Last night I was reminded why I stay away from video games.

A few weeks ago I recieved a game called 'Golf Resort Tycoon' through a gmail swap. It had been sitting in my pantry for a while (don't ask.. it just got stuck there behind my walnuts and flatbread), and last night I spotted it as I was making dinner, so I grabbed it and installed it.

I spent the next 3 hours in a row madly focused on making the most awesome golf course IN THE WORLD. This game is geared towards kids, so it wasn't too hard to build my empire. I call it my Empire of Juliland (my aunt calls me that for some reason).

I've built my 9-hole course, complete with volcanoes and water hazards everywhere. Golfers have to zigzag through the holes because there is barely any green left after the sand traps were put in. After each hole there are pyramids and peaks golfers have to trek through to find the next hole.

There are maintenance sheds, landscaping sheds, and a big pest control department I had to set up to combat the ever present gopher problem. You see the little pest control dudes wander out onto an infested course (while golfers are playing, of course) and start doing this unusual pumping action against the ground. Soon after they wander a few yards away and watch the ground explode with little bits of brown (gopher?) pieces that fly up into the air.

The golfers themselves are pretty amusing.. each one can be picked up "by the hand of God" and placed anywhere on the screen. If you place them waaaaay across the land in the middle of the forest, they wander back to the golf course. They say things like, "I'm starving!" and "If I had a penny for each minute I waited, I'd have a dollar!" and you hear little exclaims of their frustrations and joys out on the course.

Anyways, I'll probably be over it by tonight. Ooo.. I also have my 'Harry Potter' game I haven't opened yet.. Hmmm..