Life Unemployed -- What's sitting next to you at the ESC?

Finally a break through, I'm called to the unemployment office to take a typing and spelling test to qualify for a job they want to recommend me for. But before we get to that let me explain, getting up at 8 a.m. has become harder since .. there really isn't a goal other than waking up in the morning these days. But I managed to get up at 6 a.m. and even ate breakfast.

God I love Starbucks in the morning. I miss Starbucks. Okay. Back to the story.

It was an interesting day at the Employment Security Commission's Office, but not because of the test ... no. Much like the job fair, it was the other people waiting to file claims, take tests or even use the job board computers. How entertaining? Well.

Let me put this in YouTube videos to explain. First up. The mismatched Asian American girl faking the cute Asian behavior we often see on television to win the clerks over. Ok. I'm no fashion queen, but School girl outfits are cute when they are worn by little girls, much like the singer in this video, an adult woman wearing a school girl outfit with an outrageous tan makes her look more like a guy. Except in this video the lead singer really is a guy.



Next person to sit near me ... I don't really think he came in to find a job or file a complaint. I think he really is one of the homeless people looking for a warm place to take a nap, so he doesn't really count. But the woman and her two screaming children do. So coming in at number two is a woman wearing more fur than Wookies at a Star Wars convention. Seriously. If it weren't for the screaming we would have never known she had kids. Even the homeless guy went outside to sleep in peace. I'd listen to my MP3 player if it would drown the screaming out, but I have learned no matter how high you turn the volume you will still hear the screaming. Sigh.



Once the kids have settled, they were all over the place like a Gremlin infestation.



Wow. That's enough to keep you entertained while you wait. But just before I was called in the next two were just as entertaining. The smooth guy who thought he could smooth talk to the front of the line only to find out ... he can't file in NC if he lost his job in Virginia but plays it off and tries to smooth talk the lady clerk anyways. Sheesh. All he had to do was ask to use the job board computers, that's open to the public.



The last person that sat near me before I went in to take my tests was the guy still in denial that he lost his job. Believe me, I was riding the denial train for awhile myself. So I know where he's coming from. He kind of reminded me of the sadness I went through before I came to my senses and kept hunting for a job and any gigs that paid like my game blogs. Even in the virtual world on my PlayStation HOME, I meet hundreds like me still continuing to stay connected and out looking for jobs and any paying gig they can find. I do my best to help them and they in turn help me by sending me the links of potential employers and paid gigs available online. Hoping that together we can find jobs for everyone regardless of what niche' they're looking for.



Well after my test I was given the recommendation, I had the interview Monday and await news from this insurance company on Wednesday. So I'll let you know then if I'm employed or unemployed.

Life Unemployed -- Living virtually to forget despair

The new changes to the PlayStation Home has started to take hold. Although I haven't found the blocking option that will take out the "trolls" from my general area or the free camera I can use to photograph my friends and I playing a game together or just being silly, it's still impressive.

I must say I'm impressed with games and personal spaces in general. As I hunt the streets of my area for a part-time or even full-time job only to find disappointment and despair. Find solitude playing my games and writing stories about the games I adore on Facebook or games in general for the two sites I write for. I can count on a pleasant evening in the virtual world. Despite the occasional "trolls" the PlayStation Home has become a second Home for me that my boyfriend Parrish and I can enjoy after an evening of Metal Gear Online or even the new Uncharted 2 Multi-player with friends. Either on the US or Japanese servers and occasionally the European servers.




But all the new updates and changes make living virtually much more appealing. For example, the Neptune Suite, a new personal space on Home that is simply as ingenious as it is gorgeous. I didn't know exactly what I was getting based on a video but I purchased it anyways for $5.99 at the Mall on PS HOME. Why didn't Sony think of this any sooner? Two personal mini-games I can play when I don't want to be bothered by anyone or invite friends over to dance and play a shooting gallery game with them. Check it out:



If only real life can be this interesting at least. So even after spending all day tracking down possible job openings, finding freelance gigs that can at least pay for next week's groceries, more blogging gigs to help pay the bills.

Even though two gaming companies (bForsaken Studios and iMU Canada) are in the process of finding investors to help fund the programmers, writers, artists and the rest of the staff I hope to be gainfully employed before my unemployment funds disappear.

Until then, I know I can come home from a long day of filling out applications, re-writing my resume thirty something times and nervously sit in one of three business outfits that I own for an interview, and turn my PlayStation 3 on and enjoy an evening forgetting that I was unsuccessful in finding a job in my area that day.

Internet Travels: A virtual beach paradise on PlayStation Home

During my travels from country to country via PlayStation HOME, I have found a peaceful spot on the Japanese server I'm sure would become my favorite hangout when I need to meditate or get away from the Trolls on the US servers. The Japanese Home has a new Beach Resort that is ... well ... awesome. Check it out:





Beautiful fish swimming past you as you walk the bottom for buried treasure, dolphins leaping over your head and schools of clown fish swimming beneath the pier. Just don't stay underwater too long, your avatar actually drowns and gets put on the beach somewhere.

There are plenty of rooms available along the pier you can hang out in, a store where you can purchase and dress your avatars in stylish bikinis or snorkel gear. You can even sit on the docks and watch sail boats in the distance sail by or dolphins leaping through the air.

Ahhhhh .... HOME .... i'm loving it.

Attack of the Internet Trolls: Traveling the world virtually to escape them.

First off, I want to ask a question ... where the heck are all the MODs on Home? It seems they have taken a vacation and the "Trolls" (as my friend May calls them) are back in full force in the PlayStation HOME community.

It's sad when a girl like myself can't log into HOME for more than two minutes, before a Troll comes running across central plaza with "You're HOT! Let's talk about me and you .... " blah blah blah .... am I right girls or what? And if that's not all, the obnoxious messages about phone sex, gross questions and disgusting photos begin flooding my inbox. Why is this happening in full force? Because in the past two weeks, not a single MOD who would often offer assistance have gone missing and every second that ticks by becomes less enjoyable and more aggravating.

On the US server no matter how many times you tell them no, stop bothering you or even go away. They keep
pestering you and start talking about how they are ten times better than my
boyfriend and even have the virtual (insert body part of choice) to insult him personally if he happens to be there with me. Reporting them doesn't seem enough to put an end to their nonsense either, so I've taken refuge on foreign servers.

For example, on the Japanese servers I get asked if I have a boyfriend and would I be interested. Tell them you are already taken and they bow politely and excuse themselves with an apology. If my boyfriend is standing there they offer an apology to him as well and go away. No messages, no photos, no pestering. Once and a great while we find one or two Trolls that have escaped the US servers and leaked over but they are quickly reported by everyone around you and you don't often see them again.

On the UK server, simply saying no often drive them away and the same over in Germany. In Hong Kong and Taiwan, I don't get bothered at all by pervs or anyone else there for that matter. They are there to play the games and chat with friends, that's it. Also, they seem to enjoy you trying to speak their language if you know a word or two. And if you're typing it wrong they help you, while you play a Home game with them or even teach you new words to help you make new friends. If you happen to play the same multi-player game they may send you a friend request to join them in a game session.

In Australia, its as bad as the US server so I don't often visit there anymore. Haven't been to the French servers yet and have yet to explore the rest of the world's servers and checking out what games they're playing now while I'm there.

But from what I've seen, there's so much interactivity there like for example. You should have seen the concert in Japan, check it out. There's more on Youtube, see if you can't find me in the crowd in one of them. I'll be wearing a white kimono top, black shorts and black boots raving in the crowd :)





Or over in Hong Kong, where you can be taken to your destination by rocket ship:





Maybe if we didn't have so many trolls behaving badly on Home, Sony may actually do something like this on the US server. Maybe? I've been to several events that were cut short because of the trolls and the cursed bubble machine these trolls like to use to block games, prevent you from entering certain spaces, etc. Like the meeting with the creators of Street Fighter 4 ... only lasted 3 minutes before it ended because trolls went up to these creator's avatar and started doing the running man and cursing at them. When Home first opened, one of the Home managers came to ask what everyone would like to see on Home and again ... a troll started cursing at them claiming X-Box was better and so on.

What is happening to our society? Is there no way to do a better job of disciplining this bad behavior? I'm already dealing with glitchers and cheaters in Metal Gear Online, when I want to relax and go somewhere to unwind the last thing I want to deal with are 14 through 25 year-old perverts flooding my inbox with smut or pestering me when I'm having a chat session with friends. Simply reporting them and then blocking has become a chore ... I'd rather deal with the cheating idiots on Metal Gear than deal with idiots on HOME. At least on MGO you can mow their team down with an AK-47 or throw a grenade over there or even kick them out of the arena to silence them ... on HOME ... well ... its sad really.

Don't get me wrong, I think HOME is still great, but it would be even better if we didn't have to deal with these trolls every single day. But now I have to take up virtual residence on foreign servers to enjoy my experience. There needs to be a better way to deal with rude people other than just report and block. Blocking them just simply means muting their text so you can't read it, but they're still there being a troll.

Well, I guess i'm off to explore the French server. Au revoir pour maintenant mes gamers semblables.