I'm on the road today, working hard at the job that actually supports myself and my family.  I'm making presentations, moving products, packing and unpacking goods, and meeting and greeting with people I only know tangentially.  My father did this job for a good part of his adult life, but things were different then. Back in the day (as it were) sales calls were invariably accompanied by lunches dinners with clients and customers or vendors or whomever you happened to be doing business with that day.  You did your work, and then everyone went out for a laugh and a drink; and if you were a good salesman you told stories and jokes and made sure that you were entertaining so that the clients would remember you.

It's a little different today.  Sure, nobody minds expensing a meal here or there and hanging out for a bit.  The big client-vendor dinner, however, is much less of a thing. At the end of the day, people would rather go home to their families and friends and hobbies and art and favorite shows or whatever. I like to think that this is because people today make more of an effort not to define themselves by their work or what they do for a living.  It makes sales a much less sexy kind of job, but at the same time I think its a hopeful development.

My name is Rob, and I have a problem.  I play video games.

Now, a lot of people play video games, but I seem to have trouble playing them casually.  It's really easy for me to get wrapped up in a game - especially one with a deep and immersive backstory and any amount of gritty medeival realism. (Gee, I wonder why?)  And with it's tasteful, "just right" amount of violence, byzantine lore, and viking overtones, Skyrim is pretty much like crack to me.  I have managed to become completely obsessed by this game despite managing to not buy a copy of it. (Heck, I don't even own a console!)

But you see, I have friends.  Friends who DO have consoles, and who don't mind me coming over to muck about with Skyrim once in a while.  I fear it is only a matter of time before I buy the PC version and get lost entirely in this game for at least a week.  Ugh - I can already feel the oncoming insomnia.  Another thing that doesn't help is the good folks over at Video Games Awesome who insist on doing highly entertaining playcasts of games that I like - and even some that I'm ambivalent about.  Why am I watching the comeplete run through of Saints Row III? Totally not a game that I would play, but somehow watching Fraiser play through the game in a pimp costume is endlessly compelling.

Of course, there's the fact that SR3 has a really hip soundtrack , which helps.