Today I did something I haven't done in at least five years. I gamed. 

I used to play a lot of Ghost Recon and then later, Battlefield and I was actually pretty decent at them. I remember one time one of my brother's who suspected I was hacking somehow set up a LAN game with his own PC's. Let's just say, someone got *Pwned*, and it wasn't me. 

https://i.imgur.com/ySKfSMr.jpg

Today I played CS:GO, which is the first time I have played any of the Counter Strikes and after install, decided to do a little bit of the training course to get accustomed to the game. From the first moment, I sucked, I couldn't even move.... then I remembered I had to reverse the mouse. Phew. 

Pretty much all FPS are set up with a similar array of key actions and it was much like riding a bike, it felt natural again although, a little wobbly. After I ran through the training course, it gave me an option to play against bots or find a game online. Bots? Really.. online. 

I found a random server and gave it a go. It seems that only Russians were playing in this particular server, not that I was chatting anyway. I found the game to be one of those achievement based things where I must go through the ranks to supposedly unlock better items or something, meh, I just want to shoot a few people occasionally.

What I found was that I am getting *OOOOOLD.* It felt like my reaction times were a long way rusted and there may be no coming back from it. The other thing is that the style of game is a lot more run and gun than I used to play. I am sure that in time I will get the hang of that though.

Considering it was my first few rounds, I think I did okay and even got some kills. I am a long, long way away from where I was in dexterity level though and this somewhat concerns me as it is an indicator of my advancing years. I am a skills trainer and it is quite obvious that through a lack of usage, my skill levels have dropped significantly, at least in this area.

And that is the thing though. Even though my skills have dropped, since 'quitting' gaming all those years ago, I have started my own business, got married, had a child, spend a hell of a lot of time developing content and my skill levels in many other areas have increased dramatically. And even after all that time, I was still a middle of the pack player without knowing the maps or the way the game play and players behaved. Sure, there are benefits to gaming but, how much?

As I played, I could already feel my body assuming the gamer identity where I would be able to be lost for hours, days, weeks on end without doing much else. That is not my goal in life, there is a lot more to do. Luckily, my real life doesn't allow for gaming at night and my job doesn't allow for it much during the day. This was an exception day.

My plan is that perhaps occasionally, i will be able to meet up with @acidyo, @beercake and @rubencress for a game or two and a chat but, levelling up? Who cares. It was nice to have the break from writing though, I must admit but, I am not going to let it ever control my life.

What I also found was that while playing with a group of strangers, I was pretty much bored which was surprising for me considering a new game and the length of time since the last. I am pretty sure I would have a blast playing with familiars though so when the stars align, I would like to give it a go. 

And that *would be* the benefit of me gaming, sharing a few laughs and getting to know some of the Steemit people in a wider capacity. I am quite sure that most of the time it would be me having my butt handed to me but I think I *may* even surprise a few people from time to time too.

So, with the *Addicted Gamer* inside fed, I can get back to writing. This was meant to be a short post. 

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]

Oh, the picture is from St Petersburg in Russia.