A Slight Detour

I'm not planning on making a habit of this, but today I feel it's necessary for me to take a break from our regular geekcentricity in order to mention a bit about what's going on in my own life. With any luck, what I'm going to say will connect to what we normally blog about enough for me to get away with it this time.

I've got a lot of writing projects on my plate right now. In addition to keeping up with this blog, I've been working on a new column for next month's GameCola as well as a review of Mega Man 4, which is my all-time favorite Mega Man game and, as such, is the most difficult to write about. Beyond trying to do the game justice, I'm having a tough time making it funny, which is what GameCola's all about.

Furthermore, I've got an FAQ for the PC game Jetpack that I've been trying to work on enough to release an updated version, but progress has been excruciatingly slow because I'm rarely in a mood to both play computer games and write something informative simultaneously.

I find that I've been especially worn down because I've been spending a good portion of each day searching for a new job, and scrolling hopelessly through one job after another that you're just not suited to is enough to drain the creative juice out of anybody.

So I've been taking time to relax by playing video games and reading comics. I'm playing Final Fantasy VIII right now--my first foray into the realm of 3-D Final Fantasy games--but when that's done I'm going to be reviewing that for GameCola. I'm ready to start the final episode of Sam & Max: Season One, but I'm holding off because I know that I'm going to want to write a review for GameFAQs once I finish.

I've sort of put comics on hold, though, because I'm trying to read Wonder Woman: Paradise Lost, and I just can't bring myself to pick it up and finish it. It's not bad, but I really don't think Wonder Woman is my kind of comic. Too much mythology for my tastes.

Oh, and I've been struggling with technology issues in an attempt to be a part of a GameCola podcast. It turns out that finding a relatively inexpensive computer microphone that actually works--I'm not talking about high quality, mind you, just about basic functionality--is more difficult than I ever imagined.

Despite what it sounds like, GameCola stuff hasn't completely taken over my life, but I've been focusing on it so much because there are deadlines, tangible results (well, as tangible as anything on the Internet can be), and other people counting on me, which are all things that I've been subconsciously missing about having work. I thrive on being productive in some way--accomplishing or producing something--which is why moving at a glacial pace through FFVIII and not having any luck with endless hours of job searching haven't been particularly uplifting. (Not that FFVIII has been un-fun, mind you.)

But I could at least work on the blog, right? Sure, but writing up introductory posts to hobbies and fandoms requires more effort and brainpower than I'm usually able to muster these days, and I've barely left my computer long enough to find anything new to review. This blog is a great outlet for my creativity and geekiness, but it's a challenge for me to write freely when I've got other things weighing on my mind. And I thank and commend Alex for picking up the slack for me these past two weeks.

So I'm just asking that you bear with me for the next few... several... however long it takes for me to get back into full-on blogging mode. If you've been thinking about contributing a guest post, now would be a most welcome time for that. And telling all your friends about Exfanding Your Horizons would be even more welcome, because we'd reach 5000 hits that much quicker and I could look forward to subject Alex to another one of my fandoms even sooner.

Thanks for reading and sticking with us, and I really do hope you'll keep coming back. And that you'll tell all of your friends. That's key. I've got posts about FoxTrot, board games, Superman, and personal experiences with the Nintendo Wii in mind for the near future, in addition to whatever other randomness might arise, so don't expect another one of these heart-to-hearts for a good long while.

Now, get us out of here, Mr. Sulu. Best speed to Krypton.