Monday MUpdate: On a Tuesday

Due to Memorial Day, I took off all of my duties yesterday and slept in. I rolled around for hours doing nothing but watching movie and getting some personal work done. And since last updating, have I once played a video game? Not really, no. I saw Nate on Friday and we played Rock Band and Guitar Hero II for all of five minutes, and I once again tried to tackle "Jordan" but lost at the 50% mark like I always do. So I don't have much to say.

...or do I?

While most of my friends know this, I figure this is something 100% worthwhile to write about for an entry as the general gaming public who make up our readers don't know this: on Thursday, as I drove between Massachusetts and New Jersey, I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. Even though I was "watching" Two Guys and A Girl off my laptop, I decided I was in a good mood so I would pick up the phone.

"Hello?" I said.
"Hi, is this Matthew?" said a voice on the other end.
"Why, yes it is! How can I help you?"
"Do you remember entering a contest on IGN a while back to go to E3?"
"...yes?"
"Well, I'm calling to congratulate you on being the winner!"
"..........Get outta town!!"

You see, right when I got my new fancy desk job, I started surfing several websites on a regular basis: fmylife.com, failblog.org, kotaku.com, and ign.com. One day, IGN had a contest to be a guest editor at E3. I entered it casually as I often do most prizes, figuring that I probably wouldn't win but if I did, Nate and I could go. And then I promptly forgot about it. And then I got a call telling me that I won! I'm not going to lie - I feel like the cat's pajamas. After finishing my conversation with the woman on the phone (who reminded me of GLaDOS in that she wouldn't say I could bring a friend but that I could bring a "travel companion," and I wanted to ask if it was ok if I brought a box with hearts on it but didn't want to be rude), I immediately called Nate over and over until he picked up at work so I could scream the good news into his ear.

And now, Nate and I will be going to E3. We fly out June 2nd and spend all day June 3rd on the Expo floor, me working for IGN and Nate having the time of his life running around and meeting videogame people. Expect long articles from Nate about how much he loves me followed by all the things we will see at E3. I'm excited to play games like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Bioshock 2, Brutal Legend, Beatles Rock Band, Mass Effect 2, and DJ Hero. "DJ Hero?" you ask, confused. Yes, DJ Hero, because honestly, it looks kinda fun, and I want to play it without buying it. I'm also hoping to see something exciting from Valve. Oh, the week is going so slow!

So that's it for me. I'm currently making lists of things to bring, and by that I'm deciding what graphic novels I should go out and buy to read on the plane. I probably won't be bringing my laptop to LA because I don't want to risk losing it, but I may get a Twitter account so I can update it as I go about playing games and doing things. At the very least, Nate will be doing that, so expect next week to be fun and exciting for everyone.


See you at E3!