Time flies when you’re killing pigs
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I keep experiencing missing time. I’m certain that I’m not being abducted by aliens. I never leave the place I was in at the time. And thankfully there is no evidence of any… erm… probing. I don’t suffer from any memory loss or blackouts. Time just seems to disappear far quicker than it should. I’d love to offer a cool and exciting reason for this. But the real reason is quite a long way from both.
In a moment of idle curiosity, I decided to purchase the game Angry Birds for my iPhone. I’d heard a lot of people talking about how good it was so I thought I’d give it a shot. I arrived late to the world of Angry Birds. But because of this game I’ve very nearly arrived late to everything else since.
The first time I started playing Angry Birds it was early evening and the sun was still up. The next time I looked up from my phone it was dark and I was several hours older. I don’t remember it getting dark. I do know, however, that I managed to advance through a reasonable number of the early levels of the game.
The next day, when I got home from work, I had some time to kill. Angry Birds wasn’t the first thing that came to mind, but as I took my phone out of my pocket, it occurred to me that I could have a quick go on that before I moved on to other things. It wasn’t dark the next time I looked up, but I didn’t have time to do the other things I had planned.
These aren’t isolated incidents. On several occasions since I got it I have decided to have a ‘quick go’ on Angry Birds. On none of these occasions have I had a ‘quick’ go on anything. There are several things I could do that I might walk away from needing a shower. There are very few that I could walk away from needing a shave. Such is the amount of time I’ve lost to this addictive and yet frustrating game.
For those that haven’t played it, the game takes a simple format in that you fire birds from a catapult with the objective of killing pigs. This is achieved either by scoring a direct hit with the bird or by destroying whatever buildings or obstacles are in the way. Different birds have different abilities. Some go quicker and do more damage. Some act like boomerangs. Some split into other birds that let you hit more targets. Some explode. It’s safe to say it’s not based on a true story.
If you haven’t tried Angry Birds, I can say that as a game, it is rather entertaining. I will caution you, however, that it is also very addictive. Be prepared to miss meals, meetings, appointments and sleep and for the rest of the world to get dark quicker. I’d love to say I could walk away from it whenever I like. In truth this blog has taken me two days to write simply because I’ve picked up my phone to have a ‘quick go’ during the course of writing it.