Chess with Family

I have this routine every morning, I get up and get a cup of coffee and my phone and proceed to start my day. First and foremost…. I check my Chess with Friends game to see if my dad has made his move.   Chess with Friends….or even regular board Chess is a game in which I have only beaten him twice….EVER.   But those two times that I did win, went down as huge accomplishments on my list of “Ian’s Life’s Accomplishments” that I don’t really keep but I always say I do.(like now)

 I can only compare that feeling of beating my dad in chess  as the same one when you finally win that level of Candy Crush that you have been struggling with for 3 months….okay… 6 months.  Only beating dad in chess has more like a 10 year window before I win. So, when it happens, it makes my whole day, in fact I think it makes my whole week a better one because I have this sense of accomplishment that I carry around with me.  I will go to work and my boss yells at me for something, I can look at him and say: “Do you even know who I am?” “I am the guy who just beat my dad in Chess with Friends” “Yeah…I know …I am a bad MoFo” “Now go get me a cup a coffee and quit your bitchin”.  Okay, maybe that’s a bit much but still….. you know that feeling I’m talking about right? It make my chest stick out a couple more inches.

I still remember when my dad taught me and my brother how to play. I was all of 9 years old, and we had gotten a chessboard for Christmas one year.  We played every day for about 3 days….that’s how long it took until we lost our first pieces. But we always used coins as a substitute for missing pieces. I lost a lot back then just like I do today, which just goes to show….well I guess it just goes to show that once you get used to losing it isn’t so bad. J

I could be a much better chess player if I had the patience that my dad has. I am always in a hurry no matter what I do.  I don’t check to see what the other player is thinking of doing. I am only wrapped up with what MY plans are. Hmmm I am seeing a pattern here with my life. J  Once I master that aspect of the game …..I might actually win more often.  However, its been 40 + years so I am doubting I will get it any time soon.  And besides…if you think about it….does dad really get as much enjoyment beating me as I do when I beat him? I doubt it….actually he probably just goes in a state of shock when I win, just because he never expects to lose to me.

I enjoy our games of chess…win or lose just because it’s been in our family for so long…it’s kind of like tradition. With the actual pressure of an actual tradition. We can take a break for a few days and start back up fresh or we can play game after game after game….it’s all fun to me.  It makes my mornings special to make a few moves in the game thinking that “This could be the day that I win”                        Once I have my cup of coffee and actually wake up from that dream of winning….I realize that I might not win but I will always try to win. And that my friends…..That’s what Life is all about.  

F

How Big is Yours?

How big is your shell?  I’m talking about the shell you live in. No…I’m not talking about the size of your house either.  I’m talking about your entertainment shell. The shell that is either big or small that you live in and you do your socializing or have fun in. For example…take the internet.  I think that this internet thing is very cool but yet I only explore a miniscule part of it all. I stalk Facebook and my blog and check my mail. And that is about it. But yet I get bored so easy. There is a whole world of new and exciting things on the net but yet because I live in such a small shell I don’t ever explore any new things on it.

But it goes beyond the net…what about what you do for fun?  I work, I come home and eat and sleep and repeat for the most part. But where’s the fun in all that? (Besides the eating part) (Ok and the sleeping part too) The shell I live in doesn’t allow me to travel past the county lines very much for any type of entertainment or socializing. Obviously I could if I wanted to but that is not the life I lead. I like my little shell life for the most part. We go into town and gamble a bit but that is about the extent of our “fun factor” of our daily shelled life.  Please don’t get me wrong here…I am not complaining at all. But in contrast I see people who live in a very large shell and they do so many things. These large shell people always seem to find fun things to do because they are not confined to a small shell.  They will go to where the people are or the fun is.

We pick what shell we live in. But sometimes when you look at the other larger shells and what they encompass….you sometimes can’t help but get a little antsy to think that you might be missing out on some aspects of life.  However, if I look at it truthfully and honestly….I am too damn lazy to live in a large shell. I enjoy having a nice little routine of waking up, drinking my coffee while I play candy crush and do my morning stalk on Facebook.  I enjoy coming home after work and watching late night television on the boob tube. And I also enjoy the company of my wife while we run to town in hopes of winning it big at the gaming place.

So what would I be missing really? The shit I am to lazy to do at home would still be there for me when I got home only I wouldn’t have to spend hours in the car. Maybe one day I may think about expanding my shell….but for now…I am content with the economy size shell I live in. Besides....my motto has always been...its not the size of your shell that is important, but how you fit in it ...is.