by Phantom June 25th 2009, 2:02 am
Well, here are my top picks...
Summer, 2006: I went to Six Flags Magic Mountain with myself one Sunday in the summer. It was hot, but that being inland California it was to be expected. Still, with jut being there myself I was free to get as big a piece of the action as I wanted; going on any rides and taking it all at my own pace. The lines were very short that day, so I could just waltz onto Viper (my favorite rollercoaster) at any time. I also caught the "Batman Begins" stunt show and the Chinese Acrobats of Hibei (I've never seen a show there before), and to cap it all off I scored my first victory in a carnival game to win a Tails plush and finally got to meet a costumed Wile E. Coyote (I have great respect for those brave souls in costume at theme parks--and Wile E.'s my favorite, been looking for him for a while). If ever there was a perfect day in the park, that would be it for me.
Spring/Summer, 1994: By then I had already embraced Sonic the Hedgehog, and S3&K held dominion over my TV set. I brought my cartridge over to a friend's house, and we played like we meant it, him as Sonic and me as Tails (good thing Tails was immortal, or I'd still be fighting the Death Egg Act 1 boss). From there, we had all the characters with all the Emeralds each, and we marveled as we saw the endgames of Knuckles, Tails and Sonic (in that order) and their final challenges. I remember almost crying when Sonic reclaimed the Master Emerald and brought it back to the Floating Island--I never wanted it to end, and I felt like I really achieved something great. Since then, every time I came back to the game it felt like a happy reunion, that Sonic and his friends were saying "Oh, he's back! Better shape up for him!"
Winter, 2007: it's a fact that only a quarter of the Demo 4 class actually graduates: unless your demo reel, website and business cards are up to three instructors' worth of high standards, you'd better get ready to retake the class (a lot). I was toeing the line between passing and failing throughout the quarter, and just at the last day of presentation (especially after my stiff neck that cost me a day in class--see "Worst Pain"), I had emerged victorious with a quality demo reel and website and cards (at least, now that I look back on them I'm sure I could've done better in comparison with what I've seen since). Still, that meant I was graduating! Whoohoo! And to cap it all off, that night I went to a concert in Hollywood to celebrate. My favorite band, Suburban Legends, was playing alongside Andy Frasco and a British punk band called Koopa (check out their cover of "500 Miles"). I danced the dance of the winner to the ska sounds of SL.