Gaming Euphoria + Murphy's Law = bad

We've hit a high point in gaming. Within two weeks of each other, Halo 3 and The Orange Box (which itself is a bundle of 3 very highly anticipated games) both made it to market after years of anticipation.

On top of that, I'm finally an Xbox 360 owner, which means my time is *also* being split on the Xbox Live Arcade greats - Geometry Wars, Catan, Pac-Man CE, and Lumines.

We haven't had a time like this for gaming in several years. It's the kind of thing that comes around once in a blue moon, and it's a great opportunity for long-estranged gaming buddies to suddenly reunite. Just yesterday, I played a round of Halo 3 with an old UT friend who I hadn't been in contact with since I was a Halo 2 player in my second year of college.

I spent my weekend like this, engaged in what gamers call anything from "the zone" to "the gamer's haze" to "ubergaming." And on Monday at lunch, I went and crossed a big, big barrier:

I officially became old.

It's a sensation that hits many college grads - the going to bed early, the lack of energy as the ennui of work sets in, the falling out of love with clubbing, the sudden eagerness to watch Grey's Anatomy as a form of bonding with the opposite sex. But there's one sign that beats all of those that you're officially old:

You get an injury when playing with your students.

When playing "indoor baseball" with my kids, I hit the ball with the very end of my fist instead of the center. This bent back my wrist so hard I thought it was broken for a split-second. It's actually just sprained and threw my carpals way out of whack, but it hurts like hell and it'll impact my ability to use the computer (and maybe play games) for a long time to come.
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