Anticipation's Sweet Embrace

 Game On

And you thought it would be FROGGER or DONKEY KONG this week?

Nope!

I wouldn't pass up the chance to highlight this amazing milestone family celebration as the climactic end to this series.

*****

The suspense is terrible. I hope it'll last. - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Imagine the thrill of not knowing what would come next. 

We were on our toes.

Grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts, godmothers, cousins, friends, and Filipino competitors-turned-fans were cheering, some of them waving SAS-decorated fans and ti leaves, sacred to Hawaiian gods, to bring good luck.

It was Day 4 of the 51st AAU Boys Junior National Volleyball Championships 2024.

After three grueling days of qualifying games packed with thrills, bumps, sets, and spikes, First Grandson and team members were playing for gold.

Someone said that the most important thing in any competition was not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life was not the triumph but the struggle.

RDH, Opposite/Outside Hitter Makes A Kill!

But that day, in back of our minds was the thought that these boys were geared around getting there and winning gold.

RDH Dives! Score!! Match Point!!! Screenshot from video: V.E.V., AAU Volleyball Championships 2024

And they did!

At the final deciding game of the match, after SAS scored a point to win the rally, applause erupted. 

Shouts reverberated.

Tears came.

Hugs galore and dancing ensued.

For us, it was an Olympic-size victory, an event that we would all remember and cherish.

When Team Spike and Serve Hawaii won the gold.

When overnight, First Grandson and the boys became a star.

When they not only fought well but conquered. 

Here's to you, RDH - YOU are awesome!!!

Gas Out

Game On 

Family - a little bit of CRAZY, a little bit of LOUD, and a whole lot of FUN. - Anonymous

Sprawled on the carpet, First Grandkids and we eyed Guster. He was the prominent character seated prominently at the center, presiding over the Gas Out game.

Waiting with bated breath as our turn came playing our card in hand, we took turns pressing Guster as many times as shown.

The premise was simple. If Guster farted, you were out.

Your turn, Jach. First Granddaughter chuckled under her breath.

Getting ready for a potentially odorous blow, Jach gingerly pressed Guster.

Whew! Nope. He seemed pleased, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

Cheatah, Jach, First Grandson piped in briskly. You didn't even press Guster. Do it! - at which point Guster the Gas Cloud, full of intestinal discomfort, emitted a loud PBBBT!

We all burst into a wet and teary laughter.

G's turn.

BRAAAP! Guster was ripping at every turn. I knew that if I opened my mouth, the laugh would just burst out, so I just made nods and kept my head bent down.

Eww! The blasts were not silent and they were definitely deadly. Cards in the deck kept the fun tooting along.

TOOT! POOT!

Yay! Skip! First Granddaughter looked up, her eyes widening.

The reverse card "blew" the turn back in the opposite direction. Phooey! First Grandson huffed out a laugh.

The sound that came out was unpronounceable. Something like THPPTPHTPHPHHPH!

I don't recall how the game ended, but what I remember was elation rising inside me.

A moment of intimacy.

Enclosed in a bubble of joy over such a silly thing as a stinking, breaking wind.

Sungka

Game On

Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life. - Albert Einstein

Second Grandddaughter and I sat, looking expectantly at each other. Horizontally in front of us was a sungka board.

Sungka, pronounced as soong-kah, is a two-player game played with seashells on a wooden, boat-like board.

Players pick up shells from a chosen hole, move them clockwise around the board, dropping a shell in each hole that's passed over and in the player's designated home base.

The object is to obtain as many shells in one's home, I chattered on brightly.

The rules set, I said. You start. My voice was soothing.

                                              

                                        Internet pic only

Second Granddaughter nodded coyly. Perusing her choice, she daintily picked from the hole from her farthest right and started distributing the shells.

She barked out a laugh, a wild one. I'm winning, G. Her tone and expression were teasing.

We shall see, I spoke calmly and took a turn. I barely paused to take a breath. I'd found my rhythm. Until... I "died" (meaning I ended in an empty hole and had lost my turn).

I could see in the course of the game that First Granddaughter was filling her house.

Ah, beginner's luck. I mocked her gently.

She continued to drop the shells one by one. Looking at my scantily-filled home base, she predicted with a smile at the corner of her lips, You'll end up with burnt houses, G (meaning I wouldn't have enough shells to fill my holes when we begin the next round of play).

As my turn came, I picked up a bunch from a hole, breathed slowly, and took a chance. I could win this. I thought that I had guessed with dead-on accuracy, but as a lonely shell dropped in an empty hole, I knew that I had lost.

Sigh... Just once, I'd like something to go as planned, ya know?

I let out a hooting laugh as dramatically, I clutched at my heart.

Second Granddaughter stifled a giggle, trying to convey a touch of sympathy.

I shooed her away in mock disappointment, but in my heart, I knew that winning wasn't really my biggest thrill. There were more important things.

Like seeing a smile stretched wide across a youthful face.

Hearing a good rich smile.

The sensation of finding mooring in family.

 

 

Centipede

Game On 

In the virtual realm, your potential knows no bounds. - Anonymous

Can you think of anything better than Atari's Centipede game?

I LOVE, LOVE Centipede. 

I used to play it in the early 80's in our home Atari system. I thought its  color graphics was impressive and the premise, exciting. 

That morning, I remember sitting up straight on the floor. My mission: to shoot the segments of a centipede as it wound down the playing field through a field of mushrooms.

Sun Tzu once said that strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory, but that tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat. I rubbed my palms on my thighs to get ready. I was ready to battle.

My thought, I can score victory with clever moves from my joystick.

Centipede had started its onslaught. All its segments were attached. For now. It was beckoning irritatingly at me. 

Oh-oh, I shouldn't let it hit the bottom of the screen. It's developing new segments! Oops, it just reversed direction. 

I felt my hopes go down, but I tried to ignore the panic flaring inside me.

Whew! That was close. I grunted in relief. 

My heart picked up a beat. If only I could win over other enemies.

A bouncing spider!

Dodge that flea dropping from the top of the screen!

It streaked across the screen changing any mushrooms it hit into poisonous ones. I was so panicked that I felt like I needed to pull back.

Hah! I'd lost my lives, I conceded in a soft tone, shrugging my shoulders.

Anyway, it was time for a break. 

Tomorrow is another day. Just another chance to restart stronger, I mumbled somberly.

Pac-Man

 Game On

The 2024 Summer Olympics is officially underway, taking place in Paris from July 26 to August 11.

It brings a sense of togetherness and motivation that no other sporting event can. It inspires us to look to the best of the best to find a piece of ourselves, something we can relate to, a dose of ferocity and grit that we can apply in our own lives.

It is in this spirit that I'm highlighting in this series MY take on competitive gaming.

Enjoy!

*****

Learn to get excited like a child. There is nothing that has more magic than childish excitement. - Jim Rohn

I loved playing Pac-Man. I relished hearing its sound chomping on pellets.

I was starry-eyed about the idea of eating dots inside an enclosed maze.

You might say, slightly possessed.

Underneath my fierce look was mirth as I kept glaring at the dots.

I remember how with gusto, I would strategize on how to avoid four colored ghosts who were threatening me with the Death Stare.

The pink ghost was so pink it was almost throbbing. You're not getting me, I vowed with my jaw set.

The ghosts are turning blue! What the??!

I realized with a sudden thrill that large flashing dots called power pellets were causing the transformation. But a handout for me. Pac-Man could eat them for bonus points.

I held up my hands and waggled my fingers in a gesture that said, Gimme. More. Cough it up.

Needless to say, every minute of the game was rousing as well as scary. At times, I actually pounded the console with both fists like a toddler in a fit.

As the game progressed, I couldn't keep calm because I was so freaking excited, especially when the stakes increased in difficulty. The ghosts became faster, but I stood my ground, amused. My enthusiasm was undefeated even as the energizers' effect decreased, eventually disappearing entirely.

Alas, I was caught by a ghost. I'd lost all my lives.

Game Over.

I nodded earnestly. 

That was fun.

Still A Pac-Man Fan! Second Daughter contributes this foto taken New Year's Eve, 2023 at Pins. She claims that I would barely let [VEV] play.