Farmville

I can't wait for 24th to come so that I can start opening the gifts under my christmas tree in Farmville.I hope they are worth the wait and the suspense.I've been asking everyone to send me wrapped gifts so that I can put them under the tree and it can grow.(It grows a little bit with every 20 new presents).
So far,mine has had only one growth spurt:(

Farmville has become quite a phenomenon.For the uninitiated,its a real time farm simulation game where you can grow and harvest crops, raise farm animals, put up building in your farm etc etc.Basically , you can become a 'zamindar' in some time.
Compared to a lot of people on my friend list, who have expanded their farms and bought red barns and tractors and what nots,my farm has still some way to go.These days I am on the lookout for more neighbours ,so that I can expand my farm(a certain number of neighbours is the prerequisite).


What made me fall in love with the game is the look of the fully grown crops and the fruit laden trees.The plots get submerged with water when you plant rice and there are creepers for grape.Strawberry is a great money spinner as it costs just 10 coins and can be harvested in four hours but then again,it wilts as quickly.
I get all excited to move up a level just to see how the new crops would look on being planted.These days I'm into planting Poinsettias as they give the maximum number of XP points in the least time.As in life, there are too many pretty things to be bought in Farmville,but too little FV cash.There are giant snow flakes and snow piles ,lighted hedges and candycane benches, redwood trees and gingerbread houses.But what I'm lusting after is a teeny tiny pond.It looks really pretty.I love the lighted christmas trees also, which take 2 days to harvest.But its worth the wait when you see them glittering with blue and yellow lights.I got gifted with a lot of trees: maple, olive,passion fruit, oranges, apples etcetera etcetera
And my farm had quite an orchard in one corner but then they were taking too much space so I sold the trees to make room for fresh plots and a barn. Yes, I'm the proud owner of a new barn.Yippee!! And I managed to snag an Architect ribbon too.
Achieving a ribbon gives some extra XP and coins.There are ribbons to be got for having a particular number of buildings on your farms,for having harvested a certain number of unique farm animals and trees,for having fertilized so many of your neighbour's crops and so on.

On logging to Farmville, a new kind kind of farm layout is shown everyday by Farmville, which gives some brilliant ideas on how to decorate your own farm.But it shows all the mouthwatering goodies which you cannot buy using your limited FV cash.
FV cash is the other currency used, besides the coins which are earned by harvesting the crop.You earn FV cash on reaching a new level.It takes more days to earn FV cash as you go to higher levels.( Found out by bitter experience )
It does get a bit boring when you've planted all the crops and there's nothing more to do but to wait for a day or two for them to be ready for harvest.But you can always occupy yourself by being the friendly farm neighbour.You can shoo away the foxes and the crows, rake the leaves and pull out the weeds and fertilize your friend's crops.In the process you earn coins and XP.And the best...you can take a picture of your farm too.And, for a thousand coins you can cover your farm with a snow blanket , for that christmassy feel.


Chicken coops and dairy farms are also a good investment because then you don't have to harvest an animal individulally.But, now I've sold all my mooing cows and grunting pigs and neighing horses and the reindeers too (don't know what sound the reindeers make).In their place I've got pretty white fences draped with lighting(lighting being one of the indulgences on which I spent my hard earned FV cash )I'm just waiting to accumulate some more cash so that I can buy a harvester and a seeder
to do all the planting and harvesting.Poor little forefinger hurts when it has to harvest and then plow and then plant about hundred and fifty plots.Forefinger would love it if the farm were to be mechanised.

Quite a few blogs dedicated to farmville have sprung up.There are a lot of farmville cheats also available on net which proclaim to have tricks to increase your cash and move you up the levels faster and similar things.Never tried them though.

I have a gift laden artificial christmas tree decorated next to my cubicle too.But, what I want most is to get home and check if my poinsettias are all right or not.
(Ya, I know I'm addicted)

By the way, does anyone like the holiday postcard things on the google logo? I don't. I expected it to be better.Disappointed.