Halo Hail Mary

I understand the importance of hobbies, extracurricular activities, and any other way to spend your free time then just Facebook, TV, or sitting on the couch. But one thing I don't understand is some people's obsession with video games. An obsession as in more than just a random death match every now and then, or a hour every couple days, but a sheer obsession for the massive killing of your counterparts. There is a line, and several cross it every day.

I will admit, I get carried away with random iPad games now and then. A good run of Bejeweled or Angry Birds could last near 2 hours. I might forget to turn the light off and end up sleeping with my iPad on my face. Does this mean I ignore others or the television program I currently have on? No. I'm a multi-tasker. I attribute this ability to the fact that I have boobs and we as females are naturally talented in this way.

The problem is not the death-filled games like Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty (COD as 'they' call it), or Halo 1, 2, or 16. The problem is being in a relationship with someone who decides these games trump the words that come out of your mouth. For instance, a past boyfriend of mine would play HALO (first edition) constantly.  At first, I looked past this 'hobby' because I figured I'd lied to him about my age, I deserved a few nights of him choosing Halo games over me.

I tried to engage myself in his"past time", that's what you do in relationships, but for several reasons I had to stop engaging. I created a name for myself, 'Gatetemptress69', which was obviously a genius name; however, it didn't help my number of 'kills', I still couldn't figure out how to look up or down. I could've been like my cousin's girlfriend who would play only to be used as a shield for my cousin. They recently broke up, I'm guessing she left post. Either way, not my style, so I decided to try and accept HALO and choose to either leave the room or play dead. I once entered the house to find a 23 year-old man with a headset on, sweating profusely while playing HALO in the living room. You figure, a door opening would send a signal to a person that it is time to look at the door and welcome who is entering. His eyes didn't leave the alien world. I thought to myself, I think I'm coming in second best here. A few more nights of HALO playing until the early hours of the morning and then there was the HALO Hail Mary, the bing to the bang, the final straw, okay I'm obviously not good at these sayings. One evening when the video gamer was in full 'gamer mode' I chose to not leave the room but take a nap. I woke up to this conversation:

"You're the bitch!"
SILENCE - Halo assassin on the other end of the headphone spoke.
"Yeah, whatever, how old are you, 15? Your parents don't even love you."
SILENCE AGAIN
"Obviously I don't have as high of a kill score as you, I actually have to go to an 8 to 5 job every day!"
SILENCE
"Seriously?? This is what I'm waking up to."- I said. I left, forever.

Not really, but I did realize I would need to reevaluate a few things. Was I going to have an ultimatum between a plastic video game, headset and a loving red-head like myself? Yes, yes I was. The headset won.

I have learned Gatetemptress can't change anyone. It is engraved in 80% of men to have this sense of  'killing' and 'gaming' nature that takes over their perception of reality. I'm currently in a relationship with another 'gamer' who has tried to make a few sacrifices regarding his COD time and they don't go unnoticed. Although, I have woken up to one of his 4:00 a.m. 'abort missions', I'm growing just like the video game graphics. What I've learned in my gaming relationships, I simply want my gamer to acknowledge when I walk into a room so they can see the look of disgust on my face towards there gaming. Is that so much to ask?

Gatetemptress69