Houses, Monopoly, and Pokemon

Today was a good day. I got my homework done on time, I hung out with a good friend of mine after not seeing him for a while, I made a new friend, and I got a lot done in planning a new DnD campaign. I also got my ass handed to me in Monopoly, but that's all good.

And that's what he did with my money. Smug fucker.

I am very humbled, every time, when one of my friends invites me over to their home. It's a very lovely thing, to be able to extend a gesture of friendship like that. Your home is your core; it's the hub of everything that goes on in your life. To bring someone there is a great act of kindness. You introduce someone to your parents, you invite them for dinner, and you essentially share a part of your life with them.  I just want to extend my thanks to all of my friends who have ever invited me to their home.

On a slightly related (read: completely fucking irrelevant) note, I've started to re-play my copy of Pokemon Diamond. That's right. Pokemon Diamond. Pokemon is one of those things that if you've had it in your childhood, you totally get. It's ingrained within you. The challenge of collecting is exciting, and you all know how awesome it is when you finally drop the Elite IV.

However, if you had had no contact with it during the course of your childhood (you poor, poor soul) you wouldn't really understand it if you just looked at some of the damn things. Some of them are unbearably cute.

"I'm going to choose Squirtle! It's the CUTEST~!"

Some others, however, are completely and pitifully ugly.

Hide yo kids. Hide yo wife.

But, really, I enjoy the games. They're nothing more or less than a pastime. I don't know if I will ever completely outgrow them. Sure, I'll get old and they'll be an old franchise from when I was a kid... But I'll always enjoy the novelty of collecting little monsters because why the fuck not. If someone my age were to see me hanging out on the corner, DS in hand, fighting a Gym Leader, They'd have on of two reactions.

"Pokemon!? Rock on! "

Or...

"Pokemon!? Grow up, man. You're 19."

This makes me kind of sad. If you enjoy something, shouldn't that be enough? A lot of people are afraid to do what they enjoy because of what others may think. Age doesn't really mean anything to a DS or a Gameboy. Childhood is important, after all... and sometimes we need something to hold onto from that childhood to help us through adulthood.

If you've played (and still do play) Pokemon, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't, find a friend who has a spare system to teach you how to play. It's nothing but pure, clean, innocent, childlike fun.