DarK_RaideR

Not really, and when we do it's a one day deal so people can join the protest downtown. Which is a damn shame if you ask me, but let's not get into that. It's nice to be doing them again! Monday 22 April Cooking: Had to rush off to work, so no breakfast and took leftover cauliflower rice/couscous with beef mushroom stir fry for lunch. I did however make fish fingers in a tortilla wrap for dinner and also cooked a couple of pork steaks to be chopped up for future dishes, so two points there. Media Production: Listened and posted about the album of the day. Also listened to a new one that came out on Friday. Not skill point related in anyway, but also "assisted" my girlfriend fiance in booking tickets to come see me late next month. I put that in quotes because I didn't really do anything, just a screen share for reassurance she was doing everything right with the booking. She's too awesome to need me to hold her hand through this. But yeah, tickets booked! Much excite!

There will be campaign reports. Thus far we only did the opening session, a basic adventure to set us up. I'm playing a Netherese (human) wizard, who was tasked by the captain of a flying ship with investigating/repairing a malfunctioning (sabotaged?) elven beacon used by said flying ships in transporting people from the ground to a flying enclave. We came together as a group, went there, botched a roll to restore it, fought some magical copies of ourselves, managed to restore it and ended the session flying up to the enclave. Longer version under spoiler to avoid Wall of Text.

Sunday 21 April Cooking: Not really counting my "breakfast" as "cooking" even though I did not grab anything from the local pastry shop. That'd be like pouring some milk into a bowl of cereal and pretending that's cooking skills. I did however wrap some of the leftover beef and mushroom stir fry with other stuff in a tortilla for lunch/dinner. Again, had a single meal for both, which is probably thermodynamics-approved. Fitness: Did another workout and hit my unofficial goal of 4/week Media Production: No backlog, but I did listen to the daily album and post about it. Video Gaming: More videogaming in the day, I progressed Creature in the Well until I hit a point I couldn't realistically advance any further. Quite frankly, I'd lost all excitement by that point and it felt too much of a grind to backtrack and try something else, so after5-6 overall with it (including Saturday) I moved on. Next up was the Alien Breed trilogy. First game wouldn't even play on my computer, so I went through the other two. Good idea, terrible execution. I'd call it a Hotline Miami clone in space, though I hear console kids call such games "Twin Stick Shooters" these days. Whatever. After a couple of hours with both these games in total, I gave Q.U.B.E.2 a go. It's a lot like Portal and the first game I gave up on due to janky controls, but this one was pretty smooth and I actually completed it!

Saturday 20 April Cooking: Was tempted to grab breakfast from outside, but whipped up something instead. Fitness: Another workout is in the books, doing better and better with every time. Gourmet Cooking: I sliced and marinaded beef, which I stir fried with mushrooms and served over cauliflower rice. Also, I had a single meal for both lunch and dinner, which probably helped keep my daily calories low. Media Production: Barely did this before bedtime (getting Duolingo vibes here). Video Gaming: I spent the day mostly playing videogames and going through more of my backlog. Jotun looked good visually but was otherwise a chaotic open world thing with no direction and I have zero patience for this kind of crap right now. I then moved on to Breath of Death VII which is a parody of JRPG tropes, but couldn't really handle the ultra oldschool mechanic and pixelated graphics on a big screen. Up next, Holy Avatar and the Maidens of the Dead, another parody game, this time more of a Diablo-clone-plus-turn-based-"tactical"-combat. Nice, but janky, so I didn't spend much time with it. What caught my attention for hours though was Creature in the Well, which was a lot of fun to play.

Thanks. It was more stubborness than anger if I'm fair You have not, it's brand new, this was actually the first session! My bestie's started up a campaign set in the height(-ish) of the Netheril empire, where the desert of Anauroch lies in the modern Forgotten Realms. Friday 19 April Cooking: Early in the morning I made a wrap to take to work for lunch, leftover mince bolognese with iceberg lettuce, chopped gherkin and crumbled feta. These are so delicious, I made an extra breakfast burrito with chicken sausage, scrambled egg, lettuce and feta. I also realized I've been making these wraps regularly to take to work for lunch and haven't been counting it towards my skill progression here. Oh well, I'd rather do well in my actual life and sell myself short a few points here than the other way around. I also cooked a slice of pork (skin on) in the air fryer, with iceberg lettuce and cauliflower couscous for dinner, so two points in a day. Media Production: I did listen to a few albums from my backlog, as well as the album of the day which I posted about. Research & Debate: I spend a lot of time in front of a screen daily and somehow felt aversion towards the idea of mindlessly firing up my PC as soon as I get home, so I imposed a screen break for myself while I cooked and whatnot. As a result, I got to read another chapter in my book. Wellness: Because skincare matters.

I actually love this. So many RPGs these days go to such lengths to make character death nigh impossible even with lots of effort, unless it's "dramatically appropriate" (plot armor, much?) so it ends up being a no stakes game going from one place to the other without much challenge and the thrill to go with overcoming said challenge. Life sucks and some times things go wrong, not because you made a mistake but because of a dice roll or something completely out of control. You learn to take the hits, lick your wounds, get pissed off and come back stronger.

Thursday, 18 April Fitness: I left work around 20:00, which makes it a 12 hour workday. Add walking back home and it felt like I didn't have enough time for everything I wanted to do. Which kinda pissed me off, so I smartly used that anger to actually fuel a workout. Between that, dinner and a shower, I slept like a baby and this fancy new sleep tracking app I downloaded out of sheer curiosity seems to agree. As far as the workout is concerned, I stuck to 5kg dumbbells, dropped the reps to a minimum and extended my rest time between sets from 10 to 15", which apparently allowed me to do better. Media Production: Listened to the album of the day while at work and typed out my comments, so all I had to do after work was actually set up the video, add the music and make the IG post.

Wednesday, 17 April Charisma: It was a general strike day (I can't go on strike because I'm technically a freelance worker) so pretty slow. People wanted to leave early and I was invited to after work drinks, so point for socializing. Had an online D&d session later in the evening, which meant takeout for dinner, so no cooking points and no extra charisma point since that wasn't in person. Also no workout because of that. Which is probably for the best, because I woke up pretty sore this morning.

Tuesday, 16 April Fitness: OH WOW WHAT HAPPENED WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? I don't know either, no wait, I know, it's probably from binging on trainer winny content lately. Whatever the case may be, I did a dumbbell workout. Or at least tried to, because two thirds into it I felt like I was gonna throw up and stopped. Which is weird, because I don't feel out of shape and I intentionally took it easier than usual, adjusting reps and dropping the dumbbell weight from 10 to 5kg each. What was really surprising though was being strict with my breaks. I stuck to 10' between sets and it really kicked my butt. Still, not even mad about it. It's a start and I'm getting back into the habit, which is better than no workout. Gourmet Cooking: I made a chicken and broccoli satay. Intentionally put in lots of broccoli so I'd eat the dish as is, sparing me the rice carbs. Counting it as healthy and fancy enough to give me a point in this skill instead of the plain version. Media Production: Listened to the album of the day while waiting for my system to cool down and the water to heat up after my workout.

No more slugs?

Monday, 15 April Cooking: Made some spaghetti bolognese for dinner. Media Production: Album of the day was Neil Young's debut, plus I got to hear a jazz album from my backlog while (pretending to be) working.

Pretty sure I extended birthday wishes on some other platform (probably IG) but happy belated birthday! Hope you had a good time at the concert.

Sunday, 14 April Charisma: My bestie's in town for a week. Workdays will be hard to meet and my dad was around Saturday, so we met up on Sunday night with him and some of his friends from his uni days. Cooking: Had some pork in the fridge I got on... Friday I think? Anyway, cooked that with some veggies so I can have filling for the wraps I take to work. Media Production: Quite a productive day, did the album of the day stuff and then listened to 4 or 5 albums from my backlog. Research & Debate: Oh wow, thought I'd never get to do this before the end of the challenge but apparently getting a new book lit a fire under me to finish the one I'd already been reading. Somehow I got through another chapter of The Dispossessed and accorfing to Goodreads I'm already 1 book ahead of my yearly target. If I can finish this too by the end of the month I should be good.

Thursday, 11 April Cooking: Made some spaghetti for dinner. I think with some leftover stir fry veggies and maybe some spicy meat thing. Media Production: Enjoyed hearing the day's album and posted about it, after re-structuring my overall approach a little bit. Mixology: Used the final mango passionfruit fizz with whatever little vodka remained and got rid of the bottle. Friday, 12 April Cooking: Had to go out of town for work, which meant a nice relaxing wake up and ride out but had to grab breakfast on the go. I'm kinda proud I didn't stay in town to hit a restaurant for lunch tho, instead I drove back home to have my batch cooked BBQ chicken pineapple and veggies. Made some mince for dinner, with soy sauce and stir fry veggies, before I drove off to pick my dad up from the airport. Media Production: Album of the day was the first Led Zeppelin album, so it was a breeze getting through it. Saturday, 13 April Charisma: With my dad around for the day, we walked around town, drove off to meet someone, had lunch at their place, visited a motorcycle expo, then had dinner at a restaurant. It's nice to just have him around for once, no stressing or agendas or big discussions. Media Production: Another banger of an album done.