Losing Steam

Heh, who knew. It's not like I have no time. I'm actually doing well in college and even though time isn't something I have to enjoy, I have been able to manage my time successfully and see it produce results.
This is important because I have a dedicated 4 days a week, 3 hours a day, devoted to raiding.
Lately though, I feel myself losing steam. Sure Patch 4.1 is heading our way soon. And there's this new game called Rift that's always another option.  But nothing seems to be pushing me.
I thought maybe having the opportunity to raid on alts would increase their desirability to play, but my paladin is still sitting untouched at level 84.
I even tried Feral and it was fun for a couple dungeons, but then I got tired of it (specifically the dungeons. God I hate Cataclysm dungeons) and stopped running. My guild has been put on hiatus for a week or so because of life, which is fine, but what is concerning is that I'm actually really glad we're not raiding. I like having the time to watch primetime tv fully, to play little console games, and nap as long as I want.
It's disappointing for me, as a gamer who loves Blizzard and World of Warcraft. This game has always held my attention, to the point that I was concerned about a gaming addiction. Cataclysm was a great amount of fun, and there's a lot to do. But maybe there's not enough. The longevity of the game is definitely it's one downside. I think, even without Rift, we would still see a shift in gamers' attention.

As I look ahead, Patch 4.1 is it. I understand that Blizzard is planning to release patches in smaller amounts, but faster, and I can appreciate that. However, in this crucial time, when they are not only fighting the usual gamer interests, but now this Rift game, they may need to change their game plan. I have this feeling that Patch 4.1 will only produce about a week or two worth of interest, before it grows old. Honestly, the only thing I'm looking forward to is the changes to Efflorescence. Don't really care about ZA or ZG. Don't really care about trying to get even more mounts or pets. Maybe with increases Rare spawn from Archaeology, I'll dapple in that more, but there's a good chance the RNG system will still kick my ass, as always.
The problem Rift poses, as compared to other MMO competition (and games in general) is that it presents WoW with almost a clone rival. Actually, a shinier, more better tailored clone rival. I STILL think WoW will continue to thrive, but Rift might actually shake its foundation.
I think Rift has affected me a lot, even when I don't play it. A lot of the blogs I read are now focused on Rift, which is honestly a bit disheartening. It's mostly discouraging my reading of them- if I see Rift in the title, and I know the author is playing it, I tend to just not even bother looking at it. I know I meander off topic to different games or other media, but I still try and post something WoW/Druid related. It seems like mostly, these blogs are focusing on Rift. And more Rift. /yawn

At least there's this little DS game to fill that void. What's kind of scary though is how MMO's have affected me playing other games. Before, I played WoW, I was all about the story and characters; I would burn through games to better understand the story. Now I'm all about collecting things, looking at the mechanics of my characters (or Pokemon) and trying to build them to be the best. I never though I'd ever try Pokemon breeding, and yet here I am, trying to breed multiples. I look up information about which Pokemon have the highest base-stats and try and get the strongest I can. It's an odd feeling because I know I won't be dappling in competitive play with anyone, and beating the AI doesn't take this level of preparation and study. Yet here I am, trying desperately to play the game in the same way I play my druid.
It's a weird feeling. I like Pokemon because of it; it seems like such a simple game, and yet deep down, it's actually incredibly indepth complex. I kind of like uncovering this.
 I do find amusing is the amount of Youtube videos I've watched recently that are made by kids. It's kind of cute listening to their squeaky voices as they teach me how to Pokemon breed.
Or the chubby kid telling me how to trick my Pokewalker so that I won't have to exercise.
Good times.  

Happy catching?