Bulbagarden Forums - Blogs - Shadows

My Last Blog

Shadows — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 01:12:57 GMT

NOTE: My computer has been really acting up. If any one of you got a mention about this before it actually posted, I'm sorry. I never actually posted this blog until now, so I have no clue what's going on. o_o
Mentions are not working for me either, and there are these strange lines going across this screen. I really don't know what's going on.

...I have to leave, you guys.

It's a long story...Basically, I had a lecture on internet safety and about my lack of social skills. And I had to promise to never go on BMGf ever again.

Why am I here, then? Well, I fell sick during school today and my dad brought me home, and...well, I felt I couldn't just [i]leave.[/i] I wanted to say bye to all of you...

Since I'll probably never have a Bulbaversary blog, I'm going to mention people here, too.

[hr][/hr]

@ZeXaLavenRayV; Thank you so much, for everything that you've done for me. You taught me to always be optimistic, and to embrace life and its changes and never bring yourself down. I was a really pessimistic person before I met you. Now, I'm trying little by little to improve myself, and I'm not getting worried if the changes aren't happening as fast as I would like. You were also the main person who indirectly convinced me to watch Zexal, and in doing that you opened up an entire new world for me! :D I promise that even if I won't be on here anymore, I'll still be watching. :) Once again, thank you.

@Zima; One of the most complicated people I know. XD I used to think that I was an unusually reflective person...before I met you. :P I think you're very intelligent, as well as a deep thinker. I know sometimes your life is not a good one, but I also know that you have the strength and courage to keep on pushing. Like how Lavy convinced me to watch Zexal, you indirectly convinced me to watch Hetalia, and I'm hooked. :P Thank you for being an amazing friend, and Vodkattobingu!

To both of you: My mom saw our QT, and she forbade me from posting there, too. But I still want you guys to talk there! I should still be able to read it, I think.

@Kululu; Hey! I remember awkwardly asking you for a signature in your first art shop, and then using it for a ridiculously long time. XD Talking to you has been a lot of fun, and I like how you always check to see if I'm on, and you nearly always catch me invisible. :P I'll miss you!

@Koukoubean; You are the sole person that subconsciously influenced me to use the emoticon "XD" more. :P I used to [i]never[/i] use it at all before I started talking to you! And now I use it all the time! XD We don't talk much anymore, but we used to a lot...you were one of the more mature people I exchanged VMs with. ^^; Hope you're doing okay, and will continue to do so!

@Sunburn; Another person who I don't really talk to much anymore, but I remember having some fun conversations with you about surveying and trees. XD You're really interesting to talk to!

@Elec-boy; Hi! :) It's been really fun talking with you, too! Nice to know there's a fellow shy person like me out there. XD

@Venom; Keep that post count for as long as you can, okay? :)

[hr][/hr]

[B]Last Poster Wins:[/B]

@Momoka; I remember the first time I ever posted in that thread, you liked all of my posts. XD I know it seems stupid now, but back then it meant a lot to me and encouraged me to keep posting there. Thank you for that. :)

@Midorikawa; You posted in my introduction thread in the Garden Grotto! I think you scared me a little back then, for reasons I can't quite remember now. ^^; Anyways, you were the one who told me what K was and persuaded me to watch it. I definitely don't regret doing that, and I can't wait for season 2! ...I think you also told me what Homestuck was! It was the day when there was that bet to see who would be post #50000 or something in LPW, and you told me that "homestuck is homestuck" and made me curious enough to Google it, and I started actually reading it recently! It's really addicting. ^^;

Other LPW people:
@Tailgate; @Akuraito; @The Miz; @Karis; @Booster Gold; @Terrell; @Caprizant; @Yata; @Fushimi;
Keep on winning, you guys~! (Sorry if I left out anyone...)

[hr][/hr]

[B]The War Room:[/B]

I have a strange history with this place. From the beginning, I was curious because it said "Home of the Bulbagarden Mafia" under the forum title, and I had no idea what it meant. ^^; I think I asked Sunburn about it and he explained it to me and told me to ask Soulmaster if I had any questions, but I was too nervous to go do that. Hence the stalking began...I think I stalked as a guest at first, then I learned of the glorious invisible mode! (And now I'm always invisible, pretty much. :P)

@FrostyGaga; You hosted both the first game I ever stalked (Advance Wars) and the first game I ever played (Super Smash Bros.) and both of them were amazing! :) Advance Wars totally hooked me on mafia games, and I remember going back through the archives and reading all of them... :P

@HumanDawn; As I said, the first game I ever stalked was Advance Wars, and well...let's just say you were one of the more entertaining players I had the pleasure of stalking. XD BW! and BW!2 were both hilarious games, and I'm really going to miss [s]laughing at you[/s] reading the funny things you say. ^^;

@TairaNamikase; My mason buddy in Smash Bros! You were a much more careful player than me... :P It was really fun to talk to you in that game, even if we don't talk much now!

@The Jingster; I still need to get you boiled in that lava, huh? >:D You made Smash Bros twice as fun, so thank you for that. :)

@Master Mew; You get a mention because you indirectly taught me how to use the [noparse] and [hr] tags. It was useful information! ^^;

I'm going to mention everyone I remember I played a mafia game with (so not many people, since I only played 3). Thanks for the fun, you guys! Maybe I can still start stalking as a guest again, even if I can't post!
@Dark Blueberry; @Doctor jokool; @FinalArcadia; @Soulmaster; @Buoy; @Neon Borealis; @DrumBeats; @GliscorMan; @Baron Dante; @Insanish Danish; @Mintaka; @Pokemaster97; @stillboy; @Orion;
...um, I think that's all? Again, sorry if I left out anyone, I can't remember any more...

[hr][/hr]

I'd also like to mention @Joseph-B2; for setting up JFF! I know I didn't post in there very much, and I've not been getting much time nowadays, but the group was a great idea and it's getting a lot of activity! :) Maybe I'll still be able to battle sometime, if I bookmark the link to the chat room. I'll try and see if I can do it.

[hr][/hr]

...Well, I guess that's it. I've had a really fun time with everyone here the past 236 days (I think that's the number). Every single member on here helps make the forum what it is, which is a fun place to hang out with other people! I'm really going to miss it here. I'll never forget the experiences I had: the funny ones, the sad ones, the anxious ones, the exciting ones...everything that helped make BMGf so amazing for me.

Thank you so much, all of you!
[SPOILER][VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLfORdZyfSE[/VIDEO] [/SPOILER]

Mods: Please ban my account. Thanks. :)

Seeking insight on life?

Shadows — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 05:42:47 GMT

Here, have a paper towel.

Today, my dad came back from the grocery store with some paper towel rolls, since we were out. They usually are just plain white. Boring, but they do the job well.

These paper towel rolls have small pictures of butterflies painted on them. And they also have sayings running across the top and bottom. Here are a few examples:

[quote=Paper Towels]
- A good laugh is sunshine in a home.
- Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
- There's a whole lot to be thankful for if you take the time to look. [/quote]

And here's a picture (a bad one taken with my phone):
[spoiler][img]http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a545/notnuts/image_zps22071ea9.jpg[/img][/spoiler]

...It almost makes me not want to use them anymore... :sweatlol:

So mad right now.

Shadows — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 02:58:58 GMT

Remember my last blog, the one about Anisha?

Well, here's the update on how it's going.

She got the transcripts and mailed everything in on time. She asked her teachers, they both accepted. One of them has the rec letter done already. The other has not.

Today's the last day to submit recommendations.

...I'm going to go call her. Will update if there's news.

EDIT: Deadline was 5pm. ...she was so close, too...

Stupid teachers.

I had an interesting experience last Friday.

Shadows — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:08:06 GMT

I have a really good friend who lives near me. Her name is Anisha. She's pretty much my polar opposite: enthusiastic, hyper, cheerful, athletic... And she's really intelligent, too.

Anisha kinda has strange parents, though. Her parents don't trust her, and don't think she can do anything on her own. They think Anisha's not very smart because she doesn't look studious, and because she seems to really enjoy life and have fun. She has an older brother who's also pretty smart, but he gets more attention than she does because he has better work habits and because he's a stereotypical "smart kid". So while he gets all the attention (which isn't much to begin with), Anisha is neglected because her parents don't know her very well at all.

Okay, so there's this summer camp that I applied to this year. It's a camp for high school kids that like math and science, and it's really competitive. You have to write an essay and a resume and send transcripts and teacher recommendations and everything. My mom was the one that told me about it, and she helped me write the application. I finished it last Wednesday, the deadline to submit the application (it was an online one) was Friday the 22nd at 5pm.

So, Friday approaches. At around 10am in the morning, my mom gets an email that says the deadline for teacher recommendations has been extended to March 1st. And then, she asks me if Anisha applied for the camp. I wasn't so sure, and I told her that I didn't think so. She then asks me to call Anisha up and ask her to apply. Keep in mind the deadline was 5pm the same day.

I called her, and asked, and it turns out that she hadn't applied. [I]Her parents had told her not to because they thought she wouldn't get in.[/I] Of course, she wasn't too enthusiastic about doing it last minute. But I thought it would be cool if she could apply too, and after a 30-minute phone conversation (my mom talked to her too, we didn't ask her parents) she tentatively agreed to do it.

I was really, really excited. I felt that Anisha needed more opportunities, since she has good grades and is really interested in science, but she never gets the chance to apply for these things. So I managed to convince my parents to go over to her house at 2pm and help her with it, since it was a lot of work to do.

I told my parents I would be back in an hour, but I was there for 3 hours, up until the last minute. It was really strange helping Anisha write the paragraphs. When I had written them, my mom had been there with me and she helped by pointing out sentences that didn't make sense so I could fix them. I became that role for Anisha, and I pretty much wrote the entire thing for her - she had some amazing ideas, and I helped formulate them into sentences. I also helped her think of events to write about for her resume.

I thought her parents would help her out, but they didn't even seem to care. I mean, she was applying for a really competitive summer camp. If I was a parent, I would read everything over and be really involved in the whole process. But her parents just sat on the computer doing whatever, and they didn't even look at us - except they groaned when Anisha asked them for the last 4 digits of her social security number. It was really like they had given up on Anisha because they thought she was worthless, and I felt sad.

We were really pressed for time. The first paragraph took about an hour in itself, and we had to really work hard to get it done on time. Finally, at 4:58pm, Anisha clicked the "submit" button and we both sighed with relief. I felt amazing. I had helped one of my best friends do something she wouldn't even have thought about otherwise.

Anisha's not done yet, though. She still needs to ask the school for transcripts, and go talk to 2 teachers and ask for recommendations. I haven't talked to her since Friday, so hopefully her parents won't dissuade her from completing the application. I really think she's smart enough to get in, and I know her teachers will give her recommendation letters since she's always cheerful and attentive during class. Just in case, though, I'm bringing $5 with me to school tomorrow. That way, if she didn't bring money to pay for the transcripts, I can do it for her. ;)

So yeah, it was a strange day. But it was a completely new experience for me, to go and help someone out like that. I'm usually an indecisive person who stands around doing nothing. That day, I felt like I transformed into a persuasive, directed person, even if it was only for a little while. I was the one who did the convincing, not the one who was convinced. And I think I liked it that way.

Dilemma of the day

Shadows — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:45:10 GMT

Hmm... I really want to restart White 2.

I get a little too attached to save files though, I think. I'm not sure if I really want to do it. I have Genesect and stuff...and I can't get that anymore... I've never deleted a save file on any game.

So I have 3 options:
1) Suck it up and just delete the file.
2) Don't restart anything, enjoy the file that you have.
3) Dig out little brother's Black 2 and restart that, since he doesn't play Pokemon anymore. Risk: He might still get mad, I don't know since he's not here right now.

I'm leaning towards 1 at the moment. But I don't know if I can bring myself to delete it...

I tried Pandora today!

Shadows — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 04:01:59 GMT

Free app on my phone! :P I was bored, and was looking for things to try out. I know, kinda late to the party, but whatever.

It is so cool!!! :D I got to listen to a bunch of good music that I didn't even know existed!

BMGf, I need your assistance!

Shadows — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:28:48 GMT

First, the backstory. It's kinda long. I guess you don't have to read it, but it'll help you understand my situation a little better.

[spoiler]So here's a conversation I had with my mom today (this is how she found out I had a BMGf account):

Me: *browsing Bulba on phone*
Mom: *sneaks up from behind* What is this Bulbagarden Forums thing that you're looking at?
Me: ...well...it's...a website...
Mom: Yes, but what [i]is[/i] it? What do you do on it that eats up so much of your time?
Me: It's... a Pokémon website.
Mom: A Pokémon [i]website?[/i] And what do you do on it?
Me: Well, you can talk to people. About Pokémon. And other stuff, too.
Mom: I don't understand this. So you talk to people about how many Pokémon games you've played?
Me: ...Well, no.
Mom: What, then? Can you give an example?
Me: *racks brain* Well, there are 2 new Pokémon games coming out in October. So if you wanted, you could check the news, and discuss it with people. Like, they revealed a new Pokémon a few days ago without revealing its type. So everyone's wondering what type it is, and they're sharing and debating ideas.
Mom: So you go and discuss new Pokémon with strangers? That sounds like it would get boring fast.
Me: Well, there are other sections too. Like you can talk about the TV shows. But most of the time I talk about random stuff.
Mom: So you talk about your life with complete strangers?!
Me: No! Nothing personal, like where I live or my name or something. Just random things. I don't even post very often.
Mom: .....
Me: (thinking: why can't I properly explain a forum I've been on for half a year?)
Mom: Sure, but that still sounds boring. I'm sure if you stopped it for a bit, you'd find it hard to get back on. Maybe I'm not understanding this well enough, but I don't see how being so involved with Pokémon is fun. Obsessions like that are unhealthy.
Me: ...But hasn't my brother been on a Star Wars craze for the past month? The only thing he does is watch Star Wars. And you're okay with that obsession?
Mom: That obsession is stimulating. Plus, he's only going to do it short term. He'll stop soon. Like how he stopped playing Pokémon. *heavily implying that he grew out of it, but I still didn't*
Me: .....
Mom: I don't see how talking to a bunch of strangers online is interesting or fun. You're not even learning anything.[/spoiler]

This, Bulba, is why I need your help. I need reasons, solid reasons for why BMGf is fun and interesting. And maybe even stimulating.
I [i]know[/i] I'm going to get another lecture like this in a couple of days, and I want to be prepared this time.

Help!

;_; sigh...

Shadows — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 07:27:44 GMT

So I'm in bed right now, on my phone. I was trying to go to sleep, but my parents were talking pretty loudly in the next room, and I heard my name, so I was listening to see what they were talking about.

Turns out they were discussing me and singing lessons. My dad had asked me to sing my lesson for tomorrow in front of him, and I had refused because it was late at night and I wanted to sleep. He became mad and was complaining to my mom, saying that there's no point in taking lessons if you never want to perform for anyone.

I would have been able to live with this (it's true, I don't like performing in front of people) but he took it way further. He said that I have no interests at all, and that I have never showed any interest in music. He argued with my mom, who defended me saying that I do listen to music, just not the kind of music he likes, and he didn't believe her.

*sigh* It kinda hurts. Music for me is everything. I actually got a keyboard for my second birthday. I could play "Twinkle, Twinkle", "Old McDonald", and other stuff on it. At [i]2 years old.[/i] By the time I was four, I could tune a piano by ear. From when I joined band at ten (and still now, actually) people seek me out to tune their instruments, because I can do it better than our band teacher. I can transpose music, too, and I've helped a lot of my friends at school with their private lessons. My friend (who plays alto sax) once told me that I was better at helping her than her own private teacher. I listen to music all the time. More music than my dad does, anyway. It might not be the kind of music my dad likes, but it's music.

Music is the one thing I've loved and also happened to have been really good at for my entire life. I...I thought my dad knew that. He's watched me grow up. Maybe it's my fault, though, for not talking with him enough.

I'm sorry, this is kind of a vent. I didn't mean to sound conceited or anything, I just wanted to organize my thoughts and such. Continue on with life. I'm going to bed now. ^^;

You know what? I like this bandwagon too.

Shadows — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 02:19:21 GMT

Baby chicks?

[SPOILER][IMG]http://chickenzz.com/images/baby%20chickens/2_baby%20chickens.jpg[/img][/SPOILER]

[spoiler][img]http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ_Hykztqv-l-S5m-VtrGUiZRa9YlFYoHmzOuLyNZYP3mMttRaN[/img][/spoiler]

[spoiler][img]http://www.superhealthykids.com/uploads/files/5466/large/201203baby-chicks.jpg[/img][/spoiler]

[spoiler][img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTMfhyx5b-z4jtQOdajwrIMoIbjjPhA1pkMpiwi-be6X-rD0fiP[/img][/spoiler]

Ninfia has such creepy eyes.

Shadows — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 01:23:47 GMT

I mean, look at them.

[SPOILER][IMG]http://sickr.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/ninfia.jpg?w=625[/IMG][/SPOILER]

Aren't they [I]huge[/I]? I thought Victini's eyes looked a little weird, but this is something else. It's like they're staring into your soul or something, or maybe it's just me. o_o

Momoka on NyQuil

Shadows — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 05:18:58 GMT

The madness that happened in Last Poster Wins today was so hilarious that I felt like I had to share it with everyone.

@Momoka; took NyQuil today, and I copied/pasted all of her posts into a separate document. She never remembers what happens the next day, so here is a reminder to us all what NyQuil can do to you. On the Internet for eternity. XD

@Zima; @ZeXaLavendrowzazeemontw0*; @Hilbert;

Note to everyone: Due to the sheer length of this, I cut a couple (just a couple) out. VM/PM me if you want the entire list. Spoilered because of size.

[SPOILER]First, the beginning:
[quote=Momoka]I win because I actually just took NyQuil.[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because EXISTENCE!![/quote]

[quote=Momoka]wait what what happened

Oh wait. I remember now.[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because sometimes I think about series I need to start but I never end up starting them and then I think about my life and what it has become.[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because when I tag things on Tumblr I tag them as things that make no sense but i make no effort to change them, why this.[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because what what now i wanna know tell MEEEE[/quote]

And then, the caps:
[quote=Momoka]I win because I LIKE LULLABIES EXCEPT SAD ONES MAKE ME CRY[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because ONE TIME I HAD A DREAM AND I DON'T REMEMBER IT[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because I GIGGLE LIKE A TIGER[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because SOMETIMES I RANDOMLY PUT ON CAPS LOCK AND I CAN'T MOTIVATE MYSELF TO TURN IT OFF UNTIL I FEEL LIKE IT WHICH IS NEVER BECAUSE CAPS ARE AWESOME OKAY[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]WHAT IS THE SECRET I LOVE SECRETS EXCEPT SOMETIMES SECRETS ARE BAD SO WE MUST CONTAIN OURSEEELVES

I WIN.[/quote]

And then, the true nonsense:
[quote=Momoka]I win because I don't speak anything else gomen gomen I don't know

I wiiin.[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because I don't know what color is my favorite i love red because it's like fiiire but orange is nice to because it's like the sun oh and i like yellow it's bright and warm like my blankets at night[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because I actually don't have anything yellow that I know of except maybe a fruit now what's a YELLOW FRUIT

PINEAPPLES[/quote]
[quote=Momoka][quote=Zima][quote=Momoka][quote=Zima]I WIN BECAUSE @Momoka, ARE YOU DRUNK?[/quote]
i'm drunk on life

I win~[/quote]
WHAT KIND OF LIFE?

I WIN.[/quote]
THE LIFE OF A SCHOOL GIRL, A GIRL WHO CANNOT COMPREHEND THE NORMALNESS OF THINGS AND STUFFS

I wiiin.[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I AM THE GIRL WHO LIKES SWEATSHIRTS AND LONG SOCKS

I win because yeeaah that is I.[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because I am a butterflllyyyyy who is waiting to spread her wings and FLLLYYY THE LONELY SKIIIIES OF THE WOOORLD AROUND MEEE.[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because when life gives you lemons you make STRAWBERRIEs[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because *starts singing in Italian for no reason* I DON;T EVEN KNOW ITALIAN.[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because it's my party and I'll DRINK CAKE if I want to~ yeah if I want to~[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because gomenasai sekai no tame ni arigatou hai[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because REST WELL MY FRIENDS FOR I AM ON A JOUNREY[/quote]

My personal favorite:
[quote=Momoka]I win because guys guys guys guess what guess what

My name

MEANS PEACH BLOSSOMS[/quote]
XD

[quote=Momoka]I win because winter is thawed by the warmness of spring that is MOMOKA.[/quote]

[quote=Momoka][quote=Zima][quote=Momoka]I win because winter is thawed by the warmness of spring that is MOMOKA.[/quote]
You... just... killed... me... X_X

I...died...[/quote]
i used monster reborn
you are alive now
all is well

I win[/quote]
^ Another epic one.

[quote=Momoka]I win because the meaning to life is DISCOVERED... IT IS... *drum rollll* DUN DUN DUUUn[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I win because I can be a genius when i want to be which is only when i want to be[/quote]

[quote=Lavy][quote=Zima][quote=Lavy]I win because Momoka has taught me so much today.[/quote]
We must bow down to the goddess, Momoka; for she has taught us the mysteries of life (and NyQuil.)

I win.[/quote]
I win because Momoka is the new Buddha.

[s]I bet this is the funniest discussion in the history of this thread XD .[/s][/quote]
^ Lavy and Zima lol'ing.

[quote=Momoka][quote=Zima]You are our new god! Terism has been born! :D

You, Momoka, have won.[/quote]
what the hell

I win[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]worship an apple not me an apple does better and you can eat IT

I win[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I taste like the taste of of my skin

I win[/quote]

[quote=Momoka]I love tea but what if you combined tea and coffee then put in sugar and milk and BAM you'd have a cofftea

I almost forgot to say I win[/quote]
^ Second favorite. XD

[quote=Momoka]
I win because I need sleep, Momoka out~[/quote]
Bye bye, Momoka. [/SPOILER]

(Don't forget to link to and share this with your friends~!)

I am a bad kid: The Transformation

Shadows — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 17:54:00 GMT

I have decided not to break the law anymore! From now on, I pledge to be nice and devote my life to rainbows, unicorns, and all that is good in the world. ;-)

(aka I got my waiver signed, now I can go off campus during 3rd period without a problem!)

My dad went to Home Depot today.

Shadows — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 06:02:27 GMT

We thought he was getting a new heater or something, since our heater broke again. He was gone for some time.

Instead, he came back with 7 flat bricks. He put them inside our oven, on the rack.

Then we got pizza dough from the grocery store and made "brick oven" pizzas. They were pretty good.

... :)

Wants to learn Japanese but is not sure how

Shadows — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:09:05 GMT

Title says it all. I'd like to learn Japanese.

I've recently been trying to watch raw Pokemon anime episodes, and I can actually get a pretty good idea of what is going on by reading facial expressions, context, etc. but I don't really think it's actually helping me learn Japanese. I'm pretty much substituting in my own dialogue. I'd like to be able to actually understand the language when people speak it. (Don't really care about speaking it myself. Although I'd like to learn how to write it, too. :P)

Any suggestions/resources? They have to be free, though, since my parents don't want to waste their money on stuff like this. Although I'm open to paid iPhone apps, I think I have some store credit on there...

...What a day.

Shadows — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:16:19 GMT

The weirdness started at around 10:30am. I was in 4th period physics, and our teacher was just about to hand us our tests. Just as she was telling us to put our dividers up, the code red alarm rang. No one was very scared or anything, because the office had told us that we were going to have a code red drill sometime this month. We were laughing about how we didn't have to take the test, and we barricaded ourselves inside the classroom and hid on the floor behind desks just like how we were told to. We were supposed to be quiet, but we weren't very quiet at all. There was a lot of whispering and soft talking and stuff. :P

Everything was okay for about half an hour, but we were wondering why it was taking so long for the all clear signal to be given, since it usually happens pretty fast in drills. One person was bored, so he got out his cell phone (you're not allowed to use electronic devices during a code red) and checked the news. And the headline was about our school being in lockdown. He freaked out and showed it to all of us, and we asked our teacher about it. She got up from behind the barricade and quickly went to check her email and reported back to us. It was a real code red.

We all got kind of scared after that. We didn't really care much while we thought it was a drill, but now we were really worried. I went on my phone and found the same webpage, and I passed my phone around to people who wanted to read the article. The article said "check back later for more updates" so every ten minutes I would reload the page and see if anything had changed. Our teacher started confiscating phones after a while, but mine was never seen. I also texted my mom telling her that I was okay, a lot of people texted their parents to let them know what was going on, although most of them already knew. (Email can be quite convenient.)

There was apparently a gunman sighted on the campus of a middle school just a few blocks away. That school, our high school, and my brother's elementary school were all in lockdown as a precaution. Police were on the campus of that middle school, looking for the gunman. He was supposedly a black man, with black clothing that walked with a limp.

We ended up sitting in the dark room, behind gum-filled tables, on the floor in lockdown for two and a half hours straight. We weren't allowed to get up or leave the room. And in the meantime, we got updates from that article: West Valley, my brother's elementary school, was still in session and was going on behind locked doors, the police searched two storage rooms on the middle school campus for this gunman and found nothing, they closed off all the four streets surrounding the middle school, there was a place for parents to come and receive information, the kids were all being kept inside. We didn't have anything to do, so we talked, played card games, etc. Our teacher gave us Starbursts every half hour or so as a reward. :P

Finally, at 1pm, we got an announcement from the speaker telling us that it was now "code blue" and we could take down the barricades, but we still weren't allowed to go outside. It was about then that we got the whole story (posted on Twitter): the report of a gunman was a hoax made up by a student. We don't know the student's name, or why they did it (it could be to get out of class, or maybe they were just mistaken) but regardless, we were allowed to go outside and have lunch, and then 6th period started like normal. Our physics teacher said that if she ever had to choose a class to get stuck with for two and a half hours in the dark, it would be us. :)

Well, the rest of the day was a little weird. 6th period was cut short by about 45 minutes because of the code red, I was supposed to give a presentation today, but it was rescheduled for Monday. We were supposed to take a quiz, but there was no time. I didn't have time to do my homework either (I was going to do it during lunch, but lunch was only 15 minutes today instead of 40) so my teacher said I could turn it in late for full credit. And we were supposed to have a quiz in history today, but instead we watched [I]Night at the Museum[/I] because our teacher thought that we had a long day and we needed a break.

Then I came home, and yeah. *sigh* It was a really long day. It was interesting, I guess, but I'm glad it's over.