Happy (Gregorian) New Year (and stuff)

(Gregorian Calendar)

So, did everyone have a good holiday season? I hope so. I know I did.

For X-Mas this year my wife and I decided to come up with a new plan that will guarantee we each get what we want. My wife went out and shopped for the items she wanted (mostly clothes – blech!) and I wrote down exactly what I wanted – an Xbox 360 Elite with an extra wireless remote, wireless network adaptor, and a wireless remote recharger for two (evidently she wanted to shop around to get the best deal rather than “trust” me to hunt for the best deal, insinuating I might not be a patient man!). So between the two of us, we each got exactly what we wanted for X-Mas. Yeah, it’s not romantic, but it beats the hell out of getting a pink bunny outfit and having to pretend that I like it! And thanks to my mom giving me a gift certificate to Gamestop, I bought several good, used games at their “BUY 2 GET 1 FREE” sale. The list of 360 games I acquired are:

Bioshock
Dead Rising (I get to kill zombies in a shopping mall – how frakin’ cool is that!)
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Burnout: Revenge
EA Sports: Fight Night Round 3 (yes, I hate EA, but this was a used game and EA didn’t get any of my money for it, so suck it. Besides, it’s the best and only boxing game on the 360 and the knockout replays are epic… and my meathead heavyweight fighter is named Mallet “Bam Bam” McBride – I gotta play it!)
Crackdown
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (great coop for the wife and me, and Chewie can wear a top hat – A FRIGGIN’ TOP HAT – WOOT!)

And the kid? Well, let’s just say that Santa must’ve played favorites looking at all the loot she got. Meh, she’s an only child and dammit, if we want to spoil her a bit here and there, then so be it. She’s a wonderful little tyke, anyhoot!

All-in-all, this was a great holiday season. Even my mom visiting was very pleasant!
But alas, I’m now back at work, but that’s a good thing. For one, the paycheck allows me to pay for stuff, and for another thing I actually like it at Spacetime and I love the project I’m on. Nice change of pace, I gotta say.

Aside from playing with my Xbox 360 in the evenings when nothing’s on the boob tube (writer’s strike and all), I’ve also been indulging in the fun that is EQ2. I cancelled my WoW account (again) since I just wasn’t interested in playing another character up to 70 and besides, since I already had a hunter at level 70 that means I won the game, right? At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

As for EQ2, I discovered the joy that is the Bruiser class. I made a Barbarian Bruiser by the name of Tohr (good, tough guy name from some non-descript fantasy book/game/LARP/PnPRPG/taking-a-crap-moment/etc) and I’ve been enjoying beating the crap out of the indigenous wildlife and non-agreeable locals of the land. It’s even better since I don’t need to use a weapon, so I save a bunch on not having to constantly upgread weapons. The visuals are a mixed bag, with questionable art direction and the game engine still runs like a gimpy old man with an enlarged prostate running through wet tar. But the game play is really first rate and there are a bunch of things to do. Plus there’s no Barrens Chat of any sort, which is a plus to anyone who knows what the hell I’m talking about.

I also took advantage of Turbine’s payment “sale” of sorts for Lord of the Rings Online. It’s basically $9/month if I sign up for 3 months, which I did. I liked it the first time around when it came out, so I figured I’d give it another shot. It’s still fun and not too much has changed, but I’m having a much better time in the Monster Play PvP area than before, thanks in large part that there are now more than enough level 50 players for me and the other “creeps” to shoot at. The thing is, the “freeps” (what the good guys are called) are so much more powerful than any of the “creeps” (the monster fellows) that it makes it very difficult for an up-and-coming monster to make their mark in Middle Earth. But it’s fun regardless, and kills are extra special because it is so hard.

I also saw Live Free or Die Hard over the break, and I have to say I liked it as much as all the other Die Hard flicks. It’s over-the-top-John-McLain-has-way-too-many-hero-points fun that just can’t be beat.

Anyway, I’ve rambled too much as it is. Perhaps I’ll update this here bloggy thing again within the week. Not that I’ll have anything MORE interesting to say, but whatever. It’s good typing practice.