When it comes to spending our excess cash on entertainment and the hobbies that consume our precious leisure time we generally know what will float our boat and get the old, at least in my case, epdorphins pumping. 

I am just like most of your average Otaku (a.k.a Geeky) Joe's out there. I like my sports, films, reading, playing games and mucking about on my MacBook. I may get the same amount of fun out of watching Spirited Away and My Totoro back to back as racking up 4 hours straight on Call of Duty 4 online. But I have noticed lately, following an heavy viewing schedule this Christmas, that there is only so much passive entertainment that I can watch before I eventually start drifting off on my comfortable leather corner sofa and drooling on my girlfriends squishy microbead pillow. The problem is not that I am watching crap its that my mind is not being engaged in a way that will stop it from shutting down. 

I have spent many a night, after a shattering day at the office, effortlessly staying up playing Pro Evo until 05:00 and not even notice the time go by. Okay, when I do eventually stop for more than a few minutes I realise that although my mind is buzzing my body is running on empty and I subsequently collapse in a heap on the carpet and enter a state of hibernation. 

But the fact is that gaming is so much more than a past time for me now. It quite literally is a drug that keeps my mind going, it's similar to the a jogger's high in some ways but without the sweat and effort. I have involuntarily trained my brain to crave the sort of high that only a shot of gaming can provide. 

So the next time you fall asleep when your girlfriend is making you watch Bridget Jones again just explain to her that is not that you are bored out of your mind and you would rather be gouge your eyes out with a blunt spoon to stop the torment but in fact its your brains fault for not allowing you to enjoy passive entertainment for more than 30 minutes. Good luck with that by the way. 

 Digg