Thursday, February 18, 2010

Chapter Four - The Apology

Ok, I admit it, it hasn't been the overwhelming storm of posts I had first hoped for and anticipated, but that has an array of reasons. First off, writing requires some time. Not that I lack it, I just lack concrete writing time. And when you try to create posts longer than five sentences with more to say than just "Avatar w00t", that will eat some time off you. I estimate every post I make took me at least an hour or five to make and that's putting it lightly. In reality, that will be more than double. Finding the appropriate words to clearly express what you think and mean will also take some time. And all those together will have to happen at the right time, specially for someone like me who doesn't take notes during the day when the ideas roll in. Bastards, coming over unexpectedly, not giving me the proper time to prepare. The problem is that not all the free time I have can be spent writing and not all that time is in one piece. Actually, most writing is done is small parts, which annoys me, because I usually get most my ideas at night when I'm in bed. I think that's a common problem, but it does slow my progress quite a bit. Which leads us to the next problem.


Social obligations. Believe it or not,I do have a life outside of this, be it an ever so small and insignificant one. I have few friends, a girlfriend, hobbies, projects, family and all those people expect you to spend some time on them. Unbelievable, I know. And not only is this a vast portion of all my time, it also happens at the most random times and usually intertwines with each other. This to make things extra fun and difficult for me. For instance, I work out; again unbelievable.

Anyway, to complete my program there, I need to do about 2 hours of cardio and more than 2 hours on toning exercises. Take into account daily preparations, crunches and whatnot and that easily amount to 7 hours gone. Gone, I say! As that all happens at random times and days all time before and after that can also be scratched. I need to get ready and I need to shower and rest afterwards, or at least try.
Somewhere around there I need to feed myself and make sure that there will be nutrients in the fridge the next time I visit my close friend. And when I say my fridge is a close friend, it's because he's a few feet away from me at all times. So, in order to keep a healthy relation with said pal, I will have to take a few trips to the store.
There's a load of things one needs to do to maintain a lifestyle including things and people around him. Going to shop with the misses, catching up with friends, checking mails and responding said mails, making sure your arrangements are in order; the list goes on and on horridly. If you subtract all this, you'll keep about 2-3 hours of writing time snippets throughout the day. Good luck pooling all your thoughts together in those 10 minute snippets and not using some to go to the can. And no, I don't write this while on the john; I'm all business there.

But the first, foremost and most obvious reason I've been avoiding for a while now is the most simple one you can muster:
PROCRASTINATION! Boy, I love that word almost as much as I hate the meaning of it. 
I could've gone on about how everything in life vehemently tries to fight me away from my keyboard and cry about the unfairness of it all. But the plain fact is: Once I'm at my keyboard, I'll usually find something else to do than write about things 4 people read. Herewith, I'd like to get on my knees and thank these people for taking the time to read my droning discourse, about things I doubt anyone connects with.
Also, I have the attention span of a dead rat and I'll get distracted by anything shiny at the drop of a hat. I'll also get distracted by the drop of a hat, as the expression would otherwise seem weird. 

Another main reason for this procrastination should be clear to previous entry readers: I have a game addiction. Please don't judge me, I like gaming more than real life, it's true. The problem is, the real world often sucks (10 points for reference). In game land, even though you encounter countless frustrations, everything you do leads to imminent hero status. Win the cup, slay the dragon, save the maiden or beat the last, mind-boggling level; it doesn't matter what you do. In the end you'll ultimately feel accomplished, or at least you should. As I'm a fan of old games, I had to bite the bullet a few times on that one; "Thanks for playing", kiss my hairy bum.
The point is, spending time in game land is the best, healthiest escapism I can think of, until Virtual Reality kicks in and we'll all be doing the Arnold like in Total Recall. And if it isn't the best time of your life, you can always shut it off with the flick of a button and go venture in some other awesome world. Don't you wish your life was like that? One second, you're a Grey Warden slaying Darkspawn to save Ferelden and once you're tired of that, boom! You're suddenly in a giant Mech, blasting away and shredding metal. The possibilities are limitless and only an inch away.

I'm also quite a music fan and that also takes up a large portion of my time, some in escapism, some not. But where music is the mood, a game is a complete setting, with tunes and all. Songs do a nice job to whisk you away and that works specially well in the great outdoors. You can put on the ol' Choking victim cd and stare into oblivion, but I've had to deal with a few problems several time while doing so. 
You see, the great outdoors stays where it is, whether you choose to be a part of it or not. So you can stare into nothingness with the headphones blaring, zombie walking your way to your destination, but you can't escape from it fully. At some point you'll have to notice your surroundings or risk getting run over by numerous life choosers, as I've frequently had. Not a pleasant experience to get torn away from your dreamworld by some cyclist, when you've been shoving "Get This" by Slipknot down your cranium for 20 minutes.
At some points I switch off the more violent songs out of fear of insanity outbursts. If your fantasy world depicts nothing but beaten and bludgeoned corpses, suddenly getting ripped from that view might warp your reality sense. And I already had none of that sense to begin with. It's fine to think about tearing apart the irritating youngsters in front of you in the bus, it's more inappropriate to suddenly do it. You don't want poor Marilyn to get harassed again, do you? Neither do I; he's such a good lad. Now, look me in my brand new eye!

And before you go all hardcore on me by saying you face your life head-on, stop for a second as I reveal to you this universal truth: Everyone on this planet is inclined to escapism! As 7 Seconds once simply, but perfectly put it: We all try cutting corners, we all prefer the ease. Whether it is speeding in traffic, watching films or tv, having a beer, conversations with friends or anything to take you away from your dull life. You don't like life anymore than I do and want to get over the crappy bits as fast and straightforward as you can.
My crappy bits are just so much more numerous and absolute. Anything I do in real life leads to imminent failure, as I, myself, am a failure. At least, in strange irony, that serves it's purpose marvelously. But it's also why I choose to put off those things as long as I can.You could contend the fact I finish some games and must ultimately do some things correct, but no. There's usually such a large, wide amount of failure proceeding this completion, the finish was a mere matter of probability. You could commend my dedication, but again, there's nothing deserving of it.
I keep failing until Lady Chance spins the wheel on the odd factor that somehow finishes the game. But since I'm used to ominous failure, I still prefer the digital kind I can trial and error my way out. There's no way I can hit the reset button after decapitating the jerk who scolded me at my job interview. Not that I'd want to reset such righteous actions.But isn't it awesome to do whatever you want to and then drop it when it gets dull? Games will do that for you, sir. Games have it all!


I find it odd that this suddenly turned out to be another game post, but there must've been remnants of the previous one stuck in my brain goo. Oh yes, now I remember why! Apologies all around for the Alzheimer-esque, senile contemplation.When I finished Dragon Age and intended to swiftly breeze through my previous post, my brother sent me a message. Apparently, his brain hadn't processed I wouldn't be desecrating his house anymore and he asked to come over. Being the wonderful human being I am, I promptly did and told him I finished the game. I then asked him to suggest another game I could use as a means to rape his generous hospitality. We both drew a blank on that one however and I suggested something that should tie together all previous bits about procrastination and game addictions. I suggested, for several reasons, we'd have another go at playing Civilization together.For one, it's both our favorite game and we played it once before, but without the add-ons. Also, that would give me a chance to raid my own home and be semi-available there for other people and purposes. I'd still be locked firmly in my chair, but I'd be there in the flesh. You might even have the odd chance of asking me a question in between turns.




There's a major problem, however, with playing Civilization: It's the mother of all unaccessible games! You can't play it for an hour, you have to play it for at least 6 hours a day or you might as well try to start your own civilization in real life.But since I love to procrastinate professionally, that doesn't faze me at all. And so started my serious delay on any other thought I might have had. Truth be told, there isn't much room for other thoughts when you're in a 15 hour lasting game session. That's right, 15 hours straight. Well, straight is relative. There are odd minutes in which you try and prepare and consume food while you play, but I'll be damned if I use the restroom while my turn is active! But putting in these kinds of hours means every game session postponed my writing with at least one full day. Together with everything else, I might add. It's hard to feed yourself fast and efficiently when your dishes have been stacked to the ceiling and your fridge has been raided a few days in a row. Thank pixie sticks, laziness also breeds creativity. You find the most appetizing, leftover, microwavable bits you can find and shove them onto a tray you're not even sure will be safe to prepare. No time for major concerns or health warnings though, my legions need me on the virtual fronts of Sparta! This is what life feels like in a continuous LAN-party where you're the only guest.

In conclusion, don't blame me for my lack of material. Blame Sid Meier and his marvelous, juicy brain from where he emitted this gift of gods from. Were it not for him and his Pirates game back on the Commodore 64, who knows? I might have become an accountant or a corporate slave in a classy suit with a bluetooth headset.
Damn you, sir Meier, for all the wonders you have created! Please send me retributions for ruining my life immediately! 
I'll accept all games and related goodies and merchandise you have to spare, together with a signed photograph of you, be it in bikini or not.

PS: In an ironic twist, this blog was created in less than 3 hours.

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