Game Dev & Jam

I locked myself out of my house yesterday.

The dawning moment of realisation happened a good step and a half towards the car, in a rush to get to the gym on time. Needless to say, I failed to run my allotted 7km that evening, though in hindsight the associated running around surely carried me a good portion towards it.

Now, in my youth, I was not unfamiliar with lock-picking, if for no other reasons than my chronic forgetfulness and the relatively simple locks on the doors. Finally, I had a chance to put all that practice into use… were my picks not in the house also. Other efforts involving credit cards and sticking my hand through the letterbox proved the house’s resilience beyond doubt. I suppose that’s a Good Thing, but not much consolation in these trying times.

The next course of action was to contact my landlord, in the optimistic hope of a spare key secreted in the grounds or at a helpful neighbour. Alas, this avenue too proved fruitless. Much love must thus be afforded my brother, who, after explaining my predicament and the exorbitant £150 fee for a locksmith, suggested the landlord post down a spare set of keys.

Now for the next couple of days, I’m staying at a friend’s house, spending their money and drinking their wine. Were it not for the limited wardrobe, I could see myself settling well into my new roll as hobo, slacker and general drain on society.

If your memory is as ignominious as mine and you’re sensible, it would be wise to leave a spare key with a neighbour. However, if you prefer a more.. exciting life, I would strongly advise installing flimsy doors locks. These have a proven track record of facilitating action-packed entrances as you kick down your door.

I’ve started buying in packs of ten.