I Am Stepping Down

So… Here it goes.

       I am writing this even debating right now if I’m actually going to post it.  I have been thinking a lot lately about my role in World of Warcraft versus student, versus father and husband.  I made a decision a little over a year ago to change my life by going back to school, getting and education, and bettering my situation overall.  I am essentially working on rebuilding myself as a better person with opportunities that will benefit those whom I love.

      So, with a heavy heart I am going to flat out say it.  I am stepping down from raid leading for the foreseeable future.

     I am going to even change the name of this blog. It will probably go on as theornerywowplayer or something of that flavor.  I want to go into and explain why I am making this decision, and I want to make sure that everyone involved understands why I am doing it.

     It really hit home to me while I was thinking about a job interview I have tomorrow.  If I get this job, I will be getting up around 6 am, heading to work at 7, working 8-5, then going to school 6-9 every weekday but Friday.  This means that I will have even less time in game then I do right now.  I will probably have an hour or so when I get home before I go to bed, and that hour will belong to my wife and family.  I am not going to play World of Warcraft when I get so little daily time.

     I have also been looking at my education down the road. I am going to graduate from DATC when I finish the course I am taking, and that will be around January give or take.  I am going to continue to attend and earn some more certifications, (Project+, Administrators, Linux, Citrix) so I will probably be enrolled until the end of summer at the earliest which is a bit longer than I had originally planned.  After that, I may go on to try and get my bachelors in computer science with an emphasis on Networks and Administration.  Needless to say, that means I will probably be looking at a couple more years at least in school.

     Between these two things it hit home to me.  I am not going to be able to rebuild the raid team.  I don’t have the energy and the time.  I am not going to keep pushing forward on it, because that would not be fair to anyone who is there right now.  I am officially calling quits on raiding leading, organization, etc…

     What does that mean for the guild?  I don’t know.  If someone wants to rebuild the raid team or start one I will support it.  If the guild become just a place where folks leave an alt to hop in and keep in touch I’m ok with that too.  The end line of this is I am taking a step back from any sort of big responsibility in World of Warcraft.

      I am going to keep playing.  This game is my big stress relief and I love chatting with folks.   There are people who I have played with for years that I worry about such as Scorpiak and Magilla.  However, it is selfish of me not to say, feel free to move on if the right opportunity presents itself.  I will still probably get on Sunday nights to run dungeons, LFR, and other such things with my family and people, but I am not going to set my clock by it.

     I am going to be doing my own thing.  I will probably be leveling a couple of horde alts, and a couple of alts on Aerie Peak.  I may find a raid team or two where I can step in as an alternate, but I don’t plan on being the big main raider in any shape or form.  I have grown to the point where this game cannot take priority for me.  It is not fair to myself, or anyone else involved for me to keep going on like I have.  I am done for now, and will be doing my own thing.  I hope I see folks in game, but as everything must come to an end, my time as raid leader has.  I have raid lead since wrath, so I had a pretty good sprint.  It’s time for someone else to pick up the mantle.  Or we can just let it lie.

     Either way, I love the experiences I have and thank everyone for helping me become a better person through this experience.  I wish I could remember everyone.  My family Gwyndolynn, Fantaa, Aeryn, Shaqia, Whatever Toon Jon is helming right now.  (Love you Jon, but you switch more than me.)  And those I’ve played with outside,  Bromli, Laserfina, hummock, Sochia, Bannanahamock, Zhamora, and even the guild leaders in midnight, years ago who picked me up and let me run with them no matter how that ended.  All deserve an amount of thanks.  And yes, I probably misspelt more than one name there.  I have forgotten to mention so many others.  I could sit here thinking for hours and coming up with even more.  But I Won’t bore folks with that.

So, for that last time, as the ornery raid leader,

Thanks for reading,

Lag