Yup. My first console technically was a NES (technically Atari 2600 but I was really young). Been playing console and PC games ever since. I used to love games. Wanted to design them and even got a job as a game tester and GM for WoW (tester made me realize I didn’t want to work in the industry). I don’t know when it started but outside of a few instances I can’t get into games anymore. I think there are a few reasons (though they’re sort of overlapping).

• I’ve already experienced a lot of it. I’ve saved countless kingdoms, stop hundreds of bad guys from blowing up stuff, repeatedly discovered the mysteries of crystals/labs/villages. There isn’t a lot of “new” stuff.

• I don’t have consistent chunks of free time and don’t want to use all my freetime playing games. I can’t always invest in a long story and a lot of games take a while to get started.

• As I get older I value my time more. I’m not necessarily old but looking at life expectancy I’ve hit the midway point. That just causes me to evaluate my freetime differently. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean I am necessarily making the best of use of my time but stops me from spending 8 hours of a Saturday playing the new Spider-Man.

• I find my need to unwind and relax increases with age. After a long stressful day at work I don’t necessarily want to engage with complex systems or drawn out stories. I just want to start playing and not have to think. I also don’t want to be stressed. I find online competitive games to be stressful.

There are other issues like the market has changed and less games align with what I enjoy. Social aspect of games are mostly gone for me.

I agree that not all landlords are bad (and not all tenants are good) but I have a hard time believing anyone becomes a landlord to “provide homes to families”. It’s an investment, a source of income.

That was my understanding. I was told one of the reason for growth in apps like Whatsapp outside the US was that data was cheaper than texting (probably just per message cost).

A lot of apartments in my area do first year discounts. The reason for that is a lot of cities have rules about how much you can raise rent in a year. Discounts are a loophole since they can raise it based off the non-discounted value. Also moving sucks and a new place has a chance of being terrible (and you’re stuck for a year). So people are more willing to pay an increase once they’re already in an apartment they tolerate.

I was in vacation in Japan. We ended our trip in Tokyo because my partner and I are into gaming and I knew we’d buy stuff. One thing we bought was bigger and a bit of a hassle to pack. I wondered how much it would have been if I had bought it online and shipped it. Turns out I lot of the newer stuff we bought we could have bought from Amazon Japan and shipped directly home for a reasonable rate (probably less than the cost of the overpriced duffle bag we bought).

Do you have any recommendations of who to trust? I’m in a good place in my career but mostly do everything myself. It’s very basic stuff but I think I could be doing better. I just don’t know what the next step is.

I wonder with these types of stories. The people were either lied to by the company, which I don’t ever see mentioned, or settled down without making sure they could. If you’re signing a mortgage and not thinking beyond a few years then it’s partially on you. Partially because covid lockdowns were a crazy time, companies weren’t communicating well because they didn’t have a plan, and recent RTO policies aren’t for the reasons the company claims.

Maybe this isn’t a hobby but just hanging out. Video games, movies, road trips, or any type of activity without it being a big deal. No agenda or expectations. Just being social. I miss that from my younger years. Now everyone is busy, tired, and getting together takes a lot of prep.