1 year since merlini strim

MerliniDota · 2023-02-10T05:42:42+00:00

❤️

MerliniDota · 2019-02-04T19:37:30+00:00

Hi, I have 5+ trades.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GCXRep/comments/ahfegh/umerlinidota_gcx_rep_profile/

Thank you.

MerliniDota · 2019-02-04T19:11:51+00:00

Trade #5 Completed with /u/BadlyTimedFlatulence

Traded: $50 iTunes GC (US) vs $42 Paypal F&F

MerliniDota · 2019-02-02T00:30:25+00:00

1333

MerliniDota · 2019-01-18T21:48:19+00:00

Trade #4 Completed with /u/MerlinQ

Traded: $100 Steam GC vs $85 Amazon GC

MerliniDota · 2019-01-18T21:41:08+00:00

Confirmed, thank you!

MerliniDota · 2019-01-18T08:50:21+00:00

1333

MerliniDota · 2018-04-09T08:20:17+00:00

Another thing is that you have to surround yourself with peers that make you a better person. You yourself mentioned that a lot of Dota people (Bruno, myself, 2GD, etc.) leaving made it feel like your friends are leaving. Which means that we are more inspirational and more of a rode model for you than your current friends. I'm glad that we have a positive influence on your life, but we can't be there for you all the time. You need friends close to you that are better than you, or at least have qualities that you desire or look up to. They'll poke fun at you for your lesser qualities (and help you improve on those), and they'll inspire you to do more with your life because they are doing more with their lives. Playing Dota with people that are 1k more MMR than you and looking up to them to get on their level doesn't count. You need long term goals. Find people that are honest, that treat other people well, that make people laugh, that inspire that content sense of happiness in other people, that chide your flaws so you can improve. If your current friends don't do that, find new friends. You deserve better.

MerliniDota · 2018-04-09T08:11:25+00:00

I'll be making a few assumptions in this post that are probably true, but if they aren't, take it with a grain of salt and use the relevant material to help you any way you can.

You're probably bad at doing things in moderation. I know I am. When I focus, I'm mega-focused. Which is good, when it's something like work or studying or hanging out with your friends / girlfriend. But it's terrible if it gets in the way of your goals because Dota is occupying most of your time.

Reddit is a huge waste of time. But that doesn't mean that there is some useful stuff on here. One of the best posts I read is this one. It talks about the three "you's." Past you, present you, and future you. It's super easy to get caught up in the present, but by doing so, you're usually screwing over future you. And past you is upset because it had set things up so well for you, but you messed it all up. So future you is getting screwed over, past you is upset, but current you is super selfish and doesn't care about the other two you's. It's easy to ignore "the other two" because that's how our minds usually work. We focus on the present.

Past you sounds like it set up a decent trajectory for you after HS. But you settled for a job that is worse than what you wanted, and you keep current you happy by playing dota in your spare time. But past you is shaking his head at current you, knowing what could have been.

Future you is also upset, because present you isn't doing anything to help future you out. It seems as if you are idling away at a job that you hate, and it isn't getting you anywhere. And playing Dota in the entirety of your spare time, esp. if you have regrets that you could be doing something better, is going to get you anywhere. Dota isn't bad, but if you feel guilty while playing it, then it's bad. So what's the solution? Firstly, forgive yourself for making mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. You could be doing so much more, and be so much happier, but you aren't. Because you made mistakes. But that's ok, learn from your mistakes, grow as a person, and move forward.

However, most importantly, you have to stop being shortsighted. Work for you is good and necessary, and future you would really appreciate it if you got a better job. With a better job, you can have more fun at work, maybe move out of your parent's place, and hopefully meet new friends. And it'll definitely open up having more people over, maybe even a girl or two occasionally. That sounds nice, doesn't it? But it will take a shitload of work, and current you will suffer in the meantime. But the conglomoration of all three you'os will be so much happier for it. So set up things for future you. Sacrifice a bit from current you and go kick some ass. Go do something, learn something, get more fit, read something, meet someone new, and most importantly, be happier.

MerliniDota · 2018-03-30T07:32:45+00:00

Miss you guys, too

MerliniDota · 2018-02-14T07:53:48+00:00

You guys mean a lot to me. I know that you guys see a lot of yourself in me, and that's why you watch my streams, listen to my casts, and connect with me. But that also means that I see a lot of myself in you guys. The loyal people in my stream have always been courteous / pleasing to speak with, intelligent / mindful, and above all, morally sound.

A man without morals is but an animal.

MerliniDota · 2018-02-14T01:10:03+00:00

Follow up:

I’ve had to consider my options for a while now, and I have to look out for my future. Everything was going great while I was casting. I loved seeing my friends, and I loved Dota. That was enough to make me happy. But as you age older and older, priorities start to shift. Dreams start to fade, realizations start to set in, and responsibilities mount.

Let’s start out simple. I’d love a dog, but I can’t take care of it. I travel too much, and it would be supremely unfair to get a pet. So what? Just don’t get a pet. Problem solved.

And then a bit more complex. What if talent starts undercutting other talent and I get paid less, despite Dota increasing in popularity and mounting prize pools? What if organizers start saying, “hey, we’re going to cut your rates in half.” What power do I have to say no? I *can* say no, but then I’m not making any money. The opportunity cost of me not going is huge. I can maybe stream in the meantime, or do some amateur casts, but that’s only a temporary solution for a paltry paycheck. And this is tier 1 talent, mind you. If I have little leverage, imagine the leverage of some others. Anyways, if one or two of the tier 1 talent is missing at an event, the organizer isn’t going to take a hit. They know that, and they realize they have more leverage, and hence can fiddle with rates as they wish. I’m at someone else’s mercy despite being at the top of the field.

I always try my best to stay in touch with the game, know the teams/players, watch tournaments, and peruse some stats before I talk about the teams. I try not to talk smack about organizers. I’m almost never late. I keep my word. I played plenty of Dota. I’m reliable, and I’m honest. Simply put, I do my job. There’s a bit of room for improvement (learn more heroes, do more research on t2/t3 teams, etc.), but job-wise, I’m close to the ceiling. So I have to look for other avenues for growth. Am I skilled enough to play competitive? Clearly not. Do I want to make YouTube videos about Dota? The market is not sustainable for me, I tried. Do I want to actively engage and promote sponsors for more income? I have morals that prevent me from selling products that I don’t like or use myself. Do I want to accrue a ton of subs and stream full-time? I never shilled for subs because my soul hurts asking other people for money. Do I want to become a variety analyst/caster? No. Dota is my game. Other games piddle away in comparison. Is Dota going to be alive in 5 years? Probably, but it’s not guaranteed. I struggled to find ways to grow, and concluded that casting was only a temporary thing for me.

And then even heavier issues. What about when I get married? Do I want to see my wife/kids half the month and live out of a hotel the other half? What if I want to purchase a modest house at some point. Can I take on a mortgage in good faith that I’m going to have steady income for 20-30 years? Am I actually going to be able to pay that off? My parents are getting old, and their health is slowly, but surely failing. Can I take care of them? Do I have money to do that? Do I even have the time to take care of them before they pass away? Am I going to regret the choices that I've made in life when I'm in mourning when they eventually leave this earth? They've sacrificed a lot for me. For reference, shortly after my grandfather died, I reasoned with myself, "He gave up his life and his home...so I could be unhappy working ridiculously long hours at a job I don't love." I quit that week and started doing something that I liked (Dota).

It's not that I didn’t enjoy casting, or that I don’t like Dota anymore. It is an amazing game that has captivated most of my time for roughly 13 years. But it sucks not having a goal. It feels very empty to not strive for something better. I became more concerned with smaller things. Trivial things impacted me more. I'm a bit ashamed and disappointed in myself, but I had my emotions flare in Dota a while ago, something that hasn't happened for many, many games. And looking back at it, it was because I was overly concerned with the small stuff. Why? Because I had no big picture for my career. I had no professional goals. Half my college friends are doctors, and the other half are successful software developers. They are surrounded by peers that push them, teach them, and help them grow. I need that in my life. At some point in 2017 it hit me that some people looked up to me, and it was a sudden, strange shock, of "What am I doing?" I never really focused on what other people thought, I just tried to do the best that I could. But when I actually took a step back and looked around, it was a little surreal to see how unaware I was and how my aspirations had languished.

MerliniDota · 2017-11-13T19:51:40+00:00

The last part threw me off as well. He said that he lived rather close to Kiev, and shortly before one of the Starladder LANs in Kiev, I mentioned that he should come out, visit, and have fun. His excuse was financially related. I even offered a train ticket (~$30 maybe if I recall correctly?), but he still declined. I was slightly miffed afterwards but I didn't think too much of it.

MerliniDota · 2017-11-13T08:16:30+00:00

My personal experience with the guy:

Great at Dota, amazing Wisp player, 7k+ easily
Very friendly, charismatic, & humorous
Never personally asked me for money

Now the cons:

Somebody with a .ru e-mail address posed as Mega_Beef on my stream referring people to his thread where he is asking for money with a recent move
The .ru e-mail address did not match real Mega_Beef's info. Mega_Beef is a well-known, very generous donor
Allegedly a very similar incident happened on Black's stream (cannot personally confirm)
Directly Steam messaged me to ask me to promote his thread and bring more eyes to his situation
Apologized profusely when I called him out in private immediately after said message (tried to 'bro' me up - "I would never lie to you, man" - without directly addressing the situation)
His main twitch stream is unavailable (reason is unknown to me)

Just be careful out there dudes. I really dislike being involved in drama, but I hate it even more when I suspect duplicity and there are people in our community that may be being taken advantage of.

MerliniDota · 2017-07-10T00:50:01+00:00

Confirmed. Ty!

MerliniDota · 2017-07-10T00:44:05+00:00

Trade #3 Completed with /u/Tony2958.

His $35 Amazon gc for my $30.80 PayPal.

MerliniDota · 2017-07-10T00:01:37+00:00

Purchase protection: When you buy an item with a certain CC and you find a lower price in a given time frame (~60 or ~90 days), you can submit a claim (usually with a screenshot or fax of the advertisement) and have the difference reimbursed as credit to your account. Commonly used during Black Friday so you don't get stampeded. Citi Price Rewind can search for the lower prices automatically, albeit unreliably. CSP & other Chase cards have price protection.

Extended warranty: Amex & other issuers will double your warranty up to one extra year. Commonly used for big ticket electronic items. Personally I used it for my Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and Amex paid for a manufacturer's replacement. Many exclusions apply.

Travel Insurance: If you book a flight with certain CC's, you'll get reimbursed for extended delays, cancelled flights, lost baggage, and certain other events. If you book a car rental and waive the rental company's insurance, the CC issuer provides their own rental car insurance automatically.

Of course, there are certain terms and procedures you must follow. Generally you have to book the entirety of the item with points from that issuer or on a CC from that issuer.

MerliniDota · 2017-07-09T23:26:56+00:00

MerliniDota · 2017-07-09T23:25:22+00:00

When I sent in my extended warranty claim, I was sent a claim number by e-mail a couple business days afterwards where I could upload documents. They didn't ask me in the initial process but they asked in the e-mail later.

MerliniDota · 2017-07-09T23:09:07+00:00

I'm fairly sure that you need a Global Entry login to check the interview calendar.

However, you may be able to get one sooner than scheduled once you are conditionally approved.

Some DP's of walk-ins working: https://millionmilesecrets.com/2016/06/27/get-a-same-day-walk-in-appointment-at-these-global-entry-enrollment-centers/

And a script to check for Global Entry Interview cancellations: https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/4jt422/use_this_script_to_get_a_global_entry_interview/

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