When Games Are Not Stories

An example of the animus slipping past the sight of
local guards in Assassin's Creed. If only it worked as
well in the game.

I am the Warden!!

Today is a day off to recover from the Return of the Torn Throat. Yes, I'm aware that I'm writing on my blog, so for argument's sake, this is not work. Seems that strep throat wasn't cured after all and has come back with a vengeance. After three nights of very little sleep, my mind was worn down and unable to complete a coherent thought. The majority of the afternoon was spent on the couch playing Assassin's Creed (which I picked up for $10 a couple of weeks ago and haven't been able to play very often until now).

As I write this, I'm knee deep in the middle of the first true assassination in Damascus and loving the fact that it takes place during the Crusades, something I read about extensively back in my post-college days. The graphics are amazing and the controls are very intuitive (assigning each of the four core buttons to the four limbs on the animus' body - head, hands, and the feet). Plus, the idea of playing an assassin sounds fun. Not sure why.

But there's a problem. I'm having a hard time investing myself into this story. It started the first time I saved a citizen's life and escaped from a pair of nearby guards to the roofs of Damascus. Easily making my way to the curtained roof garden, I ducked and covered just in time to remain out of sight... and watched as these "professionals" searched everywhere except the most obvious hiding spot in sight. "Bah! I've got better things to do," one decries and back they go to their post.

Really? (sigh)

Well Cut Me Open And Fuse My Ankle... They're Gonna Cut Me Open and Fuse My Ankle

I am the Warden!!

Three years after the initial accident and the original surgery, I'm going back under the knife. In the 961 days since that fateful moment, the nerve damage has made my right foot unstable, unreliable, and extremely painful with incalculable frequency and it's time to fix it. Or to try something else that may hopeful ease some of the pain and burden.

I'm currently scheduled to go back under the knife on October 11th (AKA Canadian Thanksgiving weekend) to fuse my right ankle, along with some other attachments, the removal of the original metal plating and screws, and the insertion of a pair of new screws leading from the base of my heel into my ankle. While this will severely limit my foot's mobility, the idea is to reduce the impact of the nerve damage running through the top of my foot. It's not a guarantee by any measure and the new surgery will have the same follow-up results as the original: no weight bearing on the foot for 8 weeks after the surgery and rehab. This time, however, there shouldn't be any need for a wheelchair because there are no other fractures complicating the matter. And more importantly, it's my choice, not a forced reaction.