One night in Singapore

Before I started on this big trip around the world, I was spending my days playing World of Warcraft.  For the uninitiated, World of Warcraft ("WoW") is an online game that submerges you into a virtual world of goblins, trolls and dragons.  This game and is played by 11 million people all over this world.

I've been playing this game for about a year now and have met tons of people online.  Playing with these people all the time you wonder who the heck is on the other side of the computer.  I finally had a chance to meet some of the folks I play with often when I arrived in Singapore.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but for some reason I expected these people to look like the characters they played online (short and stocky like a dwarf, tall and wispy like an elf, normal like a human...).

So we organized a small gathering where I met ten of my fellow guild members (or "guildies" - when we play this game, we organize large numbers of players into guilds to go and kill, for example, a big ass dragon).  I wasn't sure if we were to refer to each other with our real names or our online names (we ended up referring to each other by our online names - hahaha!).

It was a random smattering of people from all types of backgrounds.  By profession, there was a moneylender, a taxi driver, a teacher, an accountant, a sales executive, a student amongst others.  We talked about normal things (a couple was getting married, one was complaining about work...), but inevitably conversation reverted back to our common bond - the game.

Funny thing was, of everyone there, I was the only single person there.  Despite most assumptions that online games are only played by the socially inept, acne-ridden geeks, and lonely men and women; of the group I was probably the closest to the stereotype.  It was a hilarious revelation.

It was great meeting some of my guildies in Singapore.  Unfortunately, I was only in town for that single night.  I invited them to visit me in Hong Kong and by then I hope I'm not the "dorkiest" one there.  :)