Part 2: A Two-Part Series

So... is it satisfying?

OF COURSE IT IS. I'm not going to sit here and be all "high and mighty" about it and say that it doesn't make me feel good about myself or meet some of my needs. Playing games is fun, there's nothing wrong with that. That feeling that you get when you achieve a high score or take out one of your good buddies with a sniper rifle, you just can't measure that level of satisfaction.

At the same time, it's not everything. Deep down, I know that part of why I play games so much is just to pass the time. Growing up, I always had an overactive imagination. I started a superheroes club with several of my friends, none of whom were anywhere close to being as interested in it as I was. I hid in trees and imagined that everyone I knew was a robot or an alien, and how this would inevitably affect my life. I drew a book of superhero and supervillain characters complete with fictional names and profile pictures. I created my own written language. I invented the "Poppin" and convinced my Spanish teacher that it was real. Along with Ryan Earnhardt, I inspired Super Scooter, dreamed up stunts for our own version of "Jackass," and directed/acted in our senior class spoof of "Survivor." This wasn't just childhood fancies. This was all the way through high school. I did all of this because I was always thinking. I can't explain why, but my mind is always working, always scheming or dreaming or imagining. Sure, it's slowed a bit these days with the responsibilities of an adult life, but that part of me will never go away.

It pops up on most days whenever I have a long commute for cold calling or a trip up to Dahlonega to see my family or even over to Port Orange to see Meghan's. Part of why Megs suggested that I start writing every day was, I'm sure, to keep my brain active and my thoughts flowing. It certainly helps. In the few days that I thought about getting this whole roll started, I thought of dozens of ideas for blog entries, plenty of concepts that people would be interested in or that I would be passionate about. Obviously there are going to be days or nights where this will slip my mind and I'll have to play catch up, but that's part of the game. This isn't just a resolution for me anymore: it's a challenge. Each day I get the chance to level up, to chalk up an achievement each time I hit "publish post," to compete against the clock to get it all done in time. And in the meantime? Maybe my readers (both of them) will learn something. Maybe this will make somebody laugh. Maybe they'll actually be entertained. I'll admit that I'm striving for it sometimes, but this is mostly about just sharing what's on my mind. I don't want to force it. I don't want to feel like I'm struggling to put fingers to keyboard (today's version of pen to paper). I want it to be natural... smooth... effortless. That's when you know you've gotten good enough at the game to dominate. And that, my friends, will come soon enough.