Skaliq's Journal

[Mettermrck]

I'm glad the cat is ok! I'm a big cat person myself. ?

[Guest]

Day 25: The Temptation

Two of my favorite and the most addictive games, Hearthstone and Overwatch, launched major new updates a few days ago. It's not like I could not know about it since Blizzard teased them from months ago. 

All it took was one click, 'just a check' to send me back to gaming communities. Checking the news gave me reasons to play again: these new updates brought back two of my favorite decks and heroes! Seriously, fuck this situation. Only if Warlock, my favorite class in Hearthstone, stayed at the bottom like before, it wouldn't be this hard to resist. Only if Zarya and Reinhardt, two of my most played heroes, weren't brought back to the epicenter of the metagame, I wouldn't have a reason to play Overwatch anymore. 

Somehow I managed to persuade myself out of the situation. The crux of the argument is that I haven't been grinding Hearthstone for a while, so it would take a lot of cash to catch up. Cash that I don't have now, now that I realized that I have more urgent needs for my money after running the numbers in my budget. As of Overwatch, I reminded myself of the increasingly toxic community. 

School starts again tomorrow, so it should keep me busy for most of the day. 

[Mettermrck]

I know that must've been a tough battle and you should be proud of yourself for resisting that temptation. Yes, I've noticed the longer you're out of the gaming community, the larger financial investment required to get back in. I imagine that acts as a great deterrent.

[HappyCat]

I've noticed the longer you're out of the gaming community, the larger financial investment required to get back in. I imagine that acts as a great deterrent.

I wonder why do we really care about being part of that community... If you think about it, it has little benefits.

Original post made me look up Overwatch patches. ^^' Thankfully I have better things ti do atm. 

[Guest]

In hindsight, it may not have been a very good idea to be descriptive in yesterday's entry. 

Day 26: On Focus

Today was the first day of school, and reality is looming over me: time is precious. After sleep, meals, school, workout, transport, and homework, there's 1 hour left in my day. Now, I could further optimize and better utilize commute, but 1 hour is still short. Really short. Too short for personal projects and entertainment. 

That's why I'm dropping everything that I've been doing to fill gaming time during summer break. No more language study (other than Chinese class in school), no more doodling, no more programming, minimum entertainment (just 1-2 episode of anime a day). Schoolwork and college apps are crucial. 

Luckily, weekends are still free. It means that any of my personal projects are going to be done in long blocks during weekends. 

It sucks to prioritize. I hate having to pick and choose. But while you can do anything, you can't do everything. 

[CG EYE]

Hey Shaliq as I read your post I am walking the streets of my hometown after a lovely dinner with friends. Every street corner I say I wish I could spin an AR stop in pogo or check a pogo map for a rare Pokemon. But at the same time my wish to maximise my productive life at this moment in time is greater than my wish to log in. Last night I asked my sister to change the password to 2 of 3 pogo accounts. 

Stay strong!

[Guest]

Day 27: On Focus (Follow-up)

I've thought about the reasons why I don't have any time now, whereas I was able to find at least 2 hours to play video games 3 years ago (when I was moderately gaming), and more than 5 hours a day last year (when I binged and got addicted). Here are my findings: 

1. I sleep 9 hours a day, which means 10 hours per day devoted to sleep and morning routine. This is significantly longer than 6 hours that I used to sleep. 

2. I eat slowly, taking 30 minutes per meal, whereas I would eat hurriedly in 5-10 minutes before. 

3. Simple increase in workload, as I'm now a high school senior in IB diploma programme (which adds even more workload). 

4. I had a habit of trying to finish assignments as efficiently as possible (or as late as possible, last year) so that I could game more. 

Edited August 15, 2017 by Guest

[Mettermrck]

I find the same thing. Gaming would crowd out as many productive activites as I would let it. I would do as little possible in my life to maximize my gaming time. Yes my life is now filling up with the productive stuff again. ?

[Guest]

Day 28: On Style

I suck at styling. I'm the kind of guy who wears t-shirts and shorts everywhere and doesn't even care if the colors match or if my hair is properly done. Men's style is an area that I get intimidated by the very existence of it. Well, I want to change that, so I'm devouring beginner men's style resources these days. I'm finally getting a sense of how to get started on building my wardrobe and grooming. Here are some things that I'm thinking of doing in the foreseeable future: 

1. Give proper care to my hair, use products and get a good conditioner while reducing shampoo usage. 

2. Grab a good pair of casual leather shoes for wear outside of the gym. 

3. Dispose of some clothes that don't fit me or don't suit my body type. I'll do this first, then try to get comfortable hunting for suitable clothes. For example, my shoulders are rounded, so shirts that accentuate the shoulders are a priority. 

[Mettermrck]

My sense of style is preppie...collar shirts, dockers, buzz cut haha. When I got real heavy, I had to wear a lot of baggy loose fitting clothing. I'm slowly reacquiring my sense of style. You're doing great working on it.

[Guest]

Day 29:  This Profile Pic Thing

I'm not sure how many realized, but my profile picture is my fanart of Elizabeth Comstock from Bioshock Infinite. I beat that game too many times that I lost count, and was able to complete it multiple times with various restrictions. Nobody cares, and people on r/StopGaming would argue that it is a waste of time to pursue virtual goals, but I honestly had a blast in every playthrough, so I don't care. It's GOAT in my book. 

Oh, also someone in my class asked my thoughts about a new expansion. I just said "Oh, I hadn't played the game in a while" and changed the topic. Phew. 

[Mettermrck]

I thought she looked familiar. Bioshock Infinite was a great one, I grant you. I know I had a similar obsession with the Mass Effect universe. I played it many times.

[HappyCat]

I never finished it, thought it was just random scientist girl. I wonder if I woukd want to) I don't really get stories with blank slate protagonist. 

[BigPete247]

Day 29:  This Profile Pic Thing

I'm not sure how many realized, but my profile picture is my fanart of Elizabeth Comstock from Bioshock Infinite. I beat that game too many times that I lost count, and was able to complete it multiple times with various restrictions. Nobody cares, and people on r/StopGaming would argue that it is a waste of time to pursue virtual goals, but I honestly had a blast in every playthrough, so I don't care. It's GOAT in my book. 

Oh, also someone in my class asked my thoughts about a new expansion. I just said "Oh, I hadn't played the game in a while" and changed the topic. Phew. 

The girl on there was a little on the supernatural side, but nonetheless good you changed the topic, good luck in your schoolwork, Skaliq.

[Guest]

Day 30: Day 30

Hey, Pete! It's first time seeing you here. I appreciate all response. Thank you and other regulars HappyCat and Mettermrck for helping me stick to journaling. The first milestone is here: 30 days! Holy shit, it's 30 days! It lasted, so far, more than twice my first attempt. I survived through summer break, a period very prone to relapsing. I survived the first week of senior year, and while there are already a couple of large assignments in the way, I'm confident that I can make it through strong. Tomorrow is my first weekend during the school year, which is when I would normally fall prey to mindless browsing and gaming binge. Hopefully, through some prior planning, I can work productively and rest well this weekend. 

Seriously, thank you all who responded. Now I've REALLY got a reason to stick to 60 days. 

[Mettermrck]

Congrats on the 30 days! I know it can be a real struggle to get there and you should be proud.

[BigPete247]

Good luck Skaliq, congrats on your schoolwork and reaching the 30 days, keep going!

[HappyCat]

You survived the summer break, so I think you should be fine now. Ganbatte) *sorry, I know it's not Chinese*

[Guest]

Day 31: On Nationality

Hehe, it's fine HappyCat, I picked up way too many colloquial Japanese phrases from obsessively watching anime. Maybe I should've expected that from someone whose profile picture is from .Hack though. Ha! I'm one of few people who know this now antiquated series. This is precisely why I feel disconnected from the concept of nationality. I was born Korean, spent the last few years in China, in an anglophone community, and I watch predominantly Japanese media as a hobby. I received Korean, British, American as well as International Baccalaureate education. It's very possible that I'll also study in a Canadian university. I do not feel a particular connection to any culture. Well, when it comes down to it Korea is my "home country", but I don't feel like I'm at home in Korea. My home is here in China, and my linguistic preference is definitely English. 

There's no point to today's entry, really, other than to ramble about being a third culture kid. 

 

[BigPete247]

Are you majoring in linguistics and public speaking, Skaliq? If you are, that's pretty cool.

[HappyCat]

I expected you would know this word) Recognizing a character from somewhat uneven series is way more surprising.

It's interesting thing about culture. I mostly process books by American and European authors but I do have Russian basis behind all this. Cultural identification is complicated once your start picking pieces from wildly different sources. 

 

[Guest]

I may have given you the wrong impression, Pete. I'm actually a STEM guy looking to major in computer science. 

[Guest]

Day 32:  Weekends

Weekends are hard. Although I didn't relapse, I did end up consuming a bit of gaming content on Youtube and being unproductive in general. Eh. Anything that tends to disrupt the daily routine tends to break the entire thing. Since my sister needs to return her school-issued laptop (she's transferring), we installed a PC for family use. It means that I can technically run Windows games, but I think it'll be fine for a few reasons. 

1. The PC's blatantly visible to everybody in my family. 

2. My accounts are gone. 

3. I plan to study at school almost every day until evening. 

[Mettermrck]

I think you can handle the PC. It usually takes time to install a new game so it's not an urge you can immediately satisfy.

[Vlad]

Day 32:  Weekends

Since my sister needs to return her school-issued laptop (she's transferring), we installed a PC for family use. It means that I can technically run Windows games, but I think it'll be fine . 

Well, PCs are inevitably going to be present in life anyways, so it's a good habit-trainer I guess. I'm sure you'll do just fine.

I think you can handle the PC. It usually takes time to install a new game so it's not an urge you can immediately satisfy.

A very good point as well.

Btw thanks for being there just a day ahead of me on the detox.)

Edited August 20, 2017 by Vlad