  My sincerest apologizes for not updating this for a while, but I did have a few very good reasons for not doing so.
First off, I flew into Iraq a few weeks ago and was looking to do some freelance photography for a few extra bucks when angry militants captured me. I was forced to fight my way past dozens of machine gun-totting guards armed with only a shoehorn and a ballpoint pen, but after much commotion I managed to flee to the airport and return safely home.
Okay, okay, so I just freakin’ forgot to update this thing again, so sue me. In my last update I mentioned that I might be getting a job at Game Crazy, and that did happen. In fact, I’ve already worked about 9 days or so over the past month. The job is fairly easy, pays decent and I actually like everyone I work with, so I have no real complaints with it. The only slight downer is we are considered “salesmen” so we have to work hard at selling system warranties, preorders and MVP memberships (though we do get some commissions on these sales).
Thankfully, all of these things are actually smart things to purchase for customers (especially the warranties when buying a PS2..heh), so I don’t feel like a dirty ‘ol car salesman when pitching them. Of course, talking about videogames is something that I can do without even thinking and that’s a big factor in why I’m enjoying the job so far.
I really hope to keep working here part time for awhile, because if I’m here come next May I’ll be able get into E3. Finally! Hmmm, what else? I’ve made a commitment to myself to go to the gym regularly like I did for nearly 6 straight years. I’ve been so bad for the past 6 months or so – I’ve probably only been going in like once or twice a month. During my first six years of lifting weights I only missed 1 week of working out on two occasions; I was that intense.
I plan on rekindling that drive; in fact, I just watched Pumping Iron and stocked up on supplements in preparation. One of the benefits of working at Game Crazy is free rentals from Hollywood Video, so the other day I picked up a movie I’ve been wanting to see for ages – Seven Samurai. Wow! It was superlative! Now I definitely have to rent other Akira Kurosawa classics like Yojimbo and Hidden Fortress.
If they’re even half as good as Seven Samurai I’ll feel I got my money’s worth. Errr.. well, you get the idea. Oh yeah, I’m now even more of a Halo nerd. Just the other day I was working and opened a freight box to find some new Halo figurines. I already bought a plain green Master Chief a while back, which is standing proudly on my desk as I write this, so I figured I didn’t need any more.
Especially since I knew that they’d never release my favorite multiplayer armor color: white. You see, to this point there has been green, blue, red and black, but no white. Anyway, as I dug through the pile of Grunt, Elite and Warthog toys, I came across something shocking at the bottom: 2 white Master Chiefs! As sad as that might seem to non-Halo junkies, this actually made my day. The funny thing is, I priced the figurines and put them out in the store thinking nobody would buy them and I could just pick one up after getting paid.
I even hid them inconspicuously behind other figurines hanging on the wall. Well, later that day some kid comes up to the counter with one of the white Master Chiefs in his hand and I suddenly get nervous. Soon after, I grab the last white Chief from the store and stick it in the back room on what I like to call “personal layaway.” As if this wasn’t enough, the kid’s parent who bought the other Chief comes in with the figurine in a plastic baggie and says it broke (the kid busted the flamethrower it comes with).
She says, “I’d like to get this replaced and since it seems you guys don’t have any white ones left I’ll just take this green one.” My co-worker, who knows that we indeed do have another white one in the back, looks at me and I just shake my head like, “Ahh, hell no.
She’s not getting that last white Master Chief so her kid can slobber on it and break it.” He just smiles and keeps his mouth shut and, to make a long story short, I now have a nice white Chief (still in its packaging) sitting right here next to me. I suppose that’s a big enough update today. I’ll end it with a thought-provoking and deeply inspirational quote from the movie Ghostbusters. Quote of the Day Dr. Raymond Stantz : Everything was fine with our system until the power grid was shut off by dickless here .
Walter Peck : They caused an explosion ! Mayor : Is this true ? Dr. Peter Venkman : Yes, it's true. This man has no dick . 
