Have you ever thought about everyday activities as games? Cause I sure have. Just the other night I was going out to dinner with some friends by Main Street. We were parking in a lot near the restaurant. When we got to the lot, it was full. There were two exits and two entrances, one of each on opposite sides of the lot. As one car would leave, another would be able to enter. The box where you had to push for a ticket would say ‘lot full’ until one car would leave. The minute that happened, the box would change to say ‘press button for a ticket’.

We would see countless cars ahead of us get beaten by a car on the other side to enter. It became a game, one that was exciting and entertaining. It was funny to see who would get to the button first when the box gave the ok. When it came to our turn, we were so entertained and thought the process was so funny that we started thinking of tactics for when it was our turn. My friend driving, when we pulled up to the box, unbuckled her seat, lowered the window, and climbed half way out of the car. She pressed the button over and over again so that when the box would change from full to not full, she would be the first one to press the button.

It is so funny to see how competitive people get with everyday tasks. This also relates to wolverine access and how registration is some sort of a competition. Now that it is near time to register for our classes for fall 2012, people are starting to get competitive with each other. People tend to not tell others about certain classes so that they themselves will not get closed out. Also, when getting your registration time and date, it goes by the number of credits you currently have. This motivates people to compete with one another to have the highest number of credits to get the best registration time. Then it becomes a game of waiting.

You sit, starring at your computer screen, watching as the number of available seats in the classes you have backpacked slowly decreases. Finally, it is your turn. So many of the classes you chose are closed or have waitlists and you must scramble in an effort to find an open class or a spot on the waiting list; you have to be quick though before someone else beats you to it. Enrolling in classes becomes a stressful and vicious fight—often leaving the person to feel like a victor or defeated.