Mountain Top

I did it. I crested the peak. I've lived like so few, accomplished the unthinkable. The view from here is amazing. I am talking of course about my successful completion of a month of Daily Challenges from Microsoft Solitaire Collection. Today was the final day. I have done puzzles of all skill levels of all five games. If you are awash in confusion you need to roll down to some previous posts where I describe my quest in better detail. The celebration was short-lived. Only a few seconds of acknowledgement for hours of effort. Was it worth it? Yes, absolutely! If for no other reason than I am now able to kick that monkey off my back. I committed to one month and it's done. I don't need to remember to do the challenges now. I achieved perfection in my first attempt, I have no further to go, nothing left to prove. I can move on. And move on I have, into a much, much more dangerous addiction. Not drugs, relax Mom! I fired up Farming Simulator 2015 - Gold Edition on Sunday night, partly out of boredom, partly curiosity to see if it still worked on my computer, and partly out of sheer self-destructive reasons. I clicked on it around 5pm. Next time I was aware of the outside world was after 10pm. I had missed dinner, and basically the entire evening was gone in a flash. It wasn't good, but was also sooooo good! The next day, same thing happened. And again last night. I can't get enough of the sweet embrace! I actually think it taps into something inane and built into my soul. I was nurtured in an environment where there was always another task to do, get this done so we can move on to the next. The game is that, exactly. There is no end, just countless, sequential tasks. That is what farming is, and I freakin love it! Thinking about it as I scribble this down, isn't that the same as games like Candy Crush and Angry Birds? I guess those tasks aren't as varied or sequential. I actually don't really know, I've never indulged in either, I stick to my own versions of addictive behaviour. And this one is bad. It really dominated me a couple of years ago and I'm sure it will take a massive bite out of my time again. There is a wrinkle this time though that should speed up whatever process I'm going through. I discovered a cheat, a hack in the code of the game that allows me to alter my funds and inventory. So I don't have to toil to achieve my idea of success, I can just play until I'm bored this time. There isn't that drive for success that I experienced last time. It drew me in with progress and I had to keep going, bit by bit until I could do the things I wanted in the game. This time I'm handed the opportunity to skip the line and get right to the buffet. I think that will help loosen it's grip on me. At least, that's the hope.....