Hola Again
Hola!... okay, I thought a nice hello in a language besides English would be a nice introduction after a long hiatus of not writing. I used to read articles by this guy in the Onion who started his articles like that. Anyway, the guy was a total pot head.

So what's my excuse for not writing? Well, like the pot head (not that I'm one!), there was a lot things going on life. First of all, after I got sick, I had a ton of things going on at work and I've started a new campaign in Total War: Barbarian Invasion.

I admit it, I'm addicted to Barbarian Invasion. There's just something about being the overlord of a huge empire killing little pixels. Right now I rule a huge Sassanid Empire (Pre-middle age empire, started the religion Zoroatism). There's just something about having a column of war elephants with a line of heavy armoured calvary marching into battle for you. Like Conan used to say, the meaning of life is to see your enemy crushed!

So there I am spending hours on end killing pixel, living the unexamined life as Socrates say, totally oblivous to the outside world. I stopped playing for a few days now as I now control almost 95% of the known world in the game. Looking back, what did all that acomplishment amount too? Not much in the real world, except that I now wish there was a quick reload button in real life. I do think however, I think of multiple strategies in real life like how I do in the game... only the strategies involve what would happen if I had an army of elephants with me at work instead.

Speaking of work, man, have I been bogged down with work with the recent changes made. There's just so much to do. Not that I don't enjoy the job but spending more than half the day in the office is mentally tiring. I used to think I wasn't doing it for the money, I was doing it as a my responsibility to society. Now my priorities have changed. I want to get married, get a house, a car... I need time and money and a better quality of life. Makes me think back to the Buddhist teaching, life is suffering, we want so we suffer.

I've been downloading audio books from the internet to listen in the car recently. I've been listening to a lot of Philosophy and self-help books. The philosophy because I've always been interested, the self-help because I need information for work. My favourite have been a series of lectures on Greek Philosophies and Mythology. Just imagine, more than 2000 years ago a few guys with no running toilet came up with philosophical ideas that we still refer too today. Makes you wonder, what would we do today that will echo in eternity?

Our actions and in-actions rippples out from us into our surrounding. Some ripples reach out further than others. That's one of the thing I like about my job, the ability to reach out and make a change for the good. In philosophy, there are many definitions of what is good (different societies have different versions of values). My previous experiences define my defintion of what is good, and I used to aim to change the world to my perspective. Now, I think to myself... screw it, can't change the whole world. Maybe I'll just settle for gentle ripples eminating from me you know?

It's football season (World Cup 2006) right now and I tell you, I ain't no soccer fan though I do stay up late, not to watch the game but just because I like it at night when it's peaceful and I listen to oldies. Right now, it's Marty Robbins singing about the town of El Paso. While the whole world is cheering on men chasing a ball in a field, here I am listening to cowboy tunes and blogging... okay, I know, get a life.

How about I get some sleep now instead? See ya later alligator.