I see a sunset in my life

[greybeta]

This may not mean much to any of you, but I missed a Magic Prerelease today. I know, many of you have no idea what that is. A Prerelease refers to a big tournament when a new set of cards comes out for my favorite collectible card game, Magic: The Gathering. My old high school crew usually goes out on a rambunctious road trip to them for old times' sake, like they did for the new set Champions of Kamigawa (Remember, you can always preorder a box at the best Magic site around).

But I left them hanging so I could do homework. I mean, it would have been awesome if I had gone to Little Rock this weekend, but that would have meant ten hours driving on the road. That's not mentioning all the mind power that goes into playing a game of strategy for eight or nine hours straight.

The other part knows I'm only doing what I have to do. Or, to use truer words, I'm doing this because my path has moved beyond a fun game.

I used to wonder why so many people quit Magic. I knew the cost was prohibitive, but now I know that lack of time ended the careers of many tournament players.

I've still got a few good tournaments left in me, but I see the sun setting on my fun.

My free time is evaporating.

Part of me greatly laments this fact.