The Real Magic is in the Friends we Fake Along the Way

Last Friday, I went to Bosco's (a local gaming store, or LGS) to play Magic. I don't get out to do so much because every time I have the time (which isn't as often as I pretend to want), I tend to suddenly not feel like doing so. Even when it's something I'd been planning to do ahead of time. This past Friday was almost another one of those times I backed out of doing so. Who knows, maybe it's social anxiety manifesting itself as a sudden form of blase about the game? 

Regardless, I made myself go anyways. Frankly, I've spent too much money on the damn game to not be playing damn near every chance I get. And by the end of the night, I found myself having a pretty good time. Which is what happens nearly every single time I actually get off my butt and go play.

I think since I started playing/collecting Magic again (a little over three years ago now), there's two times I can remember going (out of like 20+ times at this point) and not enjoying myself. 

One time was when I was still relearning the game and some asshole lied to me about the rules so he could win. I remember at the time having a feeling he was wrong in what he was saying, but I didn't want to be "that guy" and hold up the game with a challenge. I now know it's OK to be that guy and call people out on their BS, whether they're doing it intentionally or not.

The other time I went home feeling like maybe I'd wasted my night when I was just having an off night and I probably would've felt crappy no matter what I did. And that's OK, I think we all have those nights and there's just not much to be done about them.

All that said, it amazes me how often I avoid going and playing still just because I'm unsure if it'll be worth the time. Sure, there's those stereotypical stinky and/or socially awkward people we all associate with gaming (and I probably fall into the latter to some degree, but hopefully not the former at all), but those have never been so bad for me that they took away from the overall enjoyment of the game and most the other people I'm playing with. (Funny enough, the part about stinky and/or socially awkward people also holds true for jiu jitsu, but that's something to write about another time). 

I don't know. I guess as I sit here avoiding organizing cards I have that need to be sorted (so instead I write about the hobby) it dawns on me that in some ways, I'm the one keeping myself from enjoying life. 

Song of the Day