Pokémon Go! My Thoughts

Hello Dreamers and Happy Monday!

I remember being a kid and watching the original Pokémon with Ash, Pikachu, Brock, and Misty as they traveled around the world to catch Pokémon and achieve their dreams of becoming Pokémon masters. The original Pokémon was my favorite! It was my absolute favorite cartoon at the time and I even collected the Pokémon cards and played the game. I swear I had hundreds of cards and I worked to build up my decks and play other players. As I got older I remember having a red Gameboy Color and the Yellow and Blue versions of the game, and playing that all the time.

I don't know what it was about that show and game that caught my attention, but I was fascinated. Sadly I lost interest after the next couple of iterations of the show and I hadn't thought about it in many years (I'd blame it on the hazards of growing up.... but I'm a self-proclaimed geek and therefore that statement in invalid).

Fast forward to the beginning of July... and I hear about this app on our smart phones.... it's a resurrection of my past! I'm skeptical at first... I don't use my phone for much other then networking on social media (I run this blog, a photography business, manage the band, and am starting a virtual assistant business). Most of my storage on my phone is of phone numbers and pictures (I have my old iPod for music), and there are no games on my phone. 

It wasn't until I was with the band one weekend that I decided to give the game a try. Thankfully our band mates are nerds like I am, just with varied interests. I can't say that I was hooked immediately, but I was definitely intrigued. It was nice to see Pokémon that I recognized and have conversations about the show from when I was a kid. I had to explain some of the Pokémon to Chey because she didn't really watch it when she was younger. 

One morning we sat around a table at a Denny's and everyone was playing and talking about the game. Roger even got up from the table to go outside and try to catch an Abra! It was the funniest thing! It was something that brought us together (well... something else really).

That's the thing! I know there are people that don't like the app! Many adults think it's pointless and dangerous (people are paying more attention to their phones then their surroundings)... but I think it can be a great thing. Think about this. Today's society is known for having a serious weight problem here in America. People (including Children) would rather spend more time watching television or playing video games then going outside to play (I used to love playing outside as a child - I still like going outside depending on the weather). In the first 24 hours, this game got a large population of America off the couch and outside! You have to walk around to play this game!!!! It's genius really! It got people to exercise! It also got people to interact with other people!

Example 1: One evening Lee and I decided to go Downtown to see what Pokémon we could find there. There is nothing in our neighborhood (no Pokémon, no Pokéstops, no gyms), and earlier in the day I heard someone mention how much there was Downtown. I kid you not, despite the fact that it was sprinkling outside.... downtown was filled with people walking around trying to catch Pokémon! All ages of people at that! There were families that were walking around together, friends, people of my age, people who were younger, and even people who were older. Someone had turned one of the structures into a Pokéstop with a Lure on it, and there were so many people sitting there and talking with each other! There were so many people there that the servers kept crashing the closer you got. How wonderful is that?!? To see all those people outside and walking around and interacting!

Example 2: While Lee and I were in Virginia, a bunch of his buddies decided to come over and they wanted to go Pokémon hunting! So we all piled into the back of one of their trucks and we road around the neighborhood's. We went to a lot of different places and I caught a lot of awesome Pokémon. As we were pulling up to a stop light we happened to glance up and the lady in the car next to us was holding up her phone and pointing at it with glee, she was playing the game and asking if we were playing as well. Everyone got excited and held up their phones with a smile, showing her that we were doing the same thing. We also went to a local park, since it was a Pokéstop, and there were so many people walking around there talking and catching Pokémon! It was fantastic.

It happened while we were at Bush Gardens too.... I caught some awesome Pokémon and people were telling other people where they could find some as well as Pokéstops!

It's bringing people together and making them interact in a way that they enjoy!!!! I call that a win in today's society!

So, in case you missed the point of this, I really think the app is awesome! I am not the type of person that plays it every single day (again.... there is nothing near my house and I don't want to use all of my data on the app), but I do enjoy playing it. Lee and I will drive or walk around playing the game together. I think it's fantastic what it's done for the mobility level of our country (someone who's blog I follow mentioned that she's actually sore from all the walking she's done thanks to that game) as well as the different kinds of positive interactions that people have.

Before I go, here is a video that I just saw on Facebook about how a hospital is using this game to help kids in physical and occupational therapy!

Until next time!

My opinion

Hello friends.

So anyone who knows me knows that I love tattoo's. Like a lot. Like I have 10 tattoos and a geek half-sleeve kind of love for tattoos. And I am not the kind of person that cares whether or not you have tattoos. I also don't care where you have tattoos. Personally, I will not get tattoos below my wrists, above my neck, or below my ankles. That is just a personal preference. The wrist and neck are for professional reasons and the ankles is just a personal preference because my feet are bony..... and that is a kind of pain I just don't want. Just like I won't get my ribs or my spine tattooed for the very same reason. Matter of fact, I got two new tattoos and a touch up while I was on leave last week!

That being said... I have seen an article circulating around the tattooed community that caught my interest. There is an article circulating around about a blogger that went to get her neck tattooed and she was refused by a tattoo artist (several in fact) but it's her response to this artist that caught everyone's attention. She blasted him on her blog about his refusal and was actually kind of rude about it. His response to her post is what caught my attention. AND I LOVE IT!

While she was rude and judgmental, he was polite and calm. He even asked his followers to stop calling her names because it's not something he himself would do. 

The tattoo on the inside of my left calf
This is "The Soldier's Cross" for my friend Zack, The Dallas Cowboys Star, and some red, white, and blue for America
Size wise, this is one of my biggest tattoos aside from my Geek half-sleeve

She was ranting about his refusal to tattoo her neck and he calmly explained why he chose not to tattoo her neck. I think it was a beautiful response. He said that because she wasn't already heavily tattooed, he wasn't comfortable tattooing her in such a visible place. He went on to explain that it was also because some places won't hire people with neck or hand tattoos. It's his personal preference and I respect that.

Take for instance the military. There was a big hooplah not too long ago (like last year) about tattoos in the Army. The Army has gone back and forth for years on whether or not they accept people with tattoos on their hands and necks, and it always changes during the transition between war and peace. The last Sergeant Major of the Army instituted a rule a year or so ago that you couldn't have tattoo's below your shirt sleeve or below your knees after a certain date (unless you had them previously.) I.e. no new sleeve work was allowed. And of course people were outraged. Tattoos and the military go hand in hand. It's in fact very rare to see people without at least one tattoo (although I have met a couple). The SMA's reasoning was that it wasn't professional looking. Most specifically when we wore our dress uniforms (which is mostly rare unless you work in a special job that requires frequent wear of you dress uniform). Our argument (one of mine specifically) is that unless I am in PT's (working out) or have removed my uniform jacket, you would never know that I have tattoos unless you know me. Sure, I have one on each forearm and now one on my wrist (it is hidden by my watch though and no one has even noticed it at work), but people rarely see them when I am in uniform. 

Tattoos are part of the culture of the military. Thankfully one of the first things the new SMA did was retract that rule, we can have no ink below our knees and shirt sleeves- but still not on our hands or neck. Because we can cover everything else.

So back to the point of this ramble. It's the artists' choice on whether or not he will tattoo someone, and he doesn't like tattooing people's necks or hands. That is a personal preference, which I respect. What I don't respect is the female's response to his preference. She even made it a gender thing, asking him if he would do that tattoo on a male. Of course, he said he would have the same response to a man who isn't already heavily tattooed. That's his whole thing- if they aren't already heavily tattooed. I think her reaction to him was completely ridiculous, and even a little childish, but his response was perfect.... and gentlemanly.

I'm not quite sure if there is a specific purpose of this post other then me wanting to share my opinion. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, the female is entitled to her opinion, but it doesn't mean that people have to agree with it. Read both her post and his response and form your own opinion. Let's talk about it! BUT BE RESPECTFUL! I won't tolerate disrespectful comments toward anyone.