It Seemed Appropriate At the Time ...

Well no, I'm not really a cow, but I do play two or three of them in World of Warcraft.  Taurens actually but when your four-year-old refers to it (and has been referring to it since he was two) as "the big giant cow," well the name kind of sticks.  Also, it helps that I just rolled a tauren pally and am taking him through the Forsaken zones.

I figured a Tauren pally would be leaving cow patties all over because of what he sees and does in the name of Sylvanas.  That's just how my mind works: poop jokes and outdated references to the fact that Tauren can be pallies now.

A little bit about this blog and who I am.  I'm not really a cow, but I am deaf.  More correct would be to call me hard-of-hearing since I technically have about 5%-ish normal hearing, which was corrected a few years ago thanks to the miracle of modern technology known as cochlear implants.

To say that raiding and playing a social MMO that depends a lot on VOIPs like Ventrilo has been interesting doesn't quite describe it.  While my hearing levels are now at normal for the ear with the implant, comprehension hasn't quite caught up.  Probably never will.  It's not something I dwell on unless someone asks about it.  I can hear my children calling me from the next room.  I can speak to my wife on the phone, albeit with some difficulty, and sometimes, just sometimes, I can understand someone without looking at them if it's a common phrase.  That is MILES better than what I had before, so no I don't dwell on it much anymore.

What does this have to do with MMOs you ask?  Well, I used to raid back in Vanilla and BC days, and let me tell you that raiding without the benefit of voice chat was about as much fun as shaving teeth.  Don't get me wrong.  My guildies have always been, and always will be, supportive.  I've never had a negative thing said to me about my disability.  Raiders actually went out of their way to accommodate me, explaining strats in gchat or tells for my benefit.

Nowadays, I've settled into a small guild with friends that do 5-mans for the most part when all of us are on.  But from time to time, I still try to group up with random people, and sometimes those random folks are using VOIP.  But again, even in the rare pug that uses it, no one has ever said a nasty thing or abused me for my disability.  In fact, I would say my pug experiences deviate from the norm in tone, if not competence.  Boy oh boy do they ever not deviate in terms of competence.

So, for an introductory blog post, I'd like to take a minute to just thank everyone who has shown this patience with me, from the days of 40-man wipefests to the modern day headaches of heroic pugs.  Random trade idiots and flaming forum trolls aside, it goes to show people are decent, no matter the pastime they pursue.  Hopefully you folks enjoy reading about the adventures of a deaf, holy meadow muffin-dropping, gamer.

I would also like to dedicate my blog to my ever-lovely wife and wonderful (if overly rambunctious) sons.  Mostly my wife as a thank you for putting up with this WoW habit of mine since December, 2004.  Then again, she did buy me the game so it's all her fault anyway.