I literally loathe the checkering. How Brian sees it as relaxing is beyond me, lol. 
I have a hunch I'd feel the same way if I ever spent time on it. Just a tedious process. But I'll admit that I'm drawn to it because the process really fascinates me, and I blame Brian for that. If only the results came faster for those of us that aren't as patient. For the same reason, I don't do segmented calls. The steps just don't progress fast enough to keep my interest up. I sure do respect the heck out of guys that do both processes well. Power carving is a little different for me from what I've found, as you can see tangible results in pretty short order. I think I like turning so much because the shape constantly changes and the steps seem to come faster, even if I spend hours on something.
Your checkering sure looks like you enjoyed it, even if you didn't. Beautiful work.
