Wipe Out

I did a little wipe out on my computer this weekend. I took a bunch of games off my computer. I'm a big patsy for city building games and I can easily waste an entire morning playing them. I came to the decision that they had to go. Sniff....

I like them for the same reason I like to write. They transport me into a world far from my own and where I have ultimate control. The cities I create are my own worlds where things pretty much go as I plan. But it only takes a little brain power and they are a monumental waste of time. They aren't gone forever, I have the cd's. But if they aren't an easy option, I'm a lot less likely to indulge in them.

I have a sad lack of control with these games. I used to be the same way with reading and I only lose control with books for stories. And once the book's over, I can move on. Games aren't so easy to end. They are endless, they are meant to be such. Pointless as well. I allow myself to be lured into the mind-numbing place these games take me and I can feel the triggers. Summer is around the corner. The kids' activities are going through their final extreme wind up before collapsing into nothingness. There are lots of family gatherings this time of year. It all becomes too much and I follow the path of least resistance.

But that is not the person I want to be. Hiding from the real world in a cyber one is nonproductive. I've looked back at the lost day and wanted to kick myself. Those precious hours are gone, never to be retrieved. And all I have to show for it is a city peaking at a population of 1 million with a thriving high density residential area complimented by wealthy commercial center. Great if it was real life and I was Donald Trump, bad if its on the computer screen and I'm a frustrated writer stuck in the suburbs.

Oh, I'll play them again, maybe when my latest WIP is done or I've gotten a couple major household projects done. I enjoy them, they are fun. Like everything else, moderation is key. But right now, they suck the time away and that is something I can't afford.

Is there some activity you have to avoid because it drains your time?

Sometimes We Get What We Deserve

Have you ever heard a song on the radio that digs itself into your skin like a tick and you aren't satisfied til you own it? This happnes to me pretty frequently but with the power of iTunes I'm usually pacified rather quickly.

The other day the radio played an old song from the early 80's that I loved. Nothing would do, I had to have that song. For those interested, the song is "Nowhere Girl" by B-Movie. Not a big top ten in this country or anything but it was one of my favorite songs back when I was in high school.

Anyway, I downloaded the song from iTunes and synched my iPod, preparing to start the rest of my afternoon. I had plenty to do. There's laundry, sweeping, dinner, heck, even writing to be done. But I my song and I was ready to go. I get upstairs and decide to fold a small load of laundry before I went back downstairs to do some writing.

It was the wrong version.

Totally sent me into a tailspin. I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for the right version. It couldn't be found on iTunes or Amazon (Amazon offers downloads for use with iPods now). I finally found it on Yahoo and downloaded it (a total pain, I might add). So of course I tried to move it into iTunes so I could play it on my iPod. No such luck, the damn song is protected. I can listen to it on my computer until I can think of some way around it or the song finally gets offered on iTunes.

But there is a lesson to be learned. I lost valuable time looking for something silly like an obscure pop song. That time could have been used for a multiple amount of other activities. Anytime that I complain that I don't have time to do something, I can remember the parable of the pop song. I can never have that time back and the rewards are limited.