It looks like this is another year where I will need to have that horrible conversation with my girlfriend.
"Sweetheart, you know I love you and living with you gives my life meaning.......but there are new Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, Batman and Warhammer games all coming out this season. So.....yea........I'll see ya in March!"

It usually works out that every other year there is a slew of games scheduled to come out that I am foaming at the mouth to get at. I don't think it's a coincidence that there is a parallel between that and BioWare's and Bethesda's development cycle. 

I'm thinking that this year I might try something different though (and no, not give up the games and spend more time with my girlfriend, I mean yea, I love her but let's be serious). I think that this year I will mention that there are all these new games coming out that I am super psyched about, but leave out the whole spending less time together bit, and just play the games while she is sleeping. I always wake up before her anyway, and go to sleep after so it can be done easily. This way I can get up at 5:00 or 6:00 and play for a few hours before she gets out of bed, when she comes out to the kitchen I can save and quit my game, 

she'll be all "Oh, you can keep playing baby" 

and I'll be like "No, sweetheart, no game could ever be more important then spending time with you" *charming smile*

BOOM, fucking genius! I get my game fix in and get mega brownie points for being an attentive boyfriend that I can cash in for getting out of going to her parents house for dinner, then you know what I do while she is at her parents? If you guessed play Mass Effect then congratulations, you have been paying attention! I hope you're taking notes kids, they don't teach this kind of stuff in school these days.