What is missing from Guitar Hero

I have really enjoyed my Guitar Hero game. Jim finally found a video game I like to play since I’m not interested in the ones he plays. Sorry, World of Warcraft is NOT for me. But Guitar Hero is a blast. What’s even more fun is that after Christmas when we got back home, we got the cables to run from the TV to the stereo receiver so I can totally blast the songs through the stereo speakers.

I have worked up to the “Hard” setting on Beat It, The One I Love, and I don’t play anything under a “Medium” setting on the guitar. I can play the bass part on Rebel Yell on Hard and still score in the 90% range. I am drumming on most songs on “Medium”, except Hot for Teacher. I can do 99% on Easy and my best streak was over 500 notes straight. However, there is a big difference between Easy and Medium as I only got 55% on Medium. It is really intense to drum that on medium.

I really like the Aerosmith Guitar Hero version, except that it is only guitar and no drums. There are some really cool songs on it, like The Cult She Sells Sanctuary, Dream On, and Sweet Emotion (a personal favorite). I have a lot of fun with those songs. Guitar Hero (original) even has More Than a Feelin’ which is a total blast and I love to crank that up as well.

So what is really missing is some serious AC/DC and more than just one Van Halen song. I would love to have the entire Back in Black album as well as Van Halen and Van Halen II for Guitar Hero world tour. I could have so much fun with the guitar and drum parts on all of those songs. I saw yesterday where they are releasing a Metallica Guitar Hero, so where is AC/DC and Van Halen? I wanna rock!

Details, Details, Everywhere – LZL 509, 536-2961, and K1860

This past weekend we went to see my friend Audrey, her husband Todd, and their son Blake. We had dinner, hung out, and played some guitar hero until about 10:15 Saturday nite. It was so much fun and I tried to not laugh when Jim sang Rebel Yell!

While we were having dinner, I was talking about going out with Audrey one night with one of her friends from high school and a friend of his. Audrey remembered the night out when I told her about it, but she was surprised that I was able to recount the events in such detail (right down to what I wore that night). She then remarked that there were two people that she knew that if they told her the details of an event she would believe them even if she couldn’t remember it because their memory was so good. One of those people she knows is me.

I remember some details that I guess most people just don’t. Like my very first memory was from when I was about 2 ½. I don’t remember that I went to Six Flags in Atlanta that day, but I remember falling down at the motel and hurting my knee. My mother confirmed the event that I remembered and how old I was. I don’t remember my mom being pregnant with Meg, but I remember everything about when she went to the hospital and when I went to see them at the hospital and then when they brought Meg home. I had turned 3 in late January, and Meg was born in early June. So I wasn’t even 3 1/2 but I remember all of these events very clearly. I would say that was the first ‘big’ event in my life and I remember it and pretty much everything after that. I even remember the day that Nixon resigned. I was 5 ½, but the newspaper headline was very large and covered ½ the page – it said NIXON RESIGNS. I didn’t understand what that meant, but I remember the headline!

I remember stupid things too, like my phone number when we lived in Orangeburg was 536-2961 and my address was 377 Adden Street - we left there in 1975 when I was 6 ½. Or my license plate number from my first Toyota LZL 509. I remember the key number too K1860. I remember my phone number when I lived in Charlotte for 17 months – 704-542-2998. I also remember many events over the years and can recount things that were said verbatim from 15 + years ago. I remember dates, places, even the details of what I was wearing at the time. I never considered this kind of memory unusual, but I guess it is based on what my friends tell me. I get it honestly though – my grandmother had the same kind of memory so I guess it is just the way my mind works. Just one more thing to confirm that I am different for sure!

The calendar says February, but the weather says April

Saturday and Sunday were two of the nicest days we’ve had in a while. With all of the rain and bitter cold we’ve had, it was amazing that it actually smelled like a spring morning the last few mornings when I went outside to get the paper. Yesterday I drove around all afternoon with the windows down and the sunroof back. Imagine my surprise when I saw people with a convertible and the top was not down – what a waste! Yesterday was perfect convertible weather.

I can’t get over how beautiful it was yesterday – it just felt amazing. The days are getting longer too which is especially nice when leaving work at 6 and it’s still light outside! I think the dark and cold were really beginning to wear me down. I’ve been leaving my house before 7 every morning and been getting home around 6:30. Friday afternoon, I actually left the office at 4:50 and got home a decent time. That was great!

We are also supposed to have a mild week which will be really nice for a change. It reminds me of a Valentine’s Day when I was in college – it was 1989 and I had this short sleeve red dress that I wore that day because it was warm enough. I usually dressed every day to go to class as I was working on campus and couldn’t wear jeans to school and then work. So it was a perfect day to wear that red dress. I hope to wear some different clothes this week now that the weather will be more mild. It’s nice to wear something different for a change and especially because it has warmed up!