After months of making fun of my sister and other relatives for playing Farm Town on Facebook, I signed up and started farming. Not only did this cost me the exclusive rights to my Badass Card, it gained me a place at the head of a shameful dining table. “CROW: It’s what’s for dinner.”
Farm Town has taught me something surprising about myself. Which brings me to the point of this blog…
I think I might be a little too competitive.
Wholeheartedly I believe that a (somewhat) competitive spirit is a healthy thing. However, I have decided that you cross the line from “healthy” into “whack-job” when you find yourself losing sleep and neglecting your children over harvesting, plowing and planting virtual crops. Tonight, I realize that I am most certainly in the realm of “whack-job.” I am fiercely competing in a race that has no finish line as there is no end of Farm Town. There are no prizes, blue ribbons or “Green Wizard” crowns to be gained to show off my gardening glory. The only satisfaction I’ve gained is the knowledge that I surpassed my sister in experience levels in a millifraction of the time that she’s been playing the game. This only goes to prove what a LOSER I really am. Do you see the irony? It’s really too bad that I can’t feed my kids with all these crops… they’re starting to look a little thin.
eL. The Deranged Competitor does exist outside of Farm Town. Four days a week I swim a mile and a half at the YMCA pool. Not only do I have to beat my own time from the day before, God forbid there be anyone else in the water. On Friday I caught myself racing a 73 year old hip replacement patient who was WATER WALKING in the shallow end. I stopped mid-stroke and nearly drowned laughing at myself when I realized I was checking his position in my peripheral vision. You just never he know, he might take off and sprint to the wall!
My children are starting to figure out something is wrong with their mom. My daughter made the mistake of telling me that a few of the kids in her class play a game to see who’s mom will show up in the car rider line first. Guess who’s won every day since? This week, my son groaned from his car seat. “Mom, when is Canaan coming out? We’ve been here forever.” We were 45 minutes early.
Like I said, I do believe that competition is healthy. It gives us drive and ambition to be better than ourselves… as well as all the losers around us. (See, I told you I have a problem.) It could be that the lack of competition is the cause of our society’s sick sense of entitlement. I’ve done a lot of ranting and raving about that lately. There are too many people in this country that don’t have a drive to do anything except to collect a welfare check and hide from collection agencies.
Now… if I can only find a way to make real money harvesting in Farm Town. Maybe I should give farming a chance in the real world? Wonder what kind of price I can get at the market for dandelions and thistles.
“I don’t know anything that builds the will to win better than competitive sports.” – Richard Nixon
… and Richard Nixon knows about competition, right?
