Wise Fwom Your Gwave

Ah, bliss...it's just so...blissful!

It's true, I often neglect taking time for myself. It seems that if I'm not on campus, I'm either working or trying to hammer out something in Flash. Don't get me wrong - I dig my job, and Flash is a wonderful playground to toy around in. But I often forget how wonderfully refreshing it is to just do something for the sheer enjoyment of it. And so, last Tuesday I set aside some time for myself. Well to be honest, I did it Monday, too - but for just about an hour or so.

Monday, after learning of the change in class arrangements, I found myself at home alone. I worked on some Flash stuff, yadda yadda...and then I decided I was going to treat myself to a grilled cheese. And I did (one was Muenster, the other a nice provolone/tomato/basil). I also figured, what the heck - I'll have a beer, too. Okay, more like 2 or 3. Okay, 3. So...armed with some booze, grilled cheese, and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations I enjoyed an hour or so of bliss.

BUT...it didn't end there. Oh no. Tuesday night, I once again found myself a little bored with copious amounts of work looming on the horizon. Shoving thoughts of work aside (begrudgingly...I kept wanting to just touch up something here and there), I sat myself down in front of an old friend - video games. You see, I love (REALLY LOVE) video games. Everything about them - the thrill of finding a new Kirby power, the satisfaction of scoring that elusive 102% on Donkey Kong Country 2, the nerd-boner that results from whipping up a soldier equipped with both an Excalibur AND Chaos Blade in Final Fantasy Tactics...err...where was I? Oh yeah. Video games. Love 'em. In fact, I credit video games for a lot of things - improving my ability to read at an early age, expanding my knowledge on all sorts of topics from the basics of city planning (thank you SimCity) to how fucking scary it is to be chased by a lava flow (Sonic the Hedgehog's Marble Zone), and overall letting me escape when times got rough.

Unfortunately, life seems to get busier the longer it goes on. I don't find myself in front of a video game system nearly as often as I'd like to. Mega Man and Sonic, once close companions, are now more like that distant travelin' hippie cousin - rarely seen, but when he IS in town, you can bet on a night of heightened perceptions. Anyway, I did it - I sat down in front of Sega's new Ultimate Genesis Collection. And for a few hours, reliving memories of days far gone, I found a small dose of bliss.