I don't like it much, but I have noticed a few changes in myself over the past few months, and I suppose I want to write them down before they fade into who I am and I stop being aware of them.
First off, I'm happier. I never thought I'd be able to say that, but I am in fact happier than I was connected to the internet. After examining this emotion, I came to the conclusion that I needed a break from WoW. I had been playing non-stop for about two and a half years at the point where my net was cut off, the last few months of which I had been running a guild, and I needed to switch off a bit. Family have noted that I 'seem less angry' these days, and I've noted that I feel less irritable and pressurized.
Secondly, I've found time for my other pursuits again- something that I haven't been keeping up with in years. I'm a gamer at heart, and I've actually been playing other games - Modern Warfare, Borderlands, Super Mario Wii (kicks ass, by the way). I've gone through my Magic card collection and catalogued it. I've drawn all over my walls. I've almost read the entire Wheel of Time series again when I hadn't seriously picked up a book in over eight months. I'm getting things done.
Thirdly, I'm having a social life and thus want a job. Thrust out into the real world, social events just started to crop up, especially with the holidays starting today. I'm getting drunk a lot, I'm having a lot of fun, and I want money. Which means that my time is actually being filled quite effectively without WoW.
Finally, every single part of me screams for WoW back. I know, kind of funny. Looking over the other points, you would think that losing the internet would be a positive thing for me. Unfortunately, the weight of responsibility tied in with the desire to be around the people I love online is getting stronger by the day. I have reached the peak of enjoying life without WoW entirely, and I am happy that I could, but I want both worlds, and come hell or high water I will have them.
To conclude, a pretty picture!
2 comments:
I have a life outside of WoW - in fact, I was just double-graded to first dan black belt, a post about which I intend to write on my blog as soon as I get my head around that fact - but I still like WoW.
I miss Massif. I do. It's weird, because he's right there, but without the same social structure that he had in the various guilds, he just feels homeless, alone, adrift, as it were. So he sits and gathers dust and gets worse and worse as the various gear resets leave him behind.
I know I was not the only one to shed a tear on Nobby and Winky's last day - after nearly four years of running instances, grinding reps and raiding together - from raiders to guild officers to guild leaders - it was sad to know that those two Gnomes were gone, never to return. Although I still keep regular contact with Glenn & Cathy, they're not Nobby and Winky. Not anymore.
I could wax lyrical endlessly here on the emotional attachments we build with our fictional characters, (and that's only just barely an exaggeration) but instead I'll just leave a link to a news article about a man who married his virtual girlfriend (http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/3100430/Man-marries-virtual-girlfriend). Is it just one sad, lonely freak - or just the first?
Liri/Jason
If you need a non multi player RPG fix, I can suggest Dragon Age (if you want lots of hours of game play with a wonderful story).
Or if you need some pew pew quick fix, Torchlight (eg, Diablo 2.5).
Good to see you are enjoying yourself outside of WoW young man. I do not wish to see you back there. I mean that in a good way too!
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