Some of you know already that my uncle (well, my dad's uncle) died on 27th November. This was a bad time for him to go since not only my grandad was driving his car to see my aunt in Scotland that day, the day he died was on his birthday. I felt really bad when I heard this, and I'll be attending his funeral tomorrow.

Obviously, Christmas is just right behind the corner, but to be honest, I haven't been too excited about it this year. Is it because I'm getting older and become less interested in the holiday? No, it's not that. It's just my Christmas spirit has been torn apart by my dad after what happened last year. Let's go back to my Christmas 2007 journal:

"And that's what happened on Christmas Day for me. One thing, however. If my dad wasn't badly snoring on Christmas Day in the middle of the night where I ended up having to sleep on the floor downstairs in the living room (I couldn't sleep on the sofa since my dad already put the presents on there), this Christmas would have been very close to perfection."

I fear this is going to happen again. That day, my dad's "apology" wasn't that sincere. Seriously, I had to tell him to fucking apologise to me and when he said sorry, it didn't sound like he meant it. Sadly, he's not improved since then. He hasn't even tried to improve on his drinking habits either, so I dread the day his license ban is lifted. He did say he was going to try and improve himself, but he has failed that miserably. I'm beginning to lose faith in him as a father.

Besides that, I'm still looking forward to Christmas to see my sister again and I still hope everyone has a good Christmas. I'll try and enjoy myself, but if it happens again this year, don't expect me to be very happy.

After Christmas, I have plans to get more older games. I only have a few games in mind for the Mega Drive, but there are several to get for the PS1. For the Mega Drive, all I have in mind right now are Dynamite Headdy and Flashback (from the makers of Another World). For the PS1, there's actually a lot to get such as Heart of Darkness (also from the makers of Another World), Kula World, Kurushi/Intelligent Qube, Tombi 1 and 2 and getting back into the original Spyro trilogy.

Dyamite Headdy and Flashback I should have got during my retro madness back in August/September, but I guess I couldn't get everything at once. Kula World, Kurushi and Tombi 1 and 2 are all games I played demo versions of, but never got myself to get the full version of them and now I feel ashamed considering they're rare games now. They're usually sold for at least £30 - 40 on eBay. At least now I'm thinking of getting these games rather than leaving them for another 10 years when they could be even harder to get. Still, I played the demo version of these games and loved them. Why I didn't bother getting them during the fifth generation, I have no clue.

I used to be into the Spyro games, but for some reason, I never got the original game. I had 2 and 3, but I lost interest in the franchise. Now, I wish to get back into these games by getting the original 3 made by Insomniac. I don't care about any Spyro games made after the third one and by the looks of it, Spyro suffered a similar fate to the Crash Bandicoot franchise, which is a fucking shame since both game series had so much potential and could have been as big as Mario and Sonic if it weren't for them being handed to other companies.

(NOTE: I did have Spyro 2 and 3, but they were illegal copies, because my dad was such a fucking cheapskate back then! I'm now willing to get the legitimate copies of those games.)

I'm definitely looking forward to getting these games, but for the time being, I'm cool with Final Fantasy VII and Mega Man 9 up until Christmas. I've slowed down a bit on FFVII, but Mega Man 9, I got it 2 weeks ago and already completed it....TWICE! The second time I was on Hero Mode, so the game was harder, but I managed to get through it quickly. Now I want to try and beat it on Super Hero mode. Crazy? Maybe, but it can't be as bad as playing the Rockman No Constancy hack. I've seen some of the levels in that game and from the looks of it, it's TORTURE!!!

And that's all for gaming right now. For my 100th flash, I HAVE done a few things, which is better than nothing. However, 4 months and still at the start of working on it? Damn, this is becoming my Duke Nukem Forever. Maybe I'll get a move on with it in the new year. It won't be to do with New Years' Resolutions, because I always fucking fail them, so why bother making one for 2009?

Anyway, that's about it. The only other thing I can think of is this kid's stupid news post.

Summary:

- My uncle died 2 weeks ago and I'll be attending his funeral.
- Christmas may or may not be good this year depending how my dad behaves.
- I'm after several games.
- 100th flash is still in the works.