This last weekend we had an interesting little incident. Saturday we spent the day out in the DC area. On the way home we stopped by the comic shop (of course) and while there, I asked Andrew if he wanted to go to the game shop. He likes to go there and play Magic cards with his friends. This gave Amy and I time to just sit and relax for a while, and Andrew got to have fun with all of his new cards. When it came time to go pick him up, Amy and I both went.
I am not sure you have ever been to your standard game store. There aren’t many girls there. I don’t want to knock the stores or the clientele of course, but it’s true. It’s like going to a Victoria’s Secret and seeing a ton of guys. So, Amy and I walk in, and at first everything is normal. Andrew is still playing his game so I walk over to see how he is doing. Amy starts talking casually with the lady running the store. After about 10 min of me sitting and watching Andrews’s game, I glance back and see your standard geeky gamer in a vampire shirt and dirty black trench coat standing by the counter where Amy and the Shop lady are. He is laughing along in the right spots of the conversation and glancing at Amy now and then. I sit and watch them for a while before I intervene. I walk over and nicely put my arm around her and say “he’s almost done, just finishing up a game” then kiss her on the cheek and walk back to the table.
Within 1 min, gamer dude vanishes. After we left the store I let Amy know what happened. I don’t think I ever realized how bad game stores wee until I look at them from the outside. I have to wonder if I had ever got as bad as some of those people. I like to think that I never did. Isn’t it possible to recognize that gaming is just a hobby and not an obsession? Sometimes I wonder about some of the people there. I know I have hobbies. I know that they might be considered “Un-orthodox”. But I don’t obsess to the point of missing payments or time with loved ones or god forbid hygiene. I would say that some of it is just a phase that kids go through, except that I see guys there that are my age and older doing the same thing. Again, don’t get me wrong, I loved gaming, and still do, but I just don’t see getting to the point that some of these people get to.
I never thought you were the jelous type… 😉