I was first introduced to World of Warcraft in Tennessee. All my friends played constantly, and I found it to be a pretty huge annoyance. Friday night would roll around, and some of us would want to go get dinner, but the majority would be caught up in a raid or finishing a quest or leveling a new character.

I can still remember trying to convince Mikey (still one of my best friends to this day) to stop for a little while, and come to Amigos with us. I’d say he obliged me fifty percent of the time, but the other fifty percent was spent on the computer. It was like that with most of my friends, and they weren’t “nerds” or “losers” by any means, they just liked to play WoW.

It came back to me four or five years ago, and the experience was a little different. I started playing, and quickly understood why it was so awesome. It’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t care at all, but I’ve had some really fun evenings sitting at the computer, running around killing other people/things and making potions. I am not a “loser”, but I still get all giddy and excited when I meet someone who plays or has played. There is an instant understanding of what kind of person we both are, and then somes the test of whether they’re Horde or Alliance, which really makes a huge difference.

(You can’t see this, but I am smiling so huge right now. I am enjoying this blog post too much…)

I now work for a video game company in Seattle. So far, it’s been really fun and interesting, but the best part came yesterday when the IT guy said I could install World of Warcraft on my computer if I wanted to. My brand new, super fast computer? Yes and PLEASE. I do not feel the least bit embarrassed to love a computer game as much as I do, and anyone who thinks I’m lame because of it clearly doesn’t know me well. We all have our “things”, and for some people it’s Twilight, for other people it’s Harry Potter or Fern Gully or Lord of the Rings, and for some…it’s being an asshole to those who like something that you don’t understand.

Time to enjoy my Friday:)

“..you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.”