So it's a week until Valentine's day - that fateful time of year where the singles get depressed and drink themselves into a state of severe inebriation, and the couples of the world get sickeningly loved up.

This year I am a member of the single's club for Valentine's, which I don't mind so much - at least it means I don't have to spend money on someone else (and women really make you spend). Last year on Valentines day I started going out with my now ex-girlfriend, which was entirely unplanned, but annoyingly cheesy nevertheless.

So this year, perhaps I'll stay in and join the rest of the single world in drinking myself half to death to avoid facing the depressing fact that I have nobody to be all loved up with, or perhaps I'll embrace my singledom and go out and get drunk instead.

Ultimately, Valentines day is really just a huge commercialised excuse to waste money and improve some large company's revenue for the month. I sound bitter about it, but honestly that's what I believe, even when I've been in relationships during previous Valentine's days.

So all you single folks out there, don't despair that you have nobody to waste your hard-earned cash on this year, but rather cherish these days when you don't have a woman getting irritated with you for spending too much time with your mates, or, in the case of the ladies, a man irritating you by spending too much time with his mates. And all the other crap that comes along with a relationship that we often don't think about when we're single.

Peace.

"Frosties are just Cornflakes for people who can't face reality."

Thoughts?
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:::EDIT [01/22/08]:::

Was in a car crash today. Thankfully, nobody was hurt, but I'm pissed because my car was pretty mashed up. Somehow it's still drive-able, but I need to get it fixed because I'm dubious about driving it in its current condition.
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:::EDIT [02/04/08]:::

Thanks to everyone who has left kind words following the previous edit - It's much appreciated :)

<3

[EDIT]

Well, I finally got bored of my old edited Tankman pic, and decided to put one of myself up. WITH A GIRL NO LESS! She's not my girlfriend. =(

Also I got bored with listing my stats here. I'm sure you guys can deal with it.
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Useful NG related links:

Experience Calculator - Courtesy of Denvish. See how long it will take to reach the levels ahead of you.
ExtraGrounds - Courtesy of ExtraLife. Newgrounds secrets, easter eggs, old banners and logos, etc.
Newgrounds Log - Courtesy of Casualty. Log your Newgrounds stats and view them in a comprehensive and useful way.

Well, I got back a few days ago from a couple days in Amsterdam, which was a really nice refreshing break. The city is really crazy, and I would reccommend it to anybody who hasn't had the experience before. There's so much to see and do, but you can fit all the best bits into about 4-5 days. Some of my favourite parts of the place were:

Laws - Obviously it's the laws for the whole of the Netherlands, not just Amsterdam, but it's still crazy walking around the city and smelling people smoking weed out in the street. They even have 'Coffee Shops' (as they call them) where you can buy cannabis from a menu. It's very weird, but amusing.

Red Light District - Even though I'd never actually pay for any form of sex, it was still fun to stroll through the red light district and check out the hot prostitutes (and the not so hot ones too). It's a very vibrant part of the city: the streets of the district are lined with glass doors, behind which you'll normally see either a hooker smiling back at you, of a closed curtain behind which something explicit is happening! Occasionally, a prostitute will see you looking at them, and come out of their little glass-doored rooms and make you offers. The lowest offer I had was 20 euros for a blowjob and a shag. (or "Suck and fuck", as she put it). I didn't take it - I'm not the type of guy who pays for sex.

Weather - Although it was forecasted to be cloudy, it was sunny every single day, and I think I might even have got a slight tan!

People - The people there were helpful and mostly cheery, although there are a lot of drug dealers on the streets at night who will offer you hard drugs as you walk past them. You just have to not look at them and walk on, because if you make eye contact with them they WILL come over and offer you drugs. Other than that, the atmosphere was relaxed and easy going.

Food and Drink - The food was exceptional, everything was made fresh and to a really good standard. It wasn't too expensive either. The beer is all Dutch brands, such as Heineken and Amstel, except in a few places like Irish pubs and English pubs, where you'll get all the classic stuff. Not complaining though, as the Dutch beer was very nice indeed.

The Heineken Brewery - If you go to Amsterdam, you should go to the Heineken brewery. It's something like 11 euros to get in, which is about £6 (don't know what it is in dollars). For the entrance fee, you get a self-guided tour around the whole brewery (which is very modern and interactive), 3 free beers, and a free gift. There's also extra stuff like a gift shop, where you can buy all kinds of stuff with the Heineken logo on it, from beer towels to clothes.

So that's a few highlights of Amsterdam from my perspective. There were a few things that I didn't do, like going into the sex museum, and visiting the art galleries, but I felt like doing the other stuff first, and didn't have much time or money left to do the other stuff towards the end.

I'd like to thank alrd for depositing for me during my time away, which was very kind of her. Feels good to be back on NG though =D

I've been having a hard time motivating myself to up my stats lately. Some of it has been due to the fact that I've been really busy lately, and another part of it is due to the fact that I just find it hard to get motivated these days, particularly with B/P.

Depositing is easy enough, and I usually vote on the under-judgement stuff anyway, so I'll at least get a few B/P points per day, but nowhere near what I used to be getting.

As for the BBS, I'm still at home in the Wi/Ht? forums, as always. I don't even bother lurking in General anymore, as the last few times I visited, the kind of threads people posted in there were just ridiculous, and the forum as a whole seems largely devoid of any form of intelligence, save the odd nomad who has valiantly wandered into the darkness of the General forums to attempt in vain to restore the order and bring some light back into the void. *End pontification*. As previously stated, though, I'll usually be found in the Wi/Ht? forums, which seem to me to be mostly the complete opposite of the General forums. The users in there are (for the most part) kind, helpful, conversational, and easy to get along with.

But back to the original point of this News Post: Stats. Does anybody else feel that their desire to achieve higher stats has been dented slightly after the redesign? I've seen so many people in the Level Up! Lounge posting their achievements lately, and today was my first one in a while, whereas I used to be getting quite a few.

Maybe it's just me.

On a happier note, welcome back alrd, who should be back home from holiday at some point today. =)

So this is all different...! My initial reaction at the new layout was somewhat negative, I must admit. I mean, I'm not happy with some aspects of it, such as the sucky new B/P levels, but generally it's pretty cool.

Considering the fact that this is supposed to be more 'Personal news', like a blog, I guess, I'm going to share some of my thoughts on the new layout with you all.

It's weird, having been here for 2+ years as a user, (and more as a general visitor), that suddenly I find myself having to work things out here again. This is exaccerbated by the fact that I'm usually in the Wi/Ht? forums telling people how stuff works around here. Now, it seems, I need to figure out how stuff DOES work around here, all over again.

Admittedly, It's not ALL different. Most things that I've grown to love are still here, and some other new and really cool things have been added. Despite the negatives, I really can't fault Tom and the NG team on the redesign, as it really does make it a better and cooler place to be.

Finally, a short list of my likes and dislikes concerning the redesign:

Likes

- Personal News on profile page
- Some of the new level icons
- The general new look of the site
- Forums
- The 2 new auras
- New emoticons
- Ability to post on the front page (despite spam)

Dislikes

- Profile Page layout could be better
- Some of the new level icons
- Most of the new B/P icons
- Weird new Pic/Sig Pic dimensions

That's all I can really think of for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the redesign, and their new levels! Now I have to go and make a new forum sig pic.

NEVR