- Joined
- Mar 14, 2008
- Messages
- 1,134
So, I'll preface this by saying a few things. Firstly, this is not a 'leaving' thread, nor anything of the sort, though it might initially seem that way. Secondly, there is indeed a challenge involved; see the second last paragraph.
So, my computer is dead. I think it might be the power supply, but after crashing at entirely random intervals for the last few days, it finally has gotten to the point where it simply will not get as far as letting me log into windows before it crashes back to the motherboard splashscreen at the beginning. It's be very difficult to scientifically figure out which component it is that's dying, so it's going to be trial and error. And, of course, I'm in the middle of university; I don't really have the money to be trial and erroring new parts to see what fits.
What I HAVE determined is that a new computer, minus the parts I have that I know work is relatively cheap; it's just a matter of getting that money. But, in the meantime, I'm out a gaming computer for the next while.
Now, initially, I freaked out. Aside from being a student, and needing something to write/research with, I'm a gamer. I've made a number of online commitments, most of them to eGO. I'm 25 pages into writing a heavy guide, I have a tournament team, among some other things. Plus, I play tf2. a lot. In fact, because I'm currently unemployed, fully 8 hours of my days were likely spent at my computer doing things for eGO, or related to gaming in some form. As a testiment to that, I'm ranked 35 out of some 153,000 people we have ranked on eGO servers. that sort of thing isn't necessarily about skill; it's mostly about time.
Sound familiar? I know there are a lot of highschool kids out there right now who are probably in a similar boat: nothing but time and a computer. But, here's where the epiphany happens: I've been away from tf2 and the internet in general for the last 2 days.
And I don't miss it.
It's sorta messed up. I went from playing tf2 from 2-6 hours a day to not playing at all, and after the first day, I've lost basically all desire. It isn't that I don't think it'd be fun, it's that when you step back for a little while, and look around a bit, you see that there's a lot more going on in the world than what's in your computer.
I'm a writer and a researcher, and for the past few days, I've been reading non-stop, and I've been enjoying it immensely. plus, it's more productive on an educative level.
So, to all of those people who I have commitments to within eGO, check your PM inbox. I'm out of commission indefinitely. When I do get my computer back up, I will most certainly come back and play tf2 (hence why it ISN'T a leaving thread). However, I won't be putting in nearly as much time as before; it's going to go back to being what it should be: a pastime, not a 9-5.
The reason I've always enjoyed tf2 is for it's modular quality: if you're having a bad game, or, if you're need to go do something else, you can just drop it an quit out. your team will find a replacement, guarantee. That's precisely why it's been my game of choice as opposed to, say, WoW, which I did for a while, but you can't simply drop at your convenience, because it's a social game where other people depend on not some random guy, but you, specifically, and what YOU bring to the table. TF2 has turned into something entirely not modular for me.
And so, here's the challenge. Do you find yourself like me? do you sit at a computer gaming for 4-5+ hours a day, because you don't have anything else to do? Well, my hand was forced into not doing it, and I think I've made a positive mental transition out of it.
And so, here's the challenge. Don't use your computer for one whole day. if you need to check email or what have you, try to do it on someone else's computer. But simply do not use the computer you game on all day. Just for a day. And then, the next day, or even that night, see how you feel about it. There have been times in the past where I had to drop if for a day and couldn't stop thinking about what I would do with it tomorrow. But this time, I did some thinking, and came to a different conclusion. Perhaps you might come to the same conclusion.
I don't expect many people to read this, and that's cool. In a way I'm venting, but realistically, I'm trying to pass on my own experience to a group of people who likely share many of the same traits as I do (that tends to be why communities work). Perhaps you can gain some benefit from my thoughts.
Thanks for reading.
~ Dread
So, my computer is dead. I think it might be the power supply, but after crashing at entirely random intervals for the last few days, it finally has gotten to the point where it simply will not get as far as letting me log into windows before it crashes back to the motherboard splashscreen at the beginning. It's be very difficult to scientifically figure out which component it is that's dying, so it's going to be trial and error. And, of course, I'm in the middle of university; I don't really have the money to be trial and erroring new parts to see what fits.
What I HAVE determined is that a new computer, minus the parts I have that I know work is relatively cheap; it's just a matter of getting that money. But, in the meantime, I'm out a gaming computer for the next while.
Now, initially, I freaked out. Aside from being a student, and needing something to write/research with, I'm a gamer. I've made a number of online commitments, most of them to eGO. I'm 25 pages into writing a heavy guide, I have a tournament team, among some other things. Plus, I play tf2. a lot. In fact, because I'm currently unemployed, fully 8 hours of my days were likely spent at my computer doing things for eGO, or related to gaming in some form. As a testiment to that, I'm ranked 35 out of some 153,000 people we have ranked on eGO servers. that sort of thing isn't necessarily about skill; it's mostly about time.
Sound familiar? I know there are a lot of highschool kids out there right now who are probably in a similar boat: nothing but time and a computer. But, here's where the epiphany happens: I've been away from tf2 and the internet in general for the last 2 days.
And I don't miss it.
It's sorta messed up. I went from playing tf2 from 2-6 hours a day to not playing at all, and after the first day, I've lost basically all desire. It isn't that I don't think it'd be fun, it's that when you step back for a little while, and look around a bit, you see that there's a lot more going on in the world than what's in your computer.
I'm a writer and a researcher, and for the past few days, I've been reading non-stop, and I've been enjoying it immensely. plus, it's more productive on an educative level.
So, to all of those people who I have commitments to within eGO, check your PM inbox. I'm out of commission indefinitely. When I do get my computer back up, I will most certainly come back and play tf2 (hence why it ISN'T a leaving thread). However, I won't be putting in nearly as much time as before; it's going to go back to being what it should be: a pastime, not a 9-5.
The reason I've always enjoyed tf2 is for it's modular quality: if you're having a bad game, or, if you're need to go do something else, you can just drop it an quit out. your team will find a replacement, guarantee. That's precisely why it's been my game of choice as opposed to, say, WoW, which I did for a while, but you can't simply drop at your convenience, because it's a social game where other people depend on not some random guy, but you, specifically, and what YOU bring to the table. TF2 has turned into something entirely not modular for me.
And so, here's the challenge. Do you find yourself like me? do you sit at a computer gaming for 4-5+ hours a day, because you don't have anything else to do? Well, my hand was forced into not doing it, and I think I've made a positive mental transition out of it.
And so, here's the challenge. Don't use your computer for one whole day. if you need to check email or what have you, try to do it on someone else's computer. But simply do not use the computer you game on all day. Just for a day. And then, the next day, or even that night, see how you feel about it. There have been times in the past where I had to drop if for a day and couldn't stop thinking about what I would do with it tomorrow. But this time, I did some thinking, and came to a different conclusion. Perhaps you might come to the same conclusion.
I don't expect many people to read this, and that's cool. In a way I'm venting, but realistically, I'm trying to pass on my own experience to a group of people who likely share many of the same traits as I do (that tends to be why communities work). Perhaps you can gain some benefit from my thoughts.
Thanks for reading.
~ Dread
Last edited:
someone else taking over
, she hates technology so much shes taking my cell phone away (which I rarely use anyway 
. I find though that when I am devoid of a computer I can be perfectly content either spending hours reading or hours just sketching and drawing, so I think I'll be fine 
