USA #2

Uh...just more summarization. I don't seem to have enough time to type everything out right now! :P

Tuesday - Arrived, crap, stayed at Inn
Wednesday - Sent bad RAM, Publix and Steak & Shake, saw Michael and others
Thursday - Embassy stuff, got my Colombian ID now and went to Grandma's house.
Friday - Did some errands with dad, left ladies at mall all day, hooked up Wii again, went to see the Youth Group :)

Today will be a family reunion on my mom's side. Also, Giselle is also going to the mall with Jacqi (Smitty's mom) and BABY DAN. So...I gotta see the man Baby Dan again. Baby Dan. Baby Dan. Yea!

USA #1

Well. First day came and went (thank goodness), and it sucked. I will elaborate later on that. :P
Yesterday though was a lot better as we came to my aunt's house and I was able to hang out with my old buddies Michael and Justin. I guess I will elaborate more on that later too...>_> Today it seems I gotta go get ready to go to that embassy and get some of the "work" part of the trip done.

Descansar

Phew. Finally took a break from leaving the house today. Seeing as how I can't elaborate too much on the fact that I played a lot of Mario Strikers this morning/afternoon, I will roll through my day yesterday...:P

So let's see. Somewhere around 2:30 my parents and I went off to a hair salon for my mom. The salon we went to was actually around the block of the hotel we stayed at when we first arrived in this city.

Although the plan was at 3:30, my dad didn't waste the trip and dropped me off at the Sisters' house a half hour earlier. A bit embarrassed, I approached their house, which was getting a new roof installed. After talking to their mom a bit, and after the sisters took their showers (-_-) I did my usual "computer maintenance" work as we waited for Jose to arrive.

So after hanging out, talking, walking, and eating with them (Carolina, Adriana, and Jose), it was time to go. Jose had to go home, and Carolina had choir practice. Seeing as how there was a birthday party for Alfonso later that night, I went with Carolina to choir practice, where we met up a few more from the group and took a taxi to his house. That was the first time I ever took a bus. Later at his house was more of the same, a little bit of talking and eating (cake). I took 2 bites and left it, as the bread was apparently soaked in some liquid. Marcos apparently loved it though, so he ate his, mine, and some leftovers as well. :D

After we sand and prayed over him, everyone went home. I walked to my house, about 4 blocks away and got home around 10. Yay.

Triple Dose

Hurray, another post.

So, yesterday we went too Jose's house. Nothing to exciting happened, we just hung out and talked, played some Parchessi, some Wii, and talked. I felt bad leaving a little early (around 7:45) because he really wanted us to stay later, but I was getting HUNGRY. That and I need to pop up in my tournament at least once this week since I won't be there for the next 2. :P Oh well. Today we complete the triad of visits by going over the Sisters' house. So...

Sunday - My house, some other people from the group, Carolina and Jose
Monday - Again, but just Carolina and Jose
Tuesday - Jose's House, just me and Giselle since Carolina was occupied.
Today - Carolina's house, hopefully they remember to call Jose, since it planned last night. :P

What else...how about my checklist for the visit?

-Bring and Use my Gamestop giftcard
-Send RMA Request to Newegg before leaving, ship my bad memory ASAP.
-Order USB key off Newegg for Lisette.
-BUY JUNK FOOD. Need to buy bags of Gumdrops, box of sugar cookies, and Donuts.
-EAT MORE FOOD. Visit Cici's Pizza, Vocelli's, Steak and Shake, and Dairy Queen once again.
-Drive. I need to speed on 595 or down Flamingo again, haven't touched the wheel for almost a year now. o_o

...and of course, visit the Youth Group. Something I really regret is the fact I didn't take (or bother my sister) to take more pictures of everything. I mean, the group here is incredibly photogenic (in the sense that, they love to be in front of a camera) so I got plenty of shots to show my friends in the US of them. However, the same is not true the other way. I can't find any photos of my old youth group, or even of MYSELF. Then again, I'm pretty sure I can blame all that on Giselle, since she was the only one with a camera at the time and seeing as how she's the worst person to rely on to share the photos...>_>

*adds bring Camera to the list

Lastly, here's a video I promised of the group dancing to that crazy Rednex song, Cotton-Eye Joe:

Week to Departure

Goodness my posts are getting huge and frequent...

So yesterday, Jose, Carolina, and us (Giselle and me) met up at the mall right by our house, the Buenavista. We walked around, looked at some clothing, took some funny pictures (that are in Giselle's camera, so don't expect to see them anytime soon :P), and at the end I treated them to some ice cream.

We then walked over to my house (2 blocks away) and hung out there for an hour or 2, mainly playing my finally-arrived-OMG copy of Mario Strikers Charged. Here's the intro to the game:



In other news, I forgot to mention that on Thursday I finally signed up for college at the "Universidad del Norte" (University of the North). I will be studying Graphics Design sometime in January. I went to get a blood test before we went, which really sucked...

When we flew over here, I already had my blood taken at a little office where I got my passport picture. The lady took one of those tiny needles, pricked my finger, splattered some solutions into my blood, which was rubbed into 4 separate boxes. 20 minutes later, she tells me my blood type. HERE? Geez, they wrap my arm with a rubber string, stab me with your average sized needle into the veins where your "elbow-pit" is, and then have me wait an hour for the same results? Such crap. Worst part is, I had to get the test again because we couldn't find that paper from when we came, and of course after I got my blood test taken, my mom called up to say she found it. -_-

So anyway, I'm leaving to the US in a week. Yea.

Paths

Aww man, I need to write stuff on paper or in a document since I had about 2 huge posts worth of stuff to talk about...but I forgot all of it. :P Let me try and remember.

Well, first off here's a map of the city, and the path I took to go to the house:


After a little ruler measuring, looks like it was 1.5 miles to go, so 3+ total (since I got lost). Not bad eh? :D

What else. Well, I guess with mentioning the following 2 things, I will fil lthis post so:

Played 2 new games (Megaman is on hold). One, nice but short, Sonic Rush Adventures. This RPG tries to stay true to old school Sega Genesis style platforming. Problem is, there's about...7-9 islands with 2 levels each, and a boss. The game was quite easy, and I finish within 3-4 days. So...I don't recommend it, even though it has plenty of "side" missions I guess. But I like when those missions are PART of the game, and not some optional thing. I mean, it's not even like I'll get a super cool prize for it. At least for something like Metroid, if you DO get more items and faster times you get better glamor shots of Samus. :P

Second game is Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Awesome game. A sequel to Wind Waker, this game really takes every feature of the DS into use. I was never a Zelda fan, but this game looks great and has kept me hooked on it for days now. Lemme explain how far I've gone (WARNING. SPOILERS COMING!)

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Ok. So, like I said this is a sequel to Wind Waker. Copy and pasting from the Wikipedia article...

At the start of the game, Link, Tetra and her pirates are at sea looking for the phantom ship rumored to ply the waters in that area, taking sailors and residents of the nearby islands. Tetra, convinced that the phantom ship is simply a bunch of trouble-making pirates, is determined to teach them that pirates have rules, too. When a mysterious ship appears in the middle of a dense fog, Tetra jumps aboard to explore. Almost immediately after, a shriek is heard. As the ship pulls away and begins to vanish with her on board, Link attempts to leap over and save her only to fall into the water himself.

After having a vision of Tetra being surrounded by darkness and calling for his help, Link is washed up on Mercay Island and meets a fairy named Ciela, whose appearance is similar to that of Navi from Ocarina of Time, even possessing the same voice. The fairy has lost her memory and decides to team up with Link. On Mercay Island, Link meets an old man named Oshus who provides him with a sword. Link travels to the far side of the island and rescues Captain Linebeck from the Temple of the Ocean King.[9] In doing so, Link secures the use of Linebeck's customizable steamship to travel throughout the overworld (initially restricted to a single quadrant, but expanded as he acquires more sea maps).

In the first half of the game, Link must rescue three colored spirit fairies: the red Spirit of Power, Leaf, from the Fire Temple; the blue Spirit of Wisdom, Neri, from the Wind Temple; and the yellow Spirit of Courage from the Temple of Courage. However, upon defeating the Courage Temple's keeper, a giant lobster known as Crayk, the rescued fairy is colorless and appears just like Ciela. Ciela wonders why this is, but cannot remember anything due to her amnesia. As Link and Linebeck are about to leave Molida Island, Oshus then arrives, using his magical walking stick to fuse Ciela with the colorless fairy to become a yellow fairy, revealing that she is the Fairy of Courage.



Linebeck and Link then set off to pursue the phantom ship. After rescuing four sisters from imprisonment onboard, it is revealed that they are in fact phantoms themselves. Defeating them, Link obtains the key to where Tetra is being held, but he discovers that Tetra has been turned to stone. The old man Oshus then arrives and reveals that he is in fact the Ocean King himself. According to him, a few years ago, an evil plant monster named Bellum appeared, hungry to eat life-force. He used this absorbed force to create powerful monsters, including the dungeon bosses and the phantoms in the Temple of the Ocean King, and used them to seal away the three fairies of Power, Wisdom, and Courage. Ciela, the Fairy of Courage, was able to split herself in two to flee, but in doing so, she also lost her memory. The Ocean King tried to fight Bellum but failed, using the last of his power to clone himself, born again as Oshus. He then created the Phantom Hourglass so that someone could use it to venture through the Temple of the Ocean King and defeat Bellum.

Oshus then reveals that the only way to defeat Bellum is by obtaining a weapon known as the Phantom Sword. Oshus asks Link to visit the smithy Zauz on his island. Zauz asks for three pure metals as necessary ingredients for the sword; the Crimsonine, Azurine, and Aquanine pure metals are on Goron Island, the Isle of Frost, and the Isle of the Dead, respectively.

Link sails to Goron Island where DaiGoron, the tribe's chief, asks him a quiz to admit him as one of the Gorons. Link defeats Bongorongo in the Goron's Temple and saves Gongoron, a child Goron that became Link's controllable sidekick throughout the temple, receiving the Crimsonine in return for his efforts. Link then sails to the Isle of Frost where he resolves an ancient bloodfeud among the Anouki and Yook. The two races lived peacefully on either side of the island for 100 years, until recently, a Yook invaded the Anouki's village and disguised itself as one of them. Link defeats the Gleeock in the Ice Temple and receives the Azurine.

So that's how far I am. One more pure metal to go. That's enough for now, I'm going bowling this afternoon, hopefully. ;)

Bike

Well. I'm pooped. This morning I rode my bike (haven't used one in a LONG time) and decided to ride around 2 miles to visit the Sisters' house. It was a nice trip, as most of it is going down hill, but I arrived very tired at their place. After fixing their computer stuff, eating, and waiting for the rain to pass, I rode back home.

OMG. I really pushed my body to the limits, I almost couldn't make it. I was dead tired by the time I was even in visual range of the mall (I live about 2 blocks from the biggest mall in the city, so if I see it I can find home.) The fact I got lost twice didn't exactly help with the much needed energy I was in need of. Interestingly enough, I took a break a few blocks from the mall, and actually saw the Sisters' dad walking down the sidewalk to catch a bus! :D Once I regained a little energy, I pedaled over this long curve, and was able to catch a break as I rode down a huge hill in front of this "Home Depot" (called Home Center here. :P) I was going fast...it felt so good. By the time I got home I was dripping in sweat, pink, and very thirsty. My legs feel fine right now, in fact, my hands hurt more which is odd. It's like as if I had been drawing hours upon hours consecutively.

Anyway, after a nap, I woke up to Giselle screaming, as she was stung by a bee (first time for her, never been bitten myself). After my nap, I had my second lunch (the lunch my mom made while I was gone) which was awesome, since I was able to eat it all. Then Miguel came over and we played on his modified Wii. He showed me Metroid Prime 3, which looks great, and we had a short game of Mario Party 8. We also played Need For Speed: Carbon, which didn't look that good, or play as well as I remember from the PC versions. His mom also cooked a HUGE plate of Spaghetti. In fact, with 7 people eating, we could only finish about half the plate/dish/tray thing. o_o

Overall, today was interesting. Definitely not my average Friday.