WRUP: The one written from 35,000 feet in the air

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!

Oh, man. BlizzCon 2011. It's almost a reality. As you read this, I will be somewhere over Kansas or Oklahoma or one of "those" states on my way to Southern California. I'm going to be the first staff member hitting the ground in Anaheim, and I couldn't be more excited about it.

WoW Insider will be covering all sorts of exciting World of Warcraft news once BlizzCon starts, but in the meantime, the focus is on travel. Being a helpful guy, I've compiled a few air travel tips and tricks to help make your trip to Anaheim an enjoyable one:

• Grab something to eat before the flight. I know it's a cliché, but you don't want to spend six hours in the air armed with a meager bag of airline-supplied peanuts or Chex mix. Get real food first. Bonus tip: While the food court's Sbarro may make a delicious lunchtime treat, avoid the breakfast menu at all cost. Egg brick and cold potatoes may seem like a good idea at the time, but you don't want that slimy crud working its way through your system while you're trapped five miles in the sky. Trust me.

• Be aware of security precautions. Since Sept. 11, airports have been on high alert! You should never take a suspicious-looking package on board that was given to you by a stranger. Unless the stranger who hands it to you looks totally trustworthy. Further, leave your firearms at home! You'll have plenty of time to buy guns upon arrival on the streets of Los Angeles.

• Make someone else pay for your in-flight wireless! My strategy? Wait until you're actively on the plane to write that week's WRUP. Business expense!

Having dreaded this six-hour plane ride that I am currently on, I asked our venerable WoW Insider staff for some recommendations on how I can best kill the time.

Adam Holisky (@adamholisky) My warlock and I are going to spend some quality time together getting his cooking skill up ... Yes, that'll be fun. When I've had enough of that, it's time for Baldur's Gate II. I feel the addiction. Bonus question: At the airport, I can kill six hours (and a few brain cells) with my Kindle and a bar.

Alex Ziebart (@AlexZiebart) I'm going to try getting back into playing my druid alt this weekend before BlizzCon. I gave it a whirl last night, but the first thing that happened was the dungeon finder put me into Dire Maul in a group with two AFK DPS, I dropped, got a 30 minute deserter debuff, and proceeded to log out because of it. Let's hope it was a fluke.

I kill time on a plane by getting unnecessarily grumpy when the flight attendant makes me stow my Kindle during turbulence but everybody else can keep reading their books. Just ... keep the grump to yourself, okay? Badgering flight attendants about the rules isn't cool!

Allison Robert (@allisonrobert) If I can swing it, enough work on the PTR to finish a guide to at least one of the new patch 4.3 5-mans for Shifting Perspectives, but otherwise just some work on the low-level tank count or leveling my warrior. As for plane boredom survival, I've found that just about every unavoidable wait has been markedly improved by the addition of a Kindle.

Anne Stickney (@Shadesogrey) I'm play AUGH NO NO PLAYING SO MUCH LEFT TO DO WRITE WRITE WRITE OH GOD BLIZZCON IN A WEEK. Bonus: I do it by living two hours from California.

Chase Hasbrouck I'm playing Word 2007, since I finally decided to write a story for the writing contest three days before deadline. Bonus: Join the Army, fly a few hops on a C-130, and learn how to fall asleep on any aircraft, anywhere.

Daniel Desmond (@hazmacewillraid) A good portion of my weekend will be consumed by The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. I just rediscovered my Nintendo 64 not too long ago and Ocarina of Time was such an amazing nostalgia trip that I needed more. Bonus: I've had a couple of 12+-hour international flights, and I found that the best way to waste time on an airplane is to watch Up as many times as you possibly can.

Daniel Whitcomb (@DanielWhitcomb) Mostly, I'll be preparing for BlizzCon, although I have gotten back into Reccetear lately. I've been wanting to go back complete every fusion, so I've been tearing up Obsidian Ruins and Crystal Nightmare for Capitalism and Yayification. As far as planes go, I bring a book to read, but I usually end up sleeping most of the time. It's generally too cramped to focus on reading.

Fox Van Allen (@foxvanallen) (gplus.to/foxvanallen) I'm in Southern California! Or at least I will be sometime around 9 p.m. PDT. I'm so psyched. I'm going to hit up a Jack in the Box the moment I land. I doubt I'll be playing many video games this weekend (though I am spending a lot of time on this flight playing Disgaea 2 on my PSP). Instead, I'll be hanging out with some readers at Fiesta Cantina in West Hollywood on Saturday. It's not a party until margarita pitchers go on sale 2 for 1, amirite?

Joe Perez (@lodurzj) Some time on my baby Gnome priest. Leveling her as disc, and it's been entertaining. Looking forward to some more Choose My Adventure on Sunday, I'll be livestreaming it so be sure to stop by and offer advice, because I have no clue where I'm going on the Horde side anymore! Also, I'll be painting my 40k space marine army. Just picked up a few more pieces and I must PAINT ALL THE THINGS! Bonus question: I'm not a fan of flying, so I'll be heavily juiced for my flight and hoping to sleep through the 6 hours! Failing that I'll be reading and making army lists for my 40k space marine army.

Josh Myers (@Elamqt) Playing my mage because she's awesome. She's frost PVE, fire PVP, which is great because it confuses everybody. I'm excited for Tuesday and hoping Staghelm drops my shoulders so I can finally get my four-piece. As for wasting time on a plane, I like to spend it writing down insults to hurl at Fox on Twitter. Also, reading. And playing Pokemon on my Gameboy, since it's the only handheld game I own. Don't judge -- I'm a sucker for nostalgia.

Kelly Aarons (@Cadistra) I'm playing the "get loads of art and work done before I leave." I might be forgoing sleep until I leave on Wednesday ... Bonus? I don't know what the U.S. equivalent is, but get Gravol (or some kind of anti-nausea medication). Take one on the flight, sleep, wake up, profit.

Lisa Poisso (@lisapoisso) What am I playing? I'm playing anything and everything I can manage to get loaded on my new Android smartphone. Bonus question: Anything and everything I can manage to get loaded on my new Android smartphone. In airplane mode.

Mat McCurley (@gomatgo) (gplus.to/gomatgo) While I'm on a plane, I write or watch Netflix movies because there is totally internet on Virgin America flights. I'm playing the GET READY FOR BLIZZCON game this weekend.

Matt Low (@matticus) HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC: VI just got released!

Matt Rossi (@matthewrossi) (gplus.to/MatthewWRossi) Working on a short story about death. Thinking about if George Lucas had kept Apocalypse Now instead of letting Coppola direct it and what that would have done to Western Cinema, to Coppola, and to Lucas. Probably doing some heroic Rags attempts. The last time I flew (from Seattle to Edmonton), the airline that my wife was flying on just canceled the day's flights, so we ended up panicked that we wouldn't both be able to get to our new home and that she would be stranded and homeless in Seattle. Thankfully, we managed to get her onto another flight, and we made it and have lived together ever since. I have not flown since that time. So I have no idea.

Matt Walsh (@Rhidach) Power-leveling alchemy on my paladin (goodbye, engineering), so I'll be herbing like a fiend on my druid. Also, I'll get some Minecraft in where timing allows. Bonus: I read 20 pages of a book and then fall asleep.

Michael Gray (@writegray) I'll be hitting up the Maryland Renn Faire with kilt on and a smile. Also, gotta work on newspaper ads.

Robin Torres (@cosmiclaurel) Tiny Tower, Sims Social, [redacted] and trying to figure out which mage I want to get to 85. Bonus: Knitting.

The weekend is the perfect time to kick back, relax and enjoy some game time. Are you an achievement junkie? Can't get enough raiding? Rolling a new alt? Considering taking the leap into roleplaying? Whatever your favorite way to play World of Warcraft, let us know in the comments what you're playing this weekend!