Coming back around again.

There are people that have burned bridges, and there are times to let them be restored. I, more than most, will usually let this happen. Others will not. Is there a right or wrong? Is "once bitten, twice shy" a better or worse standard than "turn the other cheek"? Who knows? Who cares?

Forgive them for they know not what they do. That sounds about right, for everyone.

Why start with cliches? Well, they are a great fill-in for those days when I know what I want to talk about but I don't know how to approach it. Meh. And I forgot my screenshots today (well, I didn't so much forget them as it didn't autosave like I thought it would). Do I have a point to this? Not really. I just wanted to point out that forgiveness is a case-by-case scenario, and that respect, acceptance and forgiveness can go a long way to mend fences. But then again, arrogance, deceit and manipulation can destroy cooperation before it even starts. I am pretty happy with my friends, and though I may not like some people, I try not to let it effect me too much in game, because you never know who you are going to be working with next week. But with all these aspects and all of these consideration, to me, the most important part of what defines a relationship in this game is loyalty. Friends are loyal, and they help whether it helps them or not. They do not look for the angle, or their cut, especially if an action can help a friend. They just help because making a friend happy can be just as rewarding as making themselves happy.

I am not trying to espouse anything new or innovative, just more like a general statement. I think we all seek approval by our friends and acquaintances, and there are times when that approval should not limit our actions, but it should temper our thoughts. We can disagree and still be loyal, not every dispute is a line in the sand. This is a lesson I need to learn. I do draw these lines, and I do get upset when people cross them. And often I regret doing that. The real issues is not so much whether we do that or not (we should strive not to, but we are human) but really it is about how we handle the situation. The real problem that FFXI has with communication is the lack of non-verbal cues. You know situation where you ask a friend if something is wrong and they say nothing, but they are obviously lying and they need to be pressed? That can't happen in FFXI, and that is why I think that sometimes relationships can be more fragile in-game than in real life. So, I think a little more forgiveness is a nice thing to have. I also have a problem with over-empathizing with my friends about certain people, but meh, thats just me.

I don't really have a point here. Just thinking about people I know and relationships I have had. Conflict isn't necessarily bad, it's the recovery from conflict that is important.

All that being said, an asshole will always be an asshole and an arrogant prick isn't going to sudden change into a humble humanitarian. But I try to avoid people like that as much as I can. :) And I have known a few. Users also really get under my skin, probably more than any other kind of bad people. I usually just want to stab them right in the junk!

Since I am randomly babbling about tangential issues to the game, I wanted to talk about luck for a minute. Luck is a great thing to have in this game, if you are on a lucky streak, abuse it. If you are down on your luck, then conserve for the future. But if you are naturally lucky, you are blessed, not cursed. Enjoy it. The only person that can judge you on your luck is sitting in the room with you. And believe me, as I have always had the most mediocre of luck, use that luck while you have it because you are going to get your unlucky streak just like everyone else.

Well, Salvage tonight, yay! People better show up because I want to get some freaking Ares bodies completed. Bhaflau it is, and that means killing some gears that can't link, can't disappear and have to be killed fast. Redundant? Perhaps! But we are sitting on 4 Ares 35 Bodies, and the need for completion is growing even considering the cost to make them.

Anyway, I am going home, early. You get this crappy blog post as a consolation.