Finals Week Distractions
Yes, it's semester crunch time, that semi-annual couple weeks.... when I spend more time being distracted than during the whole rest of the year combined.
I've finally decided it's not entirely perversity, that I'm actually background-processing writing my papers while I'm doing something as far removed from schoolwork as possible. When I actually do decide I've run out of distractions, I can pretty much knock out a 15-20 page research paper in a couple afternoons. It's working for me...
So, this semester's distraction is my return to Worlds of Warcraft. I started at the end of *last* semester, coming in for an academic conference in-world (that's a *special* kind of geeky, isn't it? :P ) and deciding to my surprise that I liked it. Medieval fantasy? Popular with ill-mannered teenage boys? Repetitive grinding? Sounded like my ideal of hell. But it really does tap into deep reward systems in the brain, and starting Horde-side in the gorgeous desert landscape of Durotar rather than the bleech northern European forests of most fantasy was a big help ( I tried Warhammer Online briefly, and found the aesthetic - sort of German Expressionist - really off-putting).
I left by July, though. In retrospect, I think I came to associate WoW with the couple weeks I was on kitty deathwatch: I haven't gone back to the Deep Space Nine re-watching I was doing in that time either. But as this semester came to a close, I started up again in WoW with some new characters.
I'm having a blast. Solo play is fun, and a good opportunity for that kind of background-processing thinking. But for the first time, I'm roleplaying. I've been accepted into a light-RP guild, and just passed an IC interview with the guild leader last evening. It's challenging - I don't know that I can keep up, or avoid the sorts of social miscues I've tended to, coming into tight online communities. But we'll see.
I've been reading a terrific academic anthology on WoW - Digital Culture, Play and Identity. It's really sparking an evolution in my thoughts about MMOs as academically interesting, and their impact on values and behavior. Good stuff.
OK, this is an actual writing day, so it's time to get started on my last paper. I was supposed to be done tonight, but got an extension on one paper till Tuesday. It's for my program chair, so I wanted some extra time to actually revise and polish.
The end's in sight...
I've finally decided it's not entirely perversity, that I'm actually background-processing writing my papers while I'm doing something as far removed from schoolwork as possible. When I actually do decide I've run out of distractions, I can pretty much knock out a 15-20 page research paper in a couple afternoons. It's working for me...
So, this semester's distraction is my return to Worlds of Warcraft. I started at the end of *last* semester, coming in for an academic conference in-world (that's a *special* kind of geeky, isn't it? :P ) and deciding to my surprise that I liked it. Medieval fantasy? Popular with ill-mannered teenage boys? Repetitive grinding? Sounded like my ideal of hell. But it really does tap into deep reward systems in the brain, and starting Horde-side in the gorgeous desert landscape of Durotar rather than the bleech northern European forests of most fantasy was a big help ( I tried Warhammer Online briefly, and found the aesthetic - sort of German Expressionist - really off-putting).
I left by July, though. In retrospect, I think I came to associate WoW with the couple weeks I was on kitty deathwatch: I haven't gone back to the Deep Space Nine re-watching I was doing in that time either. But as this semester came to a close, I started up again in WoW with some new characters.
I'm having a blast. Solo play is fun, and a good opportunity for that kind of background-processing thinking. But for the first time, I'm roleplaying. I've been accepted into a light-RP guild, and just passed an IC interview with the guild leader last evening. It's challenging - I don't know that I can keep up, or avoid the sorts of social miscues I've tended to, coming into tight online communities. But we'll see.
I've been reading a terrific academic anthology on WoW - Digital Culture, Play and Identity. It's really sparking an evolution in my thoughts about MMOs as academically interesting, and their impact on values and behavior. Good stuff.
OK, this is an actual writing day, so it's time to get started on my last paper. I was supposed to be done tonight, but got an extension on one paper till Tuesday. It's for my program chair, so I wanted some extra time to actually revise and polish.
The end's in sight...