What up everyone?

I've been gone for far too long...it's been a busy and hectic few days.

I'll try not to niglet this so much...:oops:

Oh, how I miss the gaming world!! :o

Well, it took me long enough to blog about my awesome life changing trip to the Big Apple. I was supposed to have posted this blog sometime last week, but I got very busy with school and I was catching up on some 360 playing time that I'd lost while I was on the trip. Here's how my trip went:

As you recall from my last blog. I flew out to New York for a job interview as a Stock/Insurance broker assistant for The Hartford Co. Ok I'm going to start by saying that New York is absolutely amazing! I stayed at the Marriott Marquis New York which is located on Broadway. I couldn't believe that I was staying in a hotel that was pretty much in the heart of Times Square. My room was on the 38th floor and I had a great view of Times Square. I couldn't even go to sleep my first night there. I was in awe to be in Times Square. I ended up walking around for a bit and than just taking a nap.

The next morning I woke up early to head up to the New York Regional offices of The Hartford Co. Taking the subway from my hotel to the office was such an adventure. I couldn't believe how fast the pace of New York life is. I thought that L.A. was a fast paced city but compared to New York L.A. is pretty chill. I walked from my hotel to the subway station, but I definitely did not dress appropriately for New York weather. I walked a block and I had to go back to my room to get more clothes on because it was so cold! Since I live in sunny California I really didn't have proper winter clothes, so I did some shopping which was pretty cool. I got to the subway station and I had my map on my hand which pretty much gave me out. Several people commented on how they immediately knew that I wasn't from New York. I couldn't disagree with them any less. The subway ride was really interesting in a fun way. I could definitely get use to riding the subway to work. I got to the regional offices way before my interview, so I walked around for a bit. I checked in with the receptionist and as I was doing so one of the executives who was going to interview me walked in. He offered to take me on a tour of the facilities. We walked around the offices and I got to see where everything was. He even teased me with showing me what my office would be and he said "you'll be the new guy, so you can't have a corner office." I had never really understood the fascination with corner offices until I walked into his office...oh man that office was just like those you see on the movies. It was beautiful! I could totally see the years of work in that office. Well, my interview started and at first with the classic ice breaker questions from there it moved to more detailed interviewing and after a couple of hours they said to me "Jon, we feel that you would be an asset to our company...would you be interested in working with us?" I was definitely shocked because I honestly didn't think I would get the job. I was honest with them when they asked "Where do you see yourself in five years?" I was honest and I said that I hope to have finished with my MBA and I hope to be working in the video game field. I definitely thought that my answer would turn them away from hiring me, but I guess not. After the interview I had to go to some meetings where I had to learn about New York's law on insurance. I'm not going to lie...that was really boring! I definitely did not enjoy the endless talk about insurance. The meetings were finally over. The subway ride back to my hotel was so much fun. I rode back with another candidate for the job who also got the position. She was a pretty fun girl and she's so smart. On our way to our hotel we totally missed our stop, so we ended up by Central Park and decided to walk around for a bit. That was the only touristy thing that I was able to do. We walked to 30 Rock but we didn't have enough time to go all the way to the top. After our little escapade I got back to my hotel and as much as I wanted to go out and see the night life that New York City has to offer, I had to go to bed early because the next day I was heading to the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). It truly felt like sleeping was a waste of time but I had to do it.

My second day in New York consisted on visiting the NYSE. I have always told my friends that someday I would like to be one of the people who get to ring the bell at either opening or closing of the market. I didn't get to do that but being there for it when it happened was definitely awesome. Ok, I seriously know now that the NYSE is a mad house! I mean, I've seen the documentaries, the movies, the news reports, and the educational videos but it's way completely different to experience it in person. Oh man! It's so hard to even attempt to describe my experience there. I do some stock trading/selling for fun on my own, but it's nothing like the real life trading/selling of stocks. I wasn't even working, I was just witnessing and getting a little bit of hands on and I was super stressed! It was fun yet very stressful! That's definitely one of the things I will be considering as I make my decision. I don't know if I can see myself having fun while being stressed. It was definitely fun to be there though. One thing that will stay with me for a long time is how dumb I felt when I got partnered with a Statistical Analyst. This dude was so smart! He was a current grad student at NYU getting his masters degree in Statistical Mathematics. Yeah, he was a Math genius! I am ok with Math, but nothing like him. He was definitely pretty cool though. He was very nice and he was full of so much mathematical information that helped me understand some things different. As I was at the NYSE, I made my way to the Microsoft station and I met some people and got some phone numbers and e-mail addresses...so I attempted to make connections to see if I could find out some information. After a crazy day at the NYSE I had to go to some more Insurance Compliance meetings which once again were really boring. I don't know if many of you saw the news, but I was there when the US Airways plane went down. It was definitely interesting to see the local news and the way the city handled that situation. So that was the last night that I was going to spend in New York City, so a few people from the office decided to show us a little bit of the night life. We went to a bar at the Hotel QT which was only down the street to where I was staying. It was tons of fun. After one too many drinks I decided it was time for me to head back and get some sleep. I needed to be up early in the morning to go to some last meetings. Since everyone else was off the next day, they decided to stay for a few more hours. I started heading back to my hotel, so I thought, but I started walking the opposite direction from my hotel. I walked for a few blocks and I realized I was going the wrong way. I finally was pointed in the right direction and after texting my favorite gamer buddy I headed back to my hotel. It was definitely a great time for being my last night there.

My last day in New York City was spent with a client visit, so I got to see a little bit of what that would be like. After that I headed to the airport to wait for my flight back home. So now it's all about sitting with my family and close friends and make a smart decision of what I'm going to do with my life. It was definitely a life changing trip. I fell in love with New York City! We'll see what's going to happen. I wish I would have taken my parents camera with me, and even though I bought a disposal camera I wasn't able to scan the few pictures I took. I really didn't have much time to do touristy stuff. I didn't even get the chance to visit a high school friend who is going to Law School in New York. I definitely plan to go back in a non business trip and do all the touristy stuff. So yeah, that's how my trip went...definitely was a great experience.

Oh Nelly! I've been so consumed with what's to transpire that I have not been able to get bloggin' like I want to. I'm gonna attempt to give you a very quick update on what I've been up to...

This past weekend it was all about hanging out with one of my really good friends. Matt decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy so this weekend was the last weekend that we were going to be able to hang out for a while. He is leaving today for basic training and then he's going to go to school to become an aviation mechanic, and then he gets to go wherever he's going to be station...so yeah it's gonna be quite a while before we see each other again. I'm extremely proud of him though, it is defenitely a life changing decision and I'm sure he'll do well. My best thoughts are with him!

I don't know if many of you remember, but I'm in pursuit to get a job in the video game indusrty. I had an interview with Sony Computer Entertainmen. I had an interview for a poasition as an economic and business development executive assistant with the Play Station division. I'd love to tell you into more detail how the interview went, but do to time constraints I'll leave that for another blog when I have more time. Instead, I'm gonna tell you how much I liked this part of Northern California. Sony's offices are located in Foster City which was 15 minutes from my hotel in Redwood City. I absolutely really like both Redwood City and Foster City. I don't know exactly what it is but I can defenitely see myself working in the Bay Area. One thing that I really liked about the location of the office was that almost all the floors, with the execption of the first and second floors, have a view to the Bay. Don't get me wrong, I love Southern California. I guess the fact that this is fairly new to me attracts me to the idea. It was defenitely a good experience.

Next, in a few hours as a matter of fact, I'm flying out to the Big Apple! I'm heading to New York City for a job interview as a Stock/Insurance Broker assistant for The Hartford Co. It is not exactly where my heart is but you can't say no to a free plane ticket in the buiseness section and a free stay at the Marriott Marquis New York. I get to visit the New York Stock Excahnge too. I'm really planning on enjoying this trip. The only thing I'm really bumbed about is that I forgot to borrow my parents camera, so I may not be able to take pics. I am going to see my brother who lives in New Jersey so I hope he has one. This makes me realize that I need to buy my own camera. I need to add that to the list of things to buy in the near future.

Well, that's the very quick update about what I've been up to and what I'm gong to be up to. So if I'm not on as much you know why. I'll blog more about it when I get back and I have more time and I'm not freking out as much! Keep on gaming and all of you be safe!

2009 is here!

I haven't been around GS in a while and in all honesty I don't know if I'm going to be around much...

Anyways, I hope all of you had a very good Holiday season and I really wish all of you the best in 09!

Have fun, keep on gaming, be safe!!! :D

I haven't felt the way I feel today
In so long it's hard for me to specify.
I'm beginning to notice how much this
Feels like a waking limb... pins and needles,
Nice to know you, Good-bye!!

Oh man this song gets me pumped up! And oh man how I need to be pumped up at the moment!

I just finished a 42 page report on the credit crisis that the US Economy is suffering! Yeah, you read correctly, 42 fu**in' pages! I wrote this report in a spand of two weeks! I went to bed at an average time of 2:35 am in thefu**in' morning!

I should really be studying for my other 3 finals, but I just had to share that accomplishment with who ever feels like reading this. But ,it was nice to be done with such a long report that pretty much will determine if I pass or fail! I hope I'll pass!

Ok...I don't expect a high number of comments so that's all!

Sh*t yea! The Dark Knight DvD comes out tomorrow! I can't wait!

What's going on Gamespotters? Well, it is the day after thanksgiving a.k.a Black Friday and I'm lucky enough and very happy to be home instead of work! I needed a couple of days off! Surprisingly, I don't have much homework to do so I'm taking some time to blog it up :).

Thanksgiving dinner was very interesting and really fun this year. My family had initially just planned to stay local and go to my aunt's house which is half an hour away from our house. We got a call from our relatives who live up in Northern Cali to see if we wanted to go up and visit them. Initially my parents had agreed to go up North, so I was somewhat looking forward to going and visit them, but I wasn't all thrilled about the five plus hour drive up there. Don't get me wrong, I love road trips! But, I really didn't feel like going on one this week :P. I came to find out though that my relatives from up North decided to hop on a plane and come here instead. I was somewhat bummed out that we weren't going up North anymore, but I was looking forward to see a couple of my cousins and uncles and aunts. (I just realized I was having various mix feelings about traveling this Thanksgiving :P) We ended up going to my aunt's house. We had a full house: My family, some of my aunts and uncles, some of my cousins. The food was so delicious, I'm going to be having left over's for a little while :D; my aunt and my mom are excellent cooks! Dinner was so much fun as well as very interesting, let me share with you one of the most embarrassing conversations that went on during dinner time. The conversation was about what I want to do with my future and my aunt trying to figure out why I don't have a girlfriend. Yeah, it was kinda embarrassing but I felt you would get a kick out of the conversation :). Oh man! I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it but my family is kinda crazy ;). The conversation went something like this:

Uncle: So Jon, You are about a year or so from graduating...what are your plans after college?

Me: Well, I'm hoping I can become an Economic Researcher and Developer in the video game industry.

Uncle: Oh, you want to make video games??

Me: No, not exactly, I would be in charge of making sure that the economics of the company run smoothly.

Uncle: Oh, so you'll be in charge of making money while making money! Clever!

Me: I'm really into video games and I love Economics, so I've decided to put the two and attempt to make a living out of my favorite interests. I really don't care about the money as long as I'm enjoying what I'm doing.

Uncle: Yeah, you don't want to end up hating your job! I hate my job! I'm proud of you ...just don't be getting any girls pregnant ok! You're using protection right?

Me: *uncomfortable tone* I don't have a girlfriend so that's not something I really worry about.

Aunt: Wait, what the $#&*?!?!? You don't have a girlfriend? Why?

Me: I really don't know aunt, but it's not a big deal.

Aunt: No, no, no, no, it is a big deal! You're 21 years old and you don't have a girlfriend!

Me: Exactly! I'm still young and I got tons to learn before I get one!

Lil Bro: He plays video games too much, that's why he can't get one!

Uncle: Honey, leave the kid alone! He's being very smart!

Aunt: Do you have trouble talking to girls Jon? I mean, are you what is consider a "geek" or "nerd" and have trouble talking to girls?

Me:*Shock* I don't think there's anything wrong with being a "geek" and no I don't really have trouble talking to girls.

Aunt: Why don't you have a girlfriend then?

Uncle: Because he's smart!

Aunt: Oh be quite! I just want to help him! A handsome young man like him should not be single!

Me: Thanks aunt! I don't think you should be worried about that...I'll have a girlfriend in its due time.

Aunt: It's ok if you have trouble talking to girls! I can teach you how to approach them!

Me:* Embarrassed tone* Thanks for your concern aunt, but I don't need your help for that.

Aunt: If you say so, but I don't see a beautiful girl sitting next to you! Next time I come back I need to see a beautiful young lady sitting next to you!

Me: Yeah, sure aunt...

Aunt: May be you should stop playing Nintendo and go out more!

Me: I do both, Aunt. You shouldn't be concerned!

Aunt: I don't know Jon, I don't know...you aren't as normal as I thought you were!

Me:*shock* Thank Aunt!

Haha, oh man that has to be one of the most embarrassing conversations I've ever had with my aunt! Knowing her, she will expect me to have a girlfriend next time she comes down to visit me. I love her but I think she's starting to go a bit *motions to the crazy sign with his hand* :P. Oh and if you noticed, my aunt is still stuck in 1990 and she calls every gaming console a Nintendo. Overall, Thanksgiving was pretty fun! I hope you find that conversation entertaining and please, don't make fun of me! :P How was your Thanksgiving? I hope it was as interesting and fun as mine was!

As I mentioned before, today id Black Friday! People are crazy and camp out at stores in order to get deals! I can't believe the amount of people who do that! My family and I never go out and camp or stand in line. My aunt and Uncle from up North, since I established they are crazy :P, they love to camp out and be the first ones at the stores. They went and camp out outside Best Buy because they wanted to be the first ones there. They were looking for new electronics. We decided, along with my Aunt and Uncle who live here in SoCal, to join them since they were our guest. I wasn't really planning on buying anything, but if I found a good deal I would take advantage of it. I was very close to buying a PS3 even though it wasn't on sale :P. But, then I turned around a saw a 42" LCD HDTV on sale! I've wanted to get my own TV for a while! I couldn't resist and I bought it! OH man, my savings account is hurting right now :shock:, but at least I can say that I have my own TV :D. I can't wait to set it up and connect the X360 with the HDMI! The only down side of going through with getting the TV is that I most likely will not get any new games until I build my saving account back up :(. I wanted to set it up in my room, but I decided to be nice and set it up in the leaving room. Once I move out though, that thing is going where I'm going ;)! Did any of you camp out or woke up extra early to take advantage of the Black Friday deals?

Now, I'm just gonna rest for the remaining of the day and may be go up to the mountains with some friends later. I'm waiting for Cyber Monday to complete my Xmas shopping. I have somewhat of an idea of what I'm going to get my friends and family for Xmas :D. Did you start your Xmas shopping yet?

*Edit* I attepted to uplaod some pictures but I failed :(! I don't know what I dide wrong! Any suggestions?

Alright, it's been a little while since the last time I wrote a blog. So I'm going to try to make this as entertaining as possible as I can :p. Well, there's been quite a bit going on in my exciting yet boring life so I'll try to tell you some of the things that have been going on:

Last weekend was HorseyJesse's 21st bday celebration. It was definitely a very fun filled night and I just wanted her to have a great time. I have a feeling that she did so that makes me really happy :D. This weekend was pretty awesome as well. I got my life sized Lancer in the mail last week so I've been having tons of fun with that thing. I'll be taking pictures soon and I'll make sure to share them with you. My weekend started kind of early since I took the liberty to purchase two tickets to the midnight show of Twilight (ok, I know that some of you will make fun of me but ehh :p the books are entertaining and the actress that plays Bella, Kristen Stewart, is a cutie!) and I knew that my favorite gamer buddy who is also a Twilight fan would want to go :). Friday night was one of my old high school friend's 21st bday and we went down to Westwood to celebrate with him. Oh man it was so much fun! It was double bonus because not only my old friend from high school got drunk but my favorite gamer buddy HorseyJesse got drunk too! :D. It took 3 Long Island Iced Teas to do the job. It was definitely good times for sure! On Sat night, I went to see Role Models with my friend and HorseyJesse, and my lil bro kind of but not really. After the movie, I went to hang out with my friend who will be leaving to the Navy in the near future. We went to a bar in downtown Fullerton. I don't remember why exactly, but I decided to wear my COG tags that I got when I went to the GoW2 launch party. I didn't realize I was wearing them until I went inside the bar and the only reason I realized that was because a girl who was waiting for her drink next to me noticed. She said "That's a super cool necklace you're wearing. It's very unique and it looks good on you." I couldn't help but literally lol :). My friend couldn't believe that the nerdiest accessory got me some attention. I'm gonna wear my COG tags more often :D.

Ok, this turned out to be a very different blog than what I had intended to but there's a very good reason why that is. I hope you enjoy and I'll try to come up with more (and better) blogs soon!

I just wanted to wish you a happy 21st birthday!!

It's horseyjesse's 21st birthday today!! Yay!!

She's not only my favorite gamer buddy in the whole world, but she's a gamer celebrity!! :D

Here's something for you:

Now, if I could only really bake that for you :P

Happy 21st birthday! Heart you tons! Wooohooo!!

Happy Veteras day to everyone as well! :D

If you don't already know: horseyjesse beat Cliff Bleszinski on a chainsaw dual during the Gears of War 2 launch party at Universal City Walk!! I have a feeling that most of you already know, but if you don't, you should read her blog! As a matter of fact, I'm going to be very inactive in the following weeks, if not months. If you read her blogs though, once in a while you'll catch a sentence about something we did together (provided that she mentions me, which she totally doesn't have to) so you'll have an idea what I've been up to. I'll be logging in once in a while and when I do I'll make an effort to comment your blogs!

The Gears of War 2 launch party was extremely awesome! It was an experience that it's going to be engraved in my memory for decades! I got to see the voice talent from up close, I got to have a brief conversation with Cliff Bleszinski, I got to meet Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez (they loved my Xbox 360 shirt and complimented on the COG tag I was wearing lol), it was definitely awesome! But one of the best highlights of my night really didn't have to do anything with Gears of War 2! I got to admit that one of the highlights of my night was when horseyjesse got selected to play against the voice talent (and Cliff Bleszinski) and to see her smile right after she took a picture with Cliff Bleszinski. I seriously heart my buddy and I was super happy because I knew she was happy. It was just an awesome feeling to see that she had had one of her best and memorable nights. I was lucky to be a part of her experience and I'm definitely lucky to have an awesome buddy like her. The Gears of War 2 launch party was a total success!!

I can't wait until my SE copy and my life-sized lancer arrive at my house! Feel free to ask me to join you on some Horde Mode or some Co-Op campaign! S**t Yeah!!

To my dear readers,

I just got to let you know that I'm going to be taking a brief (hopefully) leave of absence from GameSpot for a few reasons: School has been kicking my behind and I have a couple of major projects along with midterms coming up sooner than I expect . There are a few new games coming out in the following weeks that I'll be spending my time on, I love blogging and reading your blogs but since my time will be limited I got to sacrifice something!!! (If you wanna play with me shoot me an invite on XBL, jump in with me!!) So yeah, don't miss me too much (I'm sure some of you won't even notice lol :P) Talking about games:

Man oh man!! I finally was able to play Fable II last night! Oh man, that game is overwhelming in an absolutely fun way! I'm glad I decided to pre-order it and get it!! I went to a launch party on Tuesday night and it was interestingly fun in a geeky sorta way :). We lined up very excited to get the game!! :D While we were in line, the GameStop crew starting passing out freebies from posters to strategy guides. I was such a geek when the girl who had the strategy guides pass by I said "Hey, you know how in the game you can marry other players and what not...Well, if you play with me I'll ask you to marry me!!" :D this made her chuckle and subsequently she gave me a free strategy guide!! ;) Too bad she never game me her gamer tag. Well, I got home to the surprise that my parents had remodeled the living room, so they disconnected my X360 and "misplace" my cables:cry: . They were treating me like a little kid and they just had hidden the cables from me because they thought I was going to play way too much...I had been talking about Fable II nonstop :D. I didn't feel like arguing with them so I just let it go and decided to start reading the strategy guide. Oh man, I was so hooked to the strategy guide that I couldn't wait until I play the game!! They finally gave them to me and I was able to play yesterday :) .

You may find this funny but I was struggling with the decision to whether or not be Good or Evil. After reading the strategy guide they were so many cool things for both. During my early childhood I did a bit of both good deeds and evil deed...Guess what I decided to become? If you said Good...you're wrong!!! :P . For some odd reason I went against my nature and decided to become Evil! It's been so much fun vandalizing, stealing, killing bunnies, killing people who get in my way! I'll attempt to become good once I'm done with my evil quest! Man this game is fun!! I have no idea how I'm going to get through my major project and midterms!! Next: Fallout 3 and Gears of War 2!! I should just drop out of school ;)