Post 3000

Back in middle school my English teacher gave out an assignment. We had to keep a journal and write an entry every day for a month. The purpose, I learned when I became an adult, is that keeping a journal helps improve one's writing.  At the time I just thought the assignment was dumb. I'd never want to write about something every day or every other day.

Fast forward 50 years. I published my first post on The Nosy Gamer 16 February 2009, or 6360 days ago. Today I'm publishing my 3000th post. I'm averaging over that time one post for every 2.12 days. I think 12-year-old me would find that record amazing.

I think the subject of the blog would also amaze middle-school me. Back then video games were something I saw in bowling alleys. The Atari 2600, the first video game console my family would own, didn't come out for another year.

The first PC video games I played after getting out of the Army in 1987. I had a Commodore 64 which was my introduction to fantasy computer role-playing games. I started off the Pools of Radiance saga on the Commodore 64 and finished on a Macintosh which I won in a drawing. But I used that Macintosh more for typing out other people's research papers at college for money than playing video games. And after graduating I also ran fantasy baseball leagues.

I didn't really fall into video games as a serious hobby until a friend at work told me about a new game called World of Warcraft. The game was fun but I was kicked from my guild for non-participation in raids. Turns out the 55-60 hours a week I worked back then wasn't contusive to raiding. Imagine that.

After a month break I found myself playing Everquest II. I spent 2006-2009 playing that game which I found was more fun than WoW. But I left that game after more guild drama wound up destroying the small guild I belonged to.

During my time in EQ2 I became fascinated with an online radio station known as Online Gaming Radio. I then discovered podcasts and a website called Virgin Worlds. I also heard about a game called EVE Online, something called BoB and Goonswarm, and players known as Dianabolic and The Mittani. I wound up making EVE my main game in the fall of 2009 and have remained ever since. I have to credit the lack of guild or corp drama as helping keep me around so long.

I think 12-year-old me would have also not believed that keeping a weblog and playing a video game would lead to something pretty remarkable: air travel. Back then air travel was something for the rich, or at least the very well off. I did fly commercial when I was in the Army but that was about it. But EVE Online had a player convention held in Reykjavik that I wanted to attend one day.

My first Fanfest was in 2012. Since then I've travelled to Iceland for 7 other Fanfests as well as attended four EVE Vegas events and an event in Toronto. Looking back I still can't believe I've visited two foreign countries and a city I never had a desire to go to just because I played video games and owned a blog.

I am bad about remembering things like blog anniversaries. But I thought I'd take the occasion of this 3000th blog post to reminiscence about the journey that got me to this place. I might get to 4000 posts but I very much doubt I'll reach 5000. But that's okay. I've definitely had quite the journey so far.