I must say, the times can get really rough every once in awhile. Usually it's the holidays that drive people's stress levels over the limit, but for me this year, it did quite the opposite. Things had built up, I'd gotten fed up with just about everybody I knew, I was hardly eating, and my activity in school was becoming less than enthusiastic...

If any of you knew me well, you'd immediately KNOW this was completely out of character, and that something was definitely wrong! Well, fortunately I have a wonderful girl who knows how to drag me from work, numbers, scores, grades, paper, money, and reminds me what REAL life is all about. Now (after a wonderful break doing some provincial service projects, visiting the capital, and discovering that I'm a good skier), I'm back and feeling 140%!

Lesson to be learned? Well... it's not like I went through the dark ages, or even considered suicide or anything silly like that... but what I find myself doing often is driving myself into work and education and always trying to do the best and look out for everybody's best interests. This isn't bad, but when things overload, it gets harder and harder to be there for other people and help them out, or even focus on what's important to you. The grades you get, the money you make, the people you impress, and the activities you master aren't what's going to make you a happy person. Everyone achieves happiness their own special way, and I think the most universal way to represent this is words sung by Tom Gabel:

"Don't Lose Touch!"

Now that I've said that, I must say that I've been itching like a naked man in a feather factory to get working on my bloody game! I worked nights and days, struggling for hours, to master the status, inventory, character, skill, and equipment system for what I'm hoping will be the most engaging, attractive, fun, innovative, and humorous active-time role-playing title build inside the walls of Game Maker. Now, that might be aiming a bit high (or even getting a little dreamy), but I always find it so much easier to work on something when I look at it that way. You can always dream high, but the tricky part is not to let reality take you down. Go ahead, dream of painting a beautiful picture; but when it's finished and nobody likes it because it looks like something pulled out of the privy, just nod your head and smile. Sure it was a lot of work, sure you concentrated hard on it... who cares if it doesn't look as great as you imagined? Isn't it the drive, the energy, working on the masterpiece and putting yourself to the most difficult of tests... isn't THAT what we really battle for? Isn't that where the heart of achievement lies?

Sometimes I wonder if I ask more questions than I answer. What do you think?

Well, everybody... at parting, I'll just say to keep an eye on the In Devs, and soon enough here I'll have it there for you all to see... to see what my nimble little fingers have been meticulously poking away at in high hopes and energy! Aha! You'll see it there in big letters soon enough, and you'll all be full of wonder. Or not. Keep your eyes peeled for "Fetch".

I have a similar view on things.  Every day, you can observe people around you who focus on things that shouldn't be that important.  You would think that as a person matures, they realize that life isn't about the material things or one person having skills over another.  Sure, there remains the question of the meaning of life, but in general most people agree that it does not have to do with how successful you are and all that stuff.  Yet, society in a technically advanced country like the United States seems to set standards so high that if you don't reach these goals, even in your own personal work such a hobby game, society looks down upon you, judging you unfairly based upon your skills compared to a certain high standard.  In short, like you said, I think it is best to set your own standards and base your achievements on those.  Let others set goals for themselves, and congratulate them for achieving those goals.

I couldn't agree more.  I think that's why I have a difficult time completing projects.  Once I get the difficult stuff done that I really wanted to accomplish, finishing off the minor details seems to be a chore rather than an accomplishment.

Haha, I'm right with you on that one. ::)

I love this blog. It's full of energy! XD