I'm back, baby.
Putting a crapload of stuff under cuts, because I'd kill your friends page without them.
The road trip up to Indiana wasn't too bad. We got to see our old neighborhood and house along the way. Seriously, if you've ever been to Georgia, the area we lived in was hilly. Some people's driveways were almost completely vertical. I also got to see my would-be high school had we stayed there. But anyways, Indiana, my grandma, hotel, then reunion. It was at a neighborhood country club, and a really nice one. Still, it was incredibly awkward talking to people I haven't seen in years or have never met before. I pretty much just grabbed some food and kept to myself or with my siblings. Some of the adults sat with and talked to us, and they were really nice, but it was weird. Luckily, Jeff came up and started talking to me. His wife is my mom's cousin, and besides my grandma, he and his family were probably the last people at the reunion I got to see before it happened. So he wasn't a complete stranger. He was probably one of the few I really talked to, and it got better when he brought up anime and Miyazaki's movies and told me he's been meaning to see them. He's a writer, actually, and one of his books got published recently, and he sent us a signed copy. It's called Fragments, so it'd be really cool if you read it and told me what you thought of it. I thought it was pretty good, though I wasn't expecting a certain turn in it. Besides that, one of the parents got us involved in games, one which included some of the adults. So, it wasn't all too bad.
Next day was spent at the pool. One of the slides was fun, but I got the worst belly flop of my life on the high diving board. Oddly enough, I think being on a diving board is the only time I'm afraid of heights, though it also could be because I haven't been on one in years (pool's too shallow to have one, and the swim team ones from when I was younger were never that high). I meant to do a cannon ball, but my arms got loose, and my entire front was just slammed. I got this crushed feeling in my chest, so I couldn't breathe for a bit, and I couldn't reach the ladder, so I was afraid I was going to drown even though there was a lifeguard right there. The only thing else I can really say is that I got burned on my upper legs (and strangely enough, only there).
After that, we went to where the men were golfing and stayed there a bit. We had a crazy thing going on after one of the kids found a mother cat and her kitten in the bushes, and it started a huge search party for them. In the end the mother ran away and one of parents (really young, 20 or younger) got the kitten. We put it back in the bushes before we left, and I saw the mother come out of hiding, so I'm hoping that she went back.
We all headed to a relative's house and hung out there. We played something similar to Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? with the kids versus the adults. I was the kid that stayed up there the longest. :D We also played Disney Scene It?, and though one of the girls (Sydney, a year older) claimed to be master of the game, I was the one who corrected her multiple times ("No, that's not The Aristocats, that's Lady and the Tramp!"). It wasn't as fun, though, because the girls kept on coming up with rules and then doing the exact opposite while the boys pointed that out to them. Still, it was better than the night before.
We had church, unfortunately, on Sunday, and the mass was absolutely pathetic. Seriously, Holy Family's masses were never that bad (and that's saying something). At least it was short, and we had brunch afterwards at another club. After that, we hung out, not really doing anything.
My mom, siblings, grandma, and I went to Kings Island for two days. Seriously, best time I've had in a long time. The wooden roller coasters are the most violent, in my opinion, because they shake like crazy and your body is being thrown everywhere. I'm surprised my head didn't snap off, but even then, I went on the Beast and the Racer multiple times. Son of Beast was closed, to our disappointment, because they were testing it after it jumped a track and injured over 20 people. Firehawk was a new addition, and it's supposed to feel like you're flying. My mom was afraid she'd die at first, but it turned out to be her favorite ride. Flight of Fear wasn't much, kind of like Space Mountain and Rockin' Roller Coaster combined, but the beginning scared the crap out of me when we were in line. We weren't paying attention to the people on the ride, so out of nowhere we hear this loud sound and, cross my heart, that thing was out of there faster than anything I've ever seen. I was in the front with Squeal Monkey, and I was waiting for the all-clear (the only warning that you have), and once you got past the initial rush, it was okay. My sister was terrified, though, since she's afraid of the dark. Tomb Raider was good. It's like a giant swing, and the only bad thing is when you're held upside down for what feels like a full minute, this huge pressure builds up in your face, and I was trying hard to keep my head up to stop it. A girl lost her hat on the first swing the second time we went on. Too bad for her, but I kind of find it funny that she honestly thought it would survive the ride. The water park wasn't too fun, the slides were too violent to enjoy it and go on a second time, except for the one ride. You go down on a four-person tube into a tunnel, the usual, but then, you suddenly feel a drop and you go into this huge funnel. And believe me, you can go high on it. It never got old even after doing it five times.
Two days was enough to try out what we wanted, but seriously, I wish we could have been there longer. Next time we go there, I'm heading straight for Delirium. That was one of the best.
We spent the rest of the time at my grandma's, and we got to see my grandpa and grams (step-grandmother) one day. The only problem with staying with my grandma is that five people are living in a place meant for one person, and maybe a guest. We got to play a lot of games, and I got to see some Seinfeld (soup nazi, smelly car, junior mints, etc.) and David Letterman while keeping up with Hell's Kitchen. Since the only things on in the day time were soap operas and Jerry Springfield, I really didn't watch much TV, though it looks like it. That left a lot of time in the day for movies:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix- It was a warning when it got 3/5 stars in our paper, especially when the reviewer usually kisses the series' feet. Most disappointing one of them all, behind Prisoner of Azkaban. If you look at separate things, it looks good, but put it all together, and...yuck. Get Chris Columbus back, please, though I pretty much believe now that he's ditched all of it.
Transformers- Hell of a lot better than the Harry Potter one, but needed more robot stuff. I laughed a lot, and the effects were awesome, but there were hardly any fights between the Autobots and Decepticons (or however you spell it), which seemed weird. I mean, I always hated the show and everything, but I was really confused why the robots were so second character.
Hairspray- I was nervous when it began, but after the first song, it got better. I almost didn't see it because of Zac Efron (you heard me), but seeing as he's the throwaway love interest who doesn't do anything, I didn't really have to get annoyed with him. It was really good overall, if you ask me. Seeing John Travolta in a fat suit made me giggle, and I was very amused seeing him look like a woman with a guy voice. The lyrics to the show are also funny if you know what they're saying. It's probably my favorite of the movies this summer.
All I have left is to see The Simpsons Movie. The Schwarzenegger parts in the commercials looked funny, and it got five stars from our paper (though I can't always trust them. Look at what they said about Azkaban.). I don't know when we're seeing it, though.