Ponderings and Gaming RANTING!
Sep. 16th, 2003 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfie_chanI've been thinking about gadgets lately. This was probably brought on by the fact that I just bought a new Palm Pilot, which has more features than I will probably ever need. Still, I look at it and listen to my inner magpie shout, "Shiny!" Of course, my old Palm's screen contrast was really bad, and this one is much nicer. And, at this point, I would never dream of going without my Palm. That would just be insane, right?
We live in a gadget generation. Technology keeps getting smaller and more convenient, as well as more affordable. Take this quick quiz: how much technology do you have on your person on a regular basis? I tend to carry my Palm, my Palm keyboard, and my cell phone. (This does not, of course, take into account all the other crap I carry on me on a regular basis.) And there's so much more out there. All of it is shiny, and all of it begs to be bought. The problem is that, the moment you buy one of these nifty gadgets, the manufacturers come out with something even niftier. We can't win.
And now, it's RANTING TIME!
Okay, this rant isn't about gaming in general. It's about what happens at my gaming group. One of my fellow gamers has a child. This child is adorable, but this child is only 8 months old. She is an active little girl, and she wants Daddy's attention quite often. The problem with this is that, because Daddy often has to look after the baby, Daddy brings the baby to game. While gaming occurred at Alex's and my house, we could safely say, "No baby," because our house is not safe for any baby to be in. Michael's house is slightly safer than ours, but not much. Tonight, the baby nearly pulled a small end table over onto herself. I find myself watching the baby because Daddy keeps going outside for a cigarette. I am not the baby's mother. She is not my child. My feeling is that, if baby comes to game, then Daddy needs to look after her. Not me. However, I keep looking after her because, if I don't, she'll get hurt. This frustrates me no end. We want to keep having Daddy come to game, because he's a good gamer, but there is no good solution for baby that I can see. Mommy doesn't seem to want to look after the baby--we had her at game once (so that she could look after baby and be social at the same time), but all she did was sit and read her novel and make Daddy do everything anyway. I'm very frustrated, and I don't know what to do. All I know is I don't want to be stuck babysitting. I come to game, and game I shall. The question is this: How do we get Daddy to look after the baby like he's supposed to? I realize that he wants to game, too, but he's got a little girl that needs him to look after her. If she gets put in the playpen (the only way to keep her from getting into everything), she's bored and she screams. A child should not be treated like an inconvenience. What to do? Besides all this, gaming no longer happens at my house, so it's not my place to say what happens. It's just so...frustrating. I probably need to talk to Daddy and let him know that he needs to take care of his little girl--it is not my job. He should not just assume that if someone's in the room, that person will look after baby. It happens, but it should not be assumed. It makes me feel used and very angry. I don't think I'm being selfish.
Okay, rant over. *growls* Just had to get that out of my system. *sighs*
We live in a gadget generation. Technology keeps getting smaller and more convenient, as well as more affordable. Take this quick quiz: how much technology do you have on your person on a regular basis? I tend to carry my Palm, my Palm keyboard, and my cell phone. (This does not, of course, take into account all the other crap I carry on me on a regular basis.) And there's so much more out there. All of it is shiny, and all of it begs to be bought. The problem is that, the moment you buy one of these nifty gadgets, the manufacturers come out with something even niftier. We can't win.
And now, it's RANTING TIME!
Okay, this rant isn't about gaming in general. It's about what happens at my gaming group. One of my fellow gamers has a child. This child is adorable, but this child is only 8 months old. She is an active little girl, and she wants Daddy's attention quite often. The problem with this is that, because Daddy often has to look after the baby, Daddy brings the baby to game. While gaming occurred at Alex's and my house, we could safely say, "No baby," because our house is not safe for any baby to be in. Michael's house is slightly safer than ours, but not much. Tonight, the baby nearly pulled a small end table over onto herself. I find myself watching the baby because Daddy keeps going outside for a cigarette. I am not the baby's mother. She is not my child. My feeling is that, if baby comes to game, then Daddy needs to look after her. Not me. However, I keep looking after her because, if I don't, she'll get hurt. This frustrates me no end. We want to keep having Daddy come to game, because he's a good gamer, but there is no good solution for baby that I can see. Mommy doesn't seem to want to look after the baby--we had her at game once (so that she could look after baby and be social at the same time), but all she did was sit and read her novel and make Daddy do everything anyway. I'm very frustrated, and I don't know what to do. All I know is I don't want to be stuck babysitting. I come to game, and game I shall. The question is this: How do we get Daddy to look after the baby like he's supposed to? I realize that he wants to game, too, but he's got a little girl that needs him to look after her. If she gets put in the playpen (the only way to keep her from getting into everything), she's bored and she screams. A child should not be treated like an inconvenience. What to do? Besides all this, gaming no longer happens at my house, so it's not my place to say what happens. It's just so...frustrating. I probably need to talk to Daddy and let him know that he needs to take care of his little girl--it is not my job. He should not just assume that if someone's in the room, that person will look after baby. It happens, but it should not be assumed. It makes me feel used and very angry. I don't think I'm being selfish.
Okay, rant over. *growls* Just had to get that out of my system. *sighs*
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no subject
Date: 2003-09-17 05:39 am (UTC)Unfortunately, I have seen that a lot with gamers, especially young ones, hence why most of my friends don't have kids.
I don't know what else to tell you but to be straightforward with Daddy about this situation, mayhaps you will lose him from the group. But he needs to prioritize. Babies and games rarely mix well, unfortunately. As they both demand so much attention!
In fact, I find it hard enough to game with the cats around, much less a tiny human!
no subject
Date: 2003-09-17 05:42 am (UTC)You know the baby market is at an all-time high, and I can reference you to a very reputable gypsy that I happen to know of...*wink*
(You know I am kidding, but someday that scam is going to work and I will get a little one of my own...either that or I'll just have to do it the old fashioned way....)