The box of dreams and desires.......
Two weeks ago I said farewell to an old and dear friend, one that had been a big part of my life for the last five years. Together we’d weathered highs and lows, triumphs and tragedies, alien invasions and demon gods, but it was finally time to say goodbye. This friend had become a drag on my life, demanding attention and time when I had little to spare, as well as costing me money in electricity. They had a never-ending appetite for the latest thing, and when they were finished with one thing, they’d make you buy the next big thing. But they just didn’t fit into my life anymore, and they couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to play with them. However it was clear to me that it was finally time to say goodbye to my Xbox.
Video and computer games have been a big part of my life, ever since I wrote my first computer game when I was 13. I’ve almost always had a game system to play on, although I’ve tried to limit myself to only one game at a time. So it was a hard thing to contemplate, giving it all up.
The first time I used a computer, I was hooked,
I’d decided on a number of occasions over the last two months to take my Xbox to the charity shop, but it had an insidious habit of worming its way into my mind, reminding me of all the fun that I’d miss if I gave it away. One minute I’d be resolute in giving it away that weekend, then two hours later I’d have a little go with it and decide that it wasn’t so bad after all and that it could stay, if it behaved. In the end I had to stop playing for a few weeks and then march down to Burleigh Street one Saturday morning to hand it over to the British Heart Foundation electrical shop.
What amazed me afterwards is how free I felt, as if a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Yes I still miss it on occasions, but now I have more time to read, see friends and enjoy life. It’s been two weeks now, and I wonder how it’s getting on, but I know that it was the right thing to do.