As some of you know, I live in Florida, which means I'm at risk for hurricanes. Pensacola, FL. And it's a straight shot.

Hurricane Ida is closing in on us. We were just put under a hurricane warning which means that we will be hit within 24 hours. We're having mandatory evacuations in my area, I have to be out of here before 7 a.m. I'm not surprised though, seeing as how I live on an island and my back yard is the Gulf of Mexico. I get front row seats. =D They shut the bridges down when winds pick up to about 40 mph, so I'm trapped if I don't get out in time haha. XD

One of my favorite things about hurricanes is watching the local weather update on The Weather Channel.

"Currently...In your area...65 degrees....with 80 mph winds...."

I always thought that was pretty funny. Anyways, I was just letting you guys know that I probably won't be on for a couple of days, so I will see you soon!

-Bill

I sure have been blogging a lot lately! Yes. It's official my good friends. Not that I had anything against a PS3...

I had originally chose to buy a 360 due to my history of enjoyment with the original Xbox, the online interface within different games and the community. So far, I have rather enjoyed the exclusives to 360, and usually play games that most people don't. Very rarely do I buy a game I know I will trade in in a couple of months. The PS3 never appealed to me, and other than MGS4, I was never too hot on their exclusives either.

However, I just actually played with the PS3 for the first time ever today at my cousin's house. Due to my lack of knowledge on the system, and holding the controller having 0 expectations, I was extremely impressed. I've heard many times that the PS3's online interface/community was not up to par, and honestly I never really cared. I just enjoyed my 360. Well I'm here today to tell you that I respectfully disagree with that statement.

I thought that the online PS3 interface was fantastic. Does it match up to the 360? IMO, no it doesn't, but it's sure as hell better than what I've heard some describe it as. I actually had intentions on buying a PS3, prior to playing one at my cousin's house for the first time, the day before. Only two days ago had I actually looked into what Demon's Souls actually was; and after I had watched gameplay, read on the specifics, etc...That game screams for me. Playing the PS3 for the first time the day after I had planned on buying one just for Demon's Souls the day before has only reaffirmed my conviction in buying a PS3.

I think that the most important part about getting one though, is that I will be able to play with a couple of good friends that I've never been able to game with before. Not to mention I will finally be able to play MGS4; which Bryan has been dying for me to play for ages.

Well, that's pretty much it for the day. Stay cool GS.

Due to a recent conversation with Pianist, I was inspired by him to at least give lessons a try, after a little more than a year of teaching myself based off books and/or free lessons on the web. My soon to be teacher was a professional guitarist with over 15 years of experience, along with majoring in music theory in college. Following Pianist's advice, I did a little research on the instructor, and he seems legitimate; separate of a lot of the faulty guitar instructors here in the local area.

I just recently had my first lesson day, and he asked me questions such as, "What's your favorite type of music?" or, "Why do you want to play the guitar?"

I had actually originally began playing the guitar due to a lot of stress that I was experiencing in my life. I had always had intentions on playing when I was younger. My early inspiration on the guitar, Steven, would play these fast and amazing riffs that would just blow me away. I tried and failed miserably at playing. Can you guess what happened next? I did what many do when just starting out on the guitar. I quit.

So about a year ago, something came up in my life and caused me to really hit an all time low. I don't really think that going into detail was necessary, but hitting that point in my life really helped me grow up into the person I am now, and opened my eyes to another side of life. A side that I would "hear" about, but never really made anything of it; and perhaps even naively suggested that it's foolish and maybe some should just do things and make themselves feel better. A lot easier said than done. A lot. The guitar became my escape from it all. From the time where I could barely play an open chord, to the level I play at now, I enjoyed it and it really just brought me to another place. A very peaceful place. While you hear others talk about how powerful music is, I have experienced it's power first-hand.

I explained a lot of this to my instructor, along with my taste in music. Classical music, jazz music or blues music never appealed to me prior to my playing the guitar. Now, I am addicted to the music and I can truly appreciate it. So I gave James, my instructor, an idea of where I stood on the guitar, and he gave me a sheet to study. I told him that I'm not interested in learning any songs, but rather improvisation. After hearing this, the sheet that he gave me was the fretboard, and he wants me to memorize it. I miss practicing. =(

I suppose that really sums it all up, other than the most important thing. Pianist was right. Just based off my first, and thus far my only lesson from the man, it's without a doubt the best decision I've made in terms of direction on the instrument. So Pianist, I would like to thank you for the advice! I do appreciate it, and I appreciate my other GS friends for reading! So keep it real guys, and until next time...

-Bill