There's not much I can write about this. Just click the link and you'll see it. Some of you may have already seen it. I was bumping around some sites and found this randomly. Kinda just stumbled upon.

Anyways enjoy.

http://www.life.com/image/90006481/in-gallery/34572/trippy-spaceage-toy-art

God speed...
draycott

P.S. Short blog?

Hey people...

So it's midnight EST as of me writing this.

And I would just like everyone to know that I finally made an avatar and a blog picture header thingy. Now I'm the same as everyone else and my opinion matters.

YESH!!!

God speed...
draycott

Well, I haven’t made a blog post in a long while. I suppose I should make one for the anniversary and the birthday and all.

First and foremost…
Happy (late) Birthday Niero and Happy Anniversary Destructoid!

This blog post will be about an inferno that has begun in my life...


Since I was a kid I’ve been playing games. My earliest recollection of gaming is playing the first Mario on the NES. Gaming from that point on became apart of me. My life changed with each experience I lived vicariously through the characters on the screen.

I remember as a kid playing Runescape and meeting and connecting with people online. I shared with and cared more for those people then my own school yard “friends”. Some of those friends online are, sadly, not with us anymore.

New logo sucks...


I’ve always been rejected. In the school yard and in public, when people saw me playing games or even when I brought up games, they pushed me aside or laughed at me. The only time I felt accepted was either online or on the console.

As time went on I became more introverted as a gamer because people always rejected me. No one understood what I felt when I played games. I remember one time I broke down in class (grade 6 or 7). I just started crying and crying and crying. Why? Because the night before Aeries died.

No one understood me when I told them. They just pushed me aside.

SUCKED


Ever since then, I always kept my mouth shut. I eventually found sanctuary in the cyber cafes and through the eyes of a CT or T in Counter-Strike. I even found a best friend, “draycott”, my names sake. Long story short, after a 2 day long session, I never saw him again. I learned a lot from him and his father.

After that I never truly felt like a gamer. Coming from a family that is not well off, we could not afford the luxury of having the current console that was out or upgrading a store bought computer.

That is when I decided to keep up with gaming. I won’t be able to play the games due to financial reasons however; I can at least keep up with the news. So I did that. Thank god for N4G.

Through N4G I found Destructoid. I can not remember which particular article that was written, all I know is that I liked it. I liked the vibe I was getting. Around this time, I had spent all my saved up money for an iPod. “What is a Podcast?” I asked myself one day. Eventually, I had the voices of the Podtoid crew talking about games while on the way to work, school, or where ever.

My ride


Then IT happened...
IT happened about 6 months ago...
IT is the fire in my belly exploding...
IT is the passion I had for gaming coming to fruition...

I had this urge to play games again. I felt it like hot embers underneath my feet. My heart was racing and begged to be moved by the digital characters. Destructoid struck the match…

So in due time, my brother bought me a 360. He always, subconsciously, fueled my passion for gaming. Whether it was him buying the NES, the Genesis, or the computer, he always expected me to play games on it. I think I should tell him one day how much of a nerd he created. The other thing that happened, I met the women that completed me. She also fueled my passion for gaming. Her also being a gamer, she understands fully how crushing Aeries’ death was.

Why am I writing this?
Because of that spark that ignited my passion for gaming again…
Destructoid instigated an inferno…
Thank you...

God speed...
draycott

Hey people.

So I'm sitting at my desk at work. I got here at 8:30AM and it's 9AM right now. Sadly, I went through the "Daily Hotness" pretty fast and am now bored. Looking around my desk, desperate for some work to do, I figure I may as well type up the blog post I thought about last night.

I had a moment. A teary eyed moment. Caught me completely off guard. A frog made me struggle to hold back the tears. I met a cute girl on the train because of it. That moment though. Everything in my world was right. It was beautiful.

With Christmas rearing it's big ugly head in the next few days everyone, and I mean everyone is buying gifts last minute. Me, just having to fit in with everyone else, didn't start buying gifts until the 19th, and I had to buy roughly 10 to 15 things. I had my work cut out for me. Since the 19th I've been a trooper. Going into every store at Scarborough Town Centre, Fairview Mall, and Yorkdale Shopping Centre; looking at their wares and buying what I thought was perfect for the people I actually care about. My list also included my boss, which whom I have to suck up to in order to climb the corporate ladder at my current job (fancy bottle of white wine me thinks?). Last night, the 22nd, I entered the most lethal, scariest, most crowded of them all, The Toronto Eatons Centre.

Eatons Centre is known in Toronto. It's a tourist attraction. Big place, lotta stores, central hub for the whole city kinda deal. It also has a LOT of stores, not only inside the mall but, across the street at Dundas Square as well. This place is busy. I mean really f*cking busy (I'm new here. We allowed to swear? Jim Sterling says "cunt(s)").

Yesterday after I left my work, I walked the 30 minute trip to Eatons. Every step closer I mentally prepared myself for the onsault of Christmas shoppers and finally decided what to get my lady friend. I decided on a getting her Chrono Trigger for her newly acquired DS, a Roxy belt (my theme this year around was belts and belt buckles), and finally, the creme de la creme (spelling?) a replacement ring for the one I got her that she lost (she says "forgot") in Lebanon. It's the one with the roman numerials, 1 to 12 and it spins.

It spins and counts to 12.


My search for Chrono Trigger was one of a desperate madman pushed to the brink of insanity. Every store I went to, the same answer I received with different wordings and accents from the clerks.

EB Games - "Sold out man, I would hold a copy for you tomorrow but, it's just way to busy."(A1 typical White guy)
The Source - "No more left sir, next shipment is on Janurary 4th sir." (Brown foreign dude with accent)
Future shop - "We ran out of those before lunch. Sorry!" (Some cute brunette)
Best Buy - "Have you checked other stores? We don't got it." (Another brown guy but, Canadian accent)
HMV - "Sorry, it's all gone." (My ex, which was awkward)

I was running out of stores fast. My desperation was visible by the sweat beads on my brow. My breath was heavy as I sat down on a dry patch of a concrete bench at one of the many Eaton Centre smoke spots. I open my jacket and pull out my pack of Belmonts, pulled the white stick out of the box, popped the filter in between my lips, pulled out my small green bic lighter, light the brown tip, and have a drag in order to relieve the stress of my search. That last sentence sounded kind of erotic, I should write romance novels.

Porn for the middle aged house wife.


I decide to hunt for the other two parts of this three part gift. The ring I found at a commonly known store to locals of the area, World of Posters. Old brown dude helped me find the thing in their array of silver and black metal bands. I swear the world will eventually run on brown people. The belt I knew exactly where to go, Billabong.

I hate this store. I hate going in the store. I dislike their consumers. Sigh... I walked in. I knew that the belt was here. Low and behold, in the glass display was my prize for entering this place. I buy the belt and leave the store with ninja-esque swiftness. With two gifts in my backpack, I find shelter under a small underpass and have another smoke. Thinking, thinking, thinking. My brain was speeding through all the possible stores I could go to in order to find this highly elusive cartridge. Then it dawned on me.



Across the street from the Eatons Centre is a small shopping centre called The Atrium. At the lowest level is a Game Shack. Smoke in between my fingers, a hard look in my eyes, backpack full of goodies, and my nike sneakers (Yes I wear sneakers in winter. I'm a champ) I make haste for the "shack of games". I get there looking at all the DS games on the wall behind the counter. The clouds seperated and whatever heavenly being was looking down upon me shined a light on me that made my stress alleviate and my breathing slow down. There it was, Chrono Trigger, in all its glory sitting there on a rack. That beautiful white rack. I found the Holy Grail.

That's what I saw. Instead of the grail put the game there. I'm too lazy to photoshop it at home.


My mission was complete. It is mine. I ask the clerk for the game and while he's processing the sale he tells me,

"You're lucky, this is our second last copy, and from what I hear, every store is sold out of this."

THANKS! I told him of my adventure and he looked at me in bewilderment. I thank him, slap him dabs, and make for the fresh air outside to have a victory cigarette. I smoke a lot.

During the trip home is when I the frog attacked my tear ducts.

HAH! I like this picture.


As with many people that ride the rocket, I listen to my iPod. Me being the way I am, don't like mainstream music as my norm. It's okay at a club or a party but, when I'm alone I listen to eurobeat, videogame music, death metal, trance, classical, amoung other things.

Last night however, I decided to listen to some songs that I are under a playlist dubbed "dreamer". Backpack of gift giving gold and iPod in hand, sitting across from an extremely appealing female I wait for my train to get to my station. I decide to pull out Chrono Trigger that I previously searched so valiantly for just to see the box.

Then this song comes on.

At 0:54 it hits me. Memories of my childhood. Every little morsel of my long lost forgotten youth. My life literally flashed through my mind and memories of this game too. I teared up. Frogs theme played by this band hit me.

I remember all the scenes out of this game. The memories of me playing it. Something happened to me in the train. I couldn't help myself. I was happy. I was physically and mentally drained. After this song played, I became emotionally drained as well. It was powerful. I can't describe what happened. I just got that tingly feeling, and not the one that makes my pants tight. I was happy. I don't know why, I just was really really happy.

Across from me the girl looks at me with curiousity. She motions for me to remove my headphones, in which I comply.

"...what's wrong?"
"I just listened to a song that moved me, I can't describe it and even if I did, I'm pretty sure you won't understand."

She looks at what I have grasped in my hand, the cartridge. She opens her purple purse and reaches in to pry out a black DS. She removes the catridge and shows it to me, Chrono Trigger.

Oh the memories.


"Oh, I understand. What song were you listening to?"
""Frogs Theme" played by a band called Select Start."
"Can I hear it?"
"Of course."

I hand her my iPod and she smiles from hearing the minimalist symphony play the retro tune. Oh she understands as well.

Eventually my stop comes, I hand her back her cartridge and she gives me my iPod. We say our good byes and I exit the train to never see her again.

When I left the station for the short walk home. I played that song and pulled out another smoke. I thought to myself as I got to my building,

"That walk is too short."

I open the door and step inside.

God speed...
draycott

Hey people and Destructoid admin gods.

As you can all tell I'm new here and I figure, I may as well write an introduction post. Praise be to the great Apple overlords that allowed me to stumble upon Podtoid while browsing the wares of iTunes. Since then I've been reading and listening to Destructoids preachings. Seems as though the voices and articles from the admin gods have compelled me to create an account on this here website.

Sooooo... Where to begin?

Like I said, I found Podtoid on iTunes and that lead me to the main site. Since my current job requires me to sit at a desk from 9AM to 5PM and type away into the wonderful world of "Atlas", I tend to get bored. So, during those brief moments were my desk is free of paper, I would check the site.

I would listen to the podcasts while working however, I'm one of those people that type what people say. So I listen to trance music. Yeah, I'm one of those. Yes, I enjoy trance music. I enjoy a lot of music. From video game music to classical to even reggae (gasp!). Everything except fast country. *shudders*

Where was I again?

After peering into the Destructoid community for about 6 months I decided to join. So, here I am now.

As for what kind of person I am?
I... Don't... Know...
Hard to explain that one.
I'm simple but, complex at the same time.
I look like a puddle but, I can drown a whale.

My tags/handles/usernames that I run by around on games are a plenty. For this site I'm going with draycott; tag my old CS1.6 buddy used till he quit games and life. My usual one however is empty.

I live in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Due to the cold, I have winter gloves. Mine are fingerless. I like cigarettes. Cigarettes and a cup of strawberry tea would be nice right about now. I like tea but, live on coffee. Large black coffee from Tims Hortons for $1.49? I'm down!

My best friend, the dirty sanchez, must get a line in this introduction. I'm the brown one out of the four "fotographers". Yes, yes I am brown.

My other half won't get her face posted because she would probably destroy me, hence one of her nicknames, destroyer. She is of Lebanese decent and she too plays games. Shes got the PS3 while I hold the controller of the megalomanic that is Bill Gates. We both have DS's and the fun times continue.

My best friend and my better half prepare to fight.


Since, I was born I've been holding a controller. The NES and Genesis controllers allowed Mario and Sonic to walk and run when I was a child and I emulated both of them, teaching me to walk. Afterwards sadly, my hands were then empty for a long time until the grace that is PS1 and Final Fantasy VII brought me back into games and taught me to read.

Games have always been an outlet for me to escape the pressures of family, love life, friends, and life in general. Whether it was parents fighting, girlfriends breaking up, friends giving me crap, or a culmination of the three, games have always been there to allow me to not only get my mind off things but, to also teach life lessons. Games are my anti-drug (saw that slogan on a tshirt on a website, can't find the website so whatever).

Speaking of which, my first play through of FF7 , I remember a line that Barret Wallace said around 2:29 in the video below. I'm too lazy to find the exact moment, whatever. He says, "There ain't no gettin offa this train we're on." when talking to Cloud about life and Midgar. Kinda stuck with me ever since I read it so many years ago.



My career? Well I am currently working at a desk job, 9 to 5 kinda deal as stated earlier, in order to pay off the 2 years of tuition until I return to a different school for a different program. I want to be apart of Toronto Police Services. Oddly enough though, my passion is games and writing. I've always wanted to be a video game journalist. Seems like the in thing nowadays, to be one of those. I figure in order to develop as a writer, and more so as a person, I first must learn. So I'm here to read and learn from not only the people we, D-toid members look up to, the editors, but also my fellow members/peers of this video game site.

Culture and society have always interested me to no end. This community, this "Destructoid". I like it. So I am here. I am here to learn, to discuss, and to enjoy the occasional match on Xbox Live (when I get it).

I suppose I have ranted on long enough and have gone off topic more then neccesary for one blog post. I will be around the Destructoid site. If anyone ever wants to get a hold of me then just PM me and I'll respond as soon as possible.

Finally, a picture of me as so that one may attach a face the person who hasn't done anything at work for the past 4 hours.


And yes I do like Think Geek.

God speed...
draycott


PS
I'll update my profile so that it actually has something to look at, like an avatar. I'll do it when I'm not lazy. Could be awhile. Grab a pillow.