So I was talking to my friend Candice the other day, online. We’re having our normal, everyday discussion of random subjects; graphic arts, how I burned my tongue on not-quite-cool rice crispy treats, and how the people in my house snore. And she tells me “You should sign up for the Got-Next blog. My editor’s working on it right now.”

So I did. And then I thought to myself “Why did I just sign up for a public blog on a gamer’s site when I’m not even really a gamer?”

Let me explain, please, before the pitchforks come out.

I’m not big on keeping up-to-date on the latest advances in gamer technology (although Candice generally keeps me pretty well updated - it’s one of the benefits of having a hardcore gamer as a friend). I’m entirely too cheap to actually invest in said technology (I just recently within the past six months got a PS2, something like six years after they came out…I’ll probably never have a PS3). And I don’t pay attention to what games are coming out. I’m the person you’ll find at a GameSpot or GameCrazy at nine at night browsing the Xbox and PS2 used selection and picking stuff I think is nifty, generally in the $10 price range.

So while I very much enjoy video games, I can’t really consider myself a gamer, because the title “Gamer” indicates “hardcore,” someone who enjoys games more than almost anything.

So now you’re allowed to bring out the pitchforks, because I’ve been wondering, while I sit at my desk here at work and type this, what in God’s name I’m doing here and why I’m doing this. I figure, though, that the community itself is pretty cool, so I’ll hang in there and see what this gamer’s world has to offer. And I’ll also hope I come out of it in one piece.