Well, if you haven't already guessed from reading the heading, I have recently managed to track down and pick up a copy of Sid Meier's Pirates! (the DVD edition) for my PC. :)

Getting hold of it was tricky enough... I had popped it on lay-by almost a month ago at my local Electronics Boutique, and managed to pay it off this week just gone. NEhow, I was in the store, checking out as many different console games as I dared (without trying to BUY them all) and chatting with the staff there, as I usually do when I'm buying a game.

TIP - Never hurts to have a good working relationship with the staff working at the stores you buy your games at, people. As a valued customer, they tend to look after you just that lil' bit better than the other customers. A smile and a kind word goes a long way. :D

NEhow, got wrapped up chatting about a DVD I was trying to return at another store, and having one of the staff gush at me about the Nintendo DS, so I didn't look too closely when picking up Pirates. When I got home, I had some other things to do, so I didn't get a chance to look at the game that night - just had a bit of a read through the manual to remind myself of the good ole' days of playing Pirates! on the Commodore 64 (originally), and then again on the PC for Pirates! Gold. Ahhhh...

Sorry, got carried away in a moment of nostalgia there... So, the next day I decided to install it and check it out. At least, that was the plan. It turns out, when I had a closer look in the box, that there was NO DVD in the box. They'd forgotten to put it in there when I put it on lay-by! So I gave 'em a call and made sure they still had it there somewhere (which they did) and popped in after work to pick it up. And this is where the good working relationship thing works out good for ya - they felt so bad for stuffing up that they managed to find me a few Demo discs to throw in with it to say sorry. It wasn't THAT big a deal, as they had the DVD still, but it was still nice to have a fuss made over it.

The thing is, I haven't actually managed to find a large enough block of time to install the game since then, so I have no comment to make on the game itself. I know when I DO install it, that I'll look around and six hours will have vanished on me, so I gotta be careful when I do it...

More on Pirates once I've had a chance to look at it properly... :)

Well, after all that doom and gloom, it's time to have a chat about something a lil' more uplifting. Or not, but at least LESS depressing than that last entry...

As it happens, I've decided that it's about time for me to add a picture to my Journal page. However, as fate would have it, I really haven't been able to find one that catches my imagination enough to put up there. And half the problem is that I'm just not sure where to LOOK to find one. The picture needs to be on the 'Net already, somewhere.

Do any of you out there in Gamespot-Land know of NEwhere that has some kewl pictures I could use, or have any suggestions of pictures I could use in my Journal header itself? *hopeful grin*

There are some days when being a casual worker are good, and some days that it's not. Recently, I've been having a few day's more of the latter, rather than the former. :(

My work as a Trainer can vary quite a bit. Some weeks I might work every day, others I might only work a day or so. And if a course gets cancelled, then I have the day off. *shrug*

Unfortunately, this past week has involved a couple of courses getting cancelled on me. So last Monday and Tuesday, I lost a course when the organiser cancelled due to lack of numbers. Thursday nights (for the next four weeks) are also free for me now, as another course was cancelled due to some communications issues. So twenty-one hours of work evaporated for me. When I don't work, I don't get paid. :(

So I had to dip into my savings again this week, as I have to get a couple of new tyres for my car before it gets defected for having a (mostly) bald tyre on the back. That was supposed to be rectified this Saturday just gone. As it happens, things got a lil' complicated there, as I got called into work at short notice to fill in for a Trainer who was ill or something. Now, the extra work was good - not complaining about that - just the timing of it kinda sucked. Was supposed to go out Friday night for a few drinks (well, a LOT of drinks, actually) which also fell to the wayside, as I kinda need to be sober for work - not terribly good to be writing on the wall instead of the whiteboard, really. :P

Hopefully, my work roster will improve in the coming weeks. It's been kinda quiet for me since about the middle of December. I'm hoping it sorts itself out before my bank account drains itself dry. *shrug*

Well, I managed to watch TWO movies today on my day off, so as promised, here is the fifth installment of my lil' game. Same rules as always. Name the movie, and bonus points for naming the character who said the quote...

Here we GO!

- "I will keep dreaming! I will keep dreaming my friend! And when I wake up, you better hope... you better hope you're asleep. Sweet Dreams, Lilac!"

- "Oh I know that. And I knew you'd know I'd know you knew."

- "PMS Avenger. I only work 4 days a month. Is there a problem with that?"

- "Maybe you should put some shorts on or something, if you wanna keep fighting evil today?"

Clues upon request. Now GET this before Tinoshke, people - I'm counting on ya. :)

Well, it appears that we have another clear winner of the Quote Quiz, and it appears to be the lady Tinoshke again. I think she's cheating, people - must be looking over my shoulder when I'm putting them together... Yeah, that's it! :P

So it's time for the fourth installment in my lil' quiz. Had the day off today, so I managed to watch a couple of movies. I'll be putting up number five at the same time - so we'll have two going simultaneously this week. Same rules as always - guess the movie first, then bonus points for naming the character(s) who have stated the listed quote.

Let's see how you all do this time. Can you beat Tinoshke or not? :P

- "The Force is strong with this one..."

(Now I know after that quote, half of you wanna jump in and guess it. Patience, my friends. Wait until the REST of the quotes are listed. :P)

- "Adventure? Excitement? A Jedi craves not these things..."

(Still one to go - what are you doing? Lemme FINISH, willya? :))

- "The food court is downstairs, the cookie stand is upstairs. It's not like we're talking quantum physics here."

And now you're all confused, aren't ya? Thought you had it figured, dincha? Let's see who gets it first this time. Clues as always, are available upon request. :D

Well, it doesn't happen every weekend, but I've gone and managed to actually go OUT for a change on the weekend just gone. Was nice to get out and about a bit, take a break from work and just relax for a while.

Got invited out by some friends of mine from St. John. Well, a couple of 'em, the rest of the group was formed of their friends - people I didn't know. They turned out to be pretty kewl people just the same, so that was a bit of a relief.

As it happened, I had to work in the morning, so it wasn't gonna be a big night for me either way. Still managed to have a couple of drinks at a couple of different places and eat at Hungry Jack's again (I now remember why I haven't eaten there in years... *grin*). Ended up driving around looking for an open Bottle Shop at some ungodly hour of the morning with no success. Ended up back at Fiona's place - who had been moving that day, so there was NO furniture to speak of - and ended up eating Nutella from a jar. Good fun. :)

Let's hope this weekend is JUST as much fun, eh? :D

Well! It appears you're all getting a bit too clever for me here at Gamespot. I put up a Quotes Quiz, and within a day or so, someone has figured it out! Let it be known that the Oracle of Google was used to achieve this goal - so I don't know if I can count it as a complete success. :P

Just means I gotta put up a NEW one now. Been watching another movie over the past couple of days, so I'll find a couple of quotes in it and post again. Here we go - another movie some of you haven't watched I suspect...

- "I'm not. The incenerator thing was prime - 083. The molecular chemical thingy had 137. The acid room had 149"

- "I wanna go back to the blue room"

- "This may be hard for you to understand, but there is no conspiracy. Nobody is in charge. It's a headless blunder operating under the illusion of a master plan. Can you grasp that? Big Brother is not watching you"

Some of them are a lil' longer than others, but I think I've given you more than enough to figure out which movie it is. No Google this time, Tinoshke! :P

Let's see how you all go on this one. Clues as necessary upon request. :D

I admit it. I'm weak.

I mean, I tried to be strong. I really did! I had every intention of NOT starting an X-Box game on my "Now Playing" list until I had finished one or two of the games there. Honest! 'Twas not to be, however... *sigh*

You can't expect someone to sit there, and LOOK at the case of a game, to read the manual, to check out the reviews here at Gamespot, and not be the slight bit interested in finding out what the game itself is like, can you? It was just sitting there - daring me to open the case. Just to pop the game into the 'Box "to only have a look at it", and to "just see how it plays" before putting it away until I had whittled down my list.

I weakened. I thought I could be strong, but I was wrong...

And now, I have another game on my list that I'm playing. Will it NEVER end? :P

*ahem*

OK, well maybe that was a bit dramatic, but Burnout 3 - Takedown is a really fun game. Once I started to play it, I was hooked. Where else can you drive your car into a busy intersection, cause untold amounts of damage, and walk away? Or drive recklessly down a busy street, side-swiping your opponent's cars into shop fronts, walls, and even other vehicles?

I've decided to review this game once I get a bit further into it. I'm still in the first bit - only completed about 25% of it now - so I've got a while to go yet. I'm a bit busy unlocking cars and working on collecting as many gold medals as I can. So when I complete the game in a week or two, I shall put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard? :)) and bash out another review for you all to enjoy.

'Till then, let me adjust the radio to Crash FM, and show me where those Crash Junctions are! :lol:

Well, it appears the Great Gods of Gamespot have found me worthy of another level increase. I have now achieved the lofty heights of... *dramatic pause*

BLASTER MASTER!

It sounds kinda impressive, actually. Less like a bug, and more like someone who knows their way around a futuristic firearm. :D

Now all I gotta do is start the long slog upwards again. The pinnacle of the mountain - where the Gods themselves hold sway - is somewhere far, FAR above me yet. Must resume my Journey on the Path...

Well, its been a lil' while since I put some movie quotes up on my Journal. Last time, you lot got one of 'em (Princess Bride), and got REAL close on the second (which was Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey). So I figured that every time I watch a DVD or movie, I would chuck a few quotes up here and see if any of you can figure out which one it is. *grin*

Here we go people, same rules as before. Guessing the movie is a good start, but naming the character speaking the line is better...

- "What the hell am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie?"

- "What's the matter Colonel Sandurz, chicken?"

- "I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former room-mate!"

Good luck with these, people. I've picked a tricky quote in there alongside a really EASY one, so we'll see who manages to guess it, eh? :D