Not Sure What to Call This Post

Random stuff today.

Picked up a 360!!! I really, really hesitated making the purchase, as I just happened to be at Best Buy and asked the clerk just out of curiosity if they had any... and sure enough, they just had a new shipment arrive that day. I had received a fairly large bonus from work a few weeks back, so after debating with myself (and my fiance) for about 20 minutes, I gave in and picked it up along with Oblivion. I figured that I already had 6 other games, it was about time I picked one up.

I'm loving it. The X360 menu system/HUD and XBL are by far one of the best things to happen to consoles. It makes navigating through everything extremely easy, I can access all my Live info at the touch of a button, and it's actually encouraging me to play online more and more. Well played, MS.

So far, I've spent most of my time in Oblivion, but just cracked open Full Auto and Fight Night 3. GodDAMN FN3 is good fun. Nothing quite like pounding on Seppo's left eye until it looks like raw hamburger :D And Oblivion... man, that game is good. I just joined the Thieves' Guild and things have certainly picked up. Full Auto is good mindless fun. Also have Perfect Dark, Condemned, Cameo, and PGR3, but haven't had much of a chance to play any of them.

Picked up Brain Age while I was in North Carolina visiting my father. Surprisingly entertaining. And it includes Sudoku, which I have been addicted to recently (and have gotten quite good at). My Brain Age stays between 20~28 (my real age), so I guess I'm doing okay in the brain pan. Though stress has a very distinct effect on my ability to play that game. On days that I am super busy or stressed out, my scores are noticeably lower.

But, speaking of visiting my father, I have to admit... my father is a stronger man than I thought. Despite the recent surgery, he was in surprisingly good spirits. He joked around about his missing leg. (when an acquaintance asked him what happened, he said, "We went to an expensive restaurant, and they wanted to charge an arm and a leg! Turns out they only needed the leg.") He's still not taking good care of himself, but nothing I do is going to change that (believe me... I've tried). Overall, it was a pleasant weekend, despite the rank odor of smoke, dog urine, and the smelliest well water I've ever come in contact with. And let me tell you... in the middle of Nowhere, North Carolina, WalMart is a *happenin'* place.

But, both going to NC and coming back, we ended up getting stuck in the layover airports for 3 hours each way (Chicago on the way out, Nashville on the way back). Sucked big time.

Oh, and lastly, while I was gone over the weekend, someone decided to steal the stereo out of my car, which was parked *within* my apartment complex's gated parking area, underneath a street lamp, in front of the pool/playground/next to the front office. And to top it off, it was a birthday gift from my fiance (and an expensive one, too) 2 years ago, and they used my own goddamn tools (which were in my trunk) to pry the thing out of the dashboard.

The bastages.