Changing culture, one gamerscore at a time.

It’s been a week of mixed emotions and mixed events in and around London, but I’m now sitting comfortably in the living room, pondering my moves for the coming week. With not much work done on the current novel I’m a little frustrated with myself, but this week will be adequate time to catch up, as will the weeks leading up to my graduation ceremony in October, though my mood on said day will depend on whether or not I’m in the middle of an appeal for a 2.1.

It’s strange going from writing news daily in a hardworking office to simply not doing anything much from day to day in terms of journalism, but it’s allowed me to get my bearings. I have five (I know) job applications on the go, all of them interesting, and I’m seeing someone tomorrow that may result in a much-needed financial boost. I’m attempting to track down both ODST and Arkham Asylum over the coming week, and I’m excited to play them both. I’ll be writing a long entry on ODST after I’m done with the campaign and have experimented in FireFight a little.

Working my way through more science fiction; almost done with Fallen Angels, and about to launch myself into the Ravenor Omnibus by the extremely talented Dan Abnett. Little frustrated with Angels as it’s not gone as far with the plot as it should have in the space of 400 pages; it’s not a three-act story, and they’re stretching it out into a climax, whereas a far bigger plot event, such as the Space Wolves coming for Magnus and the Thousand Sons, will be over and done with in two novels. That being said, Graham’s indicated that the Thousand Sons book is ridiculously long, so perhaps the two will justify the gravity of their subjects in terms of length.

Had a great deal of fun seeing some old friends (decade, at least?) and found they had the most amazing habit going, collectively; playing the demo track of DiRT on the Xbox 360 on hard to see who could get the best time. At first, I was a little puzzled as to why one of them hadn’t simply purchased the game, and then I remembered how much fun I’ve had playing demo tracks over and over, especially in racing. The graphics are stunning, and it’s one of the few racing games that have piqued my interest, though that small number is increasing more and more, recently.

I also managed to borrow Grim Fandango off of one of them, as I’m missing my copy, so I’m ecstatic to be returning to the Land of the Dead in a couple of weeks when I get some spare time. As most people know, it’s my favorite game, actually introduced to me by the person who has just lent me a copy. Many fond memories of running up my phone bill asking him for a live walkthrough of the game. Many memories indeed.

I’ve also decided to put my Warhammer 40K dreams on hold for the time being, until I can get steady on my feet with a regular source of income. That said, I’ve got my eye on the shiny new MX laptop from Alienware, so the Black Templars 7th Company may have to wait a few months. Anyhoo, back to reading through seven years of Ctrl+Alt+Del, tara.