User blog:JERealize/Progress Bar: Issue 038

(December 25, 2013)

Okay, now, welcome to the Christmas edition of Progress Bar.

I have healed.
Yes. Heading 2 is back. How are you?

I plan to sue.
Sorry to hear. Anyways, let's begin.

New Spoiler Tags
Okay, in a future announcement, I will use these, but these will indicate spoiler warnings:

Spoilers beyond this point!

Spoilers have ended.

You see, this uses size with color-coding to bring the attention of anyone who stumbles upon these tags. These will resolve issues with spoiling any part of my series, so you have less to worry, as long as you adhere to the text.

Episode 9 Announcement
This isn't really big, but I'm back to writing (kinda) my fanfic, and I've decided to add a cameo by one of our many users. You know who you are. If you are not the user cameo and don't know who they are, this is because you don't check the Wiki Recent Changes often, as I do, which is located in this link. So in reality, it's not much of a secret. (I do not mean to offend anyone with the preceding statements.

Episode 10 Announcement
Okay, I'm still working on Episode 9, but I have a plan for Episode 10. In Episode 10, one character will be entered among the campers still around once Episode 10 is issued. Will this new person be new or not? If so, did the person originate in another fanfic? If not, has the person been eliminated fairly or unfairly? Is the person a boy or a girl? All you know is that I know. Anyways, I'll run a poll, but if you haven't read the series up to the end of Episode 8, I'll post spoiler tags to get you to skip this part. If you haven't read this story, then I suggest you do so, because I worked at it hard to make it my own.

Also, as a backup ploy, if you did not read the story at all, yet decide to go between the spoiler marks anyway, I will alphabetize the eliminated contestants' names, to prevent you from seeing the orders in which they left. (Keep in mind, this will only apply to Episodes 1-8, as the Episode 9 eliminated contestant(s), if any, have not been revealed yet, and will be kept unknown in this poll.) Though this will lower spoilers, there will still be spoilers, thus, I use the spoiler tags, which will be effective for the first time, as they are printed. (Yes, the spoilers, at this point, will mark spoilers, so beware.)

Spoilers beyond this point!

Who do you think will join the competition in Episode 10? Cheryl Earnest Ester Frazier Hash Hector Kelsey Paisely Stymie (Any of) The eliminated contestant(s) from Episode 9 The cameo character from Episode 9 OCs by another user, from a different fanfic Other (if you wish to explain, please use my spoiler tags, available in code form at the bottom of this page, to copy-paste into your comment)

Spoilers have ended.

And I also have a plan as to what challenges to use in Episode 10. The immunity challenge will be a laser tag game. However, there will be a massive twist in this game, so, again, beware.

Have 3DSXL, Will StreetPass (Eventually)
If I didn't mention this before, I bought a new Nintendo 3DSXL on the 16th, at a stupendous 25% discount. (They're originally worth $199.99 US, but Target had a limited-time $50 off sale on new units, thus reducing the price to $149.99, and yes, both prices include tax.) The only problem was, even though I still had some of my brothers' DS games ready for use, I didn't have a single 3DS game, until...

My Christmas Presents
I received a few things for Christmas, as in a new headset, a keyboard wrist rest, a MIB/MIIB double-feature DVD (the latter received in a gift exchange), and of course, two of the best gifts I've ever received for Christmas.

...

Wait for it.

.

..

...

(*blink*)

Copies of both Pokemon X and Y for the Nintendo 3DS. And yes, I'm holding them right now as you read this blog post.

Why did I bold-ify the words "both" and "and"? Let me explain. It was obvious among my family members that I bought my 3DSXL at the special price (Seriously? $149.99? Why in the world would I wait any longer to buy?), but then Alexis revealed that he plans to buy either X or Y for my games, since he already knew that I wished to play either or both. (Thank the Porterville Otaku Club for me giving in to the hype.) At this point, I was nervous as to how to catch them all and get all the special offers with only one of the cartridges, not to mention which one I would get and which one I had to buy to complement the set.

Then, we celebrated Christmas (one day early, because my parents were busy today), and my brother gave me my present. And I unwrapped it after all my other presents. And I found both games in there. Both. Wow. I can't believe Alexis actually did it. And they're also from Walmart, so I have two extra Pokemon in these games. (And yes, I thanked him for the gifts.)

And what made this all the sweeter was the fact that with a new cloud-based application, Pokemon Bank, I can essentially move around my Pokemon between two games using only one console. When it comes out on December 27, I will actually play on these games. For real. (I want to catch and bank all the starters first.)

So yes, I had a marvelous Christmas, and my parents' 21st wedding anniversary will be tomorrow. Luckily, I finally found the perfect presents for under $20. (They love their Vicente Fernandez.) So, I have a few big days awaiting me after tomorrow. And I assure you, I will ask for friend codes on Friday, after I have all the starters.

Christmas Party on the 23rd
I almost forgot this. This is where I got the MIB/MIIB double-feature DVD. You see, some people from the Otaku Club decided to throw a "Christmas shindig", and over 20 people, including myself, ended up attending. We had talks, we watched movies, we played games, we had snacks. This was the first time I played Just Dance 4, and though I lost my first game, I fared impressively well. (Like John Cena's debut match against Kurt Angle.) I even shared story ideas with a few others, and they liked them. Anyways, the gift exchange was of the white elephant variety (see link for details), where if a gift was "stolen" three times, that gift would be kept by the last person who stole it.

This game had some good moments, indeed. We had a drawing to dtermine the order of the people getting each present, each of them numbered. The first person got... ointment. (And no, it wasn't stolen at any point in the game.) During the game, many gifts were revealed, like a Charlie Brown Christmas set, an Apples to Apples game, a few handmade bracelets, a 3DS accessory kit (I put it in the exchange), a Fennekin doll, and a highly-contested Hello Kitty beanie. (Hey, I can't remember them all.) I was lucky enough to be the last to choose, since even though I would get candy canes as my gift, I could steal from almost anyone else. The conversation went like this: So, it was a pretty interesting night, and the first time I actually got to visit a party with my friends without my relatives, without it ending up being a hangout. So, let's see...
 * Me: I get to steal, right?
 * ???1: Yes.
 * Me: From anyone whose gift isn't locked in?
 * ???1: Yes.
 * Me: Okay (thinks) I could go for that Men in Black DVD (notes it), or maybe that Fennekin doll (noted). What would it be...? (thinks)
 * ???2: You know you want that DVD.
 * Me: Yes, I do. (steals and swaps)

Anything else?
One of our relatives had a baby today. Just saying.

So, that's it, and before I go, I have those spoiler codes ready for copy-paste. Enjoy.

Begin spoiler mark copy/paste:

Spoilers beyond this point!

End spoiler mark copy/paste:

Spoilers have ended.

And to end: A lot of people differ on the meaning of Christmas as much as they differ on the meaning of life. Let's just say it's not about presents, or snow, or turkey dinners, or movies, or writing to a fictional man in a red suit who hangs with short guys in frigid temperatures, hoping to please over a billion children across the world in 24 hours, one time zone at a time. Whatever the true meaning of Christmas is, it's not about that. So, don't let al Qaeda attack us anymore. Stop capitalizing Christmas.

I will see you again soon. Let Christmas not be about capitalism. (Talk | Blogs | Contributions) 03:05, December 26, 2013 (UTC)