So, the concrete is about a night away from drying, so tomorrow we're going to have a contractor come out to take a look at it and see about replacing the pads and reattaching the carpet more firmly than we can, since, you know, since it's his job, he can afford the really expensive, professional-grade home repair stuff. Hopefully, this will mean that within a week or two, I'll have built the new bookcases, replaced the broken couch, and sorted through enough junk to get to the new TV again, meaning I can finally get to buying a 360 and Mass Effects 1 and 2 hopefully by mid-February, which, if I push myself, since my classes start back up fairly late, I may be able to finish in time for ME3 with on at least a playthrough or two.

One thing I'm not entirely settled on though is the name, and since I don't want to panic about this, I figure I'll get some opinions from others while I can't do anything with the actual game, or at least for the two I'm set on finishing before playing ME3.

Playthrough 1, Male Paragade War Hero Earthborn Infiltrator:

1. Vintage Shepard - This is basically the Shepard I played in ME1 on the PC emulator I have, and as this and Retro Shepard were what I referred to his file as when trying to transfer it, it seems fitting.

2. Jean Shepard - As said, this is supposed to be the guy I played ME1 with originally, and I named him after Jean-Luc Picard, because it was late, and I couldn't think of anything better. Seems fitting to bring the name back.

3. Alan Shepard - Go full-on with the source of the "Shepard" surname, Alan Shepard, the first man NASA sent into space. Alternately,

4. Yuri Shepard/Gagarin Shepard - Make a play on the Shepard surname, by naming him after the winner of the first leg of the Space Race, the USSR's Yuri Gagarin.

Playthrough 2, Female Renegon Ruthless Spacer Soldier:

1. 2.0 Shepard - This was some stupid fun I considered having for a moment, as this is based on the Shepard I played ME2 with after failing to import the above Shepard. It doesn't really work since Shepard's the surname.

2. Alina Shepard - This seems to have become the default name I use on fictional female characters when I can't think of anything, and it has a nice ring to it.

3. Ariana Shepard - For some reason, I really like female names that start and end with A...

4. Valentina Shepard - Another reference to the space history my brother always talks up, this one is from Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.