You know, it has come to my attention that SW:CCG may be affecting my grasp on reality. I don't mean that I have hallucinations of wampas running around campus; that would be terribly disturbing (plus it's way too hot for wampas here in Florida). What I do mean is that somehow game actions and cards have found their way into the way I think and, sometimes, the way I speak. Keep reading to find out what I mean.
Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Just the other day, it was 5 million degrees outside, and I was hiking across campus with a two-ton backpack full of papers and books for the class I help teach. Now it's important to tell you that the UF campus is huge and in order to park legally (and now that I'm one ticket away from having my parking privileges revoked for a whole year, I should probably go with the legal option) students must park a loooooooooong way from the center of campus. So halfway through the trek between my car and my destination, I suddenly wished that I could just Nabrun Leids myself to where I wanted to go. But this wasn't just some passing thought, it was a real wish - I genuinely wanted to be able to pay whatever the amount on the card said and be able to Nabrum Leids myself up to the third floor of Rolfs Hall. Even if I couldn't hire transport, I at least wanted to be able to play Dash and double my landspeed. When I'm caught in traffic, I occasionally wish I drove a cloud car instead of a Mustang. Who among us hasn't wished at one time or another that there was a quad laser cannon mounted to the hood of their car?
The workplace is a scene that often causes me to think in terms of SW:CCG. The other day, I saw my supervisor headed toward me with a pile of work and a post-it note that said "Rush Jobs, Complete ASAP." As he approached, I had the sudden thought that it would be very cool if I could just play Set for Stun and send him back to his office. Sometimes I wish I could scanning crew the office and pay one force to remove one supervisor from the office. The girl who works at the desk next to mine is known around the office for her constant interrupting of conversations - I just wish I could sense the hell out of her sometimes. As I see it, my workplace is full of high-deploy, low-forfeit people with an ability of 1 and useless game text (although that sounds harsh, you'd have to see the place I work to understand).
Back when Beakman lived with his old roommate, there was something of a stand-off about who was going to clean the bathroom. For months, I referred to that bathroom as Dagobah. I wouldn't have been at all surprised if a dragon snake was living in the bathtub. His current roommate has a girl friend who I occasionally think of as M'yoom Onith (be afraid boys, be very afraid). There's an annoying little dog that lives in the apartment complex (and poops all over it), and the other day I thought it would be cool if the little dog met Bubo.
Last week, I was paying the electric, cable, phone, and credit card bills. It occurred to me that it would be great if, after my bank account balance fell below a certain amount, I could play We're Doomed and cut my losses in half. Or better yet, I could just Control the drain. Now wouldn't that be awesome?
I know for a fact that I'm not the only one that these things happen to. Just yesterday, I told Beakman that I thought that I was going to die of boredom - his response was to say that it was OK if I died of boredom because he would just pay three force and retrieve me from the lost pile. It was also Beakman who wished it was possible to play Nightfall in order to get a few more hours of sleep.A guy who plays SW:CCG at the local bookstore once wished for a Boba Fett's Blaster Rifle so he could do way some of the rowdy kids who were making a lot of noise.
Perhaps this is all just a weird phase; perhaps it's a symptom of some bizarre mental illness; perhaps it's normal among SW:CCG players, and I'm just becoming aware of it. At any rate, this mixing of SW:CCG and the real world is bound to continue - I just won't spend too much time waiting for Nabrum to give me a lift.
Queen Jawa