October 2010 Recap

October was a better month than September. We logged 30 items collectively. Trevor put away a personal best six items, and that doesn't include his ill-received Fable II post. Keith was absent for a third straight month, and I think at this point the general idea is that he'll return when and if he wants to do so; it's really on him to decide whether or not to pursue a career in the logging industry. Sween and Marissa each added five posts of their own, Webber chipped in two, and I led the way with a dozen.

A month ago, I set a personal logging goal of 7-7-7 - that is to say, seven DVDs, seven games, and seven books in one calendar month. It was hell of ambitious and I knew it'd be nearly impossible to accomplish. But by aiming high, I still did alright after falling short, finishing 3 games, 4 books, and 5 DVDs. That grand total of twelve loggings is still pretty meager compared to my own "career" average of 19, but there are two important things to point out here. One is that the 12-count is still my highest since commencing a full time job. I hate to say it, but 20-post months may just be a thing of the past for me. And this means I've got to put an even higher emphasis on not buying new items. This brings me to my second point; with only four purchases in October (two DVDs and two games), I still netted a progress of +8 on the month (or -8 if you're going by items in my backlog). That's my biggest accomplishment since June (+10) and the four acquisitions are the best I've done since January. (There were four in that month as well.)

There are a few reasons to believe November will be an even more logger-friendly month than October was. One is a pair of four-day weekends (Veterans Day and then Thanksgiving). Another is Daylight Savings Time ending, ensuring very long and dark (and indoor-friendly) evenings. A third is a simple dwindling of the primetime TV schedule. If I'm watching less TV, I've got more time to log shit. All of this having been said, I should be able to have a better November than I did an October. This means logging at least 12 items and posting at least a +8 in the overall progress column. Why not shoot for 15 (a 5-5-5, for instance) and a +10? And although I never quite seem capable of coming through on my specific goals, I guess I should make a few anyway just for shits and giggles and overall direction.

In the video games department, I'll aim to complete Onimusha, the first Call of Duty game, and Final Fantasy III once and for all. These should combine to take up no more than eight hours of my time, but we'll see. Turning to books, I think it's time I head back for some more Joseph Heller; Picture This should be easy enough to finish off. And let's also throw in kids' book and a nonfiction book while we're at it. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and The Tipping Point fit the bill just fine. Finally, on the DVD front I'll go for three seasons of television, all from FX: the most recent seasons of The League and Always Sunny and the first one of Sons of Anarchy. Anyone else got something specific?