WOW!

It's been a long time since I've blogged...busy holiday season, a long bout of illness, and everyday life seemed to preclude writing here.

But, now I'm back. And I have to tell you about an addict that lives in my house.

My wife is a techno-phobe. She can't run a VCR, can barely run a dvd player, and when it comes to computers...let's just say that she knows what a mouse is, but that's about it.

We got a new laptop computer for Christmas. I got it for her, mainly so that she could play games in the living room, or look up the occasional thing on the 'net if she wanted to without bothering me. What I didn't bet on was the World of Warcraft.

We have some friends who have existed in WOW for several years, and we've heard talk of it from them over those years. I was intrigued, having played the original Warcraft games many years ago. But I didn't realize just how much different this game was from the originals until we set up an account for online play about a month ago.

I hopped right into it, having played a variety of video games over the years. My wife was more hesitant, since she was still somewhat cowed by using the computer. Then she set up a character, and our life has not been the same since.

She sits for hours at a time, playing WOW, cussing out the evil characters, and calling out to me for help. 3, 4, 5 hours a day she spends taking her character on quests...and when she's not playing the game, she's talking about it.

Asking questions, relating experiences, are all ways to learn and grow--in real life. WOW is the next best thing, but it seems to have taken over her life. I limit myself to a couple of 30-45 minute sessions a day (usually), and can always find something else to do and talk about.

She can't. She is addicted.

But, now she knows how to use a mouse...sort of. And she can maneuver around the World of Warcraft without my help...mostly. Is this a bad thing?

The following months will tell me if this is so. In the meantime, lookout for Jazmeenaa--she's a level 23 mage with a helluva fire bolt.

And so it goes...