Saturday, October 31, 1998

no more trick-or-treating for me

One year ago, I donned my Batman costume and raided the neighborhood for treats. I got several bags of the good stuff, and it was definitely lots of fun. But one thing I noticed was that most of the people that dressed up were much younger than me. I realized I was becoming too old to go around knocking on doors and asking strangers for sweets, so I've decided to stop trick-or-treating this year. That's right, I am calling it quits.

From now on, I'll probably stay home on Halloween and pass out candy instead. In all honesty, giving up trick-or-treating wasn't too difficult because I had already made a similar decision to stop going to Easter egg hunts this year. Come to think of it, each year's candy is pretty much the same anyway.

Saturday, October 10, 1998

I'm officially a teenager + new computer!

Well, I just turned 13. In other words, I'm now officially a teenager. I'm aware that 13 is considered an unlucky number, so here's to hoping I won't have too much bad luck for the next year. *shrugs*

Speaking of which, this birthday was a little different. I figured I was getting too old for annual birthday parties - not to mention that my mother was getting tired of always having to invite people over - so I did not have one this year. After all, parties aren't the only way to celebrate a special occasion; I'd imagine a night at the movies or a dinner at a nice restaurant would be just as fun. But that doesn't mean I'll never have another birthday party again - I just might save one or two for those very special ages.

On the other hand, I got a brand new desktop PC in the evening. The computer has a 400 MHz Pentium II processor, 8 GB of storage and 64 MB of RAM. It came with a nifty wireless mouse, too. Pretty impressive, don't you think?

I should mention that the computer was never intended to be a present. I'm not that spoiled, mind you. Rather, Dad had ordered it a while ago, and it just happened to arrive on my birthday. It's funny how things tend to work out. Perhaps I won't have so much bad luck after all. ;-)

Oh yeah, and my friend Moonway's mother knew I used to be an avid map collector, so she gave me two high-quality maps a few days ago. One is a world map, and the other is a map of the United States. Thanks, Angela!

Currently playing: SimCity 2000

Friday, October 2, 1998

report of my first school dance

"Dude, why are you dressed all formal?" -- another guy at the dance, after seeing me in a tuxedo

I just got back from the first LAYC dance of the school year at the Los Altos Youth Center. The event was open to all local middle school students, and was the first school dance I've ever been to. Strictly speaking, it was not a school event as it was organized by the city of Los Altos, but I'd nevertheless expect Egan's own dances to be similar to this one.

I wasn't too interested in going to the dance at first, mainly because I didn't know what to do there. However, my mother insisted that I attend at least this one so that I would have an idea of what teenagers' social events were like. She also taught me a few basic steps before we left so that I wouldn't look like a complete fool in front of everyone. I was still a little nervous, so my parents went as chaperones. As a side benefit, I got to go in about ten minutes early. :-)

The dance actually turned out to be quite fun. The place was crowded as lots of people showed up. I saw many of my Springer classmates there, and it was definitely nice to get back in touch with them. The DJ had this really cool laser projector. To top it off, the LAYC membership included two complimentary items from the snack store. It's a pretty good deal, if you ask me.

The DJ later put on some slow songs, and it was kind of weird to see so many guys and girls holding each other closely for several minutes. I was too shy to ask anyone to dance, so I mostly just paced around the dance floor. Surprisingly, no one asked me to dance either, so I guess I lucked out. Although I was pretty much - I hate to say this - a wallflower at the dance, I really enjoyed its atmosphere.

But the dance was not without its awkward moments. Mom did not have school dances when she was my age and so was equally clueless about them. She naturally assumed the dance was going to be a formal event like in the movies, so she put me in a tuxedo, complete with a red bow tie. Imagine my surprise (and embarrassment) when I realized I was the only person to show up in such a handsome silly outfit!

Only one or two people made a comment about it, but I did quite a few strange looks. I'm sure everyone else at the dance was secretly laughing at me. Thanks a lot, Mom.

While the tuxedo incident was a bit humiliating, it did not make the dance any less enjoyable. If anything, the whole thing made for a memorable experience. Funnily enough, I think I later saw another guy wearing a tuxedo, and it was somewhat comforting to know I was not the only one. Haha.

The dance was scheduled to end at 10:00 p.m. I didn't feel like staying that late, so I came home early to play video games. That said, I had a great time tonight, and I'm looking forward to the next LAYC dance for sure.

In other news...

Speaking of video games, I just beat the NES port of Rush'n Attack for the first time. The last stage was quite difficult, but I finally nailed it. Go me!

I'll have to return the game to my friend Moonway as it belongs to him, but he's letting me hold on to it for a few more days. Thanks, dude.

Currently playing: Rush'n Attack
Release date: April 10, 1987