JD's Musings Decomplexified

It all started with an invite I clicked on out of the 20 or so similar invitations from friends. The insistence is quite evident so I decided to grant one request... I never knew that that one click would lead me to discover the powerful crime family who has long been waiting for me to find and accept my true roots and identity. That is, being a Corleone. The lost heiress of Don Vito's empire has finally come home. And I intend to dominate the streets of New York with a cold heart. Let the rival families know that I am here to do business, hit, earn, and conquer.

Hahaha! OK, that was fun... And corny. What is it with Mafia Wars that hooked me? Maybe it's the resurfacing of a long-forgotten dream to marry Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). The Godfather is my bro's favorite movie and I can't help but also be fascinated by the movie a bit despite the gore factor. Or maybe it's the boredom with Facebook, which is IMO kinda dull without third-party applications. Whatever the reason is, the blatant truth is staring back at me... The obsession is at full throttle. "My name is Jen Corleone and I am a MafiaWarsaholic."

Jen Corleone is my name as a cyber-mafioso. I haven't decided yet if it's because I'm one of Don Vito's children, or Sonny is my Pop, or I'm Michael's widow, or I belong to the fourth generation Corleone. Dreaming is free. I like being a Corleone. Let me be.

OK, if you happen to be a player of Mafia Wars on Facebook too and my name rings a bell, it's either we're family or we've fought each other. And if in case we've fought and you remember me as the ruthless mafioso who snuffed you out or attacked you more than thrice, forgive me. I mean it. I don't get it when players retaliate after being beaten in a fight. For crying out loud, it's not my fault that your name appeared on the Fight tab and my combat strength was lethal to you. I'm just a player who wants to take advantage of her stamina fill to gain more experience and level up! I've lost many fights too but I don't sucker punch my opponents or put them in the hitlist just because they've defeated me. That's part of the game. The best thing to do after losing many times is to pump up your defense stat or get better items. Be sport. Sucker-punching someone is so lame, by the way.

I'm aware that this game created by Zynga is dubious in nature. The jobs and terms used do not sound good. But actually the most unsettling issue here is my addiction to the game. I spend 3-5 hours a day playing, and even when I'm not in front of the computer I think of the inventory and stats, my current level, what to do with my Godfather points, jobs left and various game plans. I feel like the kid I once was who got so addicted to Super Mario, not the grown up that I am now who's a professional and have decided long ago to break free from any kind of WORLDLY BONDAGE. I'm a reflective and sensitive person so I know that I can figure out a way to get out of this addicting mess. The first step to healing is to admit that you're not well. So let me say again that I'm addicted to Mafia Wars. It's unproductive and destructive. I want to overcome this new obsession of mine.

That said, I'm sure that this madness then will stop. Maybe not soon, but eventually, it will. Now, back to gaming...

The consumptive career path I chose to lead has somewhat cropped my leisure time and plucked hobbies out of my hands. Not that I'm complaining. On the contrary, I love my work as a knight in shockingly white armor equipped with a lance, er, syringe. But as you have probably noticed, it's been 6 months since I last posted a blog. Now that I'm posting a new one, I don't know if I'm going to be active in this thing again... Hmm. OK, enough of the guilt-smudged quasi-introduction. Here comes the blabber.

Are you an internet addict? Why do I have the feeling that you are? I am hands down a cyber vagabond myself, browsing and typing to infinity and beyond! (As much as my free time would allow.) My O.C.-ness has mixed up with my geekiness so it's not surprising that I keep a password-locked spreadsheet of the log-in details of all my web accounts. This little Excel file could tell you that I have signed up on over 70 online whatnots over the years, mostly forums and social networks. Regardless of the number, I only have one favorite website at a time.

For example, in college, Friendster was part of my daily routine.

On my last year in college and about a year after grad, not a week would pass without me posting or checking on Google Blogger. This.

After I resigned from my first job (and a nasty breakup), I became totally hooked on Multiply to the point that I almost deleted my account in Friendster because I realized that it's boring despite the updates. Impelled by pretty Multiply themes, I learned how to analyze and write CSS, HTML and BBC.

From December last year up to May, Shelfari was my favorite site. There I joined discussions and even started my own group. Not a day goes by without me checking on my virtual library and exchanging book suggestions with other people here and across the sea. I have to admit that I'm also glued on Yahoo Answers then. I'm a level 3 answerer by the time I grew tired of suggesting solutions to problems of people, who some were annoyingly stubborn.

Now, Friendster could crash to pieces and I'll still be smiling. Though I still like Blogger, Multiply and Shelfari, my current favorite is Facebook. Oops, there's this visiting idea in my head again to delete my account in Friendster... But for sentimental reasons, I guess I'll keep the account. Oh, I remember signing up in MySpace back in college... Nuh uh, still not interested. Let it rot. Hehe. OK, I don't admire Facebook like crazy. There's this application that graces the social network. It's called Mafia Wars? That's the reason why I check on FB every single day.

Have you heard of Mafia Wars? I'll talk about it in my next post. Ta ta.

I have something to confess.

I listen to classical music.

Yep. My iPod is full of rock songs but if you would explore my files... hehe... you'd discover my biggest musical secret.

Now, why am I blogging about this? "Cause a while ago I read an article about classical music for beginners and suddenly I have this desire to learn how to play the piano. Tsk. I'm still not above-amateur in drums and now I want piano. My guitar, Sachi, is getting old standing there beside the cabinet. Sigh. Right now, if you'd ask me what I want to be, I want to be a kick-ass musician.

Maybe tomorrow I'll say, "I want to be a cartoonist." Who knows?