12 Steps of AFK

Hi. My name is "Doer", and i'm an addict.

I imagine most of us Calypsonians have addictive tendencies. It's the nature of RPGs and "gambling-like" gameplay to appeal to our OCDs. The great thing about EU and MindArk is that they regularly throw things at you so annoying that you can't help but step back and take stock of your situation. The particular straw in this case has to do with a third ATH on my grinding mob by the same guy in six months.

My situation is that, as much as i may be "successful" in EU (it is, after all, so much simpler than Real Life), and have some great friends online, it is too easy to retreat from real life challenges to virtual reality. PE was a much-needed haven for me when i first discovered it. Those traumatic events that i was escaping from are past; it's time to recover some ground. My time on Calypso so far has been great in helping me to understand me -- who i am when i'm "Doer" can be at times frightening and disappointing, but can also be encouraging. EU/EF is a self introspection mirror not to be underestimated.

But.

I need to finish up a case study, make more headway on a really big, really tough project (e.g. thesis), and cultivate some promising new IRL friendships. I am under utilizing some really wonderful real life opportunities to pursue my EU goals.

It's time to cut back, and I've asked my soc to remind me when the pull of the safety yellow-colored scorpion/anglerfish/dimetrodons brings me online too much. EU has captured too much of my attention and become too much of a hobby to throw it away completely unless necessary, so i hope to limit my EU time to six hours a week until some deadlines have passed. I will reevaluate at that point.

Wish me luck.