime, and by the end of one sour week I was jobless, homeless, and wound up working with a charity and then later transferred from two separate hospitals to a behavioral health center (which was actually probably one of the most helpful places I'd visited for me to sort things out).
     
    So yeah, kinda heavy news here. I would like to say the last thing I need right now is pity. I always felt annoyed when people just say "I'm sorry" to this sort of thing when they don't know what else to say. I know I'm guilty of that too, but some of my favorite responses have been words of wisdom, or gentle encouragement, or even from some of my closest friends just saying "I love you and I'm here for you," or something to that effect.
     
    I've been plenty scolded by nurses and a few other people in my life (with very much good advice, to their credit).
     
    So all that aside I've been reaching out to old friends in Ohio. I've been cleaning my room from adolescence and doing my best to ignore the news. It's one step at a time.
     
    I was missing my friends from the west earlier, but I realized all of those friendships and bonds were made in the past three years. I'm still in contact with a lot of friends, and I'm still in my mid twenties. I have so much longer than three years left, and if I can build myself a happy social life in three years, then well... who knows? This chapter of my life is part of the adventure. It may seem like a step backwards, but life doesn't stop, even for these kinds of events.
     
    I dunno. The glass is kinda at an equillibrium to me at this point.
     
    ~Tekulo♡
  11. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    So, I've kinda been stressing out a bit lately. The holidays are coming and with them, my job demands that I single handedly come up with and bake of a dessert menu for around 450 people. That is just for Thanksgiving. I also work all day Xmas Eve, Xmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's day. It's no picnic because I miss out on quality family time, but at least the perk of selling my soul is that I get holiday pay for three days (I don't think they count eves iirc).
     
    That wouldn't be too bad, but our house is also a wreck, I was lazy this summer so I still don't have a driver's liscense (which is my fault), our house is a wreck and because I was lazy this summer I have to start cleaning it out (which I've been doing, actually), and I'm still not totally over all of my issues regarding depression stuffs, I'm still overweight (and I've not started an excercise regiment, so go me, I suck), and I am still kinda terrified of Five Nights at Freddy's from Halloween (Typical November paranoia. But hey, it's been around a week since my last panic attack in the middle of the night brought on by the fear of animatronic animals breaking into my home and screaming in my face, so yaaaaay).
     
    So, what do I do when I go into creepy stress mode and start to re-evaluate my life for like the hundredth time? I listen to music to help me be somewhat productive and to help me get a grip! 8D SO LET'S BLOG THESE SONGS! Well, artists. Doing this by artist will be so much easier.
     
    Here is everything currently on my iphone (my main music player because I never really had a CD player or a working music device unti very recently).
     
    a-ha - Just Take On Me because it's catchy.
    Adele - I owe my sanity to this woman. Longish story.
    Alan Menken - Tangled soundtrack! Woo!
    Alexander Rybak - I'm in loooove with a fairy taaaale~
    Anya Marina - Vertigo is the best song for mellowing out without a care in the world.
    Apeture Science Psychoacoustic Laboratory - Need I say more?
    Artificial Fear - Zelda songs in metal version. It's kinda totally weird.
    Azumi Inoue - Sekai no yakuzoku <3
    Berlin Philharmonic - Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite for the holidays
    Bing Crosby - Silver bells (for Xmas, durr)
    OC Remix - Zelda remixes
    Zreo - More Zelda remixes
    Bob Acri - Sample music that came with my college laptop. They're actually nifty.
    Caramell - Caramelldansen (a must)
    Christina Perri - Human (just human)
    Krewella - Human (also just human)
    Coldplay - Viva la Vida
    Cristin Milioti - La Vie En Rose (HIMYM because omg I love her version)
    Ella Fitzgerald - Baby it's cold outside <3
    Various other Miyazaki songs
    Erik Satie - Gymnopedie no. 1 (all of my love)
    Evanescence - Bring me to Life among others
    Fall Out Boy - The Phoenix (I only really like this song for like one line in its lyrics XD)
    Friendship is Witchcraft - So much lifting of my spirits
    GAME FREAK - Team Plazma Battle (the good one)
    Glee Cast - much to my chagrin, I actually do like one song from the entirety of the show.
    Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - opening songs
    Goldspot - Rewind
    Gronnoc - Pokemon remixes
    Hahli Husky and Janus - BIONICLE Comic readings (I haven't gotten rid of these yet and I prolly never will)
    Hasbro, Inc - This Day Aria
    Hera Björk - Je Ne Sais Quoi (from Eurovision)
    Ingrid Michaelson - The Way I Am (greatest love song ever?)
    Jeremy Zuckerman - Legend of Korra music (greatest love song ever?)
    Joe Hisaishi - Merry Go Round of Life (Okay, it's from a Miyazaki film, but I really like this one, okay?)
    Johan de Meij - Orchestrated music based on The Hobbit (book, before the movies came out. It is amazing)
    Journey - Don't start unbelieving!
    Judy Garland - The Trolly Song
    Kelly Clarkson - Since you've been gooooone!
    King Harvest - Dancing in the Moonlight
    Lena - Satelite (from Eurovision. It's simple but it's fun, okay?)
    Lostprophets - Rooftops
    Masafumi Takada - Dangan Ronpa songs
    Memphis Jazz Orchestra - Oh You Beautiful Doll~
    Michael Giacchino - Music from UP
    Minimusicman - Crazy La Paint
    Nanne - Hall Omg Mig
    P!nk - 8D
    Price Tag - Love this one.
    Queen - This is a must, even though I rarely listen to them =P
    R. Master - Japanese Opening to Case Closed (Detective Conan)
    Insert Bonkles music here
    Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - A couple songs from Swan Lake
    Sara Bareilles - Out of all the artists I listen to, none have been quite so interesting as this one in my opinion. Her songs weigh heavily on the "moral of the song is not subtle" but her music is super catchy and relatable. I've listened to songs and gone "meh" and then gone back and grew to love them. She's one of my favorite artists.
    Shinedown - Second Chance
    Slovak Radio Symphony - Coppélia (just one song)
    Starkid - A Very Potter Musical and Twisted
    SPIRIT - Makuta singing to himself with Lewa walking in on him. How do I still have this?
    Stephen Sondheim - Music from Into the Woods
    They Might Be Giants - Experimental Film
    Toshihiko Horiyama - Guilty Love from Apollo Justice
    Val Rosing - Teddy Bear Picnic (creepiest song ever?)
    Vanessa Williams... - More Into the Woods stuff, okay?
    Frozen - It has Idena Menzel. Idena. Freaking. Menzel. End of discussion.
    VisualArt's - Clannad, Dango Daikazoku and the first intro because I love them. I love the Dango more, though.
    Professor Layton - Music from The Eternal Diva
    The Hunchback of Notre Dame - More Disney whee
    101 Dalmations - More Disney whee
    Anastasia - Actually, this one's Fox Pictures, not Disney.
    The Looking Glass - Brandy You're a Fine Girl (love this one)
    Wicked - More Idena Freaking Menzel
    Nightmare Before Christmas - Watch this any time between October and December
    Ultimate Piano Classics - The Maiden's Prayer
    Legally Blonde The Musical - I regret nothing
    Debbie Reynolds - Would You? (unused version) from Singing in the Rain and Tammy
    Sara Barielles and Ingrid Michaelson - Winter Song (The feels)
    Les Misérables - I Dreamed a Dream by Anne Hathaway
     
    For the sake of something, I shortened this list slightly.
     
    So, yeah, this is mostly just me jotting down what I'm into now and it might be interesting to look back at this in a few years and see how my tastes have changed.
     
    If you want to discuss this, I just ask two things. No "Eww, you like x, gross!" because even when in jest, I find this annoying and no "You absolute MUST start listening to y or else I will hate you forever." Recommendations are fine, but please no being over-the-top with telling me what I should and should not listen to. It bugs me, okay?
     
    "I don't care about dukes or commoners or His Royal Highness Lionel of Cornwall. I'm not afraid anymore, mother."
     
    ~The Duchess Aprroves <3
  12. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    (So, I totally want to see Effect and Affect in a violent battle to the death one of these days... I just find those nit-pickers to be so adorable <3)
     
    Anyway, my friends have always called me a creepy person. XD I suppose it's because in school I was always the gloomy kid in the corner, plus I had very awkward social skills and such (cue the tiny violins for tragic ambiance. I want the tiny violins!)
     
    So, I just recently discovered you could creep on other members on BZP by scrolling over their names. It's actually quite fun. ^^
     
    (The duck is always watching... and she's also a magical ballerina princess!)
     
    Now then Billy...
     
    GET OFF MY LAWN!
     
    ~Tekulo <3
     
    EDIT: OMG, I can also creep on myself! This is great! 8D
  13. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    It was kinda like Red vs Blue meets Princess Tutu meets Kim Possible meets a Halo team match.
     
    So, previously I've had recurring dreams about a Halo map where there's this really big circle space and in a cliff area there's this really high-tech alien base. So many Elites... so impossible to defeat them... Anyway, the open area is like a large crater covered in grass and surrounded by mountains. There are around four or five entrances into the base; three of which are obvious being located at the very top, the middle and the very bottom of the map.
     
    Now, in this dream, instead of swarms of Elites (red Elites, that burn with the fires of a thousand evils), it was more like two small teams. One of them consisted of three heroes (one android that highly resembled agent Carolina from RvB) and the other two dudes in black suits who were clearly the villains because they wore sunglasses indoors.
     
    So apparently the Sunglass Goons wanted their android back to erase her memories because she knew something or whatnot. The heroes, of course, wanted to take down the large conspiracy composed of two inept guards. For truth. For Justice. FOR- uh... an android, I guess...
     
    Anyway, two of the halo guys (one was the android, who could turn into a bird and fly up to the top, only that was moot because she was already at the very top when she used this power) went in the base through the top entrance after using a bird as a key to open the door... (Best security ever? Quite possibly). Once inside the rooms with ceilings around 40 feet off the ground with steel gurters and pipes and things everywhere, they used the grappling guns from Kim Possible to swing around and hide to ambush the Sunglass Goons when they were to enter. Of course the non-android started to sweep the room for ammo and weaponry.
     
    But suddenly the Sunglass Goons catch the human red-handed! But wait, the android is still concealed 30 feet above them. She has an opening... And then she totally blows her cover and practically gives herself up. Oh, and the other hero made his way up from the bottom entrance of the base. Apparently there was an elevator or something.
     
    Anyway, the Sunglass Goons' presence in the room prevents our heroes from actually fighting for some reason and they reprogram the android.
     
    "Please access-" some file or another. I forget what he said...
     
    "Accessing"
     
    "Delete memory."
     
    "Data not found"
     
    "... You no longer exist."
     
    And then the android pretty much goes "Okay, cool" and continues swinging around the room with the grappling gun.
     
    Best dream ever. Of all time.
     
    GET OFF MY LAWN!
     
    ~Tekulo <3
  14. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    So I don't remember all of it quite clearly, but I remember it dealing with BZP in this weird glitch thing... Basically all of the words on the site were like this and the links didn't work. I remember finding a link, but it somehow turned me into super-mega-great-being-decide-who-lives-and-who's-banned-kawaii-desu mode. I think I was trying to tell the staff about it, but then the dream changed...
     
    INTO WRESTLING MANIA! Well, it was a bunch of chibi peeps (so kawaii) sneaking into this wrestling show by pretending to be the pro wrestlers themselves (those two dudes were so easy to fool in THE BEST DISGUISES EVER! -TBDE include sunglasses with wigs that matched the owner's hair to a T. I never knew my dreams could be so funny XD-).
     
    So, after we stole some costumes from the gift shop storage room (no joke. I was the shark guy... Steel Blue or something like that? The name involved the second word being "Blue" of that I'm certain). So then after raiding through more merchandise (even some fake Lego sets which featured Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, the scarecrow, etc (nice quality too for a knock-off brand), we gathered our footballs, tennis rackets and other totally logical items for wrestling (did I mention I'm not a sports fan? They all look the same to me), the real, much larger and less kind wrestlers sure enough arrived fashionably late, brushed us aside and got ready for some WRESTLING!
     
    Of course after that the gang raided the clothing department, got some legit disguises (and because we were wearing masks at the time they didn't get our faces) and blended into the crowd.
     
    Best BZP-related dream ever. XD
     
    Oh yeah, that island I made is now available to the public (trying to sound like a big-shot).
     
    Ta-da!
     
    Now worship it in fear and all of those other happy emotions. ^^
  16. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    It's basically a world where people are more understanding, educated and tolerant towards anyone that strays from the social norm. In fact there would be no social norm.
     
    You and I are very different. I appreciate that.
     
    (And people being more eco-friendly and putting more love for nature ahead of their love for, say, sports.)
     
    Unfortunately I'm stuck with this dump.
     
    ~Lapis
  18. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    I know it's pretty basic right now, but I think it gets the point across.
     
    To Cuusoo!
     
    Even if my project doesn't make it, I still would love to see something other than a slanted brick used for a minifig dress. If nothing else, I hope that this gets people thinking.
     
    Whassat, Billy?
     
    You're happy with the current minifig dress situation?
     
    ... GET OFF MY LAWN!
     
    ~Tekulo<3
     
     
  19. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    I love Colors! 3D. I really do. ^^
     
    Anyway, I was doodling a bit (just some shading practice on a sphere) when I got bored and made that sparkly background. Then it reminded me of Pinkie Pie.
     
    This is the first pony I've ever really drawn... I was never meant to draw ponies. D=
     
    GET OFF MY LAWN ART!
     
    ~Tekulo <3
  20. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    So, ever been totally addicted to a song and you just have to listen to it over and over and over for like a week?
     
    Yeah, the theme song for Angel Beats has infected my eardrums and it just won't stop. Well, not that I want it to stop. XD
     
    It just sounds so uplifting and it makes me imagine.
     
    Other songs that have had this effect/affect/uhfect/infect:
     
    Brandy You're a Fine Girl by The Looking Glass
     
    Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest (Toploader is worst pony)
     
    Every FMA Brotherhood opening ever (especially Again by Yui)
     
    Gymnopédie No. 1 by Erik Satie
     
    The Maiden's Prayer by Tekla Badarzewska
     
    And many, many others I don't wish to list at this time.
     
    Judy Garland also brings me back. As does Debbie Reynolds (I hear the cottonwoods whisperin' above~)
     
    Whasat, Billy? A Compact Disc MP3zer on Blue Ray thinger? STOP TELLING ME ABOUT THIS FUTURISTIC MAGIC!
     
    GET OFF MY LAWN!
     
    ~Tekulo <3
  21. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    So, you know how LEGO normally has those contests where you enter to win a chance to go to Legoland? If not, then check them out. XP
     
    It all started back when I was a wee chibi around the age of, oh, eight or nine. My father had to go on a business trip to Colorado and we decided to turn it into a short family trip (if my memory is serving me correctly. It's been over a decade since this happened, so I may be a little fuzzy on a few details). Now, my brothers and I grew up outside of the city, so being a kid in a place with buildings that went up to 30 or so stories was a little... intimidating, wonderful and fascinating. Standing right next to a building and looking straight into the sky was chilling to the bone at the time.
     
    As we were walking down the sidewalk, we happened upon a Lego store that had a sign in front for a building contest. My brothers and I were interested in LEGO (ah, this was back in the summer of 2001. So, that means I was nine when this occurred), mainly Bionicle. For the kids who entered, they built a structure out of Lego bricks, got a Turaga set and had their name and other information placed into a raffle to win the grand prize: A Trip for four people to Legoland California. I remember entering the store and gaping in awe at the plastic brick structures. The main ones I remember were life-size human beings. A red airplane was zooming over our heads and a giant serpent slithered through the room. Though everything was still and lifeless, the figures still looked alive in their own sort of way. That wasn't even half of it; there were model buildings upstairs resembling the city itself. We saw intricate details of the buildings we recognized; even the hotel we were staying in stood there in all of its chibified glory.
     
    After waiting in line, Akano, KK and I finally arrived at the building station; colorful tables the perfect size for kids with enough bricks and base plates to build an entire house. We were told by the staff there that we were to build how we thought we would see Chicago ten years in the future (or maybe it was 100... At any rate, a futuristic theme was all the kids needed to get to serious business). At first I wasn't sure what I would do. I sat there fiddling with a few bricks for a short while, when I remembered my family complaining about the city's traffic. Those weren't complaints I was too used to hearing back home, mind you, so perhaps it made a bit of an imprint? At any rate, I had my idea, and I set off to work.
     
    My mind was racing with thoughts scattered here and there; Okay, I need a base for this... now some yellow... How much of the other colors do I have to work with? I want some red (red was my favorite color at the time), Now a minifigure... After some time, I looked at what I had before me; two hover cars. One was yellow and whole. The other was red and split down the middle longways on the imaginary road before it. It was passing the yellow car by splitting up and moving around it. The car would then fuse back together once it had passed in front of its yellow victim. Looking around, I noticed that we still had time left to build, and I looked to see that other kids had more to their works than I did. I began to ponder how I could build onto my creation.
     
    Black 2x4 bricks... Clear; I need a lot of clear bricks for this. I won't be able to fit everything side-by-side, so... why don't I space them out a bit? Being inspired by the models that were presented to us, I decided to try my hand at building a model of our hotel. Of course, I didn't have the bricks, time nor talent to get the details perfect or even that accurate for that matter. Still, I was happy with what I had. We explained what we had built to the staff once the time was up, and they took pictures. I'm not too sure what became of them, quite honestly.
     
    At the end, we had a choice of a Turaga set to take home with us. Akano got Onewa, KK got... Well, either Nokama or Nuju. I already had Matau, and I was hoping to get the ever elusive Vakama who always appeared to use his Huna whenever we went to a store. No luck; they had run out at the Lego Store as well. Bummed out, I meekly said "No thanks" to the staff member there, but after a few strict words from my mom who encouraged me not to be rude, I ended up getting Whenua to trade to Akano after he'd find Vakama. (Chibi Tekulo, Y U SUCH A BRAT?!).
     
    And that was the end of my memories from Chicago... well, almost.
     
    Yeesh, I didn't think this would be such a long story. Sorry for gabbing your ears off, and I'm sure many of you don't like that I'm not getting quite to the point... but I'm also typing this out for my own memories, so I'm trying to recall as much as possible before I go senile and forget... Wait, why are you guys still here?
     
    ...
     
    GET OFF MY LAWN!
     
    Tekulo <3
  22. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    After our visit to the Lego store in Colorado, our family continued our short vacation normally. I remember looking up at the sky. The buildings sent sparks of cold lightning through my body. Normally people think looking up to the stars and thinking of the universe makes them feel insignificant and small. For me, I mostly felt that way whenever I saw a clear blue sky. The buildings in comparison did not help.
     
    The call came when we were heading back to our home. During our road trip, my mother noticed she had a voicemail on her cell. When she checked it, the entire family was... well, concerned by what she had to say.
     
    "Oh my god... Oh my god, oh my god..." The words continued to present themselves over and over.
     
    "What?! What?" My brothers and I and even our dad continued to ask for what seemed an eternity packed into a single minute.
     
    "[LOL you don't get to know my real first name. Trololololol] won a trip to Legoland!"
     
    Now, I don't exactly recall what my reaction was at the time. I assume it involved goosebumps, a pounding heart and pinching myself expecting to wake up back in our hotel room. As you could imagine I had a lot to think about on the way home.
     
    The trip was for four people. Our mother decided she would stay home, which meant our dad, Akano, KK and I would be leaving for California during our summer break the following year. That was the plan, anyway. I remember I was a bit bummed that I was taking my brothers (we did NOT get along as children) instead of my best friend from school. If I had the power to decide who would go with me on the trip, I could tell you that I would've had no intentions of taking either Akano or KK with me. Fortunately for them I was still only nine and our parents wouldn't allow me to be so cruel (lightweights. XP).
     
    Now, during the fall, I would spend my time imagining what the trip would be like. I was in pretty high spirits most of the time; heck, it was hard not to be. It's not every day a kid has a dream like this become a reality. It sounds really childish (well, I was a child after all), but back then I guess I just thought the world was simple. Black and white; good and evil ... it was simple, really, the way the world worked. Adults always seemed to make things complicated for no reason. They would argue about... oh, politics or who was right and who was wrong. It just always seemed dumb to act that way, childish even for a child. Back then I thought I would never understand those silly adults. Though, that was before September of 2001.
     
    I woke up on the eleventh and got ready for school. I was in fourth grade. The day seemed normal enough. Take the bookbag, grab some money for lunch, and set out alone for the bus. Akano and KK were in middle school by this time, so they had to wake up even earlier. Those mornings on the bus seemed a lot quieter than they used to, though I was glad, in my own way, to have a little time to think. The bus arrived at my elementary school and I got off and went to my classroom like always. Our teacher told us we would be doing a news project today and that we'd watch the news and do a project about what was going on in the world today.
     
    She turned on the classroom TV and switched the channel to the news. By that time, only the first plane had hit the world trade center. Our teacher immediately turned the TV off. Trying her best to smile, she told us we would be working on a different project today. She handed us out some worksheets to fill out, and she went to contact the principle, I assume, about what was happening. In the meantime the students of our class were talking about the news we'd just heard. I can't remember if I was one of the children who got picked up from school by their parents that day... Actually, I think rode the bus home as usual. Needless to say, with everything that happened with the airlines, our trip was postponed. That wasn't my biggest concern, though.
     
    After that day, things were scary. I wasn't sure what was going to happen and all I knew was that our country was at war. I remember my friends and I wondering if the school lunch had poison in it as an attack on the school. It sounds silly to even think that sounds logical now, but back then it just made me nervous. My friends and I were talking about how we'd prefer a quick and painless death. It scared me to think about death back then. I remember thinking to myself that I didn't want to die.
     
    After a month or so had passed, I had realized that life before that day and life after that day weren't so different. I still woke up at the same time, I went to the same school with the same teacher and the same friends. Over time I began to realize how lucky I was to be a kid. My life didn't seem to change at all, and yet others that day lost so much more. That was one of the earliest times in my life where the world didn't seem so black and white anymore. Shades of grey started to appear in my line of vision. I still had a long way to go before I would see in color.
     
    I know my timing isn't quite perfect, but I would like to end this blog post with a tribute to what happened on 9/11/01. I haven't forgotten that day nearly eleven years later... I don't intend to forget any time in the future.
  23. Kaleidoscope Tekulo
    Surprised by the length? Ugh, why didn't you read the tags? =/
     
    Yeah, so I have this weakness... Whenever I get into a story that I'm really interested in (hook, line, sinker... and it turns out I'm just a rubber boot that got caught on the fishing line. Trololololol), I just can't stop. Be it a book, a show, a video game, etc, I just need to finish it.
     
    Truth be told I only felt that way, really, about Bionicle 2006. After 2007 I had no further deep desires to see the story end. Not that I'm badmouthing Bionicle or anything (Well, I badmouth whoever's idea it was to kill Teridax with a giant rock. All the time, seriously. XD It's my favorite joke ever. XP), but that's just my opinion and I am allowed to have an opinion. ^^
     
    Anyway... After a weekend I managed to finish Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), and it's a wonderful show. ^^ Rough around the edges, granted, but it was still pretty awesome. I kinda wish I'd gotten into it sooner, actually. All of the philosophy in there really made me feel nostalgic about when I was around the characters' ages asking the same questions and coming to similar answers. I bet this show could've helped me out with my weird little thoughts about death and life's cycle. But enough about my happy, sun shining childhood. XP
     
    I'm a bit surprised that Brotherhood apparently has fewer episodes. They really moved things around from the past series based on the first two episodes. =/ I like a few things so far, but I'm mainly noticing that if I started out watching Brotherhood first I'd be going "WHAT THE PANDA?!" all over the bamboo forest that is Fullmetal Alchemist. XP Glad I went with the 2003 version so far. ^^ I think it covers the main characters' pasts a lot better, personally. However, I know this series has loads of praise, so I'm actually anticipating quite a bit for the other episodes. ^^
     
    Stay Breezy,
     
    Tekulo
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