Just recently a lot of people have been talking about their problems (medically), especially in the Rocking chair where we are all getting on a bit as it is!

This got me thinking about a hospital appointment I had about a year back and more specifically the doctor I was speaking to. I have total respect for doctors because put simply they do one of the most worthwhile jobs a person could ever wish to do. However this one inparticular almost saw the uglier side of my, in general, relaxed nature.

I started to get little patches of white on the skin on my thighs, not knowing what it was I went to the local doctor who then refered me to a skin specialist. I had an incling of what it might be but hoped that I was wrong. After looking at me for about 5 seconds she confirmed my suspicions that I had Vitiligo .

I was fairly happy to hear that, as long as I keep it completely out of the sun, the effects are only cosmetic. Still feeling fairly upset that at some point in my life the patches will spread to more visible areas, such as my face, I asked lots of questions about possible treatments. Aparently there are none. Now instead of giving me the usual "there, there" kind of things that I needed to hear, she asked me what I did for a job…….:? so I told her I was in marketing and she replied "well there you go, at least you aren’t a model or something because that would ruin your career" :|……errrrrrr whatever. She then went on to tell me that also at least I’m not black because it looks much worse on black people than it does on Caucasian people…….right. Then, just to top it off she told me that in situations like this all I need to do is have "faith in god that he has a purpose for all of us"!!!!!! :evil: WHAT?!?! You are a scientist FFS!!!! The student doctors in the room went bright red at the ridiculous comments this woman was spouting. After shouting about how inappropriate her comments were she then said that anger was the normal reaction to being given news like this…….NO, anger was the normal reaction to stupidity of the highest degree. At this point I left to avoid getting arrested.

I don’t really know why I am posting this in my journal, I guess its partly because I have never spoken to anyone other than my girlfriend about it and also to point out to people that doctors are not always right, sometimes they do get things wrong and make serious errors of judgement. Even if it is only on a subjective matter!

-------------In the rest of my life ------------

Everything is pretty much as last time except…

I’ve spent the majority of my time on the beach with friends and a BBQ

My brother has split up with his fiancee (they have been together for 9 years) which was a shock.

I hurt my knee and back from playing football (Soccer) with a jack russell dog.

I’ve just told everyone I have vitiligo

I have mostly been eating plain choclate with bits of orange in (yum yum)

I was just reading a thread about games that have bad starts, the guy was going on about Morrowind and how difficult t is to get into. Which i totally agree with!

This got me thinking though - these days it is very rare for a game to hold my attention long enough for me to bother getting to the end. So when i do, i think i deserve a great ending, something that makes it feel like the hours of invested time was worth the wait....does it ever happen....no. Here's my personal reasoning....

I think that when you spend hours on a game, really enjoying what you are doing and trying to do your best throughout what possible way can a game make you feel as though it wasn't in vain? I mean really, what is there that they can provide you that makes your physical time feel rewarded? That you've saved mankind? that your actions stopped evil over-running a city? of course thats not going to satisfy you! Not only have you now lost the thing that was occupying your time for the last few weeks/months, but you have nothing really to show for it other than bags under your eyes, sweaty hands and an irate girlfriend.

Wouldn't it be great if a game could reward you with something in real life as well as giving you an explosive end to your time? Or maybe showing you what contribution your playing experience has made to some online collective?!? I don't know, i just want more for my invested time - even if i did enjoy every moment of it!

Just to name a couple KOTOR2 and Deus Ex left me feeling robbed - i absolutely adored Deus Ex and so the ending was a big anti-climax for me. Although it did make me want to replay to get the other endings.....only to be dissapointed i had reached the end.....again!

----------in the rest of my life-----------

- I haven't started teaching yet and i am already snowed under with essays and preparation

- i have given up on Kite-surfing because its far too expensive and takes too much time!

- I have returned to my roots of Canoeing and have been getting in a couple of hours over the last couple of weeks

- Soreen (malted loaf) with butter and jam is my favourite food for this week

- i accidentally swallowed a bug on the way to work this morning....it did not taste good

Well i have finally bitten the bullet and bought myself a 1998 Mini cooper. And my god it is a beauty! I have posted a picture of it so you can all drool at its godliness!

If anyone comments on how much they don't like the "old style mini" they will be beaten and then ex-communicated! It is a work of art!

Buying boxsets of all my favourite series. To be honest i am totally addicted to a number of series (mainly UK comedy). I must stop myself from making any more purchases online. It is so easy to do when you are bored at work!

Now i realise that most people here are from the US and some of the things are not relesed over there, however i strongly recommend all of the below boxsets/TV series! They are pure genius!

1. Shameless series 1 - This is going down as one of the all time greats. Once you get past the vulgarity of the Gallagher family (swearing, drinking, fighting etc...etc...) you actually start to love each and every character in it. Just one of the best DVD purchases i have ever made! Rock on Series 2!

2. Little Britain series 1 - It doesn't get better than this! Pure British comedy at its finest! Some of it is in slight bad taste (the "nan" sketches - urgh) but on the whole it had me doubled over with laughter! yeah but, no but, yeah but......etc.....etc.... I really hope this one makes it to the states!

3. Sopranos series 1 & 2 - what can i say?......"forget about it!" - excellent TV watching :D

4. Arrested Development series 1 - This realy bombed in the UK which is a shame because i think its really funny and has some classic one liners.

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Other things happening in my life:

- i have started Kite Surfing - which is muchos fun (and tiring!)

- i got drunk on Saturday ran into the sea now my phone doesn't work and the £ notes in my pocket turned to mush

- ^ ^ drank all the belgian beer i brought back with me :cry:

- An old friend at EA is sending me Battlefield 2 (Thanks Peppi ;)) - if anyone wants to play let me know!

- Made some new friends (irl)!

- Decided to start my "saving for Japan" fund....

Thats all.....you may leave (practicing teaching)

I have mixed feelings about careers, while they are a neccessary evil to feed addictions such as gaming, i do believe that you are missing a trick if you don't find a career to suit you.

I have many friends that are working on the stock market or doing accountancy (shudder) exams and their only motivation for doing so is the incredible amount of money they will be making over the course of their lives. I pity them, i really do. They are working 60 hours weeks and constantly looked drained and tired.

I made the decision to follow a career that i seriously enjoyed whilst working at EA. When i started there i thought that it would be my dream job, working on something that i really have a passion for. In truth, as my friend/ex-colleague put it, "Its like putting some glitter on a great big poo" - and he was certainly right. Although gaming is a passion, office work is not and combining the 2 only highlighted for me that i can't sit behind a desk for 40-50 years of my life!

Therefore i am now embarking on a career in teaching. I have been accepted onto the training course (last week) and i start working in the school in September. A lot of people are confused by my massive change in career and could never understand why i made the decision to do so, but i think the answer is always going to be the same "Each to their own!"

Just be happy in what you do and don't waste the best years of your life doing something you don't enjoy!

(And teaching has very good holidays ;) )

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This week i have mainly been playing Guild Wars - what an awesome game it is too!

I am going to pick up FFVII again after not playing it for about 2 years now! I know....shame on me!

I am also going to try my best to get a copy of Stella Deus. After listening to a few people talking about it, i thought i'd try it out. Although its going to have to be import because i don't think its been released in Europe!

Okami is probably the game i have on my "one to watch" list at the moment. It looks original and stunning - can't wait!

Thats all...

Now before i make my first entry, i realise that very few people are actually going to read this! And i guess is the main subject of my psuedo-rant.

I really enjoy the feeling of being part of a community. I like to feel as though my opinion is valued, and love reading other people's posts to understand how they feel about things. And i guess this is why i have suddenly decided to come out of the shadows of "reading only" anonimity and begin to post on Gamespot's boards.

This is where my issues start. I'm not sure if everyone feels a little like this or if i am just being overly sensitive here, but i feel like i am constantly ignored! Or even worse....not even noticed!

There are so many people on these boards that i understand why your posts can sometimes get lost in the flurry of people trying to get their 2p's (2 cents - for Americans) worth. For this reason i thought that i would head over to some unions! I did this and still i feel as though my posts are constantly overlooked! I have kind of resigned myself to the fact that i'm not really that interesting!

I really wish that there was a Union, or community that i could join and really feel as though i belonged - where as noted before people would listen to what i had to say and valued my opinion and vice-versa.

Does anyone else feel like this or am i just being paranoid?!? Is anyone reading this? I guess this is where i see once and for all if any takes an interest......

(i'm not normally this miserable! Just having a bad day)