Callaeidae

I think Autostraddle in particular is a pretty amazing resource. That said, I feel like I wouldn't fit into the community there at all & sometimes end up feeling a bit anxious(?) if I spend too much time on the site. In contrast, any time I visit everyoneisgay.com I end up feeling much better than I did beforehand

What's red & bad for your teeth? A brick.

Hi Obitim! If you're set on learning interactively, I'd take a look at adding something like the beginner's course on justinguitar.com to the book you're already reading rather than apps; it's free, he's a really good teacher, it's nicely structured & helps you minimise bad habits forming. I've been playing guitar since my mid-teens & got started through a mixture of learning chords from a chord sheet, applying them to learning songs I actually liked (this is absolutely key to prevent boredom!) and figuring out songs by ear (this will improve your playing & understanding of guitar immensely, even though it can be incredibly frustrating at times). Not to mention soldiering on through those first phases of sore fingers & buzzing strings; just when it seems unbearably impossible, something in your brain kind of clicks & those chords are in your muscle memory flowing beautifully

Congratulations!!

Eliza! <333 The first crush I remember was on Belle from Beauty and the Beast when I was a young'un, does that count?

So I fell off the challenge bandwagon! I had a brain implosion & had to focus on getting back out of that for a while. However, I found a way to still keep leveling up - I started using SuperBetter to help me out and it has made a huge impact. This was mostly psychological stuff, but I'm now adding my NF-type goals into it So I'm going to take a break from official NF challenge participation for a while, but keep training for the Rebellion "informally" & hanging out on the forums to glean important tactical information...

Hi guys, I officially survived my first challenge & am ready for the next with the Adventurers! My main objective this time is to keep the momentum going, so my goals this time aren't going to change wholesale from the previous ones (though there is going to be some leveling up within them). 1. Run 3x per week: I'm still working on a Couch to 5K program (I am currently up to Week 5). 2. NF Beginner Body Weight workout 3x per week: I need to up the weight for the dumbbell rows (I'll have to fashion something out of textbooks for this, because the 4kg dumbbells I borrowed for last challenge are the heaviest we have in the house ), and I'm also starting to work on increasing (knee) pushup reps (currently I can only manage 2!!) 3. Mobility work 15 mins 4x per week: I'm sick of spending an inordinate amount of time lurching round like a zombie for no good reason, so I'm going to spend some time building up a repertoire of mobility exercises (ie. add to the "bash hamstring with tennis ball" approach I've figured out thus far). I'm going to start by working through these and take it from there. Life goal: 4 hrs per week decluttering my surroundings and my brain All the random STUFF that seems to collect in the life of a human stresses me the hell out. I'm also a terrible procrastinator, which also stresses me out. All these things swirl around in a feedback loop of ARGH. So I am going to dedicate 4 hours a week to combating this by paring down my belongings, organising the things I intend to keep, as well as getting things done that I have been putting off (eg. sorting student loan for next semester) etc. 4 hours may seem like peanuts, but I am attempting to sneak up on my brain here. If I get on a roll and end up doing more, that's fine!

My overall goal was simply getting started on the path of actually doing something & building some positive habits. My goals were: 1. Run 3x per week (following a couch to 5k program). 2. NF beginner bodyweight workout 3x per week. 3. Pilates routine 2x per week. Life goal: Be up before 7am 5x per week. Challenge summary (Copypasta from my main thread): Running: B It seemed like such a simple task: just follow the app. In my case, no (I'm up to my last run of week 5 when I "should" have finished the 8 week program). Some of this delay was due to injury, but some was just because I did not get my arse out the door some days when I should have (hence the B ). I do feel like I'm steadily improving, though the jury is still out on whether or not running is my thing. I feel like a million bucks after the fact, but I'm finding myself getting borrrrred as the running segments get longer. Beginner bodyweight workout: A I only missed one workout in 6 weeks (yup, that still leaves room for improvement), and am progressing steadily (back up to 20 squats & lunges after the knee situation, and working on knee pushups again), so I'm gettin' an A here. Pilates: A No worries. This is enough of a habit now that I'm just going to add it on to the end of bodyweight workouts from now on. Up before 7am 5x per week: C Aw hell no. This only just scraped a C grade! Having two weeks break in my work schedule didn't help my feeble willpower here. Maybe I leapt into too large a change here first off, I might try sneaking up on my brain by cutting back my dumbarse sleeping habits more gradually. Overall, I feel some physical changes already (*prods thigh, registers as "less squishy"*), but the best part of the challenge for me was that I now have a MUCH clearer picture of where I'm at. This has helped me to feel less overwhelmed and anxious. I also have much less tendency towards fitness-related underpants collecting - I still have this issue with other areas of my life, but there is a small part of my mind saying "ARRRRGHH just DO something instead of endlessly researching it" which is gradually getting stronger. So, a B overall. Now to keep the wheels on the wagon!

Hmm, I have a few weeks to summarise here: WEEK 4 Running: 2 out of 3 Bodyweight workout: 3 out of 3 Pilates: 2 out of 2 (+1 extra) Up before 7am: 3 out of 5 WEEK 5 Running: 2 out of 3 Bodyweight workout: 3 out of 3 Pilates: 2 out of 2 Up before 7am: 2 out of 5 WEEK 6 Running: 2 out of 3 Bodyweight workout: 2 out of 3 Pilates: 2 out of 2 Up before 7am: 2 out of 5 So, my overall challenge summary: Running: B It seemed like such a simple task: just follow the app. In my case, no (I'm up to my last run of week 5 when I "should" have finished the 8 week program). Some of this delay was due to injury, but some was just because I did not get my arse out the door some days when I should have (hence the B ). I do feel like I'm steadily improving, though the jury is still out on whether or not running is my thing. I feel like a million bucks after the fact, but I'm finding myself getting borrrrred as the running segments get longer. Beginner bodyweight workout: A I only missed one workout in 6 weeks (yup, that still leaves room for improvement), and am progressing steadily (back up to 20 squats & lunges after the knee situation, and working on knee pushups again), so I'm gettin' an A here. Pilates: A No worries. This is enough of a habit now that I'm just going to add it on to the end of bodyweight workouts from now on. Up before 7am 5x per week: C Aw hell no. This only just scraped a C grade! Having two weeks break in my work schedule didn't help my feeble willpower here. Maybe I leapt into too large a change here first off, I might try sneaking up on my brain by cutting back my dumbarse sleeping habits more gradually. Overall, I feel some physical changes already (*prods thigh, registers as "less squishy"*), but the best part of the challenge for me was that I now have a MUCH clearer picture of where I'm at. This has helped me to feel less overwhelmed and anxious. I also have much less tendency towards fitness-related underpants collecting - I still have this issue with other areas of my life, but there is a small part of my mind saying "ARRRRGHH just DO something instead of endlessly researching it" which is gradually getting stronger. [EDIT: forgot my overall grade. I anoint this challenge with the letter B, AND SO IT WAS] I'd better start thinking up my next moves quick smart!

Speaking as someone who has only just conquered running 5 minutes continuously, I am rather awed by this!

Thanks for this tip, have had this installed for the past few days now and it's made a big difference!

If it helps at all, this also happens with non-"nerdy" things. For instance, my dad can't stand the fact that I love rugby & have no interest in football/soccer, so he always makes random snide comments about rugby like it's going to change my mind or something. But actually it just makes me like the All Blacks even more. Anyway. The point is that even if they're not interested in the things you are, there's no need for them to be rude about it - have you mentioned to them that it bothers you?

I haven't fallen over while running (yet), but there was an incident where I suddenly fell over four times in a row for no apparent reason just trying to cross the street. In the end my friend had to intervene & haul me across. I still have no idea what that was all about!