Made some changes this weekend. LOTRO patched in some EZ-Mode changes and then made them defaulted to on just this week. I hadn't played since December 2008, but this was the last straw. Turbine is chasing the paper dragon of higher subscription numbers by making the game more mass appeal. This means instead of doing right by their current subscription base, they are taking a chance and experimenting with game design to gather some of WoW's players. Don't get me wrong. WoW is a GREAT game. Solid game, huge world, lots of variety and infinitely scalable on hardware. But there is ALREADY a WoW. LOTRO players are looking for a niche game covering Tolkien's Middle Earth. Although it was a very fun game, I guess they have had it wrong since the beginning. For example, magic stat weapons dropped more often than sea gull poop at a sardine festival. Magic stat weapons should be very rare in Middle Earth. Another example is how small the world was designed. At about mid-level, it only took about an hour to run from one side of the world to the other. Tolkien's Middle Earth took weeks/months to traverse.
Not content to stop there, I also canceled my recently subscribed Sony Station account. EQII was just depressing. I started in the Greater Faydark newbie zone. Daytime in GFay is about as dark as nighttime. I spent
To be honest with myself, if i'm to level anything, it needs to be my Honda del Sol and my home.
For a couple of weekends, I've browsed a few car dealerships to test drive convertibles, hoping it would get me excited about my own. I hadn't driven the spiritual successor of my del Sol yet, the Honday S2000. The Clarksville dealership didn't have one, so on Saturday, I grabbed Steve and we headed to Hopkinsville. They didn't have one either, but while searching, I heard from the passenger seat, "Hey, there's a Honda Motorcycle dealership.". "Sure, let's stop, it won't hurt to look.", I responded.
And then it was love. I fell for a Suzuki V-Strom dual-sport. I'm shocked that this is a dual-sport. The wheel fender and fairing share characteristics with a touring or road bike. I LIKE IT! Tomorrow, I'm headed to my local dealership to test drive and work the numbers.
On Sunday, I had an eye exam, got contacts, sunglasses and ordered a new style of frames. The contacts and sunglasses are for cycling while the frames are for the professional metrosexual at work. They also have Transitions lenses. With insurance, I think it was an excellent deal overall.
6 comments:
Sooooooooo jealous. I keep telling myself (mostly during the warmer months) that I really need to get a bike to offset the fuel drain that is my Jeep. But, there is a part of me that is still holding out for that hydrogen powered bike,...to offset the environmental damage of my Jeep. I should at least bite the bullet and get a license to drive yours. :D
Good to hear we aren't the only ones cancelling accounts. I feel that for the first time in a couple of years that I can live without spending at least a couple hours a day in Azeroth. Its a great outlet for those that have no life, and believe me with school I definitely have no had much of a life, but it really is a sign of a sad existence.
Yet, I do miss the unreality of sneaking up behind something and ganking it. Apparently, that's illegal in the real world.
Bikes are meant for FUN! I don't buy into the marketing about the gas savings considering the large outlay of cash to get one. For instance, if it is financed, you will be spending an additional $200-$300 a month on top of the gas for a new vehicle!
We have different reasons for cancellign also. I still enjoy them very much, it's the current products that I'm not satisfied with. Eventhough I get bored of an activity, it's still there in the back of my mind. I REALLY disagree about the no life and sad existence observations. It's how I choose to spend my free time and money while still being very successful in life.
Oh my observations purely reflect views of myself. Even when I enjoyed delving into WoW, I felt a sense of sadness and disappointment at myself whenever I came back to reality and realized I'd lost several hours or the better part of an entire day. I believe everyone has their own reasons for playing, but I could never come up with my own reasons that provided any sense of comfort or personal gain. I guess I could never reconcile the act of playing WoW with any of my life goals, and I hated to see my time wasted. For me it was simply a place to hide, fester, and grow mould.
As far as the motorcycle goes, if it's an object for fun wouldn't it be better to buy it outright then opposed to financing it? Create an online savings accout, and dedicate X amount of cash to the fund every paycheck. I never thought of a motorcycle as a huge financial investment when compared to say a car/truck/SUV or a house. Of course I know they can be huge investments, but they don't have to be. A starter bike can be bought for about $4-5k. If it's for fun, why treat it like a neccessity and go in debt for it? Just a thought...
BTW, Steve told me about the place that wouldn't even let you test ride a bike without a credit check. Bastards. Another salesman ploy to get you sucked in. Considering how important a credit record is such tactics should be illegal. Imagine if in the course of shopping for a bike you let every single place run your credit. Your credit score would plummet.
Yeah, that's what I told them concerning credit. They didn't understand until I said I was considering the BMW F650GS in addition to the Suzuki. That was their "Aha, he's not just making a spur of the moment purchase" moment.
Concerning debt, I'm not quite understanding the correlation between fun and financing? Financing is a tool that can be used wisely or irresponsibly. At the financial point I am in my life, I have a certain percentage of my income that will not be doing much after next month. I feel very comfortable taking a percentage of that percentage to spend on something FUN!! while still contributing to and maintaining an interest earning balance.
ah, well because a abhor and fear credit of any kind. It's probably the prospect of paying off my increasing student loans that makes me not want to go in debt for a fun factor. :D
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