Another evil distraction from writing-Professor Layton

Step Away From The Professor

I’ve always been so proud of the fact that we don’t have any gaming systems in our home. No Wii, Gameboy, PS2, and whatever else is out there. Not even handheld games. For that reason, my daughter is a huge reader. Her room is strewn with books of all kinds and she loves to write as well as read. Watching movies is also one of our passions and that takes enough time away from writing for me, but it is something we love to do together. So much so that she is now writing a monthly movie review column in the local newspaper.

So what is sucking my time, you ask? A damned Nintendo DS, that’s what. A small, hand-held gaming system for crying out loud. I bought a Nintendo 3DS for Daughter for her 16th birthday, which was about 2 months ago. She loves to play it and has discovered some wonderful puzzle/mystery games. I figure that’s good brain food so no problem. But then Husband gave one to me for Christmas and I’ve been playing it ever since. It’s only been a few days and I think I need an Intervention.

Ever heard of Professor Layton? It’s a puzzle/mystery game that is frustrating, fun, exasperating, interesting and a huge time-sucker. It’s also sold about 10 million copies and is one of Nintendo’s most popular games.

The professor and his assistant/sidekick Luke are searching in a small town for a missing Golden Apple, which is some kind of inheritance. Along the way, they must solve puzzles in order to get closer to solving the mysteries that pop up, such as a missing cat, kidnapped cousin, murder, etc. It’s frustrating since the games and puzzles involve geometry, numbers, shapes, etc. Some are easy, some are not. You can ask for hints, but it costs you and they aren’t very good hints.

I love it, and now I know why there haven’t been any games in the house up until now. I’m more of an addict that Daughter (if that’s possible). And not only that, the DS is pink. How cool is that? Now I’m looking for fun games to play on it and cursing Husband for such a crazy gift. I love it and I hate it at the same time.

Oh, and there are six levels of the Professor Layton series. Seriously? I’ll never get any work done!

Damn that Professor!

 

You say disfunction like it’s a bad thing…

Once again, a wonderful holiday with family and another year of realizing how much we love each other and very strange we really are. As I ponder the beings I call family, I wonder if there really is such a thing as “normal.” You know what I mean, those Hallmark Channel family Christmas gatherings with mulled cider, perfectly wrapped presents, everyone dressed in red velvet and lots of hugging. Where are those people anyway? Not in my house, that’s for sure.

Yes, we have lots of hugging. We love each other, I’m sure of that. But that has to be the only resemblance to that “normal” depiction of a holiday. Is there really a family out there like that? For so long, I felt as if my family just didn’t live up to the “ideal” family that sang carols together and had no issues at all except where to park all the cars. Well, that’s a bunch of crap, seriously!

I have a normal, dysfunctional family and we love each other, even with all of our faults. We argue, we show up late, we burn dinner, we even have awkward pauses (don’t you love those?) Perhaps being a writer makes me even more aware of our dysfunction and even more appreciative as the years go by. “Normal” now equates to “boring” in my eyes. Bring on the drunk uncle and the inappropriate gifts and the secrets blurted out at the wrong moment during dinner. Bring on the pouty teenagers and the cursing Grandmas. Oh, and pass the wine.

I love you all!