Midnight run to Best Buy

Let me explain my penchant for explaining things that don't really need an explanation.  I like to do it.  I like to think about then talk about what motivates me, why I do things (or don't do things), why I like things (or don't like things) and why I make every mundane decision that I make.  Some people really like this trait of mine (maybe Anton, maybe Dave), but I know a lot of my listeners or readers don't care (my sister).  They just want the result.  They don't want to know why I'd rather eat sushi instead of italian... they just want me to make up my freakin' mind already and choose a restaurant.  Still, I am compelled to explain my several day absense from the blog. 

To start, I'm a bit lazy and since this is not a natural activity for me, it doesn't naturally rise to top of the list of things I want to do each day.  And then there's the fact that I haven't done anything too noteworthy in the past week or so.  Well, alright, I went to the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the White House, which is one of thosethings I'm glad I did that I'll never do again.  But mostly, I've been getting in one last long fix of my current favorite hobby, the World of Warcraft, before I'm unable to play for several months.

If you browse my Hi Noon album, you'll see several days where my noontime photo is of "me" in the guise of a minotaur or an elf or a zombie-type skeleton.  Those are all my characters in the massive online game that has occupied an embarrassingly large chunk of my free time over the past five years.  But for $13/month, it's some of the cheapest entertainment around.  And being an online game, I've made several friends -- some of whom I've met in person, like my nerd friend Donnie -- and as I constantly reassure my mom, it's quite social.  "Demented and sad, but social."  Name that movie!

December 7 was a milestone day in the World of Warcraft, as the most recent expansion pack was released.  My friend Ken and I, not wanting to miss a moment of the new world, went to Best Buy way out in the DC suburbs at midnight to stand in line in the cold to buy our games.  There was already a line when we arrived:

And did I mention it was frickin' freezing?  Ken didn't bring a hat, the fool:

Finally we made it inside the store, where we stared with envy at all the people who pre-ordered the game and got to go to the front of the line:

About 40 minutes after arriving, Ken and I left with our games and free bonus posters, and I have playing nonstop ever since.  All I need now is one of those "Nerd" t-shirts that Donnie is wearing in the post below this one.

Strangely, I was not playing the game at noon the next day; I was at the cleaners/alterations shop (as evidenced by my Hi Noon photos).  But here's a pretty shot of the game, taken a bit later: