Dealing with non-gaming significant others

    So I'm at work and I happened to read TDrag's blog. And it kind of got me thinking. I love video games and I have for a long time. When I met my current fiance, I wasn't really playing them much because I was kind of broke and working a job to try to put away some money for college. I probably wouldn't have met her if I was gaming at the time, as I wouldn't have been out of the house.
    So I was in college, didn't see her much, and I decided to get a refurbed PS2 and a couple games and I got back into gaming. And I haven't really stopped since. That was about 5 years ago. So, now I'm outta college and have a decent job and can afford all the games again. And she doesn't like it. First she was mad that I spent $400 on the 360. Now because I keep buying games. Now she's getting even madder because I am pressing to get an HDTV, that I probably shouldn't buy due to monetary reasons, but you only live once right? And I really don't complain about her buying hand towels for the bathroom that aren't to be used, or the unreasonable amount of "show pillows" on the couches and bed. Atleast a TV has uses aside from aesthetics..
    It is kind of wierd.. She was watching me play when I first started Final Fantasy X and she liked the story so much she asked me not to play unless she was watching. So I said OK, and we had a good time playing and going through the story together. So I finished the game and she said she wanted to try, so I said ok, and we played it together again but she played and I must say she did a way better job then I had done with the game. Then I couldn't get her to even try any other games.. It just didn't make sense.
    So maybe a month ago we were in Best Buy and they had Guitar Hero 2 on sale for $79.99 and she said she always wanted to try it, I kind of did but it was still kind of expensive for me to possibly not like it. So we buy it and sometimes she will play that but not really that much. But I love it and played it alot.
    But I guess in the grand scheme of things this is a minor issue, this is really the only thing that we don't agree on, and all other parts of our relationship are outstanding. I don't think she has a problem with my playing games, but more of a problem of me "wasting money" on them, but I don't see it as a waste really. She loves to watch her stupid reality shows and everything, and the monthly bill for DirectTV costs more then the $60 a month I spend to buy a game. I would imagine I am not the only one with this type of problem, have any of you guys had success getting rid of this situation without stopping your gaming? We don't have kids and probably won't anytime soon, neither of us want them at this point, so it's not an issue about being a neglecting father or anything like that, and I don't let it interfere with anything that we want to do together so I really don't see the big deal...

Posted by cerialthriller @ 11:44 am EDT | Permalink | 8 Comments

It's Comcastic!

Well, i called Earthlink, they said my service ready date had changed from the 17th to the 30th.. So I called up Comcast, asked how quickly they could get here, they said tommorow, so I ordered it up. And now I have the internet, and a much faster connection then the 3 mbps earthlink was going to give me. I'm not a big Comcast fan, but they really came through for me. Finally, I can play TF2

Posted by cerialthriller @ 6:09 pm EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments

Still no Internet..

Well, I am still without the internet.. It's day 26, and I am going insane. I only get to browse when I'm at work and I am constantly having to hit the back button to avoid NSFW content in ads and such. So now instead of fighting with Verizon, I have begun the fight against Earthlink, my new supposed internet provider. (I'm not sure yet, they haven't provided me with jack shit yet.) So my service ready date was before midnight Mountain time on Oct. 16th. Well, that came and went. I called up last night, a woman with a very hard to understand accent gets on the phone, says her name is Cherry. So says oh yeah, its scheduled to be on today by 8 pm. Well 8pm comes, and nothing. I call back, oh, we meant 8 pm mountain time, its only 6pm mountain time now. Ok fine. 10pm comes, i call back, well if its not on now it will be on by midnight mountain time. Thats 2am EST (where i am). So I go to sleep pissed off at these people. I wake up in the morning, 4 am Mountain time on the 18th, no internet, which after doing the math a i figured out is after midnight mountain time. I called back today on my lunch break and their customer service system is down. I am so ready to tell them to shove it and pay the $70 for Comcast.. Now im behind on my work because I cant work at home and I can't even get online games going to relax after work, and I am just really pissed. Are all DSL companies like this? I used to have Comcast before they doubled the price and it was pretty good, very little downtime and rarely any calls to customer service..

Posted by cerialthriller @ 2:49 pm EDT | Permalink | 1 Comments

Suck It Verizon

So i got home last night, internet still isn't working. I called Verizon, for the 12th day in a row. They told me from all the calls that my account was so messed up that the only thing they could do was cancel my subscription and have me sign up for a new one. So I asked how long before I would have service if I did that, and they say it will ONLY take 10 to 12 days. So I said no thanks, if you can't get it back up for me in the next few hours, I am going somewhere else. The guy says "You don't have to go somewhere else, hold on a minute, I'll transfer you right to someone who can take your order." Nice try buddy. So this morning at work, I signed up for Earthlink DSL. And hey, they say I should have my equipment and service ready in 3 to 5 days and it's a higher speed service. Hopefully this works out for me. I looked at the comcast 3 for $99 package, but I like my DirectTV alot, especially this time of year since I get the NYC sports channels as well as the Philadelphia ones, so I can watch almost all of the Rangers games, where as with comcast i get to watch maybe 10 a year. Plus I like the DIrectTV DVR service alot better then the Comcast one. And I don't need the phone service, I may cancel my verizon telephone service and add a 3rd cellphone to my AT&T plan for an extra $10 a month to use as a home phone.

Posted by cerialthriller @ 12:36 pm EDT | Permalink | 1 Comments

Damn you Verizon, damn you to hell!

So I have been without the internet at home since September 22. That is 11 f'ing days. Basically, I woke up on a Saturday morning next to my girlfriend and decided to browse digg.com for a few minutes while she got ready so we could go out to breakfast. My firefox returns a screen: Unable to Find Host. WTF! i frantically type in www.google.com. Unable to find host. Son of a bitch. So we go out to breakfast, I am already getting aggravated. I figure maybe it was down for a bit and when I get it will be up again. I'm walking back into my house, and my neighbor stops me. He asks if I have Verizon DSL, i responded yes, already knowing where this conversation was going. He asks if I have service, so I tell him I didn't an hour ago. In the end we find 6 people on my block use Verizon, and none of them had service. I call verizon, explain whats going on. He says everything is fine on their end, and assures me it must be my router settings. So I say wait a minute, its impossible that 6 other households are affected by my router problems if they even existed. I havent changed any settings in months. He assures me its all just a coincidence. Nice try buddy. 1 and a half hours later we are no closer to any internet working in my house. So day 2, nobody still has internet I call again, now they says it's because I have a $1.23 outstanding balance. You've got to be kidding me. So i give them my Visa number, and ask how im behind in my balance when I have payments automatically setup to come out of my checking account. They don't know. They tell me it will be working within 24 hours. 24 hours go by, 48, 72, no internet. I call back. They say everything is fine again. Nobody in my neighbor has their Verizon service working. I ask for the supervisor, "he is too busy right now, he'll have to call you later tonite" Fine. I give him my house and cell number. No call in two days. 4 nights in a row im on the phone with them, and nothing. Then last night, I am playing my 360 and I notice the Internet light on my modem has lit up. Sweet! I fire up firefox, and bam, big screen Verizon: Denial of Service Please call Billing to resolve this issue. So i call billing, nothing is wrong with my account, I am all payed up. They don't know why I am getting this screen. I check with my neighbor, he's getting the same screen. So I called them this morning and told Verizon that if my internet isnt working when I get home at 6pm I am switching to Earthlink DSL, which turns out to be the only other DSL in my area. I just hate the feeling of helplessness these ridiculous companies give you. The only cable provider in my area is Comcast, and they have the prices jacked up so damn high ($69.99 a month) I can't bring myself to give them business.

Posted by cerialthriller @ 10:50 am EDT | Permalink | 5 Comments