From over eating to overheating, the last few weeks have been a lesson in allowing other people’s problems to wash over you and provide an excuse to feel better than other people
I understand that this sounds incredibly egotistical, but I think its something more hardwired into us from the beginning. When I went to London this week it hit home that I spent most of my time thinking how much other people are morons and that they probably look at me the same way. When we are in school we are told to excel ahead of our peers and to feel pride when we do so. So how is that any different to when I watched 2 women get on the wrong National express coach and made me feel a micro-gram of superiority. Or when I walked down Oxford Street without harming a hair on anyone's head, while other pedestrians elbow OAP's to the ground in hopes to pick up a discounted cheese grater. Is it a sin to look at these people and feel a like a first class human being when you confronted by this.
Apology 1: That felt like a rant
Apology 2: I need to look up the word Pride in the bible
On the flip side of this I started my first ever round of Dungeons and Dragons in an attempt to get out of the house for once. It’s been a long time since I have felt so out of control as I did walking into a shop of stranger and coming to terms with the new world I was walking into. I was armed only with a pen, a pad of paper and a half-assed idea of what the next few hour would entail. I was completely set at ease after getting my hands on my first set of Dice.
For those of you who don't know, the standard set of 7 dice you use in the game dictate how successful you are. for example if my character close a door, depending on the number on the dice I could open it with no problem (i.e. roll a 20) or end up getting a splinter from the handle and looking like an idiot (i.e. roll a 1). As much as this goes against my base programming as an anxiety ridden simpleton in his mid-20s, the potential for injecting humour into the game is what really sold it to me.
With help from more learned players, I created a simple Human fighter called Barden. The games started with all the games company walking into a bar to meet each other before heading off for a quest. In the spirit of not entering by traditional means I asked the Game master if the bar had any rooms upstairs. With a sigh he told me that they do... and so Barden walked out of room 3 and zipped his fly back up from a rendezvous with the bartender’s daughter. Barden the man slut was born. This theme continued for the next 4 hours of the game. Where many of the player characters were looking for rare items, I was looking for the most attractive daughters (and in 1 case Son) of the poor patrons that we bumped into across the world we were building together.
Now I'm a massive fame of console gaming, ever since I was brought my first PlayStation 2 when I was 12. But these now pale in comparison to working with a group of regular people trying to navigate an ever changing world we were creating. I’ve now invested in my own set of dice (*cough* 6 sets actually *cough*) and I’m now counting down the hours until our next outing this afternoon.
My one worry if that this may bleed into the rest of my life. Who is to say that by next week I’m using dice to decide how I take my coffee? Do I have milk and sugar like normal or do I pour hot water all over me. And what about deciding to go to work. "Sorry boss I was going to come in today but I rolled a 1 and I slipped in the shower". Pray for me readers as this may be my undoing.
Homework for you all is to go out once a week and try something you haven't tried before, doesn't matter if it’s roller-skating, people watching or arson (though preferably not arson). You might be surprised how much you enjoy yourself...
...seriously though don't do arson.
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