I really need to give my LiveJournal some love at some point, seeing as it’s supposed to be a more personal blog, as opposed to this one which is more for sharing my views, insights and generally having a rant. Anyway, I spent Saturday and much of Sunday at my friend’s house, where we played Rock Band 2. And I have to admit, I’m pretty hooked on the game now! I also got to play quite a few songs on there including Color Theory’s song If Not Now When and some other songs such as Attack and The Kill from 30STM. I was really impressed with the game to be honest, as you could really get into it… I certainly found it easier to play the bass or guitar standing anyway! I was so into the game, that I started dancing while I was playing! And thinking about it, playing the guitar in any of these games, be it Rock Band, Guitar Hero or even Band Hero, no matter what the format, is a great way of learning to play the proper thing. Why do I say this you ask? Well, I have some books on learning how to play the guitar and from what I recall of them, you’re to hold an actual guitar a certain way and with the guitar controller, it works best if you hold it the same way. Playing with the controller (GH controllers are more durable) gives you a great start with playing an actual guitar because you have to hold the controller like you would a normal guitar, so it gets you used to the awkwardness of your hand being put into and awkward position when fretting.

Admittedly though, it won’t help your fingers get used to pressing on the strings… that’s something you’ll have to face later on and they do tend to make your fingers hurt for a while because the strings are pressing into your fingers. I haven’t played with an actual guitar long enough to be able to get protection from the strings as of yet, although the guitar isn’t my instrument of choice at present; that honour belongs to my keyboard (the piano type), which I’ve decided to learn first as it’s a little easier to get into. I’ve actually paid for the learning pack for Synthesia to help me in this goal. It’s much like Guitar Hero, Rock Band and the like, but it uses a keyboard or MIDI synthesiser instead. Admittedly, I’ve not touched it for a while now, but my Rock Band jam session has both rekindled the interest and also made me want to get Rock Band as well! I’m looking at getting the Band Hero Super Bundle, which is 100 quid in HMV at the moment, seeing as it has all the instruments I need to get me started, although the drums are a concern; would they be compatible with Rock Band? I know the guitar is compatible, and the mic should be as well, but I’m not sure about the drums. As for why I’m worried about this, I really don’t want to get another set of drums just so I can play all the games! One thing I noticed though that one of my friends would be happy with is the fact that the Band Hero drumkit has 3 drums, with 2 cymbals, I think they are those anyway. It still has the pedal, but that said, I don’t think it would be used as much in Rock Band, so his foot won’t hurt so much!

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From Monday afternoon, it’ll be about a week since I’ve moved from my flat in Bexleyheath to a terraced house in nearby Erith, nearly at the edge of the Kent fringe; despite where I live being a London Borough, it still is considered Kent. In some ways, it’s the end of an era, given I may no longer just walk down to Bexleyheath’s Broadway and do shopping; though I do have 24 hour access to the place by bus which somewhat makes up for the lack of instant access. Needless to say, I had better not be in a hurry to be there! I do have easy access to the pier however, which can’t be a bad thing though I had learnt something about terraced houses in that the stairs are rather tight, so it’s likely that the next place I look for will have a lot more thought put into it. Additionally, at present I’ve not got the space for everything or so it seems; everything is a bit tight at the moment, though I’ve yet to unpack everything. Things are slowly slotting into place now though. My arm’s starting to heal up nicely now as well, which is a good thing although it’s not 100% of the way there.

To take a departure from what I was talking about, seeing as I have no idea how to contiue the above, one of the reasons that made me start this entry (yesterday) was that I was reminded of Bloomsday and that I was attending college at that time. I even got to hear some readings of Ulysses while sitting on Sandymount Green, which was nice. Of course, I got in trouble for being late back to college, but hey… 100 years since Ulysses was written was more important than a day in class… or so I’d like to think. Well, it’s my excuse so I’m sticking to it! Anyway, it’s amazing what can be learnt sometimes just by doing something what seems so minor at the time.

Heh, I did think I had more to say than this, although I’m realising that once everything round here is sorted out better, I’ll be able to take better advantage of things. My finances aren’t gonna be healthy for another few months, although as far as the Thame Cycle trip goes, by moving to where I am now I’ve made it easier to do the cycle a bit, because this town was on the itinerary. Of course, I do need to get a bike as well as a shed. I’m still trying to get this place sorted, but I’m beginning to think that it’s likely I’ll either have to have 3 bookcases in the dining room (study) or 2 in my main bedroom. It is a pain really, but I’ll need to give it more thought. Luckily, I do have space to move about, which is good. My computer desk is a bit screwed though unfortunately, meaning I might need to get a new one at some point soon… unless I can fix it. I’ll have to see what I can do, given I don’t have much space in the new place as I did in the old, which frustrated me. At least it’s warmer and cheaper which means I’ll have more money to do stuff.

I should really look at my 50 Things list to see what I can do in the near future. My finances percentage most likely can do with being put up a few notches…

Oh and before I forget, I added a FormSpring widget thing to my blog and also to my FB, so people can ask me questions >.> I also plan to completely redevelop FSIRC over the next few months, now I am in a position to be able to.