In Recovery

[Later edit: In light of what transpired a month later, this posting feels more than a little dumb and embarrassing, but deleting it would be dishonest, so it remains. Next time I feel this way, I'll just take a little break, not try to quit my entire blog.]

Readers,

As you may have noticed, I haven't posted in a week, and I wasn't exactly going gangbusters before that. I haven't come through on several topics, including finishing Wizardry V, posting on dnd, or offering a GIMLET for Skyrim, and I've only won two games since August.

I finally have to face reality: my workload, plus the non-work goals that I want to accomplish, are not compatible with spending hundreds of hours a month playing computer games. Since I became self-employed last year, all this game-playing is directly affecting my financial security.

When I started the blog, it was because I felt an unnatural compulsion to play these games (I hit upon my plan to play every game in chronological order before I knew I was going to blog about it), and I wanted something positive and permanent to come out of it. Except for one or two weeks of Skyrim, I haven't felt this compulsion for several months. Although I value your comments and our dialogue, I'm just not having any fun with it. I know that's showing in both my postings and long absences.

I'm not definitively canceling the blog. It's possible that at some point this year, my professional life will achieve a greater degree of stability and I'll find myself with a lot of down time again. Or I may wake up in the middle of the night three weeks from now, and feel a mad desire to explore wireframe hallways, and you'll seen an erratic posting here or there. In the meantime, I'll leave the blog active for new readers who want to read my postings on older games.

I'm sorry it's come to this, but I thank you for your participation in my little quest. You're the best NPCs.

Sincerely,

Chester "Chet" Bolingbroke
"The Recovering CRPG Addict"