Games to pass the time.

I have become very good at controlling the emotions and the thoughts of the people that surround me daily. Not out of malice, but out of sheer boredom. I have found that if you let someone open up to you, they will. The trick is to be a good listener, and always let them think that they are in control of what they are doing. The ego is a dangerous flaw in most people. You can take the information learned in an earlier confidence and use it to shape the outcome of future events. For example--Someone tells you about how much they disliked someone years ago, so now when they are talking about dating someone new, all you have to do is say “didn’t he/she used to date so and so?” and leave it at that. The seed has now been planted. They in turn can no longer think of one person without the thought of the other one. I realize that this is kind of wrong, but at least it makes the day pass by quicker. I wish that I could say I came up with this all by myself, but instead I have learned it by watching old people guilt young people into doing what they want for years. The older a person gets, the more conniving they become. You do have to be careful about who you try this kind of game on though. Some people have emotional problems that aren’t really visible on the surface, but once you get inside it’s like a freaking house of cards. You have to plan your moves carefully, as not to bring down the main structure. Otherwise, you spend your day comforting them rather than watching the ball that you have set in motion. There is one rule--You cannot do this to someone smarter than yourself, so know your own limits.