![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thistlechaserI was going to post about how happy was that I actually had some free time today, then it struck me how silly it was to be happy I had gotten free time on a game. I have no idea what's changed lately, why the game has suddenly started taking up so much more time, but it's really got to stop. I'm ignoring RL to a point that bothers me, which is saying something. I have no idea what I'm going to do about this yet, but I do need to do something.
Anyway, the reason for the unexpected free time was that the LS event (getting a great katana from some cluster thingie in the CoP area) didn't happen because the LS we were going to work with canceled at the last second. Annoying, but at least it gave me some free time.
I did my chocobo digging first thing in the morning, and it wasn't great. 1 DS ore, a couple of myth beastcoins. Think I'm going to start going elsewhere, but don't know where yet.
Then worked on smithing skilling until it was time to mule and go to the event. Got to 57.something on gauntlets (oh my god, sex in skillup form! A skillup every other synth! Even .2s, one level below cap!). Once I hit cap on those, I made n-somethings (1 iron sheet, 1 silk thread, earth crystal), as recommended by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
genomeffxi. Was nice, but I was spoiled by the gauntlets. :P Still, yay!
So happy to be done with smithing, hate smithing ever so much. I don't like crafting with metals RL and I didn't like it on the game.
Even though I said I was going to take a break before jumping into goldsmithing (last non-60 craft), I started already. >< I'm a damned idiot, I can't let things just sit if they're not finished yet.
Caught a Besieged (YAY), which I was so sure we were going to lose. Level 3 trolls, 150 in the zone to start, ended with 275. I think we won only because masses of mages were camping the two generals we had -- neither died! And wow, the bomb NM was fricking huge! So much bigger than a normal bomb! Then he got bigger and filled up the walkway, from one end to the other! And then he got even bigger! This is NOT just a funky camera angle! He was wider than three people! I never did see him explode (yay, probably?) but his Burn move was a hell of a bitch. I died to it, twice. And I died once because I WSed while weakened (I didn't want to lose my TP, knew I would die). I never usually die in Besieges at all, but today I died four times. Sheesh.
Partly because of that Burn move and partly because I'll need it when I /WHM as BRD, I finally bought Erase.
187K, which people said was a good price. But good price or not, it's one of the things I've most begrudged buying in my whole time on the game. I'm not a mage, I don't want to mage, and I sure as hell am never leveling WHM further. And amusingly, I do BRD/RDM, so I won't even have access to it in normal XP situations. But my WHM is 37 or 38 and so should have it, so I got it. Bah.
Choco teen singing! He sure is ugly. Big, ugly feet, his feathers are ugly, and his head looks too small. I'd like to race him more or do the other new things that are available, but mostly I just read to him because that raises discenment. LS people joke that I'm raising a nerd bird, and it's totally true. Nothing physical! Just stay home and keep your beak in a book!
It's naked time! Two final screenshots: Welcome to Windy! Windy: All naked Mithra, all the time! So many tails swishing~ *watches*
And the last one I really can't explain, but one single dat mod brings me so much happiness. I love seeing bare chests all around, they're just so nice to see. So enjoyable to be at the AH or running through Jeuno and have a bunch of nice chests all around. I suppose that's the same reason guys use the naked chest mods for mithra and such...
So tomorrow starts the busy week again. Escort and Eco on Monday, XP static on Tuesday. Hopefully Monday I need to go back to (at the very least) making room for exercising. Actually eating meals instead of random food kept around my desk comes next. One or both changes must happen by Wednesday or... I'm not sure. It's been two weeks since I lost exercising time and less than that since I totally gave up on meals, so it's certainly not too late to fix the two things. No later than Wednesday, for sure.
Anyway, the reason for the unexpected free time was that the LS event (getting a great katana from some cluster thingie in the CoP area) didn't happen because the LS we were going to work with canceled at the last second. Annoying, but at least it gave me some free time.
I did my chocobo digging first thing in the morning, and it wasn't great. 1 DS ore, a couple of myth beastcoins. Think I'm going to start going elsewhere, but don't know where yet.
Then worked on smithing skilling until it was time to mule and go to the event. Got to 57.something on gauntlets (oh my god, sex in skillup form! A skillup every other synth! Even .2s, one level below cap!). Once I hit cap on those, I made n-somethings (1 iron sheet, 1 silk thread, earth crystal), as recommended by
genomeffxi. Was nice, but I was spoiled by the gauntlets. :P Still, yay!So happy to be done with smithing, hate smithing ever so much. I don't like crafting with metals RL and I didn't like it on the game.
Even though I said I was going to take a break before jumping into goldsmithing (last non-60 craft), I started already. >< I'm a damned idiot, I can't let things just sit if they're not finished yet.
Caught a Besieged (YAY), which I was so sure we were going to lose. Level 3 trolls, 150 in the zone to start, ended with 275. I think we won only because masses of mages were camping the two generals we had -- neither died! And wow, the bomb NM was fricking huge! So much bigger than a normal bomb! Then he got bigger and filled up the walkway, from one end to the other! And then he got even bigger! This is NOT just a funky camera angle! He was wider than three people! I never did see him explode (yay, probably?) but his Burn move was a hell of a bitch. I died to it, twice. And I died once because I WSed while weakened (I didn't want to lose my TP, knew I would die). I never usually die in Besieges at all, but today I died four times. Sheesh.
Partly because of that Burn move and partly because I'll need it when I /WHM as BRD, I finally bought Erase.
187K, which people said was a good price. But good price or not, it's one of the things I've most begrudged buying in my whole time on the game. I'm not a mage, I don't want to mage, and I sure as hell am never leveling WHM further. And amusingly, I do BRD/RDM, so I won't even have access to it in normal XP situations. But my WHM is 37 or 38 and so should have it, so I got it. Bah.
Choco teen singing! He sure is ugly. Big, ugly feet, his feathers are ugly, and his head looks too small. I'd like to race him more or do the other new things that are available, but mostly I just read to him because that raises discenment. LS people joke that I'm raising a nerd bird, and it's totally true. Nothing physical! Just stay home and keep your beak in a book!
It's naked time! Two final screenshots: Welcome to Windy! Windy: All naked Mithra, all the time! So many tails swishing~ *watches*
And the last one I really can't explain, but one single dat mod brings me so much happiness. I love seeing bare chests all around, they're just so nice to see. So enjoyable to be at the AH or running through Jeuno and have a bunch of nice chests all around. I suppose that's the same reason guys use the naked chest mods for mithra and such...
So tomorrow starts the busy week again. Escort and Eco on Monday, XP static on Tuesday. Hopefully Monday I need to go back to (at the very least) making room for exercising. Actually eating meals instead of random food kept around my desk comes next. One or both changes must happen by Wednesday or... I'm not sure. It's been two weeks since I lost exercising time and less than that since I totally gave up on meals, so it's certainly not too late to fix the two things. No later than Wednesday, for sure.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 06:22 am (UTC)You could try actually making appointments with yourself for the other things you want to have time for. (You mentioned eating real meals and exercising, which is a good start). It sounds like the game is seductive enough to eat any time you give it, at any time of day.
If you're able to meet at least a minimum of non-game activities that you set for yourself, you may also want to try making a list of "would be nice" things... things you can do when "free" time presents itself. At first "free" time can be "I planned to do X but someone else cancelled" but in reality you're leaving the door open for any opportunity where you're doing something online that's not as enjoyable/rewarding as the items on the non-game list.
In other words, have both a "planned" and a "spontaneous" approach to deciding what to do with your time. It's not just that you want to spend LESS time on the game, but you also want to feel good about your choice whether it's gaming or not. While you're playing you will hopefully feel not just that it's enjoyable and/or rewarding, but that you've made a choice to be there and you're not just going with the flow.
good luck!!!
no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 05:53 pm (UTC)That's a good idea. And yeah, it is. It sort of expands to eat whatever free time you have. S-E really knew what it was doing when it created the game.
In other words, have both a "planned" and a "spontaneous" approach to deciding what to do with your time. It's not just that you want to spend LESS time on the game, but you also want to feel good about your choice whether it's gaming or not...
Makes sense. Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 07:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 05:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 02:23 pm (UTC)Anyhow, I find that my desire to play FFXI goes in cycles. It tends to vary depending on how much time I've had to play lately and what I want to get done in game. Right now it's on a downswing. I've had plenty of time recently and the next thing on my in-game "to-do" list is to level PLD... which is at level 17 and may involve trips to the Dunes. Nothing kills my enthusiasm faster than a potential trip to the Dunes. ;p
So, yeah, I've lost the "must spend every second of free time on FFXI" feeling that I had for a while. I've gone back to reading books and picked up Tales of Phantasia again (okay, I'm not sure trading in one game for another is the best thing, but I *feel* less addicted at any rate). I certainly don't plan on leaving the game, but chances are I won't be around all that much outside of planned events (Eco, static, etc.) and my daily chocobo checkup for a while.
I'd say make a note of the things you absolutely have to be on for, like your static. Figure out how much time you need to devote to those, then plan something non-game to go with it, like a short exercise session or something relaxing that doesn't involve being at your computer.
Now I need to take my own advice and fit in some much-needed housecleaning. I haven't vacuumed in ages; I hate it with a passion, but it really does need to get done. Maybe I should get a robot cleaner. That would at least make it fun. ^_~
no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 05:54 pm (UTC)Go ahead, admit it. You want me, baby.
Nothing kills my enthusiasm faster than a potential trip to the Dunes. ;p
Ha ha, yes.
Thanks for the ideas! And when you're done cleaning, would you head to my place? It needs it. Badly. c.c
no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 09:14 pm (UTC)I wrote an entry on how to do that with most jobs here:
http://genomeffxi.livejournal.com/#entry_8563
And this one was with no xp ring and paladin if i remember correctly, around that level range:
no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 06:21 pm (UTC)No, it's just that you and most guys are perverts ;)
(Please note that I include myself in that ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 06:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 08:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 08:39 pm (UTC)Ohohohoho you have NO IDEA. I totally feel you on this subject. You're right SE sure did know how to design a game, because it has slowly crept up and now I am in so deep again that it's starting to worry me. Structuring time blocks and whatnot to play is a nice idea, in THEORY, but you really have to have some discipline to follow it.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 08:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 09:22 pm (UTC)I have no idea how people get to 75 and then quit... or quit before then! There is just SO MUCH TO DO. There is just no winning the game, and that's at the same time the best thing and the most frustrating thing. You could get every job to 75, every craft leveled, great armor, and still have a ton left to do.
Structuring time blocks and whatnot to play is a nice idea, in THEORY, but you really have to have some discipline to follow it.
That's what it comes down to, for better or for worse. I'm certain I can get exercise back into my life for now, but how soon until something on the game edges it out again? "Oh, I need to camp X, so I'll skip just this once!" "LS needs me for Y, so hey, skipping once more because I have to!" And soon I'll be back to where I am now, if I'm not careful and strong.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-12 01:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-12 05:29 pm (UTC)I swear, sometimes I think I need a parent around to make me do things! "Go clean up, your apartment is a mess!" "I don't care what you're doing, it's dinnertime!" "Go to bed! Now!" :P
no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 09:39 pm (UTC)Free time in game hehe. It's a weird thing I guess, with LSs especially I think in the long run you don't want to feel so indebted to others that you have to play insane amounts of hours, or have people so indebted to you that you feel like they are only taking advantage and leeching off you.
I do things with people on my friendlist whenever possible instead, there's no big feeling of obligation in either direction so people actually appreciate your help instead of taking it for granted too.
Doing that and choosing activities that tend to benefit everyone equally (limbus, missions everyone in PT/alliance needs, BCNMs, ENMs, etc) leaves everyone on the same plane where nobody owes much to anyone else and they are just all having fun and getting something out of it.
You don't have to play like that all the times, but doing this makes it easier to just play whenever you want and not when you feel other people want/expect you to.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-12 06:04 pm (UTC)