Hey guys. As some of you are probably aware thanks to my excessive complaining, I lost access to Xbox Live when my dad had Verizon FiOS installed. Don't ask me why, I don't know. For some reason, my wireless set-up just was not working with it. I called Verizon and Microsoft's customer service several times, and spent quite a few hours on the phone trying to solve the problem, while being sent back and forth between the two companies' customer service lines. Ultimately, after much frustration, I just gave up on it. I don't play online much anyway, and was so annoyed with the situation that I just put it aside. Then came the news that Microsoft was pulling the plug on their original Xbox games, including Halo 2, which is my all-time favorite online game. That really kicked things back into gear for me and motivated me to solve the problem. Now, Halo 2 is a blog for another day (Really, it'll probably happen in a couple days, so keep a look out), but I've returned to an Xbox Live that is a bit different and could use some help with understanding what exactly has happened over the last 8 months.
 
Okay, so first of all, I know how they added accessories for the avatars, but considering they cost money and I'm not about to fork over cash to decorate an avatar, I've paid little attention to that. Some of the things are pretty cool, though, and I definitely admire some of the game-specific apparel and whatnot, though I find that the free stuff is still totally lacking. Not many free items have been added. 
 
I notice now that people have numbers next to their names when you look at their profile/gamer card in the Xbox dashboard. What is that all about? Some people have numbers in circles, some people have nothing. Can someone clarify that for me? I thought maybe it represented how many years that person had Xbox Live, but I'm really not that sure. 
 
1 vs 100's beta was up and running when I still had Xbox Live, and I played it a little bit. Then it hit the spotlight and had unlockable achievements and everything. I was looking forward to playing it, but can't find it anywhere. Is it gone? Was it a limited time thing? A seasonal thing like a real TV show, perhaps? 
 
And then there's the awards. I don't know what that's all about. I remember reading a little about Halo Waypoint, but I don't know what it is. I can look at my award stats, but I have nothing. It appears my friends haven't unlocked any awards either. What's the deal with these awards?
 
Well, I think that about wraps up all my questions. I think I've done a decent job keeping an eye out for Xbox Live arcade games that came out that I should check out. I bought Shadow Complex, and will try out 'Splosion Man and some others. Perhaps if there's anything else you feel I really must play, I'll see what it's all about. In the meantime, if you guys can help explain this stuff to me, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.