Onward and upward

Yes, I was puzzled, and disappointed, on Tuesday to find out a former member of our team had bailed on all of us without saying goodbye, after telling us for weeks how much she loved our group. According to one of our teammates whom she had the decency to acknowledge after the fact, she will not give the reason for bailing on us. That's weak. We're a group of game players who all appreciate and support each other. There's no reason to treat us like that.

It's hard to remain upset about somebody who treats us that way. I've never cared about whether or not we win a group competition, or cared if everybody in our group is highly active. We've found some active, fun new people in the past week, and our group is better off than it was a week ago. I said in the group chat earlier today that it's time to move on, and it is. Onward and upward!

Last week I was able to take it easy during the final days of the Family Feast. I wasn't logging four hour a day of game play early in the contest, and I wasn't our scoreboard leader during most of the contest, including at the end. But I played a lot, usually while watching mindless late night TV. And I loved it. I hardly played the normal tournaments during the Feast, I ignored the prize climb and the dice master challenges. I bypassed some of my active games in order to head straight to the Feast. It was a lot of fun, even if 10 days seemed like it was a little long.

I don't remember when Yahtzee allowed us to create families, but it has been going on since sometime late last year. Like many of you, I spend too much time using computers and/or digital devices. I'm on a computer right now, typing a note five of you will read. And with no regrets.

But I knew last week I was going to make some changes in my life, short term changes. And now is the time to begin. I'm going to take a step back, so to speak, but you might not notice.

I will continue to request tournament passes and free rolls each day, and I will offer help whenever I get the chance. My help score might go down a little bit, but I'm not going away.

I might not contribute to the day-to-day chat very often, but I'll be around, and will certainly chime in whenever necessary.

There will still be contests, but I can't say how frequently they'll occur.

I will be reducing the number of games I'm playing simultaneously. That might be for a period of weeks, or it might be for months.

I won't be as visible, but I'll be around. Of that there is no doubt.

And it's time to change my screen name. I named both the group and myself after my podcast website. I don't detest being referred to as "Can't," but I'd rather be referred to by something else. So in a minute, I'll have a new player name. But the icon should remain the same. It's still me.

Spring is here, and after two hard months of winter here in Minnesota, things are much better, and I'm looking forward to big personal challenges in the months to come. I look forward to sharing my accomplishments with all of you, and eventually I'll churn out another podcast episode for your listening enjoyment.

Enjoy the spring, everyone, I know I will!