There are a lot of games out there that are easy to get addicted to. As a relaxant, I like to spend my nights playing games to wind down from busy days. Recently the games of interest have been Trism and Doodle Jump, both of which are apparently hugely popular and have quite the following. I played so much that the muscles I use to hold up my iPhone have gotten sore. It makes me wonder if the skills I learn in these games help hone me for other areas of life. Both physically and mentally, I have exercised myself in ways I don’t normally.
These two games require a lot of subtle wrist movements, which could either be good for more flexibility and agility, or create issues of range of motion and maybe even carpal tunnel-like syndrome. They also work out your thumbs a lot, which has made mine sore and probably a bit swollen too. Is it good for our hands, wrists, and fingers to get so much use? Perhaps I have strengthened them in using them so much. Plus, holding my hands vertically up puts them in a position they usually aren’t in. I wonder if that helps with anything!
As for mental challenges, Trism forces me to think in three dimensions (versus two for Bejeweled). Sometimes the angles throw you off from seeing easy combos, so it really makes you look at the big picture and recognize patterns better. I like to play Infinism because you have plenty of time to strategize. Playing Terminism puts the pressure on to find combinations quickly, forcing you to be quick on your feet. Then Syllogism gives you fun puzzles to solve patiently, also practicing your critical thinking skills. Doodle Jump makes you take in the big picture and quickly make important decisions on which way to go and what block to land on. It forces you to learn how to do your best within a specific framework.
If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch and want some fun games, go check them out! They’re not free, but for a dollar, it’s not a bad investment! But beware, for they are fabulously addicting.
It was a nice overcast day for the most part, which kept things cool. Thankfully, the rain stayed away though and allowed us to enjoy a very nice time at the park. Apparently a lot of people are blood donors because the place was packed! From the bus that took us from Boon Lay to the park to the line to get in, we could tell it was going to be a crowded place. It was still great fun though, as we made our way from penguins to flamingos to macaws to hawks to ostriches, and so much more! There was even this beastly creature that was huge and rather ugly, with remnants of a dino-like crown protruding from his head. Along the way, we came across a pelican feeding, where we were told about the seven types of pelicans in existence, and then got to see an entertaining bird show with all kinds of fun tricks.
At the end of our trip, we took the tram for one more spin around the park and headed out to meet up with some of Mizu’s friends. We stopped by the gift shop hoping to find a cute penguin pen to bring back to Starfish, but they didn’t have any. 🙁 We also came across this free pearl offer (where they would extract it in front of you), but it was only for real ticketholders. 🙁 I was so sad because I really wanted one so I could bring something back to Chatty to thank her. Oh well. We then squeezed back onto the bus to take us to the MRT and took a nice long ride to Ang Mo Kio to wait for Mizu’s buddies. Typea’s been using my iPod touch to play Tap Tap Revenge (it’s like DDR but with your fingers on the touchscreen), which Mizu also enjoys, so we played a few rounds challenging each other as we sipped on some drinks.
I’m really excited to head out to an Apple reseller store tomorrow (Cathay Photo) to find a nice backing for it, as well as some sort of screen protector. Then I won’t feel like it is so delicate and that I have to tote it around so gingerly! At this point I don’t want to scratch it up more so I can get something to preserve its condition, which is slightly worn in the back (but hey, it’ll be covered soon enough and it was definitely worth the discount!). There’s not much point to this post other than to share a fun, exciting piece of my life. New gadgets are always fun to play around with! Now I need to arm myself with some cool applications though – any suggestions?
Finally, they would start to settle their worries and would then wonder… uhhh how are you going to get it? Well, that’s the beauty of a mother in the right country. 😛 She helped me bid on it as I slept and she’ll help me mail it out when it arrives. I’m quite pleased, since any Apple product sold internationally is dead expensive (in Singapore the 32GB goes for about 468 USD, whereas in the states it’s a cool $399)! I may not have gotten the absolute best price, but it was close and still saved me tons for what I wanted. Plus, I got it pretty much the day I decided I was going to go for it. But it made me wonder: do people feel wary of using eBay?
