blkhole24601

Day 18

Spacecraft rehearsals in which they intentionally throw problems at us to see how well we cope. Even if it's "fake," it can still feel like this!

 

Wow, work yesterday. It was jam packed and busy and worthwhile and I loved it, but it was LONG. So I took it easy after work and did some light yoga and mostly just made sure I took care of my back. I did cave and eat an ice cream bar that was provided to us, but I also had homemade chocolate chip cookies staring at me ALL DAY LONG so you know what, I'll call it a win overall.  

 

Debating on what I'll do today. I haven't contributed anything into Super Speed yet for the mini and today is my last day for Week 3 to do so (though I still have Sunday to make it count for my challenge) since I have fencing tomorrow, BUT my gym is going to be closed all weekend, too. I do have a 24 Hour membership I could make good use out of to make up for this, though I hate seeing it as a reason to keep that damn thing instead of ditching it altogether. Bah. We'll see how I feel after work.

 

Scorecard:

QUEST ONE: ENDURANCE TRAINING

1/2 cardio days per week

 

QUEST TWO: BACK CONDITIONING

3/5 back stretches per week

3/5 back massage/foam rolling/heat therapy per week

 

QUEST THREE: SMART SNACKING

5/8 non-freggie/non-protein snacks over four weeks

 

LIFE QUEST: SPRING CLEANING

1.5/4 areas of apartment cleaned over four weeks

 

SIDE QUEST: PIANO PRACTICE

74/240 minutes of piano practice over four weeks

Day 17

If I could just learn how to take, I can avoid something like this happening. UTENA LEARN HOW TO TAKE.

 

Another good productive day at work, and got a scheduling problem resolved which made me happy. Very soon hopefully, we'll be training up more people for the job since while we can make do with what we have right now, we're at the minimum. But we'll see!

 

Fencing in the evening, though I got there just early enough to be invited to warm-up with the children's class and uh. Well. Warming up with children is seriously the #1 most effective way to warm-up, but I also suspect that the teacher might have an intense warm-up so that the hyperactive kids would be less hyperactive when he's actually trying to teach them?  Anyhow, it was maybe too effective at warming up since while we were working on takes, my footwork fell to shit, and it was the most frustrating thing, argh. Once we started fencing, though, it was better all around. I think my heart is falling more and more for epee, but I could just be pulling a Christine Daae and just falling for whatever weapon is currently singing to me (aka, whatever weapon we've spent at least 2 classes in a row working on). Question is, which weapon is my Raoul and which weapon is my Phantom?

 

... this metaphor worked a lot better in my head. MOVING ON.

 

But I am starting to figure out how to fence during a bout rather than just wildly swinging my sword around hoping I get a point and/or hoping I'm parrying effectively. I'm definitely thinking more about strategy now. But, I also need to spend some time working on my takes because I just. I don't know. I'm not getting it yet. :/

 

Anyhow, not called to rehearsal tonight (just the men ensemble since they have a lot more music than the female ensemble does), but I'm going to have a LONG day at work, so hopefully I won't be so fatigued that I can't lift. All else fails, I'll definitely at least take some time to work on some yoga at home.

 

Scorecard:

QUEST ONE: ENDURANCE TRAINING

1/2 cardio days per week

 

QUEST TWO: BACK CONDITIONING

2/5 back stretches per week

2/5 back massage/foam rolling/heat therapy per week

 

QUEST THREE: SMART SNACKING

4/8 non-freggie/non-protein snacks over four weeks

 

LIFE QUEST: SPRING CLEANING

1.5/4 areas of apartment cleaned over four weeks

 

SIDE QUEST: PIANO PRACTICE

74/240 minutes of piano practice over four weeks

22 hours ago, Urgan said:

You go get that tango...when your back gives you permission, lol. 

 

Most of the tango is absolutely fine, it's just the layout that's bothering me since it's basically a backbend:

 

Something like this, except with the lead's arms around the follow's waist.

 

I mean, once when we did it my partner wasn't as fatigued so he was able to support me just fine, so I didn't feel my back, but as he started to fade after 3+ hours of dancing I lost the support so I could bend back as far. On Tuesday I think we're revisiting this so hopefully he'll be feeling better, as will my back!!  

Day 16

Weeeee, ballroom dance day~

 

Work was productive and busy, even with the couple of fires to put out, one of course happening just as I was getting ready to leave for rehearsal. ;;; Luckily, it got resolved before I reached the point of having to text my stage manager that I might be late, and then: rehearsal times!

 

Which. Was. Awesome. We spent most of the time learning a tango dance, and my partner was my good friend D who is playing Che, and damn, he made me look so good I was one of the 8 who were called to stay behind after to continue working the dance so the choreographers could get a good idea of how to do that particular scene. It's not a guarantee that I'll be in the scene since the stage is small and 4 couples is the MAX they can have, but it does mean I'm one of the top contenders for it, and it puts me exactly in the position I want to be in: in high considerations for being one of the primary dancers of the show. Which I realized last night: that's what I most want. I guess I don't hate dance after all, I just hate dance classes. Whomp whomp. But the work I put into learning tango and how to shake my hips as required for Latin dance definitely showed through, so woo!

 

Though one of the moves in the extended tango dance that we learned after the rest of the ensemble was sent home, the layout, was not great on my back. ;;;;; Oh man, though, once my back gets healed, I will rock that move so hard, yo.

 

Scorecard:

QUEST ONE: ENDURANCE TRAINING

1/2 cardio days per week

 

QUEST TWO: BACK CONDITIONING

2/5 back stretches per week

2/5 back massage/foam rolling/heat therapy per week

 

QUEST THREE: SMART SNACKING

4/8 non-freggie/non-protein snacks over four weeks

 

LIFE QUEST: SPRING CLEANING

1.5/4 areas of apartment cleaned over four weeks

 

SIDE QUEST: PIANO PRACTICE

74/240 minutes of piano practice over four weeks

22 hours ago, Urgan said:

 

Don't you love it when growth opportunities chase you down and mug you? You may not have all the confidence ever quite yet, but this is an awesome thing. Yay camaraderie.  

 

Yes.  That's what I love most about this theatre company, I think. We're all so supportive of each other, and they're definitely the people in my life who never stop believing in me for anything, and they're always gently encouraging me and pushing me to do more than I think I can do.

Day 15

Just trying to be cool, nbd

 

Did not manage to get to the gym yesterday, though I did take about a 30 minute walk and then after rehearsal took some time for much needed back conditioning (and throughout rehearsal too, because OW sitting for 4 hours, even with random stand/walk breaks!) because so much pain, I could not. Rehearsal itself was fun, if a bit....... scary. Upon discovering my range, I was put into the Stratospheric Soprano Trio (or Team Stratosphere, as we're calling ourselves) which I'm just like...... WHAT. Seriously, the conversation:

 

Music Director: "Who can sing a high D?"

Me: "Er....... if I warm up to it I kind of can."

MD: "AWESOME, you're one of the high sopranos."

Me: "......................... BUT I'M NOT WARMED UP TO IT."

 

Surprise to me, though, I'm the asshole soprano who is singing a third ABOVE that note, what the hell, self. And when I try to to adjust to sing the actual note, I wind up singing a third BELOW it (which fortunately the third person of the Stratospheric Soprano Trio is singing, so I'm not technically wrong). So I mean. This is where I ought to be since my range has gotten pretty crazy awesome the past year+ of working on it, but wow. Crazy to think that just two years ago this was something far, FAR beyond my reach.

 

Still, the three of us have determined that once we start blocking any song in which we are singing stupid high, we are not allowed to be more than a few feet away from each other. Attached to the hip if we can help it. We will petition the crap out of our director and choreographer if we have to, gdi. (Also, our notes in the sections of ledger lines in our individual scores are pretty hilarious across the board. We're all so abusive to ourselves. ) 

 

Buuuuuuut warming up before rehearsal: no longer just a good idea, but mandatory. That my boyfriend is the powerhouse high tenor of the ensemble is to my benefit; we can keep each other accountable on this since he's singing at the very top of his range, too. ;;;;;;;;; THE MUSIC FOR EVITA IS HARD GUYS OKAY.

 

Scorecard:

QUEST ONE: ENDURANCE TRAINING

0/2 cardio days per week

 

QUEST TWO: BACK CONDITIONING

1/5 back stretches per week

1/5 back massage/foam rolling/heat therapy per week

 

QUEST THREE: SMART SNACKING

4/8 non-freggie/non-protein snacks over four weeks

 

LIFE QUEST: SPRING CLEANING

1.5/4 areas of apartment cleaned over four weeks

 

SIDE QUEST: PIANO PRACTICE

74/240 minutes of piano practice over four weeks

 

19 hours ago, Starpuck said:

It's been in the air!  Super hectic busy springs that are making challenges and challenge plans require so much effort!     But you are really keeping up with it well!

 

And, your DA story made me wince with sympathies for you.   Oh the woe of having to redo stuff.   Haaaate that.

 

Good plan for week 3! 

 

And oh man, I'm not even half as busy as I'm about to get!  But it's really all about just taking things one day at a time, do what I can, etc. 

 

Yeah, and then later I discovered that my Xbox doesn't even want to play the DA:O disc. Alas. I think the 360 is on its deathbed anyway, which means I have to buy the games for the PC or wait and see if they make the games backwards compatible for the Xbox One. Mass Effect is, I know that much, but I haven't looked up to see if they've done it with the DA games yet. But then, for all I know, the discs themselves might be messed up, idk. Experimentation this weekend, methinks!!

 

Thanks~

Days 10-14 & Week 2 Recap

Almost started falling behind. Kind of am behind. Week 3 is catch-up times!

 

Wow, five days worth of catch-up to do. Okay, let's do this.

 

Wednesday: Fencing class in which I got there super early, as did one of my classmates (her husband and kid were doing open fencing), so we took the 20 minutes we had prior to class warming up. Class was another foil day in which J, our instructor, taught us some foil strategies. Even if I didn't win a single bout, I'm totally getting the hang of foil, and I'm having a lot of fun with the mental game of determining right-of-way (even if my brain-to-sword reaction time isn't quite there yet, and/or I'm spending too much time thinking instead of doing). I also found out Wednesday night that after this month, there won't be anymore Saturday morning fencing classes until September, and August is when they take off of group classes (through private lessons and open fencing is still an option), which means I'm having to adjust my summer fencing schedule a bit.

Thursday: Lethargy totally got the best of me on Thursday, plus I was in hardcore writing and coding mode on top of that. So........ nothing got done. Whomp whomp.

 

Friday: Dentist appointment, and I got a steady run in, so yay. And the dentist appointment wasn't so bad, so that's wonderful news, too. Played some DA:O through the afternoon/evening. Can't say I did a lot outside of that.

 

Saturday: Morning started with fencing class in which we did epee, and man, I am better at epee than foil by far so far, which stands to reason as most people tend to be pretty good at epee, I'm thinking, since there are no right-of-way rules to have to worry about. After class, I got signed up for the remainder of the Wednesday session at a prorated rate, so I start regular Wednesday fencing this week, yay! Once I got home, I decided to work on some coding and writing outside since it was such a beautiful day, but my allergies start to get the best of me so I wound up napping indoors the majority of the afternoon. ;;; The evening was spent watching Reborn and poking some more at coding adventures.

 

Sunday: Well, this was definitely my "eat like an asshole" day. We had a belated Mother's Day brunch, and then right after I went to the first rehearsal for Evita. All the food, omg, I could not help myself. ;;;;;;; After rehearsal, I got home and practiced the piano for the first time in DAYS, and I'm surprised at how little I slid back on it. I did decide that I wasn't going to deal with the key change portion of the song because 6 flats I CANNOT. G-flat major, go awayyyyyyyyyy. Then after dinner, since my DA:O save files are somehow now corrupt and I didn't feel like going through the Landsmeet and all the DLC again, I started up a new DA2 game ahahahaha.

 

Also sitting through the read-through on Sunday on uncomfortable chairs did not do my back any favors, ow. I have to remember to get up on my feet throughout music rehearsal tonight. ;;;

 

Scorecard:

QUEST ONE: ENDURANCE TRAINING: A

2/2 cardio days per week

 

QUEST TWO: BACK CONDITIONING: A

5/5 back stretches per week

5/5 back massage/foam rolling/heat therapy per week

 

QUEST THREE: SMART SNACKING

4/8 non-freggie/non-protein snacks over four weeks

 

LIFE QUEST: SPRING CLEANING

1.5/4 areas of apartment cleaned over four weeks

 

SIDE QUEST: PIANO PRACTICE

74/240 minutes of piano practice over four weeks

 

 

Week 3: I need to finish cleaning up the living room. I also plan on tackling the bedroom and office this week. Lots of cleaning to do in my spare time! I also need to catch up on my piano practice, eep, but good thing is: I'm still on target with my snacking.

 

And since my days are starting to pick up in busy-ness, my Week 3 Plan:

 

Monday: Maybe running if I can get to the gym, otherwise rest day because rehearsal tonight

Tuesday: Dance at rehearsal

Wednesday: Fencing!

Thursday: Lifting after work

Friday: Rest day

Saturday: Fencing!

Sunday: TBD

Day 09

So much over the gloomy weather

 

Not a lot going on at work yesterday, which was just fine by me. I wound up doing quite a bit of writing which was strangely kind of nice. I missed writing. In the afternoon, I went to the gym, though others are starting to catch on that going right after the lunch rush is a good time to go because no one else will be there...... which means there are now people there. I almost wasn't able to bench press because of it. But it wasn't all bad -- a gym bro complimented me on my squats in the "look at how much you lift" way. Granted, this guy was a "skips legs day" guy, but still, gym bro cred.  

 

Flexibility was kind of rough if only because my body was ready to quit by the time I got there, but I did it, gdi. I think the weather put my body in a lethargic mood that not even lifting could help with.

 

After work, I did some grocery shopping but didn't do much else for my challenge. I almost didn't do the second half of my back conditioning, but just before bed I remembered to put on IcyHot since my back was bothering me. That's kind of the name of the game these days; the pain isn't really there anymore, but the discomfort persists. Does this mean that it's finally getting closer to being healed? I can only hope...........

 

(Also, and I blame the weather for this too, I thought about giving in and allowing myself a non-freggie/non-protein snack several times over the course of the day. I've also been craving a chocolate chip cookie for the past couple of days. I mean, I'm doing well enough in the challenge that I could have caved, but I'm also proud of myself for not. I'd rather save my non-freggie/non-protein snacks for something awesome.)

 

Scorecard:

QUEST ONE: ENDURANCE TRAINING

1/2 cardio days per week

 

QUEST TWO: BACK CONDITIONING

2/5 back stretches per week

2/5 back massage/foam rolling/heat therapy per week

 

QUEST THREE: SMART SNACKING

0/8 non-freggie/non-protein snacks over four weeks

 

LIFE QUEST: SPRING CLEANING

1.5/4 areas of apartment cleaned over four weeks

 

SIDE QUEST: PIANO PRACTICE

64/240 minutes of piano practice over four weeks

Day 08

What my morning was more or less like

 

Work kept me pretty busy, even if a lot of that was twiddling my thumbs waiting for the test conductor to tell me to do things. Finally, after lunch, I was free to move about and do other things, and there was plenty to do. After work, I went to the gym and hit the treadmill for some speed training and finished off with ~15 minutes of working through footwork exercises and some drills from Saturday's fencing class. I'm still having a bit of trouble with "thrust first, then step" but the more I work on it, the closer I get to getting it. Did some stretches and back conditioning to finish up the session.

 

At home, I cleaned the dining room area, practiced the piano, and then took an Epsom salt bath (though I can't say it was relaxing, because I was looking forward to having my first bath in my freshly scrubbed down bathtub only to find that my boyfriend had taken a bath at some point and did not clean up after, so I had to deal with the remains of HIS bath, so yeah, grossed out and I was crying about how I hate living with boys, sigh). Played more DA:O before settling into bed. Good day, overall!

 

Scorecard:

QUEST ONE: ENDURANCE TRAINING

1/2 cardio days per week

 

QUEST TWO: BACK CONDITIONING

1/5 back stretches per week

1/5 back massage/foam rolling/heat therapy per week

 

QUEST THREE: SMART SNACKING

0/8 non-freggie/non-protein snacks over four weeks

 

LIFE QUEST: SPRING CLEANING

1.5/4 areas of apartment cleaned over four weeks

 

SIDE QUEST: PIANO PRACTICE

64/240 minutes of piano practice over four weeks

17 hours ago, starsapart said:

And by the way, yes, your butt looks amazing in those pants.

 

I may wear those pants for one of our activity rehearsals tomorrow.  

 

8 hours ago, Artemis said:

Here for the fencing (and Team Avengers)!  Which style's your favorite so far?  I've never seen this paraticular anime, but we just watched Spirited Away a few weeks ago for my fantasy class.  

 

I've only done foil and epee so far, and I still can't choose between the two which I like more. Reffing foil is a giant pain since I have a hard time keeping track of right-of-way, but the right-of-way rules is much easier to follow when you're the one actually doing the fencing and I actually enjoy that aspect of foil a lot. Although I do like the more combative nature of epee -- just get the hit in, it doesn't matter where. Eventually I'm sure I'll get a chance to experience saber, then I'll hopefully have a better idea of what I like!

 

Spirited Away is one of my favorite Miyazaki films, definitely! This anime is Revolutionary Girl Utena, which I do recommend for the reasons we've stated previously in the thread: it's pretty, metaphorical, deconstructs its genre(s), etc. The characters, even (most of) the ones who seem terrible, are very well-rounded and flawed human beings, and while you may not still like them after you learn about their complicated natures, you can still pity them or at least appreciate that they are not just caricatures, bad to be bad, what have you. It really is a wonderful show. Just avoid the movie (Adolescence of Utena).  

5 hours ago, starsapart said:

Question of the week: Since a lot of us are in superhero mode right now: what is your origin story?  Was there a moment in your life where something just clicked which eventually brought you here?

 

Short version or long version?  

 

Short version: I'd been going off and on fitness for years, starting from about when I aged out of drum corps at the age of 21. I would train for a half marathon or a marathon, complete said race, and then just.......... not work out for months before I would get the kick in the pants to DO something again. Battling mental illness didn't help matters, especially as the untreated depression got worse and worse and worse. Finally, when I was on an upswing, @starsapart introduced me to NF just as my commitment to getting back into running (and as per the course, I had signed up for a half marathon as my motivation) was starting to waver again.

 

Then a bunch of things started falling into place the more active I got on the forums: I learned to love strength training where in the past I'd always find reasons not to do it, I committed myself to want to learn how to dance, I found myself not only needing but desiring more flexibility, (both of those points for the purposes of being a successful musical theatre actress) until finally I found where I think I'd be the happiest in the fitness world just a couple of months ago: sword fighting. I don't race nearly as frequently as I used to or intended to, but I don't need to. I'm content with where I'm at, more than I'd ever been, and I think I'm finally learning how to love my body for what it is.

 

I did lament for a little while upon realizing that I enjoyed fighting more than dancing and how this is basically screwing me over as an actress but then I realized: not really. If I continued the path of dancing, I'd be little different than any other actress in the Denver theatre community. That I'm falling more and more in love with fencing and how I am INTENT on continuing my stage combat education -- while there aren't nearly as many opportunities for actresses who fight versus actresses who dance, I'll have a leg up when the opportunities arise for an actress who know how to handle a sword, and they do come up every so often. Honestly, I'll have a better chance with those rare opportunities than I would with the common musical theatre production even if I became an amazing dancer, which makes me all the more gung-ho about continuing my swordfighting pursuits.  

5 hours ago, Starpuck said:

Wooo great week one chica!  And mmmm Dragonage... though I did a bad and started playing SWTOR again.   So now I've got two stupid MMO's vying for my time.  LOL!

 

So glad you found the perfect medium for your challenge!   Yay!

 

 

#firstworldvideogamerproblems???  

 

Yep!! I wish I could say that I'll be using the same sort of thing for next challenge, but I'll be so busy that grab bag will be the only thing I can do for myself in order to stay involved with NF while not losing my sanity. But at least I know how to do my challenge after that!

 

1 hour ago, Briniel said:

Awesome job on week 1!!! I'm glad you designed your challenge just right, it's a struggle sometimes to get the right balance. But you're doing awesome Keep on rocking it in week 2!

 

I think probably one of my problems this year with designing a challenge was that I was still approaching it like a 6-week challenge which apparently doesn't necessarily equate to a good 4-week challenge format. Plus, I think I was trying to overcomplicate things, doing too much, etc. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but this format, I like! 

 

Thanks!!

Day 07 & Week 1 Recap

Week 1 down, 3 more to go

 

I played Dragon Age all day. I REGRET NOTHING. Though I am a bit disappointed that the elves in the Alienage don't have a lot of unique dialogue for a Dalish elf waltzing into the place, even/especially considering their opinions of the Dalish. Ah well. Now to get through the Landsmeet, wrap up all the side quests (thank goodness Origins isn't so hard and heavy with the side quests like Inquisition, omg), and then beat the game......... and then play Awakening and rage. I wonder if Velanna will be more tolerable with Mahariel than she is otherwise? I doubt it. I may turn out to want to punt her off a cliff MORE with a Dalish Warden than with any of my other Wardens. ;;;;;;;

 

Anyway, tidied up the last bit of the bathrooms, so that's done! This week will be focused on the living/dining room area. I also need a new vacuum cleaner, sigh............

 

Looking back on the week, I think I did a good job at creating a challenge that is exactly what I needed it to be. It's not too easy and yet not too complicated or challenge, and it's hitting everything I need it to. Time to keep going forward with it! Cardio days are planned for today (Monday) and Thursday, strength training tomorrow and probably Friday depending on how my dentist appointment goes (for so many reasons, I'm worried about it), and fencing on Wednesday (for my second of two make-up classes) and on Saturday. It's also going to be a pretty easy week for me with not a lot going on in my life, which is good, because I desperately need this final breather before rehearsals for Evita start on Sunday!!

 

Scorecard:

QUEST ONE: ENDURANCE TRAINING - A!

2/2 cardio days per week

 

QUEST TWO: BACK CONDITIONING - A!

5/5 back stretches per week

5/5 back massage/foam rolling/heat therapy per week

 

QUEST THREE: SMART SNACKING - A!

0/8 non-freggie/non-protein snacks over four weeks

 

LIFE QUEST: SPRING CLEANING - A!

1/4 areas of apartment cleaned over four weeks

 

SIDE QUEST: PIANO PRACTICE - B!

51/240 minutes of piano practice over four week

9 hours ago, starsapart said:

And thennnnnnnnnn I went to a birthday thing at a Russian banquet restaurant and ate 6 courses of food + dessert.  Whee.  I am stuffed.

 

 

You........ got full? Achievement unlocked???????

17 hours ago, Briniel said:

Yay for new pants!! Finding ones that fit just right (and make your butt look great) is soooo difficult. Sounds like you had a great day all around. And acing all your goals!! (I was temporarily confused that you hadn't made progress on the snacking front and why you'd want to eat non-freggie/non-protein snacks...) Keep being awesome

 

Ohhhh yes. Most of the bottoms I own are skirts, leggings, or jeggings because I can't be bothered to try on pants most of the time when I walk into a clothing store. But I had one good pair of work pants that got a little stain on them and so I needed a new pair, so I had starsapart help me find pants that fit and stores I can go into for whenever I need a new pair of pants.

 

My struggle is that I have pretty thick/strong thighs and massive calves because most of the athletic adventures I've ever had in my life have been VERY lower body focused (marching band and drum corps when I was in high school and college, running after I aged out of drum corps, etc.), plus it's how my body is built anyway, PLUS I'm short, and in previous experiences I could find pants that would fit me but were WAY too long, or pants that would be just right length-wise but I couldn't get over my calves or thighs. Or, if I could, they would either be way too frumpy or hang way too loose around my waist. Luckily, I know two stores where I can find pants now, so yay!

Days 05-06

Juri, what is your secret for looking amazing once you pull off the mask? I must learn this.

 

Friday was a busy but good day at work, and after work I went and did some intervals. Took it easy, which meant I was able to last longer. Basically I did 30-second sprint/90-second recover for about 12 reps. I think next time I can push myself a little harder, so that's awesome. After, I stretched for a good long time, and then I went to the store to pick up things to clean the bathroom and I bought a back brace to wear for whenever I exercise, at least until my back fully recovers if it ever recovers. Once I got home I took to doing a hard scrub-down of the master bathroom, practiced the piano a bit, and then went to bed early so that I could be good and energized for fencing class on Saturday.

 

Fencing went well, though having a back brace on made for a hotter session than I'd grown accustomed to. As for techniques, we learned the acceleration lunge, the disengage, the press/coupé, and the doublé. Next week will be epee, which means that these bruises that are almost basically healed are just going to come right on back. Once I got home, I spent a good time stretching and taking care of my back, showering and applying IcyHot to my back before running up north to eat lunch and shop with starsapart and stillskies. Acquired a replacement pair of khakis and got a new pair of black pants that apparently make my butt look fabulous, so a win all around, and now I know where I need to shop for my pants since my waist is a different size than my thighs and my legs are short because I am short. But my legs be strong, yo.

 

After shopping adventures I came home and played some DA:O. I'm almost finished with my Mahariel run! And then it's going to be Awakening time in which I scream "WHYYYYYYY" at Anders and rage at Justice, sigh. Today, though, I plan to finish cleaning the bathrooms (not much left to it, yay) and try to push through as much of DA:O as I can. My gym is closed today because of emergency system maintenance, so I'm thinking about taking advantage of a rest day since I can start using Monday as a workout day again, finally.

 

Scorecard:

QUEST ONE: ENDURANCE TRAINING

2/2 cardio days per week

 

QUEST TWO: BACK CONDITIONING

5/5 back stretches per week

5/5 back massage/foam rolling/heat therapy per week

 

QUEST THREE: SMART SNACKING

0/8 non-freggie/non-protein snacks over four weeks

 

LIFE QUEST: SPRING CLEANING

0.85/4 areas of apartment cleaned over four weeks

 

SIDE QUEST: PIANO PRACTICE

51/240 minutes of piano practice over four weeks

 

5 minutes ago, starsapart said:

 

Let's do it!

 

Plenty of chicken in the chicken soup.

 

Yas yay!

4 minutes ago, starsapart said:

 

Curse you, finances.  

 

(Though at least talking about food is the most fun I've had today so far.)

 

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

 

For cheap eats, there's Sweet Tomatoes.  For slightly more expensive eats there are several places near the mall including a really good Indian place and a couple Japanese places..............................

 

My vote is angling a bit towards Sweet Tomatoes for the kind-of all-you-can-eat aspect and for the "my wallet is crying at me" aspect? I know the protein isn't nearly as heavy as it could potentially be at the Indian and Japanese places but it's not like they're devoid of it either? It's been a while since I was at Sweet Tomatoes tbh ;;;

2 minutes ago, starsapart said:

 

I think Emperor Palace doesn't do dim sum on weekends.   Also, not so protein-y

 

Damn squared. Uh.

 

Sushi or steak? Maybe too pricey considering clothes shopping adventures? Uh......... idkkkkkk.........

1 hour ago, starsapart said:

 

Can't speak for everyone, but considering dwk and blkhole are two of my besties I would say the 3 of us are pretty hard to offend, haha.

 

Considering that I have a strong Cards Against Humanity win record.......

 

....... yeah, you'd have to work pretty hard to offend me.  

12 minutes ago, starsapart said:

 

This does not narrow down our lunch options.........

 

Pffffffffft details.

 

Ummmmmm.... dim sum?????? 

1 hour ago, starsapart said:

 

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I would so muich rather unpack than pack.............

 

SO WHAT ARE WE NOMMING TOMORROW.

 

Like I said, to each their own. For me, getting things into boxes is easy, but getting things out is fun and exciting at first and then the novelty wears off and then I wind up with 1 or 2 boxes left unpacked for years on end. ;;;;;;;;; At least I never let something like this happen when I move? If only because I usually wind up fighting with my Internet company during a move, bah.

 

AS FOR NOMS TOMORROW UH. Protein??????? THOUGH THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A GIVEN?????? Idkkkkkkkkkk.........

 

1 hour ago, Myrik said:

Luckily I don't have to pack, and they will do most of the unpacking for me.  Minus things that I don't know where to put them.  I get to pack my cars and make sure I have enough clothes for the Family to last 2 weeks.  I'll be taking my computer with me because I don't trust the movers with it. 

 

That's awesome about the company.  I never got into acting, was in choir in High School though. 

 

That's awesome! I've always thought about whether or not I want that with a moving company but I'm so paranoid and finicky that it's probably better for everyone involved if I just packed and unpacked everything myself.  But then, I haven't moved across states since we moved to Colorado ~15 years ago or so, other than college for one year before I transferred back in-state, and college moves don't count in this sense. ;;;;;;;; Mostly from one city to another or within the city, which normally meant that I was moving the majority of my stuff myself and rarely hired movers. Next time I move though, yeah, totally hiring movers because too many things broke on my last move. ;;;

 

I actually didn't get into acting until maybe about 3, 4 years ago? I was always interested in high school but had no backbone or confidence to speak of, so I chickened out of ever taking a class or auditioning for anything. Marching band was MUCH safer.  (Thought about choir but had no confidence in my singing abilities, so I just stuck with band.) Then a few years ago I took a beginner adult acting class on a whim and have been in this world ever since. I don't regret not doing it in high school, though. I'm very aware of who I was back then and I wouldn't have done well. I got into it at just the right time, tbh!

39 minutes ago, Myrik said:

Sounds like you got in with an amazing company.  Looking forward to the coming news.  It will be a great day for me as well because it will be my first whole day in my new house.

 

Seriously, I LOVE this theatre company. It's one that's for actors with disabilities across the spectrum -- physical, mental, emotional, cognitive, etc. So naturally, they don't care about the other aspects of casting, they just care if you're a good actor and if you're right for the role. It's the one place where I can audition for something and know that if I didn't get cast, it's not because of how I look. Plus, I love the people involved in the company, too, from my fellow castmates to the artistic staff to the administrative staff. It's one of the few places where I can let loose and just be me.

 

And yay, exciting news!!!!!!!! Being in a new place is always a fun adventure. Best of luck with all your unpacking adventures!!!!!! (Though I maintain that unpacking is more annoying than packing, but maybe that's just me??? )