Flickertail & Paint in Reality Vs. Fantasy

"Shall we go out to eat?" Paint the Horse asked Flickertail the Llama.

"I'm not in the mood. Besides there's plenty to eat here."

"My treat."

"Very tempting, but it's not about the money. You won't let me take my laptop when we eat out and we wouldn't be back in time."

"In time for what?"

"In time to harvest the strawberries and bananas before they dry up."

"What on earth are you talking about, Flickertail? None of that makes any sense. You don't even grow bananas here. They wouldn't dry up if you don't get to them in the next hour or two and what would your laptop have to do with it if you did grow bananas?"

"They're not here. They're on Farmville and Farm Pals."

"What are FarmVille and Farm Pals?"

"Interactive games. I found them and YoVille on FaceBook."

"So what's YoVille?

"Well according to their advertising, 'YoVille is an interactive world where you get to meet new people and decorate your living space to make it the coolest in town!' I have to get to the farm games in a half hour and YoVille to get my cupcakes out of the ovens in 45 minutes."

"What happens if you don't?"

"I'll lose my money."

"You're not PAYING to play these games are you?"

"I don't pay real money but some people do. They use their credit cards to buy coins and cash. Then they can use it to buy more crops, buildings, decorations, trees, fencing, and animals for their farms on the farm sites. You can buy furnishings, food, and clothing on YoVille."

"Is any of that stuff real?"

Flickertail shook his head.

"So you can spend REAL money to buy VIRTUAL money and VIRTUAL stuff!!! If I'm going to spend REAL money I want REAL stuff," Paint said adamantly.

"Oh, I agree."

"Well, at least you haven't gone off the deep end entirely."

"That's why I earn virtual money by harvesting and selling virtual crops with the farm games. On YoVille, I work in the Sweets Factory. I have 16 ovens where I bake virtual pies, cakes, cookies, and cupcakes. If I'm late it all burns and I lose the virtual money I've invested in them."

"So what happens if you get to all of these places in time and nothing burns or dries up?"

"I earn virtual money to buy all of the stuff I mentioned before. My apartment on YoVille needs so much. I bought some plants, the cutest arm chair, and some curtains for the living room, but that's just the beginning. My bedroom needs just about everything. The existing carpeting and wall colors are too dark or gaudy so I need to replace all of that. I was thinking of ceramic tile in the kitchen and bath and hardwood floors with area rugs in the rest of it. Maybe some pretty wallpaper throughout. The bathroom needs plumbing fixtures so I need to buy those too."

"So you play these virtual games to escape from real life for a while every day?"

Flickertail nodded.

"But they have such a rigid schedule that they stress you out, so you might as well be at work."

"They're fun."

"Sounds too much like real life to me," Paint observed.

After they finished eating, Paint settled back to enjoy some conversation with her friend but Flickertail grabbed his computer.

Disgusted, Paint stomped out of the room and walked toward the guest stall to relax by herself. "Don't stay up too late," she said as she left. "We have an appointment with a new client at 9 tomorrow morning."

"Oh, could you change that for 11am? My orange and plum trees are going to be ready for harvesting at 9 and I have cakes in the ovens that have to be removed at 10."

"Are you kidding me!" Paint grabbed Flickertail's laptop and shut the cover with a snap. Then she put her hoof on the top. "You had better listen to me really well or I will stand on this thing with all four hooves."

"But my cookies are going to burn."

"Guess what. I DON'T care! Your obsession with these games is ruining your life and now it is threatening to destroy OUR business. You had better decide if our friendship and partnership is more important to you than these games. If I have to go to that meeting alone tomorrow you can consider that I will be getting a new partner AND a new friend. Good night."

At 8:30 the next morning, a sheepish Flickertail joined his friend and they went together to meet with their client.

When they got back to the farm about an hour later, Flickertail rushed into the barn. "I'll be right back. I've got to get a pie out of the oven."

An angry Paint packed up her belongings to go home and was just about to leave when Flickertail handed her a plate with a slice of steaming pie. He set his plate down on the picnic table. "Join me?"

"Yummmm, apple pie. My favorite." Paint sat down beside him.

"Mine too. To friendship?"

"I'll eat to that."