Take two potions and call me in the morning

Ok people, for reasons I will not disclose, my girlfriend had a REALLY bad day today. I mean, make you want to punch a puppy bad, (no it wasn't due to her monthly guys) this was a genuine bad day. The one thing she had been looking forward to was going out to see Rusko tonight, and when we found out that the venue sold out before it even opened you can imagine how upset she was. We decided that her leaving the house would be a horrible idea, as the stars had already aligned to ensure that she’d get mugged, in a car accident, or thrown in jail. Naturally, me being the sensitive and caring boyfriend that I am, I told her that tonight we could play any video game she wanted out of our library. (I know, I'm the best boyfriend ever. right?) With her it’s always Katamari Damacy for PS2 or Resident Evil 5 on the XBOX 360. Tonight she opted for the bubbly infected over the King of the Cosmos. Something interesting happened just before we were about to start. She received an invite to play with an old friend over XBOX Live. After a bit of coaxing I convinced her to give it a go, as she never gets a chance to play with her friends online. (I had games to alphabetize and wires to rubber band anyway.)

Now the really interesting part is that I got to witness social gaming from an outside perspective. She and her friend had a really nice time interacting with each other. They talked about what was new in their lives, old boyfriends that sucked, school, work, and even got a little bit of a competitive banter going between them. I was surprised to see that even though she'd been in a really bad mood for most of the day, after an hour of gaming with a friend she was all smiles again (coincidentally it was also cute seeing her rock a Turtle Beach headset). I've heard about people coming home and unwinding with a video game after a long day but it was never really my thing. However, to witness it first-hand I have to testify to the relaxing power of gaming. Resident Evil 5, with its awful techno multiplier soundtrack, somehow managed to put her mind at ease, even if only for a little while. Will her problems be there later? Of course, but it’s nice to see that after a night of gaming with her buddy she’s in a better mood.

Moral of the story: Sometimes a little gaming co-op can be just what the doctor/wizard/oracle ordered to get your hearts back in order. Remember, sometimes you need to just sit back and enjoy the pixels.