Gaming

I officially have gotten another person addicted to the Sims 2... Dmitri hasn't been sleeping, and seems to have given up on his own life, just so he can make sure his Sim's life is working out. I too have been playing it a lot lately... on my third generation of Sims... I've also been Guitar Heroing it up to the point where I have blisters on 3 fingers and my arm... I have beaten 6 songs on ultimate despite not being able to beat "Psychobilly Freakout" on hard.

Yesterday I stayed on campus all day to finish up my first major project that is due next week. I also have a test next week, so thought I'd get the project out of the way. This weekend I am heading to Tampa for a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert with Nithin, Kelley, and her roommate. I am uber excited! Anyways, back to applying for jobs!

Labels: dmitri sokgobenzon, electronic arts, gaming, kelley jones, nithin sathyamoorthy, red hot chili peppers

Well, Thanksgiving was very much appreciated... If it weren't for such a great holiday then I wouldn't have been able to get a break from school and work... The week prior I slept very little in order to finish all my huge school projects early, so that I could use the entire Thanksgiving week for relaxation. I headed down south to my parent's house last Friday, and didn't come home until this past Sunday. On the way down my sister Megan and I stopped in G-ville and had dinner at Friday's for Patti's 24th birthday. Unfortunately we got there right during rush hour so we had to wait nearly an hour before Patti made it there. I was glad to see her despite how little time we had!

On Saturday I decided I was going to camp out for a Wii since my previous attempts of pre-ordering it failed. I headed out at around 7:00 PM thinking 5 hours before it was sold would be plenty... I had heard every Walmart would have around 50 Wii's... Well, that was before they sold them to their employees first... I went to both the closest Walmarts and I was told that the line was already longer then the magical number of Wii's being sold... Depressed, I headed home and decided that I would try good old Amazon.com instead... Not knowing when they were going to start selling them, (I knew it was going to be between 3:00 AM and 3:00 PM EST) I decided I would wake up every hour on the hour and start pushing the refresh button... By 10:00 AM I was pretty drained and loosing hope... Still not for sale... Finally, at 11:00 AM, I thought I would try one last time before heading out to the Hard Rock Seminole Casino and the Sawgrass Mall with mom and Grandma. Sitting there pressing F5 while casually talking to my mom, I glance over at the monitor and I see "Buy with One-Click Ordering" appear on the page! YAY! I got one, they sold out in less than a minute and I was one of the people to get one! Go me!

The Wii arrived on Tuesday via UPS overnight... I unpack it, set it up, put Wii Sports in... "Unable to read disc..." I get an error... after browsing Nintendo's website I find their customer service number... They are sending me a new one, but it sucked because I had no game to play on my brand new system... I ended up renting one from Blockbusters, but I wanted to bowl, or play tennis... After getting bored of the game I rented, I headed over to Gamestop, and mentioned that I got the Wii and was waiting for Zelda to be shipped to me... They then told me that some guy sold them his used copy of it (4 days after getting it!)... Of course I went ahead and bought it for $10 less then it cost brand new... I was the first person (at least at their store, but probably anywhere) to get a used Wii game... Pretty cool...

On Thanksgiving we were suppose to goto Epcot and eat at the German-all-you-can-eat buffet... Well, when we called to make reservations, we found out that they were completely booked... So, last minute, we had to change plans and cook a Thanksgiving feast... My dad and I headed up to Melbourne to pick up my Grandma (who was there the day before our plans changed, but headed home thinking she was going to meet us in Orlando)... At first I was disappointed because I was really excited about the German food, but in the end (after sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, peas, turkey, cranberries, 2 apple pies, and 2 pecan pies) it all turned out well...

Now it is back to school where, despite being ahead of the game before I left, I am right back in the "ahhhhhhh! Grad School" mode, trying hard to stay ahead... I just have to keep telling myself "3 weeks left!"... but then of course I think about the 14 page paper, the programs, and the bookwork I have yet to finish... Oh well, we'll see what happens...

Labels: family, gaming, grad school, grandma, lori folts, megan folts, patrick folts, patti botero, vacation, wii

Grad school officially starts tomorrow and I am really excited... of course, I wouldn't have minded if Katrina hit near by so school would have been cancelled... also, if it hit closer New Orleans would not be completely destroyed... I hope everyone makes it out ok... I really want to visit there someday...

I haven't updated in a while, but that is because I have been busy helping my new roommates move in and playing Champions of Norrath on his Playstation 2... addicting game... I also was went bowling and played pool this week... I am joining the Billiards Club and the Pizza Bowling League... As a member of the Billiards Club I will get free pool at FSU's bowling alley... and it only cost $20 for membership... I want to get really good... For the Pizza League, Dmitri, Micah and I are on a team with another one of their friends... Every Sunday we will play 3 games of bowling and get 2 slices of pizza for only $6 a week... sweeeeeeeeeet... I love bowling...

I had a ton of meetings to get ready for the school year as well, hour upon hours of them... he he... I also became the Treasurer of the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM)... which means I have a ton of stuff to do for that as well.. it'll be a busy a year...

There is a ton of stuff that we have to give to Goodwill, the problem is I don't know when I will have time for them to come out and get it... hopefully early in the week so I don't have to have it all cluttered in my living room...

So, I decided to take Distributed Application Development even though I have heard really crappy things about the teacher... I am just too excited about it and I also heard that the TA convinced him not to give tests, bur only to assign projects... and projects is what I want... I am also taking Pattern Recognition and Advanced Unix Program, both with teachers that I have had in the past (and loved)... and lastly I am taking the require Research class that I am really not looking forward too at all...

Labels: bowling, dmitri sokgobenzon, gaming, grad school, hurricane

Yesterday we went to a Dave and Busters like place called Main Event... first we bowled for an hour, which my arm is still sore because I used a 16 lb ball... I am getting really good at putting the spin on the ball though... anyways, once we were done with bowling we played some arcade games to win points (equivalent to tickets)... with $30 we won 2206 points because we found this one game that Megan was really good at... so we just kept getting points... but that was only after we wasted 10 of that $30 on skiball which gave us hardly any points at all... With the points Megan got a gumball machine and a stuffed animal... and then we both got cups with spiral straws and cool little parachuting aliens... oh, and I got a deck of cards... the gumball machine has got to be worth at least $20 alone... at least if you bought it at Spencer's Gifts it would have... so yeah, we made off pretty good... if only we didn't waste all that money on skiball we'd have a ton more points... Well, after that we played two games of pool before heading home and watching Hitch... which is a great movie by the way... Then I was stupid enough to introduce Megan to the Sims 2... 7 hours later I was able to pull her off so that I could go to bed... now she is obsessed with the game... I'll have to be more careful next time I suggest the Sims 2... it tends to have that affect on people...

Today was Megan's last day here... her sister suggested that we all go to this park down town that is a natural spring that pumps 36 million gallons a day into a creek... They gated it off and damned two ends to make the creek deeper near the spring and to keep the street runoff from polluting the immediate area so it is completely clear and clean... (even if a little kid would to pee in the springs, 36 million clean gallons would be there the next day)... at first the 68 degrees that it is year round is extremely cold after being in the 95+ degree air... but after about 5 minutes in the water it becomes rather refreshing... After swimming, we sat under an old tree and talked, which was just another way to relax...

Oh well, bed time...

Labels: austin texas, best friend, bowling, gaming, vacation

"No, no, I don't have a problem, not like that. At least I don't think I do (although isn't denial the first stage of something or other?) But in China, a new clinic is opening for people who show the "clinical" signs of video game addiction: "depression, nervousness, fear and unwillingness to interact with others, panic and agitation.""(News.com)

Labels: gaming

This weekend I did absolutely nothing other than play video games... it was UBER relaxing... I got off work early on Friday because I work 9-10 hour days most days, and I am not allowed work more then 40 hours a week... At 11:15 on that Friday my Uncle and I drove 15 miles from work into the backwood country Texas to a place called "The Salt Lick" where they have an open pit where they bbq and you can bring your own beer and get ALL the ribs, sausage, etc you want.... yummy... oh, and beans... It was very good... afterwards I drove home and played video games... slept... played video games... ate... played video games... in an endless cycle the whole weekend... on Monday I went to my Aunt and Uncle's friend's house... It was fun, and nice getting paid for having fun (PTO)... I won at the game of Sorry and then talked while people played in the pool... Then it was back to work... I worked 10 hours yesterday and 11 hours today... so I again can have a short Friday... I have had Jamba Juice almost (all but 2 nights in 2 weeks) every single day for dinner... I love it... B) I ride my bike there when I am not in a hurry/exahausted/or have to grocery shop... which has been once or twice a week... so like 3 times... but still, I bought a comfortable seat and a helmet and new breaks so that I don't die and am all excited about it... I have no scale here so I have no clue what I weigh... probably the same... I am eating really unhealthy compared to what I would like... I have fixed that in the last week or so, but "The Salt Lick" is one example where I didn't... This whole timezone thing is confusing... I missed the Apprentice finally because of it... and the Survivor finally... I usually am just getting home from work or jamba juice at 7, exactly when these good tv shows start here... ahhh....

Oh well, I have been really getting into this online poker that my Uncle plays, and I am actually starting to get the feel of the game... I miss my goddaughter... for those of you who don't know Ashlyn (My cousin's daughter) is my god daughter... I also miss Tat, Brian, and Patrice... oh and Akira... he he... Tat needs help buying a new computer and I need to help her but she goes to sleep at 8 my time and I don't get minutes until then... B) so I always forget to call her... oh well, it is 10:45 and I get up at 6:30 so I am going to bed...

Labels: ashlyn pinner, brian and patrice mankowski, diet, dogs, exercise, gaming, kelly folts, tv

I started at 10:30 AM and I finished at 1:30 AM... Watched all the Star Wars in order... B) I am an uber geek... now I am going to play Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on Xbox.... B)

Labels: gaming, star wars

Well, I just checked my UCF application status online and it says I have been admitted... yay... pretty cool... this is not for the gaming school, only for the Computer Science department... which is still pretty cool... I see it as the best CS program in Florida, so that is exciting... and they actually PROGRAM there, which is something we sort of lack here at FSU... I am still in Homer, Louisiana... middle of nowhere... he he... I might head to tally tomorrow but I haven't decided yet... maybe I'll wait till Sunday...

Labels: florida state university, gaming, grad school, honey folts, papa folts, programming, tallahassee

Well, in about 3 hours I have an interview with Freescale, a company that use to be part of Motorola... My uncle works there and told me about an summer internship that I might want... So, I thought why the hell not, and I am going to try... They pay for relocation even... I don't know how much they plan on paying me yet, but if it helps pay for grad school, then yippee... I also applied to be a video game tester in Orlando for $8... that is with EA... that would be sweeeeeeeeeet... I get my foot into the video game industry... which is cool...

If I live here the whole summer then I could start looking for houses in Dallas in case I get accepted to SMU... I am kinda scared to move so far away, but the truth is I really have no reason not to... all I have to think about is myself, which is weird... I am really excited about the thought of it, even though I am scared too... I need to feel like I am at a different stage in my life, because I will be... I don't want to be stuck in the same lonely routine in Tallahassee...

I hope they think I am good enough to get into these gaming schools... I would work like crazy once I got in, the problem is getting in... at least everyone at SMU will remember me because they freaking announced that I drove all the way from Florida during the main presentation by the Director of the school... embarrassing... but oh well... I feel more qualified than the other people there sounded... none of them seemed to know anything about programming... they were all scared about having to program... and I was really really excited about it... Even if I didn't go into video games after graduating, I would be a SUPER DUPER programmer and be able to apply to other places as well... They would teach me a whole bunch of very useful things...

Next week, after my Algorithm's test, I am going to start programming like crazy and finish up my portfolio...

Guess what! I got a 104 on my first intellegent systems test... so now we are done with 50% of the course and I have like a 99.999999... which is sweet... I only need like 40%'s on the rest of the course work to pass... that is a fun class...

OH well, I have to start getting ready for the interview... so yeah... bye

Labels: electronic arts, freescale, gaming, grad school, kelly folts, tallahassee, undergrad, work

I have pretty much finished applying to grad school 90% there anyway... I still have to order transcripts and get all my letters of recommendations sent off, but besides that, everything is paid for and sent off... I am pretty much garrenteed a spot at FSU since I graduated there near the top of my class... even if I were at the bottom I would have a really good chance... I applied to the Computer Science department at FSU, UCF and Guildhall... also FSU's College of Information... I picked UCF and Guildhall because both are up and coming "Gaming" schools... Guildhall is more there than UCF, but EA wants to get a lot of grads from UCF for their Orlando division... UCF has the best Computer Science program in Florida (in my opinion)...

I went to a "Grad School Meeting" to learn all about the programs my department has to offer... I already knew, but I went just in case I found out something that I didn't know... well, during the meeting I was complaining about how FSU's Computer Science degrees are all research and theory based... I have the choice of getting a security degree as well, but that doesn't intrest me... Well, the lady giving the presentation over heard me saying this, and that I really want to get a Masters in game development, and she told me that I couldn't want this at a better time... She told me how they are looking for new programs to offer students right now and how they really want the students from the undergraduate to continue in their graduate programs... well, she went on and told me how I should bring it up with the head of the department and see what he says... She also said that if I were to help set up the program it might be able to count as my thesis or my project that I have to do... She also said that since it is only one extra year for a PhD, that I should stay for it, he he yeah right, I don't want to teach or do research so that is out of the question, but I would like the title... anyways... I am really excited now and I plan on talking to him next Tuesday about all this...

Oh well, it looks like I am more likely going to grad school then going into the real world... I am kind of excited about grad school because it will be more speciallized in my intrests hopefully... if I stay at FSU I am also likely to be assured of having my current jobs as well, and they both would earn me more as a grad student... everything would be paid for... and hopefully I could get a scholarship as well...

Labels: florida state university, gaming, grad school

(I wrote this last night, but for some reason it didn't post... so here it is)

I beat halo 2 about 30 minutes ago... go me! After that I came over to the computer to see if my last teacher posted a grade, and it turned out that he did, and for the first time ever I made straight A's (meaning no A minuses either) just pure, sexy A's... oh well..

My family and I celebrated my birthday today (well, technically yesterday, the 13th) because they are all going to be busy tomorrow and can't... I opened all my presents except one of the one my parents got me... I got 2 dress shirts with matching ties from my parents, Ultimate Bustamove for Xbox live from my sister, and a brick from my grandparents... luckily they used fifty $1 bills for the padding... B) think they are all tricky and stuff... I am hoping the other present my parent's are giving me is the digital camera I want... even though I have nothing really to take pictures of, I want one... because then if I wanted to take a picture I could without paying a lot for film/processing...

I don't know what I am going to to do when I get up this morning... if that makes sense... I already beat Halo 2, maybe I can try and beat it on Legendary (the hardest difficulty)... or just play it online for the whole day... who knows... I just hope I don't get any more mature since I am 22, because that would suck and I would be boring and have no reason to live...

Oh well, the best birthday present I got was getting out of the hell semester I just had... I am glad I did so well, if I didn't then I would have been angered considering the amount of effort I put into it... next semester better be easy... or fun... well, my elective better be fun because "Complexity and Analysis of Data Structures and Algorithms" sure as hell won't be... I think I am taking "Introduction to Intelligent Systems" as my elective... learn about making computers think like a human... sounds cool, sounds fun... sounds hard though...

Labels: birthday, gaming, honey folts, lori folts, megan folts, papa folts, patrick folts, undergrad

Well, I am done with school... I aced my History test, so now I have at least two of four A's for sure, the only two classes I am unsure about are OpSys and Distributed Networks, both classes depend on the class curve... I will be pissed if they give me an A- or something... I calculated it and if they didn't have minuses here then I could graduate with a 3.5 rather than a 3.489599999ish... I'm going to see if they will drop some of my classes that doesn't count toward my major... one that I got a C in, and then that would throw me over the 3.5 GPA too... oh well...

I was really excited for about an hour after my exam... now I am already bored... About a week ago I was excited about seeing everyone for my birthday and chilling, and then I found out that everyone I've asked isn't going to be there for my birthday... I feel old... I got my first gray hair this week too... The reason I probably haven't gotten one before this is because my hair is falling out before it can turn gray... I am so close to graduation too, that makes me feel even older... I don't know what I am going to do with my life either... my life has just got so flipped upside down this year... I can't wait until this year is over...

I am a completely different person than I was this time last year... 35 lbs lighter, (most of that is probably hair weight loss... he he), 1% smarter, etc... At least I am still 100% sexy... even with my ugly "Paul Bunyan" beard that I have no reason to shave... I haven't kept up with anyone I use to hang out with, haven't had time I suppose, haven't had anything to talk to them about... My friend Megan and I have become close again at least... Patrice's boyfriend is really cool, I just kicked his ass in Scrabble...

There are the regulars in the lab (the place I work) that are really cool too, but I don't know if they just put up with me because they want to use the lab or not... and I don't know if I will work in the lab next semester either, depends on how my schedule works out... I don't even talk to my family much anymore either... nothing to talk about except for boring classes... glad they are over...

Me, Vin, Anton, Duane, Tom, and some guys that Vin knows are planning to make a website with puzzle like games to play... I didn't think it was going to actually happen because I thought I was the only one who has the motivation for something like this, but when they saw my half-made tetris game they all got excited and they actually have a meeting planned to start working on the design for the site and gather game ideas... I didn't even start this either, Vin did and invited me to take part in it... If this actually works out it might help me get into Guildhall like I want (the gaming school)...

Oh well, I am just going to play xbox the whole time I am there... Me, Sebastian, Joe, and Sean... whenever they are not in school/not in South Florida... I am going to my Grandma's for Christmas, I am excited... I'd prefer it if she came down to my house, but still, I am excited...

I fly home tomorrow afternoon... glad to get out of this place for a month... I need a time to relax and find out who the single Nikk is... I am a little scared about seeing Francisca again because last time, even though I swore to myself I could do it, I really couldn't... I got all defensive and to prevent from shutting down completely I tried to just push her even further away... She doesn't want me and it hurts... I want her as my friend so much, but it hurts too much... One minute I would be happy never to hear her name again, the next minute I would never be happier to talk to her... grrrrr times a million...

I finally got the pay check that they didn't give me 2 weeks ago... that was exciting... money money moneeeeyyy, moneyyyyyyyyy... speaking of the apprentice, they picked the dumb "barbie" girl as a finalist... if she wins I will never respect Trump as a corporation again... I just want to smack some sense into that stick with legs...

Oh well, enough talking to myself since I know I already bored everyone so much that they haven't been reading for the past 7 paragraphs... yeah... I'll update later once I have anything good to add... which I probably won't... I might have a party on the 18th, I know that the Benham Christmas party is that night, but it is the only night I have a chance of celebrating my birthday... D and Anton will be down in South Florida during that weekend so they can come too... I just don't know where I would have it...

Labels: best friend, brian and patrice mankowski, francisca amunategui, gaming, joe castelbuono, sean rush, sebastian amunategui, undergrad