I picked that title with a topic in mind, but let it be noted that I’m also hoping for a resurrection of this blog. I just got charged for another year of owning this domain name so I guess I need to do better… I took a hiatus for a few months not just from blogging but from social media in general.

I’ve never been big on using Facebook but my Google+ account took a backseat in my life as well. Its a great platform for getting to know people with similar interests and I have met quite a few thanks to the Android BBQ and a few other random encounters. However, I felt like I was a bit too addicted to it and needed a break. But enough about that… lets get onto what I filled my time with as a result.

I’ve always professed myself to be a gamer but to be honest, I haven’t been much of one since I was in high school and my earlier 20s. The only PC game I’ve played within recent years has been The Sims and my PS3 had been collecting dust for a while. The poor thing had been reduced to nothing more than a Blu-Ray and Netflix player. The only games I played consistently were Bejeweled and other miscellaneous crap on Facebook. I also had an Xbox 360 for awhile but the most I did on that was barely make it through the intro credits on Tomb Raider and lose my breath trying to play “Just Dance” with the Kinect. Oh and I can’t forget the attempt to play Borderlands 2 online with my ex… I kept dying and gave up, lol.

So now fast forward to this past Spring and all of that changes. I think I have to give partial credit to one of my best friends for encouraging me to start playing again… him coming back into my life in general has resulted in nothing but good things. He also has a PS3 and had been playing a game called Diablo III incessantly. It got to a point where dare I say it.. I was jealous of him not texting me back some days because he was lost in the game. He eventually got around to telling me it had online multiplayer and after much consideration I decided to hop on Amazon and order it, after all when I did game on the regular RPGs were my favorite genre.

When it finally got here to my door I initially played it solo for awhile, made some decent progress but I’d forgotten that you have to do things to advance in a game and level up your character so that it’ll be stronger. I seriously felt like I was learning the functions of gaming all over again. I would try to run past enemies to my next objective and be like “why do I keep dying??” and then I told my friend about it and he was like “well, what level are you? are you equipping the things you’ve picked up?” and I was just like… “do what now?” lol. I finally got the hang of it and when he had time he’d play along side me…. I ended up beating the game faster than I anticipated… like literally saying “that’s it??!” when the credits started rolling.

I  soon found myself wanting more so I started asking my best friend to find something else that we could play online and he threw out a few suggestions… one of them being Grand Theft Auto. I’d watched several friends and a couple of old flames play that game… so when he recommended it I was like “you want me to play what???” I found it an interesting game to watch others play but never imagined myself playing it so I kinda shut that idea down.

I started replaying one of my Final Fantasy games that I had never finished but I was starting to miss playing with him as well. He recommended GTA Online once more and I decided to cave in and get it… it was quite different from anything I would normally play. I can’t even pretend that I didn’t struggle to get through the first part of the game where you can finally have the option to play online mode and not just the story; it was pathetic how challenging it was to me. Once I finally got past that I was excited to get online and start playing with my friend only to find out that I also had to do a tutorial online to be able to play with others… I was not happy… part of me wanted to throw the game out of my window, but I’ve never been much of a quitter so I persisted. A little bit of pouting and one instance of throwing my controller from my bedroom through my living room and to the front door… as well a several moments of frustration and wanting to kick my TV… I FINALLY got through it. 

We now play together multiple times a week and I think I’ve become a bit addicted. I’ve also started replaying Kingdom Hearts and will eventually start with Kingdom Hearts II as I recently received both as gifts from friends. Its a really fun hobby and playing Grand Theft Auto has proven to be very stress relieving. I don’t always play with my bestie but it certainly makes it more fun when I do as we usually talk on the phone while we play.

Its so weird that at 28 years old I’m rediscovering a once buried passion for gaming, I’ve even started looking for other games to play on my PC as well as more for my PS3. The only thing I’m hating about it is that sometimes I get so caught up in playing on weeknights that before I know it… its almost 3am and I have to be at work by 8am. Let’s just say coffee has been very good to me in recent months and I’m saving up to eventually get a PS4 now that I know I’ll actually put it to use and it won’t be collecting dust.

Here’s to hoping that my gaming adventures, among other things will be motivation to start writing on here more frequently again. Another one of my good friends has even suggested we start a Twitch channel, I’m not sure I’m quite that dedicated yet but its certainly a thought…

Cheers guys!