WoW - as in World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is quite a phenomenon.

I'm a little shocked and chagrined to find that it's almost impossible to walk away from. I'm the guy that takes $60 for a 4 day trip to Vegas - who doesn't drink 'cause he doesn't like the taste .. and the same for smoking. But .. I'm hooked on WoW.

My name is Max, and I'm a WowAholic.

It all started something more than a two years ago. My sons started playing this dumb game named World of Warcraft. I wasn't interested - I don't PLAY those games. This went on for several months, until all three of my sons were playing it. A lot. And .. they found a free trial coupon .. and talked me into actually playing on it.

That was then end of life as I knew it. Soon, I was staying up til midnight, then 1am, then 2am. I graduated to staying up til 4am a few times - and the alarm going off two and a half hours later .. was an intrusion into my world. Of Warcraft. By the time I write this, I feel very virtuous if I go to bed before 2am, and the thought of five hours of sleep seems heavenly.

Oddly enough, I can't really put my finger on the WHY of it. It's just a game. But .. I do have a number of friends in that world. And, I'm powerful and popular and in control of things. Any wonder that most of us who play feel this way? We can BE things we'll never have a chance to in real life. All the frontiers are gone .. there are no more cowboys and Magellans - simply because we've already BEEN there, we've DONE that .. and we got the laser imaged, computer enhanced map to prove it.

I suppose I'll have to give it up sooner or later. It may be impinging on my life in ways I can't even see from the outside.

But meanwhile - I have to leave, I have a guild meeting at 6, a party at 7, two friends for drinks at 8 and a training run for loot at 9 that will last the rest of the night.

WoW is so relaxing ..

Oh my ..

-sigh-

Time flies whether you are having fun or not. I looked at this blog for the first time in -blush- a long time. I thought - hm - been a few months. Imagine my chagrin when I realized it won't be too long before two years had passed.

That may be a good thing. Maybe I'm just too busy and fulfilled to bother with TELLING you about it. Or .. not.

At any rate, life goes on. In so many ways, we can't expect more. I'm finally beginning to figure out that my life is normal - or average, perhaps. We go on thinking that OUR lives are full of crap, while everyone else gets the good stuff.

It ain't true, magoo.

The only reason the next door neighbor's life looks better than mine is that I can't see the pile of bills on the counter, the prosthetic leg on the daughter, the liver transplant in the son. "Where you stand depends on where you sit" has become SO apt, I realize.

Maybe this next year is a good time to start thinking more broadly - to start thinking less about my petty problems and dwelling on what is GOOD in life. The sky is still blue, the sun is a warm yellow, and my spousal unit seems to care that I exist in life.

Shall we call it good at that?

At least until next time. -grin-

Max