I know it's been kinda quiet in here. Been kinda quiet for a while, actually. I sent an email to Kamshaft, but didn't get an answer, nor have I seen him around here. Ghostrider's been busy. Moltenluv kinda disappeared. It's kinda like everybody came together as a group for a while and now everybody is back to doing their own thing. The last three customs I sold on eBay I practically gave away, and the two I didn't give away, didn't sell, either.

I've got a lot of plates to work on. A few of those are for people but most of them are for games that I hope to get signed by devs. A guy who sent me five emails back and forth about a plate finally found out I was asking a whole $45 for his custom, and he said "Oh, never mind then." Someone else is buying some stickers for what they cost me and nothing more.

I've wanted to be in the gaming industry so bad for a long time that I'm doing irrational stuff. I agreed to take on some writing projects for a website called thegamereviews.com. I spent 15 hours playing Dead Space so I could write them a review, and a couple of hours working on the review, and a couple MORE hours editing the review along with the staff there. I did two other articles for them, too. I had to write them back and tell them there just wasn't any way I could keep a schedule like that.

I started back at Game Crazy. I have an interview next week in LA with a Gamestop DM who I THOUGHT had a manager position available, but doesn't. However, he does have an ASM position available but I don't think I can justify moving to LA for that. Still, this guy is the guy to know, so I'm considering it a recon mission.

I also have an offer to submit freelance work to OXM. I sent inquiries out to two places about potential stories. One place never got back to me. The other said they would, and THEN never got back to me. Plus I still haven't been paid by OXM for the article I DID write. I emailed last week, and THEY haven't gotten back to me.

I wrote a concept for a game that we never got a chance to pitch because the company changed gears and went a different direction. And there's so much I want to do in here at XBA to this database to make it more than a really long list, and there's just nobody to do it.

Maybe it's all just mid-life crisis. I want to have some kind of an impact on SOMETHING. All of my swings seem to just be glancing blows.

So, sorry for the emo moment.

I think what I might do is this: I might call 2009 the last hurrah for the game industry. That might change if I do get in somewhere where I can make a positive impact. But I think I'll do something like... I'll work on faceplates until 1/1/10 and then say goodbye to the customizing hobby. I'll still collect them if there's money to be had, but there's other things to be done, too. I'll go to E3 if I can, and PAX if it is at all possible. But once 1/1/10 gets here, I think I will relegate my connection to the gaming industry to "a guy who plays games" and leave it at that. That will give me a long time to work through the requests that I have, and the things that I want to do for my own creative outlet.

To end: This isn't a "me" thread. It's just a thread. If you've got something you want to talk about with the rest of us faceplate guys, throw it out here.