Anathema

Thanks Teri! The crazy week is a little better . . . story is too complicated and not interesting enought to go into, but basically I had a series of contractors working on a project for almost 2 years. People came and went, paperwork wasn't always done exactly right, etc. Now that all of the contractors have moved on and the project is supposed to be done, I'm doing a "final" audit and finding tons of things that need fixing. They weren't even incompetent, just missed stuff on a very complex and long-term thing, but now I'm the only person who can fix it, and I feel like every layer I peel off I find more stuff that needs doing. I'm writing a lot of emails that begin, "Back in 2013, my colleague contacted you about this item. We never seem to have received it, and now it's urgent. Please oh dear god please tell me that you either sent it and can find and resend, or can easily fulfill this request." My boss knows none of this is my fault, and has apologized that I'm the last man standing, but there's not much that can be done. And I have a full roster of other projects that are suffering while I try to debug this one. Oh, the joy. But all of that said, I'm going to try to keep checking in, and even reporting on my challenge stuff to some degree, infotmally. Becuase I don't want to fall into the "I'm too stressed to go to the gym I need to be at work til midnight and now I just ate 27 cookies for dinner because stress." Because actually, that won't help me feel any better. So, I'm actually leaving work at a reasonable hour and heading to the gym, and will check in tomorrow. Onward, ever onward!

Hey guys. I've been super stressed out with work, behind on everything, all that stuff. I'm sort of contemplating just dropping this Challenge but coming up with . . . something. Maybe just trying to check in regularly without having it be as "official." I'm still doing the daily calorie tracking and FitBit stuff, so it's not like giving up entirely, just feeling so overwhelmed that having one more thing I have to do is adding to my feeling yucky. But I also know that it was a horrible week for stress last week, so I think I'll just try sort of being halfway here, not seeing this as a leveling up round, but just sort of try to maintain. And then hopefully feel more human next Challenge. Or who knows even next week. I do tend to snap out of this sort of panicky stuff relatively easily but I'm not feeling it right now.

Monday, March 9 • 153 lbs Macros: yes • $1 No refined carbs: darn Luna bar • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: no • $0 Mindful spending: arg. can't recall. don't think I spent anything? • $1 No food after 8: yay • $1 Housecleaning: yes • $1 Today: $4 Challenge to date: $37 Luxury spending: $100 on lunches out $22 on books $8 on snacks $11 on drinks $14 on takeaway food $14 on clothes $11 on makeup Total luxury spending to date: $176 Tuesday, March 10 • 153 lbs Macros: ugh, over by 1% in fat • $0 No refined carbs: roti bread • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: yes! • $1 Mindful spending: nail polish • $0 No food after 8: bah • $0 Housecleaning: yes • $1 Today: $2 Challenge to date: $39 Luxury spending: $100 on lunches out $22 on books $8 on snacks $16 on drinks $14 on takeaway food $14 on clothes $16 on makeup Total luxury spending to date: $186

Our game actually ended, which was kind of a surprise to everyone, including the DM. This one story has been running for a year and a half or more, and he was saying that he had an end in sight, but he thought it would play out over 2 or 3 more sessions. But two players had amazing rolls of exceptional success. My best friend is one of those guys who always tries to talk the DM into letting him do some ridiculous scheme (one last year involved a stolen airplane and an army of strippers with flamethrowers . . .) and he was getting annoyed at the DM that none of his ideas in our climactic fight with a flying demon were okay. He said, "Fine, whatever. I'll just throw the stupid magic ashes into the air. Maybe they'll hit it." And then he just kept rolling successes to the point where the demon was obliterated and our DM was like wow, I did not see that coming. I'm actually going to DM the next game. It's a Vampire: The Requiem game set in Ancient Rome, I'm a very rookie DM, but having participated in a multi-year VtR game, i feel like I know the rules pretty well. And the Ancient Rome setting will be neat.

Sunday, March 8 • 153 lbs Macros: tracked half-heartedly • $0 No refined carbs: slice of pizza at games night • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: no • $0 Mindful spending: bought drinks • $0 No food after 8: no • $0 Housecleaning: yes • $1 Today: $1 Challenge to date: $33 Luxury spending: $100 on lunches out $22 on books $8 on snacks $11 on drinks $14 on takeaway food $14 on clothes $11 on makeup Total luxury spending to date: $176

I got a small financial windfall, and spent a small amount on luxuries ($14 on leggings, $11 on makeup). And $50 to get boots re-soled, but that didn't fall under my luxury rules since they're good boots that I wear all the time. The leggings are borderline since I do have a couple of still not too faded for work pairs, and they're kind of a work essential. Not gonna really stress one way or the other . . . most of the windfall is going to practical stuff like property taxes, car repair, etc. Friday, March 6 • 154 lbs Macros: yipes, forgot to track. D'oh! • $0 No refined carbs: Had a slice of pizza late • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: no • $0 Mindful spending: $5 slice of pizza • $0 No food after 8: see aforementioned pizza slice • $0 Housecleaning: yes • $1 Today: $1 Challenge to date: $31 Luxury spending: $100 on lunches out $22 on books $8 on snacks $7 on drinks $14 on takeaway food Total luxury spending to date: $151 Saturday, March 7 • 153.4 lbs Macros: over on fat • $0 No refined carbs: fat-free bran muffin • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: no • $0 Mindful spending: $14 on leggings, $11 on makeup • $0 No food after 8: no • $0 Housecleaning: yes • $1 Today: $1 Challenge to date: $32 Luxury spending: $100 on lunches out $22 on books $8 on snacks $7 on drinks $14 on takeaway food $14 on clothes $11 on makeup Total luxury spending to date: $176

Oh my goodness I ate every dumpling in Chinatown. Or so it feels. Farewell lunch for a dear, dear friend who's moving to Minnesota, and we went to dim sum . . . people just kept ordering stuff! And I just kept eating it! A rare indulgence for a good cause, so I'm not beating myself up or anything. Just very, very full! Thurssday, March 5 • 153 lbs Macros: no, too much fat at lunch • $0 No refined carbs: Sooooo many dumplings! • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: yes! • $1 Mindful spending: kind pricy lunch, then a protein bar later. Oh, and a book! • $0 No food after 8: success! • $1 Housecleaning: yes • $1 Today: $3 Challenge to date: $30 Luxury spending: $100 on lunches out $22 on books $8 on snacks $7 on drinks $9 at Starbucks Total luxury spending to date: $146

Wednesday, March 4 • 153.8 lbs Macros: yay, on target • $1 No refined carbs: pita bread w lunch. whoops! • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: no • $0 Mindful spending: No $ spent • $1 No food after 8: success! • $1 Housecleaning: yes • $1 Today: $4 Challenge to date: $27 Luxury spending: $75 on lunches out $14 on book $6 on snacks $7 on drinks $9 at Starbucks Total luxury spending to date: $86

Subbing late cuz it took me til now to track you down! Spiffy armband. Go you!

So . . . I have very extensive dental work as a result of having a benign bone tumor removed from my jaw about 10 years ago. I went through tons of reconstructive surgery and ended up with really natural looking and natural feeling bridgework . . . until Monday. When the bridge cracked (just wear and tear apparently) and I spent two days dealing with dental hell. It's back in place now temporarily while they figure out what to do. Means I didn't make it to the gym yesterday, and I had a fair bit of sugar, because I wasn't allowed to have real food, and so I got a chai and some juice at Starbucks, and then had a hot chocolate at my work later because I was just so darn hungry and it was kind of like food. Back to normal now, though I might need to have more surgery in the future to do dental implants or something. We'll see . . . Monday, March 2 • 151.8 lbs Macros: Good • $1 No refined carbs: liquid sugars all day • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: no • $0 Mindful spending: $9 at Starbucks $15 lunch w ian• $0 No food after 8: no • $0 Housecleaning: yes • $1 Today: $2 Challenge to date: $21 Luxury spending: $75 on lunches out $14 on book $6 on snacks $7 on drinks $9 at Starbucks Tuesday, March 3 • 152.8 lbs Macros: too much fat • $0 No refined carbs: another hot chocolate • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: no • $0 Mindful spending: No $ spent • $1 No food after 8: no • $0 Housecleaning: yes • $1 Today: $2 Challenge to date: $23 Luxury spending: $75 on lunches out $14 on book $6 on snacks $7 on drinks $9 at Starbucks Total luxury spending to date: $86

Wow. Slack-tastic weekend! Oh well, I got a big writing project done and had fun at my RPG, only eating one slice of pizza rather than the many that i usually eat! Sunday, March 1 • 152.8 lbs Macros: Didn't track, but definitely ate too much fat • $0 No refined carbs: brought down by pizza! • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: no • $0 Mindful spending: $7 on drinks • $0 No food after 8: no • $0 Housecleaning: no • $0 Today: $0 Challenge to date: $19 Luxury spending: $59 on lunches out $14 on book $6 on snacks $7 on drinks Total luxury spending to date: $86

Well, this was a day of totall slack! Ah well, into every week one must fall. I did do a run in the morning, and get tons of errands done, just none that achieved my goals! And went to a birthday party in the evening with the theme "booze and cheese." Didn't drink (yay me!) but did eat more cheese than 100% necessary . . . Saturday, Feb 28 • 152.8 lbs Macros: Didn't track, but definitely ate too much fat • $0 No refined carbs: did okay fpr going to a party, but not well enough • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: no • $0 Mindful spending: $6 on snacks • $0 No food after 8: no • $0 Housecleaning: yep! • $1 Today: $1 Challenge to date: $19 Luxury spending: $59 on lunches out $14 on book $6 on snacks Total luxury spending to date: $73

It was payday and I was out of snacks at work, so I indulged myself in a fancy salad even though Friday is not usually a lunch out day. I think we're starting to see a pattern here . . . but it was an awesome salad! Tons of veggies and no dressing (since the salad bar I go to has a bunch of marinated veggies, so their vinegary drippings do the job in a largely fat-free way . . . Oh! And I also bought a book as a gift. So I bought it new rather than used on Amazon as usual . . . Friday, Feb 27 • 152.8 lbs Macros: Over on fat again, darn it • $0 No refined carbs: success! • $1 5x5 Stronglifts: yep • $1 Mindful spending: $11 salad, payday indulgence • $0 No food after 8: no • $0 Housecleaning: yep! • $1 Today: $3 Challenge to date: $18 Luxury spending: $59 on lunches out $14 on book Total luxury spending to date: $73

Thursday, Feb 26 • 153.8 lbs Macros: Over on fat, darn it • $0 No refined carbs: part of a Kind bar without even thinking about it. D'oh! • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: rest day • $0 Mindful spending: no spending! (Ian's turn to get lunch) • $1 No food after 8: no • $0 Housecleaning: yep! • $1 Today: $2 Challenge to date: $15 Luxury spending: $48 on lunches out

Yeah, the lunch thing is a little odd because I work with one of my best friends who I don't get to see much out of work (long story), so we go get lunch together almost every day, sometimes with others, but mainly to get a chance to keep our friend/therapy connection going. It's kind of an important ritual, but he's very okay with going for cheaper options. Unfortunately, we work in very swish area, where even a cheap lunch is going to be at least $10 per head. But I am steering us away from the pricier things, and on nice days maybe we can start going to the supermarket, getting something cheap and sitting in the park. Also, if I really keep an eye on the costs, it also forces me to see what I'm not doing (ie, getting new fancy clothes or whatever) in order to have a friend lunch every day. That might help me decide to have more picnics in the park!

Yeah, last time I was in serious training mode I found the FitBit really helpful in terms of tracking calories burned vs. eaten, and being sure I ate enough extra food vs. the reverse of the "OMG I am burning so many calories I CAN EAT THE ENTIRE WORLD! (with ranch dressing) I've only done one full marathon, like 3 years ago, but a bunch of halfs. I think I'm ready to invest the time again . . . guess we'll see! Thanks for the words of encouragement.

Hey Scouty pals: I think I want to do the SF Marathon in July. I'm allowed to start running properly this week after 3 or so months off any real cardio (I did swim some, though not as much as I should have--sorry Syren!--and walked a ton, but not much cardio at all) due to injury. They have a 6-hour finishing time, which sounds generous, but I'm super deconditioned. If I get back to it now, I should be back in proper shape long before July . . . right? Assuming no lingering injury (which we'll find out), just loss of conditioning? Especially if I actually get my medico-financial act together and go back to acupuncture?

Wednesday, Feb 25 • 154.8 lbs Macros: Yep, 50/20/30 • $1 No refined carbs: half a veggie burger • $0 5x5 Stronglifts: rest day • $0 Mindful spending: lunch w/ Ian $20 • $0 No food after 8: yep! • $1 Housecleaning: yep! • $1 Today: $4 Challenge to date: $13 Luxury spending: $48 on lunches out

Oh, and I'm going to add the "no food after 8pm" as a goal, because that's a thing for me, the late-night binge . . . Tuesday, Feb 24 • 155.8 lbs Macros: Yep, 40/30/30 • $1 No refined carbs: yep, yay! • $1 5x5 Stronglifts: rest day • $0 Mindful spending: no luxury spends! • $1 No food after 8: yep! • $1 Housecleaning: yep! • $1 Today: $5 Challenge to date: $9 Luxury spending: $27 on lunch (for 2 people, we trade off, so it's not as pricy as it sounds!)

Oh, and I'm going to add the "no food after 8pm" as a goal, because that's a thing for me, the late-night binge . . . Macros: Yep, hit 50/25/25 so a win • $1 No refined carbs: There might have been something in the Thai sauce at lunch, but so minor I'm not going to stress • $1 5x5 Stronglifts: Yep, day 1 • $1 Mindful spending: $27 on my day treating at lunch club. • $0 No food after 8: nope! • $0 Housecleaning: yep! • $1 Today: $4 Challenge to date: $4 Luxury spending: $27 on lunch (for 2 people, we trade off, so it's not as pricy as it sounds!)

Looking good! I was recently injured (broken kneecap, not recommended!) and the only exercise I was allowed was swimming or light weights workouts. Man did I miss the outdoors by the time I was finally released from stinky meat-head land. (To be honest, I really didn't work out that much in those months because the gym was so depressing . . .) Good on ya for starting strong! And the main thing I've found with when life gets in the way is (a) not stressing too much cuz ya know, stuff happens, and related, not doing that thing that many of us do of . . . "well, I missed my workout so i may as well eat a whole pizza for dinner because the day's ruined anyway." Maybe you don't suffer from that kind of thinking but as one who does, being able to say well, I missed my workout but I hit all my other goals for the day is a good feeling.

Oooh, cool, I can start this tonight with my triumphal return to the gym. I'm going to start trying to get back to 5x5 but my knee may not be up to a full round yet (technically I'm allowed to start squats & lunges, unless the knee says otherwise . . . we'll see!). So, having some extra stuff to do that doesn't involve the ol' wonky knee at all is a great thing!

I have a "Run All Fast" playlist I made from my vast iTunes which is almost all 80s pop and some metal. And a few modern pop things I've heard at clubs. And every once in a while I say to myself, "Self? Why exactly did you put My Bloody Valentine on a playlist called 'Run All Fast'!?!". Shoe-gazing + running = very dangerous if you run on city streets!

A cosplay friend of mine created an amazing Harley costume for the Edwardian Ball that they have here. Edwardian steampunk Harley! Also, fantastic Challenge. And just FYI . . . I sort of started to get what folks like about this whole swimming thing by the end of the last Challenge. Gonna try to keep at it, maybe find an adult beginner's class . . . so despite playing as a villain this time you actually were a good influence. So there!

Viva la Revolucion!