Hey everybody, not sure if anyone around here remembers me, but I still remember and miss coming here on a regular basis.

Anyway let's see a lot has happened to me since I stopped posting over a year ago.

Got divorced, laid off for over a year, etc etc

Well now life is picking back up, got a job, new girlfriend etc etc.

I just wanted to say it took me a long time to get myself right in life again but I'm back. And for those of you who don't know, secret facebook groups are a blessing and curse.

Well here is to be being back and I look forward to talking with everyone again and meeting all the newer people that joined since I was a regular.

Hello Everyone Just wanted to give a quick review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for everyone here at CAG, Since CAG pointed me towards the site gofobo.com. THANKS CAG!!!! and thanks GOFOBO for the advanced movie review. Now on to the review:(no spoilers)

I personally think this is the best movie of them all(so far) This one truly captured the book and it ended more or less exactly where I thought it was going to end. I can't and won't spoil it for everyone but I will say the liberties taken with this film flow very good and some things that were implied were great to see, finally other things that happened but adjusted a little had more meaning. I felt like I was watching the book. lol Of the major three actors, I truly believe Rupert Grint and Emma Watson stole the movie. (they have become very good and their expressions make things more endearing)

One thing that I will elude to is that there was a great animation sequence that naturally flowed with...

First and Foremost I have to give an Extra Thank you to CheapyD and Cheapassgamer as a whole. Again I am so thankful for winning the Halo Reach Console Bundle. I was already purchasing the Legendary Edition($10 after stacking all my rewardzone points for the year) of the game so now I have two copies and Me and My wife can play together with each of us using our own xbox and copy of the game.

This year has been very good for my family and I just want to say Thank you to everyone for helping this year to be great.

Now everyone back to your regular gaming schedule

Greetings everyone just wanted to get a few thoughts out about Wizard World here in Philadelphia this year. Since I didn't go last year, this year's version is quite different because there really aren't many panels(no marvel or dc panels) this year. The guests are great(Patrick Stewart, Linda Hamilton, etc. etc.)but not ones I really want to see, I guess I got spoiled from the Kevin Smith panel I went to several years ago.

Things of note:

1. It was great to see one of my childhood friends today, he runs a very devoted Star Wars Community and I am very proud and happy for him. He has a beautiful family and it is great to see old friends (I am going to join up after this blog)

2. The vendor room was so so only because I was hunting for 2 or 3 items and I could not find them for a price I wanted to pay. (remember kiddies never buy anything at a convention until the last day during the last few hours unless you know that item will be hard to find later....

Ever since joining CAG back in 2007 I have been honored to find out about all kinds of great deals and sale that normal people don't know about. From there it has spiraled into websites that offer gifts for your time. Today I sat down and thought about exactly how many sites I do because of CAG.

1. Gamestop Survey-The overall best of the freebie sites I do because of the GS Giftcards and the added bonuses of getting invitied to special surveys that give other things like Amazon Giftcards and other things. Averaging about $175 in Gamestop cards and $15 in borders bucks between two accounts

2. Mysurvey-close to Gamestop survey as I get amazon and gamestop giftcards form there averaging about $125 a year

3. Myview-just started last year and racked up around $120 in paypal

4. Globaltestmarket- started last summer got $50 so far

5. Lockerz- got Final Fantasy Dissidia for free and now I have about 2500 points in my main account...

To this day I still consider Final Fantasy 6(3 in the states) to be my favorite one. Great story, interesting characters, and Kefka. It had a Star Wars feel in the sense that you didn't feel tied down to one character or shall I say leader because there was so much going on with everyone else. Of course this was before the idea of grinding for hours on end. But overall to me this was the best so far. I can make an argument that 7 or 8 brought the series mainstream but that does not matter at the end of the day or for my previous point.

Now on to Final Fantasy 13. Even though I am only on the second chapter I kinda get a FF6 feel from the start with the jumping between the parties. The game is beautiful and so far I have no complaints what so ever. Honestly the chapter breakdown gives it a Kingdom Hearts feel to me in a sense that I don't feel tied down to the game. I have a feeling I am going to play the game in chapter sessions so it is easier to digest for me in the long...

Hello everyone I have been somewhat of a ghost around here lately, but I still look around everyday to see what's going on.

Anyway with that being said, seems like most of the freebies and contests they use to run from major retailers, sites, etc. has dried up. Seemed like every year there was always a major xbox points give a way and other similar deals to abuse but looks like those days have come and gone. I can't complain, but free stuff is still free stuff so you know I want it.

As far as other deals go, with the closing of Circuit City you can really tell how much they affected the industry, seems like there aren't really any good sales on anything lately. Though amazon still comes through, things still aren't the way they use to be.

I am saying all this to say, I hope this holiday season's sales are really good, I know everything and everybody are tight right now, but maybe things will be extra special this year. I am just putting this out in...

man if you guys haven't seen it yet. check this out.

http://www.adultswim.com/video/?epis...20b49221340025

great stuff. I am so interested I hope they make this a full show because this is the kind of stuff that adult swim should be showing.

Please CN continue with funding and producing shows like this.

2008 was a great year for gamers. This is honestly the first time in my life where I can say that there were entirely too many games to play. No matter who you are you can admit this past year was fun all around. I am honestly praising the summer drought so I can catch up on stuff I have missed out on.

Quick notes:
1. mad skills 2008 year in wrap up was his best yet.
2. SF4, RE5, and FF13 are the top games on my want list this year
3. I WILL KEEP MY RESOLUTIONS THIS YEAR
4. I will try to get as much free stuff as I can this year
5. NEVER PAY RETAIL FOR ANY GAMES

good luck on everything everybody and I wish everyone the best. See EVERYONE AROUND in 2009

Just had to blog about this to the community. Nothing major, just an update on me cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

Right now I am waiting for the timer to go off so I can baste my turkey again. Once that is done then I will peel the sweet potatoes and make the sweet potato pies.

Looks like my wife got me again to make dinner without me actually noticing it. lol

Here Is what I am making as we speak

1. Turkey
2. Stuffing
3. Sweet Potato Pies
4. Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
5. Collard Greens
6. Candied Yams

Wife is doing:
1. Mac and Cheese
2. Arroz con gandules (Rice and Pigeon Peas)
3. Potato Salad

My mom
1. Mashed potato
2. Green Beans

My aunt
1. 7 up cake
2. Ham

yup I have officially been hoodwinked by the masses. lol

I like everyone else around here has started to build a major backlog of games that need to be finished, opened, or actually played.

So in an attempt to go through my games and catch up on the hours of television I have on my DVR. I have devised a plan.

-Both the 360 and PS3 will each get three days a week of gaming time
-the Wii will get played everyday to supplement my new exercise plan
-and I will make it a habit to cut down on misc. shows that I don't need to watch.

Hopefully this plan will get me somewhat up to date by the end of the year because I hope to have at least half of my backlog cleared before Resident Evil 5 comes out.

Today is the celebration parade for the Philadelphia Phillies for winning this year's world series and I am excited as well as frustrated.

I work downtown in philly actually 2 blocks away from the main route of the parade and I am upset that they did not close work down today for the safety of their employees. With an estimated 1 million plus people in about a 20 block parade, that is not a good situation for anybody. I want to go and bring my entire family, but with that many people out there, something inside of me just can't be aroudn that many people and be safe.

I am just really depressed about the commute home today.

On a brighter note, this city did and does need a champtionship and I am proud to be a native philadelphian right now.

ok I am done complaining time to get this work day over so I can take my sons trick or treating tonight.

Well everybody I finally got my copy of Little Big Planet Yesterday and I must say I am so impressed. The game is out right fun for no particular reason. Free spirited and just fun if I must say it again. Although I don't know how much time I will be able to put into it, I do enjoy it and I will recommend it to everyone.

on a side note I picked up LBP at Gamestop and I was given a code for the God of War pack so I am happy.(off the hook again for not preordering) Now I want to find an extra Nariko code so I am on the hunt.

This brings me to realize that I have entirely way to many games left on my stack to play. I just looked at my spreadsheet and I have 30 games on the list to play dating back from the ps1 days still (xenogears and FF9 namely) not to mention games that I haven't even opened yet. It just really makes me realize that I am not young anymore and I really have to balance my time on everything.

To end my blog I must say that I am excited...

Well everyone I just had to blog that my birthday is next week on October 14th and on that day I turn 30.

a few things that a realize about life so far..

-Everybody makes life so much more difficult than it has to be
-Time doesn't last as long as it use to
-Children are the greatest thing in this world

I don't know what tomorrow brings but I know I have to do something more for my family. I need to find a better job so I can buy a big house in suburbs and all that jazz.

I guess the one thing that honestly has me unsettled overall though is the uncertainty of the future. I just finished my MBA about 3 weeks ago and my wife will finish hers in December and I am honestly wondering if we made the right decision to take on more debt in hopes of getting better jobs.

So I guess that at the end of the day I just have to come to accept that life can be confusing at times and this new milestone in my life is the first...

I just need to vent about 360 controllers. first let me say I am very thankful to receive my 360 after ordering it from Live Search Club in October 2007 to get it in May 2008.

Now with that aside, the 360 controllers are horrible for fighting games.

I am a pretty good street fighter player. I would give myself a B- in grade these days because I don't play like I use to, but I am still wise enough to compensate for what I may be lacking at the time. Anyway as far as all the xbox live games I have played, I can honestly say that only 2 or 3 people have been outright better than me and everyone else that has beat me, it was simply because the controllers suck. not to mention the horrible controllers are keeping me away form earning the last 3 achievements I need to get.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Ok I am done, I just had to get it out and reconfirm what everyone else is saying.

This is my first blog but I feel it truly is blog worthy.

I finally finished my Master's of Business Administration Thesis:

the final page count was 90 pages not including any of the filler stuff like table of contents or references. It truly took a lot out of me and took a lot of time away from my family. Now that it is over I can finally breathe again. And this means I can get back to really playing my games again. (after I find a better job so I can buy a bigger house )

I would just like to exhale once more and say it is finally over

see you guys around