A BrickBreaker's lament

As I mentioned in a recent post, my old phone died not too long ago, so I picked up a Blackberry Curve. So far, I've been pretty pleased with it. It's not too different from my previous phone, so it hasn't taken me too long to get familiar with the phone. So, besides the occasional inadvertent sending of what could be construed as a threatening picture to a local energy conglomerate, the only other thing worth mentioning about the Curve is BrickBreaker.

BrickBreaker, if you're unfamiliar with Blackberrys, is a simple game that comes included with the phone's software. It's a pretty standard break-the-bricks-using-a-ball-that-you-hit-with-a-paddle game; except for the fact that it is akin to crack in its addictiveness. I first played it when I found it on my phone while I was exploring all of the features--nothing special, I thought. Then I tried it again, then again, and soon I was playing at many a random moment. It hasn't interrupted my normal/business life (although apocryphal stories online say that it has for some people)--It's not like I'm ignoring Addie to break some bricks--but I can't help but wonder: What am I gaining from this?

I can't figure out why I play this stupid game, but it's just so easy to get pulled in when you have a moment. What's even more galling about BrickBreaker, is that I'm terrible at it. I've yet to break the ten-thousand point mark, which I originally thought was okay...until I saw the high scores online. My best effort, I surmise, would put me someplace between a person who's been dared to sit on his hands and play with his tongue and a would-be psychic who is trying to play solely with her mind. I'm that bad. I just hope that BrickBreaker isn't some Last Starfighter-esque test to determine who is worthy to fight the alien hordes that are plotting for galactic domination using cleverly placed bricks that can only be destroyed by paddle-jockeys who have nothing to lose. If that's the case, we are definitely in trouble.

Then why--I ask again--do I keep playing? Maybe BrickBreaker, and all of the other cell phone time-wasting games are the real plot by the aforementioned brick afficionado aliens. Maybe said aliens are trying to lull us into submission through the use of mindless mobile games. Well, it's time for revolt. Give up your BrickBreaker, your Solitaire, your Tetris, your Pac-Man! Join the resistance, lest our society be dismantled brick by brick (so to speak).