Burnt out on XI (rant time)

I logged out from FFXI last night completely exhausted from doing too many events with no break. Schedule was:

- Sky (Kirin burn, 45 minutes)
- Limbus (Helping out, was supposed to be Ultima, ended up being a Temenos zone, 45 minutes)
- 15 minute break for dinner
- ZNMs (2 hours)
- VNMs (2 hours)

Much too busy for a game. Other days are slightly better, though not by much. Any day which there is only one event is considered "light" at this point. I'm totally burnt out.

What's compounding things is the lack of cooperation from many people. Yes, I'm going there. Here are some of my huge pet peeves about the people in XI:
- Not doing some basic research about what to do in events or what an event involves. The worst of which are those that demand hand holding for every step, saying that they're too busy (or is it too dumb?) to do some basic reading on wiki. This is okay for the first few times you do something, but if you don't know how things work after nearly a year of doing something... This really gets me mad when someone not only does not know what is going on, but actively disrupts things and does the least amount of work possible.

- Not doing the most basic prep. Yes, this means 500 zeni for ZNM T4s. I don't understand why people don't have this. The VERY least you can do is get a camera, go outside Whitegate, take photos of the Lesser Colibri outside and turn them in. That takes 5 minutes, works on any 75 job, and you get at the very least a week of warning, if not more to get it. Plus you are supposed to have zeni for pop items in the first place, so not having even 500 zeni to me just means that you don't plan on contributing at all.

- Not listening to instructions or taking appropriate measures to make sure events go smoothly. Yes, that includes the dozens of reminders I put out nearly every week to tell people to get their pop items for ZNMs EARLY. Zurar & I spend quite a lot of time maintaining the ZNM site which obviously isn't used since everyone is asking me what their pop items are. Maybe I should erase the wishlist and see how quickly people complain. It also includes people who aren't cooperative and aren't listening to basic instructions or give issues such as not showing up on the job they are assigned to. We're trying to get the job done while letting everyone have fun.

- Disappearing without a word. Yes, I know emergencies come up. However, if you disappear one day, don't expect to be welcomed back without at least an explanation of what happened. Events take people to run. If you don't go to an event, that means we need to go recruit more people to replace you. That means that if you do come back, you may not be accepted, or at the very least, be at the back of the queue. If you disappear and come back only for specific events where you have a vested interest in obtaining something, expect to be rejected. If you just need a break from the grind, TELL SOMEONE, don't just disappear.

Dealing with these people really gets me annoyed, especially when it comes to ZNMs. I know exactly who shows up when, how much each person has contributed, and I can tell who is actively helping out, and who is creating the most disruption. I'm helping with ZNMs for other people, not for myself. If I was in it for myself, I would have left back in July after completing my Enkidu's harness set. It just drives me nuts that people are trying their best to ride along and not contribute, or worse, actively disrupt when they are the ones who are getting things.

Side note: VNMs
1. No, I don't know when we're doing VNMs
2. No, I don't know what the rules for loot are
3. No, I don't know how to fight these NMs in the first place

I'm making this up as I go along. We've never fought these mobs, wiki has some information but it isn't always complete. The fact that we haven't lost one fight since that first Verthandi is nothing short of a miracle, considering that we usually go in undermanned and half blind.

I am in absolutely no rush to sign myself up for another event at this point. My current event schedule is such that I barely have time to do anything outside of events. I haven't touched Odin or Alexander, or WotG missions, or heck, even started my own "magian" weapon quests. I don't merit, and barely even have time to do some basic exp for my subjobs, and my campaign rank still needs at least 2 more weeks before I can stop doing any campaign again for the next year.

About the only time we've had to do any VNMs is when ZNMs is either completely cancelled due to maintenance, or simply put, we can't do ZNMs because of a lack of pops. So basically, until my schedule opens up a lot more, i.e.: more events get completed or cancelled, or I finish exping my subs and various jobs to 99, I can't figure out when we would slide in a regular time to do VNMs.

And yes, my intention is to find a regular time to do VNMs, not to let people come in, use a group to finish their weapon's requirements and disappear like I've seen MANY other people do in other events.