I've got a new predicament these days. It's a rather sticky one too! See, I've grown less and less fond of my job over the last... well, however long it's been since the last time I said I liked my job. At this point, I really want to go out and find a new one, but not something that's just as bad as what I'm dealing with right now (keeping in mind that it's not really that bad at all). I can barely even summon the motivation to send out online applications, nevermind actually go out and hand out resumes to random workplaces. It's because I know that I'm employed, have guaranteed hours, and don't really have it too bad. I'm in a decent place, and while it could be better, that decency is keeping my ambition locked away.

That said, there's a job posting for an assistant manager position that I would love to have. As much as I want to move away from my current workplace, I also want to move up the management ladder, take over the damn place, and rule with an iron fist. The problem is that if I put in for this job and somehow land it (not likely. I'm pretty sure the boss hates me), I'll have even less motivation to get movin' on than I do now.

So I'm a bit stumped. Being an assistant manager - even of a crappy toy store - would be a huge achievement for me, because by nature I'm a follower, not a leader. I want it so bad! Primarily for the extra money and great addition to the resume, but also to prove to myself that I'm not worthless. I also kind of feel like it would prove to everyone else that I'm not worthless. Not that even one person has ever said anything of the sort to me, but my low self-esteem causes that whole feeling inadequate thing. I mean, I know I'm capable of accomplishing lots, I just have no ambition. So this would be taking the easy way out; moving up, but not really making any significant change.

I guess I still need some time to think it over, but I think I'm most likely to go for it. And I know this post is a little rambley and a lot disjointed, but it makes me feel a little less confused to have all my thoughts put down on virtual paper. It's not so much for your reading pleasure as for me to sort out my thoughts. But if you have some insight, don't be afraid to put in your two cents (just click on my name up there).

Last month (or last year if you want to be dramatic), I rambled on about the sorry state of Nintendo's digital distribution channel, the Wii Shop. In that short and hastily-typed tirade, I mentioned that though WiiWare's lineup was lacking, I thought that Space Invaders Get Even looked like it had some chops. I was totally right.

I had bought some Wii Points a couple days ago so that I could download the newly-released Kirby's Dream Land 3 (beautiful, beautiful game), and had 1500 points to spare. I figured that I wanted to give Space Invaders Get Even a shot, but World of Goo was calling my name. I believe it came down to the fact that for 500 points, if I didn't like SIGE, it wouldn't be a huge loss, whilst World of Goo would run me my whole 1500. So the Space Invaders got their chance to shine.

Space Invaders Get Even is a very simple game. A glorified shoot 'em up, even. The object is to fly your ship around the map and blow shit up. You would not believe that this alone is enough fun to warrant the 5 dollars it cost you to buy the game. Hell, this is more than enough fun to warrant a $20 purchase. I would totally not be disappointed if this were a disc release game and I'd bought it out of the $20 bargain bin at Superstore. But yeah, fly around and blow up some particular buildings and that's all. The game is drenched in wonderful sci-fi cheese, and as far as the atmosphere of the game goes, makes me think back to War of the Monsters (anyone have a spare copy?) and Destroy All Humans.

But there is a little more to it than that! It's a Space Invaders game after all, and the whole point of any title bearing that name would be achieving high scores. So while leveling the playing field (literally) is a great hook, you'll get totally addicted to trying to top out your scores. Online leaderboards do nothing to help stop that addiction either. I've never been crazy about leaderboards (because I'm only mediocre at games), but for once I've been checking how I stack up to everyone else quite obsessively, and am proud to say I'm ranked 99th on overall game score. That's pretty good!

There is one catch, however. The game you buy from the Wii Shop Channel only contains two levels and a boss. While these are more than good enough for a while, the itch to blow up some new scenery will rear its ugly head, and new scenery is available, thoughat a cost. There are three mission packs available for 500 points apiece. And while that sounds outrageous, there is an upside: each mission pack contains four stages and two bosses, thereby giving you twice as much game as your initial investment for the same price. Not as bad as it could be, but still a bit on the sketchy side. You really can't expect much more from Square-Enix though. Also, the intial game eats up 300+ blocks of memory, and each expansion pack takes around 120, so it's a friggin' massive game to have on your Wii's tiny internal memory. Until now I've barely cared about a Wii hard drive, but between SIGE and the Strong Bad games, I'm starting to get a little irritated by its lack of existence.

To conclude, I'd say that Space Invaders Get Even is a no-brainer. At least the intinal download is. Nickel-and-diming us for the rest of the levels is kind of a dick move, but it only comes out to $20 in the end, and like I said before, I would gladly pay that price for the game. I just really want to play War of the Monsters now. I never should have mentioned it... *sigh*

Ah, a new year. We're already a few days in, but let's talk about it anyway. I know I'm usually more of the cynical type, but I've got a good feeling about 2009. Not that 2008 wasn't a good year. Oh no, quite opposite in fact!

2008 was a pretty great year in and of itself. There was that one rough patch in March-ish, and the last week of the year was a little touch-and-go for a while, but overall I'd say 2008 was a rousing success. The belated release of Super Smash Bros Brawl was more than enough in itself to make me happy with last year, but let's not forget some of the other great things that came to us like No More Heroes and Fable II. Oh, and Tales of Vesperia too, which I am still spending a solid chunk of my free time playing (damned achievements!).

I also got a promotion earlier in the year, and though I enjoy the little bit of power I've been granted, it's still not nearly enough to make me like my job. But that's okay, because recently a really huge opportunity has shown its face and I'm really hoping it works out. I won't go into any more detail because the more I talk about it, the less fate will think I deserve it, but I will say this: it would be my dream job.

Obviously, and most importantly, 2008 is the year that I started dating my girlfriend. It's been fantastic, and while there are a few very minor drawbacks (I sometimes miss having copious amounts of free time), I finally understand just why people always seem so desperate to be with someone. We've been on several vacations together already, and have a designated movie night. Working at the same place has its perks too, of course.

So yeah, 2008 was good. Maybe not perfect, but that's what 2009 is for, I guess. Hopefully this year I'll make a little more time for my website(s) and write up more than five articles. I mean, that's less than one every two months. Unacceptable! Perhaps I'll finish refurbishing the "Spare!" comics. Who knows. Though I'm fairly sure I've mentioned that at least a million times in the last few months and nothing's come of it.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Here's to the new year and even better times!