A Brief Birthday Blog

Hey guys, just wanted to throw a quick blog up into this space to discuss my birthday.

I turned twenty-two yesterday. As some of you probably know, birthdays aren't really a big deal for me and haven't been for a while now. It is nice to spend quality time with friends and family though, and it never fails to astound me just how many people care enough to drop me a birthday greeting (which in itself means more to me than any gift). It was an uneventful day for me, but pleasant enough. There was one occurrence that kinda bummed me out, which was having to attend the JobCentre in the morning. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was compounded by my advisor not even wishing me a happy birthday, despite having all my personal details in front of her. Like I said, I'm not big on birthdays, but for her to not even acknowledge it came across as very rude.

I didn't do much, and I didn't receive much in the way of gifts either, but that's how I like my birthdays to be. My youngest sister got me a new pair of headphones, and my other sister gave me a little money. The gifts from my parents haven't arrived in the post yet, but I'm waiting on copies of Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, as well as the new album by a folk band called Phantom Limb and a few books recommended to me by long-term Giant Bomb friend Sparky_Buzzsaw. Friends and extended family gave me money too, which was nice. I spent the day in the company of my family, also finding time to read more of the book I'm currently working through (Stephen King's The Drawing of the Three) and play some video games (more on that in a bit). In the evening I went out with a few friends for a couple of drinks and a good long catch-up chat, and on Saturday I'm going to visit Colchester and see some old uni friends again. All in all it's been a pleasant day, and looks set to be a pleasant week.

While yesterday wasn't a bad day by any means, it was sobering in a lot of ways. For a start, it drove home just how far removed I currently am from where I want to be in life. I'm twenty-two, I should be beginning to carve out my own existence in this world. And yet if anything, I feel like I'm taking steps backwards rather than forwards. This time last year I was in my final year of university, in a steady relationship, living independently and doing a job that I didn't really enjoy, but something that at least gave me a sense of purpose. Right now I'm out of uni, back on my own, living with my parents and struggling to find work. I'd hoped that by now something might have happened to at least remedy the last state of affairs, and yet I keep getting knocked back from interviews left right and centre. The other thing it's done is make me realise just how long I've been a part of this website's community. This is the fourth birthday I've had in my time here on Giant Bomb, and it's pretty cool to return to those older birthday blogs and see just how much both my situation and my character have changed in the intervening years. Here's hoping that this time next year, I'll be writing about my twenty-third birthday in a more positive tone.

I'll close with a short summary of what I've been playing lately. I bought Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing last week and have played a little of that every day since. I think I've seen the vast majority of what the game has to offer, and as a consequence the praise and criticism I raised in my last blog still stand. After a few days off from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, fearing I might have been approaching my open-world RPG burnout point, I returned to it on Monday and was pleased to discover those fears were unfounded. I'm coming to the end of the Civil War quest line now, after which I plan to focus on the Mages' College and the main quest before putting it down for a good six-month stretch. Hopefully after an extended break, I'll be more willing to push for an S-rank. Hey, by that point I might even have some DLC to factor into the equation. I've also been influenced by Sparky's most recent blog into replaying Tomb Raider: Legend for the first time in about six years. I'm currently three levels in and enjoying it quite a bit. Last, but by no means least, when I've finished this blog I'm going to power up the PSP and get ready to write another episode of Enduring Final Fantasy VII.

Thanks very much for reading guys. As always, I'll see you around.

Dan

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Currently playing - Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend (PS2)