Gamer Love Life

[Bloodstone Press]

most 26 year olds are graduated from college and have a "real job".

I disagree. Most 26 year olds haven't even been to college.

One of the things I learned in college was that everyone's life is different. You can always engage in upward social comparisons and find someone who is the same age/social standing as you and seems to be doing better. But all that does is lead to depression. It is just as easy to look at someone who is the same age/social standing as you and has a worse life. That usually leads to positive self-esteem.

For example;
How many 26 year olds have been to jail?
how many 26 year olds don't live in a developed country and have no idea what college even is?
How many 26 year olds have no college education, but are married/divorced with children already?
How many 26 year olds have graduated college but still work in dead-end jobs because they can't find work in their field?
How many 26 year olds have been to college and have 10s of thousands of dollars in debt to show for it (I'll raise my hand to that one , though I'm closer to 29)

You get the idea.

I don't know, but alone, in a one-bedroom apartment where the only thing that gives the place any character are the bookcases full of fantasy novels and gaming books; eating mostly frozen food, cereal, and sandwiches; and rarely spending time with other people outside of work and the weekly gaming session probably isn't it. And, well, that's how I lived at 26... and still do at 28. It's not a lifestyle that's all that conducive to attracting a significant other.

Wow. That's exactly how I live.... Well, I have a 2 bedroom apt. And my walls are covered with cool posters to give the place some character.

I don't think it impedes your ability to attract someone. My problem is I always attract the wrong kind of people. There is a girl at my job right now that keeps talking to me and smiling at me and sitting next to me in the break room. She seems nice, but I just don't want anything to do with her. She’s not up to my standards. She has a kid (which I'm not interested in), and she's not quite as smart as I'd like. I doubt she games either. I also think she might be an illegal alien.... oh well.....

 

[barsoomcore]

I also think she might be an illegal alien....

But, alien girlfriend, that'd be cool.

Oh, wait...

Never mind.

 

[Kalendraf]

You don't need to find a gamer to find true love!

I was a lonely single guy until age 29. My job, schedule and location all conspired against me for a variety of reasons from finding that special someone. In late 1996, I changed cities, got a different job and in early 1997 I finally did meet someone.

We had similar interests, including similar likes in music, movies and food. She was also bit of a geek as far as computers and technology goes. But most of all, she showed an interest in fantasy stuff. Our personalities definitely clicked. However, she was almost an anti-gamer in her attitude. A former boyfriend of hers had spent more and more time playing games (Magic, specifically) and less and less time with her which she wound up blaming on the game rather than on the person. I wasn't sure how she'd handle my gaming, so I mentioned it, but didn't make it a huge deal. Her reaction was kind of strange. While she didn't want me to play magic, she didn't seem to care about any other games, especially D&D. As we dated, I began playing quite a bit more D&D, and she was interested enough to watch us play and later tried her hand at it as well. She warmed to the idea, but is by no means a gamer.

We eventually got married and recently celebrated our 5th anniversary. We still have our differences over gaming. She doesn't like it when I spend huge amounts of time on it. But she loves to get together with the "widows" (the other gamers wives) on the night we play. So the guys get to do their thing while the gals do theirs.

So my advice isn't so much to focus on finding a gamer, but look for someone with similar interests to your own. From what I've seen, people who show an interest in fantasy are quite likely to enjoy RPGs. If you don't know anyone like that, ask around and see who's into that stuff. Networking works. More people are probably willing to admit a liking to certain fantasy novels or movies than they are to being a gamer. Also, asking about whether someone likes fantasy doesn't immediately label you as a geek quite as much as asking whether they are a gamer.

 

[Bloodstone Press]

But, alien girlfriend, that'd be cool.

You freak.