Xmas 07 - Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Xmas

So, Xmas was this past Tuesday. For my family, it was held at my folks' place, which is pretty convenient for me, since I live pretty close. We had been congregating down in Williamsburg the last few years, which was nice, but this was pretty good too.

Xmas Eve, an old tradition was re-birthed, and a possible new tradition was begun. In years past, my dad had put together a little game of clues, where everyone got a clue and had to figure out what it meant. Upon discovery of the meaning, they would find a gift at the destination. We did this again this year, and everyone had a good time with it.

We also did something new...a "secret santa" gift exchange. This was an idea by my nieces where everyone had drawn names and had to make something for the person whose names they got. I got my oldest niece, and since she's into music in a big way, I made her a bracelet out of guitar picks. She seemed to enjoy it. My brother-in-law got my name, and helped me re-arrange my apartment (hang shelves, move furniture around, etc.) That was much appreciated, and it looks great now.

My nieces spent Xmas Eve at my place, since the space was needed to set everything up for Xmas morning. We stayed up until roughly 3 am playing some Rock Band. My bro-in-law also stuck around for awhile, and joined in the playing for a bit. I'm usually pretty good with the guitar, but I was having issues with tears in my eyes from laughing so hard from his "singing"...lol. But, it was good times.

Xmas morning comes, and the three of us head over to my parents' house, after a quick stop at McDs to pick up breakfast. On arrival, my nieces were glued to seats in the kitchen while final prep was finished. They got a little impatient, understandably...we actually had the latest start to Xmas that I can remember.

Anyway, once things got under way, everyone seemed to enjoy what they got. I received a pretty nice watch from my folks, as well as a nice brown overcoat. I got a nice Gators fleece jacket from my grandmother, Scrubs season 1 (great show BTW), cash money, and many other great things.

My parents had mentioned, leading up to Xmas, that they were interested in getting themselves a Wii. Perfect gift idea, I thought. It would have been even more perfect had I been able to locate one in a store. Resorting to eBay, I was able to get them one, and they were happy to get it.

See, the bad thing at this point is that I seem to have developed this reputation as a great gift giver...the issue is, I don't really care about spending money, so I like to get people things that I know they will love, and that usually costs somewhat high dollar signs. I will have to work myself out of this habit, especially if I ever have kids of my own...I'll go flat broke.

Anyway, that's the rundown of Xmas 07 - jaxjaggywires style. Hope everyone out there had a good, safe holiday season this year. Until next time...screw Flanders.

P.S. On the diet front, I have now passed 40 pounds lost...hooray for me. OK, that's all I've got for now...

What Am I Playing? - Rockin' Out Style

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted about my gaming habit. Time to catch up...

Since it came out, my gaming time has been dominated by Rock Band on the 360. I've almost made it all the way through the expert tour on the guitar (expert on RB is definitely easier then expert on any of the Guitar Hero games). I've tried the drums a bit, but find that they will take a little getting used to. I have yet to try the singing, but will likely belt out some vocals once I'm able to get my friends together to play it with me. I feel a little strange singing out loud by myself...what would my neighbors think?

I've also played some Assassin's Creed on the 360, and it was pretty good. I need to get back to it, if I can ever surgically remove the RB disc from the 360 drive.

I'm hoping to get Mass Effect on the 360 for Xmas...I hear it's outstanding, and I'd like to check it out.

I guess there wasn't really that much to catch up on after all RE: gaming. Rock Band and Assassin's Creed...more to come.

Until next time, screw Flanders.

Good news everyone...diet edition

Since the beginning of September, I have been on a mission...a mission of weight loss. Everyone who knows me knows what a fat sack of crap I was. Well, I set out to change that, and since I started on this path, I've now lost close to 40 pounds.

The weight loss is purely diet related, as I have still not been exercising like I should be...that is to come. However, I feel better now (at least physically) then I have in a very long time.

So, at least I have something positive going for me in my life right now...just wanted to share that, so people didn't think I was all gloom and doom these days.

Events of the weekend...

So, this weekend, my company held it's annual Holiday Party at the Udvar Hazy Air & Space Museum by Dulles. I had never attended the event in my many years with the company, but figured I would give it a go this year. I was also able to get a hot date to go with me, which helped the decision...she rocks, even with static cling ;)

I had never been to the museum, and the place is huge. Planes suspended from the ceiling, some fairly odd looking. Of course, the first thing we did as we entered (running the final hundred feet to the front door due to the cold) is scan the scene and see what's happening around the building. They have a pretty good setup...well-stocked bars setup all over the place, and tables of food (pasta, meat, desserts) located close to each other. It was all pretty nice.

As the night moved on, we eventually ran into my friend Jander and his girlfriend when they showed up, so we hung with them for a bit. Also found where my co-workers congregated, so hung around there as well.

After this, we moved over to the tables surrounding the dance floor, as Kelly's feet were starting to complain. Now, the chairs around these tables were some of the weirdest I have ever seen. They were these hydraulic, plastic seat jobs with no friction whatsoever...if you moved at all, you started slipping off.

After people watching for a bit, we decided to take a little tour of the museum. After this, we caught the Imax movie...and flick about helicopters and why they're so cool. It was decent enough (especially for being free). This pretty much wrapped up the party for us, as closing time was 11:30. We didn't get to leave, however, until some embarrassment (at least for me) that I won't go into here...the whole ride home was a conversation that I wasn't prepared to have.

So, it was a nice party. First time I ever saw my best friend in a fancy pants tux, so that was something...his girl looked good too. Of course, the girl I was with looked great...everyone looked top notch. Good times were had by all...

Today, I wake up early to try and take care of some Xmas shopping. I'm off to Best Buy a good hour fifteen before opening, and I pull into the parking lot to a line that extends around the front of the building, along the side past the auto installation area. I decided to avoid that scene after all. So I actually go and get some breakfast for the first time in forever, and head over to my folks place to watch the Jags lose to the Colts...boo.

That pretty much brings me up to date...time for the usual weekend administrative duties.

So, until next time, screw Flanders...

Review: Bender's Big Score

OK, yeah, awesome. That's about all I have to say about the first new Futurama goodness in two plus years...if you liked the show at all while it was running on Fox, or you like the re-runs currently showing on Adult Swim, you absolutely have to watch this feature-length episode.

Appearances by almost all your favorites (no Mom & Sons, though?), and terrific callbacks to previous episodes. A bit racier then we're used to out of the Futuramasphere, but it worked to perfection.

I did catch onto one odd continuity issue...but I'll let the viewers see if they can find it as well. Just pay attention the first time Nibbler speaks.

Anyway, a definite must watch...so, go watch it. Go on...DO IT!

Until next time, screw Flanders...

Birthday #28

28 years ago, the world became a much better place. A light began shining where there was once nothing but darkness and despair. That's right folks...28 years ago today, I was introduced to the world.

So, the birthday weekend was pretty nice to me. It started off on Saturday with a Gators romp over the Florida Atlantic Owls. Following that, I headed off to catch Kelly and Jen at a talent show they had a dance routine in. They were the lone bright spot, IMO. Afterward, the usual group gathered together at Tysons to get something to eat at Fridays and catch a movie.

Now, at Fridays, I was concerned, as Kelly told our waitress that it was my birthday. Instantly, thoughts of embarrassment and singing entered into my head, and I became afraid. Luckily, we talked the waitress into no singing, just the free dessert. So that was good.

Between eating and the movie, we decided to head out to the parking lot to throw the football around. We were having a good time, until the Mall Narc told us to stop. Enough with that noise, I say...why the man gotta bring us down, yo?

The movie was Beowulf, which I thought was pretty good. The CGI work was astoundingly good, I thought. Grendel was nasty, and there was far too much bare Beowulf behind, but it was still a good movie.

So, moving to today, the Jaguars won to move to 7-3. Hooray. After the game, my parents took me to Bonefish Grill, which was nice. I had never been there, and it was a pretty good place. Glad I wasn't paying, lemme tell ya...

The present haul was pretty sweet too...my friends and family rock. Got a couple games (Assassin's Creed and Mario Galaxy), the Spiderman Blu-ray set and a pretty sweet Jaguars jacket. Also got some cash from my grandmother, which is always welcome. I still have a gift coming from my sister, which should also be pretty sweet.

All in all, pretty nice birthday this time around. Dare I say, the best I've had in awhile. Good time with friends and family...

On a slightly different topic, I got an e-mail from Amazon.com telling me Rock Band has shipped...so I am giddy with anticipation. Giddy, I say! I should have it time for the Thanksgiving gathering, which should make for some interesting playing with my family and/or friends.

That's all I got for now...so until next time, screw Flanders.

P.S...Reggie Williams rocks.

New toy - iPod Touch

So, I got a new toy today...an iPod Touch. In fact, this post is being written on said iPod, as a test of the Internet and keyboard. They seem to work pretty well...

Anyway, that is all for now. So, until next time...screw Flanders.

A Book of Faces...

So, this past Monday, I get an IM from Facebook which stated that a friend of mine from high school was trying to add me, and found that I had no account. This was true...I had somehow avoided the whole Facebook thing up to that point. However, seeing as someone seemed to be interested in talking to me, I decided to create an account.

If you're not familiar with the Facebook scene, it's a community site where you create an account and can generate a "friends" list from people you either know in person or know through the web. I must say, it's better than Myspace from what I've seen so far...I've caught up with a couple people I haven't talked to since right around high school graduation, so that's good.

Also, on Facebook, you can join various groups. I found a "Class of 1998" group for my high school, so I joined. Upon joining, I find a link to a video of our All Night Grad Party, which was the evening following our graduation. I have never seen this video, and was interested to see if I showed up in it. Of course, I did...I surprisingly didn't look too bad, if I do say so myself.

The whole video is pretty lengthy, so I haven't seen the whole thing yet...perhaps later.

Anyway, just thought I'd share...until next time, screw Flanders.

State of Bryan

I think I'm at a crossroads in my life. I've been working at the same place for going on eight years...toiling away at pretty much nothing of significance, all the while just trying to latch onto something each day to keep me from losing it. I'm usually able to find something to get me going, but some days I just don't wanna face things.

It's just that nothing in my life is very exciting. Go to work, come home, watch some TV, maybe practice some guitar, eat and sleep...wow, what a fun time that is day in and day out. Maybe if I actually enjoyed going out to clubs. Maybe if I didn't over-think everything so I wind up doing nothing.

A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine told me I analyze everything like crazy. While she was (kinda) joking, it's really true. When I'm faced with anything that I haven't been through before, I usually over-analyze and sweat the details...to the point where, even if I should be having a good time, I don't. I've been that way since I can remember, and I don't know if I can change...

I'm taking a training class at our HQ office in McLean this week. It's a network certification class, to get prepped to get the Network+ cert. Is that something I really want to get into? I dunno...probably not. It's just another marketing tool, pretty much. Maybe it will lead to more money, maybe it won't. Hope it does...I could sure use the extra cash.

Anyway, my 28th birthday is coming in a few weeks...I don't remember when it happened, but birthdays really don't mean crap to me anymore. It's just another day...just happens to be a day where you might get stuff from other people. Maybe it's because I prefer to actually give the gifts then to receive them. Don't get me wrong, it's great to get free stuff from family and friends, but sometimes I just feel weird with people spending money on me. I also feel bad this year as far as my gift giving goes, because I don't have the available resources that I used to. So, this is gonna be a down year for birthdays and Xmas from me...just a heads up to the folks reading this blog ;/

Until next time, screw Flanders...

P.S...just for clarification, I'm not saying my life sucks. I just want a change, but I'm not sure what the change should be...

Halloweenies

Remember back in the day when you could dress up in some ratty costume and go door to door demanding candy from your neighbors? I miss those days...

Now, as a grown up, I am expected to be one of those neighbors with candy. I have no idea how much to get for my apartment...I know there's some kids in the neighborhood, but don't know what kind of Halloween haul (or, as I call it, Hauloween) is to be expected.

I talk about Halloween because it is the next day of calendar importance, yet some stores want to skip it and go for the gusto. I was just in Giant a few minutes ago, and damned if they didn't have Christmas decorations out and available for purchase...Christmas!! Angel ornaments next to devil costumes...something's just not right with that picture.

To get in the Halloween spirit, I recommend viewing the following movies:

- Monster Squad. This is a movie I remember from my youth, about a group of kids that have to save their town from the Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Wolfman, Frankenstein's Monster AND Dracula...talk about your star packed horror movie. Of course, it's a kiddie horror movie, so don't expect much blood or real fright. Seeing those baddies though will get anyone in the 10/31 spirit...

- Night of the Living Dead. Of course, a classic horror movie. Kick-started the zombiepocalypse. Often imitated, never duplicated...it's a must see.

- 28 Days Later. Where NotLD really introduced zombies to movies, 28 Days Later made them super fast and aggressive. Before, if you could just keep running, you were safe. Now, you can't possibly run fast enough. Very scary...

- The Omega Man. There's a remake of this tale coming out soon starring Will Smith called I Am Legend, but there will never be another Omega Man. Charlton Heston is the last living "normal" man in a city overtaken by mutated victims of biological warfare. Not very scary, but still a cool flick, with a cool costume idea (mutants FTW!)

- Fright Night. Charley Ragsdale is a normal kid...who lives next to a pair of vampires. He enlists the help of his horror-addicted best friend and girlfriend (TV's Marcy D'Arcy), along with Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), the local horror movie host. Very good scary movie...

What are some others you out there enjoy to get into the frightful mood?

Insert funny title here...

Wow, creative eh?

Anyway, figured it was time to throw a post up here...my ankle is almost back to health now, which is good. I'm still wearing a small brace, but hopefully by next week I can go back to just shoes.

On the gaming front, I finally broke open Bioshock, which had been sitting there, calling out to me from within it's shrinkwrap cocoon. So far (which is not very far), it's been pretty good. Also got in some GRAW 2 multiplayer with Jander...if only we could have actually finished that level.

Halo 3 is also calling to me, but I have resisted the urge to buy it for now...I have plenty of other things I currently own to keep me busy for the foreseeable future.

On the guitar front, I have been continuing my learning...slowly but surely, I'm getting better. I'm also looking to get a new acoustic. The one I have I got for Xmas a few years back from my folks, and it hasn't been great to play on...action is a bit too high for my liking.

On the sports front:
- Jaguars are 2-1 and on the bye this week...David Garrard hasn't looked horrible so far, and I hope that continues.
- Gators are 4-0 and at home against Auburn this weekend. 8 pm, ESPN...watch it! Tim Tebow = Superman. He's on his way to becoming the first sophomore to get the Heisman Trophy.
- Marlins are almost through for the years...they didn't do too well this season. Hopefully they get better over the offseason, specifically with regards to injuries and pitching.
- Panthers are about to start up their season. They are favored by some to win the division, so that's nice. Olli Jokinen for MVP!
- My fantasy football team is 2-1, facing Jander's team this week...should be an easy win ;)

That's it for the moment, I guess...if I think of anything else to write about, I'll let you know. Until then, screw Flanders.

Fantasy Football 07

In the middle of my pain trek, my league's draft was this past Monday. As always, it was done through ESPN. For the first time, however, it was free this year. Unfortunately, I think since it was free, they decided to make it not as good as years prior.

The main issue is with the draft itself. Multiple people were complaining about dropped connections, frozen Java app, and whatnot. This was not an issue in the past, so I'm forced to assume that ESPN kinda half-assed it this year with the freebie.

Anyway, in the end, here is my current team:
QB - Drew Brees, Matt Hasselbeck and Chad Pennington
RB - Rudi Johnson, Willis McGahee and Fred Taylor
WR - Lee Evans, Jerricho Cotchery, Muhsin Muhammad and Ernest Wilford
TE - Vernon Davis, Jason Witten
K - Josh Scobee
Def Player - Mike Peterson
Defense - Jacksonville, Oakland

Not too bad...happy with the QB and RB spots. WR I'm not too enthused with, but otherwise I'm good with my squad. Season starts tonight with my starting QB playing against the Colts. I'm hoping for a shoot out...

This boot ain't made for walking...

So, it hasn't exactly been the best few weeks for me...

First, as I mentioned in my last post, I hurt my back. It's been a pain, but I've dealt with it.

Then, late last week (Thursday), my lower right leg and foot begin to hurt. I'm thinking "Great, now what?" Well, Friday morning I awake to a nicely swollen foot with extreme pain in movement, let alone walking on it. So, that was great.

I decide to wrap it up with some Icy Hot, keep it elevated, and see how it was the next morning. Well, the next day being Saturday, the beginning of the college football season, I had planned on heading over to the folks place to catch the Gators playing Western Kentucky. At this point, the foot had eased off enough to where I could seemingly loosen it up by walking around a little, so I'm thinking it's just a sprain or strain or something. Anyway, I make it over to my folks place, and catch the game (49-3, thank you), and head back home.

I take it easy the rest of the day, wrap the foot up again and wait for Sunday. Boy, did Sunday take it's seemingly weekly vengeance on me. The foot was so swollen and red I thought I had broken it. At this point, I decide to give my old immobilization boot and crutches a try (I took them from my dad a couple years ago when I broke both my ankles). My mom brings 'em over, and I start using them.

At this point, I have not signed on with the idea of going to get the foot actually checked out. Call it stupidity, call it anxiety over what the problem was, call it whatever you want...my folks were on me to go, but I just wasn't interested.

Monday comes, with absolutely no improvement. Even moving the foot in the boot while walking on crutches is excruciating. It's at this time that I decide I will need to cancel my trip to Florida...an upsetting decision, to say the least. I was looking so forward to this trip, that I'm just depressed thinking about it.

Anyway, Tuesday comes, no improvement. Wednesday comes, no improvement. Now, I'm inclined to agree with my folks that I need to get this checked out. So, my mom is kind enough to drive me up to the Urgent Care Center near my apartment. I'd been there before when I was super sick a few months back (check the blog).

So I get in the examination room, and the doc proceeds to press down on various parts of my ankle and foot. Some feel fine, some make me wanna punch her in the face. So, the decision is made to head over to Fair Oaks Hospital to check for:

1. A blood clot...this I do not want.
2. An infection...this I would like, because medicine would knock it out.
3. Uric acid level, as I have a history of gout. Never in this area though.

So, we hit Fair Oaks, do the tests (surprisingly fast, I might add) and head back to the Urgent Care. By the time we get back, the doc has my results, and says that there is no clot (hooray), there looks to be some kind of infection (boo) AND a high uric acid level, so it's probably gout too. So great, I hit the daily double it seems.

The doc gives me some meds for pain that I had never taken before...hydrocodone. I remember back in the day my dad taking this for something, and it kinda messed him up. Well, I'm my dad's son, because it messed me up as well...mood swings just by myself, talking to myself, slamming things around. Not the best way to be behaving, really, and completely unlike how I normally act.

I had wanted to head back to work today, as I have a couple things I want to get done. Well, I figure that I should probably use my "get out of jail" card that the doctor gave me, saying not to go back to work until Monday. Hopefully, that gives this...whatever it is time to heal and go the hell away. I'd like to be able to walk again, thank you very much.

Guitar Hero...for reals, yo

So, I got my guitar this week (Monday, to be precise). Ever since, I've been playing around with it, trying out some tabs of my favorite songs just to see how far I have to go.

So, today after work, I decided to go get an actual tuner for the guitar. While at Guitar Center, I also picked up an effects pad, the DigiTech RP80. It's pretty sweet...lots of effects, and even some drum samples to keep beat with. The tuner also told me that my tuning was WAY off, so my guitar sounds much better now, so that was a wise $20 investment.

As far as my back is concerned, it's still hurting. It was doing better mid-week, and I thought I was close to being in the clear. Then, Thursday I wake up and can hardly move. Not good times...since then, it's gotten relatively better, but still hurting.

Anyway, that's been my week. I did buy Bioshock, and plan to get to it at some point over the weekend...but the guitar has taken all my free time.

Achy Breaky Back

So, another weekend, another hurt...this time physical.

I decided I wanted to move my living room around to make better use of what space I have. Now, I had been offered assistance in this endeavor, and in hindsight it would have been good to call up on that offer.

I awoke yesterday (Saturday) morning fairly early...I wanted to get up at 9 to buy my game ticket for the Jaguars season opener, as it was the last transaction I needed to finish in prep for my Florida trip in a few weeks. After purchasing my ticket, I decided to go do a couple errands.

One of those errands was to go purchase a pair of swim trunks, for next weekend's whitewater tubing ride for my friend's birthday. Not exactly my cup o' tea, but I was going to make the most of it. I even learned my first song on the guitar...Happy Birthday. Hopefully Warner won't sue me for that one.

Anyway, I get home and decide to go ahead and make a go at moving my furniture around. Well, my back had other thoughts, and neglected to let me in on them until it was far too late. I have a big box of movies in my living room, and wanted to move it out of the way. So, foolishly, I bend over to pick it up, attempt to stand straight and BOOM. Searing pain, wobbly legs and whole lotta yelling. Not good times.

So, this weekend has been a big pain...quite literally. I'm not looking forward to this coming week. I was able to take enough pain medication to get myself to CVS and purchase some Icy Hot and Thermacare back patches, so I can at least get to work.

Last time I had back pain like this, it stuck around for a few weeks. I'm hoping that's not the case this time around, but I'm not optimistic...

So, how was your weekend?

Sunday Gloomy Sunday

Let me preface this post by saying I don't usually talk about this kind of stuff openly. I'm just pretty upset right now, and thought this actually writing about it might help.

So, this weekend started off well enough on Saturday, then took a turn for the worse Sunday.

First, the good part...got some good gaming in with my best friend. Played some GRAW 2 co-op for the first time, which was nice, and got some time in with Mario Strikers on the Wii. That was fun, and good times were had by all.

Sunday started off innocently enough...I was planning on re-arranging my living room setup to better facilitate the home theater aspect. So, as I'm making preps for that, I get a call. It's from an old friend who had visited a few weeks back. Now, I wouldn't classify her as an old "girlfriend", but more as an old "friend with benefits"...but still, a good friend that I've known going on a decade.

Anyway, a few weeks back, she had come into town for some business (she currently lives in Buffalo), and we got together. We hadn't seen each other in a long time, and it was fun to get back together with her. Now, we went out to some place in Alexandria (I forget the name) and met up with another friend of hers whom she hadn't seen in awhile. This girl was a cutie too, but whatever...I digress. Anyway, drinks were had by all (yes, even me), and the night moved on.

So, at the end of the night, my friend and I wound up back at my place. She has a couple more beers, and, long story short (too late), we wind up making out...which was cool. She spends most of the night, but has to get up early the next morning to get back to the hotel she was staying at. So I give her a ride back, and everything seems to be cool. No awkwardness that could be expected. I think things just happened, and that was that.

So, to yesterday. I get a call from her mid-afternoon, and she seems upset about something. She tells me that she's in a serious relationship at home, and apparently was in it when she came down here (of which I had no idea). Seems the events of her visit came out to her current dude recently, and he was less then excited to hear it. So, in the end, she decided to call me up and say that she wants to make her relationship work, and what happened was a "mistake", and we should probably stop talking...pretty much forever.

So, in the end, seems I've lost (what I thought was) a pretty good friend. Also found out that she cheated on him with me, which I really don't like finding out. Not exactly a great way for a weekend to go...

The Trip: Planning Stage

So, I've decided to take a trip. Seeing as I am quite the Florida Gators/Jacksonville Jaguars fan, and given that their respective football seasons are set to start post haste, I am going down to American's Wang to catch a weekend of fun.

The big news of this trip is that I'm actually flying down there...me, flying. Yikes...but, I decided it was the best choice to get down there. So, if something happens, this is the post you can point to where my life took a turn for the worse.

I will be flying down 9/6, visiting with family 9/7, driving to Gainesville for Florida v. Troy 9/8, attending the Jaguars season opener against Tennessee 9/9, and flying back home 9/10.

So, now that you know my itinerary, if you happen to be in the area that weekend, look me up...unless you're stalking me. Which you must be, because why else would you be in the exact place I am? Leave me alone, before I have to get another restraining order. I mean it...screw Flanders.

Long time, no see...

Hey folks, what's new? Seeing as it's been a few weeks since my last update, I figured I'd pop out a little entry to catch people up.

About a two and a half weeks ago I got a call from a recruiter about some Linux admin job. I went and interviewed, to find out the job was with Amazon.com. Bad news, it's a shift position, with weekend hours. No thanks...Since then, I've gotten a couple calls and e-mails from other companies, but no real "must take" positions.

Today, though, my big boss, Joe, asked me to come see him in his office. He asked how I was doing, and whether I had any issues around the office or whatever. Turns out another contract within my company found my resume on Monster.com, and wants to talk to me about a position with them...so he wondered why I had recently updated my info on that site.

Anyway, I went over my one real issue (our contract runs out soon, and I have concern about the re-compete), and said that I had no other problems. I did, however, mention I would like to talk to these other people. I think I owe it to myself to at least hear out anyone who wants to speak with me, right? So, we'll see what happens with that...

So, what else...movies.

Since my last post, I've seen a couple big ones. First off, the new Harry Potter was pretty good. Started kinda slow for my taste, but really picked up in the middle and end, and made for good entertainment. I had one issue (invisible dragon cart creatures), which was helpfully explained to me by someone who had read the book, and knew the reasoning.

Last weekend, I went and saw The Simpsons Movie, which was plain hilarious. Anyone who has ever considered themselves a Simpsons fan absolutely has to watch this, even if you don't like the newer seasons. I don't, but I loved this movie. I can't say enough good things about it...go see it now. Then go see it again.

On the gaming front, I've picked up Guitar Hero 2 again on my 360. Some of those songs on hard are damn near impossible, and expert is actually impossible at the moment. I'll keep trying, though, and am determined to conquer that game. Which leads me to my next thought...

So, I've decided to take up the guitar. Partly because of the influence of GH2 and how much I can't resist that game, but mostly because I've wanted to learn it for a long time now. I ordered a nice Les Paul model from Guitar Center (pictured), and will get busy working with that whenever it gets delivered. If I ever get good enough to actually let other people hear me, I'll be sure to post MP3s in this space...perhaps BJ Music Co. will live again!!

I suppose that's it for now. I'd say I'll try and post more frequently, but...ya know, there's that whole slacker thing.

So, until next time, screw Flanders.

Robots in Disgust

So, you see that title and probably think, "Wow, he must not have liked that new Transformers movie, huh? I need to read on and see what his opinion is on this important matter..."

Well, let me say, that could not be further from the truth...if I were to describe the movie in one word, it would have to be "rock". Not in that "Man, I just had my cranium crushed in with a huge rock" way, but in a "Jimmy Page is the all-time king of guitar rock" way. If you have not seen it yet, please do so...now.

It's true, Megatron is not in his classic form...he, instead, is some kind of weird alien type jet thing. I'm not quite sure how he would have acquired that particular jet form, what with the way the denizens of Cybertron created their vehicular alter egos, but whatever...I wasn't going in looking for realism in my gigantic robot action movie.

In the end, Optimus Prime rocked, the visual effects were the best I've ever seen (yes, better then RoTK), and the movie was an outstanding chunk of summer blockbuster goodness.

What Am I Playing? - MLB Style

So, this week I've been playing some MLB 07: The Show for PS3. It's got a nice feature called Road to the Show, where you create a player and take him through a pro ball career. My first career was as a 1B with the Marlins. I spent a couple seasons in the farm system, getting the call up at the end of the seasons. Then, as a free agent, I signed on with the hated Yankees. Unfortunately, my player didn't really improve very much, and it turned into a mediocre career indeed.

I'm going to start another career as a pitcher to see what I can do with that...I hear there's always a job for a lefty with good placement.

I Like My Beat Down Low, and My Top Let Back...

So, I got a new car this week...first car I've actually bought myself. My first car, a 1998 Ford Contour, was picked out and purchased by my folks back in the day. I've been driving it ever since, until this past Wednesday.

I decided it was time for a change, so I picked up a nice 2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible. It's a pretty nice ride. Silver with a black top...bought it from Carmax for a respectable price.

First thing I did was give my folks a ride in it, as they wanted to see how it was. They seemed to enjoy it. Thursday, I drove it in to work with the top down. I found it difficult to actually stop and go into the office, as I wanted to keep on driving. I also find that driving with the top down is very relaxing. In my Contour, I would tend to get a little "road rage"-y at the other drivers, since they are usually idiots. However, with the top down, I don't really worry about the fools...it's a pretty nice change of pace.

I guess that's my big news of the week...so until next time, screw Flanders.

Back From the Dead...

Well, not really...just back to posting blogs.

So, what have I been up to lo these past few weeks? Firstly, I've been getting used to living on my own, most notably as it pertains to bills and other financial matters. Having to stick to a budget is a recent occurrence to me, and there have been some minor growing pains associated therewith. I also find that I don't eat bread nearly fast enough...

Just got my official housewarming gift from my parents today, as they bought me a grill from Home Depot. Pretty nice little number with a side burner, lotsa space. No tank though, so I'll need to pick one of those up prior to firing that bad boy up.

I haven't been playing games much recently...I did get a Wii finally, and have given that some attention. Got my mom playing Wii Sports on Mother's Day a couple weeks back, so that was interesting. I've tried some Paper Mario and Zelda as well, but have yet to really get deep into either one. As for the PS3, it officially became a game playing platform for me, as I got MLB 07 from Gamefly. Turns out I don't have a discerning eye for the inside heat yet...need to work on that.

I've been training a new intern at work the last couple weeks. He's thankfully taking over the reporting programs I was stuck with, so I can focus on other things until he goes back to school. Not so thankfully, he shares the same first name as me, so it's started to get confusing.

I guess I'll close with my current car search. I've had my current car, a Ford Contour, since my parents picked it up for me new in 1998. Recently, I've had some nagging issues pop up with the car, so I've decided to upgrade. I got my pre-approval through Navy Federal Credit Union today, and called up Carmax. I had seen a car that interested me on their site, so I was checking on its availability. To my dismay, it had been sold mere minutes prior to my call. So, the hunt continues...

Until next time, screw Flanders...

Weekly: What Am I Playing? - Rockstar Edition

So, I've been playing just one game this week. Well, two, if you include unpacking and sorting things as a game. I know I don't...

Anyway, when my 360 has been on, it's been Guitar Hero 2 exclusive. I'm working my way through 5-starring all the songs on medium at this point, and will then move on to hard. Over the weekend, my sister and nieces were in town, and my oldest niece was nice enough to get me the 'Long Road Ahead' achievement, which is the great achievement for failing a song on easy. So, that's on my permanent record now...huzzah. Oh well...it was 10 points for the ol' Gamerscore, so whatever.

This week, I expect more of the same...GH2 will play the major role in my gaming. However, I'll also try to give Boom Boom Rocket a try from Live Arcade. Oh, and more unpacking and sorting...

Until next time, screw Flanders...

We're movin' on up...

So, it's been awhile since I last posted. I have good reason, I promise...you see, I moved into a new apartment over the weekend, and I've been busy with all the crap that goes along with that.

Now, I was moving on Saturday, April 7, so I figured it shouldn't be too bad weatherwise to get everything done. That's why I'm not a meteorologist, I guess, as it snowed some the night before. While we in NoVA got just a little snow, apparently further down towards southern VA, they got much more. This is significant to the story, as my sister, brother-in-law and nieces live in Williamsburg, and were going to come up and help out with the moving and whatnot. So, it turns out that they can't make it up. So, that was disappointing.

So, pressing on down a few people, I pack up some stuff into my rented U-Haul truck, and go to the apartment complex to get my key. The woman who had rented the place to me was busy with some other customer, so this other rep showed me to my place (btw, she was quite good looking...just wanted to put that out there). So, we get to my door, and she tried the key, and it doesn't work. I'm thinking "Hmm...ominous sign". Somehow, they had the wrong keys associated with my new place, and had to call out the facilities guy to get a new set made. They were quite apologetic and whatever...I didn't really care, as I knew it would be taken care of at some point. Just a hassle more than anything else, especially since it was like 40 degrees outside.

So, I get my key, and the move officially begins...I get the stuff out of the truck and put into the apartment, and go back to my folks' house for more stuff. By this time, Jander had shown up to assist with the move. So, it takes us a little longer then I was expecting (with it being pretty much the two of us doing the moving), but we got done mid-afternoon.

So, I am now in my own place...I've been in "set up" mode since Saturday night, getting all my electronic stuff connected and working. I still have yet to break into my new set of cookware, or even plates for that matter...paper plates and plastic cutlery FTW!

When I get things a little cleaner and set up, I'll put up some pics...until then, screw Flanders.

2 in a row!!

The University of Florida once again rule the basketball land, winning their second consecutive NCAA basketball championship against Ohio State. This is obviously the greatest thing to ever happen in human history, and I'm glad to have been able to witness it.

On a side note, all these championships are getting to be expensive...all that championship gear just looks too darn good!

Down With the Sickness, Episode 3: Road to Recovery

Man, this bug has completely and thoroughly kicked my butt this week...at the present, I sound like I've been smoking five packs a day for 40 years. I'm hoping that's temporary...my father has compared it to a broken stereo speaker, where the sound will pop in and out midstream. I will agree with this, as long as the speaker is also continuously coughing up some rather unpleasant looking stuff...I'm hoping that's also temporary.

The best thing about this is, I've at least been able to get some work done from home via VPN. The worst thing about this is, I haven't been able to make any progress on packing. I don't think I've mentioned it on here before, but I'm moving a week from Saturday to a new apartment. I suppose my one saving grace is that I don't have very much to pack in the first place, so I've got that going for me.

Luckily, I believe I'm making progress healthwise, and might be able to resume some life normalcy tomorrow. I'll never be so happy to return to work as I will be when I get back in from this crap...

I missed my "What I'm Playing" post for the week, so I'll just add it in here. I tried some Castlevania from XBLA, and it seems decent so far. Haven't really paid a lot of attention to it yet, but it should remain in the rotation until it gets beaten.

I've also downloaded the Oblivion expansion "Shivering Isles" and began that. In playing that initially, I've found out how much my playing style has changed since I started Oblivion last year. When I started out, I would try to find some way to keep from killing regular townspeople if it could be avoided. I would pretty much let the guards handle their business if I was ever attacked for something, and save my weapons for more meaningful pursuits.

However, now I find myself just offing denizens of the Isles with impunity. I've already completed three side quests which had me kill townsfolk "just because". One guy I pushed off the top of the palace while a guard stood 10 feet away. Another I murdered in silence whilst he prayed in the chapel. My gall knows no bounds.

Down With the Sickness, Episode 2: Revenge of the Sick

So, just when I thought last week was bad with the sore throat...boy, was I wrong.

It all started early Thursday morning, when I awoke with a pretty bad cough. I thought, "Crap, what an inconvenience." In fact, it was more...so much more.

I went in to work Thursday morning with the bad cough, thinking it was just a little bug I had probably picked up from one of my co-workers the day before. See, he had left early on Wednesday with a pretty bad cough. So, I spent the first hour of my work day coughing through a meeting. I was trying to make it through as long as I could, seeing as I had just missed the previous Friday with the throat problems I wrote about previously.

Turns out I was unable to make it through very long, as I left at noon. On getting home, I lay down for a bit...at least, as much as I could with all the coughing. I get up later that night, and find that I had a fever of 100.8. I am then faced with the decision of waiting it out and seeing if I get better with rest, and over the counter pills (stupid), or go to the doctor and get some good meds (smart). Well, seeing as I'm pretty stupid, I attempted to wait it out.

So, I wake up Friday morning, and my fever had gone below 100, which was good, but I still had that stupid cough, which at this point was causing my chest to ache. So, I call it a day and lay back down. I sleep off and on into the afternoon. When I get up, I find my fever has risen back up over 100, about to where it was the previous night. So, I lay back down after taking more Dayquil Cold & Flu (would have liked Nyquil, but didn't have it).

When I get up again, my fever is 102.8. At this point, I wise up and realize that I might need to get this checked out. So, my mother was nice enough to drive me up to the urgent care place in Fair Lakes. By the time I get there, my fever checks in at 102.4, and my pulse is racing. So, I get set up for some chest x-rays, to make sure it's not pneumonia or something equally as sinister.

Now, one of the x-rays required that I hold my arms over my head for a couple minutes while they get their equipment ready. Upon doing this, my body decides that it would very much like to pass out. How nice of it...So, the doctor and nurse give me some water and some ice packs for my head and chest. Turns out I was pretty badly dehydrated.

The x-rays came back clean, at least, so that's good. The doc then wants me to go to the laboratory at Inova Fair Oaks to get some flu tests done to make sure that's what I had. So, we head over to the hospital, and have to get registered before we can get the tests done. Unfortunately, the registration desk is closed (why would a registration desk at a hospital ever close?), so we have to go to the ER to get registered.

Apparently, there was a run on sick folks at that time, as the waiting room is full. Great...and what makes it even better is that I'm not actually an ER patient, so I get low priority over everyone else in the waiting room. Every time some new person came in, I get knocked down the list. In the end, we sit and wait there for about an hour. At least the TV was on the basketball games, so we got to see the end of the Georgetown game (that was a travel, BTW), and saw that the Gators won. Huzzah.

Anyway, I finally get registered and go to the laboratory to take my tests. Fun times. So, as we sit there awaiting some results or whatever, in case this night hadn't been surreal enough, this dude comes into the lab dressed as a penguin. Like, a huge penguin costume...I wish I had brought my phone with me so I could have taken a picture. Apparently, the guy is one of the technicians that works in the lab. I never did find out why he was dressed up like that, but whatever...

So, to make a long story short (too late!), my flu tests come back as negative, so it's determined that I have a bacterial infection (awesome!) and need to get on antibiotics. So, that's where I am now. On some powerful meds (which apparently don't put me to sleep though, which stinks) and trying to take it easy.

So, how are you?

Weekly: What Am I Playing?

As expected, this was a GRAW 2 kind of week. I was able to finish the single player campaign on 'Elevated Risk'. There's still one more level higher to finish the game at, so I may attempt that as well. My impressions:

Pros:
- Terrific visuals. A little more blurring then I would maybe like, but overall the game has a very good look to it.
- Nice action. Much like the first game, this time around there's plenty of firefights to get your teammates and yourself through.
- Blackhawk machine gun. This was my nemesis in the first game, as I would constantly be killed right as my gun started overheating. It was much easier going this time around.

Cons:
- Length. I actually said to myself "That's it?" when the credits started to roll. I guess I was surprised at the ease with which I was able to finish the final group of tasks. At least in the first game, the final boss had tons of baddies coming at me from all sides.
- Story. You'd think a Tom Clancy game would have a decent story, but alas, you'd be wrong.

I still have yet to try out the multiplayer, so I will post impressions of that whenever I get around to it.

I also played some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on XBLA. The game was just like I remembered it back from my arcade days. Only this time, there was no constant begging for quarters from the nearest passerby.

This week, the new game on XBLA is Castlevania, which should be very good. I will definitely be picking that up when it comes out Wednesday.

What are you playing? Let me know if there's some game out there that I'm totally missing out on.

Down With the Sickness

So, it seems I've come down with some funky, "scratch the hell out of your throat so it hurts to breathe" bug...good times. Just what I wanted to kick start a fun weekend.

This has at least given me a chance to catch up on GRAW 2, which I haven't had the chance to play much of this week. I'm not entirely sure how far into it I am, because I have yet to get the achievement for completing Act 2. If I really haven't, and the game isn't just screwing me out of this achievement, then this is the longest freakin' act in a game EVER.

Oh well...the new Maxim came in the mail today, so at least I have a new magazine to keep me company while I try to force down some more orange juice and chicken noodle soup.

Weekly: What Am I Playing?

Every Monday, I'll try to update what I've been playing over the last week on my (insert game system here).

This past week, I started off playing Crackdown on 360. It's a pretty nice game, if you're into being able to run around in a pretty open environment and kill people just because they're in your way. Is it a great game? No, but it's worth at least a rental. It also has with it an invitation to the Halo 3 beta testing, whenever that goes live.

I also played Worms on Xbox Live Arcade when it was released Wednesday. I never really got into Worms on the PC, as I was usually just into playing something else at the time. This is a pretty nice game, though, and the online multiplayer is fun. Costs $10, so if you're interested, be sure to try out the demo first.

Then, yesterday, I started playing Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 on the 360. So far, it's showing itself off as a must buy. If you liked the first GRAW last year, you'll like this one too. I definitely recommend it, and that's just based on the single player campaign. I have yet to try out the multiplayer component, but I hear it's supposed to be the best multiplayer on 360 yet. With as good as Rainbow Six Vegas multiplayer is, I'll be interested to play GRAW 2 online soon.

So, there we are...it's been a 360 kinda week. This week should have more GRAW 2 and a new entry, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that will be released on XBLA this Wednesday.

R.I.P. Richard Jeni

Comedian Richard Jeni died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot to the head today...I remember his comedy special 'Platypus Man' as being one of the funniest bits of stand-up I've seen. I have no idea why this pretty successful guy would want to kill himself, but that looks to be what has happened.

Richard Jeni: 1962-2007

3 straight!

Congrats to the boys of Florida, who just won their third straight SEC Tournament Championship. Now, it's time to turn the attention towards defending their National Championship, trying to become the first team in 15 years to do so.

Congrats also to Al Horford, who was named MVP of the tournament.

So, here I am...

Jaxjaggywires checking in...and no, that is not my real name. In this blog (theoretically) you'll be able to follow my various misadventures. I will (supposedly) chronicle my journey through days and whatnot. I may even post a picture for others to mock, which I know people tend to enjoy doing.

The more likely scenario is that I'll forget I have this blog altogether, and the posts will have about, oh, 6 months between them (give or take). In the event that I actually remember I have this blog, I will try to keep it as up-to-date as I can.

In closing, screw Flanders.