This past weekend was my long weekend off. Every other weekend, I am off Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. These are usually full of time spent with my wife and going to church on Sunday, but other than that it is a time to unwind and completely recharge. At this stage in my life, I definitely NEED the time to recharge, especially the months were I work night shift. Although this weekend was relaxing it was a bit busier than our normal weekends. I ended up getting a sushi tattoo on Friday night, gaming all night Friday and most of Saturday, and then we had new recliners delivered on Sunday. Then it was back to gaming all night so I could sleep today and work tonight. I know that sounds like an excessive amount of gaming, especially for a middle-aged man, but you don't understand.....you really don't.....let me explain. I have been a gamer since a teenager and I have marveled at the evolution of gaming from the simple Atari to the beast PC gaming monsters available today. For ease of use and simplicity, I game on an Xbox One. It is a very relaxing way to unwind and allow my brain to veg out while I recover from 12 hour shifts. That is, until recently when I discovered a game that is a few years old, but that is instantly addictive.......Ark Survival Evolved. What make this game so incredibly dangerous to getting anything else done in your life is their genius approach at tapping into the childhood psyche of men. They have harnessed elements that are sure to strike most men to the core and take them back to earlier, simpler childhood days. What little boy have you ever known that wasn't obsessed with dinosaurs? Right? None! Well, apparently, that obsession does not go away but stays sneakily hidden in the deep recesses of our subconscious waiting to be triggered by Ark! This game takes basic survival dynamics and couples it with brutal progression and the ability to fight against, tame, breed, and raise a multitude of dinosaurs. Did I mention they are RIDEABLE!!!???!!! The other brilliantly genius element to this game is that it is absolutely brutal. It is not in the least forgiving of mistakes or overconfidence. One wrong move in much of the earlier levels can wipe out hours and hours of "work". You start out basically naked and then work your way up to having the ability to forge better and better weapons. So far, I see no end in stopping playing and now that I am getting the hang of breeding and raising the dinos, it is getting insane! lol So, am I an addict? Am I too old to be gaming so much? I think some days my wife thinks so.....but I don't drink, smoke, run around, or curse.....a little gaming vice isn't all that bad I guess..... I know that this was very tongue-in-cheek, but gaming addiction is a very real thing and if you feel yourself escaping into gaming to avoid pain and responsibility of the real world issues make sure you reach out to someone you can talk to. Image Source Pixabay Also published on my Weku Account.

Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://papacrusher.vornix.blog/2019/03/11/i-may-need-an-intervention/

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