Warning any geocache log which contains give away photos or clues will be deleted!
Today is my third year caching anniversary day… 2 March 2013 seems like a long time ago. Since my first find I knew I was addicted and that addiction seems to be growing… this is hide number 95 for me. I decided to investigate and sure enough I worked out I was infected with the Geocaching Bug by my cousion in the UK…. Luckily it already exists here in NZ so I am not to blame for any contagion.
Want to know if you are also infected?
Only you can truthfully answer the following questions about your habits, feelings and motivations. If you have the ‘bug,’ it is time to face it, admit it, and deal with it. Based upon the results of the quiz, there is some recommended treatments.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS (Count the number of Yes answers):
1. Ever left work early or cut classes or rescheduled appointments to allow for geocaching?
2. Own two or more GPS units (phones with downloaded software counts as one)?
3. Justify geocaching because “it helps you relax?”
4. Justify geocaching because “it helps you get exercise?”
5. Planned to go without geocaching for more than two weeks, but failed?
6. Have geocaching equipment in a dedicated bag or backpack so you can grab it and go at a moment’s notice?
7. Read the encrypted HINTS about a cache without clicking on ‘decrypt’ or without looking at the ‘key’ to translate?
8. Log in to a geocaching web related site more than once a day?
9. Email inbox filled with more geocaching-related email than you get from family or non-geocaching friends?
10. Keep noticing places to put potential hides as you go about your normal daily routine?
11. Put a geocoin into the office coffee fund jar and then move the jar out of the line of sight?
12. Prepare for a business trip by researching what geocaches are nearby for ‘rest stops’ or the hotel or meeting place?
13. Have strong emotional reactions when you read that certain local geocachers have already claimed FTF on caches you intended to find first?
14. Think in terms of where geocache locations are when asked to give directions?
15. Keep a spare water bottle, flashlight, printouts of caches, and extra batteries in your car or at work as backup?
16. Plan vacations or holiday outings around a location because of the geocaches nearby?
17. Have trouble sleeping when you know a newly published cache is ‘out there’?
18. Logged a cache even when you really didn’t find it yourself just to run up your total count?
19. Get into trouble (questioned by security, parking ticket, shot at, chased, etc.) because of geocaching?
20. Hire a babysitter so you could take time to go geocaching?
21. Have large numbers of empty containers (pill bottles, film cans, plastic coffee cans, breath mint tins, etc) saved up so you can ‘some day’ use them as hides?
22. Made geocache containers to give away free to other geocachers to hide so you could find them and thus increase you total cache count?
23. Have geocaching.com set as your home page on your web browser?
24. Get anxious about going geocaching more frequently as you get nearer to significant milestone totals of caches found (100th, 500th, 1,000th, 5,000th, etc.)?
25. Urge to geocache gets proportionally stronger each day you do NOT go looking for a cache or actually log a find?
26. Get upset when you log only DNFs on a dot day?
27. Taken over one hour to get milk (or other quick shop purchase) because you detoured to find a cache?
28. Refused to leave a GZ location after 30 minutes as cannot accept DNF as option?
29. Run out of the house without being properly dressed to get a FTF?
30. Get excited when you see shops like the warehouse have 50% sales on Tupperware.
31. You have a box of nick nax you are saving to make a themed cache or series.
32. Your children/partner or muggle friends know that you ar going to start talking about caching even before you’ve opened your mouth.
33. When you are talking to collegues (or friends) about your weekend, you mention geocaching.
34. You have introduced at least one person into geocaching.
35. When you drive along the road/walk a path and see someone pulled over/ loitering you run through your mind then check your GPS/phone to make sure there is no cache there.
36. Read the news and when there are articles about people being rescued or reported as acting suspiciously you instantly think – geocacher.
37. Had to buy take out for dinner because you were too busy caching to stop and cook a planned meal.
38. No longer have to apologise for being late because you did a cache detour on the way.
39. Create events or talk another geocacher to make something to fill in a D/T gap.
40. Tried to save a cache for a dot day or challenge only to discover it got achieved.
41. Has done a little celebration (dance, whistled etc.) after finding a cache.
42. Plan which caches you are saving for a milestone.
43. Gone to an event or grabbed a cache for a souvenir not matter what the time of day/ distance or weather.
44. Have a dedicated geocaching notebook.
45. Randomly in a day has to jot down a note of the idea on a new cache or solving another.
What the results mean
If you say “Yes” to :
- Under 10 - you are not infected. However the more caches you go hunting for the more exposed you will be to the bug…. You have been warned.
- Between 10 and 20 – you have had a fair bit of exposure to the bug but not yet infected… Taking heavy does of other hobbies will help reduce risk of infection. However, just to be safe recommend you start building an allowance for geocaching into your life balance now so if you do become infected it will be a smooth transition.
- 20-30- you are infected with the geocaching bug. Recommend you sit down with loved ones and explain your symptoms, of course you must warn them if the accompany you out there is a high risk of contracting the geocaching bug.
- More than 30 – then you are fatally infected with the bug. Face it, even if there was a cure, you are totally addicted to caching and might as well carry on as you are.
When you log the find for this cache, I think it would be fun for you to share how many questions you admitted to saying “Yes," and if you agree with the diagnostic. Of course you can also just log as you normally would but what fun would that be? Here is your opportunity to be creative, to "tell us a story" about the state of your infection. 