Talvi

Goals 1 and 4 look on track, maybe you need to find some inspiration/motivation for goal 3?

Mmmmmmm...... That is a tough one. I think maybe you were working in an Amazon warehouse and applying to do something medical? I think there may have been a medusa in a challenge..... It is probably best I just start paying attention going forward. It'll take too long to catch up! Good luck in your interview Congratulations on getting the job and enjoy your game days!

Hope you are doing well, Dan! The website looks great - you have built a good amount of content for it, so well done!

With the power of necromancy, I am revived! Happy Birthday Red. What have I missed? You're character has been leveling up for years - you must have mad stats in pixel and irl 😊

Day 1 (Sunday 14th July) 1) Exercise twice a week I ran between 8 and 9km today around a nearby forest. It was really good weather for it and I walked a decent part of it, when I was too tired or my knee began to hurt. I have made a plan to go bouldering on Thursday with a colleague! 2) Eat well I have planned my meals until next Sunday, so now I just have to stick with it and not eat biscuits.

Talvi wants to find balance Hi there, sorry I'm a bit late but I'm in need of sorting myself out and it is better to do that sooner than later, right? I'm a few months post-relocation and a few months into my new job. The post is super interesting and enjoyable, but between the steep learning curve, increased responsability and the workload, I have been a bit stressed and I have stopped taking care of myself. I don't mind getting a little obsessive about the job, but I need to strike a better balance for my longterm survival and wellbeing. So the plan for the next two weeks is to make time for exercise, to make time for homemade food and to book a holiday for September. 1) Exercise twice a week I need to plan this in advance, so that I actually make time for it. Plus this challenge should provide a little accountability. Any exercise would great. Running, bouldering or yoga are my favourites. 2) Eat well Plan my meals in advance, so that I don't have to think about it when I'm hungry. I should cook most of my own food and bring my own lunches to work. Of course, I'm allowed to eat out if I'm not at my usual place of work or if I'm being social. Just try not to snack during the day on biscuits and try to order less sugary things if I'm eating out. 3) Plan holidays I have planned to take time off, but I'm being absolutely ridiculous in actually making decisions and following through with my travel plans. It isn't good for me or my partner, so I will plan and book this September holiday so that we can enjoy it with the minimum amount of stress involved. Plus it'll be nice to look forward to after the rubbish logistics are out of the way.

Well done on not using the snooze! How is the challenge going Artemis? If it is difficult, then I'd focus on just one or two goals. How about eating fruit or a few dried fruit/nuts with breakfast?

I have never seen a challenge format like this before, but I really like it. It keeps your goals current and provides short-term gratification, but messing up one day shouldn't throw you off the groove so much as long as you make new goals for the next day. Noting this down for future use! I am planning on (re)starting some python and data science Moocs soon - what are you planning on doing with all your python knowledge?

SymphonicDan! PM-ing you! Good luck with your goals!

Hey Red, just checking in! You always pick such nice goals. I hope you have better luck with your sleeping routine than I did last challenge. Is the no tech after 11pm helping at all? I've heard that the bright screens can be disruptive. How was the last week?

Thanks guys! I might join halfway through this challenge. There is too much going on now and I need to pull myself together. I haven't posted the Epic Quest list for 2017 on NF this year since I haven't been that active, but I'd be happy to share it if either you of wants to PM an email address

Hey Dan! Just checking in and my first impression is that if your level 20 is called "lost in Guatemala" then you are doing something right (unless you are actually lost then let us know and we'll mobilise the NF community to find you). I'm with Lucky Fire Dragon that the food challenge looks tough. I would totally succumb to McBurgerDonuts. I actually recently discovered a place near my work that sells Fried Chicken and sweet waffles... together... with frying oil and caster sugar on the same plate. Weird as hell... works though! Have you thought about trying different/new fruit/veg each day? Make a game out of it. How are you planning to advance in Spanish now? Try not to fall into the trap of thinking passive input = learning. So not Paris then... Not really a capital city either. Spain would fit with your language training. Or are you sneaking back to Slovenia?

Well, the good news is that I have been thinking about the challenge over the last 2 months and it has helped me here and there. The bad news is that, as soon as I fell off the wagon, I started dodging the NF site like a pro. Summary of the challenge as a whole Waking up : This was the most most demanding one and the one I failed most abysmally. I needed more motivation to carry this on. I can only hope that as it gets lighter that this will be easier. I have been really busy and so I haven't felt that I've missed out on much by not waking up at a regular early time. I don't think I would make this a challenge goal again, but it might be worth tracking for curiosity purposes. Exercise : I was hoping for a quite varied fitness routine, but I didn't quite manage doing anything but a couple of yoga sessions and a few jogs. It is better than nothing but it isn't passable. Despite dodging this site, I did keep doing things now and then so that was okay. 2017 Epic list [3/4] : I remember doing this for 3 out of the 4 weeks. It was easy to do and did make me more aware of my goals. I think this would be a good thing to incorporate in other challenges. Latest exercise was a 10km race. I hadn't trained so I just turned up for the laughs. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the atmosphere with the race time of 58:31. Thinking of signing up to another race in a month.

Are there not scholarships or other funding opportunities? Will you be able to go back then? Can you use any of the modules or universities credits you already have in job applications? I wouldn't get ahead of myself and say that my Spanish is even as good as yours, but it'll do for now. If you know Spanish then French would be relatively easy to learn since its a latin language and follows a number of the same rules. My problem with French is that I'm at a stage where I can't passively improve - reading or listening by themselves won't help. I need to study and use grammar, increase my vocabulary and be corrected when I make mistakes. I think I need a teacher, but I have kept resisting it because of cost and time requirements. Pfft. Summary of WEEK ONE Waking up [3/3] : Got up at 7am each weekday after the start of the challenge. I still waste a lot of time in the mornings, so I want to experiment with different routines after I wake up to find the most rewarding ones. Exercise [2/2] : Ran a 5km during the week and did a session of runners' yoga on Saturday. I signed up to a race at the end of next month, which is already a good source of motivation. Next week, I will try to go ice skating after work. 2017 Epic list [1/1] : Went through the list and wrote down the progress on each goal. Might start a onenote file to use as a progress diary.

You only had 5 days of boring challenge and then you have already started making it more interesting - no point in waiting around I suppose Oh wow! I was actually going to ask about that since I think I read about your first day ages ago but I wasn't sure if it was you. Congratulations!!! When do you think the 'snag' will be resolved and you can go back? I have never seen tagalog before - the alphabet is completely different from everything else I have seen. How are you finding it? I haven't been up to much recently apart from visiting my family and trying to salvage something from my PhD (so. very. frustrating.). I haven't been practicing Spanish this last year, but I am currently happy with the level I have since I can communicate alright with the in-laws. Ideally, I want to focus on mastering French now. I can speak to an advanced level, but I am not happy with it. I find humor difficult and I don't feel fluent enough to show people some parts of my personality. I feel like it is holding me back socially and (soon when I start job hunting) professionally. What am I going to do about it? Who knows... A question for the next challenge perhaps. Day FOUR (Fri) Waking up [3/3] : Woke up at 7am this morning and didn't go on 9gag at all! Spent some time reading NF threads, but that is better for me than scrolling crappy memes. Going to set a different noise alarm for everyday of the week.