May 6, 2013
Neko Case - That's Who I Am
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County
Eric Blood -Too Early & Too Late
Today's Photo:
Red Dead Redemption
In my mind, there is an ever expanding list of tasks.
I should donate another bag of clothes to Goodwill.
I should visit a museum. (When was the last time I did that?)
I should deep clean everything in my apartment.
I should finish reading "War & Peace".
I should start reading "War & Peace".
I should wash my car.
I should learn to make great fajitas.
I should go to the driving range.
I should call an old friend I haven't seen in years.
(Text? Nobody calls anymore, right?)
I should write more in this blog
I should update my Facebook profile.
I should invest more money in the stock market.
I should run a marathon... half-marathon... 10k... 5k... I should get some new running shoes so I can do those things.
I should watch Breaking Bad. I can't believe I've never seen that.
I should finish making my SIFF schedule.
.......................................................................
The list is so long.
It's hard to believe that I can even make a dent.
Sometimes the hardest thing is just getting started.
My difficulty in beginning the tasks is my belief that there is no way I could finish everything on the list.
The list is too long and I'll never get to everything.
Lists used to scare me.
As a kid, I would spend hours avoiding my list of three chores.
("Mow the lawn?" Uggh. That's going to take me like... 30 whole minutes?!? Let me just avoid that by watching Saved by the Bell reruns for a few hours.")
Thinking about the list was infinitely worse than actually completing the list.
It's hard to remember my thoughts as a teenager, but I think I hated the idea of having a list at all.
I haved having obligations or responsibilites.
And I saw no value in mowing the lawn.
(On the contrary, an unkept jungle in the front yard would have been dope.)
Games like Red Dead Remption provide a list of tasks a mile long.
And the joy of a game like this is picking one thing off the list, and checking it off.
Then picking something else, and checking it off.
Over years and years of video games, I have learned to not be scared by a list this long, but to embrace it.
In fact, as I'm writing this, my real life list keeps expanding.
To have all of these tasks and goals is a great thing.
Even if I never finish any of them.
And though I'm now 72.9% complete with the game, I enjoy that such a long list is unfinished.
When I finally attain 100% completion, I will be proud, but also a little sad.
No more adventures.
No more fun.
Time to find a new game with a new list.
And yes, I see the irony of making a to-do list in a game which is essentially pointless. The game serves no purpose other than recreation and fun. However, I would argue that I have trained my brain to enjoy tasks, completion, and progress.
I have learned to love the unfinished list.
Neko Case - That's Who I Am
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County
Eric Blood -Too Early & Too Late
Today's Photo:
Red Dead Redemption
In my mind, there is an ever expanding list of tasks.
I should donate another bag of clothes to Goodwill.
I should visit a museum. (When was the last time I did that?)
I should deep clean everything in my apartment.
I should finish reading "War & Peace".
I should start reading "War & Peace".
I should wash my car.
I should learn to make great fajitas.
I should go to the driving range.
I should call an old friend I haven't seen in years.
(Text? Nobody calls anymore, right?)
I should write more in this blog
I should update my Facebook profile.
I should invest more money in the stock market.
I should run a marathon... half-marathon... 10k... 5k... I should get some new running shoes so I can do those things.
I should watch Breaking Bad. I can't believe I've never seen that.
I should finish making my SIFF schedule.
.......................................................................
The list is so long.
It's hard to believe that I can even make a dent.
Sometimes the hardest thing is just getting started.
My difficulty in beginning the tasks is my belief that there is no way I could finish everything on the list.
The list is too long and I'll never get to everything.
Lists used to scare me.
As a kid, I would spend hours avoiding my list of three chores.
("Mow the lawn?" Uggh. That's going to take me like... 30 whole minutes?!? Let me just avoid that by watching Saved by the Bell reruns for a few hours.")
Thinking about the list was infinitely worse than actually completing the list.
It's hard to remember my thoughts as a teenager, but I think I hated the idea of having a list at all.
I haved having obligations or responsibilites.
And I saw no value in mowing the lawn.
(On the contrary, an unkept jungle in the front yard would have been dope.)
Games like Red Dead Remption provide a list of tasks a mile long.
And the joy of a game like this is picking one thing off the list, and checking it off.
Then picking something else, and checking it off.
Over years and years of video games, I have learned to not be scared by a list this long, but to embrace it.
In fact, as I'm writing this, my real life list keeps expanding.
To have all of these tasks and goals is a great thing.
Even if I never finish any of them.
And though I'm now 72.9% complete with the game, I enjoy that such a long list is unfinished.
When I finally attain 100% completion, I will be proud, but also a little sad.
No more adventures.
No more fun.
Time to find a new game with a new list.
And yes, I see the irony of making a to-do list in a game which is essentially pointless. The game serves no purpose other than recreation and fun. However, I would argue that I have trained my brain to enjoy tasks, completion, and progress.
I have learned to love the unfinished list.
No comments:
Post a Comment