This will be a very short entry, but what the hell. I just ordered an XPS from Dell for my birthday and I'm damned excited. I haven't had a "nice" computer since... um.... never, I guess. I've got approximately a week until it arrives. Until that happens, I intend to spend all my time bashing my head against the wall because I don't handle waiting very well at all. If anyone needs me, I'll be the dazed technophile slumped to the floor beside the bloodstained sheetrock.

" Thank God it's over!" That's not an uncommon sentiment when you're talking post-holidays. As for myself, it couldn't be more true. I've always hated the stress and havoc that come around every year from Thanksgiving to New Years. I'm a hermit by nature, so I'd much rather be sitting at home playing games than running around buying presents and celebrating. That's why I'm happy to say that this year I was too sick to go out Christmas eve and had to spend the evening relaxing at home.  Of course, when I say "had" I'm not implying in any way that I felt inconvenienced at all by my confinement. In all honesty, it was a great little oasis of calm in the middle of everything that was going on.  Now, it's all over, and I'm free for another year. Maybe, just maybe, if I plan it right, I can come down with a horrible case of flu or whooping cough or something and take another holiday break in 2006. As a matter of fact, I think I'll make that my New Year's resolution. Here's to being sick from Nov. to January in '06!

Yes, I know... it's long past the time when my 30 days of being a non-gamer ended. Still, I felt that I'd better at least write something to fill in the details of how it ended. To make a long story short, I was completely game-starved when the end came-up, and I figured that I'd be spending a lot of quality time in front of my television. However, to my surprise, I've been totally focused on hand-held gaming. I replayed FF: Tactics Advance for the third time ( 300+ hours of play time and counting) and then moved on to grab some of the titles I'd been wanting for a while. Hence, Trauma Center: Under the Knife, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The Legend of Zelda II, and Fire Emblem were added to my collection. So, ever since December 2nd, I've been cuddled up on the couch with either my GBA or my DS. I can't say that my wife appreciates it too much, but it sure feels good to get back into the gaming groove. There's only one downside: now that I'm able to play games again, I find myself right in the middle of the holiday season and I'm completely inundated with new games that I need to go pick up. All I can say is that I hope I get a LOT of gift cards for christmas, because otherwise I'm going to be completely broke within a month of the end of December!

As time goes on, this whole thing gets worse and worse. From drooling while I watch my wife guzzle down a big glass of coke to wimpering as I stare at my video game collection, it's just one big trial day after day. I got my hands on a sega gamegear, and I can't even play it for another 11 days. blegh.  On top of that, there's my huge backlog of unplayed games that isn't getting any smaller through this whole thing, and my constantly growing wish list is begging to be filled. Oooo, yeah, it's great that I'm still not smoking, but that doesn't do a thing for the fact that my spare time is now extremely boring. There's only so many times you can clean a house before you start feeling like you should be ordering a french maid's outfit, and I passed that point days ago. Of course, there's also the ever present point (which I complain about near every post) that I'm going to miss out on the big 360 launch. So, as day 19 marches on, I close with the only question I can really ask myself that fits the situation: WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING WHEN I AGREED TO DO THIS?!?

Well, so far and only so-so good.  I had my first slip-up today when I bought a pack of cigarettes at the grocery store.  Granted, I only smoked one, but it's a setback nonetheless. As for video games, pop, and fast food, I've continued to hold up that end of the challenge.  After 13 days without gaming, I can definitely say that I'm missing it.  I sat down to watch my brother play Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell yesterday, and that was an experience. I bought the game a few days back just to satisfy my itch for something game-related, and it's quite frustrating to watch someone else play it before I ever get to. It's kind of like going on a hunger strike and then sitting down to watch someone eat an entire thanksgiving dinner all by themselves. It's not too good on the old willpower, to put it lightly. Of course, there's also the fact that the 360 comes out in just over a week now. What was I thinking there?  When the first console of the new generation hits, all I'll be able to to is sit back & watch. I suppose there's some advantage in it (I get to see which launch games are really the good ones before I buy anything, for one) but still it's one hell of a downer.  As previously mentioned, I'm still doing a LOT of house-cleaning, but it's progressed from passtime to obsession. I guess that's what happens when you take away  all of a person's hobbies. Out with the old fanatacism, in with the new.  I can't even sit still for 30 minutes without getting up to go fold laundry or something. Heh. It's kind of pathetic, really. Anway, thats enough for now. I'm off to go find some domestic disctraction at the bottom of a can of pledge.

I would like to start this post by retracting a statement I made in my Day 6 post. It does not, in fact, get easier to avoid video games with time. Here I am, just three days after my last post, and I'm fiending for a  chance to play something, ANYTHING remotely video-gamish. Give me an Atari 2600, a NES, a genesis, give me GAMES!  I swear, I catch myself several times daily staring at my gaming setup just wishing I could plunk down for a couple hours and tune out. Constantly, new games catch my eye and taunt me with the fact that I can't play them for almost a month still.  *sigh* Of course, me being me, I can't leave well enough alone. So, on top of the no pop, fast food, or video games I've also decided to quit smoking. How's that for a total meltdown just waiting to happen, eh? My only hope is to concentrate on the positive. I'm breathing easier already since I quit smoking, so that's good. I've actually started to lose some weight as well. Apparently, cutting out the calories and getting rid of my number one inactive activity is actually good for me. Go figure. heh.  My house has stayed cleaner this past week or so than it has been for a long time. Imagine yerself stuck at home with nothing to do and a mountain of nervous energy to work with. Got that mental image firmly fixed? Good. Now, imagine applying all that energy and frustration exclusively to house cleaning. "Spotless" doesn't even begin to describe the condition of my house right now. Now, wanna know the sad part? All these lifestyle improvements aside, I'd STILL rather be gaming. That, my friends, is the state of things on Day 9, with more to come in future updates.

Anyone who checks out my now playing list will find that it is entirely empty. I have a very good reason for this; i'm not lazy, I'm laying off the video games for a month. I'm also avoiding pop & fast-food, but that's beside the point. A friend of mine called me up and asked me what I would think of going a month without video games. I told him in no uncertain terms exactly what I thought of the idea, but he kept on with it. Eventually, more out of curiosity than anything, I gave in. Now, here I am in the middle of the holiday season unable to play any video games whatsoever. On the plus side, I've rediscovered some classic board games like monopoly and risk. I've also found that I have more free time to spend with the family and get things done around the house. On the negative side, I'm going insane!! I had just started playing X-Men Legends II, and now I've got to wait a month to continue the story. I can't even play Zuma online anymore! It does seem to get easier as time goes on, but I think I'll be ready and waiting to return to my gamer lifestyle once my month is up.

I seem to have found yet another site to have fun on. Until now, I've restricted my activities to Gamespot.com, but now I suppose I'll play around here a bit. After all, I've got to find something to do while the guys at gamespot are rearranging their site. Hoorah for an answer to boredom!

I've already made an entry today, but I just had to mention something. Here lately, as much as I love gaming, I'm getting kind of put out with the sheer money grubbery of the industry. I bought RE4 for GC when it came out. Now, it's coming out for PS2 with a slew of new features, and of course I suppose I'm expected to buy a new copy now so I can play them. While I'm at it, look at the Metal Gear Solid series. Metal Gear Solid is followed by Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. MGS II? Why, it's followed by MGS II: Substance, of course! Before too long, we'll have a re-hash of MGS III to play with as well. These are just a couple of examples of a facet of the gaming industry that seems to be growing larger by the day. For a completist like me who doesn't always have spare cash laying around, this is pretty frustrating. Why can't companies just put out the original game with all these neat extras included? Because it would make them less money of course! What's a gamer to do other than sit back and complain about it, though, eh? Not much. So, though I could make my own personal statement by not buying these re-hashes, I'm too anal-retentive to do it. I want the complete experience! I'm sure I'm just the kind of gamer the industry is looking for... an all day sucker that gets dumped on and takes it with barely a grumble. In the end, my only solution is to gripe, feel better having done so, and keep plugging along saving money for games I've already played. Hooray for me!

This is my first journal entry since they were all wiped out due to gamespot's inadvertant purge. I figured I'd better put someting in here rather than have the damned thing sitting there empty. Anyway, it's that time of year again. The holiday season fast approaches, and with it the yearly glut of new video game titles. In particular, I'm looking forward to things like Ultimate Spiderman, X-Men Legends II, and the release of Metal Gear Solid III: Subsistence. Of course, there's also the fact that the first system of the next generation is due to launch around the same time. I, like most other gamers, am really looking forward to actually getting my hands these shiny new pieces of technology. Honestly I think I'm going to have to put in extra hours at work just to make sure I'm not left behind when the ball drops. Oh well. It should be worth it (at least, I HOPE it will be worth it). Either way, I'm ready and waiting for the holidays, whether or not I'm monetarily prepared for them.