I have to say

I need some writing advice:
I want a phrase to start a blog post that isn't "I have to say". I almost started this one with it, and I'm starting to dread the sight. For some reason, (there's another standard sentence starter), every time I want to begin talking about my opinion on anything, good or bad, I tend to start with "I have to say" or a variation thereof. I suppose I could get right into my feelings about the situation, but it seems abrupt.
Compare these two intros:

1) I'm getting pretty excited about Bioshock 2.
2) I have to say, I'm getting pretty excited about Bioshock 2.

The first is direct, and an efficient way of getting the information across, but the second sounds more like normal conversational speech to me. Should writing sound like that? I have absolutely no formal writing knowledge past High-school level, so I have no idea if how I write is acceptable for the format (blog posts) or not. I suppose if you take the stance that a blog is more of a personal diary, then you can write as you please. But it's also posted out on the internet for anyone to see, and that makes me self-concious about the quality. I suppose I could take a writing class if I wanted to get serious about it