7-22-15: I'm Back! (and huge update)

After a very long (unintentional) break from the forums, I have triumphantly returned! This post will be quite long winded, as I am giving an update on the past year-ish as well as the circumstances leading to my absence. So, without further ado, let's dive in!

First and foremost, why was I gone? Well, the answer is very simple; I was an idiot. When the site shifted over, I immediately tried logging in, but found that I could not. Thinking that my account had been lost in the transfer, I tried emailing forum members to no avail, and eventually just gave up on trying to get back in. However, today at Driver's Ed, my friend (who is also a forum member) and I were talking about the game, when I mentioned my inability to log in. He suggested talking to Jeff (who I Skype messaged, with no response), when I realized that I was friends with Matan on Skype, and that he was online. Matan informed me that my account did still exist, but I had just changed the password without realizing it. I then used the forgot password tool, and my account was back up and running in minutes (this is all still while we're going through a slideshow about distracted driving, ironically). But that's all behind us, and the important thing is that I'm back.

Secondly, what has happened in the past two years? My last post was the day before I started 8th grade, but lots has happened since then, and I'd like to talk about it.

8th Grade
This was the first year that we got laptops for use in school and at home. The only downsides? The laptops were MacBook Airs (which are bad because of overheating, made worse because of the overlarge, overbulky, and overly unnecessary cases) and the school's firewalls and restrictions mirror that of China, even when at home (but there are some ways to beat them). Other than that, the laptops were very welcome. Other than that, nothing much happened (other than a 6-month relationship where I was absolutely terrible and stupid on account of having no idea what to do while in a relationship). Also, the friendship between myself and the most wonderful girl I know (not the one I "dated") strengthened and remains strong to this day, which is nice.

9th Grade
This was a pretty normal year, other than being the first year of high school for me. The laptops were still around and were slightly better, but they started us on a new set of standardized testing called PARCC (don't ask me what it stands for, because I don't know). At the end of each test, they gave us a survey asking for the good and bad of the test. I wrote multiple savage letters to the Department of Education explaining how both their English and Math tests (yes, they gave us a math test on the computer) were absolute garbage.

Present Day
It's now a month before I start 10th grade, and to give you all a taste of what my year is looking like, I'm just going to list my schedule.
1st Period: HR Modern American History
2nd Period: HR Algebra II
3rd Period: HR Symphonic Band
4th Period: HR Chemistry
5th Period: HR French III
6th Period: HR English II
7th Period: AP Biology
8th Period: Study Hall

As you can tell, I'll need that study hall. My summer so far has been fairly eventful. I'm currently taking Driver's Ed (the written test is tomorrow) and I've found a love of driving in myself. I also traveled to New Mexico for the majority of June to partake in the ultimate Boy Scout adventure; Philmont, a 12-day hike through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains carrying 40-50 lbs. of gear on my back. Contrary to how it sounds, it was incredibly fun and I plan to work there when I turn 18. Speaking of Boy Scouting, I have completed my Eagle Scout Project (a test of leadership, which must be completed before I can become an Eagle Scout), in which I built and installed 4 Little Free Libraries (Google them, they're really cool) in my town.

If you're reading this paragraph now, I thank you for reading (or fake reading) this very long and in-depth blog post. Hopefully you now know all the important details from my long and entirely self-caused hiatus. The most important thing, though, is that I'm back, hopefully to stay.

Welcome back, nice to have you around again!

RandomGuy wrote: The laptops were still around and were slightly better, but they started us on a new set of standardized testing called PARCC (don't ask me what it stands for, because I don't know). At the end of each test, they gave us a survey asking for the good and bad of the test. I wrote multiple savage letters to the Department of Education explaining how both their English and Math tests (yes, they gave us a math test on the computer) were absolute garbage.

Oh man. I'm not in high school anymore, but I know my younger brother had to do PARCC testing, and he complained about it nonstop for at least a week. He said that everyone either just drew dumb pictures or wrote their essays about how ridiculous the testing was. It also sounded pretty counter-productive to me, because his school handled it by making the students take the test in groups. None of the teachers could ever rely on students being present, so he pretty much just ended up watching movies in all of his classes. Which is kinda fun I guess, but meh.

RandomGuy wrote: It's now a month before I start 10th grade, and to give you all a taste of what my year is looking like, I'm just going to list my schedule.
1st Period: HR Modern American History
2nd Period: HR Algebra II
3rd Period: HR Symphonic Band
4th Period: HR Chemistry
5th Period: HR French III
6th Period: HR English II
7th Period: AP Biology
8th Period: Study Hall

Woah. Impressive schedule indeed. I see that you're in Symphonic Band - what instrument do you play? I used to play the trombone.

RandomGuy wrote: I also traveled to New Mexico for the majority of June to partake in the ultimate Boy Scout adventure; Philmont, a 12-day hike through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains carrying 40-50 lbs. of gear on my back. Contrary to how it sounds, it was incredibly fun and I plan to work there when I turn 18. Speaking of Boy Scouting, I have completed my Eagle Scout Project (a test of leadership, which must be completed before I can become an Eagle Scout), in which I built and installed 4 Little Free Libraries (Google them, they're really cool) in my town.

That sounds pretty awesome. I actually really enjoy hiking and camping in general. I've been to a lot of national and state parks/forests and it's great to just get away from things and enjoy nature every once in a while. Congratulations on finishing your Eagle Scout project too! I'm sure it took a lot of hard work and dedication, but it definitely pays off in the end and it's a great way to give back to your community. The Little Free Library project itself sounds really cool too, wish my town had some of those.

RandomGuy wrote: If you're reading this paragraph now, I thank you for reading (or fake reading) this very long and in-depth blog post. Hopefully you now know all the important details from my long and entirely self-caused hiatus. The most important thing, though, is that I'm back, hopefully to stay.

Yay!

P.S. Don't ever message Jeff on Skype unless you're prepared to lose a few brain cells