Hey there guys. Once again, I'm sorry to begin a blog with a personal note, but I really feel the need to do so this time. I'd like to open with a few words in memory of my beloved dog, Freckles, who was humanely put to sleep on Tuesday night following a brief but crippling battle with a tumour. I'm still very upset about the whole thing. Mostly because I wasn't there with her when she went. Being at University, I hadn't seen her since the beginning of January, and I'm really annoyed with myself about not being able to say goodbye. She was an incredible animal with a truly unique personality, and it will be very weird going home tomorrow and not seeing her when I walk through the front door.

Like I said, I'm going back home tomorrow, to be with my family over the Easter break. I'm really looking forward to going back and spending time with them. In all honesty I think it's where I need to be at this moment in time, given the circumstances. While I'm at home over Easter I intend to hook my 360 up to Xbox LIVE for the first time and look into purchasing some DLC while I can (I'd really like to check out The Lost & Damned). It will only be a silver membership for now, so I'm sorry I won't be able to hook up with you guys and play those video games you're all so crazy about. I intend to change that come June or July, when I can afford the LIVE gold fee and won't have to worry about the pesky University accommodation network. Mind you, the fact that I won't be playing online is probably just as well, considering I have a whopping four essays to complete over the holiday. Between you and me, I don't think these University folk understand the meaning of the word "break".

In a brief gaming update, I bought myself two new games this week; Burnout Paradise and Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection. I haven't had a chance to get to grips with either of them yet, but I'm sure that will change over the next few days. I'm going to remember to take my 360 home with me for this break, and not make the mistake I made over Christmas. My copy of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind also turned up on Tuesday, so I'll probably give that a spin either tonight or tomorrow afternoon. In other news, I finally managed to install the New Xbox Experience on my 360 this morning through what may be considered the ultimate bastardisation of technology. In short, I saved the NXE update on my PSP and used it as a USB memory stick by plugging the cable into my 360. The console recognised the handheld as a flash drive and proceeded to install the update. I'm liking it right now, and I definitely prefer it to the old blades from an aesthetic point of view. I also can't get over how quiet my 360 is after installing BioShock to the hard drive. This is something I could get used to...

So that's gonna do it for this blog. Thanks for reading guys. Sorry about the brevity and somber tone of this blog, but I'm still reeling from the events of the last few days. I hope to be fairly active over the Easter break, so expect a few more substantial blogs over the next few weeks. In the meantime, see you around.


DanK

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Currently playing - BioShock (X360)