In the Year 2009....

Apparently I have retreated to my days of being 18 again. Not that it's really all that exciting, but I have been reading and playing video games non-stop for the better part of a week. My brother returned home for a few days before moving to Chicago for 6 months, and he left his copy of Gears of War 2. To which I reply, "Hells Yes."

The game play isn't that great, but the story is cool and graphics are undeniably solid. And I have yet to play another video game where you take a chainsaw gun and slice an alien from groin to mouth. I wish it was real life, because then those pricks from The Hills wouldn't stand a chance.

It's games like this that make me really happy I splurged nearly $500 for an XBox 360 a few years ago. However, I have not purchased a new game in over a year, which makes me sad on my investment. For the past few months, it has been a very expensive and high-tech DVD player. But I vow to make that all change. I am going to buy more games and probably soon. I'm one of those who treats games much like movies. I hear about them, scout them, read reviews of them, and then buy the good ones. Hopefully the studios will come through on the new Batman game and Bioshock 2.

With the reading part I went to the SP public library and got an official library card. I know that is so 1998. I checked out Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane of Mystic River fame. I'm about half way through and I'm pretty sure I have the twist figured out. For a mystery story it's pretty cool and has a lot of the elements I enjoy reading about. Plus, the movie comes out in a few months and I figure I should have it read by then. I'm trying to improve my speed since I read about as fast as Brando moved through a buffet line.

And I'm pretty pumped for the movie with Leo. Mainly because I want to see DiCaprio with a Boston accent again. "Ovah here, throw tha bawdhy in the fackin' harbah."

Early and Often....

I have been working the early news shift at work this week so I have been a tad sluggish and slow to report. With that said, my trip was amazing. Words truly can't sum up what it's like to go on vacation to a new place and with someone you truly enjoy spending every minute with.

Las Vegas is pretty awesome, but does have its downfall. The two major negatives I had were that it is hot and dirty. The first is no big deal because it is so dry that you don't notice it as much. You have to drink plenty of water just to stay hydrated because you don't even realize that you need it. I really wish they would clean up the city more. It is dirty and has crap all over the place. Nothing like walking and sifting through inches of pamphlets featuring ladies of the night.

But my trip was awesome and I had a great time. all of the hotels are unique in their own way, and definitely a sight in themselves. The Monte Carlo was great and I enjoyed everything about where we stayed. I didn't win anything at the tables, but that didn't matter. I had a great time. I saw the Golden State Warriors, Gus Hansen, and guys from the UW-Whitewater wheelchair basketball team (true story). There really is nowhere else that you can see all these things and take in so much, in so little time.

I take away from this trip two things. I need to take vacations more often, and need to go more places with Kristi. Because this trip was Legendary.

Zach Be Bloggin'....

It's been a week since I last updated, and I leave for my trip tonight, so this was clearly the best time to stop working and update.

Driving up to Minneapolis tonight and then flying out to Las Vegas tomorrow afternoon. Should be an absolute blast and I truly look forward to spending time with Kristi.

Aside from that not a whole lot going on. So it is short and sweet, and I will have a review of my time in Vegas sometime next week.