#oneaday Day 91: Boozehound

It's a curious thing, alcohol. Some people enjoy it, others don't. One thing we seem to be afflicted with a bit in this country is the assumption that alcohol is somehow necessary to have a good time, like it unlocks a magical gateway to some nether realm of ultimate happiness.

But does it, though? It certainly lowers inhibitions and makes people more open to the idea of acting like a dickhead — and, by extension, amusing everyone else. This certainly leads to lots of memorable evenings — it occurred to me last time I was out with a bunch of people that a lot of stories start with "there was this time we were all really drunk" and end with someone being sick or falling over or hurting themselves.

Good nights don't necessarily need alcohol to be good. You just need something to happen to be memorable. This depends a lot on the chemistry between the people you're with. With the right people, you can have a thoroughly silly night without the need to get a sick bucket afterwards.

The people I was out with tonight are some of my oldest friends; people I've known since high school. While our nights out often involve a bit of drinking, we certainly don't need drinks to act like dicks and yell "COCK" at each other.

Which is, you know, nice.

I have a lovely weekend ahead of me so I will say goodnight for now. Stay frosty.

#oneaday, Day 187: Flying Solo

Ever been out on the town by yourself? It's generally a miserable experience, particularly if you're not the most sociable of people in the first place. And by that I mean the sort of person who doesn't generally talk to strangers at the best of times.

I've done it a couple of times, though not for a while. It generally goes something like this:

Step 1: Claustrophobia

You're in your house/flat/bedsit/hovel/cupboard. You have been stuck in said accommodation for some time now. By yourself. It's getting rather tiresome. Perhaps you're living by yourself. Or perhaps you live with people you don't get on with. Or perhaps you live with people who are never there. Whatever the reason, you're in by yourself, you're fed up and you feel like the walls are closing in a bit. So you decide that it would be a really great idea to go out. Even though none of your friends are free, because you only decided to go out a minute ago and when you texted them a minute ago, half of them didn't reply and the other half politely requested that you give them a bit more notice next time. So much for spontaneity.

Step 2: Confidence

You get dollied up and step out of your front door. You're going out! By yourself! Feels good, doesn't it? You're not tied to social conventions that require you to be in a group of at least 3 people (less than 3 and you're going "with" someone, which is perilously close to "date" territory)—you're doing things your way!

Step 3: Adventurousness

You're out by yourself and there's no-one with you to judge you. Perhaps you'll try something you've never done before, because there's no-one you know to mock you, laugh at you, berate you or tell you you're doing it wrong—or worse, do it better than you. Perhaps you decide to try smoking, because you've never done it before, or perhaps you talk to a random stranger in the street, or go down a road you've never been down before or—hell!—go to a pub or club you've never been to before.

Step 4: Arrival

You arrive at the place you decided to go to. You purchase yourself a drink and find yourself a good "spot" in which to observe the action. If this is a pub, this should be a table with a good view of everyone else who is there with their friends. Or possibly a stool at the bar, where you can turn your back on the rest of society. If this is a club, this should be a seat at the edge of the dance floor, where you can look longingly at the people who are probably having more fun than you.

Step 5: Realisation

"I've come out by myself. That was a really stupid thing to do."

Step 6: Depression

You stay in your spot, watching everyone around you actually having a good time—or so you believe, anyway; in actual fact they might be having a miserable time, just dancing while they do it—and slump into a bit of an alcohol-fueled depression.

Step 7: The Second Wind

You decide that no, you're not going to let this defeat you. You get up and maybe decide to try a dance by yourself.

Step 8: The Bad Idea

"That was a terrible idea. Now everyone is looking at me like I'm an idiot."

Step 9: Time To Go Home

"I hope the bouncers and the people on the door don't recognise me and realise I've only been here fifteen minutes."

Step 10: Regret

"That was the dumbest thing I've ever done. I'm never doing that again."

But you will. Just to see if it's any different next time.

#oneaday, Day 83: Crafting War

The reason why World of Warcraft is still fun eludes me. According to the game, my "main" character (i.e. my highest level one) has been playing for something like 18 days. That's 18 days total time logged in, not I started playing 18 days ago. 18 days… that's… (counts) 432 hours, or over four runs through Persona 4. And yet somehow, despite the clunky animation that all MMOs are cursed with, its inconsistent attempts at storytelling and its overwhelming focus on killing things repeatedly… it's still fun.

There are many things which could cause this. Perhaps it's the fact that you're constantly being rewarded. Recent non-MMO multiplayer titles like Modern Warfare 2 have cottoned on to this, rewarding players with points, perks and unlockable things just for playing the game normally, not necessarily being the best at it. WoW is the same. Do quests, get experience. Kill monsters, get experience. Whatever you do, you're achieving something that will better your character and make your experience more fun. And since Blizzard added an extremely robust Achievements system with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack, there's always plenty of things to do, even if you don't fancy level-grinding. Perhaps you could go back and solo some dungeons that used to give you trouble. Perhaps you could work on your crafting skills. Perhaps you could take part in one of the entertaining seasonal events, ending up with some sort of kooky reward. Perhaps you could delve into the infinite world of Add-Ons and customise WoW's interface to make it into the game you want it to be. (For my part, I've completely rejigged the interface and use an excellent system called Soundtrack which allows you to assign custom music to zones, monsters, special events and battles).

Or perhaps you could spend your time interacting with other players. That is one of the key things about a multiplayer game, after all.

I play on a roleplaying server – Darkmoon Faire, if anyone's interested – and this means several things to me. Firstly, it means that there are people out there who sometimes like to forgo the levelling experience for the sake of some in-character conversation. Anyone who has played a tabletop roleplaying game will know that some of the best moments come from the inter-party banter and improvised storylines. RP in WoW is no exception and while, yes, you do get a few teenage lesbian Night Elves around the place sometimes, and yes, you do get some people who don't know when to stop with the melodrama sometimes, for the most part RP on Darkmoon Faire is mature and entertaining.

The other thing about an RP server in my experience, though, is that those same people who like to RP tend to be the nicer, more articulate people that there are. People who write in full sentences, know how to use capital letters and punctuation. People who don't abbreviate everything just for the sake of it. And, hey, people who are polite.

I know a big part of my WoW experience is the people I get the chance to talk to while I'm playing. And while most of them are streets ahead of me in levels, experience, time played and skills, meaning that I rarely get the chance to actually play alongside them, the fact that I can chat to them on the channel they've set up, or turn up to the regular improvisatory RP sessions that are held in newbie-friendly areas makes the whole experience more worthwhile socially.

But still a massive waste of time. 🙂