My Name is Shan...and I'm A Gamer

This is something that many people don't know about me. They know that I love classical music, jazz, reading, the theater, opera, the works...but I am also a gamer. Yes, the English teacher is a gamer. Sad, right? Sad that I devote time out of my week to sit in front of a TV and play a game. But, as sad as it may seem to some of my more "sophisticated" friends and colleagues, I have to defend my choice of entertainment.

We weren't allowed to have a gaming system when we were growing up. My mom and dad refused to buy us a Nintendo or Atari (yes, and I mean original, not Wii). They wanted us to do more productive things with our time like read or play outside. In retrospect, I am happy that they were like that. I really think I am who I am today because they made me do a lot of different things. When the weather was nice, my brother and I were playing football or basketball or baseball, and we got a lot of exercise. We also read a lot and my mom read a lot to us, so I know that helped us, but I can't say I was never jealous of my friends who had gaming systems. I remember going to friends' houses and playing Super Mario Brothers for hours. And now that I am older and on my own, look out!

TJ and I own three gaming systems now: the original Playstation, a Playstation 2 and an XBox 360. I play them all. I have all the Spyro the Dragon games for Playstation and Playstation 2, I have the Crash Bandicoot series for PS2, and I have plenty of other games that I have devoted time to, but none like my latest endeavor.

After TJ bought his Xbox 360, he brought home a game called Oblivion. He bought it because the guy at the store said the graphics were amazing. He tried it out and immediately hated it because it is a role playing game, and that is not his thing. He was actually going to sell it when I asked him if I could take a look at it. I made a character (named her Ima Weenie because I was sure I wouldn't like the game, either...more on that later) and started playing. Before I knew it, four hours had passed. The game is amazing. I have devoted more time to it than I care to type here (because it is borderline embarrassing), but it relaxes me and makes me feel like I have accomplished something.

So, why this ramble today? Simple: I just found out that a new expansion pack for the game was available and it is downloading as we speak! A whole new quest line, new challenges, new places to explore!

Some people may roll their eyes at the thought of a 29 year old woman gaming in her spare time. They may roll them further that I actually was excited to find that this new quest line was available. You know what I would say to those people? Relax. I still do adult things, but, every now and then, it feels good to leave my responsibilities behind and become Ima Weenie.

Damn. Should have given her a better name.