I figure I'll jump on the bandwagon here and announce my Christmas day loot. Ho ho ho!

I got what I wanted this year - an Xbox 360 and Madden 13. I've had just a plain old Xbox since 2004 and have lived off of Madden 07 for the Gamecube and ESPN NFL 2k5 on the Xbox since then, in part due to my disdain for how EA has handled Madden post-exclusivity deal. I'm a capitalist so I respect their right to buy those exclusive rights, but I used my right to not buy their games because they started to suck after Madden 2005 (which was fantastic). However, due to their concerted effort to improve Madden this year and the warmer reception from the sim gamer community in regards to the physics engine, I decided to cave and buy it. Boy, is it fun and worth buying - I'm in a Connected Career as Ron Rivera (despite the array of legendary coaches like John Madden) and have led the Panthers to a 6-4 record thus far. Oddly enough, the league has had two ties this year (although in real life I think they will be more common due to the new overtime rules).

I also got a nice new guitar strap for my new 5-string bass guitar, and it is pretty awesome. Additionally, I got a good wall mount so I can have my two guitars both out at once instead of having one in a case at all times. Finally, I got a new Christmas ornament (a guitar ornament), a Best Buy coupon, 2013 season pass to Carowinds, and candy. Outside the family I got a small gumball machine, a Tim Tebow book, and more candy.

I purchased Xbox Live as a gift for myself, and I also plan on buying a pedal for my iRig Amplitube app so I can use some of the effects (like grunge distortion) in live performances. Whenever I can get my membership to work (stupid Microsoft server) I'd be more than happy to accept challenges from sim or non-cheeser gamers - my gamertag is ToaNidhiki05.

Overall, I enjoyed this Christmas. Merry Christmas to all of you and a Happy New Year as well!

-TN05