It's almost Thanksgiving?

Crazy, but there's like only a week or so before Thanksgiving. We're having Em's family over again, like usual, but this year my mom's coming over as well. To be honest, I feel pretty good about it. I think this year will go better than any of the others. We have a menu planned out. Th house is starting from a cleaner condition than ever. Best of all, I only have 1 job and will probably be able to take off a few days before to help cook and clean.

Oh, about that. It seems like Nintendo is pushing us to get this game done by January. I'm not sure how these things usually go, but it seems a little fast. At first I didn't think so, but as the time goes by, there just seems to be more and more that needs to be done. We'll see how it goes.

Yea-ness!

Yeah, so if you didn't hear, Emily is working full time now at Just Food and got a raise to boot. This means I'm down to working one job now. I have all kinds of free time now, though most of it has lately been devoted to sleeping.

The odd thing is, that even with more time available now, I still have trouble getting ready in the morning and getting projects done. Any suggestions?

Iron Man

I saw Iron Man the other day. And yes I am a big fan of comics and comic based movies, but I've never been a big fan of Iron Man. I don't hate the guy, I've just never really had any interest in him. The movie, though changed that, somewhat.

First off, it's a well-done fun movie. As is popular now, and for good reason, the movie focuses on the man behind the mask. This was a great way to take the movie, but that's where all the interesting parts are. Yes, I go to see explosions and special effects, but lets face it, most of them are shown on the preview so by the time I see it in the theaters, I've already seen the effect 8 times. Robert Downey Jr is superb in his fleshing out of Tony Stark, Jeff Bridges plays up the villain to almost-over-the-top perfection, and for the most part Gwyneth Paltrow displays Pepper Pots, the love interest, as a strong independent woman (at the end, for some reason, her character deteriorates into a dumb blond). Obviously I would recommend it. And for those comic book fans out there, be sure to stick around after the credits for an amazing surprise.

Bit of trivia for ya': I believe this is the first movie fully funded by Marvel's movie department, which might explain that care that went into it.

Birthday Party

Ok, so I'm planning on having a birthday bash on June 28, 2008 at my house. It'll be like a game fest. There'll also be food, booze, cake, music, and games. I've been thinking about getting a few prizes together for the events as well. I haven't finalized all the events yet, but so far I was thinking of having maybe Super Puzzle Fighter, Mario Kart, Smash Brothers, ab roller racing, Munchkin, Chore Wars, Pacman CE, and whatever else I think of. Undoubtedly, there'll be some Rock Band playing as well. Party should start around noon, award ceremony around 10pm or so and end when it's over. Mark your calendars.

Rock Band got Better?

For those of you completely out of the loop, Rock Band had an update recently that made it even better. It makes the talking sections of singing easier to accomplish and it's now much easier to perform at all of the venues in Band World Tour. But the part that excited me the most is the addition of the Rock Band store. It had been possible to download songs for the game before, but it was fairly annoying. Now you can preview a song before buying it and it's all but eliminated double purchases. Way to go Harmonix!

Overdue Overview

Let me post a quick update for those few that might actually pay attention to this:

Work - I'm working at Monster Games in my dream job as a video game designer. I'm also working another second job at the James Gang Coffee House to help pay-off some bills, but am no longer going to school. Emily's still working at Just Food, but only as an office assistant, and for very part-time. She's also working at her acupuncturists as a receptionist. They've worked out a deal where she gets acupuncture and Chinese medicine in lieu of money. It actually works in our favor this way, plus she seems to be getting healthier.

Home - We're attempting to rearrange and organize our house, but it's slow going. We're cleaning out what used to be our studio so that David has his own room (our friend David has moved in and is now our roommate). We're attempting to convert the office into more of a gaming/studio space. We hope to finish out the garage and turn that into a more workable space. Emily would like to have a more defined garden this year as well.

Fun - I have an X-Box 360 now and have been playing on it some. Alex started DM'ing a D&D campaign that we meet together for once a week; I'm playing a female half-orc Cleric. So far it's been pretty fun. Emily's started to get back into her art, hence the changes in the house. She'd like to go back to school to learn more along the lines of graphic design, but we haven't worked that out quite yet.

That's a good dose for now. I plan on trying to post once a week, even if it's random thoughts.