Game Crazy is in the process of closing 200 stores across the United States. Yesterday, my wife and I visited a local Game Crazy where all items remaining in the store were 50% off.
I picked up the following:
AM CD/DVD Game Cleaner Manual Machine ($5, new). I bought this to replace a hand crank-style Maxell CD/DVD cleaner that I’ve used for about 10 years. One of the parts came off my Maxell CD/DVD cleaner years ago, but I still have it and just plug it back into place any time I needed to clean CDs or DVDs. The AM brand cleaner didn’t come with a lens cleaner disc, so I’m keeping my old Maxell disc handy.
Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand ($10, new?). When I spotted Boktai in the display case, I was somewhat surprised to see that it hadn’t sold already. For those not already familiar with the game, it’s a Gameboy Advance title that has a solar sensor built into the game cartridge. Playing where sunlight reaches the cartridge affects gameplay in interesting and creative ways.
On the drive home from Game Crazy and before I unwrapped the game, I felt a twinge of buyer’s remorse for buying a GBA game for $10 when I already have a backlog of games to get through. I was concerned that the solar sensor might just be a silly gimmick, but after playing through the game’s first mission, I found myself impressed with how the developers (Konami) incorporated the solar sensor feature without making the special hardware feel extraneous or tacked on. The game would be an impressive title even without special hardware, but the solar sensor adds to the experience.
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I’ve suspected for a while now that I have hypoglycemia, a condition where the body has trouble regulating the amount of sugar in the blood. I’ve experienced most of the symptoms for as long as I can remember, but I just thought my body was just being troublesome. I won’t bore you with a lengthy explanation of how frustrating a condition like hypoglycemia can be; a quick perusal of the symptoms should give you a rough idea.
My wife and I already eat fairly healthy. We limit our intake of fatty foods, sweets, caffeine, and alcohol. We choose whole wheat breads whenever we have the option. We avoid fried foods. We try to work vegetables and fruits into our diet. We eat red meat only on rare occasions.
Still, symptoms of hypoglycemia persist in my daily life. In an effort to educate myself about the condition and create a dietary plan of action, I checked out the following four books from my local library:
I’ve only started reading Hypoglycemia: The Other Sugar Disease, but it’s been an educational read so far. I can’t vouch for the other three books yet, but I’ll try to post short summaries of each book as I read more of them.
I always thought I would just have to learn with my body’s quirks; I thought everyone got irritable and had trouble focusing or remembering if they didn’t eat often enough. Reading about hypoglycemia has been a welcome relief. Now I know that making changes to my diet can at least help reduce the severity of the symptoms. I didn’t intend for this post to be a long essay on my experiences with symptoms of hypoglycemia, so I’ll move on to the next topic.
There’s a lot of information on hypoglycemia out there–some of it conflicting–so I hope to figure out what works for me, personally, and maybe help others experiencing the same symptoms.
HUZZAH!
I just finished submitting one of my short stories to three prestigious literary journals.
I’ll probably spend an hour or so tomorrow planning out the second wave of submissions so I can be better prepared for the rejection letter if and (most likely) when they arrive. At the least, if I have a plan in place, there won’t be as much time to dwell on the sting of having a story rejected.
Have no fear; I’m not basing my personal assessment of my writing skills exclusively on whether or not three of the top literary journals in America reject my story. Of course, if the story is accepted in any of the three journals linked above, it will do wonders for my confidence in my writing skills (and serve as cause for joyous celebration).