I will act now.

I will act now. I will act now. I will act now. Henceforth, I will repeat these words each hour, each day, every day, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing, and the action which follows becomes as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every action necessary for my success. I will act now. I will repeat these words again and again and again… If I delay, success will become wed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the person.
-- Og Mandino

 To sit at the computer for hours on end moving cartoon characters around a diner or fashion boutique, providing speedy customer service to hungry, cranky, and impatient fictional characters while trying to keep them from becoming dissatisfied with your service, talking to the programmed characters as though they can hear and respond, and trying to earn big tips and achieve the expert status so items can be bought to create a better looking restaurant or stylish shop has got to be the worst use of my time ever!

Nonetheless, I am a Diner Dash/Fashion Dash fan!

Wait, did I say fan? I meant fanatic!

I've played Diner Dash and Fashion Dash for hours a day, pausing only long enough to refill my coffee, fix the kid a plate (not meal, plate), and take a QUICK bathroom break. Each time I get to a new level, I say to myself, "After this level, I'm going to stop and go get something done." Levels later, it's dark outside, my kid is hungry again, and nothing has gotten done. I've even played so much that I've dreamed of playing in my sleep!

And can I tell you how disappointed I am when I actually finish the whole game, expert levels and all! What a let down as I try to figure out what to do next!

Researchers say these kinds of time management games are good for helping you think on your feet and help improve memory, concentration, and mental speed. There must be something to this because while I strategically seat the boutique's old ladies next to one another so they can gossip, I can listen to and sing music, think on a problem I'm having, and monitor what GG is doing in her room!

But, really, I'm not fooling myself. Scoring an extra 100 points because the diners were fed expediently doesn't provide me with any life points. Yeah, playing helps me think and come up with solutions to quandaries, but, really, I use these games to escape reality/time/responsibilities. In the midst of going from level to level, I often ask myself, "what else could I be doing, what would I rather be doing?" I can quickly come up with an impressive list of other things to do.

What I've found is that while I'm building brain matter, I'm not using it if I don't apply it to do the other things I could/would rather be doing. What good does better eyesight, enhanced problem-solving skills, or increased perceptual/spatial ability do when I stay caught in a web doing the same thing day-in and day-out? What is the benefit of greater focus, improved hand-eye coordination, and greater boosts in dopamine that help to reduce stress when I seem to chase my tail instead of stepping outside my circle of comfort and actually going for some of the things on the list of what I would rather be doing instead of playing the stinking games all day? What good is better brain activity if I'm only using it on brainless, rote, everyday activity? That's like tactically seating Flo's customers at a table then not feeding them so they end up leaving.

Yeah, so my frame of reference is Diner Dash…

Really, the time that it takes to seat 4 feisty businesswomen away from a cranky, crying baby and her family is the time I could have spent sharpening my own feisty business woman skills or keeping my cranky kid from disturbing others.

The time it takes to design a new boutique is the same time it takes to craft a new "Thought…,." Putting in a jewelry display or new dressing booth does not beat writing a scribe that could shed light on a new way of living and being.

Cleaning up the spilled meal of a Diner Dash family is in no way as remarkable as repairing a relationship or checking in with friends and family.

Flying from cartoon boutique to cartoon boutique has nothing on walking in the park, driving down the highway past old barns and grazing cows, or flying over the earth headed to a real boutique.

Serving different foods to play customers compares very little to enjoying the good foods offered by restaurants in and outside the city. Or creating a garden to eat my own food off my own land.

Seating the Starlets and Heiresses next to the Gentlemen so they can get their flirt on never beats flirting or connecting in real life, especially when the regard is returned!

You'll be glad to know that for Lent I have given up playing Diner Dash, Fashion Dash, Gem Swap, Mahjong Solitaire, and any other computer game. Instead, I'm listening for God and taking on some of the things on the could/would rather list. Forty days is time enough to break a habit and act on what's real.

They say if you put the newly acquired brain skills to work, they stick around. I'm going to act now before my brain turns to mush!