Well, I'm trying to think of anything interesting to update about, but I think most of it will about Xbox, and I know it's not everyone's "thing" but I'm going to talk about it anyway.

First off, Gears 2 is so close I can almost smell it (and it smells like burnt Locust flesh, for those who want to know). And with all the free downloads on Marketplace, it's getting me more and more worked up. I very nearly cried last night, watching all the videos, at the beauty of it all. And that's not even on a HD TV!! It looks absolutely amazing, and I just know that  I will have to stop at random points in the game, just to take in the environments. And then the new enemies......WOAH!!! I can just imagine all the yelling that's going to happen. This game is going to take over my life.
Then there's the New Xbox Experience (NEX) that's happening on November 19th. It got announced that there is a chance for people to sign up to a preveiw programme, which I was extremely tempted to sign up for. The only thing that stopped me from doing it, is that I don't want to risk having problems connecting to Michael and video chats. So I'm going to wait until it goes global......but I probably won't notice as I'll be totally involved in Gears 2.
Also, Tomb Raider: Underworld is released on November 21st. I really do want this game, as it does look great, but I'm wondering if it will be worth getting it on release day (or at least pre-ordering it), as I'm still not entirely sure how far into Gears 2 I'll be and it could possibly sit there gathering dust.
So. November is looking to be a busy month for Dixie, which can only be a good thing, as it gets me through that month and takes me closer to New Years Eve. I'm just hoping that the plans that have been put into place, go how I want them too. I have been promised a great New Years Eve.....let's just hope that the promise doesn't get broken, otherwise it could be a really shitty start to 2009.
But, just before November starts, we have Halloween to contend with. The actual day (October 31st) isn't something that I am really excited about, as it's just another year to add since my mum died. But Wednesday I'm doing something that I have never done before.....pumpkin carving with kittyvondanzig . Can you believe that were are both in our late 20's and neither one of us has ever carved a pumpkin? So, Wednesday is going to be a laugh. Not only am I spending time with one of my favourite people but also doing something new and exciting. I've had some carving tips thrown at me from Michael, and he should know what he's talking about, what with Halloween being massive in the US. I'm hoping that next year, I should be out there experiencing it "Yank style". Who knows?
But then it gets me thinking......straight after Halloween, we have Guy Fawkes Night, which I totally love. The sounds and smells of November 5th!! They don't have that as it is an English tradition.....I'm sure that I will miss it. It just reminds me of going up to Crystal Palace Park when I was younger for the display and Funfair. Does that still happen? Maybe I'll have to make a yearly pilgrimage back to England, just for Guy Fawkes Night!!
But anyway, I'd expect some possible crazy pumpkin type photos to appear on Thursday. I have a horrible feeling that my pumpkin is going to end up looking like a mess, but I won't care. I made it and that's something to be proud of, right?

Things with me and Michael have been good this week, even though a face from the past very nearly threw a spanner in the works, but it's all been sorted. We had a bit of a heart to heart about certain guys and girls that feature in our past, and certain situations that arose from them. But he's both surprised me and made me smile like a loon this week, with certain things that he's said. Some of those things scared me but still managed to make me smile......kinda hard to explain now, but maybe one day I will. But it makes me realise how much I want him in my life and the what I want from the future.

And don't forget, the clocks go back an hour tonight/tomorrow morning, which means for a week, it's only 4 hours difference between us and New York. I have a feeling that it could mess up my brain for a bit, as I have become accustomed to the 5 hours. Why the hell does the US have to change their clocks on different days to us? Surely being GMT should make us superior and the world should follow our lead? Well, I suppose I get an extra hour to sleep tonight and that can only be a good thing.

I'm off now to watch the Goonies, as I ordered a copy from Play.com and it turned up this morning. I'm such an 80's child!!!

Toodles
xx

Are you ready for a recap? I know I am! Giddyup: If aqua venus plays 3 days every week, I guess I can call this a good deal. Many Xboxes have it a lot worse. We added 45 points of gamerscore which ain't too shabby. Getting 62 achievements can do that to you. I was there. I saw it!

For the record, we played 4 new games over the last week. They were Call of Duty 4, Feeding Frenzy 2, Gears of War, and PGR 4. They were all fun... in their own little ways. Oh, and aqua venus seems obsessed with first-person shooters lately... You can tell because Gears of War was the favorite last week. She played it on 2 of the days.

And that's all I got. I'm not a writer... just an Xbox.


www.360voice.com/blog.asp

This site amuses me so much. It's like Dixie does have a voice!

Well, after 3 days of Xbox LiVE being all over the place, I am hoping that it's all back to normal. 
I knew that Monday would be a no go area for Dixie, as we were warned well in advance about it, but Tuesday and Wednesday were terrible. Being online and then getting disconnected, at times in the middle of conversations or getting into bed. Not the best of times for LDR when that's your main source of communication.
But because of all the downtime, my DS has been seeing a lot more action than it has done in months. I decided to try my hand at Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass again. I never completed it and because I had left it for so long, I couldn't remember where I had got to. So, that has kept me amused for a while. I'm going to try and complete it this time round, unless I get distracted by something equally as pretty. But luckily Gears 2 isn't out for another month yet.
I have to say an honourable mention to majornelson and his Twitterings over the past couple of days. i can imagine him getting all kinds of messages while LiVE kept going offline. But he kept us all up to date as much as he could. Unfortunately no podcast from him and "e" this week.....BOO!!!

Haven't really been up to much else, apart from slowly getting addicted to Twitter. I'm not too sure if it's a good or bad thing just yet.

Looking forward to Saturday night. Pantera Gary and Freeqboi are hosting a Ship reunion, which could turn out to be quite interesting. There will be faces there that I haven't seen for about 5 years and I'm sure that they will be a few that I don't want to see too. But what I'm looking forward to the most is drinking and re-living crazy nights with Sarah. Must charge the battery in my camera, I'm sure there will be a few drunken photos posted. All we need now is a Cartoon reunion.........

Toodles.x 

 

www.360voice.com/tag/aqua%20venus
Dixie the 360 now has her own blog. But because Xbox Live is down.....there is no updates so far.

I finally got my 360 back today, but that's only after my Vegas 2 disk cracked last night.
What is it with technology hating me at the moment? 
So I had to go out and buy another copy today as I really don't think I could have coped without it. But I am well chuffed that I have my 360 back, even though I am 90% sure that it's a completely different machine. It looks brand new and even the power button has that stiff, untouched feel about it. So, I'm not even sure if it's Dixie or not. Maybe that's why it didn't take as long as they said.

I've started a new project, which I am quite proud of. It's like a scrap book but on the massive cork board on my wall. It's more of a motivational thing, but it's being ruined by my dad and his lack of compassion for anything apart from himself. Once again the bullshit has started and it makes me feel as if this isn't my home, but just somewhere I am staying. I really try not to bite back, but he'll keep on at me for so long that I just end up losing it and shout back at him. It's like he's trying to destroy things that I am working for and it makes me feel as though I am wasting my time.
I wish it was easier to run away and just disappear from his life altogether. And it's why he isn't included in my plans......if things do go how I want them to.
I've been in such a good mood for the past few days, it feels like I could easily take on the world. But why does it take one person 5 minutes to fuck all that up? I'm hoping that when I get to talk to Michael later, he'll come up with something crazy to make me forget all about what's going on here. 

That's All Folks
x

It's not that often that I make 2 entries in one day (my life just isn't that interesting), but after the rant about the bank earlier, I actually have some good news.
I recieved an e-mail from Xbox saying that Dixie is fixed and is being shipped back home. WOOT!!
I was actually pretty surprised as it can take up to 15 days for them to sort it out. She must have chose the right time to break down. And there was me getting worried that she wouldn't be back before the 11th September. This is when my younger brother flies back home from Greece and I just know that he would want his 360 back straight away. Which I know would have caused massive arguments.
So at least I have something else to smile about.

Why tempt fate?
I was explaining to someone today that I wouldn't know what I would do if my Xbox died. And what happens?
Yep.....that's right, Dixie has finally given up. And it's not even in a spectacular way.....no 3 lights of death for me, just the 1.Even my 360 gives me a half-assed attempt at dying.
First of I thought it was the Rainbow Six disk cos it kept fucking up on screen, but then I get the one red light and the E74 error message.I was quite proud of myself, as I didn't panic. Mainly because Toms 360 used to do it all the time. Apparently that error message means that there is a hardware failure and they recommend taking all the accessories off and the hard drive and starting over. I started to panic when no matter what  did, I kept getting the same message, the 1 red light and by now, a really nasty sound coming from her guts.
So, it was time to ring Xbox support. Considering I have only had that 360 since February.....she's not that old.
And so, I had to go and buy Dixie a coffin and bubble wrap as she will be getting picked up at some point within the next 3 days and taken to see a man, who can hopefully fix her. And it could take 15 days!!
I know a lot of you are thinking "how the hell is Karli going to cope without Dixie considering it's not just a gaming console, but also a means to chat with Michael?"
Luckily for me, my younger brother (who is in Greece for the whole season) has his Xbox here, at the parental unit and so I have stolen it for now.
Can you imagine what kind of state I would have been in if my brothers 360 hadn't have been here? I possibly would have died of boredom.

( Not For The Faint Hearted..... )

That's All Folks