It's evident that when I hit about forty-five, I'm going to be buying a Porsche and spending all my time at Chippendales clubs. I know this because a few days before my 25th birthday, I bought a second, greener Xbox.

I don't need a second Xbox, the boyfriend and I share the first one just fine, and we don't have the setup (or means) to be playing multiplayer games via system link. I don't need a silly stupid green Xbox, but I bought one because I'm turning 25 (in five minutes) and I need to hold onto my life in this world through material goods.

Even though I know this purchase is silly, one thing is painfully clear. I'm old. But I don't feel any deference to this younger generation of gaming. My reflexes are just as fast and my game knowledge is supreme. I grew up with all of the great systems, and watched the whole game industry unfold before my eyes. I have watched Nintendo rise and fall and rise and fall and rise and fall. I was around when Magnavox was a major contendor in the game industry. I remember when Atari and Sega were making game systems. I used to subscribe to Nintendo Power and I loved it. I was gaming prior to Al Gore inventing the internet, before you could figure out how to cheat in a game before the game was even released. If I was stuck in a game, I figured it out myself. I may be here, arguing on internet forums with people half my age (or a little older if none of you are violating the TOS), but I have tenure kids, and I'm here to stay.