How much is too much?

I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything, but I wanted to get an update in before I let too much time pass and no one read the blog anymore. Anyways, I started wondering today, do I have a problem? About a month-and-a-half ago, I had a job interview for a subtance abuse counselor position. One of the questions was "What do you think the most important part of the 12-step recovery program is?" Okay, so with my new B.A. degree in Psychology in hand, I absolutely blew the question. I couldn't remember the 12-step addiction recovery steps and fumbled my through with some jibberish. Needless to say, I didn't get the job; however, I went home and looked at the 12-step recovery program. The first step is the most important, of course, because it is "Admit to yourself that you have a problem." You can't begin to recover if you don't believe you have a problem. Anyway, so enough of the psycho-babble for now, I started to wonder today as I was counting my characters in World of Warcraft, and the numerous other games that I play, if I really do have a problem. The number of characters shown over at http://combatengineers.enjin.com/profile/828566/characters/index/page/1only shows you my guilded characters within World of Warcraft. I'm working on adding my Rift characters there (I think there's around 5 there) and also my City of Heroes characters (somewhere around 15 or 20 total characters there). My Everquest 2 (4 or 5), Vanguard (1), and DC Universe Online characters (2) are not listed either. And that's just the MMOs. I also play numerous XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 games and dabble around on a 3DS every now then. Granted most of my game playing time is devoted to World of Warcraft, EQ2, and NCAA Football 2012 but I do play the other games now and then. So, I may have a problem. But then again, I do not think it's a bad one either, and it's definitely not a mental illness (A mental illness has to cause a negative effect on my normal daily activities, and I am very capable of fulfilling my daily activities and do not neglect my children in favor of gametime ;-) ). Some studies have shown that games can improve brain function, and I can definitely use some improved brain function. Everyone has a hobby, and everyone has different ways of having fun. So my hobby is gaming and I just happen to have fun when I sit down at a computer (or a console), log into vent, and play games with people that I get along with very well. And if you've got a problem with that, I've got two words for you.....

MapleStory?

Okay, I decided to try this one out after seeing a posting somewhere about their new mechanic class. I wasn't too interested in the class, but I had heard good things about the Free-to-play MMO from others before, so it just gave me an excuse to try the game out. I never really thought I'd be interested in a side-scrolling MMO before, but I thought I should at least give it a try. Well, apparently I had a Nexon account somewhere down the line (I probably have too many gaming accounts to remember them all) and I couldn't remember my password (apparently I got the username right) and I didn't have access to the original e-mail address I signed up with anymore. So, what's a guy to do? Create a new account with a new e-mail address, of course! Well I did that and they were supposed to send my password activation link immediately. I check my e-mail and spambox and no, they're not there. I click re-send e-mail, still no luck. I wait for a day and no, they're still not there. I click the resend activation button again two more times and wait for another day. The next day, all four activation e-mails show up in my inbox at the same time. WTF? Okay, so I sign in and download the game. The initial download for the installer takes about 3 minutes for my high-speed connection. The download for the game from the installer takes about 2 hours (which is pretty good, considering it's an MMO). So anyways, I finally get in and create my character. Apparently I don't get to pick a class (job) until I reach level 10, which I am not sure I like this arrangement just yet. I'm up to level 6 and so far, I'm still semi-interested. I had to redo how the hotkeys work (never assign a power to the "Shift" key on a Windows PC, stupid freaking Sticky Keys). I'm going to at least keep playing it until level 15 or so so I can get an idea of what the game is like once I have chosen a class. Keep tuned in, and I'll let you know my progress.