I used to love snow...

...and then I turned 12. Seriously, I hate it now. As a kid it's fun to play in and, on rare occasions, actually grants you an unexpected day or two off from school. As soon as you gain responsibility as a young adult, however, that changes. First comes the shoveling, which is awful because it is hard to do it in a way that doesn't put strain on one's back (and my back isn't in the best of shape) and because it just sucks being out in the cold for the amount of time it takes to shovel the driveway, sidewalk, and the back of the house. And then when you turn 16 there's driving in the snow, which is just as unpleasant. When it's snowing you not only have to drive much slower than usual but you also have to clear the ice and snow off your car and then drive with limited visibility. Thank God I at least have a good heater in my car!

The only good thing about being outside in the cold and snow now is how awesome it makes that mug of hot chocolate or coffee taste. This might change one I have kids of my own to play in the snow with, but that's a long way off.

So anyway, what precipitated the above paragraphs was the massive snowstorm that blew through here last Friday and Saturday. I had the pleasure of driving from DeKalb to Schaumburg through it and I can tell you there's no way I would have made that trip had I known how bad the streets were. Of course I was dumb enough to leave when it was dark out, so visibility was almost nothing by default. Then I could barely see out my windshield for the first half-hour, and even after that the streets were covered with slippery snow and I couldn't make out where a given lane ended or began. I only lost control of my car once and it was only for a second, thankfully. That said, I long for the days in the summer when we are whining about how hot it is.

The reason I left as late as I did on Friday was because I went over to Tim's house for a few hours. We played a game of baseball on the PS2 and watched some Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes over a plate of our old dorm favorite, pizza nuggets! Certainly brought back some good memories and we had a good time. Hopefully I get a chance to hang out with him more in the coming weeks and months, before he gets hitched!

Saturday featured a trip to the Fry's Electronics store, a few hours at my Grandparents' house to visit with them and my Uncle who lives in Boston (speaking of snow...), and hanging out at Mike's house with Ahmad to watch the Bulls beat the Pistons. (Great game, by the way.) Then Nick stopped by my house and we just kind of chatted, although my gregarious dad did most of the talking.

After Nick left I beat Resident Evil Zero. Being a huge Resident Evil fanboy, I really enjoyed this game, quite like I enjoyed the remake of the first*. Zero was probably a notch under the remake, due mostly to somewhat inferior story and gameplay, as well as the annoying lack of item boxes. It was a very worthwhile playthrough, though, and thankfully was not dragged out. (The 12+ hours it took me to beat the game are actually on the longer end of the scale when it comes to the average time to beat the game on one's first playthrough.) Now I intend on beating Resident Evil: Code Veronica X so that I will have beaten all of the main Resident Evil games preceding Resident Evil 4, which I picked up last week. That game has been hailed as one of the best ever, so I am really drooling with anticipation to play it. If it manages to be even marginally better than the ones I've already played then I'm in for a treat!

Speaking of Resident Evil, I have to say I'm kind of surprised to see Gamecube copies of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis going for $50-$125 on Ebay. Now, I know that these are good games and that they are no longer in print, but come on! These prices are ridiculous, especially for games that were ported without upgrades from older systems. That being said, I have to smile thanks to the fact that I not only own both of these games but bought them when they came out for $30 each, which was considered by many to be a rip-off at the time. Well, who's laughing now? Muahahahaha! (And no, I do not intend to sell either game now or at any point in the future.)

On Sunday I really just watched football and that was about it. Anything else that I did isn't worthy of appearing in this entry, so don't worry about missing out on important details of my life.

The Cubs Convention was this past weekend but there was really no news to report, so I will refrain from making any comments about it because they'd simply be repeating what I've already said in the past. I will say that I alternate between being optimistic and pessimistic about the coming season. Hopefully the Cubs will alleviate my worries with their play on the field!

Wow, I've spent the last half-hour concocting this brew of a post. I don't think there's really anything else I need to add at this point, at least not off the top of my head. Rest assured, however, that if I think of anything it will end up right here!

-Mark

*-Dan I'm making a note of our agreement regarding this game. Just don't slack off, because March 1st will arrive sooner than you think!