Moments of Fun Through Indoor Games

During the rainy seasons or lazy days when you just feel like staying inside your house, there are times where you find yourself at a lost without anything to do.

And without realizing it, another day would have passed you by.

There are a lot of things that you can do during those times.  Read a book, watch a movie, play a computer game or even try out some of those yummy recipes from last month’s magazines.

But, why do all those things alone?  Why not call your friends and family members over and play some indoor games?

Surely each and every single one of us has play certain types of indoor games during our childhood.  Card games such as happy family or snap.  Board games like monopoly, scrabble, chess or even simple ones like snakes and ladders.  And girls would have played congkak or batu seremban.

By nature, human are born to play.  It is in our instinct and is fundamental to our existence.

Games help us connect with other people.  By sharing the joy, laughter and fun we are able to build a strong bond between friends or family members.  Not only that, the games that we have played could also be a part of our future conversations as well.

Games are also an antidote to loneliness, isolation, anxiety, and depression.  Just by playing with other people, we trigger a release of endorphins that lifts our spirits allow us to connect with others in delightful and meaningful ways that banishes loneliness.

Games could also stimulate your mind.  Board games like chess could help you improve your strategy skills and scrabble could also increase your vocabulary.  And monopoly could provide a chance for you to compete with your family and friends on your real estate skills.

But, monopoly is expensive!  And there is a limit to the number of people who can play at chess and scrabbles.

So here comes a game that is inexpensive and yet allows a  bigger group of people to play at the same time.  This game is called the Sugoroku.

It can be prepared with just a piece of paper and a pen and you will only need counters and dice to play this game.

The Sugoroku is not unlike the modern snakes and ladders.  It is also liken to a labyrinth.  A Sugoroku game only goes in one direction and leads to the end which is the goal.  There are boxes to land on and in each of those boxes are rewards or punishment games.

This game is so simple.  So what is it that made it fun to play?

Well, since you will be the one making the Sugoroku board yourself, you can cater the rewards and punishment games to the people that you will be playing it.  Not only is it simple to make, I finished making mine within 2 hours only, but if you make it together with the people that you will be playing with, it will take a shorter amount of time.

It will be a game that you have made for yourselves to play.

Not only that, of course punishment games are meant to be embarrassing.  Well, these embarrassing moments will be the heart of the game.  Laughing at friends when they have to perform an air guitar stints or when they have to bear panda eyes on them until the end of the game.  These moments are priceless.

And before you know it, the distance between you would have been shorten.

So would you like to play a game of Sugoroku with me today?

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The Treasure That Comes In The Form of A Handwritten Letter

Dear Chemistry Coursemates,

Listening to all your speeches for the past 5 weeks has been fun.  In the two and a half years that we’ve been together, never had I felt that I know you like I do now.  I truly have enjoyed this class a lot.  Lets continue on being like this until we graduate.

Sincerely yours,

Isabelle

Sometimes, there are a lot of feelings that could not be expressed to the person that’s in front of you.  Sometimes, there are words that just could not be said out loud.  Well, these words are much easier expressed in writing.  Everyone used at least some form of written communication daily be it email, text messaging or even Facebook.  These are not a bad thing. Here are some stats about the electronic form of written communication.

With the advance in technology, communication has gotten much more simpler.  Emails are fast.  Text messaging are convenient and Facebook even has photos and videos.  But amidst all these, a lot of people are missing out on the joy of receiving a handwritten letter in their postbox.

Let me tell you how I feel when I receive a letter in my postbox.  We all receive gifts on our birthdays.  And that makes us happy.  But birthdays are an annual event whereas with letters, we can send and receive them all year round.  Therefore, to me, almost everyday can be a birthday.  And the anxiety of waiting for days for the letter to arrive amplifies the joy I feel when I receive it.

With the introduction of the Internet, sending a message is just a few steps away.  You just need to type the message out and click ‘send’.  And with Facebook, you’re even being reminded of a person’s birthday on the day itself!  What happened to the effort of remembering someone’s birthday and writing them a letter or a card few days before and sending it out so that it will arrive on time?  I am sure that this single action will make the recipient really happy as well.

Also, the act of writing by hand, slows down the mind and forces it into a contemplative state in which chosen words convey emotions that could not be captured in a single word “Hi”.  The handwriting of the sender also gives the letter a little more extra identity.  That is why I believe that the intimacy of a handwritten letter will never be obsolete.

A handwritten letter is also something physical for you to keep and to cherish in the years to come.  All the text messages in your phone, those emails and Facebook updates, what will happen to them in another 5 or 10 years time?  Will you be printing out those emails to keep in a box for future reading?  Or will you even scroll down thousands of time on your Facebook profile just to read a comment from a few years back?

With handwritten letters, you can collect and keep them in a box.  And this box in the future, will become a part of your memory.  This box in 5 or 10 years time will be filled with priceless treasures.

Some might give some excuses to get away from writing letters.

First, they might say that they have terrible handwriting and that their letters will come out horrible.  Well, I say that practice makes perfect and the more you write, the more you can improve.

Next, some might complain that a 2-3 page long letter is too much!  I can’t possibly write so long.  Well, you don’t have to.  Just a simple note card to say, “Hi, how are you.  I’m thinking of you.” would suffice.

Some might also say that sending a letter is costly.  It takes about 40 cents to send a letter locally whereas an email does not cost a single cent.  Well, with the transportation of the letter and the work to sort it out, I’d say that those 40 cents are definitely worth it.

A person who truly cares or if you really have someone that you cherish, you’ll definitely go the extra mile for them.  So why not give them a surprise today and send them a handwritten letter.  I’m sure that will definitely make their day.

Handwritten letter is a method for you to convey your messages through time and space.  Until now, letters from thousands of years ago still exist.  Although frayed and yellow with age, their messages are still clear.

When you are writing a letter, you are giving away a piece of yourself.  The person that you are at the time when the letter is written, the person that you are at that exact place, that exact moment are captured in physical form and this is what a handwritten letter represents.

Now, wouldn’t that be one of the best gifts ever?

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