FRIDAY
 
When Friday morning rolled around, I was super pumped to start my paper route.  Not only was I pretty confident I was getting one step closer to securing the job after the Bo Abobo dog incident from Thursday, but the delivery route that morning was Taito Street.  What was so exciting about Taito Street you ask?  Well, it was that day that Jimmy would be mowing lawns in that neighborhood, so I was going to be able to see him and also show off how good my delivery skills were.  Yeah, we were getting to that age where we were bickering more (and trust me, he and I would have a legendary feud years later, but you all know about that already), but we were both proud of each other for finding summer jobs.  I had gotten to the newspaper office a little early that morning, so Big Boss let me in and allowed me to get my papers gathered up.  Since I had a little extra time before I had to go out and start my route, I decided to read the paper outside and enjoy the sunshine.  It was a slow news day and there wasn’t anything really interesting to read, but one brief article in the police blotter grabbed my attention.  Here is what it said:
 
“MERV’S BURGER JOINT ROBBERS POST BAIL
 
A pair of would-be robbers, identified as Bebop and Rocksteady, posted bail on Thursday and are now free on bond for holding up the Merv’s Burger Joint at the corner of Nintendo Street and Rad Racer Boulevard on Tuesday.  The two robbers collected an undisclosed amount of cash from the establishment’s cash registers as well as from all the customers inside.  Their crime was quickly halted outside the restaurant when a local paperboy incapacitated them with newspapers shortly before police arrived.  A mysterious man clad in a purple outfit with a silver helmet who went by the name Shredder posted the bail for the two robbers.  When asked if he knew the two robbers, Shredder only responded with “they’re incompetent” and also referred to them as “dunderheads,” “dolts,” and “nincompoops.”  Bebop and Rocksteady are due back in court next Thursday for robbery charges.”
 
As I chuckled at the article and placed the paper back in my satchel, I noticed Bo Abobo arrive at the office.  He looked exhausted and just dropped his bike on the pavement as he walked past me without saying a word.  As he neared the building I shouted to him “Hey, did you ever find your dog?”  Bo Abobo stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face me.  “Yeah, I eventually found him.  Why do you care” Bo Abobo retorted angrily.  “Because you look ‘doggone’ tired today” I replied with a laugh.  “Shut up, BIMMY, that’s not funny” the ugly bully shot back angrily.  “I spent all last night looking for him.  I barely got any sleep.”  “I guess it is true when they say you should let sleeping dogs lie” I joked once more.  “Man you’re crabby this morning, Bo.”  “You better shut your mouth or I’m gonna shove a newspaper up your ass” Bo Abobo shouted as he threw the door to the newspaper office open.  “Go on boy, go on and fetch your newspapers” I teased once again as the bully disappeared into the building.  Suddenly, the door flew back open and Bo Abobo emerged.  He began running at full speed toward me, looks of irritation and anger flashing across his face at my last joke.  I quickly pushed up the kickstand on my bike and rode away quickly before he could even get close to me.  As I pedaled into the distance, I could hear Bo Abobo shouting “Yeah, you better run.  And you better watch your back today.”  Not putting too much stock into my rival’s threat, I hurried along toward Taito Street.
 
Once I reached my destination, I noticed that there were a lot of people out enjoying the nice weather on this Friday morning.  There were three little girls jumping rope in one driveway, a construction worker busy breaking up the asphalt near a fire hydrant with a jackhammer, a couple of teenage boys skateboarding in the street, a couple of workers busily installing windows on one house, an elderly couple enjoying the morning on a porch swing, and a man working underneath a jacked up car.  Further up the street, I could hear the hum of a lawnmower, which meant Jimmy had to be close by.  A few of my first subscribers ended up being some famous folks around town, including Strider Hiryuu, Captain Falcon, Colonel Guile, and General Chaos.  Come to think of it, a lot of them were military men.  Anyway, as I rode further up the street, I could see Jimmy pushing along a lawnmower in someone’s front yard.  “Jimmy” I shouted loudly as I pulled off my hat and waved it in the air.  He turned his head my way and waved happily, a big smile on his face.  “Hey bro” he called happily as he mopped sweat from his forehead.  Suddenly, Jimmy’s look of happiness turned to one of fear as his jaw dropped open.  “Billy, look out behind you” my brother shouted in a panic as he pointed beyond me.  I turned my head and noticed Bo Abobo riding up quickly behind me, a newspaper clutched in his pudgy hand.  I ducked quickly as the bully let the paper fly, missing my head by mere inches as it sailed through the air.  I looked over in just enough time to see the paper strike Jimmy right in the face.  He recoiled in pain and immediately brought his hands up to his face and covered his nose.  All at the same time, the lawnmower suddenly raced away from my brother and set in motion a chain of events that I will never forget.
 
Jimmy stood in the grass holding his nose, blood running between his cupped hands, as the lawnmower made its way toward the street.  The window installers were busy bringing a large pane of glass across the road when the mower sped in their direction.  “Holy shit, look out” one of the workers exclaimed loudly as he pointed toward the incoming lawnmower.  The second worker looked on in horror, and at the last second, they dropped the glass and jumped for cover.  The glass instantly shattered on the sidewalk, littering the ground with twinkling shards.  The mower hopped the curb and moved across the road, only to be struck by a speeding car and smashed to pieces.  The skateboarding teenagers noticed the shattered glass and did their best to avoid it.  One of the boys rode right through the glass, wobbling uneasily as he struggled to keep his balance.  He lost his balance just after passing through the glass and crashed right into the construction worker.  The worker lost control of his jackhammer and it soon punctured a water main near where he was working.  A giant plume of water shot straight into the air just as the line was punctured and more water poured into the street like a raging flood.  The second skateboarder moved around the broken glass with ease, but soon found himself heading straight for the jump-roping girls.  Unable to move out of the way, the skateboarder clotheslined himself on the jump rope and fell to the ground with a loud thud.  His skateboard shot out from underneath him like a rocket and sailed across the street.  Just as the man working on his car climbed out from underneath, the skateboard hit the jack and ricocheted further up the street.  The car dropped to the ground with a mighty bang, smashing the man’s foot in the process.  He yanked his injured foot out from underneath the car and began hopping around on his other foot in pain, cursing loudly as he did so.  The errant skateboard slammed into the elderly couple sitting on the porch swing, causing it to spin around in circles quickly with the people still sitting on it!  Don’t ask me how something like that is possible but it happened.  Bo Abobo and I just stood there in stupefied awe at the massive amount of destruction that occurred just from hurling a newspaper at me.  The two of us looked at each other and quickly said “I’m out of here” at the same time before speeding away on our bikes, leaving a scene of chaos and destruction behind us.
 
Back in Big Boss’ stuffy office, we sat before our supervisor as he puffed away angrily on yet another cigar.  Bo Abobo and I hung our heads low, knowing full well we were going to get yelled at for the events that had transpired that morning.  “What in the holy mother of HELL happened out on Taito Street this morning” Big Boss shouted loudly, the windows shaking due to the level of his voice.  “I have half a mind to fire you both RIGHT NOW.  Witnesses said they saw you two at the scene of all the destruction and said you’re both responsible for every bit of it.  First off, all the residents on that street are without running water thanks to whatever you two IDIOTS did out there.  It’s going to take a couple days for the city to get that water main repaired.  They’re gonna have to call in some guy from out of state named Fix-it-Felix to repair the damage and he can’t be there until Monday.  Secondly, we have two teenagers in the hospital with cuts and bruises, another one with a broken nose, a man with a broken foot, and two old people complaining about dizzy spells.  We also have one homeowner footing us for the bill of their broken lawnmower and we have another one doing the same for ruining their new front window, which hasn’t even been installed yet.  Tell me, how do you break a FREAKING window that hasn’t even been INSTALLED!”  Bo Abobo and I just stared at the floor, not even looking up at the enraged man sitting before us.  “LOOK AT ME, BOTH OF YOU” Big Boss shrieked as he stood up and pounded his fists on the desk.  We both suddenly snapped to attention and stared straight ahead at him, sweat running down our nervous faces.  “I’ve got the mayor breathing down my neck right now because he believes TWO of my paperboys were directly involved in this disastrous incident.  I covered YOUR asses by telling him it was just some freak accident and that I only hire GOOD paperboys.  Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t fire you both right now” Big Boss demanded as he plopped back down in his chair.  Bo Abobo swallowed nervously and quickly replied “I stopped the Merv’s Burger Joint robbers on Tuesday.”  Mustering up all the bravery I could, I replied “I saved a runaway baby carriage on Wednesday.”  Big Boss just sat in his chair and smacked his forehead with frustration.  He shook his head a few times, mulling over the information we had just given him.  He finally leaned forward over the desk and slowly pointed a finger at both of us.  “I’m giving you both ONE more chance” Big Boss replied calmly but authoritatively.  “If you two have another day like today, you’re both history.  You have two days left to prove you’re paperboy material.  You both better impress the hell out of me tomorrow and Sunday because I’m certainly NOT impressed right now.  In fact, I’m downright pissed!  Do your jobs right or don’t come back…EVER!  Now, get out of my office.”  Without saying a word, Bo Abobo and I jumped out of our chairs and scrambled out of the editor’s office without saying a word.  We didn’t even say a word to each other as we hurried down the hallway and out of the newspaper office.  Friday ended up not being a good day for the Lee brothers all the way around.  I nearly lost my job on the account of Bo Abobo’s hostility toward me and Jimmy ended up with a broken nose.  He ended up having to miss a week of work and was unable to go to the Neon Night Riders Arcade the following Saturday.  Such a bummer, dudes.  At this point, my trial run for the paperboy job was almost complete with just two days left to go.  Saturday would be a pretty interesting day with some very surreal occurrences.

13'200



I played Paperboy on several systems before, but didn't know that the NES port is that bad.  
So I'm just going for Participation this time. 

I am planning on posting a score this week but I haven't even tried at all yet.  I should be able to beat the game with at least 100K but I'll probably need a bit of practice and luck to pull that off.

I was just thinking recently on how well I would do in these contests these days if I were putting in full effort like I used to.  Battletoads week aside, I think it's been pretty clear that I am not participating at 100% anymore.  I would guess 3rd or 4th?  I have placed 2nd, 2nd, 4th, and 5th in my four "seasons" before this one.  I'm not even looking at the standings anymore, so I have no idea how I'm doing right now!
 

125,800 - Week Complete

Paperboy is one of the all time great games, being in the arcade the machine with the handlebar controllers had that unique gimmick that would always get a couple of quarters on any visit. the graphics and sound were great also. the NES port is a nice job of bringing the game home but nothing is the same as playing with those handlebars

Extra Bold Predictions

Arnpoly - 105,000
richard - 54,000
James - MIA
Brock - 34,000
skinny - 33,900
toxie - MIA

 

145,650 (Completed)

As it turns out, throwing two papers into one mailbox does wonders for my score!   

SATURDAY
 
This particular Saturday morning ended up being pretty dreary with lots of cloud cover and no sunshine, but luckily no rain.  The cloudy nature of the day would perfectly match the next delivery route for Bo Abobo and me, Elm Street.  This street was a very creepy one, with lots of abandoned and spooky houses, tall and scary looking churches, tons of creepy mansions and what appeared to be laboratories, and lots and lots of chilling graveyards.  Many people around Neo City swore there were tons of haunted houses down this street, and from the looks of them, it wouldn’t have surprised me at all.  However, if you were a Ghostbuster or a horror movie enthusiast, this street was right up your alley.  Despite this, the street had a reputation and not a very good one.  As I approached Elm Street, I felt a chilling wind blow over me.  Despite the summer heat, I felt myself shiver a bit, hoping that it was just my imagination and not some sort of evil presence trying to blanket itself over me.  Suddenly, Bo Abobo came to a screeching halt next to me and surveyed the dilapidated houses and twisted trees before us.  “Hope you don’t get too scared delivering papers down Elm Street, wimp” he cackled as he stared at me in an intimidating manner.  “I’m not afraid of this place” I replied as I gazed around at the spooky setting.  “Don’t lie to me, BIMMY” Bo Abobo taunted.  “I know you’re scared right now.  I bet you will be shaking in your boots soon.  Then after that, I bet it will be Pee-Pee Pants City for you.”  “Don’t get me confused with you, fathead” I shot back in an annoyed tone.  Bo Abobo’s eyes narrowed as he scowled at me.  I could tell he didn’t like it when I called him names.  Suddenly, several bats emerged from a nearby tree and flew right above us, shrieking loudly as their leathery wings nearly slapped the tops of our heads.  I brushed them away with ease, but I could tell Bo Abobo was terrified of them.  He flailed his arms in the air wildly in an unsuccessful attempt to shoo them away.  As he waved his hands in the air, he shrieked loudly like a girl and began to pedal his bike down the street, the bats still swirling around the top of his head.  “Ahhhhhhh, get them away” he screamed loudly.  “They’re in my hair, they’re in my hair!”  I couldn’t help but laugh loudly at the sight of the bully being scared by bats, let alone screaming like a girl and saying that they were getting in his hair.  Like, hello Bo ADOBO, you don’t have any hair!  “Looks like YOU’RE headed for Pee-Pee Pants City” I taunted as he sped down the street, the bats still circling around his head.  “In fact, I hope you don’t go too ‘batty’ before you get there.”  I laughed to myself at my own joke, positioned my feet on the pedals, and rode my bike down Elm Street, ready to face anything supernatural I might encounter.
 
The first subscriber on my route was none other than everyone’s favorite mummy, Chuck D. Head (you know, from Decap Attack).  Anyway, as I rode by his house, I watched as his front door swung open and he emerged on the porch, waving at me happily.  I tossed a newspaper toward his house, but it came up a bit short and landed on his front lawn near a wooden planter filled with dead flowers.  As he hopped off his porch, I noticed that some of his wrappings had come loose and were dragging behind him.  Just as he reached the paper, the wrapping caught on a loose nail on the planter.  The wrapping suddenly stretched to its limit and Chuck D. Head began spinning rapidly in a circle.  His wrappings completely unraveled, leaving just a pair of blinking eyes sitting on top of the ancient cloth.  I just rode on, unsure of how the mummy was going to wrap himself back up.  Bo Abobo’s first subscriber happened to be none other than the famous Dr. Jekyll.  Dressed in a top hat, suit and tie, the finest cotton slacks, and perfectly shined black dress shoes, the doctor emerged from his house and gracefully strode down the front walk, a cane in hand.  Before he got halfway to the road, a bumblebee began buzzing around his head.  The doctor swatted at it, but the bee did not go away so easily.  As the bee continued to fly around Dr. Jekyll’s head, I could tell he was starting to get irritated.  He threw his cane down on the ground and angrily swung his open hands at the buzzing insect.  As he unsuccessfully swatted at the bee, I watched in awe as Dr. Jekyll hunched over and began to scream and writhe in pain.  Suddenly, he threw off his hat, exposing wild and long unkempt hair, and tore off his suit, exposing a muscular frame underneath.  At this point, he had built up so much anger, he had transformed into someone completely different.  Dr. Jekyll was famous for experimenting with chemicals and it looked as if he had been doing it during the wee hours of the morning, or even possibly all night.  “No bumblebee crosses Mr. Hyde and lives to tell about it” the transformed doctor shrieked in a gruff English accent as he tore at the air where the bee sat buzzing.  He must have swatted it out of midair, as I noticed him stomping wildly on the ground as he laughed maniacally.  Bo Abobo stared at him in horror, tossed a newspaper onto his front lawn, and hurried away before this Dr. Jekyll, or Mr. Hyde as he was now calling himself, could have a chance to spot us.
 
The next house Bo Abobo came to belonged to a man named Rick, a hulking person who wore this weird mask called the Terror Mask, which had attached itself to his face by some demonic force.  As my rival approached the house, this Rick fellow walked out of the garage carrying a two-by-four in one hand.  A little creeped out by this muscular man walking toward him with a piece of wood in his hand, Bo Abobo quickly threw a newspaper toward the house.  Rick gave the bully a thumbs up at a successful delivery just moments before this ghastly looking ghoul began to climb its way out of the front lawn.  As this fowl creature shook dirt from its body and lumbered toward Rick, he readied his two-by-four like it was some sort of baseball bat.  As the horrid creature skittered in his direction, he swung the piece of wood in a powerful fashion, striking the being square in the head.  The ghoul emitted a painful shriek as it flew toward the siding of the house and splattered all over it.  The mangled corpse slid down the side of the house slowly as green blood or guts or whatever it was rained across the front yard and even onto the muscular man standing in his driveway.  Suddenly, three more creatures began to claw their way up out of the ground and made their way toward Rick.  Bo Abobo and I sped away as the man wildly swung his two-by-four, splattering ghoul guts all over the side of his house.
 
The next subscriber of mine ended up living in this gigantic mansion, even bigger than the one Alex Kidd lived in.  Well, this was debatable since Alex Kidd’s house was a cross between a castle and a mansion, but this place I was now delivering to was still huge.  As I rode closer to the mansion, I noticed what I thought were two separate tentacles peeking around the back corner of the house, one green and one purple.  As I blinked my eyes and rubbed them in disbelief, I noticed they were suddenly gone.  Were they actually there or did I just imagine it?  As I rode closer to the newspaper box of this gigantic mansion, I noticed three teenagers standing near the road.  I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but they appeared to be talking to one another and had no idea I was fast approaching.  There was a pretty attractive girl with wild red hair and a black dress, a geeky looking kid with glasses who was wearing a white shirt and black pants, and a pretty cool looking kid with brown hair wearing blue jeans and a dark jacket.  As I approached the driveway to the house, I could finally make out clearly what they were saying.  “I don’t know, Dave” the geeky kid replied nervously.  “I don’t think we should go in there.  It looks really scary.” “Oh Bernard” the cool-looking kid replied to the nerdy kid.  “Don’t be such a Tunahead.  That place isn’t that scary.  It looks pretty harmless to me.  Plus, Michael, Wendy, Syd, and Jeff went in there a day ago looking for Sandy and haven’t been heard from since.  You, me, and Razor have gotta go in there and help them out.  I have a feeling they’re in trouble.”  “Okay, but I don’t have a good feeling about this” Bernard muttered as he shook nervously with fear.  “Bernard, don’t be such a pussy” Razor shouted as she gave him a little shove.  “Let’s go in there and rescue our friends.”  As the three teenagers made their way up to the front door, I quietly placed the newspaper in the paper box and hurried off down the street toward the next delivery.
 
As Bo Abobo made his way further down the street, he rode past this really spooky looking Gothic church.  When he got near, the bells in the steeple began to ring loudly, echoing out across the neighborhood in a haunting fashion.  As he rode up the sidewalk, this monstrous, hairy, green hand reached out of a nearby sewer drain and tried to grab him.  Whatever it was in the sewer trying to grab Bo Abobo, it shot its hand out with a vigorous and beastly determination, intent on making the bully, or even the next person who happened to walk on by, its next meal as a beastly roar emanated from underground.  Bo Abobo quickly tossed a paper at the creature’s hand, causing it to recoil in pain.  Just as the hand disappeared back into the sewer, I could have sworn I heard a loud ‘OW’ emanate from under the sewer grate as it slunk back into the safety of the underground.  Before Bo Abobo could move another two feet, a ghost suddenly appeared from a gravestone in the church’s front yard.  It hovered in the air for what seemed like minutes before it started to give chase of the big bully.  As he rode down the sidewalk, Bo Abobo fumbled for a paper as the ghost closed in on him.  In his extreme nervousness, the bully managed to wrap his hands around a paper and quickly removed it from his satchel.  Not knowing what to do to rid himself of his ghostly pursuer, Bo Abobo heaved the newspaper toward the specter, hoping that somehow it would stop the ethereal entity.  Much to our surprise, the paper hit the ghost square in the chest and it stopped dead in its tracks.  Don’t ask me how it is possible to immobilize a ghost with a newspaper, but Bo Abobo managed to figure out how to do it on that cloudy Saturday morning.  As the ghost came to a stone-cold stop, Bo Abobo and I rode away quickly before it had a chance to revive itself and chase us down.
 
As the two of us got closer to the end of Elm Street, I felt a sense of relief to be done with this route on this dreary Saturday morning.  And it wasn’t because I was scared or anything!  I’m not scared of anything!  Well, sometimes I get a little scared of Marian when she gets in a bad mood and starts yelling at me because I accidentally ruined some of her clothing because I’m too lazy to separate them and wash them by color, but that’s beside the point.  I wanted to be done with the route because this area of town was weird!  Ghouls, ghosts, monsters, and transforming humans were a little TOO weird for me!  And, unbeknownst to me at the time, things would get even stranger over the next few minutes.  As Bo Abobo and I continued forward, this teenage boy jumped out in front of us, waving his arms wildly in the air with a panicked look on his face.  The both of us had to come to a screeching halt in order to avoid hitting him.  The kid had blond hair standing straight up in the air and wore a black t-shirt with a skull on it, a dirty pair of blue jeans, and a pair of 3D glasses like you would wear to a movie.  He also held a red squirt gun in one hand, his finger over the trigger and ready to fire at a moment’s notice.  “You guys gotta help me” the kid panted quickly and loudly.  “Zombies ate my neighbors and I need help fighting them off.  There’s way too many of them.”  At first I thought the kid might be on some kind of drug, like skooma or ADAM or Pac-Booster or Nuke (you know, the drug from Robocop 2), but he seemed pretty serious about the whole thing.  Just to humor him, I replied “What are we supposed to use to stop these zombies?”  The kid quickly eyed Bo Abobo and I up and down and finally locked his eyes on our newspaper satchels.  “Throw your newspapers at them” he said excitedly as he pointed at my satchel.  “They’re pretty weak and go down easily, so those should do the trick.”  I stared at him skeptically, hoping the kid would just run away and continue playing out his little crazed fantasy on his own.  At this point, I decided to have a little fun with him.  “Why don’t you just give the zombies some Zombrex” I replied, hoping the kid wouldn’t see past my sarcastic answer.  “Are you kidding me” the kid sputtered loudly, his eyes rolling wildly in their sockets.  “That stuff costs a fortune!  I don’t have that kind of money to spend on a movie theater usher salary!”  Suddenly, we heard a shriek from a nearby backyard and saw a brown-haired girl in a purple jacket and white tank top, red Daisy Duke shorts, and a red baseball cap slowly backing toward the street, a blue squirt gun held firmly in her hands.  I guessed that this girl was helping this weird kid live out some sort of fantasy and that she was on the same drugs as him.  Before I could even remark on the situation, I noticed a slow-moving person with outstretched arms slowly come into view, followed by a second and then a third and then a fourth.  Their putrid green faces contorted in a primeval fashion as they gnashed their jaws at the girl.  Their milky white eyes were creepy as hell and held no life behind them.  These people, or I guess zombies if you will, looked as if they were moving on pure motorized instinct.  “Zeke, there’s more of them” the girl shouted with fear.  “Help me.”  “I’m coming, Julie” the kid shouted as he ran toward her.  The next thing I knew, he turned to Bo Abobo and I and said “Come on guys, help us out.”  As I slowly reached into my satchel for a newspaper, I noticed at least 10 more of those things emerge from the backyard.  Knowing that the kid, Zeke, and his lady friend, Julie, were now outnumbered and would be overtaken in a matter of seconds, I sprung into action.  “Come on, Bo, let’s help them out” I shouted to my rival as I pedaled my bike closer to the zombies.  Bo Abobo just shrugged his shoulders and sighed and joined me in the battle against the zombies.
 
Zeke was right when he said that the zombies went down easily.  I tossed one newspaper right in the middle of the chest of one shambling corpse and it dropped to the ground in a heap, apparently dead for good.  And before you say anything, yes I know that conventional zombie wisdom says to shoot them in the head or deliver a heavy blow to the skull, but we are talking about Neo City here!  Nothing makes sense here!  Bo Abobo immobilized a ghost with a newspaper and a couple of old farts spun around in circles on a porch swing.  Do you really think that if stuff like that happened, something normal would happen around here?  Logic doesn’t apply here because logic is for pussies!  Anyway, Zeke and Julie began squirting water at the zombies and it was surprisingly very effective.  They were dropping them left and right as more and more of the undead ghouls began to pour into the backyard (again, don’t look for logic here since squirt guns can’t kill zombies).  Bo Abobo was actually pretty good at dispatching the undead with his newspapers.  I saw him toss one paper at one ghoul and watched in awe as it bounced off its head, hit another nearby zombie, and finally struck another one before dropping to the ground.  Damn, three zombies with one shot!  I saw him even take one out by punching it in the face, the undead body sailing through the air before landing on top of a couple more zombies with a loud thud.  Before too long, the four of us had dispatched all the zombies in the backyard.  Zeke twirled his squirt gun around on his finger and blew over the barrel of the gun like he was some sort of hero cowboy, like Bob from Sunset Riders or one of the Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa.  “Wow, you guys were awesome” he exclaimed happily as he put his arms around mine and Bo Abobo’s shoulders.  “We would make a really killer ghoul exterminating team.  What do you guys say?”  Suddenly, a chainsaw tore through a nearby hedge and carved out a rather large opening and out stepped a giant, muscular man in a jumpsuit wearing a hockey mask and wielding a chainsaw.  I gulped nervously as the man raised the chainsaw above his head and revved the motor on it, doing some goofy little dance in the process where he hopped back and forth quickly on both feet.  “Uh oh” Zeke said quietly as he stared on at the man in horror.  “I think we are going to pass on your offer” I answered quickly as I hopped back on my bike and pedaled off down the street in a hurry.  Bo Abobo did the same, and as the two of us fled the scene, I looked back over my shoulder and saw Zeke and Julie run into another backyard as the chainsaw-wielding maniac chased after them.
 
Well, that was certainly an eventful Saturday, wouldn’t you say?  I never would have expected to be fighting the living dead on my paper route that day.  Heck, Bo Abobo and I actually got along pretty well as the day unfolded.  However, Sunday was fast approaching and it would be the last day for the two of us to prove to Big Boss who was the best suited for the paperboy job.  As I wearily climbed into bed that night, I felt that my chances of getting the job were extremely good.  I fell asleep with a giant smile on my face, wholly confident that I had the job locked down.  Although, I did have a nightmare that night that the Grim Reaper was chasing me as I tried to deliver papers down some random street in Neo City.  Little did I know as I went to sleep that night that Sunday morning would be much more eventful than I anticipated.

This Neo City place surely have some... quirky streets...

bimmy you've found your true calling in recent weeks  

I gotta take some time to sit down and read the last couple days.....been busy and haven't had time to do shit!

99,150 (Completed)

I also have only played a handful of the games before. I basically played SMB1,3 TMNT. Mega man3,4,6. As a kid. 

I just dont don't like paperboy. Sorry Bert   
 

Updated my score. I don't think I can do any better than that without serious training, so that is my last entry for the week.
Waiting for it to be destroyed by Bert or Tablew tomorrow night.  

SUNDAY
 
Here it was, Sunday morning and the final day for Bo Abobo and I to qualify for the paperboy job.  Of course, with this being Sunday, we had thicker than normal newspapers to deliver today and we were going to have to throw them a bit harder than normal due to all the extra stuff crammed within.  As Bo Abobo and I gathered up our Sunday papers in the printing room, Big Boss stood before us with his arms crossed, puffing away on his cigar while he watched us work.  “When you both get done with your routes, come straight back to my office so I can give you your final evaluations” the gruff man replied as he tapped ashes from the cigar.  “And I better not find out that you guys stole coupon fliers from the papers, or you will be really sorry.”  As Big Boss strode away, Bo Abobo and I shot each other irritated glances at our boss’ statement.  We were 14-years-old for crying out loud!  What in the heck were we going to do with a coupon flier other than give it to our parents!  Sheesh!  Anyway, as my rival and I exited the newspaper office with our full loads, I soaked in the bright sunlight and smiled ear to ear.  Today felt like it was going to be a great day, a day for victory…my victory!  After all the hard work I had done all week long, I felt as if I had easily secured the job.  “What are you so happy about” I heard Bo Abobo growl as he caught me smiling.  “Oh, nothing” I replied smugly.  “Just the fact that I’m going to secure the paperboy job this morning after we are done with our route.”  Bo Abobo tilted his head back and laughed loudly at my words.  “Yeah, sure, okay” he replied, still laughing.  “We will see about THAT.”  “Bo, look” I said as I shook my head in complete amazement at his rather bold statement.  “You have damaged property more times this week than I can count on my fingers, you missed porches and paper boxes on a regular basis, ignored part of your route to chase after your dog, and just don’t have the stamina to ride a bike down all these streets.  And don’t get me started about your little circus bike there.”  Bo Abobo just laughed at me again, as it appeared my words were not phasing him one bit.  If I had been saying this stuff earlier in the week, he would have been ready to kick my butt.  “Yeah, well we will see about that, BIMMY” he chuckled as he rode off down the street.  I scratched my head in confusion as to Bo Abobo’s behavior.  Something didn’t seem quite right here but I couldn’t put my finger on it.  I didn’t put too much more thought into it, shrugged it off, and sped off toward my final route of the week.
 
The route on this Sunday morning took us down Miyamoto Lane, a nice neighborhood with bigger than average houses and plenty of notable residents.  My first delivery of the day was to the home of none other than the Mario Bros.  I was hoping to catch a glimpse of them sitting on the porch or working in the front yard, but they were nowhere to be seen.  The only signs of life I noticed at the house were some potted Piranha Plants swaying in the breeze and a Cheep-Cheep that jumped from the water of a fountain in the middle of the yard.  I also noticed a sign in the front yard that read “Beware of Dog” near a red and white doghouse.  As I reached into my satchel and tossed a paper toward the house, a giant Chain Chomp suddenly emerged from the doghouse.  It sped across the yard barking loudly and gnashing its teeth.  It stopped about 100 feet from the road when the chain it was attached to suddenly went taut.  The Chain Chomp barked and barked as it tried its best to get closer to me, but luckily, was unable to because of the chain.  If that Chain Chomp had gotten loose, I would have been dogmeat for sure.  My next subscriber was everyone’s favorite little tough creampuff, Kirby.  He waddled off his front porch toward the sidewalk as I tossed a paper in his direction.  He opened his mouth very wide and began inhaling very deeply, sucking the newspaper into his mouth almost immediately.  Upon, inhaling the paper, Kirby suddenly donned the disguise of a paperboy, clad in a red hat, blue jeans, and white t-shirt.  He even wore a brown newspaper satchel just like mine!  I clapped happily at his little stunt as he waved to me and then turned and waddled off toward his house.
 
On the other side of the street, Bo Abobo’s first customer of the day happened to be famed chef Peter Pepper, the owner of Burger Time Café.  My rival reached into his satchel and heaved a paper toward the front door.  In typical Bo Abobo fashion, he totally missed the front porch and the paper landed in a bush.  Suddenly, the front door of the house flew open and Peter Pepper emerged, a scowl on his face.  I figured he was going to read Bo Abobo the riot act for landing the newspaper in the bush, but instead turned around and looked back into the house, apparently not noticing us.  Suddenly, two large hotdogs and a giant fried egg staggered out of the house and hurried toward the chef.  He quickly pulled a pepper shaker from a pocket in his apron and flung it toward the hostile food.  The hotdogs dodged it with ease, but the egg got hit with a face full of pepper.  It stopped in place for a moment, turned all brown, and then collapsed to the ground.  Peter Pepper readied his pepper shaker again to take out the hotdogs and shook his wrist.  A panicked look spread across his face when no pepper came out of the shaker.  He quickly unscrewed the top and cursed loudly when he realized he had used the last of his pepper on the egg.  With the hotdogs closing in on the chef and no way for him to defend himself against the evil baddies, he dropped to his knees in defeat.  Suddenly, a long tongue shot from the sidewalk and wrapped itself around one of the hotdogs.  I glanced over and noticed Jerms of the Battletoads had been out for a morning jog and now had the evil hotdog in a strong grip.  The hotdog shot backward toward the Battletoad and disappeared into his mouth in an instant.  Before the second hotdog could reach Peter Pepper, Jerms shot out his tongue again and devoured the giant frankfurter hungrily.  A big smile spread across his face as he licked his lips and rubbed his stomach happily.  That happiness didn’t last long as a loud growl sounded from his belly as he clutched it in both hands, a painful look spreading across his face.  “Ugh, I think I ate too many hotdogs” Jerms replied sickly as he staggered down the sidewalk and out of view.
 
Bo Abobo’s next subscriber happened to be the legendary circus performer, Karnov.  As we passed his house, we noticed he was getting ready to roast a pig on a spit in his front yard.  He waved to us as my rival tossed a newspaper on his driveway.  The next thing we knew, he inhaled deeply and blew a large plume of fire all over the coals under the pig, setting them alight instantly.  We cheered on in amazement as he wiggled his eyebrows at us and smiled a big toothy grin.  A shocked look suddenly crossed his face as he realized he breathed the flames a little too far and caught one of his bushes on fire.  He quickly grabbed a garden hose and began to fight the fire as Bo Abobo and I rode away.  As my rival and I continued on down the street, his sloppy habits continued to show.  At Donald Duck’s house, he threw a paper a bit short of the front porch and hit a bird feeder, causing the newspaper to break apart and spread all over the front yard.  The short-tempered duck, who had been sitting on his front porch, noticed this and stormed into the front yard, shaking his fists angrily as he jumped up and down, shouting out unintelligible gibberish as he threw a complete fit.  Bo Abobo even broke a window at Cloud Strife’s house, busted branches on a sapling in Captain Planet’s front yard, bent a wing on Fox McCloud’s Ar-Wing, and busted a taillight on the NARCmobile while Max Force had Mr. Big pulled over and was searching his car for drugs.  I laughed pretty hard at Bo Abobo for that one and the chubby bully glared angrily at me.  “Way to go you fat, ugly, stupid, idiotic, dummyhead” I shouted at Bo Abobo as I continued to laugh.  “Of all the stupid things you have done this week, damaging a cop car is just plain DUMB!  You’re such a moron, Bo ADOBO!  Are your parents proud of you for being so completely stupid?”  Even though what I said was pretty mean, I just couldn’t hold back from doing it.  The words apparently must have struck a nerve with Bo Abobo because the next thing I knew, he rode his bike straight at me with an enraged look on his face and punched me hard in the jaw.  I immediately tumbled off my bike and fell hard on the ground in someone’s front yard, stars dancing across my field of vision.  I looked up from the ground and watched as Bo Abobo jumped from his bike and let it clatter to the ground noisily as he hurried toward me, a hateful swagger to his determined stride.  I quickly jumped to my feet, still a little woozy from the punch I just received.  At that moment, I knew it was on.  All the teasing, taunting, animosity, and hatred from the past week had finally come to a head.  Bo Abobo and I were ready to trade blows.
 
“What was that you just said, BIMMY” the bully shouted as he walked toward me quickly, his hands clenched into fists.  “I didn’t quite get all of that.”  I ducked in just the nick of time as Bo Abobo swung a powerful fist at me quickly.  I swear to this day that I had heard his clenched fist make a “whoosh” noise as it sailed through the air above my head.  “I said you’re a fat ugly idiot” I shouted as I countered his attack and punched him in the side.  He recoiled in pain slightly as he brought a fist down on my shoulder.  I nearly fell to the ground from the power of the punch, but somehow managed to keep my footing.  I quickly threw a punch and grazed Bo Abobo’s jaw, but he countered with another punch to the side of my face.  At this point, a crowd was starting to form and stood there gawking at us as we fought like a couple of wrestlers on WWF Royal Rumble.  Bo Abobo hit me in the jaw once again and I spun around and dropped to my knees directly in front of a child’s sandbox.  “Is that all you got, BIMMY” the chubby bully taunted as he walked closer to me.  “You’re nothing but a wimp.  I’m going to enjoy kicking your sorry ass!”  I could feel a boiling rage spreading throughout my body.  There was no way I was going to let him beat me up.  It was time to teach the bully a lesson he would never forget.  With teeth clenched tightly, I reached into the sandbox, scooped up a handful of sand, whipped around, and threw it right in Bo Abobo’s eyes.  “Ahhhh, I can’t see” he shouted angrily as he staggered around the front yard blindly.  With all the strength I could muster, I pulled my fist back and hit Bo Abobo right in the face.  He stumbled backward a few steps and I punched him again…and again…and again.  After the third punch, he toppled backward to the ground and I was on top of him in an instant.  Still blinded by the sand, he tried to push my hands away, but I punched him hard in the face.  “How do you like that, fat ass” I screamed as I punched him again.  “Let’s see you try to kick my ass NOW!”  That boiling rage continued to intensify in my body as I slugged away at Bo Abobo, completely unaware that I was laying a large beating on him.  People in the crowd began to murmur in fear at my actions as I hit him in the face again.  “That’s enough, I think you proved your point” I heard a voice shout from somewhere in the crowd.  Completely ignoring them, I pulled my fist back high into the air, ready to land another strong blow to Bo Abobo’s face.  “You want some more” I shrieked at the bully.  “I’ve got a lot more where that came from you ugly motherf…”  I was stopped in mid-sentence when I was suddenly tackled off Bo Abobo hard by an unknown assailant.  I looked up from the ground and noticed it was my good bud, Striker, one half of the rad duo, the Bad Dudes.  “Billy, what in the hell, man” he shouted at me as he held me down on the ground.  “Get off me, Striker” I answered angrily as I tried unsuccessfully to push him off me.  “I’ve got to teach Bo Abobo a lesson.” “I think you’ve done enough” Striker shouted as he pulled me up off the ground by the front of my shirt.  “Look what you did to him.”  He pushed me forward toward where Bo Abobo was rolling on the ground groaning in pain.  I noticed he had a bloody nose, a cut above his right eye which was quickly causing it to swell shut, and numerous bruises all over his face.  I stood and gazed on in stunned shock at what my angry rage had done to the neighborhood bully.  I wish I could say that it had felt good to finally stand up to him and give him a taste of his own medicine, but I felt ashamed at how badly I had beaten the kid.  I gazed at the onlookers, who all had mixed emotions on their faces.  Some showed fear at my extreme barbarism, some showed sadness at my fit of rage, and many showed anger at my uncontrollable hostility.  I stood there for a moment just staring at all of these people, breathing heavily and not knowing what to say.  “Excuse me, I have to go” I finally muttered as I brushed past the group of people.  As I brushed my shirt off and picked up my bike from the ground, I turned and noticed Bo Abobo had finally gotten to his knees.  A few concerned onlookers knelt down next to him to make sure he was alright, but he waved them away, saying that he was fine.  Without saying another word, I sped off on my bike back to the newspaper office.
 
Bo Abobo and I both sat in Big Boss’ office across from him for one last time, the ceiling fan creaking quietly as it spun in a haphazard circle.  Neither of us spoke a word as the man lit a cigar and shuffled through our files on his desk.  He read the pieces of paper contained within each one intently as he puffed away on the cigar.  After what seemed like an eternity, he finally closed up the files and pushed them to one side of the desk.  He took one last puff on the cigar before putting it out in a nearby ashtray.  He sat up straight in his chair as he blew the last of the smoke from his lungs and placed his hands together.  This was the most professional appearance I had seen on the grizzled man all week.  “I want to thank you both for all the work you did this week” Big Boss said calmly from behind the desk.  “Despite a few shortcomings from each of you, you both did admirably well.”  Bo Abobo and I both smiled uneasily as we knew what was coming next.  “I’m just going to skip all the formalities and other bullcrap associated with it” Big Boss said professionally as he cleared his throat.  “Bo Abobo…you’re hired.  Bimmy…you’re fired.”  My eyeballs nearly popped out of my head upon hearing the words that came forth from the man’s mouth.  I could scarcely believe what I had just heard, that Bo Abobo had gotten the job and I was getting fired.  Bo Abobo smiled happily as I looked wildly from the bully and then back to Big Boss, anger welling up inside my chest.  “Are you frickin’ kidding me right now” I sputtered loudly to the man across the desk.  “Excuse me” Big Boss questioned as his voice rose in disbelief at my statement.  “You’re gonna hire HIM” I shouted loudly as I pointed at the chubby bully sitting beside me.  “This is an absolute JOKE.  You’re going to reward him with a job after all the horrible work he did this week?  He screwed up delivery after delivery, damaged peoples’ property, taunted me all week, and even attacked me this morning.  So I guess being a complete screw-up makes him more eligible for the job than someone like me, who did nothing but good all week?” “Look at his face” Big Boss replied calmly in a gruff voice as he pointed toward Bo Abobo’s swollen face.  “Yeah, it’s pretty damn ugly!  So what” I shouted wildly.  “Don’t be a smartass” Big Boss shouted loudly as he slammed a fist down on his desk.  “I told you to take a good look at his face.”  I turned to face Bo Abobo and stared at the cuts, bruises, and swollen eye that I had given him just hours earlier out on Miyamoto Lane.  I turned back toward Big Boss, who stared at me with a lot of distrust.  “Do you really think I should hire someone who is capable of doing THAT to another person” Big Boss said angrily as he pointed at the bully’s beaten face again.  “You beat the living shit out of him this morning because you couldn’t control your temper.  What’s to say you don’t do that to some random stranger while you’re delivering papers, huh?  Like you get angry at them or something because they stiff you on a tip or they tease you for the clothes you’re wearing or the bike you’re riding.  I have been watching you closely all week and you have a real attitude problem, son.  Sure, Bo Abobo made a lot of mistakes this week, but he sure doesn’t have the attitude that you have.  You’re going to get nowhere in life acting the way you have been the last few days and you need to straighten up.  You’re still young and have a lot of life left to live.  Don’t waste it being angry all the time and having an attitude about everything.  Let this be a lesson learned to you.  Do you understand me?”  I sat in my chair for a long while, mulling over the advice my now former supervisor had just given me.  “Yes, I understand” I finally muttered quietly as I stared down into my lap.  “Good, now run along” Big Boss replied as he waved me away with one of his big hands.  I slowly stood up and removed my satchel, placing it on Big Boss’s desk.  My head hanging low, I slowly walked to the office door, turned the doorknob, and stepped into the hallway.  “Go ahead and leave the door open” I heard Big Boss call out.  “It’s too stuffy in here.”  Obeying the man, I left the door to his office open as I trudged down the hallway.  I stopped short by the restrooms and decided to use them before I left the building for the last time.
 
After relieving myself and exiting the bathroom, I began to make my way toward the building’s exit.  Laughter from Big Boss’ office made me stop in my tracks and turn around.  I watched as the editor kicked his feet up on the desk with a big smile on his face as he counted through a stack of money in his hands.  I looked on curiously as I suddenly noticed Bo Abobo’s dad, Bolo, sitting in the office with his son and Big Boss, a big smile on his face as well.  “Well, you know what they say” I heard Big boss say as he stuffed the money into his shirt pocket.  “Money talks.”  More laughter emanated from the three sitting in the office as I slowly made my way back down the hallway quietly, suspicious of what was going on.  “I hope that was enough money to get my son the job” I heard Bolo ask the grizzled man behind the desk.  “Of course it was, Mr. Abobo” Big Boss chimed happily as he leaned back further in his chair.  “Please, call me Bolo” Bo Abobo’s dad replied as if he and Big Boss were now suddenly best friends.  “Well, let me tell you, Bolo, that there was no need to worry about your son not getting the job when you talked to me last Sunday.  That down payment secured the job for Bo.  Sure, I had to ask for a little bit more money when the Lee kid rescued the baby on Wednesday since we didn’t expect something like that to happen at all.  The mayor was real proud of the kid for what he did and wanted me to hire him.  The whole Friday incident on Taito Street was the perfect thing to help get the mayor off my back about the Lee kid, so I pinned it on him.  Yeah it cost you a couple hundred dollars more, but in the end, it was a lot easier for me to get your son the job for that little bit of extra money.”  “I really d appreciate what you did for my son, Big Boss” Bolo replied happily as he smiled at Bo Abobo.  “Bolo, it has been a pleasure doing business with you” Big Boss beamed happily as he sat forward at his desk and shook the man’s hand.  As I watched the hearty handshake take place, I suddenly realized what had happened: Bolo paid off Big Boss to make sure Bo Abobo got the paperboy job.  And it also looked like Big Boss had conned Bolo at the same time for demanding more money as the week went on.  I began to storm down the hallway, but stopped short when I noticed the secretary, Doris, watching me from a nearby office.  “It won’t do you any good” she advised in her nasally voice.  “The boss is connected politically in this town and you won’t stand a chance at outing that rat.  Just forget about the job and go home.  It’s honestly not a very good one.  You can do much better.”  Taking the woman’s advice, I hung my head in sadness, frustration, and disappointment and left the newspaper office for good.  As I biked back through the downtown toward my house, I found myself staring at my reflection in the storefront windows.  All I could see was a sad teenager who let his temper get the best of him and lose his very first job after just one week.  It was also the sad face of a teenager who had been set up for failure right from the start by his own boss.  As I passed one storefront, I suddenly slammed on the brakes and my bike came to a skidding halt.  I blinked a couple times and even rubbed my eyes at the sign I saw hanging in this particular window.  A big smile slowly started to pass over my face.  The sign in the window read “Master Splinter’s Karate Dojo Now Hiring.”  I quickly ran inside and inquired about the sign on the front window.  Master Splinter himself needed someone to tidy up the place on a daily basis and hired me right away based on my enthusiasm.  After such a rough morning, I left the karate dojo feeling pretty good about myself.  I was interested in learning karate and what better way to learn a little bit than to get a job in a place that teaches it!  As I sped home on my bike, I knew that it was going to be a good summer.
 
Well, that was the story of how I landed my first job.  What, I never said anything about holding that paperboy job all summer long, let alone for more than one week.  That was just my experience with my first ever job.  The rest of that summer was absolutely amazing, too.  Jimmy and I both completed our Nintendo trading card collections with the money we earned that summer and spent a lot time playing games down at Neon Night Riders Arcade.  After work each day that summer, Master Splinter would teach me a little karate for being such a good worker.  Years after I graduated from high school, Master Splinter retired and I ended up buying the place and renamed it Lee Bros. Karate Dojo, where I now teach karate along with my brother to aspiring martial artists.  As for Bo Abobo, he would lose the job by the end of the summer because he sucked so horribly at it.  Let me tell you, he damaged A LOT of property that summer.  And as for Big Boss, he eventually got caught taking bribes and it was all over the news.  Before anything could come of it, he suddenly disappeared one day.  Rumor has it that he fled to South Africa and was hiding out in some large fortress called Outer Heaven.  Well, that should about wrap things up.  I hope you all enjoyed this little memory from your old pal, Billy Lee.  Hopefully the next time I catch you guys it will be at one of those parties I host with the Battletoads and Ninja Turtles.  Take care!
 
 
 
EPILOGUE
 
Approximately two weeks after Bo Abobo secured the paperboy job, Jimmy and I decided to play a little prank on the bully.  He thought he was such hot stuff after getting that job and used to blab about it all over town.  At the arcade, the pizzeria, the mall, the park, the ice cream parlor, you name it!  And it was really starting to get annoying.  So Jimmy and I decided we would prank him so bad that he wouldn’t want to gloat about his job anymore.  On this particular day, Bo Abobo was delivering newspapers on Easy Street, so Jimmy and I hid in some bushes further up the street.  We giggled ecstatically as I donned a black robe, threw on a skull mask, and tightly clutched a plastic toy scythe we bought at Toys Galore in the Flatirons Mall.  The plan was this: I was going to jump out of the bushes dressed as the Grim Reaper as Bo Abobo rode by and scare the crap out of him.  Pretty good plan, huh?  Anyway, we sat in the bushes for like 15 minutes before Jimmy noticed the pudgy bully trudging along on his bike, huffing and puffing as he pedaled.  I waited until he was about 20 feet away from me when I jumped out of the bushes.  You should have seen the look on his face when he saw me!  The look of fear was absolutely priceless!  I swear he crapped his pants when he saw me standing there dressed in that black robe.  “Bo Abobo” I shouted in a raspy voice as I extended one hand and pointed directly at him.  “I am the Grim Reaper and I have come for YOU!”  “Holy crap, it’s the Grim Reaper” Bo Abobo shouted in absolute fear as he pedaled away from me faster than I’ve ever seen him pedal.  “Get away from me, get away from me!”  I laughed hysterically as the bully sped down the road, constantly looking over his shoulder at me.  As he neared the intersection of Easy Street and Turbografx Lane, he didn’t notice Lester the Unlikely fast approaching on a moped.  Bo Abobo turned back around just in enough time to see the nerdy kid cover his face in fear at the imminent crash.  The bully plowed right into the moped, knocking both of them to the ground.  Lester the Unlikely appeared to be okay, but I could tell Bo Abobo had hurt his left arm.  Jimmy and I took off before anyone could figure out we had unintentionally caused the accident.  It turned out Bo Abobo had a broken left arm and ended up having to put it in a sling for several weeks.  And of course, Bolo paid Big Boss more money to ensure his son wouldn’t lose the paperboy job because of the injury.  Not surprisingly, Bo Abobo stopped gloating about his job after that and instead got teased for the rest of the summer about being scared of the Grim Reaper.  It was certainly a funny memory and one I will never forget.

57,400 God damn this game is hard now. When i was Kid this was easy what the fuck happen lol.

32,300

40,800



I used to be pretty good at this game but I couldn't get past Saturday (58,000) using the last life that doesn't count.

Shit almost forgot......will go get my participation score!

8,600

114,100

Nice job Bea!  Mr. Chairs might have something for ya, but I played one last time last night scoring a whopping 174k.  Kid is at an all night birthday party, so...no video game play time for me today.
 

10,950
Meh.

10,500

22,150



I did better than this on other runs but w/e. Not gonna get top 8 anyways. Fun game but pretty damn hard.

Nice username Krunch, very creative!