Lost wonder
One of the tragedies of life is that as we grow older, not only do we become more cynical, but we often lose the sense of wonder.
Things we liked doing as children are viewed as ‘cringe’ and ‘infantile’, and out of fear of ridicule, we stop doing them.
And yet it’s the ‘child play’ that makes life fun.
I was always a gamer. When young, we had our gaming group; video games, fantasy card games like Magic: The Gathering and tabletop role-playing games.
We played it all.
When I ‘matured’ and moved to the UK, we switched to board games. Not family ones like Monopoly or Jenga, but hobbyist, thematic games with strategy, stories and rulebooks as thick as magazines.
Then 2 things happened.
First, both Paulina and I quit our jobs. We needed money, so our game collection was the first to go.
Then our gaming group split up, and we moved away.
Like with many things in life, work, deadlines and responsibilities took more space, and pushed out ‘play’, convincing us that more money, more things, more prestige and status are what really matter.
Play is for children, adult stuff is for adults.
When that happens, we forget that feeling of wonder and fall back into routines. You can’t miss something that you forgot about.
Thankfully, life is also full of happenstance and often helps us to find the way back.
When we restarted our game nights, all the feelings and excitement came back, reminding me why I loved the hobby in the first place.
Not only that, in the last few years that I was out of the loop, the board gaming space has developed so much, with more intricate games that combine elements of role-playing, epic campaigns, fantastic design, and immersion that I never knew was possible.
And of course, unlike 13-year-old Mike, I now have spare money to try out these new (and kinda expensive) games.
For the last few months, I have been on a journey of rediscovery, childhood wonder, excitement and reflection.
If you ever feel like something is missing, think about your childhood and what you loved doing then, when money, careers, and status didn’t matter.
See if that feeling is still there and if you can bring it back.
The truth is, we never really grow up. We just hide it quite well.
WORK
We continue to release the Waco series, and in the meantime, I am going through my music themes for the upcoming project.
In the end, I wrote 10 themes, each with 6 variations: main + 6 stripped-down, which gives me flexibility when scoring. So a total of 60 cues.
I am now going through them, cleaning up the orchestration and harmonies and printing onto the audio stems.
BOOKS
Before I start the Metro trilogy (post-apocalyptic Russian novels), I decided to go through another of Seldon's political history books. This time about the last Labour PM (before the current one).
What’s interesting is that I immigrated to the UK when he was in office (2006) and yet I didn’t care one bit about politics, the economic crisis, or the dramas.
The blissful ignorance of youth, I miss it.
The book is good, though.
LIVE
As Paulina was away at a conference, I drove with my mum to see Pentatonix in Cardiff.
I admit, I never heard of them, but I am always up for seeing artists perform. Only a couple of days before, I learned how huge this acapella, 5-singer group is, and the whole arena was sold out!
People loved them, the performances were very tight, and I really liked their medleys.
What I didn’t enjoy (I never do) was the sitting. I am ok with sitting through orchestral concerts, theatre and musicals, but I can never get into it properly when it’s popular music, and yet everyone is sitting down.
I understand there are many older people and families, but there should be a designated area where people can go, stand, and dance a little if they like.
But it was my first ever ‘pop’ gig of this size, and even though it wasn’t my vibe, the musicians and their craft stood out.
GAMES
I wanted to introduce Paulina to more narrative, story-driven games and was looking for something that is easy to get into. Following my cousin’s recommendation, I looked into Kinfire Chronicles, found a good deal on eBay and purchased the big box.
It’s a light, fantasy campaign with around 21 scenarios that should take an hour each. You choose a character, follow the story and battle monsters, gaining gold and experience on the way. I also got a recorded narration, which adds to the immersion as we move through the story. I think it will take us a few weeks to finish.
MOVIES/TV
Still going through the series, it’s really good.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you (hopefully!) next week!
Mike
https://mikemigas.com/
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