Hindsight

SSX3 is probably one of the wisest purchases I made this year.

The first SSX, a snowboarding game by Electronic Arts, was my first Playstation 2 game. For a launch title it held up pretty well. I never paid attention or held interest for ["normal" or extreme] snowboarding games until then. I also skipped out on the sequel “SSX Tricky”. This recent release, though, holds up very very well.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a game and had that itch to play more. The levels are fun and the sense of speed is solid. The term “human roller coaster” comes to mind I suppose.

I can’t go into detail as to why I like the game so much right now. But at the core of it, I’m just having a lot of fun. The online play doesn’t hurt either. Being able to instantly challenge others to races or score challenges adds more to just the single player experience. I’d still be satisfied if multiplayer were missing. Good job, EA.

I’ve moved into the master bedroom of an apartment here in Encinitas. My roommate is a construction foreman. At 32, he works an early morning to noon job and surfs every chance he can get. I’ve felt good the last two days. Kind of like being in Kitakyushu, but…. back home. Some things lost, some things gained.

Halloween came and went. It never happened for me because I worked the night shift. I’ll continue on that for another two months I think.

Life feels a little emptier in some ways. No social life, for example. But other things make up for it. Privacy again and a paycheck.

I was driving to Fry’s Electronics on Sunday at around five and I swear I had some sort of natural, euphoric high. The sun was setting, the air was cool and I felt like I had no major obligations to attend to for the day. Very relaxing.