I understand your conflict TC.  On a lighter note, have you seen the YouTube video of the teenager freaking out when his mother canceled his WOW account?

I myself have been playing Final Fantasy XI online for almost 7 years. I recently started playing again after about a half year break.  Instead of doing the time consuming party thing, now I just do solo fights/quests.  

If you don't want to play WOW at all, but need something for the withdrawals, you could play a console game like Oblivion.  It is a similar style game, but not as demanding on your RL time.