As much as it’s surprisingly time consuming liaising with PRs, writing seemingly countless pieces of work and playing review code, it’s also utterly brilliant. It’s a bit ridiculous too. While there are days where it feels like ‘proper’ work, there are also other days where all you can say is ‘yeah I spent all day playing X game and it was fun’. Sure it’s more involved than that, you have to know what to say in the review after all, plus if it’s a crap game, it makes for a tedious day. It’s still a bit silly though isn’t it, compared to ‘real’ jobs. It’ll be nice the day that I (hopefully) start earning liveable money for all the hard work I put into everything.

The whole point of this entry however is to be smug with myself. Resolution’s got some exciting content going up in the nearish future and excluding some PRs that I still need to get on better terms with, I think I’m getting the hang of this. It’s a great feeling to know that quality articles are going up regularly, that we’re receiving plenty of relevant review code and everyone’s happy basically.

It’s only September but it feels like the content’s just going to grow and grow when it comes to the Autumn rush. It’s excellent to see and rather exciting too. I want the biggest success possible for the site and the team behind it. Already got reviews lined up for two of the biggest releases of September. One’s a particular coup that I’m proud to have arranged.

I’ll stop going on about it now and sounding like a smug git, but I’m just happy with how things are going with the site. The hard work that everyone’s putting in feels like it’s paying off.

Having said that, roll on the weekend when my to do list is empty and I can enjoy some time off. Even better, Saturday is a total day off as I’ve got no day job to go to that day either! Bliss.

I’ve been writing away like mad again today. Wrote one review, one article, played a hell of a lot of a review game, edited a couple of thousand words, scheduled content to go up, advertised said content, replied to emails. Phew.

Also I went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It was good. I have to admit it wasn’t ‘OMG best film evah!1!!!1111′ for me but I did enjoy it for the most part. Even if the end did feel a tad dragged out.

Tomorrow will hopefully be a slightly calmer day. I say slightly. I’ve got two different things to write on the games front and something of a more depressive nature to write too but I’ve got a good idea of what to say in all cases which will help a treat. Next week should be even calmer as I’ll have finally tackled my backlog. Hopefully this will mean I’m more keen to write blog entries. Currently they still aren’t much fun. I’d much rather be playing The Sims 3! Something I fully intend on doing any minute now.

It’s bizarre really. I spend so much of my daily life doing work based things or cleaning up or tidying. What do I want to do with my spare time? Play a virtual life in The Sims 3. Madness really. At least last night when I was off killing zombies, it was something I couldn’t normally do.

I’m watching Cemetary Junction at the moment. Excellent so far but I wonder if it’ll make me question my life. I suspect so. Oh well, bit of self reflection is probably a good thing once in a while.

For now though, Sims time!

…overslept slightly meaning I was constantly chasing my own tail

…felt fully rested at least

…edited, found images for and scheduled the next two days of content for Resolution

…replied to many, many emails. Fortunately most of them were rather interesting

…edited my Singularity review for my GamePeople column

…written a review of Rooms: The Main Building for VideogameUK

…started a review of Dragon Quest IX for VideogameUK

…played four different iPhone games, three for Resolution and one for 148Apps

…played Amnesia: The Dark Descent and scared myself silly

…cleaned out the guinea pigs’ cage

…played with the cat till he was worn out

…played Dead Rising and Dead Rising 2: Case Zero briefly

…went to work to pick up two rentals: Four Lions and Cemetary Junction

…went to Asda to buy the week’s food shopping

…visited a friend for a quick drink

…came home and cooked dinner

…wrote my OneADay

…realised it’s blog entry number 250 and gave myself a virtual pat on the back

…watched Four Lions

…played The Sims 3

…went to bed at a vaguely reasonable time (this may not happen)

I’ll start from the beginning…

As mentioned previously, I effectively got kicked off my Msc course a few weeks back. Managed to get re-enrolled but with the declaration that I had to get my entire dissertation done by 4th October. It’s not impossible I guess, but what’s very, very close to impossible? It’s that. I still need to do a ton of research before I even write anything so basically I was screwed.

I was then told that I could appeal via extenuating circumstances. I’m not convinced I have enough of a good reason though. I do of course, it’s just proving it. Since my Dad died, I have been a mess. A mess trying to get her life into order. I haven’t done the off the rails thing or anything, maybe I should have. Instead I’ve struggled on with everything in my life changing overnight. Not forgetting the psychological effects of seeing someone you love die in front of you. It’s not ideal. Anyway…

The extenuating circumstances form said that you needed evidence from someone in authority. While I’ve seen my family doctor in that time, I’ve never seen a counsellor. My therapy is writing about it. So my Mum’s friend who’s in a rather high powered job for the local NHS Trust has written a letter.

She sent it over a little while ago. It’s powerful stuff. Stuff I already knew of course but there’s something more ‘real’ about it when someone else describes your situation. It feels like a letter I could really do with just taking around with me and handing out to people any time they think I’m being weird about something.

My Mum’s writing a letter next then I’ve got to write something too.

I’m not looking forward to writing my bit. That’s the sort of stuff I like to keep quiet about unless I’m feeling exceptionally strong about things at the time which almost hardly ever happens. Denial’s much simpler!

So this is going to be a bit of a filler entry. I’m not really in the mood to write. I’m feeling distinctly nervous about work later (I’ll explain another time why, probably) and generally under par. I’m aiming to turn this around for the coming week and work extra hard at the writing for the coming week. It’s one of the generally positive things that I do so it makes sense.

I feel rather in need of some positive things to happen. The negative things are starting to batter me mentally! I’m sure it’s character building but I feel like I’ve got a strong enough character now!

Anyway…

I spent some of the morning playing Dead Rising 2: Case Zero. I didn’t have overly high expectations of it. Although I’ve owned Dead Rising for as long as I’ve had a 360 (4 years now), I’ve never really played it. I’m terrible at it simply put. I can’t beat that damn chainsaw wielding clown even though I know exactly what I need to do so I’ve never really spent decent time with it. Case Zero however is really good fun and it makes me much more keen to play Dead Rising 2. It’s just so much fun wandering around hitting zombies with baseball bats, simply put.

I’m looking forward to spending more time with it soon. It’s a similar tale with an ever growing collection of games actually. I really want to complete Dragon Age: Awakenings soon as well as Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. I think I need to stop stressing and get on with using my free time properly!

First up, my review of the last episode in Season 3 of Sam & Max. It’s quite a good episode and a great season.

It’s increasingly difficult to know what to say about Sam & Max Season 3. Not because it’s not worth talking about – it most certainly is – but because of the risk of spoiling the events that unfold in this finale. It’s sad to see The Devil’s Playhouse end but there are some rather intriguing plot twists to keep players keenly interested right until the end. It’s a pity then that while the narrative and humour is as strong as ever, the puzzles on offer feel a little stale.

Full review

Then there was a review of Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force: Herbert’s Revenge on the DS for VideogameUK. If you’re not a child, don’t bother.

Deep breath time…Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force: Herbert’s Revenge. It’s a bit of a mouthful isn’t it? Presumably somewhere there are parents muttering “is it that new penguin game?” – yes you’d be right, that’s exactly what it is. Club Penguin is big business it seems as a form of MMO for kids. It’s passed me by as I’m not under 12. So, having been assigned this game to review I consulted my resident expert: my 10 year old cousin. Turns out she doesn’t know anything about it either. She liked the game quite a bit though and I can see why.

Full review

Following that was Shin Megami Tensei: Persona for the PSP over at Resolution.

You might think that the likes of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest sum up the peculiarities of the JRPG but you’d be very wrong. It’s the Personas of the world that really show how bizarre a JRPG can really be.

My first experience of the Persona series was long ago when I was but a fresh faced aspiring reviewer. One of the first games I ever reviewed was Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 on the Playstation 2. Having never played a Persona game before this, I’m still not entirely sure if it was a success but I tried very hard to sum it up. You see, the Persona series is rather quirky. Typically you play the role of a high school student who, alongside attending classes like a normal teenager, must also stop the world from being invaded by demons. The term persona comes about as each of the main characters can summon Personas which can be used to cast various special abilities.

Full review

Finally, We Sing Encore for the Wii, reviewed for Resolution.

Singing. It’s a lot harder than it looks isn’t it? So many people think that they can do it well, but in reality, it’s quite a small number indeed. It doesn’t stop us all trying though. Especially on a Saturday night when the alcohol’s flowing and Summer of 69 comes on instantly reminding you of just how great life could be. Or is that just me?

Full review

It’s been a week full of very different 7/10s then!

Today is the day of ‘A movie that no one would expect you to love’.

This is a tricky one to answer as there isn’t really a film that no one would expect me to love. There are certain films that certain friends would be surprised to find I enjoy, but there isn’t one film that everyone would be surprised by.

I guess I’m just quite open about what I enjoy, even if other people think it’s crap.

Having had a conversation with a friend earlier though, I realised one film that quite a few people would be surprised to find I enjoy: Mamma Mia.

It’s an incredibly girly film. I don’t really like girly films. Nor do I like musicals very much, especially not traditional musicals where people just randomly burst into song! I should hate Mamma Mia. I only saw it because my Mum wanted to see it so I tagged along.

Something about it clicked though. Maybe it was the incessant optimism. Everywhere in the film was so sunny and breezy. Nothing was sad or miserable. Everything ended ridiculously happily. It was such a fake film in every sense of the word. But sometimes it’s nice to see something that outlandish. It just lightens the mood a tad.

I suspect this is the same sort of boundless optimism that makes High School Musical so popular with kids. It’s so innocent, it’s hard not to see the appeal really.

So yeah, that’s my film for this entry. I reckon most people would be surprised by my enjoyment of it.

I suspect this is the equivalent of the ‘wall’ that marathon runners face. Obviously writing is a bit easier than running a marathon but it’s the same sort of thing.

I have absolutely no plan on quitting, never fear. I’ve reached 240 odd days after all. I’m well over half way and will carry on. I’ll be pleased when I pass this hump though and the words flow easier.

Maybe I’m just lacking inspiration. I’ve been busy trying to tackle my other writing work after depriving it last week. Lots of words are flowing. Alongside that is a new wave of self doubt as I quietly wonder to myself where I’m going with all this.

As it stands though, I think I should probably just switch my brain off yet again and keep on working. You never know what’s round the corner after all!

It does rock though. I’ve played the first two for hours on end in the past. Usually they hook me in for a few months at a time then I realise the futility of it all and cast it aside. A few months later, I’m back again.

It’s silly really. I’m spending all that time living a virtual life, working my way up to a better career or a bigger house. I could just do that in actual life couldn’t I?

Mind you, I can’t brick up a room to kill off my husband. At least not legally. So it does have some advantages over real life I guess.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is…

I’ve spent all day writing things and admittedly going to the cinema too. It’s 9.36pm. I’ve got a few hours before I go to bed. I’ve got all the Resolution stuff sorted for the night. I’ve got a busy, but good, day tomorrow. I’m going to play The Sims 3 for a bit.

You understand right? I need some proper downtime. That downtime is going to be used to play dollies. Yup. No matter how much I try to excuse it, it’s playing dollies all over again. Funny really considering I never actually played dollies as a kid! I liked Lego.

Today is Tuesday. I have an evening to myself. Hurrah. Yesterday I was at my Aunt’s till quite late, that’s Monday out then. Sunday, Saturday and Friday I was at work. Thursday I was at work until the evening but then went straight to a friend’s for the evening. Wednesday was a good day – I was at the cinema but I was still out till late. Tuesday I was at work. Monday I was home but it was the peak of shiteness. Sunday, Saturday and Friday I was at work…Thursday I was with a friend’s and cinema on the Wednesday.

I can’t remember what happened two weeks ago. It didn’t involve work but still, it was a while ago! This week I’m out both Wednesday and Thursday evening for fun (yay), but then I’m at work Friday until Sunday. Monday I’m out. I have no idea what happens from next Tuesday.

There’s clearly something about Tuesdays isn’t there?

I don’t mean to whine. If I was earning good money, I certainly wouldn’t whine. But as someone who works in retail in the evening and writes like a lunatic in the day, it’s a bit tiring. So evenings are precious.

Evenings are there for unwinding and cooking. Maybe even playing a game for fun, you never know. I’ve eaten terribly for most of the past two weeks. Food has been fuel, not fun. Most of the time I’ve only actually had two meals each day: breakfast and some sort of lunch/dinner thing usually at 3-4pmish before going to work, then returning home at 10.45ish absolutely ravenous.

Today though, I’ve had 2 meals already and am just about to cook the main one! I’m cooking a roast dinner. With plenty of veg, and stuffing, and Yorkshire puddings, and lashing of gravy. It will be good.

Then I’ll go back to eating badly at weird times until next week…Ugh.

Evenings really are important, y’know?