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About Jedi Master J.
- Birthday 04/20/1992
Profile Information
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Gender
Male
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Location
Driftveil City, Unova
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Interests
My Primary interests:
- BIONICLE
- LEGO Bricks
- Star Wars
- Pokemon (Video Game Series/TV Show)
- Reading books (On occasion)
- Doing Math (Like Geometry and Algebra)
- Writing stories
- Drawing
- Giving gifts to my friends
- Helping people out
- Computer-Aid Drafting/Hand-Aid Drafting
- Seeing how things work
- Building things
My favorite movies:
- The Back to the Future Series
- Harry Potter Series
- Star Wars Series
- Bionicle Series
- Indiana Jones Series
- Sci-Fi Movies
- The Dark Knight
- I, Robot
- Rocky Balboa Series
- Terminator Series
- The Lion King
- Mulan
- Toy Story I-III
My favorite T.V. Shows:
- Smallville
- Supernatural
- House MD
- Kyle XY
- Prison Break
- Avatar: The Last Air Bender
- Law and Order (The Original/SVU)
- Charmed
- Bones
- Home Improvement
- George Lopez
- Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- FRINGE
- Ben 10
- Ben 10: Alien Force
- Chowder
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (The old miniseries and the current one.)
- Dollhouse
- Gillian's Island
- The Brady Bunch
- Royal Pains
- NCIS
- Burn Notice
- Warehouse 13
- White Collar
- Covert Affairs
- Psych
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- Alcatraz
- Adventure Time
- The Following
Songs, I like:
- "Closer to the Truth," by Cryoshell
- "Gravity Hurts," by Cryoshell
- "Billy, Don't Be a Hero," by Paper Lace
- "O Death" by Jen Titus
- "The Cycle of Life" from the Lion King
- "Be Prepared" from the Lion King
- "I'll make a Man out of you" from Mulan
- "Never Too Late," by Three Days Grace
- "Kryptonite," by 3 Doors Down
- "Hero," by Nickelback
- "Wanted Dead Or Alive," by Bon Jovi
- "Wheel in the Sky," by Journey
- "Stranglehold," by Ted Nugent and Derek St. Holmes
- "You Shook Me All Night Long," by AC/DC
- "Thunder Struck," by AC/DC
- "Carry on My Wayward Son," by Kansas
- "No Surprises," by Radiohead
- "Under Pressure," by Queen and David Bowie
- "Baba O'Riley," by The Who
- "Behind Blue Eyes," by The Who
- "Piano Man," by Billy Joel
- "You Can't Always Get What You Want," by The Rolling Stones
- "T.N.T.," by AC/DC
- "Back in Black," by AC/DC
Books, I like:
- BIONICLE Books(My favorite of these books is "Time Trap".)
- Harry Potter books
- Star Wars books
- Jurassic Park Books
- History books
- Some other stories/books
My favorite subjects in school are:
-Math
-Science
My favorite authors are:
- Greg Farshtey
- J.K. Rowling
- Michael Crichton
My Favorite Kanohi:
- Hau
- Huna
If you are new to BZPower and ever having any questions about the place, feel free to leave a comment of your questions in this profile to me. I will happily answer them for you. Well, thanks for visiting my interests list, sir or ma'am. I hope you all are having a good day. -JMJ 2016
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Fact of the Day: JMJ tends to rate everyone five stars in their profiles.
Fact of the Day #2: JMJ used to welcome new members to BZPower by commenting in their profiles, since he can't PM them, thanks to the New Member Policy. He hasn't gotten lazy now, so this hasn't happen much anymore.
Fact of the Day #3: JMJ helped run Bionicle Kingdoms: Requiem with Vezok's Friend and The Power that is and JMJ likes helping them think of new ideas for the plot.
Fact of the Day #4: JMJ is 5'7".
Fact of the Day #5: JMJ wears 10W shoes.
Fact of the Day #6: JMJ's favorite Order of Mata Nui member is Axonn.
Fact of the Day #7: JMJ's favorite Brotherhood of Makuta member is Teridax, the Makuta of Metru Nui.
Fact of the Day #8: JMJ's favorite Bionicle Robot is Maxilos.
Fact of the Day #9: JMJ's favorite Glatorian is Gelu.
Fact of the Day #10: JMJ types only with his pointer fingers.
Fact of the Day #11: JMJ generally likes stories involving time travel.
Contact Methods
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Skype
bzp-jmj
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LEGO.com Account
Bzp-JMJ
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AIM
BZPJMJ
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Jedi Master J.'s Achievements
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Jedi Master J. started following General Rambling: BZP Back!? Edition
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Hey, folks. Since BZP is back online now, I figured I pop in and give a general life update for those interested (Probably no one...). And boy, it has been awhile since I wrote an entry. I didn't realized that I kind of drop off the face of BZP since 2018 onward. XD So where to begin? Well, not a whole lot has changed for me in past two years... Still working at the same job for past nine years and still living with my folks (Yeah, not a great look for a 27 year old... I do pay them rent at least. But yeah, it is something that I needed to work on. XD). So yeah, not much to share on those fronts, so I won't bored you with that. Have I done much LEGO building in the past two years? I mean LEGO sets wise, yeah, I have build an occasion set here and there (I actually have a bit of backlog of sets that I should build at some point. Like I still have Lord of Rings sets from way back still boxed and on a self near me. XD). I hadn't brought anything recently though or done much MOCing (Mind you, that's not too surprising as I have never been that great at MOCing to begin with). So not much share on LEGO front either. Thoughts on Bionicle Gen 3 rumors sparked by Christian Faber (that were in news here awhile back)? Well, I am not against LEGO doing another attempt at the theme if they want, especially since I did like the sets from Gen 2. Moving on from that, I guess I will talk about gaming next. I am going organize this in a list format since that feels like best way of doing this (Note: Not in any particular order)... - I finished the story for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (on PS3) finally. I had a pretty good time with it, although I do regret having so much gaps between playing it since I definitely didn't remember a lot of stuff. Oh, and I am not a big fan of familiar combat in it. People praised that element a lot and I really don't get it (Personally I think Pokemon combat style is much better than it). Also the last bit of game felt really tack on to me (Really it felt like it could work better if it had been flesh out more in a direct sequel). Hm... I might go back to do trophies at late point (Basically if I clear my PS3 backlog out). - I managed to get all trophies in Journey (PS3). I must say I was surprised there are people still playing it online on PS3 after it being out for like 6 years (I did this in 2018, unless I am remembering wrong.). - I got all trophies in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PS3). The game still tugs at my heartstrings after all these years. - I played LittleBIGPlanet 1 (PS3) until I got stuck in the Bunker. I recall finding some of the controls rather annoying and not being a fan of respawn system. It is hard to say if I will go back to it anytime soon. - I played Ico (PS3), which was definitely more my speed than LittleBIGPlanet 1. The last thing I recall doing it was finding a secret room that gave me a weapon. I didn't finish it since KH3 was on the way to being released at the time, so I took a break from it. I definitely will be going back to this eventually. - I briefly play Marvel's Spider-Man on my PS4 to test it to make sure it worked. The only thing I did outside of first mission was collect all map points and schoolbags. XD I really wanted to play more of it, but sadly I loan it to my brother awhile back. - I played KH 0.2 and watched Back Cover in prep for KH3. I really enjoyed KH 0.2. I wish it could been a full game rather than tech demo for KH3. Oh, and I didn't replay KH3D since I just didn't have time since I did this so close to KH3. It is on my to do list to replay eventually. - I played KH3. I honestly play this game non-stop when it came out. I was that excited for it and I am glad I brought it. While it was far from perfect (I definitely have my complains on stuff), I enjoyed it and I look forward to DLC this winter. Oh, and I didn't get all trophies (I did get all Hidden Mickeys though). I might go back and do them eventually. - On Nintendo Switch's NES app, I have finished Super Mario Bros 3 and I am currently working my way through Metroid 1. I am really bad at Metroid 1. XD - I have 100% non-DLC story mode in Splatoon 2. I also finished Octo Expansion in prep for last Splatfest (My Team, Order, sadly lost Splatfest). It is going be awhile before I 100% Octo Expansion because man, it is difficult. - I completed my goal in Pokemon Crystal (3DS) and got Celebi! Also recently start slowly working on my Pokedex goal for Pokemon Gold. - And lastly, I am currently working my way through Paper Mario 1 for first time. At the moment, I am on Chapter 5 and I will be continuing that this weekend. Alright, that's basically a summary of what I been up to gaming wise. I probably miss some stuff, but this list is long enough as it is, so I'll end it there. The only other thing that I can think to talk about is that I recently went on my first plane trip as I went to Seattle for PAX West last week. It was pretty fun trip. I am glad that I decided to tag-along with my sister for it. I am also not as afraid of planes anymore, so that opens the door at least to consider doing other trips like this in the future (Although planes are pretty cramped, so definitely not doing trips longer than 5 hours.). My biggest highlight from PAX West was getting to play FF7 Remake demo (I was really lucky on Monday... Also Monday was like the best day. It was so much less intense compared to other days). It was great and I can't wait to play it next year. *hype* *look at how long the entry is* Alright, I think I rambled enough here. If you like to hear more about my Seattle trip, let me know and I'll take time to write up a summary on the trip for here with some pictures for ya. But anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this rambling entry about my life. - JMJ 2019
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Showing, Not Telling
Jedi Master J. commented on Ta-metru_defender's blog entry in TMD's Creatively Named Blog
@TMD (Rogue One): I don't know if I agree with you about Rogue One. Like a big problem (Beside some of cameos like Cornelius Evazan and Ponda Baba) I had with the film is it hard to feel emotionally invested in these characters due to how short of time we get to experience them (Honestly it is problem that I have with films a lot, which is why I technically enjoy TV shows more than films as TV shows just have so much more time to use their characters). The only characters at the end that I felt a true loss for was K-2SO (Which I love that droid), Chirrut Imwe, and Baze Malbus (Which was mostly due their great relationship and mystic of their order). Again, maybe just me, but I felt like there was a lot of waste story potential for these characters. I mean Cassian Andor, for example, came from a Separatist world, which is something that we hadn't really seen with a Rebel character before. The film doesn't have much room to explore that though and mostly focused on moral grey area of his job as a spy for Rebel Alliance, which is a fair thing to explore in the film. But as result, I don't think it did amazing job of selling his loss to me as I just barely knew him as a person, outside of some his morally questionable actions for greater good. It sort like if I met a random person on street one day and hung out a little, then learn like a week later that they had died. I mean sure, I would feel sad about that news, but it is not degree that I would be thinking about them for more than a day at most. So yeah, I would prefer there had been a film series that would explore and develop this team further as they went on missions for Rebel Alliance with the big Death Star plan mission being their swan song film. Ultimately that didn't happen though, so I can only hope whatever we get from Cassian Andor's prequel show, that is planned for Disney streaming service, will further explore some of those characters (Obviously not expecting them all to be explore in that show since most weren't involved with Rebel Alliance till Rogue One.). @TMD & Pahrak (Roxas stuff): Honestly, I am not going argue with you guys on that. I mean clearly much like Ansem thing from KH I to KH II, it was something they decided to change later (Obviously in this case due to popularity of Roxas as a character). That's just nature of how they decided to write story in this series though (Really Writing by the Seat of Your Pants trope is hardly a new thing for writers in general. For example, a lot of TV shows such as Breaking Bad have been written in this fashion, so sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.) and I am certainly not saying that was the best way of doing things, but it is what is (and I personally at least enjoy the puzzle element of it). XD At the end of day though, I am glad they delivered on what they spent several games setting up. It definitely would annoyed me if they decided to backpedal on giving a happier end to these characters after all that setup. You both don't have agree with me on that, of course. - JMJ 2019 -
Showing, Not Telling
Jedi Master J. commented on Ta-metru_defender's blog entry in TMD's Creatively Named Blog
Fair enough. For record though, KH 2 is my favorite KH game, so I definitely get what you both mean about the game. Although as someone that grew attached to those characters, I find it hard to be angry with them returning in some form later. Also I kind feel similar with like the tragedy in Rogue One. Like it is a good film, but I will admit that hate that this was all that we got with this cast of characters as it feels like such a waste to me (Honestly it is why I am excited for Cassian Andor show since it at least means we get something more with some of cast from that film in that.). I am not saying I want them survive the mission, but I will admit that much rather had that as cap end to film series involving those characters rather than just being one and done like that. *shrugs* But anyway, as for Spider-Man, I am look forward playing more when I get it back from my brother. - JMJ 2019 -
Showing, Not Telling
Jedi Master J. commented on Ta-metru_defender's blog entry in TMD's Creatively Named Blog
- JMJ 2019 -
Showing, Not Telling
Jedi Master J. commented on Ta-metru_defender's blog entry in TMD's Creatively Named Blog
- JMJ 2019 -
Showing, Not Telling
Jedi Master J. commented on Ta-metru_defender's blog entry in TMD's Creatively Named Blog
- JMJ 2019 -
Frickin' Damsels
Jedi Master J. commented on Ta-metru_defender's blog entry in TMD's Creatively Named Blog
- JMJ 2019 -
L or XL (Preferred). Also I will only be around to pick it up during Saturday public hours.
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Belated Travel Log - BrickFair VA 2017 (Directory)
Jedi Master J. posted a blog entry in blogs_blog_299
Hey, folks. It been quite awhile since I wrote an entry. No fault to BZP, I just haven't been feeling like writing a lot lately. But anyway, since I did go to BrickFair VA earlier this month, I figured I pop in and write up a summary of my trip here. So yeah, if you like to know how it went for me this year, here are links to my summaries of each day (I separated my summaries into separate entries since it look really bad formatting wise as the entry was so long.): - Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - Conclusion Of course, if you don't really care to read all that (Which I can't hugely blame as it mostly just a recap of my socially awkwardness) and you just want to see photos, here are links to my galleries: - My Brick Badges - My MOCs >>> The Green Comet, Matoro One, Star Striker, Dikawu, Kermit the Frog-Spider - BIONICLE - Castle - Mecha - Mixed - Mosaic - Pop Culture - Space - Star Wars - Town Note: I do not have pictures of everything on display at BrickFair VA 2017. Just what I managed to take during a slow period on Saturday, while my phone was low on battery and close to full on storage (I should have brought a laptop on this trip to extract my photos from my phone to save space. That or had an actual camera.). I do feel like I did get all of BIONICLE table stuff though, so there is that. - JMJ 2017 -
Honestly this day was kind of uneventful. I left my home at 9:30-ish AM since that was the time that I was told by most people would be best in order to avoid work traffic on I-95. Oh, and I was alone this time (For those that don't remember in 2015, I attended with my only real life friend that time. He didn't come this time around as I always felt bad for making him use his vacation time for the trip [Even though, technically I payed for everything and he did have a good time there] to LEGO Con that only really interested me.), so I only had my music to keep me company for 2 to 3 hour trip there. Here's a short list of my music (For those curious on what I may listen to on the way there): - Undertale soundtrack - Steven Universe songs - Occasional Pokémon music (I have a fan made Pokémon Gen 1 symphony music and Anime 90s songs like PokéRAP) - The World Ends With You soundtrack - Ni No Kuni soundtrack - Banjo-Kazooie Symphony - Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess soundtrack (from an old Nintendo Power) - Smash Bros. Melee symphony music (from an old Nintendo Power) But anyway, there is not much say about the drive. I mean trucks always made me a bit uneasy, but I didn't really have any problems getting there, which was good. My GPS though did have tolls unintentionally turned off, so the trip ended up taking longer because of that. From what I remembered, I arrived around 12:40-ish. I parked my car near the end of hotel parking (by the car wash place). After that, I went in to see if I could check in early since otherwise I would been sitting in my car for like two hours or so. The clerk was busy helping someone with the shuttle, so I decided to take a seat and wait till he was free again. Of course, since I did that, other people (I think I saw Takuma Nuva and company there) had shown up to check in and I wasn't technically in line, so I figured I might as well step out for a bit and get lunch. I went to Burger King and got a Double Cheeseburger and medium fries for lunch. Not much say there, beside I didn't vomit in a parking lot like last time (I am never going to forget that), so that was good. After a little bit, I went back over to hotel. There wasn't a line anymore, so I checked in and got my stuff out of the car. It took about three trips or so roughly (I didn't bother with a handcart since I figure my car was a bit too far out to carry one of those out to.) My last trip to the car, I basically went back down with a bag that I emptied since I want to get my suit jacket (Which I later found out was my brother's unfortunately) and dressed shirt out of the car discreetly (They were hanging up in my back seat). I did that because I want to avoid people possibly asking about it or pressuring me to wear it for "fancy" dinner on Sunday (I mean yes, I did bring it for that, but I was still on the fence about that event and whether or not I would be there.). After this point, I chilled in hotel room for awhile since I was a bit tired from drive. Hm... I guess I'll mention this, I technically had my Nintendo Switch with me for this trip. I brought it along since I want to see if I could still have taken part in the Spatfest that week (Ketchup vs Mayo). Of course, that didn't worked out as I soon figure out I couldn't get it to connect to internet (I should figured that wouldn't of work due to log in system for WiFi there) and I couldn't get it to work on the TV there. Really after that point, I just locked my Switch up in the room safe since I didn't want to attract attention with it (Like last thing, I need it to be is stolen or damaged) by carrying it around with me (That and my case for it is kind of heavy to carry around.). But anyway, I stay in my room till like 4:00 PM at which point I decided that I should head to con before it got much later. I basically spent most of my time wandering that day since I wasn't sure where put my MOCs. That and I didn't want to step on anyone's toes by just placing them anywhere in BIONICLE section. I am also coward when it comes to starting conversations with people (A lot of times I will stand near the person that I want to talk to in hopes that they will notice and say something, so I can take it as permission to say something back... ), so I was kind of afraid to ask anyone for help. As result, I spent several hours lugging my MOCs around in a medium size box, wandering around the con, looking at stuff, and occasionally ducking into the cafe to rehydrate at the water foundation. I didn't really talk to anyone. Just kept to myself mostly. After a little while of that, I downloaded the schedule from the website and I decided to attend the Orientation event in the Bingo area since hey, I am kind of new to this (even though I have been here once before). It was nice little chill thing, so I was glad I went. I decided to stick around for next thing, which was some sort guess the punchline game (Oh, yeah, I knew that). It was kind of entertaining. I didn't bother to take part really. I do recall Takuma Nuva winning something during that, so congrats to him. After that event, Bingo Grande started... I was close a few times to getting bingo, but ultimately I wasn't luck enough (Especially since Todd said the number way too fast at times that I often had to repeat it in my mind as he went on to next one.). Not much to say here, outside I appreciated my MOC box since it made a good table for bingo sheet. XD The last thing of the day was Opening Ceremonies... I got say I was not a big fan of this whole checking in thing for door prizes as it would just not work for me (Checkbox function just wouldn't work on my phone). No idea how others got it to work (They clearly have magic phones. =P). Oh, well, my chances of winning anything wasn't that high to begin with anyway. XD But anyway, Opening Ceremonies at least gave me an explanation as to why I didn't get program guide or map since apparently they were late in printing them and would have them next day. For the record, I never actually did get one though, so I just continued to use the digital schedule and map when I need to check something. XD Besides that, they announced some sort of promotional thing from LEGO Group. I never actually got one of those card things though, so sadly I didn't get to see what that was about exactly. *shrugs* That's pretty much only stuff I remember from opening ceremonies. After that was over, I just head back to my hotel with my MOCs since I was kind of tired and I went to bed. - JMJ 2017 *** GO BACK TO DIRECTORY GO TO NEXT DAY
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I woke up the next day around 6 AM. After a quick shower, I bag up yesterday’s clothes in a trash bag and took it to my car. I did that since I figure it would make packing up and leaving on Monday much easier (For the record, it did.). That and it gave me an excuse to check on my vehicle every morning. I am paranoid and want to make sure my car was still there as if there is anything I didn't want to experience on my first solo trip, it is getting my car jacked. I would pretty much never want to leave my state or home again, if that happened. So after checking my car and storing my laundry inside, I had breakfast at McDonald's (No vomiting... Yay!) since I figured that I should go somewhere else, beside Burger King. In hindsight though, pancakes (Which is what I ate at McDonald's) are much cheaper at Burger King (My sister reminded me of that fact on last day basically.). XD But anyway, after I finished my meal there, I wisely decided to go to Walmart in order pick up a book bag since I learned from my box jugging travels on first day that I was going to need something better carry things in. Especially since the "free" BrickFair bag this year was tiny and not as useful as 2015 bag for carrying things (I pretty much use that 2015 bag to carry my lunch, a hoodie, and an umbrella to work every day. XD). Of course, Walmart didn't actually have any book bags, so I ended up picking one of those hiking water backpacks instead since it mostly same thing as a book bag, except it has pockets for holding water packs. It was a pretty expensive bag though (Roughly $40). I probably should have gone with one of smaller ones since they were a little cheaper. Still it was pretty useful, so I would say it worth it in the long run. I also got a pair of cheap scissors there, so I could easily remove the tags from the bag after buying it. I didn’t use them for anything else, so they just remain in the hiking bag for rest of the trip though. XD I did consider maybe buying a shaving razor since I forgot to bring one. I decided not to since I figure it wasn’t going to grow long enough to be annoying in five days. (Arguably I should maybe consider getting one for Sunday…) After I was done with Walmart, I headed back to hotel to pick up my MOCs. I removed them from the box that I carried around on first day (For the record, that box was actually what Brappy Hour [bionicle Raptor] used to send me the leftover BZP shirts for my past giveaway.) and I placed that box in the closet for later use (since it was what I was going to hand off the MOCs to Black Six for the circuit). But anyway, they fit in the hiking bag perfectly, which was a relief as I had been worried they wouldn’t fit inside (It was entire reason I went with larger more expensive bag as it look less likely to have a problem lugging my MOCs around.). I also put my 3DS in the bag since it meant, “Yay, more pocket space". That and I put the vending machine water bottle (that I was refilling at water fountain) on one of outer side pockets for easy access (I actually did bring a proper water bottle with me on the trip, but I left it in the room's fridge since I wanted to save my Philly water for trip home. XD) . So after I got the bag ready, I went out for a bit of fresh air and sat on a bench for awhile. It was nice chilling there and watching as people go by. Honestly I think I might try to make a habit of that at home as it was kind nice to get away from computer screens for a little while. Admittedly it was a bit lonely too... But well, I imagine most of my adult life will be like that when I eventually move out to live on my own someday, so best get use to it now. Moving on from that thought, I eventually return to my room to charge up my phone and then I went over to the convention center since I want to check out Fan Media panel since Black Six, danny316p, and Jonathan Juan [Formerly Kahi] were hosting that. It was interesting hearing them discuss fan media and their relationship with LEGO Group, etc. Oh, and I was too much of coward to sit with the others listening to panel, so I was sitting in the back row by myself. XD Aanchir did noticed me though and said hello briefly when he left the panel early. That was nice of him to said hello. A bit later his brother, Lyichir, also said hello briefly when he was leaving with his laptop in tow. When the panel ended, I basically return to wandering and occasionally resting at Cafe area. I did that till around noon-ish, then head back to hotel to rest up a bit and get some lunch. I went to Burger King and order to go since I didn't want to drink Cherry Coco-Cola again (Not a big fan of that). I was walking back to hotel to eat when I ran into Takuma Nuva, AT, and bunch of others, who I guess also had the same idea to go get lunch at this hour. I moved out of there way on the sidewalk, then continue on my way to the hotel. So yeah, I ate my lunch in the room (No vomiting... Yay!). I guess watched a couple of YouTube videos on my tablet, while I let my phone charge. Oh, and considered maybe moving my car... (I didn't do it ultimately). After my phone fully charged, I head back to the con and to seek Aanchir out since it sounds like it could use some company at the time. Apparently AT had the same idea, so I got say hello him too. They asked me how the trip there was and I said it was fine, although it was a bit stressful (Hard for it not be considering there are trucks out there. XD). Not much else came out of that, so I eventually I decided to leave them be and return to wandering... Uh, I found a balloon in the rafts of the expansion building. Oh, I start listening to music on my phone since I had my earbuds (See the list from Day 1). I had to fight the urge to singalong to "Do it for her" when it came on in my shuffle. XD Eventually I run into Aanchir again and he helped me out in asking DeeVee where to put my MOCs that I brought for the con. So thanks again to Aanchir for that. I imagine I would still had them on me by Friday, if it weren't for that assistance. XD Around 4:00 PM, I returned to hotel to air my feet out since they "screaming" to be release from their shoe prisons. Not much happen there, outside of a brief thunderstorm (Which convinced me to add my umbrella to hiking bag). The storm stopped a little before the yard sale was starting, so I headed back down to check that out. Honestly I wasn't sure what to expect from that since I wasn't around for the one in 2015 (I think we were at Air & Space Museum that day, if I recall correctly.). I also didn't have a lot of money with me, so I wasn't planning on getting a lot of stuff. I was mostly looking for Onua Uniter for Vox. Sadly it didn't look like anyone had Gen 2 sets for sale really. So I started looking for stuff that I might of wanted and end up finding a Tahu Mata set, which I been wanting to get for years since I always want one of original red Kanohi Hau (I have Stars Hau and Grey Hau from Mask of Light set). I decided to pick it up since it wasn't too much (About $7). I also got Kalmah for $8 (I brought it since I want play around with idea of a Splatoon MOC), a Mystery Bag of Parts for $2, and lastly a large 2017 BZP shirt from Brappy Hour (It took me awhile to buck up the courage to approach him and get one.) for $10. So I spent $27 in total on the yard sale. Once that was done, I head back in the direction of hotel since I want to have dinner before it got too late. I end up settling on McDonald's (No vomiting... Yay!) since any other options such as pizza was too far of a walk and I didn't want move my car at night (I have very little night driving experience. I could probably have done it, but I decided to air on the side of caution and kept my car where it was.). Not much else happened after that, I just clear out streetpasses on 3DS and call it a night basically. - JMJ 2017 *** GO BACK TO DIRECTORY GO BACK TO PREVIOUS DAY GO TO NEXT DAY
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Things start getting down to routine by this point. To speed things up a little, here are highlights of the day basically: - I got up early (6 AM) and took a shower - Check car & drop laundry off in car - Ate pancakes at McDonald's (No vomiting... Yay!) - Chill outside on a bench for awhile and enjoy the good weather - Chicken out on seeing boat race event (Which I kind of regret as it would been cool to see) - Return to my hotel room to play around with my tablet (Mostly watch some YouTube videos) - Wish good luck to Team Ketchup in Splatfest on Twitter since I couldn't take part (Sadly they lost) - Got lunch at Subway (Pepperoni Personal Panned Pizza basically; No vomiting... Yay!) - Wander around the con some more - Return to hotel room to air my feet out again - Awkwardly find out Makuta Luroka is at the con now and head back over to give him his Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder and Skull Slicer sets (I felt bad for coming over during the Combo Build, so I just hand the sets off to Makuta Luroka quickly and I left again for the hotel. I also feel bad later for putting it in an old ACME bag... I should of just kept it in the Toys R Us that I got when I brought Skull Slicer for him. Sorry...). - Ate dinner at Burger King (No vomiting... Yay!) - Called it a night at 9 PM (I kind of regret this a little as I would like to have seen the World of Lights thing. But I was so sore from walking a lot on second day though, so I just turned in early after watching a video on the game Pyre. I should probably add that game to my Steam wishlist. It looked interesting.) So yeah, Day 3 was kind uneventful. I didn't really interact with much with people from what I remember of it. (There might been hello or good morning here or there that I forgot about.). - JMJ 2017 *** GO BACK TO DIRECTORY GO BACK TO PREVIOUS DAY GO TO NEXT DAY
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This day was the first public day, so quite a bit happen. I'll try to just summarized highlights for ease of reading and have a little less rambling on my part. XD I got up at 5 AM this time around., Mostly because I was tossing and turning a lot, so it had less to do with going to bed early. But anyway, standard routine... Took a shower, check my car and store my laundry basically. After that, I ate pancakes at McDonald's (Actually it was in my room since they gave me a bag for some reason, even though I ask to eat in.). I then sat on the benches by pool area and enjoy the weather for awhile, again. I did see briefly a bird collecting material for a nest, while I was out there. After seeing a bunch of people head to the con, I went over at 9:30-ish AM before the public was let in. And well, I bucked up the courage and finally went over to BIONICLE table (I only did it briefly on second day to put my MOCs up). I saw Aanchir & Lyichir there, so I said good morning to the two. They were building the new Ninjago set for Destiny's Bounty (It looks like a pretty cool set), which they brought on Friday (I believe). I had brief conversation with them (Mostly just catching up with them,,, Although I think I poorly explained where I work to them... Basically I work in the engineering department of a machine shop that makes helicopter parts for Boeing). Makuta Luroka talked with me for a little bit and thank me again for the sets. Oh, and I had a brief hello with Ryan [Lady Kopaka] too. ChocolateFrogs, Emzee, and GSR also show up a few times where my MOCs were station. Speaking of ChocolateFrogs, he is pretty much the only person that reference to me by my full username (Jedi Master J. rather than JMJ). It seems a bit weird. But well, at least it wasn't my real name. XD I am always taken back when people use that instead because it like when did I tell you that... (It is not on my nametag, for the record. It probably should be. If I go again next year, I'll probably should have my real name on my badge.). As for Emzee, I probably should of introduce myself to him. Man, I wish I was better at this social stuff. I never knowwhat to say to people (It is no wonder why I don't have many friends.). GSR, on the other hand, I think knew me, but I am not sure. I mean we kind of met in 2015. But anyway, I saw him try to play Sherlock Holmes Ace Attorney 2 briefly on his 3DS at one point (I actually kind hum one of Ace Attorney themes to myself when I noticed that.). Oh, and ChocolateFrogs also had some promo Wonder Woman comics to give out, which he ask a few people to give it out when he wasn't there. I didn't realized I was included in that group, so I didn't give out any of those comics that day (Sorry...). XD I also had to deal with a lot of public people thinking the bird and snake MOCs were my MOCs just because I was near them. (I always corrected them since I don't like lying to people.). XD Additionally I stared at that bird MOC long enough to notice it was missing wing pieces. I do recall having an interesting conference with a public person. They were inquiring about the alternate colored Toa Olda since they were curious how they got the pieces to make them. I explained that I didn't create it, but I believe they got the masks from the mask packs during Gen 1. Oh, and public guy was a fan of MNOLG. Although using the term Gen 1 made the kid next me berated me afterwards saying that they wouldn't know what I am talking about since Gen 2 was so low-key for most people... I mean I guess that make sense, although they arguably could just ask me what I meant by Gen 1 and I could explain there had been a short-lived renewal of BIONICLE in 2015. *shrugs* Later on, when I checked my 3DS for streetpasses, that kid had me added him for some reason. I mean I didn't have Luigi's Mansion 2 with me, so it wasn't like I could play it with him. All I had is Smash Bros, which I am not very good at and I only have it with me because it is easy to clear streetpasses in quickly (Well, technically I have Pokémon Red & Animal Crossing: New Leaf too, but they are not games that I think anyone local want to play me in. I would been cool though, if I could of had someone to trade back and forth with in Pokémon Red though since I still hadn't start Pokémon Blue runs on my other 3DS. XD). So yeah, that was a bit weird, especially since all I wanted to do was clear my Mii Plaza out. XD At one point, I did say hello to Black Six. I kind of feel bad for not wishing him a happy birthday when I saw him. But well, I concluded in my head at the time that I shouldn't since I am not that close to him. *shrugs* Uh... happy belated birthday, Black Six. I hope it was a good one. There also another con attendee (I never got their name and I probably should of told them mines), who was looking for lost and found. I recall seeing a sign for it during yard sale on Thursday, so I kind of jump into action to help them... I went to table that I thought it was, but the sign wasn't there. So I wasn't sure and decide to head to Check In area since there might of been a map or someone more knowledge about the con than me. I did find an older woman with a map over there, but she didn't acknowledge me, so I took that as I shouldn't bother her. Eventually I saw a map unattended (Saw Kevin Hinkle there too, maybe I should of try to get his help) and it basically concluded that it was at that table. So I led them back to that table (Where DeeVee & Nukaya were doing their volunteer work for the con) and I thought okay, they should help you now and return to Bionicle table. Honestly I kind of feel bad about that. I should of stuck with them there and made sure they found their thing alright. But anyway, I was basically at Bionicle table for the entire public hour. Let's just say I was very hungry after that. I definitely learn a lesson to pack some snacks next time. XD When the public hour ended... I took that as my opportunity to finally get food. I didn't want to travel too far on an empty stomach, so I settled on con's cafe. I only saw popcorn and pretzels for sale there, so I just brought one of their overpriced soft pretzels to tided my stomach over. (No vomiting... Yay!) After that brief meal, I went around and took some pictures in expansion building area since there was less people around due to the second yard sale (and I guess some left for a meal, maybe), so I took a picture of most of stuff over there. Once I was done over there, I head to Bionicle tables and got pictures there My phone start to die after I got the whole Bionicle section, so I decide to take that as sign and head back to hotel for a bit. I got dinner at Burger King (Ate in my hotel room... No vomiting... Yay!) and charged up my phone. I was a bit on the fence about whether or not I would return after that. Eventually I decided to return since I want to get some more photos since this was pretty much my last opportunity for that (I mean people would be packing up mighty quickly after second public day). I got back there a little before Adult Swim and Kid Swim was going to start. I just went around getting as much pictures as I could (I got 582 total) Sadly I didn't get any of the moving MOCs since most of them were off after the public hours. I definitely regret not getting the Iron Giant one as that was really cool display (They were doing maintenance after public hours, so I couldn't get a picture of that). But anyway, I finished up getting all my photos just as Adult Swim was starting. I consider maybe sticking around, but I thought I feel awkward around people drinking, so wisely decided to just head back to my room. Lastly I closed the day out by playing around with my tablet some and calling it a night around 9:30-ish PM. - JMJ 2017 *** GO BACK TO DIRECTORY GO BACK TO PREVIOUS DAY GO TO NEXT DAY
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Like the first public day quite a bit happen on this day, so I'll try to just summarized highlights for ease of reading and have a little less rambling on my part. XD I got up at 6 AM this time and shower I basically did the usual, check my car and store my laundry. This time around though, I ate pancakes at Burger King since my sister reminded me the day before that they were cheaper there. XD I then went to Walmart to buy some snack food (since I learned my lesson from public day 1)... I got Pepperidge Farm's Pizza Flavor Goldfish and 12 pack of Oreos (I didn't eat the Oreos there, so they are now in my snack food stash at home for when I need a food energy boost). Once I had that, I just sat on the benches by pool area and enjoy the weather for awhile Eventually I went over to con at 9:30-ish AM before the public was let in since again, I saw a lot of people heading that way. Surprisingly enough I was one of the first people at the Bionicle table that day (I guess some people were sleeping off the alcohol maybe... I don't know. I am not an expert on that kind of thing since I never had it before. I think the first person that I saw that day was Makuta Luroka. It was nice seeing him again and I appreciated his company when he was around a few times. I hope he had a good trip back home (He left a little while after public hours start.). A bit later, Aanchir, Lyichir, DeeVee, Emzee, GSR, and others start to show up and eventually public was let in. There was quite a bit of slow periods this time, so I kind of alternate between sitting (when there was a chair available) and standing. I can't really think of anything from public wise that stood out really. I mean there was an aside comment from someone that my Kermit the Frog-Spider was "creepy" Although I wasn't really bother by that. I was more just wondering to myself how it was creepy since it looks more ugly cute to me. XD Oh, a little later into the public hours, ChocolateFrogs show up and he wisely set up a sign that say "Free" and put the promo comics from yesterday at the edge of table for people to take. I kind of made it my mission to let people know they were in fact free and that people should feel free to take them (Basically to make up for the fact I unintentionally failed him on the first public day). It seem to have worked since all the comics were gone by end of public hours. Also GSR offer briefly for me to go get lunch with him. I declined since my Goldfish stash was keeping me going fine enough (That and I must admit eating food with others tend to make me most self-conscious... ). But anyway, when the public hours end, I boxed up my stuff for Black Six (I brought my box in my 2015 BrickFair bag) and basically chill in the Bionicle area till Closing Ceremonies since I wasn't sure what else to do. I didn't want to step on anyone's toes by trying help with clear up, especially since I am not expert on how things are done there. I was joined brief during that chill period by Aanchir, Xaeraz, and some others. It was kind of nice. Oh, and I felt proud of myself that I knew Aanchir wasn't Lyichir, even without his nametag (Aanchir was wearing a hoodie, red pants, and laced shoes that day, while Lyichir wearing a t-shift, shorts, and loafer shoes. Lyichir also seem more inclined to wear his hat indoors at least from what I observed.) As it got closer to Closing Ceremonies, I was kind alone again and I was mentally debating with myself, if I should go over to Black Six and hand off my MOCs. I didn't want bother him since he was kind of busy collecting up all Circuit and Mosaic stuff at the time... Ultimately I took my box with me to Closing Ceremonies. As for that event, there's not much say about it. Especially since I didn't bother with check in thing as it was not worth wasting data over something that I knew wouldn't work. Afterwards though, I head over to where I saw Black Six's MOC boxes were and I basically just wait there till he came back over. Eventually Black Six came over and I hand off my MOCs to him after a little bit (It took awhile for me to actually say anything...). Oh, and I saw Takuma Nuva briefly during that wait and said hi. And that was BrickFair VA in a nutshell. I head to my hotel after that and call it a night... Okay, that's not exactly what happened after that. I mean it was the plan at the time technically after giving Black Six my MOCs. XD But well, there was a fancy dinner (The Grand Finale for the event). I was rather on fence about going, especially since I know I have problem with crowds of people (That and previously mention issue with being a bit self-conscious about food). But I don't know... Both AT & Aanchir say I should go. Even my older sister from far away was saying I should go. I also did bring my interview / funeral clothes (Since those are only uses, this suit has had. Attending my grandmother's funeral and a job interview in New Jersey) with me, so I thought, "Alright, I guess I'll go." So I got dressed in the clothes and realized as I put on the suit jacket that I grab the wrong one. It had been my little brother's (Who is much thinner than me), which I should of realized was his jacket since it has real outside pockets (Mines doesn't.). That was a bit of derailment there, especially since it made me more self-conscious since I knew the dressed shirt was missing some buttons and the tie was a bit short and poorly tied. Honestly I paced the room several times, wondering if I should go or not. As time crept by, I decided to go and step out my room. Slowing approached the elevator as I had second thoughts and considered bolting back to my room... I kept going though. Click the elevator button, then click floor 1 as I got on... And I entered the lobby and was instantly spotted... Someone (Lady Kopaka, I think) remarked about me being cute and I instantly start feeling embarrassed and self-conscious... To avoid any more attention, I quickly sat down and start staring at glass end-table in order to not focus on anyone for too long. Sometime after that Zatth made an appearance, while I was still very self-conscious, I thought it was cool that he was able to make it to this event at least and I hope he had a good trip to Korea (Also my apologizes for jumping away at dinner when you briefly talk to me.). Soon after that, the cars for the dinner started loading up. I decide to join ChocolateFrogs, InnerRayg, Emzee, and jed1ndy for the ride over. I must admit ChocolateFrogs driving kind of made me unease (Held on to door handle thing for most of the ride). He is pretty good parking though (Much better than me, I probably would spent 5 to 10 minutes adjusting the car in the spot.). XD But anyway, we got there pretty quick since it is not that far away really. Knowing that kind made me had thoughts of running off to the hotel, I must admit... I didn't though and went inside with others. After they adjusted the tables to support the huge group of people, I sat off on own and kind of hope that would be enough for me to relax a little. Forgetting, of course, that not everyone was there yet and was eventually join by Black Six, DeeVee, and Nuyaka. Not wanting to get their attention, I tried to focus on something. First thing being some weird blue spots on the floor, which I guess was maybe gum or something. I don't know. I focus on that a lot to begin with. It seem to have work as they ease off after I didn't respond after awhile. That put me a little at ease until I got the menu and thought, "Oh, geez... Are they going judge me for ordering off the children's menu? Maybe I should order something else. But nothing sounds appealing... What do I do? Uh, just order a side dish like mash potato or baked potato... Nah, that would just be weird. Uh..." Drink wise was simply since only options seem be alcohol (Which I wasn't going to drink), so I got some water and gave me my second distraction, which was water sweat particles. I mindless play around with the water particles and it kind of put me at ease a little... So for a little while, I was at ease and relax a little and let my guard down. Eventually the waiter came back and ask what I would like to order... I simply point to grilled cheese on menu with a side of fries. There were no remarks, so I took some relief in that. As I wait for the food to arrive, I notice a moth in the room, while I am not technically afraid of moths. It did make me instinct more jumpy seeing it fly around since my body by default assumes it is a bee and want to run. I jumped quite a few times whenever I saw it flying around... But anyway, eventually my food came. First thing I did was moved the dipping sauce thing off my plate and took the lemon off my water since I wasn't going to use either. Then I gradually ate the fries (They were decent, not the best fries that I had. XD). Once I cleared the plate of fries, I ate grilled cheese. It was kind of weird how cheese was a bit stretchy, while I ate it. I mean I know cheese can be stretchy (I seen it plenty times with pizza), although I never had it do that with grilled cheese before. (Another weird thing was that none of the cheese stick to plate.) Maybe I ate it weirdly. I don't know. That stood out to me for some reason. It was decent grilled cheese though. I thought the placement of it was kind of weird though (Like two on their side, two on their back. I guess it fancy way of stacking them.). After I was done with the meal, I went back to dissociating with water particles again. I start feeling uncomfortable again when people start moving around. Especially when DeeVee and Nuyaka were talking to side of me briefly and excessively complimenting me (It pretty much had the opposite effect of what they were trying to do. That and kind of made me feel like someone's kid nephew. XD). So once they done with that, I unfold my napkin and put the silverware on those small plates, so I could use napkin to clean up the water particles. While I did that, apparently Emzee pop over to catch up with his friends (Black Six, DeeVee, Nuyaka) here, which took me a bit by surprised when the table got bumped. The silverware kind moved a little, so I stash it back inside the napkin so that no one would get hurt, if table was bumped again. A little bit later, InnerRayg show up too. Since I didn't want to have people hover over me like that and be an awkward seventh wheel, I just jump to end of booth seats, so they could just take that spot. The blue spots were underneath me now, so I briefly look at it. I concluded they probably wasn't gum, after all. Moving on from that, my stomach was a bit tied up in knots. I didn't bring my Pepto-Bismol (Left it in my room), so I try just breathing in & out hoping that maybe that would give my stomach some slightly comfort. I did it occasionally in my fist since I thought it helped to have a means of channeling it like a paper bag. *shrugs* For a brief period, the noise was starting to bother me, so I try cover up my ears. It didn't work that well, so kind of gave up after a little bit and just deal with it. Eventually I got the check for my meal. It was about $5, so I put $7 in there since that seem like a reasonable tip. (I am not good at calculating the 15% thing in my head. Probably should load up my phone's calculator.) *shrugs* Not sure on time placement, but DeeVee and Nuyaka said their goodbye to me at some point. I think I may of awkwardly shook DeeVee's hand. *shrugs* At some point after that, ChocolateFrogs came over and try to start a conversation with me. He said along the lines of, "Have you spoken to [bLANK]?" I honestly had no idea who he was talking about. I think I respond with no, but I may of just nonverbal it. *shrugs* Sometime after, I saw Emzee & ChocolateFrogs get up and start heading through crowds. Not wanting to possibly get left behind in case they were leaving, I follow the two out through crowds. They ended up mingling with some people over there, so I kind of just hover outside the crowd unsure where to stand and stuff. I unintentionally end up floating where Lady Kopaka & Zatth were, so it was rather awkward when they noticed me. It thankfully wasn't a very long conversation and eventually ChocolateFrogs show up to let know he was ready to go back, so I just follow him out with the others. Apparently jed1ndy was getting a ride back with his father, so it was just the four of us in ChocolateFrogs's car this time around. But anyway, the ride back was just as unease and quick as the ride there. Once we got there, I thanked ChocolateFrogs for the ride over and back. Then I bolted into the hotel and click the elevator button. When elevator open, I again I bolted in and clicked floor 3 button. Of course, I didn't realized that would instantly close the door and panic button-spam to open the door back up, so InnerRayg could get on. I felt so bad about that and apologize to them for it .He seem understanding, got on the elevator, and click his floor 5. It was pretty awkward elevator ride. But anyway, we went our separate ways and I rush to my room. I changed out the dressed clothes and instantly went to bed since I was emotionally exhausted and just want to turn my brain off. That was the final day of BrickFair VA in a nutshell basically. - JMJ 2017 *** GO BACK TO DIRECTORY GO BACK TO PREVIOUS DAY GO TO THE CONCLUSION
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Belated Travel Log - BrickFair VA 2017, Conclusion
Jedi Master J. posted a blog entry in blogs_blog_299
I woke the next day around 4 AM. My stomach was still bothering me and emotionally I still felt like a failure at life. It was not an easy morning... I decided to go take a hot shower since I thought maybe it would help. It kind of did until I got out and I started to feel like upchucking and rush to toilet. So yeah, five day no vomit trend ended... After I was done in there, I turned off my 5 AM Phone alarm ("Calling" from the World Ends with You soundtrack) as it went off and start packing up my stuff to move into my car. Also made sure to leave a tip for housekeeping staff this time around (I forgot to in 2015). I gradually went back and forth between my car and the room to drop off my stuff until all that was left was my hiking bag, which was going in my co-pilot seat. I kind of want to leave just then and there, especially since I wasn't going to eat breakfast out of the fear that I might vomit again. But I waited until 9:30 AM since again, that was time that I was told was best to leave by. So I spent quite a bit of that wait time on a bench outside. I had to use one of benches under cover since other ones were wet from the rain. I probably annoyed a guy trying to smoke by being there for so long. But anyway, at 9:30 AM, I went back inside and return my key cards. And that was it... I got in my car, turned off the no toll function on my GPS, and start driving back. Honestly that might been my most stressful drive as the rain made things x10 more scary (I might try to wait it out, if it rains like this again.). I also felt weak quite a few times during the drive due to not having any food in my stomach (Lesson learned... I should of ate something.) and was tempted to pull over several times. So yeah, not a fun drive back. I did get to see that cool tunnel though (Which I always like passing through as it feel like such a marvel in engineering. Also... SECRET TUNNEL, SECRET TUNNEL, SECRET TUNNEL..). Although I also had to pay three tolls ($4 + $8 + $4 = $16). XD Oh, and I made the trip to and back without needing to fill up my car's tank, so that was kind of nice. I am definitely going to have fill it by the end of this work week though. XD But anyway, I got home (obviously) around noon-ish. Not much interesting happen after that, I just unloaded my stuff and then start doing the laundry. So yeah, best just ended the recap at that point. XD So with all that said, my overall impressions from this first trip by myself is mostly positive. I mean yeah, I didn't do amazing in social part of things. It was a good first step though and I think over time I could get better at that side of things. *shrugs* Maybe I am just being too hopeful and idealistic on that side of things. I mean I have regrets (Not going swimming, not meeting Ballom, etc) about the trip, sure. But I find it hard though to really be negative and say, "Never again" as really it was relaxing trip and I actually kind of miss the place now that I am home again. If anything, it kind makes me want to travel more in the future. XD So yeah, I am not ruling out the possibility of coming back next year for BrickFair VA. I mean if I can afford it, I definitely will attend again. That was the trip pretty much. Uh, I could ramble more, but I kept you folks here long enough. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you all have a good weekend. - JMJ 2017 PS - I am really sorry for withdrawing during the fancy dinner on Sunday (Day 5). I feel really bad and embarrassed about it, especially since none of you folks deserved that. Once again, I am so sorry for my behavior there. *** GO BACK TO DIRECTORY GO TO PREVIOUS DAY