On This Day, Five Years Ago…

I began playing FFXI. (=o)

That, and Elmer’s recents post about online addiction (FFXI – The Leading Cause of Zombie-ism) brought to memory my experience with MMORPGs.  FFXI was the first MMORPG I ever played, and pretty much the only one for over a year (or more? I don’t remember).  It was also where I, myself, experienced online addiction.  \(O.O)/

I could go on a long spiel about it.  However, it’s a pretty personal story, and not worth retelling.  In a nutshell, yeah, I did suffer from internet addiction.  No, I’m not as addicted as I used to be; I have forgone playing on some nights because I was too tired or wanted to do something else.  Do I regret ever playing FFXI?  I sometimes do, but I have no idea if I would be happily in a relationship or as (relatively) independent as I am now.  So, that makes me half not regret letting that happen.

It definitely takes an epiphemy or sudden enlightment to realize, “Hey, I am addicted, and I need to lay it off”.  Of course, people always try to help, but so true to human nature, “you can only help those who want to be helped”.

Separate, But Equal?

So, I’ve been thinking for a little bit.  Admittedly, I’ve been playing “World of Warcraft” more than “Final Fantasy XI”.  I’m also working on a few WOW blog posts.  That being said, I have debated about whether I should make a WOW-dedicated blog so I can dedicate this blog to my FFXI adventures.

Here’s the thing that’s stopping me, though: I’m not going to be playing WOW a lot.

Granted, I just got Level 80 (I’ll have a post about how later).  Having accomplished that, I’ve lost some urge to play WOW.   I don’t do end-game, and craft leveling is… I dunno, from here on out, it’s going to be a grind. [Edit] I can’t even compell myself to level up another character.  I have a character from each class that I could level up, and I have a death knight that I’ve had fun role-playing (on a role-playing server).  It’s going to be the same deal, anyhow: EXP grinding, even though I’m a quest-EXPer.  Maybe it’s the combination of level/gold grinding (y’know, saving up 6,000g for any (epic) flying mount training and whatnot) and the fact that I’ve been having trouble staying asleep (and, therefore, concentrating on work) that have worn me out.  I dunno. [/Edit]

So, basically, I’m thinking of letting my WOW subscription run out and concentrate on FFXI and anything else.  I’ll restart my WOW subscription the next time there’s a holiday event (which I have a ton of fun with).

… anyhow, I need to stop deliberating over sewing machines and sergers from Jo-Ann’s.

FFXI: A Resson Rearned (Mog Bonanza)

2009 Mog Bonanza Winning Numbers Announced!

So, ever heard the saying, “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket”?  Yeah, I should not have used the “winning numbers” from an awesome fortune cookie (”It takes guts to get out of the ruts”).  I’ve made about 6-8 marbles per character a mosh-posh mix of the digits of the “winning numbers”.  None of those “winning numbers” had a ‘9′, so that would have already knocked me out for Rank 1. *lol*

So, note to self: screw it and just /random the numbers! *lol*

That being said, those “winning numbers” earned each one of my characters (besides 10 free inventory slots each) a Rank 5 item.  I got each character whichever statue (Adamantoise, Behemoth, Fafnir) would benefit them the most, if I ever tinkered with Moghancement.  Three characters got a second statue, which, again, would have been whatever other beneficial statue.

The only exception,  surprise of surprises, was the last character I checked: Aerroenu.  She actually got three Rank 5 marbles.  I was going to snag all three of the statues, but I got to thinking and reading about the other prizes (Cordial Invite, Martial Ball Invite, Mercenary Camp Entry Slip, Pest Repellent, Training Grounds Key).  I figured that I’d be nice and grant myself and five other folks a title (”Super Hero”, “Super Heroine”, “The Sixth Serpent”, “Pest Repellent”, or “Bloody Berserker”).

Now, let’s see how many folks would be privy to sticking Xiahou with the title “Super Heroine”. (xD)

So, Square-Enix Releases All Fanart Entries…

All 7th Anniversary Fan Art Contest Entries Now Available for Viewing! (06/09/2009)

Finally!!  Why didn’t they do it the last couple of years?!  I’ve always wanted to know what the other non-winning entries were!  Was it because there weren’t as many entries back then to be worth the effort?  Or is the ferocious power of North Americans finally pushing Square-Enix to be more customer-friendly? *lol*

I recognized a couple of artists from previous winners and from folks I ran across during my random strolls through DeviantArt.  I could recognize the art style.  Speaking of which, I’m inclined to believe that someone weaseled two submissions into the contest (obviously, under two different artist names).  Maybe their second entry was a collaborated effort, but their art style showed more than otherwise.  I’m not going to say who it is; what’s done is done, and I don’t care to advertise indirectly for them.

Looking at the wide range of entries, I wish I had submitted the little entry I was debating about.  It wasn’t going to be something major: just a little drawing of Tarutaru me wailing at how I couldn’t think of anything to draw for the contest.

Admittedly, I’ve been watching too much cake competitions on Food Network.  I’m stupid-tempted to make some crazy cake for the 8th anniversary… only problem is…the cake I’d try to make would be way too much baked goodiness for me to eat in a year. *lol*