Boring times call for desperate measures.

After much soul-searching and contemplation of what it really means to farm the same content for six months, I've decided to finally commit the highest betrayal of my class just to have something to do.

I'm going to level a mage.

Sure, I could level plenty of other things, but unless I want to foolishly run head-first into a mob and start whacking at it like a cretin, what is there that I don't already have? I could make another lock, but it'd be like a sad younger brother of my main that never gets to play with anything first, never gets the same high expectations, and ends up the fifth best realtor at a strip mall agency.

But, after all these years, I'm finally going to work through the reasons that underlie my apprehension to "be" a mage: the fact that they aren't willing to go to greater lengths for magical power, their obsession with rules and bureaucracy, their dainty hands. Can I get over my deep-seated prejudices and embrace a new way of life?

In an effort to ease my conscience, I turned to my fellow warlocks for advice on how to resolve my issues. Besides the usual unhelpful assertions that it's just a game, the most intriguing suggestion I got was to just completely abandon my identity as a prideful warlock and view mages as, not better or worse, but different. She claimed that the two classes get along fine. Suddenly, my career-long belief that mages and warlocks look down on each other was shattered! Have I been living a delusion this whole time, a shameful bigot who unnecessarily shut myself off from others because of petty differences?

Well, it's time to end all of that. I'm opening myself up to new experiences and new ways of thinking. The Kirin Tor aren't magical dictators; they offer guidance and protect us from succumbing to the intoxicating power of magic. The mages of Stormwind are my peers, and Dalaran is my capital. It's an exciting journey with brand new eyes, and I'm going to take it!

Right after I play some Diablo 3.

-Avia.

Don't judge me. You do this too.

For many, the lull between the last raid of an expansion and the start of a new one is a very special time. Some relish the freedom from hardcore raiding and pursue other activities like sunlight and dating. Others love getting caught up in the development news fever and become excited with every blue post or datamined tooltip. Then there's me, and for the super serial no-lifers, the next few months are all about PEPCHECK...

Pre-Expansion Preparation CHECKlist.

Be a loser. Check. Be a loser. Check. Be a loser...

One never knows what Blizzard will remove from the game or what activities will become more difficult or impossible with a higher level cap and new spells, but one can guess and prepare beforehand. Though the item squish undoubtedly fixes the increasingly unbalanced scaling between levels that has occurred over many expansions, their assurance that players will still be able to solo old content suggests that once we are level 100, we'll be killing things from MoP with ease. That makes redoubling my camping efforts on the Timeless Isle number one on my to-do list. With Siege ilvls, there isn't even a point in calling out rares anymore unless you want Gen Chat to berate you for either two-shotting it before anyone gets there or not waiting half an hour for the entire Isle to arrive before you start attacking it.

Also, since only three BoA weapons have thus far dropped from Garrosh and our Ele Shaman has gotten two of them, I'll need to focus on trying to get some LFR and Flex kills on him before the leveling process begins. It's been a few weeks, so people have to know what they're doing by now, right? Right?

Though it might to too early to be shopping now, it's never too early to start making a list of required food and sundries for that first week of leveling and heroic dungeons. One needs plenty of microwave burritos, toaster pastries, chips, and caffeinated soda all placed in easy access of one hand. It might be a good idea to put the numbers of local restaurants on speed dial as well. The delivery guy can wait at the door until the boss is dead.

And there was something else... Something about... family? Or the holidays?

It's probably not important.

-Avia.

Intermission For My Sanity

What an annoying week. My guild is stuck on H Thok; I replaced half the hardware in my computer because for some reason The Sims 3 requires as much system resources as the Large Hadron Collider; and my college thought it'd be cool to leave the important, time-sensitive documents that I sent them sitting around on a desk until I said WTF? There's only one thing to do when one wants to escape from such frustrating first-world problems...

Level an alt.

Pew Pew!

There's nothing like mindless questing through zones I've seen many times before to sedate my brain and shove away any sense of responsibility. Add heirlooms on top of that, and I get to experience the satisfying ding of gaining a level approximately every ten minutes! Some shammy roll on my cloth item in a dungeon? Who cares! I'll replace it with some quest green in the next zone. Or I could just sit in an inn for a while and watch the lowbies go by. There's no rush. There's no war out here in old world. No call to raid. Yes, the World of Warcraft is my oyster as I grow from a fledgling warlock into a mighty hero of the Alliance!

"Congratulations, you have reached level 90!"

...I don't want to play anymore.

-Avia.