for Alicia Billman to come up with a guest post, I think I'll say a little bit about one of my real passions that not too many people know about. I have recently debugged my desktop computer, which was loaded with a ton of trouble, mostly viruses with horrible names. In doing so, I have been reunited (and it feels so good) with my Scrabble game. Let me say that I used to play at least two games of Scrabble at the Master level before leaving for work every day. My game was still there when my computer was funky, but it ran sluggish and sometimes froze.
So Scrabble and I are back together. Problem is, I now suck at it. In the months of not playing, I seem to have lost my ability to generate good words or capitalize on the Maven's played words in any decent manner. I may have to set the difficulty level lower for awhile. I am losing and losing big.
Are there other things in the world that should be of greater concern to me? Yes. And yes I'm aware that admitting to an addiction a computer-generated Scrabble game is not even as cool as admitting to an addiction to the online version or to online porn. But it's what I got, and I used to be damn good at it. And now I'm not. But I'll be back on top someday. You wait and see.
So what kinds of uncool (or cool, if you insist) addictions, fetishes, habits, whateva, do you have? I'm leaving the rating scale to your discretion.
If you're driving through Clinton, NY between 4:00 and 5:00, guest activist Alicia Billman will be on the Village Green holding up a sign with the rest of us. Honk for the hottie!
Good Day and Peace Out
wouldn't it be nice if mine weren't parked in the snow?
yikes
My Pops, Vinnie Murphy
who'd a thought 97 could be so cute!
the Moms, aka Catherine Murphy
is my mama adorable, or what?
Mark Doty
Portland Santacon
Manda and me on Thanksgiving
trying not to crack up too much. I gotta say I love my family.
It won't look like this
He da man, oh yeah!
too bad his last book sucked
This?
Or This?
You decide
Better Days
My hero
She's cute, but she's nuts!
nice segueway, huh?
My Hero
I am
- Patricia Murphy, a resident of
- the Village of Clinton, New York, United States
- I'm a college writing teacher and graduate of Idaho State University's soon-to-be-defunct Doctor of Arts Program. I write poetry and read it sometimes at local venues. I like nice people, no matter what their age, race, orientation, whatevah. I don't want to embarrass anyone, but I have the most wonderful boyfriend in the world.
Yeah, this guy wasn't there
Astroland
Utica Erie Canal Fall
This is what I have to look forward to
Utica Winter
And then this . . .
Gotta Love Summer!
chillin' at D's house, minus the glasses
Jeez!
Can you believe I gave birth to these two?
Clinton, NY
town square
4 comments:
Game Addiction, is it really an addiction or is it merely a hobby, like running everyday to train for an amateur level 3k race, or spending all your time and money making quilts?
I prefer to think of my daily DAoC-ing as a hobby, and a very cheap one at that. Two hours at night, and maybe four hours on a Sunday totally broke me of my Television Habit, which was the worse addiction by far. I'm much less stressed by the dismal state of our political poop, the crime rate, the economy, etc. I spend more time with my family, training my puppy, loving on my ancient dog, reading, writing, and enjoying real people, even the people wearing avatars in-game.
Ever since I learned how to use Ventrilo, the fact that there are real people behind those avatars has become delightfully clear as I listen to accents from all over the world plotting, directing, swearing, rejoicing, and joking during a two hour relic raid (where we go to two other player realms and steal their relics. Yes, we're thieves of a sort, but they steal ours and expect us to steal theirs, so it's all good fun).
Game-play has all the characteristics of a good hobby: As you play, you get better at it; you "meet" people with similar interests; you play in your spare time; it's all about the strategy, kind of like chess, except it's more like your side has anywhere from 30 to 200 chess pieces; it's goal oriented play-time; it's only an addiction if you blow off work to play--everyday, or you'd rather play than have an intimate moment with a significant other.
It's an everyday ritual for me, and I look forward to the time I have set aside to play because that time is my "quiet" space, time I can spend observing pixelated human interaction, conversation, attitudes. Start up cost was $100 (including the periodic game expansions), and the yearly cost is about $100, which is about what my grandmother pays each month to indulge her hobby, bridge.
It was the game itself that first interested me, but it's the people who keep me interested. If this is an addiction, then I hope there's an internet connection and DAoC in hell. I'll be a very happy camper, AND I'll be toasty warm.
Pat has no Verizon Internet, so she can't blog yet today!!!!
Anyone else in Central NY using DSL having problems??
hehe.
My addiction, and I will finally admit it, is PackRat (on facebook).
I basically spend at least an hour trying to fill my 'pack' with trading cards. However you have to steal from your friends in the game, as well as rats. Now the rats cheat, and can use small numbered cards to steal big numbered cards, so I find myself rushing through the game in order to gain more credits in order to buy more cards quickly. Once you get 5 of a set, you can vault them and they are safe, but you also have to find all of them in the set and vault them all in order to achieve the true glory of the 'feat of wonder.'
There is a lot going on in this game, and recently I have gotten so sick of already completing all of the sets available, that I have started playing under Nick's facebook name in order to gain him records and levels. It is quite fun, but I really think I need an intervention.
I am also really addicted to board and card games that I tend to win at. I tend to tell people that the game is really fun and easy, and then slaughter them at the game and tell them 'better luck next time, but you did really good for a first timer!'
I need help lol!
i read gawker. can't say how much or for how long because i won't admit it to myself. too embarrassing. the comments are just so funny; i aspire to such bawdiness and wit.
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