Ambience + Play

The last week of undergoing our activities and analysing! How far we have come. I feel as though I have learnt a lot. This week I focused on ambience. Ambience is described as being the atmosphere of the place (Collins et al, 2006). It includes the feeling that the activity brings about due to the particular nature of it. In relation to poker, this would include things such as temperature, lighting, how much breathing space each person has and noise.
Here is an example from the last time I played poker;
It was a sunny Friday afternoon and everyone had finished tech/ work. We decided to go outside and the air was warm, with the sun directly on our backs (temperature). This made it quite frustrating at times as when I get hot, I get angry! So losing around wasn't the happiest time for me. The sun was bouncing off our cards into our eyes at times, making it a little difficult to see. This is where we had the bright idea to put our sunglasses on! It was rather noisy outside as everyone was knocking off work in the neighbourhood, getting ready for the all blacks big game! This added to the atmosphere of the game as it pumped us up. It sounded as though everyone was having, which made us feel that way too. Seen as we were in the outside air, it gave us plenty of breathing space. No one was crowded into each other (like when we play inside).
Some key phrases in relation to poker would be;

the atmosphere is heated and suspenseful
everyone looks worried and anxious to see their cards
the beauty of seeing a pocket of aces creates joy
suspicious vibe
secretive and hiding


Poker comes under the framework of play. Play is described by Christiansen & Townsend (2004) as occupations that are selected for amusement or recreational purposes. Poker, for me, fit under this framework as it is something that I do for fun, rather than for survival/ necessity.

References:
Christiansen, C. H., & Townsend, E. A. (Eds.). (2004). Introduction to occupation; The art and science of living (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Collins, C., Cross, R., Gilmour, L., Holmes, A., Mackie, W., & Weber, P. (Eds.). (2006). Collins paperback dictionary & thesaurus (3rd ed.). Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers


My comments on others pages :)

References:
Anderson, S. (2007). Collins dictionary. New Hampshire: Harper- Collins Publishers.
Arendt, H. (1958). The Human condition. New York, Doubleday Anchor Books. in Butler, M. 2011, lecture notes on Work, in Participation in Occupation 2 (BT238001)
Caulton, R. & Dickson, R. (2007). What's going on? Finding an explanation for what we do. In J. Creek & A. Lawson- Porter (Eds.), Contemporary issues in occupational therapy (pp. 87-114). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Christiansen, C. H., & Townsend, E. A. (Eds.). (2004). Introduction to occupation; The art and science of living (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Collins, C., Cross, R., Gimour, L., Holmes, A., Mackie, W., & Weber, P. (Eds.). (2006). Collins paperback dictionary & thesaurus (3rd ed.). Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers
Green, T. (1968). Work, Leisure and the American Schools. New York: Random House

Last Engagement in Poker

My Story:
The suspense of the start of the rugby game between the all blacks and Canada almost drew my flatmates and I bonkers. We needed something to do. Alix shouts "I know, lets play poker!" (communication) What a brilliant idea I thought. It took about 5 minutes for us to remember where we had left the poker set, finally, we found it, in the cabinet where it always is! We cleared the coffee table to enable plenty of space for us to set up (ergonomics). I watched as Alix took on the leader role, handing out the poker chips and cards. We decided to get less chips so that the game didn't go on too long (ergonomics). We wanted to watch the game after all. I watched as each player picked up their cards, wondering what was going on in the two little cards upon their hands. I could see in some, little butterflies flying around in happiness (connections), in others- straight disappointment. I was one of those people. The game started to roll out, everyone having a turn at winning a round. I noticed that the predominant conversations were about winning, so and so cheating (communications) and the rugby we were so desperately waiting for (connections). I could feel the heat rise up as I lay my $1000 chip on the table. If i lose this round, i'm screwed for the rest of the game! Pete won. I suddenly felt a change in my mood. I went from energetic and excited to completely bored and wanting to get out. That shows my competetive "have to win" attitude (spirituality). I decided to go all in just so I didn't have to play anymore. Thankfully I lost. Time for a drink I thought whilst I watched the others churn in pain! (physical) Not wanting to lose. Claire won that day.

Practical Considerations:
Pack of cards (or two)
Poker chips
Table / flat surface to play on
People
Rules and Guidelines
Money
Chips and Dip!

Labour, Work

This week we focused on labour and work, and what the difference is.
"Labour" is defined by Green (1968) as a humans whose "energies are spent in response to necessity, under the aegis of forces outside himself, forces that he does not set in motion and cannot control." My understanding of this is that labour is something that we are required to do, is a necessity of life e.g. eating, gathering food, finding shelter etc. This definition has shown me that my activity, poker, does not fit under this category.

"Work" is defined as that activity which produces the artificial world in which we live in... making it what we want it to be, rather than what has to be for survival (Arendt, 1958). My understanding of this definition is that work is anything that we CHOOSE to do, rather than for necessity and survival. This has shown me that my activity, poker, fits under this category.

I would say that poker fits under work as it is something that myself, and I'm sure most others do for fun. I can choose whether I want to play poker or not, and if i do not choose to, then my life does not depend on it (whereas labour is a matter of survival or not).
Some could flip this around and say that poker could fit under labour too. There are those out there who play poker for a living, and this could be there only source of income. Therefore, it is done for survival in those cases (if you have no money, you can't buy food. If you can't buy food, you can't eat).

Anyways I'm off now, survival mode has kicked in and I need to eat :)
Ciao

Reference List;
Arendt, H. (1958). The Human condition. New York, Doubleday Anchor Books. in Butler, M. 2011, lecture notes on Work, in Participation in Occupation 2 (BT238001)
Green, T. (1968). Work, Leisure and the American Schools. New York:, Random House