Thought I'd post a quick blog about what is going on in my life at this moment. 
 
So after living at my parents house who were living with my grandparents (neither of my parents have jobs, you see), I have finally moved. I was there about 4 years or so I guess. I'm bad with time so not really sure. After briefly considering moving in with a friend of my sibling's and his little brother (Manuel & Guillermo), we ended up choosing to move into a three bedroom condo with another friend after the Manuel thing fell through. So now I live with my bro Zach and our friend Titus. We each have our own rooms, and it's great living in my own place where I/WE make the rules. Finally I can theoretically do whatever I want. Which is a great feeling. Also our condo has air conditioning. Even though I live in Phoenix, AZ (one of the hottest cities in the U.S.) my g-parents place only ever had a Swamp Cooler. 
 
Right now I'm about to, hopefully, finish up setting my room and have it actually complete. There's still some unpacked boxes and stuff is kinda scattered/laying everywhere. It's kinda tough though cause I lack surfaces. No desk, dresser or table. Although I do have two videogames stands. One is a World of WarCraft: Burning Crusade stand, the ones that have multiple shelves that each held lots of copies of the game. I got it from Fry's Electronics when I worked there and Burning Crusade came out. The other is a large Pokemon Platinum stand that I snagged from GameStop (the girl working there let me take it). Both of them I currently (and while at the old house) use as shelves to hold my large videogame collection (or what fits anyway). Which is awesome. :D Then I got two long pieces of wood that I'm going to hang on the wall as shelves. That will really free up space and give me surfaces to put or display things on. Probably half my stuff is display-stuff. Mostly gaming related.  Hopefully this month (maybe next) I'll buy some actual bookshelves and a computer desk.
 
I am single. Always have been. Although there is a girl I like but it's a very, very complicated situation. So i don't know what will happen with that if anything. I also can't drive and dont' own a car (don't have my license). That is what I REALLY need to focus on. I don't know why it is, but I have the worst memory known to man and I literally know nothing about what street is what or where stuff is. Despite driving them everyday with my siblings (both younger and both can drive and have cars). 
 
But that is my next major goal after paying off my current $800 credit card debt. Is to buy a car. 
 
I currently work as a writer for the online videogame web-site www.videogamesblogger.com, which my long-time Internet friend started. I get paid $1,000 a month for my job. Which is pretty good. :) 
 
Yep so that's an update on me. I am very open to making friends, and nearly all of my current online friends I met at GameSpot.com. Two of those I met at GameSpot I consider best friends and I've known them both for over 5 years now (one is getting married today!). :) So if you want to know more about me or get to know me message!
 
Oh, interests. Almost forgot that. lol. 
 
 I'm a Christian. I love watching Fox News (Bill O'Reilly, Hannity, Glenn Beck, Greta, Special Report, Huckabee are my favorites), I love watching the Phoenix Suns NBA games. Although I can't now cause we don't have cable TV cause no one else is willing to pay for it. The above is all I'd watch since I don't watch TV outside news really. Not sure if I'll get TV or not... Favorite shows are Gilmore Girls and Smallville. Also Power Rangers. :P (at least, that's what I always say. lol. But I do like it). Since I don't watch TV I do own several TV shows on DVD. 
 
I only listen to Christian music pretty much (with a few exceptions) and almost exclusively metal (favorite bands: Demon Hunter, Becoming the Archetype, The Showdown). Though I also love Christian rap. I'm one of the few people who loves both metal and rap and can listen to either or one right after the other. Least favorite genres: Jazz, Blues, R&B, Punk, Oldies, most secular rap/metal. I attend Bible Studies regularly where we have in-depth conversations with my friends about God and philosophical issues. I'm a deep thinker and I enjoy serious conversations. Idle chit-chat annoys the hell out of me after a while. I like to talk about politics and religion. Hmm what else. I like to play basketball and racquetball. I'm not fit or in good shape but I plan on getting started on that and exercising/playing sports regularly. I collect videogames (over 400), Coins and certain Comic Books (though I haven't done that in years). I love to read (Mostly non-fiction but been reading the Harry Potter series). I generally like to read biographies or memoirs (particularly by Middle Eastern women or women who've survived extraordinary situations) but also political or religious-related books. My favorite gaming genres are: action adventure, platformer, and RPG. I don't like horror movies (love horror games including Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Fatal Frame). Hmm. I spend nearly all my time in front of the computer. Working and chatting with my online friends. I also text a ton on my cell. I don't play games as much as you'd expect. In fact most of my friends (who are more casual than me) play games more than me. I don't find as much time to play as I wish I would. 
 
Alrighty that's good for now! First modern blog post GET!

So I've been playing around with Goozex.com. If you haven't heard of it, it's a trading site where Goozex is the Middle Man, so that trades are officiated by the system. You trade a game in and earn Points and a single Trade Token (Points differ by product based on several factors, like rarity, whether it's a complete set, how much it's requested, etc.). 
 
You can then spend those points (and 1 trade token) to buy games (or movies). If a game isn't available, you can request it. If the game is available, that means that someone has put it on offer. The system then matches the game up with someone who has requested that game, and you send it in the mail. When the person who requested that game gets their package, they mark that they received it on the site and you are given Points and a trade token. You can also PURCHASE Points and Tokens with cash, where 1 Trade Token costs a $1. So essentially you are getting games for free based on your trades and the point value of the game. 
 
It's an interesting system that allows you to trade new and old games for "new-to-me" second hand games at a much more valuable rate than what you are given from typical brick-and-mortar stores like GameStop, which rip you off by giving you very little in store credit for games that are in reality worth more than that (it's also worth noting that Goozex will fully refund you if you are somehow ripped off and don't receive the exact package you requested). 
 
For the price of 1 new DS game that I didn't want, I am now able to purchase SEVERAL games I do want, both new and old! And Goozex has games listed for ANY AND ALL game systems. Although some can be pricey and some rare titles are hardly ever offered, so the site isn't a catchall for people wanting to get every game they want.  But while new games like Darksiders cost 1000 Points (or essentially the equivalent of $50/60 bucks), you can find PLENTY of great games for super cheap, like I list below.
 
Goozex is the opposite of GameTZ, another trading site. On GameTZ you actually trade and negotiate, no strings attached, with a person. You then come to an agreement, and the site tracks their feedback and the like. The more trades with positive feedback they have made, the better their Star rating will be. Goozex is "safer" and they will completely refund you if there was a bum trade, while GameTZ offers more flexibility but everything is on you. GameTZ can be better for rare games, or for offering mixed trading, like I traded a guy a DVD movie I didn't want, and he sent me 5 CDs that didn't want. Everybody wins. And both sites are worth looking into.   
 
If you trade newly released games on Goozex, you often get bonus points. So I was able to trade WarioWare DIY, a game that is normally worth 700 points, but since it was new I got 950 Points! Which is enough to purchase several small games, as you'll see in the list below, as long as I have enough trade tokens (I only have one so I'll likely purchase 5 for $5). Or for 50 points more I could get a new game like Darksiders. Goozex also offers games for purchase, if you just want to spend cash to buy certain new products.
 
So today I was browsing what games I might want on Goozex. And I wrote them down. Here is the list I came up with (all are complete unless states otherwise): 
 
1000 Points
Darkstalkers (Xbox 360)

400 Points
The Saboteur (Xbox 360)

350 Points
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (360)
Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Wii)
Brutal Legend (Xbox 360)

300 Points
Damnation (Xbox 360, FPS)

250 Points
Devil Dice (PS1) - disc only
Far Cry 2 (Xbox 360)
Call of Duty 4 (Xbox 360)

200 Points
Viking: Battle for Asgard (Xbox 360)
Army of Two (Xbox 360)
Rondo of Swords (DS)
The Suffering (Xbox)

150 Points
Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360)
Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Limited Collector's Edition) - not available
Crackdown (Xbox 360)
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System (Xbox)
Mario's Time Machine (SNES) - Cart only
Donkey Kong 64 - Cart Only

100 Points
Dead or Alive Ultimate (Xbox)
Splinter Cell (Xbox)
Hey You, Pikachu (cart only)
Batman (NES+Manual!)
 
Of the list, I chose Trauma Center: Second Opinion on Wii. As soon as I get paid I'm gonna buy more points and snap up that Batman (NES) with manual. Once you request a game, the person who has Offered it can reject your trade, a which point the system will search for another person who has offered the game. 
 
If you haven't checked the sites out look into them! They offer a lot of bang for your buck for gamers and it's fun to trade! Goozex also currently has a deal with GameFly going (an online rental service, essentially Netflix for games) where you can sign up for GameFly through Goozex and gain some additional points and trade tokens.

Man I can't believe it's been SIX MONTHS since I wrote my last blog on here! It's insane how quickly time flies by.

Just yesterday I played all the way through Resident Evil 5 on Normal with my friend in The Netherlands playing online co-op. The game is absolutely awesome! Somehow Capcom was able to create a game that in my humble opinion 1UP's Resident Evil 4, which is quite the feat.

The game is extremely fun in co-op, so much so that I can't imagine playing the game single player.

(draft)

Hello there everyone. I hope you guys had a good weekend.

Hello people! I am brand spanking new to Giant Bomb, I just signed up to today.

I'm a long-time GameSpot reader and user (think I signed up in 2002) who remembers back when the site was videogames.com or something like that. Anyway, one of the main reasons I loved GameSpot was because of the personalities, Jeff, Ryan and Brad mainly, so when they left I was saddened, but kept using the site (I really like Brian Ekberg) and when they formed giantbomb and the "Jeff Gerstmann is Still Alive" blog I only sort of followed just cause I was busy with other things or would forget to check it out.

Anyhoo, there's no way I can leave my GameSpot emblems behind, so I'll definitely still be over there, but I just might make Giant Bomb a new home. I'm extremely impressed with the site even if it still confuses me somewhat. Since it's all like user-driven it's really crazy and I get a headache just not knowing where to start. I think I need to check the forums for a better FAQ than the one they provide you. I watched Jeff's video as well but it didn't give an overview of the whole site. I typically start sites like GameSpot and IGN by adding my collection of games, but I don't even know if you can do that here . . .?

But either way I'm looking forward to finding out and adding Giant Bomb as a new favorite, frequently checked site of mine. I also work on my own web-site: www.videogamesblogger.com, so check that out if you have some time.

So yeah it's going to take me a while to get used to Giant Bomb and figure it all out, but I do want to contribute to the site in as well. My favorite part is the bombcasts. Heh.

Anyhoo, I guess I am off for now. If anyone has tips on where I should look for newbie info and such it'd be welcome. I definitely want to upload pics as well since I have so many, but I'm a bit weary of uploading duplicate content. I can't imagine going through every image to see if yours isn't taken. So I think I'll probably try out some more obscure games first.

Btw check out my profile for more about me. And my myspace page is here: www.myspace.com/spike_eo