Achievement Unlocked - Back Pain
Yes! I have arrived! I have managed to unlock the hallowed achievement of miserable, excruciating, can't-put-my-own-socks-on back pain through three decades of dedicated, slouched gaming.
Sitting comfortably dear reader? Ah, let me smile softly and shake my head as I observe you sitting, curled like a cat with your elbow resting on your desk as you scroll through this post. Maybe you have one leg tucked up reassuringly under your trailing leg as you relax in your seat. Maybe you are sat cross-legged like an all knowing game-elf or leaning forward intently, your back curved as you focus in on every word I have written. All these positions I have adopted over the years and I am here to tell you now - stop!! Sit properly! This is one Gaming Like an Old Git achievement you don't want!
I think it is worth saying (even if I am dying slightly inside as I hear myself turning into my parents) that sitting properly at your desk, or using your laptop or phone, is a great habit you need to get in to. It's always irritating when your parents turn out to be correct but perhaps if I had listened on the occasions they constantly badgered me to "sit up", I would not have spent the last two weeks with only twenty minutes game time. I wouldn't have to be rolling out the emergency 'angry cat - happy cat' yoga moves to try and straighten my discs out. I wouldn't have the aforementioned difficulty putting my goddam socks on. I wouldn't have fallen over the other night trying to take my trousers off and nearly split my head open- and that was without a drink! In short, life has taken a bit of a crappy turn and no amount of cocodamol is going to fix it.
I could become some sort of bare footed games guru, wandering around the house and streaming from phone in an enigmatic fashion espousing spine related wisdom - but I miss gaming and I miss my corner of the Twitch community. And that seems like a rather extreme reaction to my sock dilemma, to be honest. So I will return to the exercises, try to figure out how to afford a new computer chair and be satisfied with warning anyone who reads this to treat their back with respect - you will be glad to cash-in the down payment in later in life. Believe me!
I will be returning to my Twitch channel tomorrow for an exploratory stream in Elite:Dangerous to see if the back can hold out! Follow me on Twitter to get going live notifictions.