The Amazingly Delayed Promised Update

Yowzers! My last update was Nov 4th! I just keep getting worst at worst on this entire LJ thing.

So 2 months have passed. What all has happened?

ziggy_san visited me in Boston in mid November. fearandloafing visited for Thanksgiving. He's now stationed in Hawaii now. I'm really glad I got to see Rob before he was stationed so far away. I used to write far, far more detailed stuff about visits like this. It's been too long, and I forgot it all. Furthermore, I've become more and more lazy when it comes to these things. My apologies! :{ They were awesome visits, though. Just trust me.

Late November, I find out that I had to take 4 MS Exams before Jan 1st. I barely manage to be able to do so. It was Hell having to cram for 4 exams in the space of one month. The only reason I was able to do so is because I already knew the material for one exam and I picked an easy 3rd exam on purpose. Until MS releases their Windows 8 series of exams, I'm pretty much done with MS exams. Now it's on to Ciscoland to obtain my CCNP before all work I did almost 3 years ago expires on me. I'm basically relearning Cisco from the ground up. Since I don't work in the field, it's like re-learning math after not having had to use it for years. I'm sure I can do it, but I'll have to devote time to it every weekend. My deadline for taking the exam is the end of March.

From Dec 21st to Dec 30th, I did my normal WV Christmas holiday jazz. While I was in town, my group of friends and I played a bunch of kickass new board games!

Shadow Hunters is like Bang!, but better. I seriously have issues going back to Bang! now. The advantages are numerous. The removal of the sheriff role makes everyones role hidden. The green card deck lets you force information from other players about who they are. It's also a simpler game now, where as Bang! has complicated with expansion after expansion. It's a blast. I had to jump through a lot of hoops in order to get Shadow Hunters, but it was well worth it. If you like Bang!, you simply *have* to try Shadow Hunters. I know you think it can't get any better than Bang!, but it does, and you won't be the same afterwards.

7 Wonders is a civilization card game. It's pretty good, and the non-aggressive nature of the game makes it good for players who don't fare well in competitive gaming. I bought the Leaders expansion as well, but we never got around to actually playing it.

SmallWorld Underground is a better SmallWorld. If you don't own SmallWorld, I'd skip the original and go straight for Underground. The new features in Underground really add to the game and its competitive nature.

I hung out at the new Charleston area club called Atmosphere a couple nights while I was in. I'm so happy that Charleston has a decent play for gay nightlife now. It really drove me crazy how awful the nightlife was when I was in my early to mid 20s. It's a fairly young crowd, too! ( me likey! ;) )

As always, I played some more DDR while I was in. My DDR shoes sadly need to be retired. There is hardly any tred left on those shoes.

I'm currently playing Mass Effect 2. It's every bit as good as I thought it was going to be. I might have to play through it twice in order do to a renegade run after I'm done with my paragon game.

Good news! I finally solved my credit problems! It took over 2 freaking months of pestering, but I managed to get all of the old medical bills removed from my credit history. I did a test today by applying for an AMEX card that I was denied for previously, but I have all the paperwork verifying that it was removed. I have 4 local banks picked out as possibilities for my mortgage. I'm hoping to get pre-approval by early next week. After that, it's time to seriously begin condo / house hunting!

I picked up a couple games during this years Steam sale. Duke Nukem Forever, Batman Arkham Asylum, and Worms Reloaded. I'm playing DNF just to see the end of the 12 year saga. It's honestly not that great of a game. Batman is terrific, so its next on my gaming list after ME2 and Deus Ex. Worms Reloaded is for multiplayer play with my friends. I also bought a bunch of indie bundles really cheap. It's awesome picking up like 5+ games for around $4. Especially when one of the games is Binding of Isaac. That game alone is worth the asking price of $5.

Still figuring out what the heck I really want in a relationship. It's very much a learning experience figuring it all out. Honestly, I'm sorta fine without one. I really value my independence.

My friend James is visiting Boston on Jan 12th. He'll be staying a week, so that'll be a fun visit as well. Always something interesting going on with me!

Ok, that's a fairly sizable update. Time to go grocery shopping.