Why Would I Write

  • A brief hiatus

    Hello all, just writing in to let you guys know I’ll be on a short blogging break for about 3 weeks. Reason being: I’m working at the Big Bad Wolf Sale taking place from 4th – 14th December, so I’ll be tied up at work. Doing 12 hour shifts is probably going to drain me, so I decided that I’ll take a break from blogging until the event is over. This will also give me a chance to fill my mind with ideas of things to write about.

    In other news, I’ve got something to announce – I’ll be organizing my second gig ever – Gig #93 which will be happening at Barlai on the 18th of December. It’s my favorite coffee place, so I couldn’t be happier to have a gig elsewhere. Anyway – more details will be released in the coming weeks.

  • Just enough to get my feet wet but not enough to let me drown

    Despite having such a common name, Jim was amused that the cashier got it right. J-I-M she had scribbled onto his cup. This was probably the first time he experienced a coffee place getting his name right on the first try.

    “Is that all?” she asked him with a cute smile that was accentuated by her slightly crooked teeth.
    “Uh, yes.” he replied, trying hard not to blush.
    “I was kidding, you’ve ordered plenty for one person,” she said. “This is all for you, right?”

    How the hell did you know? He looked down at his tray. Two sandwiches, two donuts, two cookies, a bag of crisps and a slice of cheese cake. He had to collect his coffee from the other counter. He smiled sheepishly. Oh.

    “Yeah, you got me.”
    “On Christmas eve? Hope you’re not planning to hibernate or anything,” she asked.
    “You’re real funny, you know that?”
    “You’re real cute.”

    It’s been a while since Jim experienced being hit on. Especially by a girl this attractive. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to tell her that he was feeling down. However, Jim couldn’t contain his sadness and began tearing up instead of responding to her compliment with words.

    The cashier noticed and said, “please don’t cry! I didn’t mean to offend you.”
    “No, you didn’t! It’s not your fault!” he replied as his eyeballs were sweating and the sobs began.
    “My friends always told me I was too forward. This is why I spend every Christmas alone. Netflix and chill. By myself. Fuck, I shouldn’t have told you that.”

    Jim started to laugh in between his sobs. “I’m just going through a miserable patch in my life right now.”

    She passed him some serviettes. “Here, please wipe your tears. You look ugly when you cry.”

    “Thanks,” he replied. He wiped his eyes and looked at the cashier.
    “This is the part where you ask me out,” she leaned in and whispered.
    “Oh. What time do you get off work today?”
    “Depends on what time you want to get me off,” she replied.
    “What?!”
    “Depends on what time you want to pick me up,” she said a little louder.
    “Oh, I misheard.. never mind. Let’s go out for dinner tonight. So we won’t have to spend Christmas alone.”
    “You mean it?”
    “Yeah, you can write your number on my cup.”
    “Do you still want all this?” she motioned to all the food on the tray in front of her.

    He laughed. “You can give it to your staff. It’s on me. I’ll just grab my coffee. I need it. See you at six?”
    “Be sharp, I don’t want to have to stay here any longer than I have to! And please put on a shirt you didn’t sleep in.”
    “You’re pretty demanding.”
    She winked at him. “See you later, Jim.”
    He smiled, turned and exited the café, waving at her through the glass as he walked out onto the snowy road.

  • Video games don’t make murderers

    I think video games get way too much flak for being negative influences on people. When there’s someone who shoots up a school? “I bet he plays Doom/Quake/Call Of Duty.” Kid runs over someone? “I bet he plays GTA.” Kid lands a plane? “I bet he plays flight simulator.”

    It’s like saying, “this guy used Facebook and killed people. Facebook must be a negative influence on him!” It’s stupid. Playing video games isn’t some top-secret, super-underground pastime for social recluses. Everybody plays video games these days. Even athletes like Jeremy Lin have professed their love for gaming. It’s become part of mainstream culture for some time now.

    Non-criminals play video games too. I play ultra-violent video games and I enjoy them. But I haven’t shot up a school, and neither have I any intentions to.

    If a video game can convince someone to shoot up a school, they’ve probably had a few screws in their head loose to begin with and would’ve been convinced to do it by anything or anyone. Voices in their head, something they saw on TV, a passage from a book they read or just dares from their peers – it doesn’t matter what gave them the ‘instructions’ – they would have done it regardless.

    However, I do believe that video games, like any other pastime or hobby can be detrimental to a person’s life if they become addicted to it and let it overtake them. This can be said about other activities like smoking, bingeing, doing drugs and so on. The only difference is that, it’s easier to obtain video games than the former. And video games usually aren’t illegal. Maybe that’s why we hear so much about them.

    Why don’t we ever read news about successful town planners were driven to become one because of their love for Sim City, or successful doctors who were inspired by Surgeon Simulator or Theme Hospital? I’m sure there are some of those people who exist somewhere.