Closing Time.

Wondering where I've been for the last month or so?  Not on vacation, that's for sure...that was only a couple of days I took for Sara's graduation.  Instead, Rhonda and I have been knee-deep in paperwork for the past month.  But that all finally paid off today, because now we're homeowners.

(No, she's not ours. Duh.)

Of course, I took the obligatory cheesy handshake photo with our agent, Joy.

Now all that's left is the packing and unpacking. Stay tuned for the inevitable pics from our first BBQ.

Let the sloth commence...

Vacation.

Yeah.

Prodigal blogger returns

Been a while, eh? I guess it's fairly obvious to say things have been hectic.

I was doing real well with the blogging until I hurt my back a few weeks ago. That led to an immediate shutdown of pretty much everything in my life for a few days. I can't even watch TV really since sitting for more than a few minutes is first uncomfortable, then painful. Somehow, I always manage to hurt myself right before a weekend, too.

Big things going on with Sara, she's getting confirmed on Saturday, then graduating from high school next Friday. Lots of driving for Rhonda and I. We were in Stockton last night for confirmation rehearsal, back in San Jose for work today, back to Stockton Friday night, back to San Jose as early as Sunday, then back to Stockton next Friday, then back here for FanimeCon.

Why Sunday? We might go see some open houses. Rhonda and I are in the market for a home. It's brutal out here, it's beginning to look like we'll be shelling out over half a mil for a two-bedroom townhouse or a serious fixer-upper. Knowing my home improvement prowess, likely to be the former.

Lastly, for today at least, tomorrow is Star Wars Day. I hope the hype that it is the best Star Wars film since Empire is legit. I just hope it'll be worth the ten bucks I have to shell out for it.

So much for that all-nighter.

She's done. Damn, she's quick.

Dropping Ac!d (and other bad habits)

I forgot to mention I finished Metal Gear Ac!d last week. I was a little skeptical about the game but was pleasantly surprised. The plot, graphics and presentation were everything you'd expect from a Metal Gear game, and the card-based tactical strategy gameplay was less gimmicky than I feared. The early levels feel a little awkward, but near the game I was getting really into it and found it hard to put down. The turning point in the game for me was when I had an ally, as that really opened up a lot of possibilities. After that, both the plot twists and the action really picked up and the end result was pretty satisfying.

However, my real addiction remains Lumines. This game is pure gaming crack. A relatively simple concept for a puzzle game, the game really comes to life in the interaction between your button presses and the music. I don't think it's a stretch to say this is the best puzzle game since the immortal Tetris, and that includes Capcom's Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. And it's not a stretch to say it's testing Rhonda's patience.

You could probably surmise I am really enjoying my PSP. It's also nice having a 512 MB Memory Stick and being able to encode, say, Kung Fu Hustle in a pretty watchable format and carry it around with me.

Next on the agenda is Bioware's Jade Empire, their wuxia-inspired follow-up to the fanboy wet dream, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. KOTOR set the bar pretty high, but JE manages to bound over the bar and then unleash a furious assault on any game daring to call itself an Xbox RPG.

Everything about Jade Empire is top-notch. The combat gameplay is deep and engrossing. The story strikes the right balance between fun and cheesy. The cut-scenes are gorgeous and reminiscent of Pixar. The groundbreaking item and weapon system is perhaps the greatest breakthrough, as it allows you to play the game without needing to sift through menus in order to micro-manage your supplies and possessions. Like the film genre that inspired it, JE is breathtakingly beautiful, wildly entertaining, and wholly ass-kicking all at once. Highly recommended.