Wow, it’s been an eternity!
Just a couple quick things:
…(¨`·.·´¨)
…..`·.¸.·Maeleigh
From time to time, things happen that just stay with me. I wanted to share one such recent incident. I’m an undergraduate student, graduating in December, and hoping to start graduate school in January. At my school, when you’re within 12 hours of graduating and have a 3.0 or above on the last 60 hours of coursework, you’re eligible to take grad classes. This semester, I’m taking one such grad class, so I have a very busy schedule right now.
So, right about now you’re probably wondering what the heck this has to do with WoW, right?
Well, other than school work, WoW is a major investment in time. I play it a heck of a lot, if not nearly as much as I use to. It’s a good distraction, though I try (and fail, often) to keep my playtime down to only after my school work’s done. I quest, work on achievements, and level my baby pally (who just hit 40 & 41 last night!!), but don’t raid or do many dungeons.
Two nights ago, I had a dream that confused my two biggest time investments, WoW and School, that went something like this…
I was standing at the crossroads platform between a series of rope bridges, me, not one of my characters, mind you. The zone was something like STV, but it looked more like Sholozzar or Un’Goro. It was one seriously confused place, not one zone in game, but a conglomeration of zones. I was looking at a quest giver standing on the platform with me, the big yellow exclamation mark above her head, and when I talked to her, rather than giving me a quest, she gave me an assignment. Said quest giver was the professor, we’ll call her Dr. T, who’s teaching my graduate class this semester. In fact, Dr. T is the graduate coordinator for my department at the university. She’s the one who’ll determine whether the department accepts me when I apply to be a full time graduate student. I took the assignment-quest and scurried off to do it, picking up other assignment-quests from other professor-quest givers along the way.
All of the professors in my department that I’ve taken more than once were present, big yellow markers above their heads, when occasionally, I’d turn in an assignment only to be met with a silver exclamation mark. When I encountered the silver exclamation marks, not just from those professors, but from others along the way, I was told that those were later classes, with other assignments. I nodded, like that made sense, and went about my questing. The rewards for these assignment-quests were grades, which I wore like a character wears equipment.
It was very, very bizarre and it’s stuck with me for that very reason. It’s not uncommon for me to have the occasional WoW dream, which is usually a sign that I’ve been playing way, way too much. Right now, I think this particular dream was borne of my insecurities about starting graduate school, coupled with something that’s comfortable for me. I’m so thrilled to be taking this graduate class right now, even as an undergraduate where I feel a little out of place amongst the students who have outreached me educationally.
All I can say right now, for sure, is that I hope I have more of these awesome, bizarre WoW-School dreams.
…(¨`·.·´¨)
…..`·.¸.·Maeleigh
Ever since the speculation began to fly at MMO-Champion about the Cataclysm, I’ve been mulling it over. When the official announcement came, mulling became something more like debating. My initial reaction was shock that they could destroy Azeroth. I’ve been playing since Summer 2005, I’ve leveled a heck of a lot of toons (not always to 60, 70, 80… and surely not always to 85), so I’m a bit attached to Azeroth just as it is!
My secondary reaction was sadness that there are people who, if they begin after Cataclysm, will never know my Azeroth. Yes, my Azeroth!! The Azeroth where Desolace is desolate, where Ashenvale isn’t a ruin, where the Barrens is one big horde zone, where STV isn’t half volcano, where the Alliance still own Southshore and goblins are still the cute little critters that greet you cheerfully with “Keep it real.” You know, our Azeroth.
Now, after I’ve had enough time to both mull and debate, I’ve come to the realization that 1.) Azeroth doesn’t belong to (just) me, and 2.) I’ve seen this game evolve and change and become more awesome by the year. Some changes I agreed with, others I didn’t, but Cataclysm is game evolution, it’s the natural course of the world, and who am I to throw stones at that?
This, of course, led me to recall some of the more memorable changes that’ve occurred since I began playing, changes like:
It also led me down the darker path, thinking about some of the things that’ve happened in the last 4+ years since I began that’ve been not so good. Things like:
Then there are all the changes that’ve occurred in class mechanics and classes doing things they never could/would before, leading to questions like this:
So much has happened, so much I can’t possibly put down here because there would be no end in sight. I remember the day weather came to Azeroth, the day I stood in Ashenvale and watched it rain until it stopped. I remember the first time I made a mad dash (along with everyone else) to the front of Ironforge so I could see snow falling. I remember the first time I saw a sandstorm in Tanaris. I remember the first time I used the AH in Stormwind, it was nearly empty. I remember when I was able to first fly all the way from Light’s Hope Chapel to Booty Bay with no stops. I remember the joy raid markers brought and the chaos they expelled. I remember being sad the first time someone told me Mae was only good for buffs and food. I remember when Loveth rolled a Shadow Priest and out DPS’d everyone in Kara. I remember being hacked by some asshat. I remember the first time I had to wait for my gold after selling something on the AH. I remember it all.
So many changes, so much evolution, and the game is better today than the day I began. Take my Azeroth, our Azeroth, Blizzard and do what you will to it. While it won’t stop me from feeling sorrow for those who come after the Cataclysm, I’ll keep playing, keep experiencing, and keep looking forward to all the new-old content. More than anything, I’ll keep looking forward to the renewed thrill of hearing “VanCleef pay big for your heads!” on heroic.
…(¨`·.·´¨)
…..`·.¸.·Maeleigh