I’ve recently been reflecting on how good I’ve got it with my girlfriend, we get along really well and love to do all of the same things. On that note I’ve always liked video games, and when we first met she immediately made it known that she wasn’t really a fan, or that she just wasn’t good at them, that didn’t really bother me because I actually do prefer to do most other things then play video games, however games are always a good way to pass time when you’ve got nothing else to do. This weekend my girlfriend made the journey from Gainesville up here to Jax to hang out, she got off work and came straight here. When we visit each other we usually like to go play tennis or watch movies or just do whatever. We were talking one night and she mentioned to me how we never really fight and we’re never competitive towards each other, I agreed and thought it was pretty cool that I got along with her so well.

The next day while I’m at work she finds the pinball game on my computer, she tells me how she likes it and when I come home I see that she’s actually pretty good at it. I’ve never really played the pre-installed windows games other than skifree and solitaire so I didn’t really know what I was getting myself in to. I remember playing pinball on the computer but can’t remember ever really getting in to it. I start off and I’m doing kinda poorly, I can keep the ball going but I just couldn’t break 500 thousand points, all the while she’s getting over a million every game! So we keep playing it alternating back and forth and I start to notice all the lights and really start to understand the game, granted it’s just pinball but it’s actually pretty awesome, it has missions that you have to complete and added bonuses for hitting things over and over. Finally I get a break and I make it on the top 5 high scores, it might have been the bottom but it was still something.

During this time my girlfriend and I are having fun, we’re encouraging each other to do well and are really getting involved in the game. Saturday morning I wake up and I go right to the game, Jayde is still sleeping and I start playin, bam before I know it I have over 1 million points and I was still on my first ball, I kept strong and finished with over 4 million points, the record on my computer that still stands today! I wake up Jayde and say hey look I’m doing better I got over 4 million, of course I expect to be applauded and really feel accomplished but then she gives me the death stare. All of that talk about the two of us not being competitive and the next day she starts up, I guess it didn’t help that I signed my high score, “can’t touch this – tim”. Well this was a serious problem for our relationship, it seems a bit trivial but she was really mad, she nearly wouldn’t talk to me for a whole hour, meanwhile she was pinballing away trying to beat my score and knock me down a peg. Eventually we worked it out and she no longer hates me, at least openly, we’re even back to encouraging each other to do better. My advice, always let your lady friends win, it may hurt your ego to be humble but man it keeps em off your back =)

*story may have been exaggerated for interests sake.