DreadfulGirl

Lucky! I can't work out to it. (I've tried). Howard Shore, the composer, wrote the music so that certain themes and instruments go with certain characters, races, objects, etc. Now that I'm clued in to that I can't listen to the music without basically seeing the story in my mind. And then, I get very distracted. I'll have no idea how many reps I've done, because I'll have been too wrapped up in that last fight scene. It's a bit like trying to work out while listening to a really good audiobook. My compromise with me is that I listen to it while running. On the treadmill, where cars can't hit me and the machine keeps track of time and distance.

Me! I saw it at midnight opening night. And yes, it's not exactly action packed, but the dwarves of "The Hobbit" have always been my favourite part of Middle-Earth so I was happy with it regardless. I sing in a chorus here in Michigan that has done the "Lord of the Rings LIVE!" concert series. Basically the film plays without the soundtrack and our chorus and orchestra perform the score in sync with the film. We've done all three LotRs movies. One result is an even greater attachment to the movies than just my usual nerd level attachment. Another is that I'm going to have to go see it again so that I can watch without being distracted by figuring out the musical stuff.

Last week was a bad week. In addition to trying to get everything squared away at the office for this week - I'm taking this week off for symphony performances - my roommate basically moved her boyfriend into the house (with zero discussion) and he smokes pot the way Alaska smokes salmon (which is to say constantly and in large quantities). I'm allergic to the smoke. So I spent the week dizzy, nauseated, and more than a little irritated. And did a little more yoga and meditation than I had planned but less work at the gym because I consistently felt awful. I did, however, get the mountains of laundry sorted, washed, folded and put away. And the piles of stuff to keep/trash/donate further sorted. So that's progress made. I've also managed to break my caffeine addiction. To clarify, I haven't given up coffee, but I no longer wake up with a withdrawal headache if I haven't had any in 18 hours, nor do I go through headaches if I don't drink coffee for a few days. (Neither of those things were true when I joined the Rebellion). During the first couple of days I did drink about a gallon of water a day, but it's leveled off to about a half-gallon since then. So, I'm modifying that goal to a half-gallon because drinking any more than that just feels like a chore. Since I have the week off and time on my hands I'm going to sit down and work out my schedule. I've been keeping track of when I'm most tired and most energetic, how I feel after workouts, etc., and I think I can put together a good idea of what a routine week will look like: work, gym, home, rehearsal. This post may be a little premature actually, since I'm going to do that this afternoon, but I wanted to check in. Also, thanks to everyone for the greetings, cautions and encouragement!

Yay! Thank you! My challenge is going well! I'm going to do a more detailed post later but for now let me just say, more than half my laundry is done! I would do happy dances but I over did it at the gym a little yesterday.

Thanks for the caution regarding the water. I may yet downsize that goal but I'm also using it to replace snacking that happens at work when I'm bored not hungry, (I work nights, it's quiet), and to cut back on the amount of coffee I drink. So, for now, I'm going to stick with it, but I hear you. As to my hair, I do have dreadlocks. They're in my Twitter/Fitocracy pic. About four years now, the longest ones reach my waist.

I'm late to the challenge but I have goals I'd like to meet by the end of the year, so I'm jumping in anyway. Challenge Goals: Research diet/nutrition. Lay out a more comprehensive plan than "veganism". (WIS 3) Drink a gallon of water a day. (CON 3) Re-establish routines! (DEX 2, STR 1, STA 1, CON 1) Finally get moved into my room. (WIS 4, CON 1) SPECIFICS: Nutritional Research I've been vegan for about a year now, but my nutritional/dietary plan isn't anymore comprehensive than that. a) Learn: how much protein I need per day. (WIS 1) Learn: how many calories I should be taking in. (WIS 1) c) Put together a sketch of what a daily meal plan looks like and extrapolate a grocery list. (WIS 1) Drink a Gallon of Water a Day This is in conjunction with cutting back on unnecessary snacking and reducing my coffee intake. (3 CON) There are 29 days left in the challenge, so, 29-19 days = all 3 pts, 18-10 days = 2pts, and 9 or fewer days = 1pt. Establish Routines a) Establish a good workday morning routine that includes: half-hour of yoga, fifteen minutes of meditation, shower/dressing for work, taking care of the cats, making breakfast, making/packing a meal for work. (DEX 1) b1) Establish an after-work/evening routine that includes: going to the gym, half-hour of yoga, setting the coffee pot for the next day, taking care of the cats, eating "dinner!" and reading the news. (DEX 1) b2) Re-establish my 3 running days and 3 strength training days at the gym. (STR 1, STA 1, CON 1) Move Into My Room I moved recently. I've been in the house for about a month. My room's a mess of cats, clothing and boxes. I haven't actually moved in. I've just sort of been "staying" in my room. a) Sort, wash, dry, fold and put away laundry. (WIS 2) Arrange the furniture. (WIS 2) c) VACUUM! (Sooo dusty!) (CON 1)

So there I was skimming the Druid thread to get a good idea of what a good write-up for a set of goals looks like when... I say that I was reading because I haven't absorbed a single word since that phrase. It just kept getting better. This is a recipe you'd be willing to share? Maybe? Please? Pretty please? With...I don't know, what was it you said you make? - eggs over easy! With eggs over easy on top? See? I was paying attention. Until you distracted me with vegan dark chocolate banana cupcakes.

I have degrees in art history and philosophy which is one way of saying that I'm not much of a mathematician either. But I own and like both Calculus: An Intuitive and Physical Approach and Mathematics for the Nonmathematician by Morris Kline. Neither is specifically algebra focused but they still might be interesting.

Hello fellow newbie! Congratulations particularly on your handstand. That's the goal that looks to me like it was most outside of the box for you since it wasn't lifting/weight oriented and required fear conquering. So, kudos!

I hope so. Also, you're in California! I'm originally from California. I miss the readily available-ness of soy beans and yoga classes. And Trader Joe's.

Right?! My favourite example are the respiratory nurses who smoke.

'Ello. Just wanted to stop in and say that there's one more us now. In Grand Rapids, but still, I'm here.

It started a year and a half ago with working nights and being compared to Nightcrawler (physically flexible, theologically Orthodox, and nocturnal) and ended this week with re-watching Battlestar Galactica and thinking I wanted to look like Starbuck. Not pretty and blond, but like I could step into the ring with Apollo and hold my own. I work at a hospital as a security dispatcher and switchboard operator. If you dial 911 in our hospital, you get me. If the fire alarm goes off, I coordinate our response with the city fire department. Just about any alarm that could go off, goes off in my office. But they almost never go off, and since I can't just get up and go for a walk when I'm bored (what if an alarm goes off?!), I'm essentially paid to sit still for eight hours and be prepared if something happens. (But it almost never does). My shift runs from 11PM to 7AM. My coworkers, the ones who have been here and on the nightshift for years, are cranky, overweight, have terrible eating habits and are chronically tired. I was told these were occupational hazards. I rebelled and began reading about sleep, general physical fitness, a little bit about nutrition. I concluded that there may not be a way to healthily work the night shift, but there were certainly better ways. And I was in better condition than I had thought. My diet was an advantage. I've never had much of a sweet tooth, gave up soda in the 4th grade after attempting to read the ingredients, have steadfastly refused fast food and chosen the vegetarian options since junior high. This sort of diet, informal as it was, was the reason I could work nights without dragging as much as the coworkers wolfing down a Whooper on the way in and snacking on Cheetos and office candy all night. I decided that since the informal version had done me a lot of good it was time to commit. And now my diet is almost completely vegan. (I have a friend that keeps a pair of goats. When there's milk she makes cheese and gives me some). My yoga was in pretty good form and I was regular about doing it. I began taking the mat to work and doing some simple poses in the office. (This was how I ended up being compared to Nightcrawler. Someone caught me in a half-moon pose on one of my breaks and commented, "You're sideways, you know."). I began running about then, and doing some strength training too. And got hooked. So, I'm here because, right now, no one in my life cares to be fit the same way that I do. My roommate doesn't care at all. And the friends do care are satisfied with twice-weekly tai-chi classes and veganism. I've nothing against that twice-weekly tai-chi classes and veganism, but I want to do more. In order to do that I need accountability and more support than "Wow, you're spending a lot of time at the gym". Also, somewhere to go with questions, because I'm pretty clearly a Druid: vegan, dreadlocked, begin and end most days with a half-hour of yoga. Beyond that though my routine is alternate days of running and strength training. And despite my Druidness, my long-term/bucket-list goals include running an ultra-marathon, learning to box, and martial arts and/or MMA training. So, in hopes of learning and doing a whole lot more, here I am. Also…hi! I'm Joyce. 26. Living in Michigan, USA. One last thing, because, y'all are a supportive bunch: just in case it wasn't obvious from "clearly a Druid: vegan, dreadlocked", my handle, "DreadfulGirl", isn't a sign of self-loathing or anything, it's wordplay to do with my hair, so please don't worry.