It is really a funny thing. I love my website, but the last ten months have been absolutely nuts. I would have loved to chronicle the whole thing month by month and that way we could see the progression. Instead, I have to hope that this is the start of something that I indeed to keep up about once a month (that seems right) and then keep with it. The good news is that I have no desire to get rid of this site, the even better news is that the Michael I left you with in 2013 is a better one, and it is all thanks to one solitary person. More inside.
A Quick Synopsis of the Last Ten Months
Lets see, it really did all start in January. In January, I went and visited my parents up in Tennessee since I could not join them for the holidays. It was a nice trip, but little did I know that a very close friend missed me more than she let on. Flash forward a week and I get back to ole Texas. My friend decided we should go out for a friendly night out and that is pretty much what started the flood.
The flood was that this friend actually thought a lot more of me than even she let on. She believed in me. Something that only my closest friends and my parents could ever take credit for. And deep down, she had come to love me. I already had feelings for her, but those stayed inside and I mostly dismissed them. After all, she was younger than me, and I was only a few months removed from the ink drying on my divorce papers.
Three months later, we were engaged and four months after that in August, we were married. Yes, it moved that fast. The idea was that we were friends for a very long time, even best ones, so what we were waiting for anyhow? The wedding was truly beautiful and while most people would think my parents be numb after two weddings already, they were more than happy to see me at my third. They even were prompted to dance at the wedding. According to what they told, it was also the first time they ever danced with each other? Yeah, I found that hard to believe too, but growing up I never saw them dance either. So perhaps.
I also put my house on the market in May. My little three bedroom, two bath, seventeen hundred square feet of bad memories and horrible commutes. To date, despite its competitive pricing, it has not sold. Sure, it is not in the greatest shape, but I honestly believe it has some value to the right family. It was really the perfect starter home, but I outgrew it, and the miles grew on me. Keep your fingers crossed that I get it sold, I think I can really move forward like I have with my wife given the chance.
Most of my house is now in boxes, and I spend most of my time with my wife in her one bedroom apartment. It has certainly put a hamper on the way I live without my computer most of the time (this perfectly explains my lack of blogs) and on my cell phone and tablet for my internet searches and needs. I did eventually bring my Xbox over to her apartment, but for the most part I play it on weekends. I have done a little writing here and there of the creative end, finished a couple of short stories. I even entered a contest from Dublin where twelve winners would get published in an anthology. I did not get selected unfortunately.
But honestly, the word limitation is what kicked me in the butt there. It was a case of having 4-5 chapters of material, and the word limit was about what I consider three chapters worth. So I condensed it, and it was probably way obvious. See here on the blog, I can keep going for what seems like ever and ever and ever. Oh, wait I’m probably boring the reader. The point is, there will be other contests, and I will get published beyond a web page, eventually. Let’s move on.
Video Games
So, some of you have probably been wondering what have I played this year on the Xbox 360 or if I am planning to get a Xbox One or PS4. The answer to the latter is no…I did however get my wife a 3ds for her birthday. She uses to play Angry Birds, Mario 2, and Tetris. Anyway, here is a quick run down of what I have played this year, with a summary and rating on a scale of 5.
1. Sleeping Dogs – this game was part of the Xbox Games with Gold and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The environment was perfect for an open world game and it was fun start to finish. I have continuously looked for the expansion packs on sale and unfortunately they were only on sale during Games with Gold (and I started playing it like a month or two later). 4.5/5
2. XCom: Enemy Unknown – I picked this game back up after over a year on the shelf. If you remember, I never quite beat it the first time. I saw Ethereals and due to poor planning, I never finished. However, I re-started the game looking to capitalize on my mistakes. I did ten times better, and finished the game with relative ease. I also racked up most of the achievements with the exception of a few. I also bought Enemy Within and will probably play it at some point in the future. 5/5
3. Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment – an XBLA game that sat unplayed for a very long time in my queue. It’s quite the gem, but its main drawback is that it is ridiculously short. I beat it, got all of the achievements in less than three weeks. But for those weeks, it was a ton of fun. Solid overall, worth getting on sale. 4/5.
4. Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara – Two arcade classics worth playing if you can get it on the cheap. The main problem with this game is that the achievements/goals are very hard and time consuming. But if you like your old school D&D arcade games, you will want to play it for at least a little while. 3.5/5
5. Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD – My memories of the game on the Playstation were much fonder than what actually happened. The game has plenty of control issues and most of the game remains locked away unless you are really good at it. I still haven’t unlocked two of the stages and I just want to mess around and skate. The difficulty with this game is ultimately what kills it. I will probably play it off and on but this one was replaced quickly by the next title on this list. 2/5
6. Peggle 2 – I love Peggle. For some people, its Tetris or Plants vs Zombies or Minecraft (by the way I did try Minecraft this year and I still don’t get it much to the dismay of my new seven year old nephew). But for me, I love Peggle. I only started playing this one a couple of weeks ago and its just as great as the original, arguably better. I’m seriously addicted to the optional objectives and can see myself playing this one for a while. 4.5/5.
7. Battle vs Chess – Never heard of this one? You aren’t alone. It was actually only released in the UK and never made it to the states because there is already a game called Battle Chess and they are extremely similar games. Lawsuits suck. But you can import the game and it does play on the 360. Also, its not half bad except when you realize it glitches a lot. A ton actually. If you like Chess and can get it to not consistently glitch, it’s a solid 4. But based on my experience I can only give a 3/5.
8. Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY – This is at the end for basically one reason. After my ex-wife and I were done last October, I decided there was one thing I wanted to do to make myself feel better, finish a game that my ex-wife was playing and never finished. That game was Arkham Asylum, and to be honest I finished it in a week. She left the game with two bosses to go (Poison Ivy and Joker) and it was annoying me. The game is fantastic, and I did spend a couple of days doing Riddler challenges too. Anyway, this one is not fair to rate, and we’ll just say I hope to play Arkham City and Origins sometime soon from BEGINNING to end.
There are only three games I would like to play before the end of the year. The first is Fable Anniversary which I of course played on the original Xbox (it was the first or second game I played on that system as well) and would like to see how it changed in the upgrade to HD. The second is Borderlands, the Pre-Sequel because I would like to play as a Claptrap. Okay, so I bought into the gimmick, but it should be a fun gimmick nevertheless. Finally, back to Skyrim. I miss that game so much and would like to dive into the two expansions as well. But that includes even more leveling for my 100+ hours, 41st level thief/archery expert.
A Look Forward
As I move onto my new life with the greatest girl I have ever met (not named my mom), I am grateful for the life left behind. My experiences have been rough and painful at times, but it prepared me to accept and realize how lucky I am to have the wife I have. She is an amazing girl and she really saved me and is probably the only reason I am writing you today. Eventually, our family will be my greatest accomplishment in my life regardless of how many pieces of writing I get published.
That is also another goal that has not changed. I will get published whether its through a contest and through an actual book or heck maybe I get a few things posted on Amazon digitally. My dad remarked the other day on my wedding thank you note of all things that I have a gift with my words. My dad who in my nearly forty years barely batted an eye towards my writing in the past said he loved my thank you card. And re-read it three times. He has never said anything before and that’s what he picks. But it meant a lot.
So, we will leave it there for today. I am not sure when I will write next, but do know that this website will not be going anywhere. We will just have to see what happens to it while I figure out the best use of it. Reasonable suggestions are appreciated, and comments are always welcome. Take care kids, I am doing alright, I promise.
