Jeka wrote:
I'm pretty happy for the most part. Nothing makes me happier than not having to do anything.
One of my close group of personal friends whom I consider family (and who doesn't post here) feels the same way as you. He has to work, but during periods of unemployment (never of his own accord mind you, company downsizes, etc) he'd wish he could simply live that way.
I can't fathom it, no offense. When I've been extremely ill, one of THE most frustrating aspects of it was my inability to work, or to do much of anything outside the home.
Prior to my marriage, I worked two jobs. I'd get to one job around 6am, and I'd leave my other job around 9-10pm at night. Some people thought I had debt I had to pay down or whatever, but nope. I just LIKED worked that much. This was prior to online gaming, and if I wasn't working 'til that late at night, I was just going out and spending money...so why NOT work those hours? I'd also work 6 days a week...but sometimes do Sunday too.
I'm back now to working two jobs, this time due to need rather than personal joy. I couldn't make enough at my one new job to cover the wage loss gap, the 2nd job is filling in the slack so far (yay). And while I kvetch about it, and I'm tired, and I haven't played WoW seriously in months...I'm not really that unhappy. Neither job is a 'career' job...though I suppose it may become that. Neither job is exactly personally fulfilling in a 'AAAH this is where I want to be' way, by any stretch of the imagination.
But work, provided I don't have to deal with assholes in management (and in what I'm doing now, I don't...I lurve my boss she rocks) has always fulfilled me in a way nothing else could. And I'm surprised at how...fulfilled...one part of me is when I'm under tremendous work stress. A part of me THRIVES on it.
I get that's not everyone. But most people *need* work to feel fulfilled as human beings, and gaming can artificially fill that need, but not completely. And what's worse, people don't even see that it's not really filling it.
EQ and WoW when I've been sick simply kept me from going completely batshit insane, because it has artificial 'accomplishments' that create similar feelings to the accomplishments one does in the real world. Advancement in instances is similar to accomplishing various work goals, etc.
But reality is better, the rewards are more tangible. They are also more universal, in that everyone can see money OR real goals (IE: teaching kids to read, building something, etc.) as accomplishments, versus telling people what boss you killed and what loot dropped only translates to a very small number of people, statistically. And the stuff in reality is more usable in a variety of mediums, versus stuff that's only stored on a company's servers.
Essentially what I'm saying here is masturbation is fun, and it fulfills certain needs, but it's fucking lonely. You've got a Real Doll. And sure, she doesn't nag you...but she can't love you either.
One of the saddest and most fucked up people I know measures his worth by what he does in a game. It's no one on these forums (thank bog). It's a guy who burst into TEARS because he wasn't there for an encounter. He ranted and raved that he KNEW he shouldn't have logged off! I couldn't believe he wasn't kidding. He works only a minimal amount of weeks at a very moronic job (shitty to say but it's true) to keep the lights on, fast food in his belly, and then he games.
Dude won't live to 50 either, his health is shit.
And honestly, I'd be like ''Kay...whatever floats your boat" like I do with furries. I don't respect it, but I tolerate it, and if it makes someone happy, without harm...fine, fuck your plushies.
Except while he often says he's happy with this lifestyle, I hear him piss and moan all the time too. He seems very fucking unhappy. But he's also absolutely unwilling to change, primarily from laziness.
I'm not trying to judge you or anything. If you ARE truly happy...cool beans. I know what makes ME happy doesn't work for everyone.
But I've seen a lot of people settle. We probably all do on some things. But don't 'settle' on the big things in life. Life is far too fucking short, and this is probably your only shot at it.
Take it for what it's worth, and also for what it's worth, I do care. So do a lot of people around here.