The kids have a teacher work day, so I'm just taking it easy working from home. Usually not very productive, since there are thousands of distractions just clicks away, but since I did so much work yesterday on a Sunday, I feel like I'm ok if I veer off course here and there. I can't wait until 2 though, that's my unofficial stop time. Then I'll get back to Rise of the Tomb Raider for more exploration.


Yeah, I'm not sure if my gaming preferences changed over time, but I tend to get more invested in games that have an overarching storyline, like Uncharted, Tomb Raider, or GTA. Shooters are fun for sure, but it does get repetitive and somewhat samey after the first half hour. Overwatch is still tremendously enjoyable, but does have limited mileage after a while. Perhaps it's the graphical fidelity whereby now I don't mind spending some time in a world that's rendered beautifully. In the past it was about the gameplay but now there's an additional advantage of just being fun to look at. Uncharted has some amazing vistas to just marvel at.

After years of feeling like I shouldn't be playing any more video games, I think I've finally accepted that I'm a gamer and I love doing it because it makes me happy, and I should attached minimal guilt to spending a few hours a day just doing that.  It's a passive, consuming activity that doesn't yield anything productive, but it makes me happy.  I think that should count for something.  There are many ways of self-improvement, and I feel like doing something that makes me happy is a way of improving my self-fulfillment.  I'm supporting a creative industry, can't be all bad, right?  Right now between doing my regular job at work and being a family man is already my way of making my mark in this world.  I feel like that's good enough.  I may never discover land masses or pen something mind-blowing, and I'm learning to be ok with that.  There are lots of talented people doing those things, and I shouldn't feel like I'm not.  My writing has its audience, and my contributions to society are just fine.

Last week I decided to stop paying attention to social media, since Trump's administration has been causing so much distress for so many Americans.  It's a bit of looking away from the car crash, but the constant headings, social media shares, and being generally reminded of our standing in the world.  Luckily, the world in general seems to be pretty understanding that it's Trump specifically and a small subset of the American population that seems to be addicted to close-mindedness and racism.  It's an ugly side that's probably prevalent in all walks of life, but it's happening to us right now.  We got complacent and look at us now.  Now we've got to fight for what we took for granted for a very long time.