Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Bah Humbug to the Christmas Spirit!

I spent over 10 and 1/2 hours trapped in the the back seat of a pickup truck, feeling sick and listening to nothing but Christmas music on our drive home after Thanksgiving. Needless to say I was done with Christmas long before I finished digesting Thanksgiving dinner. Well, almost. I was a little sick.

Sense then I've tried to get into the Christmas spirit but a single note of a holiday jingle gives me the heaves. People laughing and joyous while I'm struggling to find a parking spot even remotely close to the store I want to go to makes me want to buy a baseball bat and take some practice swings out in the parking lot. I'm already tired of trying to find a specific gift for someone and having to go to six different stores looking for it. Six months ago I could have found that gift anywhere. And don't get me started on wrapping presents. I hate it. I spent a night doing nothing but that and by the end I wanted to step outside my front door and toss those gifts in the general direction of their intended recipients. If they don't make it all the way there? So what. Broken? Who cares. I'm done.

I'm trying hard not to let that Bah Humbug attitude get in the way of anything else, but it's hard. I'm irritable and crabby by the time I come home and no, it's not because it's that time of the month. When I sit down to play video games I don't have the energy or concentration to do anything. If the slightest error/cheap kill/problem comes up I'm out of there. I even pulled a "Pogue" the other night . . . and I was hosting the party. Sorry. I've tried playing several games. Gears 2, Mass Effect, Puzzle Quest 2, Harm's Way, Fable III, the new Doritos game, you name it, I've tried it. I just can't seem to get invested in anything.

It doesn't help my frustration when all I want to do is kill people online and none of my friends are playing. I've tried playing along but it's just not the same . . . and definitely not for someone who's already pissed off. There are too many pricks online who don't care about helping you out or playing like a team. They're only in it for themselves. At least when my friends play that way we all know about it and can compensate as a team for their Rambo style of play. Besides, I miss my friends.

I know it's the holiday seasons and I'm sure there are Christmas parties, family parties and other general meet-and-greets that might be going on that they are participating in. But that doesn't mean I still can't miss them. I also miss my friends who don't have the same games as I do (or vice versa). Some try a game out and don't like, others don't even try. It's hard when the usual group of friends played every night together are now slightly going their own separate ways because of changing tastes in their gaming habits. At least when Star Wars Battlefront was still around we could always go back to a classic. I miss that game.

So I guess if you play with me for the next couple of weeks and I seems a little more pissy than usual, it's just me in the holiday spirit. Don't let that stop you from playing with me (and I'll try not letting that stop me from playing with you). Maybe if some friends played a couple of games with me along with some of our highly entertaining bantar it just might be what I need to get out of my funk and back into the holiday spirit. Or at least a gaming spirit.

4 comments:

Helll Weasell said...

I think that we're all getting busier in life away from the game console as well. We all seem to have more going on these days. Evil, Genghis, Beamer, Zak,... I know I'm not online half as much as I used to be. Used to be every night - now it's maybe 1/2 of that, and when I am online I'm not on as long as I used to be. It's tough.

I need a year off of life just to catch up on my gaming.

Pengwenn said...

I hear ya Weasell. I'm planning on taking a "gaming vacation" next year. No, that's not a vacation from gaming but instead a vacation to nothing but gaming. It might only be a day or two but I'll do it.

FYI: I played Gears 2 with Evil last night and we got to the point where you ride the Reavers out of the Nexus (which is where I was on my previous save). Next time you're online I'm all yours to finish it. Let me know.

Helll Weasell said...

You certainly don't have to feel bad about playing Gears without me. The goal is to get through the campaign, pick up a few achievements, and unlock the "I laugh at Death" level which creates a whole other opportunity to play through the campaign. Whether it's done with me or Rick or Genghis or anyone else isn't important. Especially with my availability to play being so erratic lately. If it's not Gears then it will be something else. Too many games, so little time.

By the way, I took care of that "thing" for that "guy" the other day... just in case you didn't get my email.

Pengwenn said...

I checked and got your email. Sorry I didn't find it sooner. I would have helped. I sent you an email too. I like to share.