Obligatory 2010 post

Some things were good and some things were bad.

Some things stayed the same and were better for it, some things got worse.

I love my friends and family as much as the year before.

I enjoyed the little things a lot more, like fishing all those nights with Ryan, or taking the trip to Vancouver to be there for Trevor's wedding or the lonely and quiet stops on the side of the highway during a bike ride.

I'm not typing up a bunch of shit, nor am I making a comical list like I once did. I don't have the energy or motivation or patience.

I'm not trying to be a moody asshole. I just seriously don't and can't see the benefit of doing so.

Here is my review of 2010: it was 365 days.

That's it. Bring on another one.


Oh, this is my 500th post.

Take that you necromorph son of a bitch!

When I first played Dead Space (what, 2 years ago?) I fell in love instantly. It was pretty much my type of game top to bottom. In fact, way back then, I probably even blogged about it.

For whatever reason, though, I stopped playing half way through and never picked it up again. I had rented it at the time and I think that perhaps I just got swamped with other games and felt I didn't have the time and sent it back. It always sort of bothered me, and I always told myself I'd play it again.

So I got a copy for cheap the other day and played the shit out of it (started from the beginning) pretty much non-stop. It's not an incredibly lengthy game, but man oh man does it take a lot out of a person.

I love the series and I have to say that this is probably one of my favorite single player experiences since I got my xbox. The pacing and mood and everything is just ace. So many awesome moments.

I also love the main character, Isaac Clarke. I can't help but feel sorry for the dude, though. Throughout the entire game he's pretty much an errand boy for every other lazy fucker and thus is forced to become a badass killing machine since nobody else will.

It's pretty much a downward spiral for him the entire length of the game, and the end just tops it off. It's quite depressing in a lot of ways.

Also, I feel more games need silent protagonists. I love that shit.

I'm glad I finished it in time for Dead Space 2 (Jan 25) because it is currently my most anticipated game.





I might even pony up and get the collector's edition, because I love useless trinkets (no, seriously)

A plasma cutter replica and soundtrack? sign me the fuck up! Of course, I don't pre-order games, so if I can't find it I'll be fine with just the game itself.

I actually got into the multiplayer beta on the PS3, but hardly played it since it was tough to find a match during the hours I was online. Like what I played, though.

I have a few concerns, like hopefully the developers didn't focus too much on the multiplayer aspects and not the single player, because that's going to bother the fuck out of me if it's true. I'm in it for the story and the characters, killing dudes online is just a bonus and I hope it is treated that way.

Whatever, I'm just excited for more Dead Space, motherfuckers.

Post Christmas post.

I'm glad Christmas is over.

My family decided to not buy gifts for each other, which was nice. I told everyone I didn't want anything anyway, but of course my mom asks me to construct a list because she feels like she has to buy us things. Or maybe that's not true...she just likes to?

My dad and younger brother were both out of town, and my sister couldn't make it back, so it was a little strange but not bad. I don't get too worked up either way about Christmas.

It was...okay seeing the extended family again. I'm beginning to think that just sitting at home with the immediate family and relaxing would be much better, and next tear might strive to make that happen. It's just too much sometimes.

A list of some stuff I got:

- sweet beard/mustache trimmer
- A book about cults throughout history
- "The strain" and "The fall" by Guiellermo Del Toro ( the Pan's Labyrinth dude)
- A book about the battle for Stalingrad
- Alien Anthology boxset on blu ray (such a quality set)
- Playstation Move starter bundle (controller, camera, sports champions game)
- NHL Slapshot for the Wii with that hockey stick controller
- Assassins Creed Brotherhood for the 360

Playstation move is pretty cool, not much difference between it and a Wii remote, in my eyes, but it does some stuff better, allegedly. Sports Champions is like Wii sports but probably more fun, my mom and I played Frisbee golf a lot.

Also, it glows really bright and looks like a toxic ice cream cone, which I still think looks absurd as hell.

It tastes like burning!

But the camera allows for some silly shit, too. Like when you win a cup and get to take a snapshot:

Good times.

Molson

Well,

yesterday we had a vet come out and put Molson to sleep.

The past few days had been very hard on him. The day where we got that huge snowfall, he was actually laying outside on the sidewalk, and wouldn't get up for anything. Eventually he seriously just looked like a snow drift, so I forced him up and inside the garage and dried him off the best I could with a towel and we forced him to spend the day and night in there (which he hated). He was certainly having trouble standing and even more trouble walking.

The next day we let him out because he goes mental whenever he's kept inside ANYTHING and he went out and laid under the tree he always used to lay under and proceeded to spend the entire day there, not moving or getting up when he saw someone.

It was hard to watch. I really do think that he knew his time was up and simply wanted to be there, but of course I can't say for sure.

When night came my mom begged me to get him up and into the basement so he could at least lay in the boot room and be warm/away from the coyotes that are everywhere.

I went out there and woke him up (and seriously thought he was gone before I touched him) and tried to stand him up. Eventually I did and he took a few steps and just fell down, which I'll never forget because it was one of the saddest things I've seen. So I scooped him up in my arms and carried him awkwardly the rest of the way and inside.

He remained confused and scared and obviously wanting outside for a decent while but eventually just went to sleep and pretty much slept for the next few days, only drinking water, until we could find someone to come out and put him to sleep, since the choice was made that while we didn't think he was in terrible pain or suffering, that he could not make it through another winter, and unlike the past few times where he had bad stretch of health, he wouldn't be getting "better".

I know this might come off as dumb and perhaps really trivial to some people, but it wasn't easy. He was part of my life for 15 years, human or dog or any other animal, that is a long time to know someone and bond with them. To grow up with them. That's LIFE and it's remarkable.

I know people have gone though this and will continue to go through it, but I never have. He was the first dog our family ever had.

I watched them do it, and as soon as they forced him to lay down so that they could shave a bit of fur off his leg for the needle, I seriously just lost my composure and had to leave the room. I expected it to be sad, but mostly after the fact.

Call me whatever you wish, I wept in my room wishing it didn't have to happen and angry that I knew it did have to.

I went back out though and watched the rest. They sedated him first and then gave him the other dose and then he was just...gone.

Peaceful and the right thing to do, I'm sure, but that doesn't make it any less heartbreaking.

I stayed awake to see it happen and to be there for my mom especially who I knew would take it very hard.

I guess it's comforting knowing he stayed in good health for as long as he did, and that he was loved the entire time. Quite remarkable how tough and stubborn he was, even when deaf and getting blind.

What an awesome dog.

OH MY GOD.

GOOSEBUMPS

HANDSET

Got a new phone today.

I'd been putting a lot of thought into cancelling my current contract and just not having one at all, but instead I switched back to Telus (purely because Rogers overcharged the fuck out of me) so my monthly bill will be about $35 cheaper (ALLEGEDLY, anyway) so that's awesome.

I do have to pay Rogers for bailing early, but doing the math, I'll be saving money in like 4 months anyway, and I'm not paying them outrageous rates for another year, I'm fucking DONE with that shit.

Their coverage was fantastic and I loved my phone, but considering how I hardly use it for anything other than texting/checking my email when I get real bored at work or away from home, why pay so much?

I considered getting one of those new fangled Windows phones, but decided against it...something about that interface bothers me.

The decision was made easy when I saw/did some research on the Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate. It is gorgeous and that 4 inch super amoled screen is seriously a thing of beauty. I am blown away by how crisp and bright it is.

N95, you have been REPLACED by a thinner and more attractive bit of tech

I guess, really, the thought of messing with some new technology is what tempted me. I'm weak.

Still getting used to typing on a qwerty touchscreen, but most people say you get used to it pretty quick, so whatever. That SWYPE feature is fantastic, but I am absolutely hopeless when it comes to using it. It's almost laughable. I feel like an old man.

Also still getting used to android in general. It's awesome, but there's so much to customize and fuck with that it might take me weeks to get it ironed out the way I like it.

So that's that.

Random thoughts.

It's kind of late but I'm so awake it hurts.

I've consumed far too much cola today.

I've been thinking about things lately.

I'm well aware winter has just begun to sink her claws into us, so this might be weird to even bring up, but I'm putting a lot of serious thought (saving already) to a motorcycle trip.

My small town adventures thing was a spectacular failure (though I had no real intentions of it being anything else) but I think I'm finally ready to do some sort of extended trip. To be actually away from home.

The thought of heading either north or south for a week or two has always been appealing for some reason.

I recently subscribed to Motorcycle Mojo, which is a great Canadian magazine, and saw an ad for this Ride North thing and got in touch with someone who mailed me a package with a DVD, booklet and mini map and it sounds pretty great.

I don't know that I'd make a habit of following any set routes they have planned out, but it certainly has pointed me in the right direction and given me plenty of ideas.

I've decided that whether I have a new bike or not, I'm going to attempt it. I'm not huge on planning, so I'll probably just load up the saddle bags with some clothes, my netbook, and cameras and then hit the road.

I've also decided my small town adventure thing will continue for as long as I want it to, why limit it to one season or feel rushed at all? I love the idea of exploring my own province.

So there's that.

Christmas has only now crept into my mind. I'd write about how I don't care about it, but I do that every year, it seems.

It's just kind of crazy how it doesn't feel like the holiday season at all. Not in my life, anyway. Always kind of strikes me, just because of how much I used to love the entire month of December as a child.

Really random turn:

I've always thought the Tomb Raider series was overrated beyond overrated, but the first few details about the next installment have me really intrigued and it will probably be the first of the games I'll play since the second one (which was shit)

This one is said to be a proper reboot of the franchise and sounds like it could be the "Resident Evil 4" of the series...meaning, vastly different gameplay style/pacing/structure. Also supposedly really brutal and dark.

I can get behind that.

See ya.