Project Lore

Ever plopped down at a computer, placed your hands upon its keys and started to type, only to realize your left hand is shifted slightly from its usual home row position? Perhaps your right hand is affixed to your in-game hotkeys? You may have a case of what I like to call Home Row Confusion. You also may be a WoW addict. It's happened to me, many a morning as I meander into the workplace. I reach my cube and start up  my computer. And then there it is. Home Row Confusion. For a second, I'm a bit confused about why my typing isn't quite there. Maybe I need coffee, I reason. Then, it hits me. Like a ton of fire-bricks dropped by a raging gnome warlock trying to squash a Human down to size (See how HE likes being called "Shorty"). I am sick with a malady so powerful it's causing my brain to think my work computer is a gaming machine when, let's face it, the damn thing can barely run IE. Like the WoW-inspired dreams that proclaim my infatuation with lore, dragons and being stealthy, this symptom of my addiction also frequently reveals itself to me after a particularly long playing session the night before. Apparently, my mind is still in play-mode, and is trying to tell me it would rather be questing among the lands of Azeroth than working. But alas, that is not usually an option at the moment the affliction strikes. Instead, I take a moment to refocus. Pry my fingers off W-A-S-D. And relocate them to A-S-D-F. Sometimes, caffeine is a necessity for them to remember this new configuration. But the long-term effects can wear on. If you don't treat yourself, you could see this symptom popping up more and more frequently until one fateful day when you reteach the world what SHOULD have been defined as home keys from the start. But don't let yourself reach that point, for there is a cure. Clearly, your brain thirsts for more playtime after work or school. Another dose of WoW, a good rest, and you should be good in the morning. Has anyone else suffered from a case of Home Row Confusion? What about any other WoW-related ailments that haunt you IRL?

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You know you're a WoW addict when... the lore of Azeroth and its wide cast of characters follows you into slumber. I have had many a night, usually after an action-packed evening of playing until I can't keep my eyes open any more, in which my main character continues her conquests in my mind, while my body is at rest. Unfortunately, usually when this happens, I can't remember all my awesomeness when I wake up. I just have a feeling that whatever Locomomo was up to, she kicked some serious tail. But there are a couple of dreams, at least, of which I retained hazy bits and pieces. The first time I remember dreaming about WoW also was when I had a terrible cold. I stayed home from work, and made a couple feeble attempts at playing. Each time, the game made me feel dizzy and even worse. So I gave up on that idea. But apparently even trying to play left an impression on my medicated and sleepy mind. Maybe it was the cold medicine; maybe it was withdrawal from leveling. Either way, my head hit the pillow, and I was seeing my rogue in double vision. Patches of neon colors swirled around her as she stun-locked a random, made-up giant with a combination of ambush, gouge, backstab, gouge, eviscerate. She may have been controlled by an out-of-it mind, but she still knew how to put up a decent fight. My other, more recent dream memory is even less clear. But I think I fought a really powerful, undead frost dragon. And single-handedly tore him to shreds. Looking back, I hypothesize that the wyrm could have been Sapphiron, who now haunts those unfortunate enough to disturb his lair in Naxxramas. Now just how my level 71 rogue could have taken him out on her own? That is her secret that she will carry to the grave. Or maybe the Spirit Healer. The biggest downside - when I wake up, all the experience I could have gained from such an epic encounter is wiped. Something that awesome could have taken me way past the level 80 cap. Old school, I'd be all the way to level 99. If only. Yes, there are many tell-tale signs of a WoW addict. And every now and then, I'll be detailing the symptoms here at Project Lore. So do you know someone who has been sleeping erratically or gurgling "Arthas..." while thrashing in his or her bed? Perhaps yourself, even? You know the cure: more WoW.

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