Ten More Things Batthink Will Allow You to Know That You Didn’t

This meme again? I did this three years ago… Oh well, I may as well get involved. After all, I don’t usually get double-figure posts for my blog-entries… and yeah, I know it is late to the party. I usually am, blog-wise.



1. I love entering competitions

I got bitten by the bug ever since I won a mail competition for a McDonalds hamper (in the end, it turned out to be a bag/holdall, although a very good quality one), in my primary school years. Since then, I’ve kept sending cut-out forms in games magazines, then onto a competition links site when I got access to the internet. A copy of Rocket Knight Adventures, Mario’s Picross and many more entered my collection. I’ve entered seldom, but I still seem to keep winning. Thanks to a recent promotion regarding Justin Trousersnake…I mean, Justin Timberlake’s film In Time, I won a year’s gold access to Xbox Live just in time (oh ho!) to renew before expiry. To all those who complain about not getting a prize; just keep trying. You won’t win if you don’t enter. Which brings me to…



2. I managed to win an Xbox 360 Elite

Yep, that’s right. Years after the competition where I blagged a version of the original Xbox console, I decided upon entering a television website competition. Months later, hey presto! One brand new games console, complete with 120Gb hard drive, HDMI cable, a years subscription to Xbox Live and copy of the new (and dodgy) Aliens v Predator game! I managed to copy my old profile from my first 360 I had, then sell the older console and subscription to a friend I know. The money from that helped pay my motorbike fees.



3. I am a Christian

Since quite a few people in this meme announced their belief status here, I feel this is the right time to put down mine. You might have started to think about all the negative stereotypes, ignorance/rejection of scientific discoveries and general hypocrisy. But please hear me out.

I made my decision in my early twenties to part of Jesus’ household because my head was messed up, not the other way around. I went to a Gideon’s New Testament to try and find a bit of relief, and it slowly relaxed my mind‘s raging thoughts. Although I still have my issues, I can honestly say that my life has gotten a bit better with every passing year, and I sense that after finding out my problems were links to obsessive disorder and the trauma of my parents’ break up (among other things), things came together. The more I kept going, I became less ‘religious’ and the more ‘dedicated’ to the faith. I found new friends in a Baptist group that isn’t stuck up or trying to act perfect. I’ve even learnt a few prayers that helped me feel better through trial and error, just by changing the odd word. The challenge for me now is to try and learn from the awkward mistakes I’ve made in the faith early on thanks to various misconceptions I had, as well as trying to listen to others whose beliefs are different from mine.

I facepalm at my fellow ‘believers’ when they slag off videogames for many reasons. I am accepting of all genders. I may take the bible as god-breathed truth, but I don’t take as gospel everything that comes from a pastor’s mouth. People argue creation vs. evolution but it could also be that God created evolution and lit the big bang. I don’t simply want to be a drone being fed instructions, I want to do the right thing, by knowing what the ‘right thing’ is and approaching things logically. I might be a sheep, but I’m not a lemming.

But you know what else is important? Doing what my soul enjoys and it enjoys fun. And what do I find more fun than videogames? Hanging out with my diverse group of friends I made with the Destructoid EU group, especially at gaming events. And I thank God for that.



4. I have developed a taste for Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia frozen yoghurt

Several years ago, Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream wasn’t even stocked in Britain. Imagine that. Now, we have them amongst the supermarket brands, Haagen Dazs and all the other ones. I’ve started to get a little bored of eating the same caramel/chocolate/toffee/pecan flavours that were my usual comfort food flavours and I’ve drifted over to consume this lovely mix of cherry yoghurt and chocolate pieces. It’s a lot healthier too and tastes exactly like ice cream, so this is something I can eat without worrying about my health.



5. I don’t like typing up blogs that much

To me, typing up a blog is a bit of hard work. Yes, you could get away with entering a three paragraph moan with no images and call it an entry. But you can’t get away with that on Destructoid. Any blog that I decide to construct needs some research (and at times, not just Wikipedia) and at least one image to make it presentable. If you don’t, you just have a wall of text with opinions based on rumours that need checking.

Then again, it is good that I believe this minimal amount of standards may end up making the community blogs more worthy of a read now and then. It is just the feeling that I can only be arsed to do about ten to fifteen lines a day that bothers me, when I have quite a few good topics that could go down on the word processor.



6. I really like role-playing games

I guess it was when my Atari ST-owning friend had Dungeon Master on whilst I was round that I started to develop an interest for the genre. What grabs me in an RPG is when I develop a character’s or weapon’s attributes. You name it, whether it be Bard’s Tale, Grandia, Dark Chronicle (my all-time favourite game), Skyrim or Knights of the Old Republic, I just simply have to see my characters evolve. Sod the story, I want to allocate my skill points.



7. One-on-one fighting games are not my favourite genre, but they entice me so…

My least favourite genres are either flight-sims (not enough action) or real-time strategy (I have to manage a load of units and before I know it, I’m overwhelmed). One-on-one fighters are more of a love-hate relationship; I like the character designs, the competitiveness, the community and the quality but I cannot be bothered to learn complex moves and combinations when there are other games that can be picked up and played with more ease.

Then I visit GundamJehutyKai during one of our London Destructoid EU events and I’m like ‘I want a fight-stick too!’. I’m just eager to join in on any exciting social get-together. My capacity to learn, like I said in the earlier ‘ten things’ blog entry, had been teased out of me because of many a negative school experience. However, any positively good vibes I get seem to plainly override this. Which is a good thing.



8. I read the Big Issue

I remember a couple of other Destructoid members were in stitches because of my reaction to a seller of the homeless magazine. I scanned the articles for something of interest but couldn’t see anything, so I didn’t choose to purchase it, leading to much mirth. I was in London, wasn’t keen to spend money on a magazine that didn’t have much reason to buy, and I was a spendthrift anyway. However, my attitude has changed since.

My apprehension about purchasing the magazine was caused when, years ago, my brother noticed I read it and told my mother about it. They both then persuaded me not to buy it, since they mistakenly believed the proceeds went to drugs or something. However, my mother changed her mind and I’m thankful that she has.

The magazine was primarily focused on helping the homeless earn a living, since in order to get a job in this country, you need a fixed address. You can see the problem now, can’t you? The vendors purchase their copies and sell them for double the amount in order to accumulate a profit. The guy who thought up of the idea, John Bird, was homeless himself for a time and believes that simply giving money will leave them begging and on the street, whilst helping them earn a living themselves will be able to get them their self-esteem back and in turn help themselves to move away from or face what problems got them there in the first place.

When I started to buy the magazine, it was only because I didn’t want to say no. Then, I felt bad about telling the vendor that, so I only decided to buy when I felt like it or if there was an interesting article. Now, I purchase it whenever I see a vendor straight away, not out of guilt, but because it genuinely helps people out. I see quite a few articles which show vendor (and ex-vendor) success stories and challenge certain issues regarding the homeless and the magazine itself. One particular case involves a national newspaper criticising a guest editor who had two homes. So those who have money shouldn’t help those who don’t even have a home? What rubbish. The fact that vendors are ignored when they are busy selling is a common problem, as people who have a stable job and home have noticed when they are invited to sell the magazine to understand what it is like from a vendor’s POV. All it takes is to say ‘no, thanks’ if they ask you.



9. I have a massive backlog of games to play through.

I’m playing through both Forza 3 and 4, along with Black Ops on the 360. I have just started Demon’s Souls, as well as Skyrim, Dirt 3 and Red Dead Redemption on the Playstation 3. THEN I have still to get through Etrian Odyssey 2 on the DS, AS WELL AS either getting all cars or ranking up all of the races on Gran Turismo on the PSP.

AND the fifty-plus games I still have to start for those systems AND others. Other than work, Destructoid meet-ups, gaming with my local friends and church, I wouldn’t say I’d be in danger of having no life outside of the videogames I play in my room. That said, I think I need to socialize a bit more. I need help with that.



10. I can flare my nostrils really big

I must have, like, a huge amount of muscles in the architecture of my nose. It freaks people out. Good thing I have something to use against all those who are nasty to me.

And with that last bombshell, we are at the end. Batthink out.