(A/N: Augh! Screw the 10,000 word thing! You're all sick to deathof the notification email, I'm deeply sorry if you got a wave of it, but I had no clue it would be THIS HARD to get 10,000 even. My word processor says that the below set of words will bring it up exactly. But thinks I'm 50 words below? Everytime I try to figure out what I need to do, say add words or change stuff around, it blows up in my face. When I try to figure out what I missed,it brings me back to where I started. MWord says 787 words, says 740! Augh!)

I've challenged myself to bring my poetry to an even one-quadruple-zero with this entry.

So, let's get started already.

Soundtrack, sound check, one, two, three.

Extreme and MAX2 on CD.

Jacon, Metrocon I scoured,

Each time fought for over an hour.

Couldn't make up half my mind

'tween this or that of another kind.

Each time, Sunday, bought them up

Dumped the cash I saved all up.

Jacon last was bust from the start.

As we pulled in, Sonny Strait pulled out.

Bummed beyond reason, I cruised for CDs,

Finding, at discount, DDRMAX2 and R.O.D!

Still bummed out, but a little better,

I headed with mom back into the car.

She handed me a bag when we got in.

I found she got me FF10!

We listened to that down the homeward road,

My disappointment almost entirely KO'ed.

I missed the autograph we set out to get,

But what awesome CDs we managed to net!

Metrocon was really tough,

Soundtracks, man, they had enough.

A year's worth of searching come to an end,

Only I don't have all the money to spend.

Six on my must have list, all'a them here,

But cash enough for three I only brought this year.

Stepped away to bought more stuff,

Came back thrice, each time was tough.

Soundtracks were still sitting there,

I held out longer, hoping for discount fare.

Sunday rolled in, lo and behold,

The price was the same, that seller's cold!

I broke and I spent, I could only get two,

So I made myself pick, what else could I do?

I passed over them all, eliminated it to

Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy ten-two.

But wait! There's more! I found out

I still had cash left for one more bout.

I dove in the bin, selected my final dream

Soundtrack, today, was DDR Extreme.

Finally broke, I went swiftly home,

And submerged myself in soundtrack realms.

I'm saving the world, and dancing in thought,

To stuff I saved money for months before I bought.

Metro also had DDR competition,

And I had every plan of making that my mission.

A RedOctane pad as a prize for the triumph?

You know I'd be there, dancing hard enough.

But 2:00 PM rolled around, and I was stuck,

A schedule lag put me in temporal muck.

I was too late, I lost my chance.

The crowd was too thick for me to once dance.

The competition over, I didn't know who won,

I was just bummed out that I wasn't the one.

But I shrugged it off as I went home,

I paid at Megacon, so I have my own.

I wanted the new one so I'd have a pair,

And play double at home like the arcade there.

Alas, but there's another chance,

At the next competition, I WILL DANCE.

So went Metrocon, 1, 2, 3

Days it was a whirlwind for me.

No pad for me, but soundtracks three,

I think I can go on happily.

Haven't been at rest since May,

I went to the mall, but didn't dance today.

I'm a working DDR freak, so I had to impress,

I couldn't go play 'cause I was too well dressed.

I'm broke as can be, so I bide my time.

Cash in a paycheck, and the dance will be mine.

Not today yet, but maybe tomorrow,

I get to go through pain and sorrow

Of training my muscles back into place,

And dancing again at my usual pace.

If I went now, and went all out,

I'd die then and there, without a doubt.

I'm missing Ame and all the regs,

I kinda miss the pain in my legs.

All'a that's what makes it fun,

Dancing DDR alone, or one-on-one.

I miss the rush, and I miss the sweat,

While I'm not playing, I put on weight.

My legs feel weak and my mind feels stale,

I need the game to my mind, regale.

I feel out of shape, and out of place.

I feel I've lost both rhythm and grace.

I miss the high, the groove, the flow.

I miss the BPMs, fast and slow.

But I keep all the beats memorized to heart,

I'll need a warm up, but not a fresh start.

I'll still be able to dance in my sleep,

And in my soul, the steps I'll keep.

Here we are. I'm winding up.

This challenge was good, but not too rough.

It was pretty fun, seeya next time,

When I find another way and reason to rhyme.

So here I stand, my poem done,

My limit reached, my challenge won.