Online gaming

Hmm, it's been suggested (gee, thanks Makoto) that I should try online gaming as a way to fill some of my copious free time at the moment. Sure, and I'll try crack too, while I'm at it :-)

Actually I have tried online games. For the most part, I'm just not into it. I'll play Starcraft online with friends if I know they're online, but when it comes to connecting with actual strangers, I never meet anyone. Perhaps it's the way I play video games, but I rarely actually talk to anyone I don't know online. And I really don't get how you're supposed to interact with random people you don't know while doing 47 other things in the game. And if I want to stand around and talk, I'd rather go have a few drinks with friends, in person, at the local watering hole. I'm big on human contact. Rare thing these days, it seems. I even dislike calling folks on the phone. Email's my one exception to the personal contact rule, and based on miscommunications I've had even with email, it's still not as good as talking to someone in person.

And I like playing video games in a group setting. My Xbox has had some great evenings of a few of us playing Gauntlet or some other schlock and just having a ball. We yell at each other, curse, crack jokes, yadda yadda and generally have a good time. And there's nothing more fun than taking on a challenge. Sure, I could beat the computer, but I'd rather hear your lamentations as I thrash your butt in Mechwarrior's Gladiator setting :-) These precious moments cannot be had in the same way online, my friends...

So, no. I really don't want to create any addictions while I'm out of school for the summer, and luckily this is one of them that I don't find satisfying. I don't get nearly enough human contact on a daily basis to then go home and hide behind a computer screen all night. Sure, I'm the HR lady, but like many other folks, I can have days primarily spent creating paper at a computer all day long. So actually talking to people and interacting is a good thing. Having friends whom you've actually met in person is a good thing. Having friends mad at you because you thrashed them while drunk at a game you've never played before is, um, priceless :-) Not that I've ever done that, no, I'm not a gamer grrrrrl at all...