21A. Gamers gonna game

So, I have recently begun playing Pokemon Red, as I have downloaded a GameBoy emulator to my laptop. I should actually start off by saying I'm a noob. I'm not a TOTAL noob. I owned a NES and a GameBoy as a child, and could pretty much still rock any old school Mario or Zelda game. But gaming was never an obsession of mine. I was always far too social to stay at home with a controller glued to my hands. This being said, Pokemon is completely new to me. I used to watch the TV show, so I'm not completely aloof, but as far as the game went, I can't honestly say I knew exactly what was going on. I've been playing for a couple days now, and I'm still getting the hang of a few things, but I've made a lot of progress from where I first started. I mean, it took me three hours of playing before I realized I had to buy pokeballs to catch the damn things. Then there was the whole saving dilemma I had last night/this morning;

1:31pm Me
hahaha
okay
so, I'm scared to save this thing
because I'm afraid it won't actually save

1:31pm Patrick
i know you can do it :)
save in the start menu
and freeze state/save state

1:32pm Me
how do I get to the start menu?
there's a 'file' menu at the top

1:33pm Patrick
no no no in the game itself.
HOW HAVE YOU NOT OPENED THE MENU YET!?
press enter

1:34pm Me
wait wait
like, I'm playing the game already
I tried to do that this morning
it wouldn't work
i had to start over

1:34pm Patrick
k press buttons until you get a list of things like "pokedex" "pokemon" "item", etc
it just shows up on the screen

1:35pm Me
I've pressed every button on my keyboard
the only 'save' option I have is under 'file'
and that's what I did last time, and it didn't save

1:36pm Patrick
k go to the file menu, and find "controls" or "preferences"

1:37pm Me
I have none of those options...remember, I'm using a different emulator than you

1:37pm Patrick
every emulator has them
there HAS to be a button on your keyboard that opens the menu
there are only 4 goddamn buttons on a gameboy lol

1:38pm Me
I know, but I've pressed everything
even the function buttons

1:39pm Patrick
i posted what you're looking for on your wall

1:39pm Me
you clown, I'm not using kiGB
I don't have those options on gameboy

1:40pm Patrick
i DESPERATELY need a desk
i'm calling you.

That's just a sample of the conversations we've been having recently. Regardless, I have finally caught a Pikachu. I also have a badge, and I'm headed to the next gym so I will then have TWO badges. I'm starting to see the appeal to this game. I've also downloaded an SNES emulator, and can't stop playing Killer Instinct, bringing me back to an obession I had with it a couple years ago. This is getting out of hand.

I haven't had sushi in lightyears. I'm thinking it's on the menu tonight.