Togetherness

Tim and I don't usually play a lot of video games together. This is mainly because we each like our own type of game. He's a first-person shooter kinda guy and I prefer to bang away on the drums. Every once in a while, however, you'll find our avatars in a party together. Last night happened to be one of those times. After being in a workshop all day, I challenged him to a game of Catan when I got home. Naturally, I won (but I play way more often than him so I can't really brag too much, plus he always whoops me when we play the real game).

It hurts... deep down, it really hurts

I'm not sure if this is a real training video (although the YouTube account that posted it says it is), but I find it to be quite insulting.

The video instructs Game Stop employees on how to talk to women. They divide women into two categories: the "Deer-in-Headlights" (i.e someone who is so lacking in knowledge of video games that they are immediately overwhelmed just by walking into the store) and "The Hunter" (someone who is going in to search for one particular game, which they were probably instructed to get by their child or husband, and basically block out everything else in the store). Their recommendations for dealing with these rogue women shoppers include "a personal approach, good listening and knowledgeable suggestions delivered in a friendly, unassuming way." Seriously, Game Stop? It seems to me that the video should be encouraging those recommendations for shoppers of both genders.

Just so you know, there are lots of gamer chicks out there that actually *gasp* know something about video games. They know the titles that they like, they know when the release dates are and, yes, they are card-carrying Edge members who read Game Informer every month. I know many of these women because I play with them online almost everyday. As one of them, I'm rather insulted that Game Stop believes any woman walking into their store couldn't possible know anything about video games. And furthermore, that women would only begin to care if they could lose weight or get a free subscription to a magazine that will turn their brain to complete mush.

Personally, I'm quite shocked. The fact is, my local store actually treats me like... a human, one that happens to like to play video games. That is, no differently than they treat the hoards of males that frequent their store on a daily basis. So Game Stop, what's with the corporate-instituted sexism????

Feeding my Rockstar Dreams

Exhibit A: The extremely cool microphone stand that Tim got me for Christmas (this way I can assault your ears with drumming and singing at the same time - you may want to bring earplugs if you plan on visiting in the next few weeks. Also, notice size of the box behind it? Yeah, that's the one it was shipped in. They really couldn't find a more appropriately sized box?).

Exhibit B: The most awesome fake-band ever... complete with back-up guitar & groupie!!!

Virtual Reality

My rockstar had a makeover -

How awesome is that shirt?!?


Fair Warning: It's loud!!

Nine in the Afternoon by Panic at the Disco
played by me on *expert*

Just don't make it a habit...

"xBox will be offline for 24 hours on September 29th for updates."

It was somewhat surreal at first but then the reality began to sink in: "Really?!? They'd cut us all off, I mean, just like that - offline!?!" I began to exuded panic and confusion while also keeping enough coherence to plot exactly how I'd make Microsoft pay for the lost hours. Tim, on the other hand, got very calm and quiet. He seemed to withdraw into his own mind: "They've done it before... there's nothing you can do, nothing but wait..."

I felt like I was trapped in that South Park Episode, but I was determined to call their bluff. I played and waited for it... a part of me in denial that the time would actually come. But sadly, 5 minutes after they said it would happen, it did - xBox went offline. Over 200,000 players booted off Halo 3 alone.

I'm pretty sure most held candle-lit vigils directly following the blackout.

Still Alive... an overdue update

The author of 'Still Alive' sings it live in concert... on Rockband!

• Tim's doctor's appointments continue, but he can now drive himself - for which I'm so very thankful!! Last week, I was left home alone for THE FIRST TIME since before his surgery. I was so excited for the peace & quiet that I sat in silence the *entire* time... no music, no TV, no phone, no talking. This is somewhat unusal for me. You see, I'm often the noise-maker in our house. Sometimes a self-proclaimed babbling brook... as a child I even talked to my reflection in car windows. If you didn't know me well you'd never guess, but my closest friends know all to well. When Tim first met my childhood best friend, they had at least a five minute discussion (finishing each others sentences & everything) about how there's no stopping it, whatever is on my mind comes out... be it random & trivial or hugely profound. Anyhow, my quiet time was very enjoyable!
• In stark contrast to the previous bullet - Rockband 2 came out a little while ago. I got it a couple days after it's release. My favorite addition, besides the 80-something new songs & improved online Touring, is the freestyle option. And, by the way, I'm seriously coveting this.
  
• Shortly after I got Rockband, our AC went out! The first day I sweated through many songs in a 95 degree house, but luckily the weather turned cooler & now we don't even need the AC on.
• We had our sliding glass door open letting the breeze in. We are usually *very* careful to keep the screen door shut & locked. This night, however, we had been in & out the back door and must have forgotten to lock it. Apparently, Bella Maru, the ringleader of mischief, took advantage of this opportunity. As I walked into the kitchen to get a drink, I noticed the screen was open & immediately started yelling for Tim.We had no idea who was in the house & who wasn't, so we ran outside, barefoot & in our pajamas, with flashlights and shaking treats like manics. It turns out both Thomas & Annabelle were somewhere in the backyard. They were so scared by our antics that they bolted back to the screen door, one of them knocking over a plant on the way. I had closed the screen in hopes of keeping in any cats still in the house. They were essentially trapped between a closed screen & some frantic person running up with a bobbing ray of light... Annabelle flipped out and tried to run while Thomas looked like a deer caught in headlights. I got the screen open & Thomas shot inside. Annabelle hid under a chair until I wrangled her inside. The whole time, Sam was safely napping up in our room, completely oblivious to the commotion downstairs.
• In other news, Tim & I ventured down to Central Florida to attend a friend's celebration of 13 years in business. We were treated to great conversation & a wonderful dinner. Since we work from home & it's just us two most of the time, it's always energizing to get together with our friends & business associates.
• And finally, Tim got his voter id card in the mail this week. I rode him for weeks and weeks about getting this done and, although he almost waited until the last minute, it's done.

Getting my Vitamin V

I made a huge jump in my previously-denied Geekdom a couple months ago... I got an xBox Live account of my very own! This means that I can play all of *my* games without interrupting my husband's video game intake (i.e. his daily Vitamin V supplement). Years ago my brother gave me a hand-me-down N64 after he graduated to the newer system. This xBox, however, is the first that I can truly call my own... specifically for me!!! :o) So my thoughts on having it all to myself?

1. I love, Love, LOVE it!
2. Tim's account holds all of my high scores from games before the switch... I'm now working really hard to try to get my new scores above the ones I got him. It's pretty darn hard to top a score of 338 in TMNTs... not to mention Hexic!
3. For the first couple weeks, I hardly went online at all... all my friends were real life friends that have an xBox too. I started playing online, and, at first, it was disappointing. Every game had loud-mouth, obnoxious players... but after playing for a little while, I started getting messages!! Apparently, non-obnoxious players like to stick together... since then I've made several friends from around the U.S. (& Britain!), and had complete blast playing!!!
4. If you didn't know, I'm an observer. A people-watcher. Listening to some of these kids over the headset is quite hilarious!
   
   
   Annabelle's our gaming buddy.
   

Three Red Lights = Bad

Our xBox got the dreaded "three red lights" a few weeks ago (for those of you who don't speak video-game that means it's broken & needs to be fixed pronto). Luckily, xBox has things worked out pretty well so we called & a few days later the prepaid box arrived to ship it out. We don't have to pay anything, but we do have to wait a couple weeks to get it back. While unhooking the xBox we had to move the vines below...

When I returned from upstairs I noticed two
shiny circles gleaming from the pile of green...
can you spot the cat?

Serious Gamers

Most serious gamers carry their system with them while traveling. This is something Tim & I have never really taken part in... mainly because of worries about broken hardware. Some friends & family, however, take their game systems almost everywhere they go... & each has their own elaborate ways of ensuring it's protection. Joe knows we're pretty sketchy about carrying our system around... so gave us the box below. It safely holds the 360, it's gadgets & a couple games within the protected walls! Look out ~ we could be at you're house very soon looking for RCA jacks to plug into! :o)

Rockin' Rockband

'Mississippi Queen' (as made famous by Mountain)
played by Emily on the drums on medium.

'Say it Ain't So' (as made famous by Weezer)
played by Tim on the guitar on *expert*.

Looking in on our Minions

This is how I often find my husband in the evenings.

Rockstar Avatars

Please excuse the fuzziness,
but you're looking at our virtual rockband.

The reason you haven't heard from me...

Since I now work in front of my computer all day, it's pretty understandable that I'm less apt to sit down for extensive blogging sessions in the evening. I've instead been able to indulge in other interests (everything from painting, card-making, sodoku puzzles, reading for pleasure... and many other interests that I never had time for in my past career.) Another recent hobby I've taken to...

Joe brought his Rockband set-up with him when he came to visit. It took about a week after Joe left for us to decide that it was missed enough to be a worthwhile investment. The thing we liked about this game compared to others... the variety! Guitar, Bass, Drums & Vocals! Finally, a game that everyone can play together!!

Geek Squad

Tim & I packed ourselves up and headed out with the other geeks to purchase a certain video game upon release at midnight. We heard horror stories from friends in other cities about lines that wrapped around buildings and through parking lots. One friend actually waited in line from 6:00 to midnight!! Crazy. Crazy, I tell you!

The experience in our neck of the woods? We arrived at the store about 11:30 and found a total of 5 people waiting by a register that was solely designated for the release of this game. Tim waited in line.... I shopped around. By midnight there was a total of about 15 very excited video game geeks. A riot almost started when the cashier suggested the line break into two, however, the geeks remained cool and everyone got their copy.

Game Fuel

Our friend Adam gave Tim his *very own*
Limited Edition: Halo 3 Mountain Dew

Although Tim refuses to open it,
saying something about 'posterity,'
we hear that the actual soda is inhumanly ORANGE.

Kinda reminds me of Slurm!

It's Official...I'm a Geek

Weeks ago our household bought a new gaming system!

I thought I could resist this whole gaming thing! It started with my brother. At 7 or 8 he began collecting video games and continues to this day. Early on I dabbled. I would play Mario Kart or Smash Brothers with him from time to time.

I stopped playing when video game worlds became 3-D. I never mastered moving around a 3-D environment. It's sad, really. My avatar aimlessly walks around the getting stuck in corners, looking backwards while walking forwards, and just generally sucking at the game! I really do try, I'm just inapt! I honestly don't have it in me. It's ok ~ I've come to accept this about myself.

The past few years I've shared living space with serious gamers... and without even the slightest interest in playing. I've been introduced to many of their friends via Gamer Tags (even though we were face to face) because that's how I would recognize them. At school my students are constantly talking video games. They *flip* when they hear Tim plays!! I quickly learned that adults who play video games are way cooler than those who read books... who knew?

In short, as hard as I tried to stay away...video games have surrounded me like Ghosts would a stationary Mrs. Pacman! Consider this Mrs. Pacman's weakness... the 360 gaming system. It's different. It has *my* games. Tim *loves* first-person shooters and occasionally dabbles in flight simulators or battle tactics games. These are of NO interest to me. *My* games are your basic, old-school two button games. The kind where you walk, jump, and kick. And if they're really fancy, you can jump and kick at the same time! I'm good at these games. I'm not really sure whether it is a highly trained skill or just pure-dumb-luck from punching the buttons 100 times a second. Either way, I'm good! Maybe even better than the serious gamers...

Favorite Games:

• Catan: A favorite board game and now a favorite video game! We currently have 6 out of the games' 8 achievements. My brother is #1 on the Leaderboard!
  
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: I am #3 on the Leaderboard! I have not only consistently beat Tim at this game, but also Joe! This is a source of GREAT pride for me! I feel it really 'gets their goat' that I have them beat at such a classic. That must be the competitive Emily talking :o).
• UNO: We only have about 8 games under our belt so far. Our gamerscore is 65/200...it'll go up as we play more.
• PacMan: Our ranking is not exceptional (yet), but it's fun!
• Galaga: Tim is #1 on the Leaderboard! Gamerscore 110/200. His current high score (117690) doesn't even compare to scores from our older version of the game...he's just getting started! Right now Tim's world-wide Xbox Live rank in Galaga is somewhere around 12,000.
  
• Hexic: I am #1 on the Leaderboard! Gamerscore 110/200. My current high score is 190185 and my world-wide ranking is about 67,500!

Tim has told me I'm competitive. Competitive? Me? I'm flowy. I'm easy going. I'm patient. None of these things lend to competitive. I'll let you decide for yourself~

My Video Game Routine:
#1: Finish Work
#2: Start Game
#3: Restart Game if I don't get a Perfect Score on the First Level
#4: Repeat Step 3 for the Second and Third Levels
#5: Continue Playing Until my Previous Score is Topped
#6: End Game and Go Directly to the Leaderboard to see my name in a new, *higher* position!

Does this mean I'm competitive?