An Un-Lively Summer

My friend SenFunkernickel is right. Employment is overrated. Well, to put it in my own words, full-time employment is overrated. Whoever came up with the idea of working 40+ hours a week and that being away from our families is okay, ought to have their heads examined. Add my two hour drive on top of that and it ain't pretty.

Back in June, my best friend MaujeRomo was going to be able to have Xbox Live for a good chunk of the summer. Unfortunately, she doesn't have it where she lives, so we were both looking forward to gaming with each other on Live for the summer. It all started out as planned. My husband and I went down to the Gulf to vacation with Mauje and her husband. Beaching it during the day and playing Halo at night. It all started when our vacation got cut short - short, as in after the first day - because one of our dogs got sick back home. Everything is fine with him, but it put a damper on my attitude having to spend my vacation at home instead of out somewhere. Fortunately, we were still gonna get to game with Mauje and her hubby for some of the summer. But then Hurricane Dennis came through the Gulf and forced my friend and her family back home. Bummer.

For those 2 short weeks that we got to play online games together, it was the greatest thing in the world. I mean, we talk, email, and/or chat online all the time. But there is something special about gaming together. We don't get to do it that often since we live so far apart, so we cherish the times we do get to enjoy it together. And I never imagined going back to normal - aka no online gaming for us together - would suck so bad. Basically, it helped add to an already work-induced Live funk.

I've had little desire to game on Live even though I've got a Friends List full of other gaming friends and a website full of friends who also play on Live. We still meet once a week for "Junkie Live Nite," but even that is not as exciting as it once was. And it's not because I don't like the guys who I game with. It's just that I got real bummed out this summer and I can't seem to come out of it. Work's been so hectic this summer that when I get home I'm mentally drained. And not having my best friend around to shoot (Halo 2, Ghost Recon 2, etc.) is a real bummer. Yes, I'm whining. It sucks.

In my separation from Live and multiplayer games, I've rediscovered the beauty of single player games. Handheld gaming has been my saving grace. I can sit outside and game, sit in front of the tv and game, game in the car (when not driving, of course), and sometimes even game during lunch at work. I don't feel tied down when playing on a handheld. The Nintendo DS is the greatest thing to happen to video games since the NES. But I'll save all that for another entry. This entry is all about the suckery of my summer. I really need some stress relief.