We're heading over to Universal Studios tomorrow for Halloween Horror Nights. It's been the first time we've gone over to Universal for their Halloween event since 2000. After Sept. 11th, we'd that there wasn't going to be one in 2001, and since then we haven't heard of there being one. But this year we hear rumors, which turned out to be fact. We would forgo our usual trip to Knott's Scary Farm, and relive the fun we used to have at Universal. We've even heard that you can walk on the Universal Backlot as part of the experience. We're all set, we got our tickets, and we can't wait. I'll be back with an update soon...if we can make it out alive, that is! MMUUUAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHA!! *COUGH*
UPDATE- So, our night at Universal came and went, and it can be described in one word: LAME! Don't get me wrong, we had a blast at the event, but it was despite of it, not because of it. It's always a great time when my friends and I get together, no matter where we go, we always manage to have a great time. We had all gone together to Universal the last time they held the event (back in 2000), and we all agreed that it had lost a little something. Perhaps a lot something! It had us wishing we had gone to Knott's yet again. What happened Universal?? You used to be so good at scaring us! Where there used to be 5 or 6 wickedly cool mazes going through the sound stages, now only 2 were found, and on the upper levels, not in the sound stages. And the "Terror Tram" which is the tram tour through the backlot, that actually let you get off and walk past the Psycho house, the War of the Worlds set, and the Bates Motel, was nothing more than a lot of hype. There was so much potential for good scares, but they were totally wasted. Instead of a Fear Factor Live: Dead Celebrities Edition (MIND-NUMBINGLY STUPID!!!), how about another dark gorey maze?? Universal is not as large as Knott's, in sheer walking area, so there weren't as many scarezones as there could be. But instead of QUANTITY, how about QUALITY?? I was so hoping that this would scare our pants off (Although you don't need to scare me to get my pants off.. WINK WINK!), and ultimately we felt shortchanged. We'll have to see what we decide to do next year. Give Universal one more chance, return to Knott's, or try someplace entirely new, like The Queen Mary! Only time will tell. For now, I can only say that I am damned glad that we only paid $25 per ticket instead of the full $49 price.
Oh, boy! What a rough couple of weeks it has been. I've been having computer problems for the last couple of weeks. It would just spontaneously shut down on me, no matter what I was doing or what I was in the middle of. Finally, I had had enough when my brothers were unable to do their homework and print it out. It took an 11pm trip over to my girlfriend's house to print out some homework to make me realize that I shouldn't wait any longer to get it checked out. Now, let me say this first. I got my computer at Fry's Electronics (Yeah, I can see most of you rolling your eyes already!). I've always heard about their bad reputation with customer service, and the such, but there are not many stores like that around our area. 
So, yes I went into business with Fry's. I had taken it in before for virus removal, and never had a problem. I take it in on Saturday, explain my situation, and the guy behind the counter says tells me to leave it, pay $99, and they'll check it, clean it, remove any virus' that it may have, and the such. I reluctantly agree, I mean I couldn't do anything myself, since it wouldn't stay on long enough to get anything done. He says I can come in on Sunday to pick it up. So I go home and sleep on it. Sunday I'm anticipating his call, letting me know the computer is ready. Well, he calls, but tells me that he's going to have to install an OEM version of Windows, which meant I would not have everything that was on my computer when I first bought it. I told him that I had the recovery discs at home, and he said if I would take them to him, they might work. Well, long story short, I take him the discs, they don't work. Turns out that the motherboard had blown a few capacitors, making it not able to distribute power properly. So, I ended up having to buy a new motherboard, new CPU, a new fan, and, oh, by the way, I may need a new power supply. YAY!! All in all, the damage ended up being around $240 aside from the $99 already paid. The guy says it'll be ready by Tuesday. Great! I'll pick it up on my way home from work.
So, I go to pick it up. The guy isn't done with it yet. He still needed to screw stuff back in, and register Windows. Once that was done (2 Hours Later!), I was on my merry way home with, what I thought, was a fully functioning computer. Boy, was I gullible. Oh, don't get me wrong. I came home, plugged it in, turned it on, and all was sunshine and rainbows. Cut to an hour and a half later, in the midst of reinstalling much of what I had lost. The computer restarts, and that's it! It keeps restarting. I mean, WHAT THE HELL!!!
So, the next day I take it back to the Fry's, and the guy who originally fixed it wasn't there. A couple of new guys took a gander at its' innards, and told me that the problem was that I didn't have Windows installed. Wait, what?? I thought that fool had not only installed, but registered Windows for me! Guess not. Turns out I'd have to buy a copy of Windows XP for my very own!! But, at least that was it. It's been smooth sailing since, and now here I am, back among you. Hopefully I won't have to go through any of that again any time soon.
We're heading over to Universal Studios tomorrow for Halloween Horror Nights. It's been the first time we've gone over to Universal for their Halloween event since 2000. After Sept. 11th, we'd that there wasn't going to be one in 2001, and since then we haven't heard of there being one. But this year we hear rumors, which turned out to be fact. We would forgo our usual trip to Knott's Scary Farm, and relive the fun we used to have at Universal. We've even heard that you can walk on the Universal Backlot as part of the experience. We're all set, we got our tickets, and we can't wait. I'll be back with an update soon...if we can make it out alive, that is! MMUUUAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHA!! *COUGH*
UPDATE- So, our night at Universal came and went, and it can be described in one word: LAME! Don't get me wrong, we had a blast at the event, but it was despite of it, not because of it. It's always a great time when my friends and I get together, no matter where we go, we always manage to have a great time. We had all gone together to Universal the last time they held the event (back in 2000), and we all agreed that it had lost a little something. Perhaps a lot something! It had us wishing we had gone to Knott's yet again. What happened Universal?? You used to be so good at scaring us! Where there used to be 5 or 6 wickedly cool mazes going through the sound stages, now only 2 were found, and on the upper levels, not in the sound stages. And the "Terror Tram" which is the tram tour through the backlot, that actually let you get off and walk past the Psycho house, the War of the Worlds set, and the Bates Motel, was nothing more than a lot of hype. There was so much potential for good scares, but they were totally wasted. Instead of a Fear Factor Live: Dead Celebrities Edition (MIND-NUMBINGLY STUPID!!!), how about another dark gorey maze?? Universal is not as large as Knott's, in sheer walking area, so there weren't as many scarezones as there could be. But instead of QUANTITY, how about QUALITY?? I was so hoping that this would scare our pants off (Although you don't need to scare me to get my pants off.. WINK WINK!), and ultimately we felt shortchanged. We'll have to see what we decide to do next year. Give Universal one more chance, return to Knott's, or try someplace entirely new, like The Queen Mary! Only time will tell. For now, I can only say that I am damned glad that we only paid $25 per ticket instead of the full $49 price.
