I’ve been a runner since my sophomore year in high school. It’s been great, but after some recent genuflecting, I’ve decided that sticking with something for so long may not be a good thing. Change is inevitable, and if you don’t initiate it yourself, it’ll be forced on you.

After making a list of new activities that would be stimulating, exciting, and a good fit for my thrill-seeking personality, I’ve decided to ease out of running and move on to some new challenges.

I settled on two activities that I’m sure will get me out of bed at the crack of dawn and excited to get going.

The first is card-playing. I haven’t played cards very much as an adult, so this will be a very exciting challenge for me. I’d like to focus on cribbage, hearts, and if I’m talented enough, pinochle. I’ve already bought a few decks, and lately I’ve been spending lots of time practicing my card-shuffling techniques.

The second activity I want to get into is checkers. Sure, everyone played this as a kid, and so did I. But I never rose to a level I felt I was capable of. I really want to develop my checkers talent, and then hopefully, start entering tournaments.

Though I’ll be easing out of running, I won’t give it up entirely, at least for the time being. However, with the new activities, I plan on starting blogs for both of them, which means I can’t devote as much energy to this blog. I’ll continue it, but with fewer posts, and not on a set schedule as I’ve been doing.

So, my friends, I hope I can count on your support as I make this leap into my new passions. One day, after working my way up the cut-throat, dog-eat-dog world of championship card-playing and checkers, I ‘d like to be able to tell you that my opponents think I’m the most competitive, yet respected checkers and card player there is.