Monday, October 7, 2013

Mass Effect 2, Malathion, & IKEA Madness

Yeah, another less than action packed week, although at least this time I have a rather amusing story or two to tell. This past Monday I did not do anything at all, except remember that the night before when I picked up that person from the airport in St. Petersburg, the spot I pulled in... right in front of a Bentley Continental GTC convertible; meaning, it was at most only a few years old. Must be nice.

Tuesday, in the evening I did not go far; I ended up at the closest GameStop; I picked up the game Metro 2033 (it isn't the cheapest but I heard it's a quirky and different survival horror game, probably because it's from The Ukraine) and got some more Microsoft Points; I know, they don't do points anymore and now it's a cash system but they still have those cards and old points-based cards still work and it converts after you enter in the code. Anyhow, driving there (it's in an open-air mall) I noticed a trio of teenage boys and they were walking in the road instead of on the sidewalk. I thought it was a tool-like thing to do but maybe that's just me. In the GameStop, those guys came in... yep, they were tools! They were loud and stupid, and one of them admitted to “farting” and they all left together, where they then continued to be total bros... or at least that's how I view it. I mean, when you hear one of them in the new game section of 360 titles (meaning that no one has bought it yet and it's not a used title like most of the games there) ask, “Why is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 still a new game?” Um, because no one has bought that copy yet? Idiots! I did not actually respond to them as hey, I was outnumbered. Hearing that was enough right there to confirm my total judgmental first take on the trio.

Wednesday was dull but Thursday I did go to the nearest Aldi's to help someone pick up some items. That place has some quirks (at least to my American eyes) but they do have some good pricing at times. Friday was another boring day; I wasn't sure how it'd turn out but after a rough start it ended up being fine; long story which I won't get into. I did see something for the first time; me, my mom and a neighbor (a guy who is the best source of gossip in the neighborhood) were briefly outside and we noticed that a truck was driving slow and spraying something. I had no damn idea what it was at first but it turns out it was spraying for mosquitoes; I had no idea that was a problem as the house is in a subdivision, not in the middle of the woods. I was then informed by my parents that they were spraying Malathion, a mildly toxic mosquito killer substance. Back in both of their heydays, people would spray it around their hometowns.

Saturday, that was the interesting day for me, although not as interesting as some of the days I had last month. I went to the IKEA in Orlando, as it's been awhile since I've been to the giant Swedish retailer. I walked around, looked at the funky layouts, and I got some miscellaneous items that are only a few bucks each. That includes some food & drink. It was as busy there on a late Saturday afternoon as you'd expect; at least it being busy was fine and I did not get annoyed by anything or anyone. I then ate at Burger 21, a joint I've been to a few times before. The burger was more medium than medium well but it was still edible; the cookies & cream shake I had was pretty grand, though. I then walked around the Mall at Millenia for a short amount of time before driving home.

Sunday... before I get to talking about the Bears loss, I should mention that the past few weeks, videogame wise on the 360 I've been tied up replaying the first Mass Effect game before diving on into the second one. This was a good move on my part; I've mentioned the series before and you might have heard about it last year when the Internet was collectively pissed over how bad the Mass Effect 3 ending was. It's an action RPG set in space where throughout the trilogy you have to defend the galaxy while running into a wide variety of species and characters; there's action but there's also character interactions that is always interesting and the big deal is choice, as you can be a paragon of virtue in terms of how you act or you can be a jerk of a hero; also, you can import your character into the later games so your choices really do matter and you can have many unique experiences depending on your decisions. It's great. I thought the first one was pretty sweet but the second is a clear improvement in every way. Getting the three games in a bundle was a great decision. This past week I've been preoccupied with Mass Effect 2.

Anyhow, that was more interesting than the Bears game against the undefeated New Orleans Saints, who are still undefeated as they won 24-16. Once again the score was closer than the game actually was. Once again aside from a few plays the offense was blah and their defense was like a sieve, to use a phrase my parents like to say. I am glad I did not have to go out to see it as it wouldn't have been worth the trip. The next Bears game is this upcoming Thursday against one of the worst teams in the league, the New York Giants. I have little worry about Chicago losing that contest.

When I return a week from today, there isn't anything on the docket yet aside from-likely-staying at home to see the Bears game. Hopefully it'll be more interesting than most of my blogs as of late.

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