The Sands of Tim: March 2011

April 8, 1993

I’ve never been a fan of video games. The last one I’ve had much delight of was way back the Nintendo Family Computer times. Finishing Super Mario (or just Mario, so to speak) 3 times in 2 hours was my record, and I was very proud of it. So I went out to a computer shop in our subdivision to challenge anyone who thought he or she was good. You know back then, there are no internet cafes yet; just some random houses with 5 televisions (sometimes black and white) and 5 family computer units renting them out at 3 pesos an hour. So there I was, bragging about my Guiness Record of My Own Mind only to find out that somebody achieved the same feat – in 48 minutes! I was in disbelief upon learning such and even thought that the kid who beat me was just getting help from some unknown up-down-left-right-a-b-select-start cheat codes that made him jump to the final stage quickly. But he didn’t. I watched him played, he went through the same stages as I did, jumped on the same spots as I did, and made Mario leaped to each stage flagpole with the same grace as I did. I was devastated.

I was a loser.

I was nine years old at that time and that made it worse because my nemesis (never bothered to know his name) was just six. And the worst of all, every possum nut there beat my time – except a girl who played “Ice Climber”. I went home, not telling anyone about it and feeling sorry for my 3 pesos that I thought would put me on our village map.

March 20, 2011

18 years after and here I found myself packing my things as I am going on R&R pretty soon. I just remember that heartbreaking day as I am putting back into its box this X-Box 360 that I just bought 3 weeks ago. Far different from those Family Computers whose joystick buttons I’ve raped non-stop, this machine impresses me so much. With internet capability, Kinect Motion Sensor gadget, High Definition graphics, and kick-ass controls, this is obviously a gazillion of miles ahead of that crappy Nintendo. Get this - I can even store up to a hundred games on this machine’s 250 gig hard drive!

Kewl!

Well I still suck in video games (was even wondering why I even bought it), but this Xbox made me think how much had changed since then. Well, I am not really that techie and have never been a fan of just-came-out gadgets, but I can appreciate how these contraptions evolved from their ancestors. And change is becoming a big issue to me lately, with lots of life-changing events happening in rapid succession and I can hardly keep up with all of them. A friend once told me that the only thing constant in this world is change and as much as I would want to debate on that, I am starting to believe in it fully, with no exceptions nor conditions.

I’m even changing how I view things! (It must be true then)

My youngest brother who’s still in college may really be excited to play with this new machine. I also think my nephew and nieces would spend more time in my house marveling on the dozens of Naruto characters they can choose from to “digitally” murder each other. And somehow I recall those times when I was the one sitting there in front of the TV, trying to practice on how I can beat my big brother Jason in battle games. Time had passed and you can’t help but wonder how when you were a kid, you never thought you’ll become an adult someday. I never thought that that control I once got using the steel plated joysticks will turn into control over kids I would stop from playing so they can finish their homework. That power I had in my hands to make Mario jump on turtles and toss them will become power to make another person become a friend or an enemy. Before, I was controlling Battle City tanks; now I am controlling my life.

It’s a 360 degree turn indeed, and life had been a lot harder since then. This time, there are no cheat codes – you have to go through each stage and fight each opponent - be it a person who’d knock you down, a loss in business, a failed exam, or an ailing relationship. And they’re always a tough battle. The main problem is, you only have one life you can use, and when you get hurt one time, it stops you and takes a while before you can get another mushroom or flower that’ll make you grow and have the power to stand a chance.

In video games, there are items we get that make our favorite characters a lot stronger, faster, or invincible. A star makes Mario look like a walking disco ball. A big pellet enables Pacman to freeze the multi-colored ghosts. These items are also present in real life – I call them opportunities. However, they don’t make things easy just like that. Instead, we work them out. And some of them don’t even appear as opportunities. Instead, they seem to us as challenges only to find out that they are blessings-in-disguise in the end. And I think it makes life a little tougher, because not only you have opponents to fight with, you also got opportunities to work out. And, if you don’t grab these opportunities, you may never defeat your opponents ever. Golden rule: Pinaghihiirapan ang lahat!

Sh%t!

And this is the reason why I find a lot of under-achieving students, out of school youths, even unemployed adults so hooked up to internet games (they even throw up their last penny just so they can build their kingdom for an hour or two). In the virtual world, they can be who they want to be, create the monster they want to appear, and kill their opponents with magical weapons and potions. And I will not blame why they would spend a lot of their time in front of those monitors, enduring the summer heat and sharing each other’s profanities and odors. – they want to live in the virtual world. I, myself, would always like to do the same - pretend I’m someone that can do whatever my mind wants to do in a very easy fashion.

But life, as we know it, will never be easy. And it really makes me ugghh!

It's just different. But no matter how hard it is, I’d rather build my adventures and imagination on it than on a memory card. I’ve learned that computer games will only appear as real as how we think they are.

Also, I would always prefer the playing field of real life over the other: for in life, no matter what you do, no matter how you failed, no matter how you lost - there are no game-overs.

Unless you’re already six feet under.

But until you’re not, you have no right to give up.

I love the Lord!

Champ

P.S.

Some things never changed. For example, Jason still beats me in this computer crap big time. The difference, however, is that I lose at least 10 dollars every time (greediest bas*ard ever!)

Sidenote:

I'm excited because my girlfriend and I are going home this summer, and I'm even more excited because...