***Stands up and looks around slowly***

He... heellloo, My name is Raven, and I'm a ... tech-aholic.

I've been addicted to the "green PCB" for over three years now. This evil has taken everything from me, and I can't get away from it. I've lost most of my friends, my wife has left me and my kids hate me.

This addiction started with something small, a 486 with a 24.4 modem. One day a "friend" of mine gave me an AOL disk, and it was all over. "The first 5 hours are free" he said. After the 5 hours I needed MORE. Then came Cable-Internet, and I was lost. I fought it as hard as I could but I was always drawn back to the blinking green lights of a cable modem, the comforting sound of a purring hard drive. The soft glow of the monitor was like the touch of a lovers hand.

The thrill and elation of fraggin a pixelized warrior, being a conqueror of many lands, seeing my enemies crumble and fall. These became my reality, my keyboard was my shield and my mouse was my sword. I would stand proud over my many victories, only to see them fade and disapear. I was always in search of my next battle. Never seeing that I was slowly falling into a dark oblivion... I am now a fallen warrior, with a rusted blade.

***drawn silence***

... First it was gamming... Then my so called friend visited me again hooked me on Mirc, Kazaa and Morpheous. "Try it" he intoned, "all you have to do is press "I agree". Little did I know I was signing over another part of my soul. I felt like a god, nothing was out of my reach, I could access any information I wanted, MP3's, DVD's, books, patches... it was all at my fingertips. But I always needed more hard drive space, I would do anything for that next Megabyte. I was slave to those all encompasing platers. I even sold the family dog, to afford a 15gig drive...

Sometimes I can't get thru the day without having to burn an MP3 cd... it doesn't even matter what it is. Yep, even a Kenny G cd... It's like an itch I cannot scratch.

***hangs head in shame***

I'm thankful for my true friends that stayed with me, and forced me to realize my addiction. I am now having to go thru the a Cat5, internet withdrawl. I sometimes have flashbacks of being a soldier of fortune, or a knight of old, and the shakes are sometime to great to handle. I'm learning speak normally again, no more lol, l33t, newb... It will be a long road to recovery but with my friends and family I'm sure to make it.

Please favor me with a gift to help me on my recovery and to show that not all technology is bad...

Signed a lonely man in a dark room sorounded by obsoletness...

------------------------
Hope you like....
Raven