Game Over

When we’re young, it’s what we naturally do. Even as we get older, we figure out ways to play them by ourselves, thanks to the wonderful world of Nintendo, Xbox, and most recently, the Wii. Take a stroll through any casino, and you’ll see herds of senior citizens playing them till the wee hours. But once you mature from the playground, remove technology, and throw away the deck of cards, all you’re left with is a tally between the winners and the losers.

I was never good at playing games – be it sports, video, or gambling – I just never had a knack for those things. I liked to think I was good at all of the above, when in reality, I knew someone would call my bluff any minute. But beyond just a skillset, the one thing I lacked the most was the ability to follow the rules. Apparently I never was able to acquire that skill – as much as I wielded myself to try – my heart had a will of its own. And that’s precisely where I faltered. In games, you check your heart and emotions at the door, and enter with nothing but rationale and logic to help you maneuver your way to victory. You see, I try to tell myself to do that. I do… really, but in matters of the heart, “mind over matter” does not hold true.

In fact, when you truly like someone, nothing seems to matter. Like now – I like a guy who has defied me to break all the rules, whereas all he’s done is broken my heart. (So poetic and cheesy, yet so true). In fact, I broke the paramount rule of them all: I pursued him. I know it’s the 21st century; I know women can run a business and a home with equal finesse; hell – we even had a female presidential candidate! Women can do it all – except for one thing: chase a man.

It’s a simple concept that takes time to embrace: if he wants thee, he will come after you and chaseth. Frustrating, isn’t it? Women can push out a nine pound human being out of a nine inch opening – yet we’re not allowed to nudge a guy to pull him towards us? Some traditions are born of nature and last through time for a reason. Men ask women out. Men reach for the check. Men propose to women. It’s really that simple – no mixed signals – no playing games. So leave the scheming and plotting up to the players, because there’s no room for it when you’re in it to lose your heart to someone who’s out to win it.