Well, you all read the subject header, right? I received a letter from Cal State Long Beach's English Dept. informing me that I did not have the chops to make it into their program. I'll be honest, at first I was bummed out. I had a lot riding on this one. I'm only getting older and I wanted to get into grad school before I turn 31 (I'm 30 now, by the way). That won't be happening. But, I looked on the bright side. Perhaps this is what Allah (God) wants for me right now. Since Creative Writing is my major, there's nothing stopping me from submitting stories and poems to various journals or publishers now, as opposed to waiting for a degree. I think I'll take this time to really season my writing. I'll say this much, I'm casting a wider net the next time I apply for grad school.

Just wanted to put that out there. I love my job and I thank God Almighty I have it. Next month, God willing, I'll be purchasing a HDTV. I'll be playing GTA 4 in HD. Sweet!

So I'm playing Call of Duty 4 for the Xbox 360. So far, so good. I think I'm all turned around about FPS games as they are quickly becoming my favorite type of game to play. I'm so glad that the CoD franchise has moved into the 21st century. Those WWII games got old really fast. On another note, I've applied to CSULB's MFA program in Creative Writing and I haven't heard back from them yet. I'm calling them tomorrow (Monday) to see what's up. Please pray that I got accepted.

So here's my problem. I'm attempting two separate missions. The first one is "Unfriendly Competition" in the Imperial City. I've gotten to the point where I am to follow Thorornir. I follow him all the way to the garden where he is to meet Argarmir. I attempt to hide in a spot where neither can spot me, but here's the thing, neither of them speak. They just stand there. Then they leave after a few in-game hours. The quest doesn't move on from there? What am I doing wrong? Should I sneak the ENTIRE time I'm following Thoronir?

Here's another problem that is totally unrelated. Sometimes, when I enter a person's house. I seem to be stuck there. What I mean is, when I try to leave, their door is locked. And it is usually when I don't have any lock picks. How do I get out? Why would they lock me in? Thanks.

As you all already know, I'm late to the XBOX 360 family. Since I work at Gamestop, I get to "check out" used games for a period of four days for free (one of the many perks). I'm currently addicted to Bioshock. I'm so buying this game! Normally, I loathe first person shooters. I never could get behind the idea of not being able to see the character I'm controlling. But for some reason or another, Bioshock works for me. I'm hoping it will be the same with Call of Duty 4 and Rainbow Six Vegas. Since I'm a 360 n00b, anyone want to tell me what other games I should be on the look out for?

It's about time Sony started doing something to edge themselves out from Xbox's shadow. This particular deal with the PS3 is enough to make me want to get one in June - - - almost.

And so far it's pretty cool. I purchased Assassin's Creed, and Crackdown. I'm renting Mass Effect. I think all three are off the chain. I wasn't expecting the sci-fi element in AC to be so prominent, but it's still cool to play as Altair, the controls are smooth and intuitive. When I get some time, I'll have a review up for it soon. Crackdown is pretty cartoonish and ultra-violent. Hopefully it'll tied me over until GTA 4. Once that comes out, I plan on taking a week off from work because I'll be "sick" with GTA fever. OK, I'm sorry, that was corny, I know. I'm sorry, it won't happen again.

Well, it is official. Toshiba, the progenitor of HD-DVD has thrown in the towel. Blu Ray is victorious. To be honest, I couldn't care less. I always had a feeling that Blu Ray would win out--but that feeling came from my opinion that the words "Blu Ray" just sounded better. So long as I get a crisp picture, clear surround sound, and exceptional gameplay, I couldn't care less which medium my games or DVDs come on. So, does this mean that Microsoft will have to support Blu Ray on their 360s? Does this mean that the games will be on Blu Ray? Only time will tell.

So I sold my PS2, a gang of games I either beat or couldn't care less about, and I'm selling my psp because I'm not much of a portable gamer, plus the psp was a gift so it's not like I'm losing money I spent. This Saturday, God willing, I will be the proud owner of an Xbox 360 and Assassin's Creed. I did keep some of my PS2 games with the hopes that one day, I'll be able to afford a PS3. Sony is fazing out the 80 and 40 gig models and replacing them with 120 and 160 models. I don't know if there will be a price increase, but if Sony did increase the price, I'd say they just shot themselves in the foot.

Just thought I'd come here and vent a little. I love my job and wouldn't change anything about it, except for people coming inside and inquiring about Wiis. We don't have any and I wish Nintendo would get off their butts and ship out some. We literally lose business whenever someone comes in asking if we have any Wiis and we have to look them square in the eyes and tell them a flat no. Nintendo, ship out more Wiis! I command it!