SORRY!

I haven't been on the blogs in FOREVER! Sorry! I've been swamped with homework, videos (check 'em out), and sports. SORRY SORRY SORRY! I also got a Facebook. I will try to get on more, but my chances are decreasing! Sorry!

Fun Thing of 9/29/10

In Alaska, they have an activity known as "Shark Tournaments". Similar to chicken fights, two shark battle in a closed arena as the try to eat each other. WHAT!?!?

So Much to Do, So Little Time

I have nothing else to say.

Fun Thing of 9/28/10

A hilarious picture. Of a cat. It's a great response for if somebody asks you to edit your paper.

By the way! Today is my mom's birthday! Please wish her a good one!

Pouuuuuugha!

Today we had volleyball at Vistamar. It was pretty exciting. I made some nice plays during practice, and we played some "short-court" which is where you play where the out of bounds are the ten-foot line, and halfway between the sidelines. My team DOMINATED (sort of) and we won 14 to 21. But guess what I had when I arrived at home? A lovely little blister. It was annoying, and fat, and it hurt. My dad said to leave it, so I will. Hopefully it will get better by the next practice this Thursday.

Fun Thing of 9/27/2010

Today's "Fun Thing" is my English paper! Please write what you think!

A Daring Day at Disneyland

The crowd hustled and bustled as Mom and I sauntered toward Space Mountain. The smell of popcorn filled the air and my feet were already exhausted. “Got our fastpasses?” I ask.

“Yep!” she replied. The flock of butterflies in my stomach swirled around. I shuddered. “You know,” lectured Mom, “It doesn’t really have a loop.”

“Yeah,” I replied, “but I’m still afraid.”

“You’ll be okay. Don’t worry!”

We were at Disneyland. It’s 2005, and I’d just turned nine. My mom’s brown hair, brown eyes, and a shining smile all looked down at me and she told me, “You’re going to be fine.” But I wasn’t sure. I’ve been to Disneyland before, and I’ve been on some of the smaller rides like Thunder Mountain and even Splash Mountain, but this was my first BIG coaster. From what I’d heard, it’s a pitch-black towering terror with a monstrous 200 foot drop and a gargantuan loop that goes to the top of the dome’s gigantic roof. Boy was I terrified.

There I was, the three-and-a-half foot kid who hasn’t even reached his double digits in age yet, versus the heart-stopping dome of doom that loomed menacingly before me. But I need to stand up. That monster needs to know that this kid ain’t goin’ down without a fight; at least, not without a fight against me and my mom.

Fear clutching at my chest, Mom and I stepped in line, her first of course. The building was futuristic, with a slight present-day look to it. Some astronauts scattered across the ceiling which read, “Space station 17”. “Fastpasses?” the line manager said.

“Here you are,” Mom replied while flashing our passes. We were in! The line went quickly for the first two minutes. We zipped by a space repair station, and I watched as a fake space shuttle flew across the supposed “skylight” on the ceiling. Then we got stuck. Stuck just waiting… and waiting… and waiting. I saw one of the ride’s shuttle cars zoom by. It looked like it was going sixty miles per hour! I’m doomed I thought. My hand gripped the cool metal railing and my stomach did a back flip. “Carson, you’re going to be fiiiine,” said Mom, irritably.

“Gosh! Stop pestering me Mom! I know I’ll be alright, but that won’t stop me from FREAKING OUT every time a coaster goes by!” I yelled.

“Yeah, but it will make me annoyed with all the people staring at us,” she answered. I looked around and saw all the faces of people, short, tall, fat, and thin, looking at me. Then I whispered sarcastically, “No, they’re just looking at you because you’re funny... funny-looking” Mom glared like a bull preparing to charge.

The line looked shorter. Now we had reached the metal section where spacesuits lined the walls, in glass cases of course. I looked around frantically and thought this is the final part before we reached the boarding area! My mom fixed her gaze on me once more. “Carson!! Get a hold of yourself! You can’t just freak out every time you notice we’re further ahead in line! We’re going on the ride, you promised me!”

“Okay, okay,” I whispered. I knew she was right. I moved forward a bit and took a deep breath, then another, and another. I could do this, I thought, yeah, this’ll be easy, like taking candy from a baby. So naturally, I ran ahead and grabbed on to another metal pole and hysterically started muttering to myself, “I’ll probably fall out, and then they’ll have to find me, and they won’t because it’s pitch-black, and they will have to shut down the ride, but they won’t because it will be bad for business and then…”

My mom, normally very calm, frowned at me once more and walked over. “Carson, stop spacing out. We have to get on the ride.” She said fiercely. Wait what? I thought, whoa, back up the truck… But before I could say a word she shoved me onto the coaster and slammed the lap bar onto my lap. “Um, uh, don’t you think, I uh, should, uh, and, um,” I mumbled, but the ride was off. “WELCOME TO SPACE MOUNTAIN!!” A voice screamed from the speakers on either side of my head, “YOU’LL BE ARRIVING SHORTLY BUT PLEASE BE SURE TO FASTER YOUR SEAT RESTRAINT AS WE LOWER THE INVISIBLE OXYGEN DOME.” I figure I’d go deaf, but once again, the ride continued before I could protest. Some lights flashed slowly, and the ride clanked up the hill. A spaceman murmured something about a “T” and “minus ten”, but what does that mean? The voice whispered again, statically, “Nine… eight” and more lights shot off from random areas. It was getting darker! Now I know what the countdown means! I gazed frenetically for an exit, an escape. “Six… five” the voice said. Now I could barely see my hand in front of my face! The voice continued, “Three…”

Oh no! Here it comes! I thought.

“Two… one…” the voice finished. I could feel the roller coaster tilt. What would happen now? It dropped. Here it came! I had only one thought in my head…

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! This was amazing! The wind whipped through my hair and my fear crumbled like a cracker. I couldn’t tell if we were going to drop, swoop, dive, turn, or shift through the darkness. The ride’s exhilarating music blasted into my ears. I glanced forward with a grin and a flash exploded in my face! What had happened? Did the ride break? But no, we pulled into the station and I realized that the burst was from a camera. Mom and I strolled down a corridor into the room with all of the televisions. I saw our face! I looked just like a jack-o-lantern on Halloween! “That was astounding,” I told Mom. I was just about to ask if we could go again when the line wait sign flashed to ninety minutes. I peered at Mom again. I was a little disappointed that we couldn’t feel that exciting, turning, lashing ride again. But I had conquered my fear. Although I was not even four feet, and the Space Mountain dome was 200, my fear could tower over it like a skyscraper to a mouse. I told Mom about going again and she responded simply, “Well, there’s always next time, right?” I laughed.

“Of course, but next time we’ll get more fastpasses.” I added.

“We’ll see about that,” she replied. I already envisioned myself swooping down the drops and coasting up the hills. This would never become boring, Disneyland is amazing!

Finally, I had overcome my fears. No longer do I tremble in the shadows of the beast that is Space Mountain. No longer do I gasp as we enter its forbidden lines. And no longer do I struggle to escape from the death grip of its safety restraints. At last, I can enjoy its turns, and swerves, and dips. Space Mountain still remains my favorite ride ever.

My English Paper

Wow! Did that take a long time! Just a few minutes ago, I finished my English paper for Ms. Wolberg's class. And, boy am I glad that's over with. That took me, now, almost two weeks! It's due tomorrow. Hope I get a good grade...

Fun at the Beach

Had a great time at the beach today, but I did a lot of really awesome stuff. I filmed some things for a "backwards video" and also built sandcastles, waded in the water, and sipped some soda. Some guys also made this HUGE sand castle near us. It was at least three feet tall, and had a wall surrounding it that protected it from water. It was EPIC! Haven't been able to start my "Creative Writing" yet because of an English Assignment (I'm writing about my first time on Space Mountain) but hopefully will be able to soon!

Question of the day:

If you were a pirate, how could you keep yourself from laughing whenever somebody said "Poop Deck"? Leave your interesting and creative responses below.

Fun Thing of 9/26/10

Hilarious Video that parodies the famed "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows" Movie Trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MahTKZDHXaA

Fun Thing of 9/25/2010

Astronauts are not actually allowed to eat beans before preparing for launch. This is because if you fart in a spacesuit enough times, it will destroy the oxygen filter, thus breaking the suit.

Additionally, heart disease or excessive cholesterol is bad for astronauts because the heart shrinks when going into space.

YouTubing

Well, I have some videos on YouTube now. (I'm not allowed to add stuff with my face) but they're still pretty cool. They really go to every topic now, but I like adding on new videos. You'll probably be able to see the newest one at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnK5h54o5cE by the time you read this. Anyway, I'm still going to be adding to the Blog, but now at a much slower pace. Probably four or five times a week and in much smaller portions. Also, look for the "Fun Thing of the Day" hopefully every day, if not every day.

Fun Thing 9/23/10

Fun thing of the day:

Read the world's longest joke at http://www.longestjokeintheworld.com/

stay tuned for more fun things!

Hello World!

That's right! I'm back again! I don't have much to say yet, but I just wanted to let you know that school is going great and that our school has had an exciting new addition to our newspaper! It's online now! If you want, you can check it out at http://my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/newspaperid/4030/Default.aspx or if you want an easier to remember link, go to www.tinyurl.com/riptidereader Just thought I'd also let you know that I am also thinking about doing some creative writing. I'll keep you posted. Thanks

A Flight Back Home

Our flight leaves in an hour, and then we will be home. I'm a little sad that we finally have to go, it's been a great week, but I'm mostly happy because I was away three weeks before this one. Whatever I feel, we are eventually going home. We are riding back in buisness class (which is first class on the plane) and we will get dinner too. We are leaving at 7:20 and arriving back at 10:45 local time.

Today, we went kayaking in the Charles River. It was extremely fun. Afterwards, we went into the Museum of Science. I was a little bored and low in expectations going in, but inside was an amazing expirience that I would gladly do again. It was kid-friendly, fun, interactive, and interesting. I learned a lot!

Now we are at the Admiral's Club again. I was watching Star Wars IV in Command Prompt. It is funny watching a movie out of symbols. On the plane, Dad rented Ghostbusters 2, so that should be funny. Hopefully the flight home will be as easy as the flight was to New York.

Me in the Kayak:

Last Day

It seems like everything good must come to an end, and so it will. Today is our last day here in Boston, but the sun is still shining, and the buildings are still standing, so it will hopefully be a great last day.

Yesterday, we did some more exciting stuff. First, we got a smart car! Then we went all around the state looking at awesome and exciting things! Finally we came back to the hotel. It was a pretty easy but tiring day. After, we walked and ate dinner at a place called Abe & Louie's. We wanted to get seafood at Atlantic Fish Co., but they were PACKED!

Today, we are trying to go kayaking or sailboating, but we haven't gotten a response from the companies. So, we are going to walk and see what we can do. Caio!

Yesterday on the Old North Bridge in Concord (where the Revolutionary War started):

Cool Colleges

Right now, we are resting in a small pub and it has been a long day so far. Instead of getting a regular car, we got a smart car!! It is really awesome and really small. I have pictures but I am on the iPad right now. So we got the smart car and we drove across a bridge until we reached M.I.T. We walked around campus and saw a bunch of awesome sites! At the end, we went to the bookstore and I got a shirt. Then we went to Harvard and into the museum on their campus. And now we are sitting in the pub. We are going to drive around more! But the food just came!

Woot! Smart Car!

Here We Go Again!

Today we are going to drive ALL around Boston. We are renting a car from Avis, and we will see MIT, Harvard, some museums, and maybe Plymoth Rock. I hope we can see everything! But like Dad was saying, "We have a car, we can do anything."

Blogging in the Rain

The good news is, we were able to go on most of the Freedom Trail. The bad news is: it started raining. We had gone across most of the trail. (Hope you are reading this, Cade) We saw a bunch of interesting historical sites including Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and where Benjamin Franklin's parents are buried. But, as we were walking to Bunker Hill, the sky opened up, and out came the rain.

We went to a street with a lot of Italian restaurants and went inside one of them. I was able to get a little Tiramisu, which is a coffee patty thing with whipped cream and a dash of chocolate. I thought is was okay. I didn't really like to texture or the taste, but Dad said it was pretty good.

In the middle of our Freedom Trail journey, we got to take a look at the aquarium near one of the stops. We saw some awesome penguins, some sharks, and some jellyfish. Overall it was amazing. There were a lot of little kids though. They were like ants...

After the stop at the aquarium, we ate at "Dick's Last Resort." It is supposed to be this place where the waiter harrasses you, but our waiter wasn't naturally a mean person, so it wasn't the same. We did get some funny hats though. Basically, the waiters walked around with paper that they would fold into a hat and write funny stuff on them. Mine read, "FART MACHINE!" and had an arrow pointing down, while Dad's displayed, "Beer makes me gassy!" Our's weren't as funny as some people like a girl's hat that said, "I stuff my bra so that boys will like me." or "Fake Blonde, real dumb."

It was really fun today, except for the rain, but luckily we took the opportunity and saw Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio. I'm not going to give anything away, but let me just say, IT WAS AMAZING!

Overall, the day has been very fun, long, and somewhat tiring, but really fun. I hope everyday in Boston is like this, minus the rain of course.

Penguins!

Turtle!

New Boston

We are now...OFFICIALLY in Boston. We woke up early (early being 8:30) and sort of hung around for a little while. Yesterday was what seemed like an easy day, but pooped me and Dad out.

After we arrived in Boston, we checked into our hotel, which ironically, like the other hotel, was right next to the train station. We just walked out of the train station, went a few blocks, and walked into the hotel with our luggage. The hotel is suppossed to be really nice, and it is...mostly. They nickel and dime us for a few things which is annoying (like refrigerator stuff and Wi-Fi) but they have a pool. The pool is saltwater and is very warm, while the hot tub is hot and freshwater.

After a short stop to the hotel, Dad and I went on a cool little walk down near an ocean inlet. we walked for a while, saw some geese, saw some people, and went across some bridges. Then we walked up from the inlet and got dinner. The place was another little Irish pub, but it was pretty good. I got sliders and Dad got fish and chips, but we both shared.

Once we had had a good bite to eat, we then went to a candy shop! Yummy! I got some assorted chocolate stuff that Dad ate some of. My favorite were the chocolate covered brownie batters. Mmmmmm...

Our room is like a palace compared to the old one in New York. We have more than three feet on either side of the bed, and we have DRAWERS! It is amazing!
Today we are going to walk our butts of because we are going on the Freedom Trail. It is a trail that you walk along to a bunch of historical sites. I hope it will be fun, but we need to catch some breakfast first!

Me on one of the bridges:


If the plural of goose is geese, then what is plural of moose...meese?

And We're Off!

Well, we are off to Boston! We are riding on an Express Train to our new hotel. I watched Ghostbusters which was hilarious. We have our bags all ready and can't wait to explore the new area! Like New York, I've never been to Massachusetts. We have gone through New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island just to get there. Hope we have a lot of fun!
Here is me, blogging on the train:

Fancy Schmancy

We went to a very nice restaurant called Keen's Chophouse. We ate a very delicious meal which consisted of: A Porterhouse Steak (which is basically a Fillet Mignon and a New York Strip) that melted right in your mouth, some string beans, and some mashed potatoes. Dad wouldn't really eat the string beans because they had onions in them, and I don't really like their mashed potatoes, so it all balanced out. Later, I got a cheesecake from New York. It was just cheese, so it wasn't my favorite, but overall the meal was AMAZING! Now we have to go to bed early so that we can wake up early and go to Boston!

Just Another Busy Day

Today was another day in New York City. We had some fun, walked a lot, and had some more fun. Today, we woke up bright and early (10:00) and went to Tick Tock Diner. I wolfed down some chocolate pancakes (Mmmmmm) while Dad had ANOTHER bagel. Then we took the subway to the Financial District. We looked at the construction site of the World Trade Center, Trinity Church, and Wall Street. They were all very neat and the World Trade Center was sad to look at, but overall I had a great time.


Afterwards, we walked down to a place where we could go on a boat that would take us to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. However, the line had a ONE HOUR AND FIFTEEN MINUTE WAIT!!! Instead, Dad and I went uptown to a mall area. We went to an Irish place inside and had soda and cheese sticks.


After a quick snack, we then proceeded back down to Statue Tours to see if the line was any shorter. It was. It took us a flat twenty minutes to grab our tickets, get on the boat, and set sail (or motor, really). We sort of skipped Liberty Island because we saw it on the Circle Line, but Ellis Island was a blast.


We had the good opportunity to get the "Audio Tour" passes so we got to listen to a great commentary on the island. I earned a whole lot. In actuality, Ellis Island wasn't a bad place to go. A bunch of people went straight to the US after some test. In reality, all the rummors of Ellis Island being a bad place is the people who got marked for further testing and were sent back. The tour said that only one out of one hundred people were sent back. The real problem was if one of those people was your brother, or grandparent, or YOU!


After the trip, we went back to the mainland, and took the subway back home. We checked out Penn Station on the way so we know how to get there tomorrow. (We're going to Boston) I also got the expirience of getting a hot dog with Dijon Mustard from a vendor. It was delicious! Now we might go to a nice fancy Steakhouse later tonight. I like steak, so I hope we do!

Me in Ellis Island:
Me and the Brooklin Bridge:
Alexander Hamilton and Me Hanging Out at His Grave in Trinity Church:

The World Trade Center:

A Night on Broadway

On Broadway..... South Pacific was a very nice play that we saw. It had some humor, a lot of mushy parts, and a good storyline. It was the story about a group of people on an island near Australia during World War II. They sought happiness, and love. It was good throughout, but had a disappointing ending which I won't reveal.

Afterwards, Dad and I went to a Mexican restaurant Cancun, I got fajitas while Dad got soft tacos. Then we hailed a taxi and drove back to the hotel.

The Sun is Still Sunny...

Well, it has been another long day in New York. It was hot today, but not as bad as yesterday. Today we did some really fun stuff. First, we went to a deli and got an "official" New York bagel. After, we left and grabbed two bikes from a guy near Central Park. With the bikes we pedaled all around the park.

First we just biked casually for a while, but then we had to stop because my throat was hurting (It was yesterday too.) We got some water and then we biked back to the Museum of Modern Art. We saw a lot of Byzantine, American, Greek and Roman arts, and also some Picasso. (We also saw a lot of nudity) After, we went all the way around Central Park until we reached the beginning of the circuit again.

Afterwards, we went to the Top of the Rock and got on an elevator to the top of the Rockefeller Center. It had a great view, and we got up there faster than we did on the Empire State Building. I took some great pictures too.

There, we returned the bikes and then walked towards a bite to eat. We wanted to get a slice of pizza, so it took us a little while longer to find. Finally, after passing through two other pizza shops, (one had been closed due to health regulations, and the other didn't have air conditioning), we found a nice one with a lot of good toppings. Dad and I ordered a small pizza with pepperoni and sausage. We ate all but one slice!

Once our stomachs were full, we paid and left. Then we just walked nine blocks back to the hotel, and I started writing the post.

At 6:00, we are going to catch a taxi and go to a play on Broadway! We are seeing South Pacific which Dad said was really good. I hope it is too.

Me and Dad in Times Square:

The Empire State Building from Rockefeller Center:

Look, no hands!

At the End of the Day...

Once again, it is 12:00 in New York City. We have taken a long day to look at a bunch of stuff, and are still dead beat. We went to a cool Korean Bistro called "Han Bat" It was pretty good and we had a wide assortment of dishes including soup, octopi, and beef. It was delicious. Later we went to the Empire State building and went up to the VERY TOP! It was really scary, (even for Dad) and I took some awesome pictures:

I AM TIRED!!!

We have walked a for a VERY LONG TIME. I AM TIRED. We did see some good sites though, including Times Square, Central Park, and many other random New York skyscrapers. Still, I could sleep for the next decade if I wanted. My dad's step counter said we walked 18000 steps today! And we even woke up at 11:00 and were on a boat until 3:30! Well, I have just about had enough. I'm back a the hotel and, like I promised, here are the photos.

At the Museum of Natural History:

The Statue of Liberty:

Funny Pigeon on a Statue:

Start of a New Day

Dad and I got on the Circle Line and we travelled all the way around Manhattan island, traversing under a bunch of bridges. We cleared one bridge by only three inches! I took some cool pictures that I will add later. (I'm writing from an iPad right now.)
After a fun, three hour ride on the Circle Line, Dad and I went to a cool restaurant called "5 Napkins." It is pretty good and I ate a huge burger. Now I can see why they call it "5 Napkins." The meal was delicious, and now we are about to leave for Central Park.

Up and at 'Em!

Rise and shine! It's 8:05 where I'm from, but here in New York it is already 11:00! Dad and I are going on the Circle Line today which is a boat that goes all the way around Manhattan. We also might go to the Empire State Building or maybe a museum. One thing is for sure, I'm going to have to take a LOT of pictures.

Meanwhile, at the Hotel...

Well, we have landed in New York, with some unexpected traffic along the way. First off, our flight was delayed at the terminal for about two hours, so that got us to New York at about 11:30 PM local time. Luckily, we rode in buisness class and had tons of leg room, movies, and in-flight dining all the way.

Next we arrived at the actual terminal, and we had to wait a half hour just so that the staff could find somebody that knew how to opperate jet bridge. Finally, after much waiting, we escaped the "Airport of Doom" and had arrived in New York City! (Sadly, it took us another fourty-five minutes in a taxi to get to our hotel, but we had arrived!)

Back at the hotel, Dad was hungry for a bite to eat, so at 2:00, we went to a diner and ordered breakfast! I had a small (HUGE) apple turnover, which was like a pie and a danish with apples in it. And Dad got a tuna melt.

Now we are back at the hotel. I walked up twenty four flights of stairs to get to our floor. (Yes I walked. Dad took the elevator.)

It's getting late now, but the city is still full of life and light. Goodnight!



Me at the diner:

Off to NYC!

My dad and I are here at the Los Angeles Airport. We arrived with just about no line, so right now we are in the Admiral's Club. It's a little place that we can hang out at. It requires a membership though.

Our flight is at 1:20, about an hour from right now, and we will get to JFK at 10:00 local time. Luckily, it's the "city that never sleeps" so we'll probably still be able to grab a bite to eat at midnight.

Here we are at the airport:









And here we are at the Admiral's Club: