Chair-shaped

I was talking to a fellow WoW-addict the other day and she told me her bottom was beginning to take on a very chair-like shape. You take me, she said, you get the chair.

I laughed, and told her to get a laptop and a wireless internet connection so she wasn't tied to a chair (not literally ofc ;P) when playing, but could alternate between the couch, the bed, the kitchen table or wherever she'd like to play, and she could be sitting, lying semi-recumbent, or flat on her belly, or however she would like to sit/lie down/whatever.

I do this. But even when I move around a lot during my playing I still feel like my bottom is squashed, my back is like a stiff hundred-year-old, and my neck is severely vulture-like after a several-hour-long bout of WoW-ing.

And beach -08 is closing in on us real fast!

I wish I could be more like my WoW-girls, who run wherever they are going! (Well, it's not that bad because luckily I like to exercise as well as play WoW, and although its really difficult sometimes to tear myself away from the flickering screen and go to the gym or outside for some fresh-air exercising like running or cycling, I have been doing it regularly lately.)

And I have some other tips for those who start to feel their body is failing them and is starting to object to the constant screen-staring and key-clicking.

- Remember to blink a lot. Staring at the screen all day will make your eyes go dry and blinking will keep the tear film intact on your eyes, rinsing them clean of dust particles and other irritants.

- Switch mouse hand. I always use my left hand for the mouse at work, and my right hand when I play.

- Use key bindings whenever you can instead of mouse-clicks. Macros are very handy here to save action bar space and limit the number of clicks needed to get a certain spell.

- Take occasional small breaks, 1-2 mins in your instance runs and jump around afk to get some blood flowing in your bottom and the rest of your body again. Blame the phone if nothing else works.

- Open a window and let some fresh air in. (If Mohammed can't come to the mountain, let the mountain come to Mohammed, eh? :-)

And those times when you just stare at the screen, bored, not knowing what to do and not really feeling like doing anything, turn the computer off and go outside into the real world for a while. You will feel so much better when you come back.