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 What the hell happened? What have I been up to since Feb 19th?

I've been chasing a particular project at work for about two years, pushing for a technology and implementation that I thought was very necessary for our product offerings and that people agreed was desirable, but could not get time funding for to actually do it.

Things came to a head in late February where I asked if I should just give up on this project and focus my energies elsewhere and my excellent managers found a way to carve the time for me to work on this pet project alone for one year. I went from "this is never going to happen" to "OMG this is happening RIGHT NOW" on a dime.

Since I've been campaiging for this project for two years very loudly I feel like my repuation is on the line based on the success of said project. If it fails to deliver, my hopes of influencing future projects could dim precipitously. My managers have assured me that they are measuring how much can an enthusiastic developer get done in a focused project in a year and that I cannot fail as a result, but there is a wide gulf between failing and succeeding that can be preceived as disappointing to others excited about the outcome of this project.

All of that to say, I've been working harder than ever in order to guarantee early success on this project which means less time for "smoke breaks" at work where I can put together a blog post over a couple days. The good news is that the extra work has paid off and I feel like my project has gotten off to a good solid start and I'm at the point where some of the pressure I put on myself can relax a bit so I can take a chance to breath again.

SO..... what's been going on?

Magic the Gathering: Arena

I have continued to play Magic the Gathering: Arena focusing mainly on Limited draft. When I last wrote I was commenting on how Kaldheim set was some of my most successful drafting ever, and now that the set has sunset I can see the difference. 

My end result with Zendikar Rising:

Game Record: 134 - 128 (51.1%)
Match Record: 116 - 112 (50.9%)
Total Events: 48 (7 Trophies)

And with Kaldheim:

Game Record: 134 - 109 (55.1%)
Match Record: 72 - 57 (55.8%)
Total Events: 39 (7 Trophies)

The number of trophies did nto increase but my win rates in matches and games both had a dramatic increase. And the results so far in the new set, Strixhaven: School of Mages?

Game Record: 65 - 53 (55.1%)
Match Record: 36 - 24 (60.0%)
Total Events: 17 (3 Trophies)

Still looking good.

Board Games

I talked about how we were entering a Golden Age of board games with my kids and that has continued. Not only is Axis & Allies and Tapestry a choice for us, but recently Settlers of Catan and Scythe have entered the picture, along with a borrowed copy of Memoir 44. And Tapestry and Carcassone have continued to be in the rotation.

Computer Games

With the exception of MTG Arena, there has not been much. Like I said, I've been busy with work and keeping 3 kids, two who are teenagers now, active and happy. We'll see if there is room for some extra games in the summer.