Well, it's been a while since I've had the time to sit down at my 'puter and bash away at the keyboard for a while. I don't ACTUALLY have the time to do it right now either, but I'm giving it a go NEhow... :)

Update time on my life in general, I think.

For those of you who have read about my exploits with Big Rocking Horses and all things involving high places, you'll be pleased to know I have actually managed to CLIMB the thing! Yes, it's true. Several weeks ago, my sister and I made the drive out to Gumeracha to visit the source of my shame, and beat the memory I have had for many years.

Got a lil' bit twitchy when we got to the back of the Horse, but managed to push on upward into the head of the beast. Was quite a windy day, so was a lil' bit nerve-wracking being at the top of the Horse looking out and down, but I managed to stay there for several minutes before the vertigo kicked in and I had to climb back down.

Just the same however, I have my certificate stating I managed to climb it (gonna frame it one day) and a lil' pin to stick on my hat to commemorate the occasion. I was pretty happy with the effort, all things considered. :)

(All of you out there making snide comments can stop it RIGHT NOW. Never had a phobia, I take it? Scared of nothing on the face of this Earth? Yeah - didn't think so... :P)

Just gotta work on the one involving spiders now - not sure how to deal with that one. Any suggestions, people?

Well, the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month passed some time back today... I missed out on getting a Remembrance Poppy, like I do every year - bit upset about that. Wasn't on duty at the War Memorial this year, so I missed the ceremony. I like to pay my respects when I can. This year didn't work out quite like I would have liked...

Unfortunately, too many young people today don't pay due respect to those who fought and died for us, all those many years ago. Seems too far in the past , so it doesn't seem to matter to them. It's a pity. Particularly since there aren't that many veterans left, and I can only imagine how they must feel as their numbers dwindle year to year.

The Last Post always sends a shiver down my spine. Lest we forget...

What IS it with gaming companies that they ALL release good games in the same month? I have been sitting back and thinking about just how many games I have on pre-order and am looking to pick up sometime in the next month or so, and it's starting to scare me...

Prince of Persia 2 - Warrior Within

The Bard's Tale

Need for Speed - Underground 2

Mortal Kombat - Deception

Half Life 2

Ratchet and Clank 3 - Up Yer Arsenal

Metal Gear Solid 3 - Snake Eater

Lord of the Rings - The Third Age

And I'm SURE there are others I haven't though of that I'm looking to get hold of soon. (And there seems to be an awful lot of Three's happening in that list as well...) It's frightening, and I think that there must be some kind of conspiracy amongst them all to make me poor.

Hmmmm... Do I really need both kidneys? :P

is an interesting game. (Figured I should put some stuff about the games I play in here, rather than just random mutterings of mine... *grin*)

On my first run through, I am attempting to plan ahead for the type of character I would like to have. Having read through the Manual (which seems to be thick enough to kill a small animal), I have made some choices about my character's future.

I have decided to being life as a Monk, as I have always liked the idea of being able to wade your way through a situation without having to rely on physical weapons. If a fight comes, who needs more than their fists and feet? Sits right with me, so it'll do to begin with...

However, I have also planned on multi-classing myself as a Sorcerer, and have recently gained a level or so in each class. Magic isn't a bad thing to mess around with from time to time, and the idea of a spellcaster who didn't have to memorize spells intrigued me. Plus, it also helps me with my longer term goal... :)

My THIRD class (that I'm working on adding in the near future) is the Red Dragon Disciple. Sounded kewl, so I'm looking at working towards that. Should manage to build myself a self-sufficient character who doesn't need armour or weapons, can stand their own in a fight, and do some nifty magic too... And who doesn't think wings and dragon breath aren't a kewl thing as well? :D

NEhow, the game itself seems pretty interesting. I'm still in the early stages, so I've only just entered the City of Neverwinter Nights itself. Picking up quests where I can, and trying to find clues as to WHAT is going on with this plague thing. Gotta track down some missing creatures first, so it looks like I have my hands full. *grin*

I'll update from time to time on how my character fares. I already have some ideas for other character combinations that should prove interesting - the Shifter looks kewl as well...

Have you ever had one of those times in your life when you SWEAR that the Powers That Be are just messing with you? The kinds of times where no matter HOW hard you try to work something out, or make something happen that it doesn't work out? That SOMETHING always gets in the way? I've been living through one of those times for the past couple of months...

OK - context time. MANY years ago, when I was a mere child I had an interesting experience with a Rocking Horse. Actually, the Rocking Horse was about 60 feet high, and was out the front of a toy factory. It's kinda a structure you can climb up inside and has a couple of look-out platforms on it so you can see great distances, and all that sort of thing. Now, when I was younger I had a go at climbing this Horse. Oh, have I mentioned that I'm terrified of heights? No? OK - I'm not so good with high places. Managed to make it up to the back of the Horse before I realized just how HIGH UP I was, and I freaked out. Had to crawl back to the ladder and climb down again, shaking the whole time. Not my proudest moment, but still...

That experience never sat well with me. For YEARS, I meant to go back and climb to the very top. I'm a big believer in beating your fears by facing them. However, life got in the way a lot. Then, when I was able to go, things changed. It appeared that due to massive increases in insurance premiums the toy factory in question were no longer able to allow people to climb up the inside of the Rocking Horse. I was prevented from overcoming my fear, and redeeming myself for my previous behaviour... *sigh*

Years passed...

The Rocking Horse has since opened up to the public, and is once again available for climbing. My sister and her fiance (who are aware of my quest to BEAT the memory and make it to the top) have tried to arrange with me to go and once again attempt the climb. But of course... Life got in the way. Damn you, Powers! :P

Every weekend I was available to make the trip, they were busy. When they were free, I was called in to work, or had other committments. This dance has gone on for a couple of months now, and I was starting to lose hope I would ever make the climb. This weekend was the one weekend where we've both managed to have some days off in common. So we were all planned - Sunday was the day. I wasn't working and they had some time to spare, so we could squeeze it in. It all looked a bit too good to be true.

Actually, that was because it WAS. I'd forgotten about an Awards Day I had RSVPed previously - one that I needed to be at, as I was receiving an award! So the Sunday was now off. *sigh*

But that's when things went a lil' pear-shaped for the Powers That Be, and I scored a point. Schedules had changed, the weather had cancelled an event that my sis was supposed to be at. So... The day was changed. The plan was made. Score one for Matt!

Why do I bring this up now? Well, because this is happening in a big TWO days, and I'm kinda happy about it all. Figured I would scribble this down for posterity's sake. Those who read this may not understand why this is important to me, and I'm OK with that. It's just nice to be able to put it down in writing.

More another time.

Well, it appears that I have survived my several weeks of work without a break, and I now have a couple of days off! YAY!

Looks like I may manage to squeeze in some time for some solid game playing. Got FAR too many games that I've started and not finished, and it's starting to grate. Looking to try and finish up some of the Survival Horror games I've got, and just starting to get into Neverwinter Nights.

Too many good games I own. Just gotta prioritise them. Siren is one game I HAVE to finish, as it is just so different and atmospheric. But then again, still have Fatal Frame to complete. Oh, and I wanna wade through Vampire - Redemption properly. And get into the Sims 2. And play both Baldur's Gates. And... (Well, you get the idea)

Any suggestions on which of my games I should be playing first? :)

Well! It was certainly one of those days today...

Worked from 0830 to 1700, then had a meeting an hour or so later until about 2200, then a debrief until sometime early this morning... :(

I am now trying to catch up on e-mail and my Gamespot stuff, and I gotta fit some sleep in there SOMEWHERE before work again in the morning. When do I get time to actually PLAY the kewl games I've managed to track down recently? *sigh*

NEhow, it seems people actually read these things, so I should prolly say more inspiring stuff. I'm just tired, and still have a job application to write for the morning. Yay.

Ah, who needs sleep NEhow? :D

Hmmmm... Every time I look at this website, I find some OTHER way in which I can get involved.

Firstly there was simply the idea of joining Gamespot and seeing what it involved. Then, there was the lengthy process of adding in all my games and sorting them all out - mostly finished that now, I think. Following THAT there was the realisation that you can do the whole Friends thing and add a couple of people to your own lil' community - which I somehow have managed to do without planning to... :D

Of course, there's the forums - which seem to filled with a lot of repetitive stuff. Mostly asked (and answered) by teenage boys with poor skills in English. :P LOT of interesting stuff in there just the same, so I've posted comments where (and when) I can.

NOW I've discovered this journal thing, and I'm gonna give it a go. So this is my initial entry into the big wide world of journals. I have a Journal I write in in RL from time to time, so I guess I should have an online one as well. I'll add to this when I have NEthing suitably deep and meaningful to say - or whenever I have just about NEthing to say, really. :P

Might have to consider Gamespot Complete membership next - so much do to, so much to see... *grin*

More another time...