Are you embarrassed to be a WoW player?

I am a college student at CSU Fullerton. My major is Communications, with an emphasis on Entertainment Studies. Many of my major classes talk  about how Entertainment and Media affect us as a society. So it's no surprise that video games, MMORPGs and WoW come up in our discussions and lectures.
Last night, WoW came up in my Entertainment and Society class. My professor seemed baffled that no one knew what it was. That was obviously a lie. I did know what WoW was. But I was not about to let people know that I played the game. The reason?

There was one person who did know WoW. I know she knew this because when my professor brought up WoW, she blurted out, "That game destroys lives!"
My professor tried to put a less emotional spin on it by saying that yes, people do become extremely addicted to the game. The girl fought back though. "Trust me, it's a life ruiner!" she declared. Someone else then shouted out how it ruined marriages, relationships, etc.

I thought either one of two things about WoW Hater Chick. Either she once played the game and had dealt with serious addiction because of it. Or she had a boyfriend who basically ignored her and dumped her. I like thinking it was the second one because it emphasizes how bitter she seemed.

This is not the first time WoW has come up during my educational career. Two years ago, I wrote a paper about Video Game addiction, giving both sides and adding my own personal spin. I did admit to playing the game. My thesis ended up somewhere on the line of, Video Game addiction is real, but is about personal (or parental) responsibility, and not the companies. I used myself as an example. I am a good student, who maintains a GPA above 3.5, as well as dedicate over 10 hours a week to the game (usually 4 hours two nights a week raiding). I also was working 25 hours a week.

The second time WoW came up was for an Ethnography I did. I treated WoW as a culture and society, which I'm sure most people would agree. In the game, there is a sense of community beyond that of simply a game. People form relationships and long lasting friendships through the game from people across state and even country boundaries. I myself have gained friends from around the country who I think pretty highly of.

Yet still, I am always hesitant to admit that I actually do play the game. Most people at work think I have quit, which isn't entirely true. I did leave for a couple months to get my school and living situation grounded. But I returned during the summer and will probably keep playing through out the school year. When people ask what I do with my free time, I don't fess up to playing right away. I might feel around to see how a person may judge me before I fess up to having a few guilty pleasures.

I asked my friend, who I met through WoW, what he thought about my hesitation to fessing up about being a player. He basically said that playing WoW was no different then going out every night to party and drink, Partying and drinking is usually well accepted, especially at our age. Most of my friends do it to some extent at some point in time. However, like WoW, drinking can result in an addiction and can negatively effect your life if you do not show restraint and moderation. Oh but WoW doesn't give you a hangover.

In the end, my hesitation and fear is the result of some low self esteem and the effect of other people's opinions on me. I need to honestly get over it. The only person who can truly make me feel inferior is me.

Otacon Report: New Realm, New Look, New Pets, New Mounts, ZOMG NEW PATCH

Screenshots will be coming soon. I am on my little netbook so I don't have my screenies here :(

To say I have been busy in the last few days is an understatement. Not only do I stand here (sit) with an entirenew look and name to replace Otacon, but I also have new pets and a new mount. I am also FREAKING EXCITED about Transmogrification! I cannot wait!

But first, the stable
I finally deleted one of my Devilsaurs because I rarely take them out as it is. I have been rocking my Spirit Owl (Ban'thalos) now properly named Barasou, everywhere I go. Absolutely gorgeous! I use him for doing dailies and also whip him out every now and then in PvP. It's funny when I heal myself using my awesome owl, much to the chagrin of that warrior over there. In your face! 
Asides from him, I added ANOTHER Spirit Beast to my collection. Anhka, the green spectral saber that wonders around The Regrowth has recently allowed me to tame it. I was kind of excited to grab him, despite the fact that it now pushes my total Spirit Beast collection to 8. Do I need this many Spirit Beasts? No...no I don't. But I can't bare to let any of them go, even as I find myself running out of stable slots. I almost let go one of my Birds of Prey (Aotona, a Seagull, and Olm the Wise), but opted not to.
I had one slot left, and eventually decided to fill it. I was determined to be intelligent about this, so I did some research and decided on a Worm to help round out my PvP squad. I went down (up) to Northrend and found Rattlebore, a giant jormunger type worm whose black. Easy tame, no real special needs. He's a hearty worm and I still need a name for him.
BTW I am no longer Otacon
I recently transferred and race changed my hunter to join some friends on Deathwing. Since that one week, we downed Cho'gall and all of BoT in one night, about 2 hours. I am not joking. It was so speedy I felt like I had blinked and it was gone. Otacon is now Covington (yes, like my druid. I had a hard time with names) and is a pretty Night Elf. She's really pretty! At first I kind of regretted not making her a worgen, simply for min/max purposes, but to be honest, I like her feel. I am happy with my decision. It's hard to believe she has down Cho'gall before my druid (who probably will never raid again), but it's part of life and a lot of fun. I have also been PvPing a lot, considering Deathwing is a PvP realm. I really enjoy PvP on a hunter, and find that I have the tools for survivability, as well as the strength to easily knock off a few enemies.
It still amazes me, Battlegrounds do. Some people get so upset when things are not going well, and instead of trying to fix a problem, they just turtle, or do something stupid trying to rack up honor, and complain the whole time. They don't offer anything constructive nor do they try and create a strategy to help us win. I admit I am still fairly new in PvP. I don't know the best strategies for winning each of the different games. But if you tell me what to do, hey I'll listen. In fact, I'm really good at listening. I also follow orders pretty good if they don't include, "Go jump off said cliff." Bgs cannot be won by one person; they are won by a group. Sitting around complaining and freaking out at people will not help anyone in the long run.  
KWEEEEHHHHHH?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Did you know that the best part of FFIX was the Chocobo Hot and Cold mini game. Well now you do!
I don't like the mounts I have on my hunter. There's nothing special about them and none of them look really nice. So I sucked it up and ran out to Magister's Terrace and Setthek Halls, hoping for a BC mount to drop. After about a week of Mag T, the white hawkstrider graced me with his presence. I love that these mounts are all based on Horde models, and now that I am Alliance, it makes me feel even more special riding one. :)
Transmofigration. 
I am one of the few people who are SO EXCITED for this part of the Patch. I loved Wardrobe options in Rift, and I will love them EVEN more in WoW. While I may not change my armor too much, the ability to change my weapons is pretty freaking exciting. I am excited to wield a beautiful bow and a kick ass staff or polearm. Can't wait!
I am bummed it got rid of my T7.5 on my druid. That was by far my favorite outfit and I would've loved to see it on my druid again. But alas. I did save my Mag'hari Chieftain's Staff though :)
That's all for now. Hopefully pictures will be up by Sunday night!

Otacon Report: Shiny Birdie of Awesome

Guess whose back with a vengeance. 
Unfortunately for me, work has been overtaking my life. That coupled with my adventures on a new realm with some friends has put my blogging back on hold. I've pretty much leveled a druid on a PvP server (he's sitting at 70% to 85), but I've recently decided, also to help with our raid composition, to transfer my hunter. I'd like to shift my focus to being a hunter, to trying to be the best dps. I'll always have my druid, but for now looks like I'm on my way to being a meter whore.
Neways, that isn't what I wanted to say.
One month later
It took me a few weeks to level but as I rounded the bend on 85, I made the decision to transfer Otacon. I logged on, and LOW and BEHOLD! new NPC Scan freaked out! Ban'thalos!
I had given up on pets for a while because of the headache it was giving me, but I thought I'd give it a shot. I was already sitting on a tree, so I dropped a trap and waited for the bird to round the bend. As I flew up another hunter grabbed him, but he did not trap him so he died from Harsh Moonlight. As I headed up to shoot him, another hunter flew next to me, causing me to twitch and move my hunter from his tree spot. I sighed and went over to the other tree, the one that he wasn't sitting on.
I waited for the bird to make his round, but noticed two druids buzzing around him. I prayed to God that they weren't trying to pull and kill him. I dropped my trap, headed up and Arcane Shot him down. He hit my trap perfectly and my tame began. I could feel my hands shaking as I stared at my screen. One of the druids was fluttering near me and I began to feel sick, like he was gonna interrupt my tame. But he did not. I must really think poorly of people. When my tame ended, I saw Ban'thalos shrink down, then disappear. I panicked. Where'd he go! Ha! being on a tree caused him to move down down below me. The little fluttering druid cheered for me. We both moved down to the ground and danced away with my new spirit beast!

I used the techniques described on this blog . Thanks to Nesrin for the strategy. Worked like a charm.
Transferring decisions
Unfortunately, transferring means I need to choose a new name and race. I can't seem to figure out what to do. Am I going to Min/Max my dps and be a Worgen, or go with how I feel and be a Nelf. To be honest, I want to be a male Nelf because it's most similar in terms of animations to my troll (the way they shoot). But we will see. I am still having a problem.