Hey, ifPlatyphyllumcan come back after an absence, then so can I - only mine lasted longer than a year (top THAT buddy).

This isn't the start of many, I can assure you - just a new blog so that on the rare occasion that I DO log in here, I don't have to see the same, ridiculously outdated journal entry (journal entry... ahhh, those were the days - props to the two people out there that get the reference) staring me in the face.

For all those that even remember me, you can find me on Giant Bomb under the username "Brandy," or on Xbox Live as "Andaley." Funny thinking that, at the time of my last blog, I didn't have any of the next gen consoles, and now I have all three.

I'm thinking I have most of you on Live, Giant Bomb, Twitter (blshaul), or even Facebook already, but there's the info nonetheless (message me if you're a Facebook user).

Haven't kept up with my games list at all... yikes! Maybe I need to get back on that... Things have changed, DRASTICALLY - collection is probably down to about half. Had a bit of an epiphany some time ago - realized that quality matters more than quantity, and was able to make a killing selling old games (so much so that I bought the 360, and some other fun stuff).

But alright, I'm starting to type like this entry matters, so I need to put a stop to that.

Let's see how long my next absence lasts.

Many of you would probably recall that a few months back, I crossed the 500 game mark in my collection. Since then, my purchasing of games has basically ceased due to a lack of funds and getting royally screwed over by my EX-school (a very long story that I don't want to get into here).

Granted, I've still been lucky enough to add to my collection via receiving review copies of games for GrrlGamer, and up until yesterday was at a very respectful 516 games.

Now, over the last week or so, Target has been offering a White Elephant inspired auction to their employees (read: my mom), which just so happened to have four games up for grabs. Three of the games were in a bundle which included Thrillville (PS2), Theme Park (DS) and Crash Boom Bang (DS). The other lot contained SingStar Pop. Knowing how much I adore gaming, my mother immediately put bids on both lots, and ended up winning them when the auction ended yesterday.

The bidding rose in one dollar increments, with the set of three games going for $9 and the single game for $3...Great prices, if you ask me, considering as how a couple of them were still in the shrink wrap, with these prices being made all the better since I didn't have to pay them, hehe.

So, there you have it – four more games added to my collection, bringing me to an even 520 total games. And with two of them being in the theme park creation genre (one that I have adored since the days of the original Rollercoaster Tycoon), I am hoping they can last me until I have enough money to start buying games again… Or anything really…

Haven't really been in a GS mood lately - don't get me wrong, I like the new design well enough - I just hate the fact that I'm not torn between two sites (this and Giant Bomb) in order to keep up with all of my friends...But anyway, here's what I've been up to:

For all intents and purposes, my Gen Con coverage is complete, so make sure to check out those articles - new articles (other than the ones I posted about before, I mean) include coverage about the new World of Warcraft board game, a couple of trading card games (Blue Dragon and Universal Fighting System) and more!

As if I wasn't busy enough this week with finishing coverage and house-sitting once again for my uncle (meaning that I'm taking care of a bunch of dogs), I also found time to do a review for the new game in the Bangai-O franchise - Bangai-O Spirits for the DS. A huge bowl of mixed reactions with this one - while I found the game fun, I can easily see how many others wouldn't, but if you want to know why, you'll just have to read the review (See how I did that? Shameless self-promotion ftw!)

Until next time all!