Published on
31 October 2007 in
My Life.
Okay, here goes with a blog update for Craig as he requested so nicely this morning. Hope you enjoy it Mr Lotter 
My little torrent of irritation is once again directed at the guy my friend recently had a falling out with. She’s managed to get her life back on track amazingly well and has managed to get her focus back. At the same time she has also gained a load of new friends and is definitely smiling a lot more these days. Its real strange to look back at the person she was when she still knew this guy and compare her to the bubbly, happy person that she has now returned to. Its especially weird for me since I’d never met the bubbly person she is now so its been a real pleasure to see her blossom.
So far it seems all roses and lollipops as far as the eye can see. Where a little snag in the road crops up is that this guy is still not leaving her alone. He persists in trying to hurt her at every turn. Recently she’s gained a friend that she enjoys playing with in online multiplayer games and once the guy heard this he became livid and started saying the most mean and hurtful things about this guy that you could imagine. He’s even gone so far as to attempt to get an ADSL line installed so that he can keep tabs on her online games to prevent her playing. He’s told her as well that she may not have more than 1 friend and he accused her of having changed. I am infuriated to think how he treats her like some sort of possession that should follow his every whim and fancy. Its a gross objectification of a beautiful human being. What has made me happy though is that she’s become very immune to his tricks and laughs them off with nary a glance or worry. she’s embraced a new better life that has opened up to her and she has no plans to go back to the terrible relationship she was in. I’m glad that she’s made a stand for herself and that she’s come to realise what a special person she truly is.
Maybe its a case in point that we should all come to realise that sometimes we might care too much for another person and by doing so we forget to worry about ourselves as well. Relationships can be complex at the best of times but sometimes its the simplest course of action that will help us through these times.
Published on
31 October 2007 in
Gaming.
Well, my first week and a bit of Xbox 360 joy has just rolled past and I thought it was about high time for a small report back session.
First off, the online community and capabilities of the 360 are immensely impressive. It far surpasses the offerings of the of the PS3 and Wii and makes online gaming a joy to experience. The only downside is that its a service you have to pay for if you want to play online and it is also not officially supported in SA which means you need to be a bit sneaky in signing up. Unfortunately Microsoft has now started blocking the credit cards of people in unsupported territories meaning that it is becoming tougher to buy games or extend your Live membership.
As for the games, they are very good as is befitting of a next gen system but they really come into their own when played online with good friends. I’ve had oodles of fun partaking in teabagging sessions with Newlande, Graeme, Jarrod and Roger in Halo3 and The Orange Box has been a bargain offering that has managed to keep me both entertained and laughing every step of the way. With the prospect of PES 2008, Call of Duty 4, Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed and Mass Effect it would seem that the remainder of my 2007 gaming year is looking very rosy indeed. Once again though, there is a downside to this all in the form of high prices for AAA titles such as these. With Xbox games retailing for +/- R600 it means you have to be far more picky when it comes to deciding what to buy. Its really only worth looking out for the best games out there that provide you with the most bang for your buck.
On the hardware side I have yet to experience any of the infamous Xbox glitches like random freezes or even the dreaded Rings of Death. My one gripe with the console is the fact that Microsoft has decided to only include normal batteries to power the controller instead of the rechargeable battery pack (available separately of course). My first set of batteries only managed to last a week and as I had no spares in reserve my gaming evening was cut short as I couldn’t play for more than a few seconds at a time.
Otherwise its been a great experience and Microsoft can really be proud of themselves for a worthy console that has improved remarkably from the first Xbox. It might have its downsides but thankfully an excellent games library and a good online community in the form of Live manages to raise it above its competitors for the time being.
Day after day
Love turns gray
Like the skin on the dying man
And night after night
We pretend it’s all right
But I have grown older
And you have grown colder
And nothing is very much fun, anymore
And I can feel
One of all my turns coming on
I feel
Cold as a razor blade
Tight as a tourniquet
Dry as a funeral drum
Ah, the blissful sounds of Pink Floyd. Its amazing how a band’s music can transcend over so many years and still seem relevant today. I think in the case of Floyd this is even more apparent. There’s a depth to their music that becomes more apparent the longer you listen to it. I’ve always taken a lot of solace form my music. It presents a comforting escape from anything that might hurt me. It presents a comfortable space between the sounds that I can lose myself in. Its cathartic and healing in equal measures. Especially at times like these I know I can turn to the music of Tool or Pink Floyd to help me on my way. Give it a try for yourself some time. Who knows what you might find out there.
Published on
27 October 2007 in
My Life.
So far I’ve managed to spew quite a bit of vitriolic anger out onto the pages of this blog. Some of it has been justified, some not depending on your point of view. What it has helped me achieve is some sort of closure on certain aspects of my life that I have to face. Its much easier to face something when you can break it down into words on a page. It might not be easy to do that but once you can then 99% of the job is done. I suppose maybe its my analytical thinking that makes me do this but its cathartic effects are undeniable. This leads me to the question of openness. How open should I be on this blog? Should I be safe and secure in the knowledge that whatever I write on these pages will be taken with a pinch of salt and looked at from an impartial point of view? Should I be unafraid of opening myself up fully to those around me and letting them see into my very soul? I think that is a tough question and one that I can’t answer either way. My previous two posts have been password protected for the very simple reason that they dealt with subjects that I don’t feel very comfortable exposing to the whole wide world in general. Its my prerogative not to show them to others since the main purpose of this blog is to serve as an outlet of thought for me personally. If someone wants to know what those entries are about they can feel free to ask me. I don’t think someone can ever open up to another person 100%, no matter what we may think. There is always some small part of us that will remain hidden and protected in the depths of our soul for the very simple reason that that is what makes us who we are. To fully open up to another would mean the loss of your very identity. That’s why I will always keep part of myself hidden. I am an individual. I am me.
“I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own!” – Number 6
So I finally managed to get my sorry ass off to the gym after weeks of procrastinating, much to the chagrin of my friend Craig. This Friday morning I was off from work and decided that it was the perfect opportunity to grab some time in the gym. So come Friday morning I grabbed my gym bag and made my way to the local Virgin Active. Armed with my trusty iPod and workout program I forged ahead with some time on both the cross trainer and rowing machine. now being the relatively unfit desk jockey that I am, the little bit of exercise I did took its toll on me relatively quickly. As my arms were just about coming out of their sockets and my legs were feeling about as stable as jelly during an earthquake I decided enough was enough and called it quits on my first proper gym session. As they say, from small seed big things grow. so though it might not have been the most amazing of workouts its planted a seed in me that will surely grow into more regular gym visits from myself.
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