I was the head of maintenance in a medical building 7 years ago. the building was sold to a government agency that had its own maintenance people so I lost my home and my job. I was living in my car until ST.Patys day when my exhaust pipe came loose and I got a DUI.

Now I live where and when I can and I spend way to much time online and in Oblivion. I got ot Oblivion to forget that mosquitoes are eating my ass up and I got to oblivion because my dog is in some one elses yard. I am homeless. I have places where I can go online at times.

I am SativargravitaS the bum.

If you loose time to this game you too can become the bum...

Get free and get smart or get homeless...

I'm out of here. most of you will be glad to be ridd of me becoause i am an old man with old ideas. I have no more time for people who would call me a lier. Good by.

Greetings SativargravitaS, I would be humanbean234, the US Army Combat Medic.
Not currently "a bum," but have experienced periods of homelessness & unemployment as well (1999-2002).
Similar to your story, during that time I frequently turned to PC games and "recreational chemistry" to distract myself from the unpleasant realities of my life (I played X-Com: Apocalypse and Baldur's Gate quite obsessively for a while).

It took me a fair amount of time to break free of that downward spiral of depression and escapism, but with some professional help, some assistance from my family, and a fair amount of determination, I managed to do it. I'm not advocating that you enlist into some branch of the military... I had prior service experience, and only recently re-enlisted in 2006... but there must be, without a doubt, some resources that can assist you in getting back on your feet again.

My recommendation would be to start with a local church (pick any denomination... ministers/rabbis/imams/whatever are typically well-educated on social service agencies in their local area), or the local offices of the Salvation Army.

It's not an easy road, returning into society, but it's do-able; I'm 41 years old, and I made it.
Good luck to you, brother, and feel free to PM me if you feel the need to.

*adressed to topic starter*
I don't think it's really fair to blame oblivion for your current situation. If it wasn't a game that you used to escape reality, it would have been something else. You hear all the time about people who are in very similar situations to your's, except instead of Oblivion, it was heroine, cocaine, or alcohol. However, just like there are casual drinkers, there are casual gamers. Most people are able to turn the game off and face reality. I'm sorry that you're in this situation, but really the only thing you have to blame is yourself. No offence.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Its not your fault, or Oblivion's fault that you lost your job and your home.

I really don't understand why you're blaming Oblivion.

>> This post is not meant as a rant or to bash Sativarg, merely an observation <<

Why blame the game? that's easy it's a good scapegoat. some people have a hard time finding fault with themselves so they need something they can point at & say "You did this to me."

Why does moderation (not in excess) seem like such an alien concept anymore?

As an addictive personality, I think it's fair to say that Oblivion is my drug of choice, and I can tell you my husband would much rather see me on the computer than smoking crack!

Well, for whatever it's worth, the SativarG hasn't logged-in since 04 August, and judging from his last post, is unlikely to return.

Might-as-well let this topic fade.

Well whether you're around or not, it's important to note that you didn't get a DUI just because your exhaust pipe came loose. You made the choice to drink excessively and then you made the choice to drive. If this guy was living in his car, then why didn't he just sleep it off outside the bar in his car? Apparently he was already home, so why drive anywhere?

He already lost me, and this is before he started talking about Oblivion.



Well whether you are a liar or not, it doesn't matter. Simply because this story is very believable either way, and can serve as a lesson to the rest of us.

...

It's always sad to hear someone's story about how they played video games too much.

The problem is not Oblivion, but are the choices this person made. There have been a number of games that I played way too much. I usually bounce from game to game in a linear manner. What makes it even more time consuming is when you find the online community associated with the game. And to go one step further, it gets worse when the online community is live, like in MMORPGs.

Personally, I don't think moderation is the key. I think the key is making sure you handle all of your responsibilities first, and then you can play all you want.

This includes:

-a job to support your living situation
-eating right
-sleeping right
-paying attention to/helping/loving people/animals in real life

...so says the man without a job...------> me

So yeah I don't have a job right now, but I am searching and applying every day. Lately, I've been trying to get another video game industry job like the one I was laid off from. But nothings coming back right now, so I'm expanding my search to other jobs that I'll have to settle for in the meantime.

So that's what I'll do, because it's very important that I get some income going again. Sure, I could probably play for months or even years just charging everything on a credit card and playing Oblivion or Fallout 3 when it comes out the whole time. But I understand my priorities a lot better than that.

I actually didn't start playing Oblivion so much until after I was laid off, due to the company's financial problems, not my own work ethic.

Another lesson that we should talk about is: "Learn how to get paid for what you enjoy". Now now, no one is going to pay you to play Oblivion every day, but you could use your love of Oblivion to secure you a job in the games industry.

I'm working right now on a mod, which is not only a project to helpful the many mod users out there, but is a project to promote myself. Mods are a great way to get noticed in the video game industry and I am very aware of this. So while I'm working on getting a job, I'm also doing something else to get noticed and increase my chances of getting a job in the industry.

I'm sorry that he didn't get it before he had to quit, but it looks like he had to quit because he didn't get it. It looks like it's for the best.



Why let if float down when others can learn from his story? "Learning" doesn't have to mean to quit playing Oblivion or video games. It's basically a lesson in priorities and what you choose to put first in your life.

I think it would be better for all of us to share our own experiences so we can learn how others do it (whether they go off the deep end or not).

I'm sorry to hear that you lost your job & home.
I guess the reason your blaming Oblivion is because you played it instead of finding another job, I can understand that, the addition is strong.
When I got laid off once I played more often also, it was something I could control & excel at; I needed that as a morale booster.

Like KraftyDevil mentioned I don't see how that got you a DUI either, drinking does.
Which brings to mind something I've always found strange.
When I was unemployed we (me & the family) ate cheaper food, cut back on all non-essential stuff.
Alcohol is expensive unless someone else is buying, so that was completely out of the picture.

I am not glad you are homeless or to be rid of you or have called you a liar.
humanbean234 had good advice in recommending a local church, when I finally gave my situation over to God is when things turned around for me & the blessings came.
You may also PM me any time.

Hang in there.

Escaping reality? Isn't that what drugs and alcohol are for? I suppose oblivions cheaper, but why blame it? Blame someone who you don't know and is unlikely to retaliate. Or if you believe in karma, blame yourself. Or blame God. That's what I do because I'm atheist and need something to blame, and God, being non-existant, can't punish me.