Naughty lizards
Life is stressful. No one can deny that. My father and I often discuss the difference between healthy stress and unhealthy stress. Healthy stress can make someone want to grow, to become a problem-solver out of necessity and/or to want to secure one’s future. Unhealthy stress is often dread-inducing and can make one feel trapped. I feel that the difference between healthy and unhealthy stress is determined by the person receiving the stress, not the input itself.
For example, a person who is acclimated to stress may find the stress that another person experiences…”chump change.” This means if you are able to endure reality and laugh it off from time to time, you will still be able to thrive and grow, without having too many issues.
In my case, I’ve found that the “Steam” network by Valve is a great gaming apparatus that allows me to download my favorite new and retro-games at very reasonable prices.
For example, I downloaded the game, “Rune” for $9.99 the other day. It was one of my favorite games that I played when I went to UCSB. It’s about a young Viking warrior who goes on a big adventure. The game is based on the “Unreal” engine which is great for making detailed and open-spaced environments. Unlike the old-school Half-Life one engine, Unreal’s environments are based on the concept of carving-out the landscape…as if you were scooping ice cream in order to make a lactose-valley. (I just drank some milk so I’m thinking cheesily right now)
When I play the game Rune, it is the perfect break from work and from my studies on Codecademy for Javascript. I’m actually 88% done with the Javascript course on Codecademy as of August 1st, 2012!!! That’s a big deal to me because now I finally am understanding advanced array concepts and recursion. So I’m pretty proud of myself especially since I had a lot of trouble with functions back when I attempted Trigonometry in high-school and during Pre-Calc.
One thing that I’ve found with Rune, is that the language of rune’s looks startlingly similar to the ancient Sumerian cuneiform writing which I’ve become so fond of. It’s as if they’re using a stick to write without the triangular aspect of the Sumerian wedge-shaped stylus. It’s intriguing. Also, I’ve found a connection between Sumerian writing and also the Zen Buddhist texts which have Chinese characters on one page and English translations on the other.
Playing games is a fun way to blow off steam. Sometimes I find silly things like these lizards for example. In the game Rune, you are able to eat lizards by pressing the “E” key near them. They help you replenish part of your life bar. But as I was traveling I found two lizards very close to each other. Click on the picture above to see for yourself to determine the situation.
-Tyler