Well, I don't have a whole lot to talk about, but I felt like posting some sort of blog mentioning a few things.

Today I went out and it was snowing. The roads weren't exactly iced, so I figured it wouldn't be too bad outside. Well, kind of wrong because once we got on the highway (I wasn't driving, just riding in the car), there were cars slipping and sliding everywhere. Thankfully we were headed in the north direction, since traffic was at a stand still going south. While looking out the car window, there seemed 5 accidents every mile (going south), with cars off the road, several cars smashing into each other, and even big semi-trucks flipped over. I was almost afraid I wouldn't make it home safely because cars were slipping and sliding right next to us and even saw a car slide right off the highway. It took a long time to get to the destination going around 25mph, but at least we made it there. In case people don't know, I live around Northeast Indiana. Police...

Back in 2006, I was working a job the entire year (two jobs at one point). I was a college student and didn't have all that many bills to pay (I definitely had to pay for food and other crap) and didn't drive a car (so no car payments had to me made and no gas). Back in early 2005, I was actually very strapped on cash (I didn't work that time). I missed out on many games I wanted and passed up some deals due to lack of money. I really wanted to buy a PSP a launch, but if I did, it could be my ONLY purchase throughout the entire semester. So I opted to just buy 4 games during the semester. Although I painted some houses over the summer that same year, I didn't have a lot of money either, but did pick up a few games I wanted.

So I was offered a job right when I got back to college and I took it right away (in 2005). Due to having much more income compared to before, it gave me a chance to buy more games than I normally did (I use to pick up very few games in college)....

This is another one of my pick-up threads, along with other random stuff (mostly going to discuss my weekend and future plans).


Yes, I know that’s shocking to hear, Mana Knight buying a 360 game. Well, I had a rain check at Target for the longest time where I could get Halo 3 for $30 new. My Target finally got in a new stock (last one sold out quickly), so I decided to pick it up. Right now I’m debating whether I’ll keep it or return it, but I mostly picked it up because my rain-check expired and I always wanted Halo 3. I played my best friend’s copy a few times liking what I played, so I wanted to pick it up (but was normally $60 new and still kind of expensive used). I also wanted an FPS on my 360 with online multiplayer (Please don’t recommend Call of Duty 4 because I already owned it and played it), so I felt it was the perfect buy. I really liked the first...

I’ll be perfectly honest that I’ve wanted to write about this for a while. After reading jman’s blog a few days ago along with Qig’s thread about how often do you go to a bar, inspired me to write about this subject. Many people here probably already know I despise drinking any type of alcoholic drink, beer, etc. To also warn people, some of the wording I’m about to say might be a little not safe for work based on a little wording, but zero pictures are posted. Wanted to post this warning for those who might be at work. To let everyone know, I will turn 27 years old in September this year.

I will say that I have never been to a bar in my entire life. I have zero motivation to ever step foot inside of a bar. I wouldn’t step inside of a bar even if I was paid $1 million or if someone was holding my PLAYSTATION 3 hostage at a bar. I personally feel bars are terrible because they are expensive, not good for those who hate drinking, creeps go there, and so on. Most people...

Well, there were many great and terrible moments in my life. Many of them I never shared with CAGs, especially the good stuff. So I decided to make a blog sharing many things. Some of this blog might be interesting to some, while some will be very boring.

I once played an intramural basketball game back in middle school (I was 14 or 15 at the time, can’t remember). While it’s not really a major thing, it was definitely a memorable moment. The other team scored a layup putting them up by 4 or 5 points, I can’t remember exactly. I dribbled the ball down court, shot a quick three pointer (from the college three point line) and it went in. My teammate and I double teamed the person receiving the in-bounds pass. The player with the ball threw it away and it landed in my teammate’s hands (not many seconds left in the game). My teammate based the ball to me, while I was standing from around NBA three point range. I shot the three. The three point shot went in and...

Well, I know I’m the CAG who makes the most depressing blog entries and I really hope I will not have to with my life finally getting on track. There are probably better resolutions compared to what I’m listing (if anyone has any good ideas, please list them). Thankfully I completed some of my new year’s resolutions such as getting my driver’s license, finishing college, and trimming my game collection more.

1. Get a Job

There’s no doubt getting a job is my main goal for 2009 (I know manthing at CAG will be happy to hear this). I have written over 10 blog entries relating to job searching. I know people get sick of it, but it’s the main thing on my mind.

Throughout 2008, I had a lot of bad luck trying to get a job. When applying at P&G (a job I really thought I’d get because my sister’s friend worked there as a recruiter and really liked my resume), but they denied me because they didn’t like the results and my qualifications based...

Well, this isn't really going to be a very interesting blog, since I'm kind of going to put tons of random things here.

I got up around 9am to open up presents on Christmas Day. I had Christmas cookies for breakfast (long time tradition) and had Turkey/Rice for Lunch/Dinner. My entire family was home, but we didn't go and visit relatives (relatives live far away from us).

I played all the games I got on Christmas Day. I started off downloading games to my Wii (using the Wii Points). Played both Dr. Mario RX Online and Bomberman Blast. Dr. Mario doesn't have much, but I see my friend and I having fun with it (I enjoyed it). Bomberman Blast is really fun and I like some of the new power-ups. I'll probably play that with my friend a lot too. Sonic & The Secret Rings controls have felt weird at first, but I'm getting better. It's all right so far, but we'll see as I play more.

On PS3, I played Guitar Hero: Aerosmith first. I kind of...

All right, I knew many expected me to make a posting of this. I took this picture a while ago, but finally got around to it.


I didn't have as big of a Christmas as previous years (last year I got my Nintendo Wii), but I wasn't expecting much and didn't ask for a lot. Most of the games I wanted the most, I already bought, so I asked for some other games I wanted or saw a really great deal on.

I already explained in another blog entry how I got Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. I was always wanting the game, but wanting it for $20. Since I also needed another guitar (Guitar Hero type), I went ahead and got the bundle at Meijer for $36.99 (or well, my Mom said that could be one of my Christmas presents). So at least I got another guitar now, and I got Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (I want Guitar Hero: World Tour more, but just wasn't at the price I was looking for)....

I know I start way too many blog entries relating to job searching, job applying, and almost anything job related. The main reason I do is because of the current situation I’m in where I’m still trying to find a job. While there’s no denying I’ve had bad luck getting several jobs I applied to, there’s another reason I don’t have a job. I just cannot make up my mind as to whether I should stay home (or very close to home, like within 3 hours max) or go a distance away.

Staying Close

What I mean by staying close is somewhere in the state of Indiana (where I currently live, mostly my current town), or some place in the Midwest close by such as MI, IL, or OH.

There are a few advantages to me staying in my hometown. The biggest advantage would be no rent, especially if I found a job where I currently live. I’d be able to save up a lot of money so I could eventually move out, or have an easier time being able to get the place I want if I have...

Well, I just recently thought of how I tend to stick to a certain brand or sports team for a long time. I realized that when I start using or liking a certain brand, I stick to it for the rest of my life.

When it comes to toothpaste, I started using crest cavity protection/fighting toothpaste ever since I started using toothpaste. I used the original paste flavor when I was a kid and I’m still using that same toothpaste right now. I never tried Colgate, Aquafresh, or any other type of Colgate. I don’t think I will.

When I started using deodorant over 13 years ago, I used a certain type of Speed Stick with the Ocean Surf scent. Currently right now I’m still using the same type of deodorant. I never used spray on or any other brand, only that one type of speed stick.

I’ll be perfectly honest that I started out using an electric shaver when I started shaving. But after my favorite shaver died and struggled to find a new one, I switched to...

By reading my title, you might not understand exactly what I mean here. Right now I’m getting very frustrated with this holiday season. It’s not like I don’t dislike Christmas, because I love it and always look forward to giving and such. This year, I’m currently at a point of just not knowing what to do.


The main reason I’m frustrated has to do with Christmas shopping. Previous years, the Holiday season wasn’t so bad. My parents would normally tell me what they want and my sister would tell me what she wants. Usually I’d know this by the beginning of December, or sometimes as early as the day after Thanksgiving (one year I got almost all my shopping done then). Right now I know nothing. I’ve been TRYING to call my sister over and over again (even sent her an email and text message) asking her what she wants for Christmas. She keeps saying...

Well, many of you remembered how I said I wasn't going to buy another game. Well, I did go out and buy Dead Space because I had my Target rain check and got it for $30 before tax.


Well, if you read my last blog entry carefully, I did say the only exception I'd make was for Dead Space, since I intended to buy it before the promise, but Target ran out. Since Target got it in and I definitely wanted another trophy game to push me up to my level 7 goal by the end of the year (I'm at 96% experience on Level 6), I went ahead and bought it. I haven't played it yet. I liked the demo, but we'll see what I think of it (most of my friends love it, but some hate it).

However, I did restrain myself from buying another game, which I had a rain check to also get for $30.


...

Well, I’ll be perfectly honest that I felt the need to write a blog entry, but couldn’t think about what to write about. Due to having a huge dislike for cold weather and snow, I decided why not blog about it.


When I was a kid, winter was my favorite season. I liked Winter because I enjoyed making snowmen, playing in the snow, school getting canceled, and because it came close to Christmas (my favorite Holiday of the year). I had many fond memories playing in the snow during recess. I remember there was a HUGE slide on my playground back in Third grade. The slide was iced and we’d all slide down it really fast. I also enjoyed playing with my dog in the snow. I’ll never forget the day I had to go to school (in 4th grade) where tons of snow came. We were stranded at school for several...

Well, since I see tons of Black Friday blog postings, I decided to post one, although this blog will be very un-interesting, and mostly just me rambling about stuff. While many were saying this years Black Friday sucks for deals and whatnot, I actually didn’t find it too bad because there was stuff I was interested in. Many times I have bought games on black Friday which were dirt cheap and regretted, but this year I saw stuff I would want to keep most likely. Last year was the first year I skipped out on Black Friday, mostly because I just didn’t really care about buying anything.

So I go out to Target this morning because they had a few games I wanted cheap. The parking lot was packed, but the front of the store had lots of open checkouts surprisingly. I was wondering where everyone was, then I checked the electronics department and it was crazy. I was looking to buy Dead Space for a while, and they didn’t have it (PS3 and 360 version sold out). So I decided...

Well, as of today, I’m officially registered to my own car, a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer.

While the car was purchased back in May of 2007, the car was registered under my Dad and insured under my Dad. My Dad was planning on handing the car off to me, but the first thing I had to do was get insurance (which explains why I wasn’t driving when I got my full operator’s license). I ended up getting insurance through a company in another state, and my insurance came out to around $460 the entire year, just to protect the other vehicle (liability insurance). I did not get insurance to protect my own vehicle mostly because my Dad and I felt it was probably better to just buy a new car than to cover mine (since my car is a bit on the older side). Calling the insurance company and setting up insurance took some time where I was a bit unsure how to do it, but the lady walked me through it and everything went all right. Yesterday I received the insurance cards officially giving...

As some of you may have remembered, I made a blog post admitting how I never owned a credit card before. Most everyone at CAG should know right now I’m a big PlayStation Fan due to buying PlayStation lounge pants and how I coordinate CAG PSN Gaming. So I was reading the PlayStation Blog today, and saw one thing I need combined with one of my favorite things (which is PlayStation) into a PlayStation Credit Card.


By getting one I could save $150 on a new PS3 console (if you buy it certain retailers), and everyone knows I want a 2nd PS3 console (an 80GB Core, mostly because I’m glad it uses much less power than my 20GB, and I NEVER use the PS2 BC).

Anyway, this is definitely one of my shortest blog entries ever. I just posted it because the credit card seems like the perfect fit for Mana Knight. Although I understand its interests are high and you have to pay off...

Well, since I read this and did not agree at all with what people were saying. I felt the need to make this blog. Let me just say in case you did not know, I’m a college graduate who never ONCE drank at a party while being away at college, and never drank at parties in high school. My personal opinion is that drinking alcohol/beer is stupid and here’s why. To let everyone know, I'm 26 years old currently.


The first reason I feel drinking alcohol and beer aren’t worth it has to do with the crazy/stupid stuff some people do. I know many people who lost loved ones due to being hit by a drunk driver. Many say just drink responsibly and it won’t happen. While it’s true, too many get sucked into drinking so much, and get so drunk they end up driving a vehicle hurting themselves and/or someone. It was said that 30% of people in American will be involved in an alcohol related crash...

For some reason, I have a nightmare way too often. I don’t know if they come from terrible diet, terrible experiences, or something psychological related. I understand having nightmares can be normal, but some of the ones I have are a bit weird and happen way too often. The reason I’m writing this now is because I happened to have a really bad nightmare yesterday which made me wake up.

Driving related dreams have been the most common. I had many dreams over the years when I was driving around, someone hits me and I get into a serious accident. Sometimes I have those dreams of somewhere trying to hit me with their vehicle even when I’m not driving. I’ll never forget the dream I had were a truck was following me trying to run me over, wherever I went, around my neighborhood. I don’t think I’ve had dreams yet of various things going wrong with the car thankfully. The dream I had last night was very scary. I decided to go driving somewhere around 6pm. Around 6pm in...

Sorry I've been quite busy lately, which is the title of the latest Mana Knight video blog/cast. I finally got around to making it today. It's in two parts, where the first part is about gaming, while the second part is more life related. Topics of discussion have to do with what games I've been playing, what I plan to play, some recent Xbox 360 experiences such as downloading the NXE this morning. The second video discusses life, where I'll explain the main reason why I've been busy, and I decided to share something with CAG I don't think anyone ever heard before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDf78A4MWAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkvV4QEMaY8

Also, because many people requested it and wanted to see it, I made a new SingStar video two days ago singing Britney spears "Baby One More Time".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Dtv4eqINU

I really wish P!nk "Get This Party Started" was in the...

Well, this is a thought that recently came to me while having an AIM conversation with a few CAGs who really gave me a hard time over never having a girlfriend. Many of you may remember one of my first blog entries had to do with me admitting I never had a girlfriend before. While writing it, I actually forgot about the main reason getting a girl was quite hard throughout high school and college.

Let me tell everyone now that I am not racist, prejudice, and so on in any way. I have friends of various races (whether White, Black, Latino, Asian, Russian, and so on), cultures, religions, and so on (one of my best online friends who is very much like me comes from the Middle East). I had to state this before I get into finding a girl problem because race will be brought up.

In case some haven’t seen my pictures or videos, I am African American/Black who went through a school system his entire life that was 98% or higher white. Many times I was the only non-white...