Azeroth beckoning..

Blizzard has done it again... Releasing a new expansion pack, Catalysm which had sold more than 3.3 million copies on its FIRST DAY just a couple of days ago..

And Ｉ hear Azeroth's beckoning, loud and clear.. Frankly, I miss playing WoW.. I miss the camaraderie among the group of players I played with.. I miss the joy and thrill completing an instance. I miss the freedom to lose myself in a world that nothing really matters.

Maybe it is the temptation of escapism. I can be anyone I wanna be in Azeroth (what the world in WoW is called), and if I work hard enough (aka spend enough time training and leveling up my character), I can be as powerful as the game allows me to be. I can be a bad-ass who terrorises low-level players, or I can be a good-guy, helping players to level up and/or gain game items (like sword, gear, pets, etc). I can either play on my own - doing quests, gathering resources, crafting items, wondering around, or I can play with a group of people running instances and/or killing bosses (aka big powerful monsters, much like its real-life namesake at times :p). I can reset and restart with a new character if I don't like the current one.. No wonder so many (more than 12 million world-wide to be exact) are hooked..

I won't deny that I was very tempted to join in. Because I don't see why not. I have the time (since I work freelance, meaning I can work anytime I want and when I want) and I have the money (that came with all those freelance jobs). And most importantly, my "old" gang of friends are playing again..

Yet I refrain myself from doing so. I need to use my time more productively. As simple as that. Already, I've been neglecting my journal/paper readings and been very very very very slow in drafting out my research proposal. I need to reschedule my time based on these freelance jobs and trying to find my optimum working style/habits. The last thing I would need is another time-consuming and energy-zapping activity that do not bring any "real-life" benefits. And that is definitely the Capricorn in me talking.

Sadly in the end, Azeroth will (still) have to wait..