Sigh... I really do not love this game. However, I can keep in perspective that as far as "shoot 'em up" games goes, this one is very mild and pretty realistic... minus the fact that you get unlimited lives (and realistic meaning it's not overly bloody or demonic like so many other games.) I also like that there are no stupid race cars, bad language (unless some idiot teenager has their microphone on and decides to yell inappropriate things at other players) or large breasted women. It's warfare.
I would not go so far as to call Ryan a gamer. He's not. But he does like to come home after work and relax occasionally by playing a game or two. If we had a tv, he would probably prefer to watch sports instead, but we don't. We do not own a game console of any sort and Ryan hopes we will never change this. The only two games he has ever really gotten into are Halo and Call of Duty. Ryan had a bunch of friends a number of years ago that would do giant Halo parties so he did buy the game so he could play, but that phased out pretty quickly. Call of Duty is on the computer. As a general rule, I really don't like any sort of shoot 'em up games, but hey, if it helps him unwind a bit after work, okay.
The reason this is making it's way into blogging history is this: I have found 2 reasons not to hate Call of Duty so much. This is big for me. It's taking a big hit to my pride to admit as much. I would just keep it to myself, but I think these 2 reasons are worth sharing.
1. Call of Duty is THE answer. I used to give Ryan haircuts myself. However, I have no professional training, so I am not very fast. Ryan hates holding still. He gets antsy and edgy and before you know it, we are both frustrated and picking at each other. It got a little bit better when Ryan would buzz as much as he could himself with the razor and then he would call me in to do the back, but that too wasn't really working. We finally decided it was worth spending the money to not have the tension over something so simple.
Until Saturday night.
Ryan was playing Call of Duty and I asked casually if he wanted his hair cut. He responded, "Sure." It wasn't even a... if I have to, sort of "sure" either. He seemed genuinelly willing. I didn't even bother to hide my surprise. But when he confirmed he was okay with it, I jumped at the chance. I threw the cape around him and went to town. I didn't try to hurry either. I kept watching his face, waiting for signs of irritation or the twitching motions from getting tired of holding still. Nothing. He was totally engrossed by the game.
When I finished, he put his hand to his head and with true surprise exclaimed, "Wow! You are done already?!"
Hahaha. I think that may have been one of my longer hair cuts since it's been so long since I have cut his hair! But hey - no tension. No uses. No pecking at each other. It was honestly a very peaceful experience. And I have Call of Duty to thank for that.
2. One evening, I was cleaning up the kitchen while Ryan was playing Call of Duty when suddenly in the midst of a terribly intense battle scene (I assume) Ryan yelled, "Ha! They don't call me Bobo Baggins for nothing!!!"
Completely bewildered, I burst out laughing. I consider myself a fairly creative person, and I could not think of a single scenario that would cause this particular phrase to explode from Ryan's mouth.
"Ryan, do you even know who that is?" I asked.
"Yes. He's from Harry Potter. Isn't he?"
My laughter continued. "No. No, honey, he's not. He's from Lord of the Rings. He's a hobbit." (As a side note, I am surprised I knew this. I haven't read Lord of the Rings and I have only seen it through once. It was a bizarre experience and I must say - shocker to the English major world - but I'm not really a fan.)
"Oh," Ryan replied somewhat thoughtfully. "Yeah I think I knew that. Gandalf's a hobbit."
"Right," I said. "Well, he's from the Hobbit, but he's not a hobbit."
"Wait, is he, or isn't he?"
"He is from Lord of the Rings, but he isn't a hobbit. A hobbit is the short little guys with big hairy feet. Sam. Frodo. Those guys. I don't know what Gandalf is. A wizard or something. Cause there are elves, and dwarfs, and stuff..."
(And yes, he is a wizard. For those of you cringing that I, Diana, an English major, did not know this, don't worry. I looked it up. On Wikipedia. The source of all truth and knowledge. Bahahaha.)
"Yeah that makes sense."
I continued to chuckle. "What made you say that anyway?"
"I don't know. It just popped into my head," he said.
That is one thing I absolutely love about Ryan. Little phrases or songs will pop into his head seemingly without a single connection to this life or world and he will just use them as they seem fit. It's hilarious.
A few days later I was relaying this story to Nicia and she could not stop laughing. It was at this point that I decided to let Ryan know that his name is actually Bilbo Baggins. Not Bobo. But Bobo is close enough. :)
Who knew Call of Duty could bring about something so productive and funny? I guess you just never know.
I'm still laughing over it! I read this to Joe and he was laughing pretty hard too! :)
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