This is something that's been on my mind. I wish to seek employment somewhere in Delaware. Given my transporations options are limited short of using cabs (which I can't afford currently), I can't go too far to work. So, there are a few places I went to in order to get work. And I managed to get some interviews lined up or considered. But here's a few quirks I have:

1) If you want to work, find work that's within your comfort (travel) zone. With limited transporation options (since buses around here tend to run as late as 10-11 PM and start up again around 5 AM; and cabs are pretty expensive since a single cab ride could equal 20-30 one-way trips on the city bus), it helps to find a place that sits within your comfort zone. Unlike me, if you know friends that happen to be going that way or are generous enough to give you rides into town, those are a big help. What sucks is I try not to go more than 5 miles from home to try to find work that takes you late into the night. Least unless it sits on a route close to home. And then, I can just bus it most of the way and walk or bike the difference.

2) Might not be worth a job for you if you have to go to a corporate office which happens to be in another state if you can't get there. I had to casually work my way out of a couple of job openings since it would have involved me going into another state entirely just to interview with the company's District Manager or Human Resources Manager. At least when it comes to working retail for a store,they'll keep the district manager within the same state. I know that I just came back from an interview at Radioshack, and their DM is located in a shopping center somewhere. But I have no clue if it is this state or the adjacent one since they both have a shopping center that is the exact same name.

3) You're more likely to get a job if they don't need to train you entirely. A lot of places looking for help online are those who seek experienced help. If you don't have work experience, but know how to do some of the stuff they're asking for, good for you. I have a second degree coming in Engineering. But the only work experienceI can get around here is in customer service and sales (retail mainly). Engineering jobs await in the other states around mine...so if I'm gonna pursue an engineering career, I need to move eventually. But in order to do so...

4) When you seek work, be prepared to have backup funds to get by. For two months, I lived off of my savings. Now, I'm down to less than 80 bucks. I got two prospective job openings lined up. One for Radioshack for seasonal help, and the other involving a bike rickshaw service for the nearby university. Yes, bike rickshaw service. I assume it'll thrive when there's a lot of drunk college kids that can't drive or walk home a good distance...still, its potentially good money.

At least a lot of places are looking for seasonal help. So I'm going to try Borders once again, along with maybe Sears, K-Mart (which I really don't wanna do), Pathmark (same), FYE, and maybe Verizon.

Wish me luck guys! I need it.

I felt this weird compulsion to write a song. I don't play any instruments (except a plastic guitar with buttons on it, hah), but I just felt inspired because of how I felt lately.

The summer has gone and the winds go on,

The leaves on the trees keep falling 'round me,

and the sun can't brighten the soul,

and the road just fades with time.

I know its a single part, but I envisioned a Bob Dylan aspect to it due to "The Times They Are A'changin'" gripping my interest from the opening scene in Watchmen.With how I felt in trying to find work this fall because a lot of places are gonna start hiring soon, I just felt a bit motivated.

Anyway, on some general gaming news, I somehow aced my third PS3 game, which was Dead Space. If you want an idea of the hardest trophy to get (which is Epic Tier 3 Engineer and requires beating the game on Impossible), here's an example:

-On Medium, the standard enemies (Necromorphs that look human and have scythelike appendages) can only knock down maybe half of a single bar of health on your RIG (with 0% armor and 4 health bars at the start). On Impossible, one hit takes away just over a single bar of health. And to make it worse, using the basic weapons means it'll take longer for you to dismember them.

-Don't favor a single weapon. Each one's got its uses. The Plasma Cutter is basic, but is like the Handgun in RE5. Lots of ammo, so keep whatever ammo will supplement it and sell excess. The Ripper's great at dismembering enemies, but has a small damage area. The Line Gun can cut down enemies that are in front of you. It's like the shotgun. The Force Gun is effective at knocking enemies back and giving you a chance to escape the other way. The Flamethrower's good for whittling down enemy health at a time. And the Contact Beam's great for inflicting heavy damage focused into a small area, its like the Rifle equivalent.

-Try not to fight meaningless encounters. Enemies can follow you to almost any area in a single area, but they cannot follow you into an adjacent room (unless you knock them in there by accident). You can slow them down by shooting their legs out, or work to draw them away from a crucial doorway and then make a beeline for it.

-And with the game's few boss fights, its all about strategy. Good news is the game doesn't penalize you for dying like in RE5. So tactics always work.

Now that I got this game out of the way, my next games on the agenda will be Bioshock (which is due since Bioshock 2's due for a Feb 9th release, along with Star Ocean 4, and White Knight Chronicles is a week later) and Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition.

This time, I managed to ace Resident Evil 5 on the Playstation 3. Beat the campaign on my own on Professional Difficulty. Had a few deaths (due to increased damage that enemies inflict; not hitting button presses EXACTLY, etc), but since I didn't give a -bleep- about checkpoints and death affecting my score, I tore through that game with Infinite Ammo-equipped weapons and managed to get the last 2 trophies I needed for my second Platinum and Gold trophy. Now that I have that game out of the way, Bioshock's next. But I'll probably not be able to perfect that game for a while since I got Borderlands and Fallout 3 GOTY due next month, and Assassin's Creed 2 and Dragon Age Origins in November.

Good news is I got everything situated for this year. Borderlands, Fallout 3 GOTY, Dragon Age Origins CE, and Assassin's Creed 2 for my PS3 are paid off. I also got a few DS games I'm expecting due out soon like Nostalgia, A Witch's Tale, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days...

Here's my 2010 want list currently:

-Star Ocean 4 (PS3, Feb 9); Bioshock 2 (PS3, Feb 9); The Last Guardian (PS3, April 2010); God of War III (PS3, March 2010); Tales of Vesperia (PS3; if localized in the states, Late Winter to Early Spring 2010); White Knight Chronicles (PS3, Feb 16); Heavy Rain (PS3, Feb 16); Final Fantasy 13/XIII (PS3, June 22), Golden Sun (DS, Jan 2010); Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS, Jan 2010); Infinite Space (DS, Jan 2010); Pokemon Heart Gold or Soul Silver (DS, April 2010)

Alright...a sixth emblem and now level 16. =)

First off, let's go with up and coming releases I'm sure everyone's looking forward to.

September:

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS), Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (PSP), Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS3), Katamari Forever (PS3)

October:

Borderlands (PS3/360), Fallout 3: GOTY Edition (PS3/360/PC), Brutal Legend (PS3/360), Uncharted 2 (PS3), Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time (PS3), Demon's Souls (PS3), Nostalgia (DS), Tekken 6 (PS3/360), A Witch's Tale (DS), Bakugan (DS LOL, but who on Gamespot will care about this game, despite being the new Duel Masters...?), Alpha Protocol (PS3/360)

November:

Dragon Age: Origins (PS3/360/PC), Assassin's Creed 2 (PS3/360), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3/360/PC), God of War Collection (PS3), Phantasy Star Zero (DS), Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Sith Edition (PS3/360), Left 4 Dead 2 (360/PC)

December:

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS), Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (Wii), Guitar Hero: Van Halen (PS2/PS3/360/Wii)

And of course, there's next year: Front Mission Evolved (PS3/360), Nier (360, but might have changed since...); Nier Replicant (PS3), Final Fantasy 13 (PS3/360), White Knight Chronicles (PS3), Heavy Rain (PS3), Bioshock 2 (PS3/360), Infinite Space (DS), Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS), Pokemon Soul Silver and Heart Gold (DS)...

Now some headlines this week that made my jaw drop...

-Square Enix has potentially utilized another character's template for the Final Fantasy 13 character recently highlighted, who is Serah (aka sister to Lightning). I am speaking of course of the heroine of Bible Black, Kurumi Imari. The white blouses, yes. The skirts, maybe. Definitely the same stockings...their pigtails are on opposite sides of their heads, of course. And the faces are potentiall different as is the hair color. Still...it made me go "Hmm..." (Kotaku has the article, which is also here: http://kotaku.com/5358496/this-final-fantasy-xiii-lady-looks-familiar)

-Another note on Square Enix. Nier Replicant is a PS3 exclusive. Not big news, of course. What is surprising is that once again, the 'sexual' repercussions of their character designs has once again come into the crosshairs. Who is the target? Kaine from the game. A cute blonde, sword-wielding, long legged, and well endowed femme who is an AI controlled partner of Nier in the game. But is it surprising that according to Square Enix, she is a hermaphrodite? Of course by this, she becomes said 'herm' by demon possession. Her body only transmutes into demonic form along half of her body (the left hand side, and given that explains why it remains covered up on her arm and leg). Of course, the fact that they took this term and played upon it with the idea that although she will have a very manly demeanor and persona, her attire will still reflect her feminism. Of course, that is all I am allowed to say without it getting more raunchy. Here's the article: http://kotaku.com/5360369/niers-hermaphrodite-character

-Nintendo's announced that (aside from their battle with piracy still drags on) Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will release December 7th, which is ideal since it coincides closely with the release of Phantom Hourglass 2 years before it. And not only that, again Square Enix comes into the limelight. Since they have Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers slated for a December 26th release, they plan to have a special marketing ploy in the works where those who preordered the game will be given special 'coupons' for customers to give as presents. Just something to put under the tree in the hopes that another day won't kill those interested in the game.

-It also seems to be a good year for special editions of games. Dragon Age Origins will cost an extra 15 bucks and afford three pieces of exclusive DLC, along with an artbook, specially designed case, and a making of DVD. Demon's Souls will come with an artbook and soundtrack CD (as all Atlus games seem to do lately). Call of Duty: MW2 has a Prestige Edition that come with working nightvision goggles (and a hefty 149.99 price tag). Assassin's Creed 2 will run around 80 dollars for the special edition that includes various bonuses (but its mostly for the Ezio statue the collection comes with). Technically, it is a pre-made bundle, but the Fallout 3 GOTY Edition is a special edition of Fallout 3 in its own right as it comes with the original game and all 5 expansions (which is 100 bucks worth of content for 60 bucks). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona will release with a soundtrack CD and an artbook, and it will be a limited edition run. And Tekken 6 will have a bundle similar to Street Fighter 4, which will be costly and afford both the game and a limited edition fighting stick controller. And what is usually the good news is some of these games (like Dragon Age) will have additional preorder bonuses on top of that to give access to further content.

Anyway, it's going to be another good year for games. PS3 is finally at a good price range, so those will sell. 360s are cheaper so those will sell. And the games coming out are good. So those will sell. Just be sure you got enough money to get through the holiday season. I know I won't.

http://kotaku.com/5358496/this-final-fantasy-xiii-lady-looks-familiar

I was aghast when I read this article. Now, I fell in love with Serah when she was first announced. I thought she was cute as a FF char. But when I read this article, my jaw literally dropped. Now, I was familiar with the game mentioned in this article since its probably one of the most well known H-games on the PC...and when you compare their likenesses...>_> the good news is, I don't really care since Serah is Serah. Even if they look similar, they're not the same girl. But it did traumatize Serah's persona for a couple of my friends. Lol, so much that they couldn't look at her straight again without thinking of that H-game.

Anyway, I was a believer. I knew that Star Ocean 4 was getting a PS3 port...and its been confirmed. Gamefly stated it and had to retract it a day later at SE's request. And now, Star Ocean 4 is getting a special edition release in early 2010 in Japan for the PS3, including both Japanese and English voice options, and additional content; and it seems Nier's getting pushed as a PS3 exclusive.

Currently owns:

-Crapton of DS games

-for PS3, inFamous, Resident Evil 5, Bioshock, Dead Space, and Little BIG Planet; for PS2, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES and Persona 4; I'm not getting into my PS1 collection

Upcoming:

-PS3: Borderlands, Fallout 3 GOTY Edition, Assassin's Creed 2, Dragon Age Origins: Collector's Edition; DS: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Nostalgia, A Witch's Tale, Phantasy Star 0, Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks...

Yeah, I've got a lot to play. But the good news is I'm done with any new games for the next few months. I'm gonna wait till much later in the year before I get Final Fantasy 13, Heavy Rain, Bioshock 2, and White Knight Chronicles. For now, I need to find a job or two and start earning some serious cash.

The unlucky game to fall victim to said 'acing': Batman: Arkham Asylum

Time to get all trophies: 2 weeks andtwo days (Aug 25th to Sep 8th)

Moment of Accomplishment: Shock and Awe (Extreme) Challenge Map. Easily the HARDEST CHALLENGE MAP in the game...probably one of the hardest in-game challenges to conquer. I acquired three trophies upon finishing that: Freeflow Gold (Silver), Perfect Knight (Gold) and Platinum Trophy (Platinum, plus that is exactly what it says).

Now, I have my first Gold and Platinum Trophy. The next games I plan to work on and accomplish: Resident Evil 5, Dead Space, inFamous, and LittleBIGPlanet. The games I have a very likely chance of completing: Resident Evil 5 and Dead Space (since there's no online involved and they're mostly done). Since Bioshock for the PS3 also dropped to 20 bucks at Gamestop, I plan to invest money into buying that so I can complete Survivor mode WITHOUT CONTINUES! >_> Can you say 'saving' every 5 minutes? But the way I see it is if you can manage to do Survivor mode in Bioshock and without Vita-Chambers, you can nab the game's three gold trophies easily.

Anyway, I was so stunned by completing Batman that I wasn't able to fall asleep until around midnight. My body was literally awakened. Anyway, I'll update my PSN profile sometime this weekend with the updated list of accomplishments.

On the video games end, I got Nostalgia, A Witch's Tale, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (and not 358 Days / 2 as some 'geeky' show hosts on respective gaming shows tend to enunciate it as), Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story coming out for the DS while Assassin's Creed 2, Fallout 3 GOTY Edition, Borderlands, and now Dragon Age Origins: CE (yes, I caved because its Bioware, they do damn good RPGS, and around 100-120 hours of gameplay, plus a -bleep- ton of bonuses for an extra 15 bucks is fine by me) for my PS3 due out. Fortunately, I had hocked off my 360 and all my games for it to cover this huge fall and wintery spread of new game goodness. But I still don't have a job yet. >_< I prolly will be able to last on whatever money I got left until the end of the month, but then I'll be broke. Wings to Go, FYE, and Best Buy are hopefuls that I hope will call me back soon...and then I applied at two Buffalo Wild Wings places near where I live...what sucks is not many places are willing to hire in September. They always wait until the start of October before they begin pulling new hires in.

Alright. After three interviews at 2 different Best Buy's, a Borders interview, a hiring fair at an Apple store in my nearby mall, and turning in a resume to a temp agency, I'm still jobless. All I got going for me is 4 and a half years of retail experience at Gamestop and 3 and a half years of engineering degrees from my community college. So far, I know I'm still getting my background check from Best Buy; FYE has my name down for a potential candidate...Apple will entertain the idea of calling me back if at all...and I tried a local Wings to Go on a college campus near where I live for counter work. IMMEDIATE counter work. So I'm hoping for some luck in the next week or two with the job hunt.