WoW and people in general

Hey gang. My wife and I have been bitten by the WoW bug. For those who aren't in the know, it stands for World Of Warcraft. I never thought that a game could be so addictive. You become so immersed in it that you really do tend to lose all sense of time. Now, don't fret about me. I won't become one of those guys you read about who play for 40 hours then collapse and die. My attention span is WAY too short for that. But I bring this up because of the dynamics we encounter in the game with other people.

Our entrance to the game was through our best friends and their kid. They enjoy the game and have been playing a lot longer than we have. We got it and started it on a lark, not really sure what to expect. Cindy is not one who enjoys video games as much as I do, but after watching me for a bit, she got intrigued and started to create her characters. We share a computer, we are poor folk after all, and we have learned to give each other space to play. I feel the need to share an experience that actually changed my life and feelings about things.

A while back I was going through a bout of massive depression. Didn't really care about much of anything, including comics. Heresy, I know. I logged onto the game for what I thought was going to be a few minutes, just to check on mail and other things. Some people from the guild I had joined were on and seemed excited to see me. They asked me to come do things, quests and other tasks. They didn't care that I was feeling bad or even suicidal at that time. All they cared about was having fun with me. These people, whom I had never met face to face, cared about me. It blew me away. These people, who were in Texas, Canada, Pennsylvania, and even Australia, were life savers. They saved me from myself and pulled me from a depths I didn't even know I was headed down. For that I will always be grateful to them.

I tell you of this because lately I find myself just wanting to be left alone when I play. But because I am a sucker in the game like in real life, I can't say no to help out someone who asks. Does this make me a bad virtual person as well as an asshat? I want people to like me for who I am, not what I can do for them. It's a self esteem issue I have always had. Even today, I wonder if you're reading this out of pity, or because you really enjoy my company. I know that I am a loud, large, sometimes obnoxious and opinionated moron. I am trying to be better, but I can only lose so much weight. So for those of you who really know me, I thank you for being a friend. Or at the very least, someone who can tolerate my ass.