I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, I promise.
Okay, I kind of have. My friend A. gave me World of Warcraft before Christmas and I've rediscovered the world of Azeroth. One of my friends declared the gift "the ultimate dick move," but really, what's a guy to do when he's getting more attention than he wants from a female friend? Give her something she already loves to obsess over, of course. It was an elegant solution to a potentially delicate situation.
Fortunately, my friends have been extremely tolerant of my re-addiction. I greeted Christmas morning in the hot tub in the rain1 with friend D., after which we cooked a huge brunch as folks trickled in to share in an atheist's Christmas. After a nap, I spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch or at the kitchen table playing World of Warcraft as friends drifted through to enjoy the festivities.
New Years was much of the same. Friends pitched in and rented a fabulous estate in Sonoma, CA. For me, there was more hot tubbing, less rain, more World of Warcraft than Christmas. I even spent one morning outside in the Cabana in forty degree Fahrenheit weather to get a wireless signal so I could run dungeons with real and virtual friends scattered around the country. T. brought me a blanket and friends D & M started a fire in the fire pit for me, making me feel adored and throughly spoiled. It was the best New Years I've had in a long while; quiet when I needed it, raucous when I needed it, relaxing and reinvigorating at the same time.
I paid for it all the next week with an ear infection.
Next Romancing Installment: Hong Kong.
1 If you've never heard me say it, I love California when it rains...it's like watching Barbie cry. Constant sunshine, like that perky plastic smile, wears thin quickly.
