1. My life has improved a bit but it hasn't been this huge relief. It's mostly just nice to be able to do whatever I want in my free time without having the obligation to scrim and practice for 12+ hours per week.
2. I do not have the urge to launch tf2 ever again.
3. I played cs for a couple seasons which fit into the gap nicely but now I'm enjoying playing games casually and at my pace. I still play a lot of cs and I've added overwatch and hearthstone to my list, but I've been doing a bunch of other stuff, including speed running Diablo 2, as well as some non online stuff, like stone carving and getting back into ceramics.
4. The people I liked playing with had either quit or were so much better than me that it wasn't fun for either of us to play together. Plus I took a job on third shift.
5. I have a lot of downtime at work and I post regularly on half a dozen forums. Tftv is like a backwoods bar filled with hillbillies. Everyone here is friendly and naive. and the sarcasm and irony is really undeveloped because half the population is 15. I can post whatever I want and get affirmation through +frags