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Oh my god, all that drama sounds stressful and terrible. WITCHCRAFT. Glad things are getting back to normal for you.

Ooh, this sounds amazing and exactly the kind of cheese that I would theoretically be able to make, haha. I used to make kefir, but didn't really like the taste-- maybe I'd like it if I just used it for cheese, though. That sounds like an amazing thanksgiving dinner!

Ahh, your front handspring looks so good! I'm so impressed with how you just step into it and manage to make it to your feet.

Yeah, it's not really something that's easy to do on your own I used to go to a now-defunct parkour/crossfit gym that had some homemade wooden vaults, but I don't know if I would try flipping over them without... a lot of padding and setup, haha. I did some gymnastics vault-style flipping off of it, but that was only because they also had a janky homemade pit. Right! Also, when you do something wrong on beam you fall off and everyone nods understandingly and goes "ah, that looked difficult," whereas when you run down the vault strip at full tilt and then just crash your torso into the vault and yell "shit!" nobody is sympathetic in the least PRETTY MUCH. So. WE ARE MOVING. For January 1st! Into a HOUSE! That has room for my partner and I to both have our own workspace, and has a BACKYARD, with room for a GARDEN, and a COMPOST BIN, oh my god I'm so excited. Partner also wants to get an exercise bike, which will probably have to go in the living room because the ceiling in the basement is too low, but you know what, compared to our current living space having exercise equipment in the living room is JUST FINE. I could probably put my handstand canes there too, and maybe make a floor bar or some parallettes? I've been to the gym twice this week, and my routine seems to be "some sort of leg exercise, with the bodypump weights if the room they're in is free, some sort of arm exercise, probably pushups, some sort of handstand practice." I don't feel super comfortable going into the weight pit because the way it's set up doesn't really allow for everyone to stay out of each others' way, so... IDK, I could probably procure equivalent equipment at home and just stop going to the gym.

I realized lately that the carcass is the main thing I care about, so after a while of buying little birds like silkie chickens and cornish hens and just eating the meat because I had to do SOMETHING with it, I realized my local asian grocery just sells... bags full of caracsses of various things that they've already sold the rest of the meat off of. SCORE. Infinite stock for me! OH NO, that means the OT3 shippers will be along soon, and then it's going to get really heated. Oh my god, same. They're just... really flexible! (Is "flexible" a euphemism for "unstable"? Probably!) I hope this is a quick one!

Oof, have not had a great week exercise-wise, but on the plus side-- partner and I are going to look at a house for rent this afternoon! We're currently in an apartment that is kind of too small, but weren't looking for anything else particularly seriously. I was scrolling through kijiji aimlessly and found a house that is a block away from our current place a reasonable price, and has three bedrooms, a finished basement, and a back yard! Oh mannnn I really hope it works out. Anyway, I did do gymnastics on Tuesday and went over the vault a couple times 😂 I have been really trying to do all four events every session, which is hard when I only have an hour and a half. And vault is the one that usually gets pushed out, and after none months of no gymnastics I was REALLY scared to actually go over for the first time.

Ahhh, good for you for staying away from the news for a few days. Those pictures look gorgeous!

Thanks! The mitts are just for use with straps that hold you to the bar! So like this, but if you don't have a piece on the bar that rotates around it like she does, then you need slippery felt mitts instead.

Ah, this is super interesting! I mean, it makes sense, but it would be easy to overlook the importance of trust and comfort when it's "just" (LOL) something physical.

That cake looks great, too bad it tasted disappointing! I remember when microwave mud cakes were all the rage, but why were always kind of, ah, well, "sad!" if that word hasn't been despoiled by now Congrats on being in a better position to HAVE those fights, though. The real work is starting!

Thank you guys! Today I went and bought a digital camera off of someone on kijiji, as part of my preparations to get rid of my smartphone once the agreement is up in December. I already have the flip phone that I used to use and a tiny mp3 player (that I can clip onto my shirt when I work out, which is SO MUCH BETTER than needing a ginormous arm thing for my phone?) so the camera was the last Old Tech item on the list I needed I assume the novelty excitement of not having a smartphone will wear off after a little while, but... hopefully settle into a state of somewhat less general distractability. Went to the gym and did some front squats, pushups, v-ups and handstands: As of YESTERDAY, masks are FINALLY REQUIRED INDOORS HERE, so I was no longer the only person in the entire gym wearing one, but even so I've been avoiding the weight pit part of the gym and just using the... little barbells that they use for group classes? not sure if they have a name. So I pretty much just stick to this little studio room where nobody ever gets near me. Remaining today... I need to watch yesterday's Supernatural episode, because my friends have Opinions so I guess I need to have Opinions too. (Besides "this TV show is terrible and I hate it.")

Ooh. That looks like.... the kind of thing I would like to be able to do with my leg!

Oh man, that house/family situation sounds so stressful. Good for you for logging out-- languages, workouts and mental health are wonderful things to focus on for a week!

It's true-- in the video there's a step which involves something halfway in between a back handspring and a macaco where he's more or less doing it onto his head with bent arms, which... is probably best left to people who are extremely comfortable with movements involving the head and protecting the neck from injury with just the right amount of arm pressure.

Ahahah, thank you! IDK if it really has a name, just... jumping to the high bar, which might look more like a jump when you're shorter and more like a fall if you're... taller and/or chicken like me

Ah, this is such an interesting way to learn a backhandspring! My gymnastics brain is like "NO, WHAT," but in terms of actually being able to progress towards the movement in a way that is safe at every step of the way and doesn't require special equipment or a spotter, it actually looks really smart!

Ahhh, I'm sorry to hear you're struggling. I Highly Identify with the "what would I like to do? idk, probably nothing" feeling right now. I have nothing to offer on the therapy front (hahaha i went to one therapist once and it was terrible and awkward and I ghosted him after two sessions) but it sounds like you're putting in work to find something that will help.

Apparently I am pretty terrible at actually coming back to challenges, but having something to do online besides stare at the front page of the NYT sounds like a good idea, so in this challenge I resolve to do WHATEVER I WAS GONNA DO ANYWAY, which this week is a resounding "permission to do nothing at all." Tuesday night, though, I actually had gymnastics, and finally got my own chalk box (no more communal chalk!) and strap bar mitts (no more communal mitts, which god, why did I not do this earlier, those things were SO GROSS. The feeling of pulling on mitts still sticky with someone else's hand-sweat...) so I managed a bar routine and two sets of strap bar giants. I also did a bit of tumbling on the floor, though nothing with back handsprings because my shoulder was Done from bars. I tried some front layouts on the real floor for the first time (lol) and did a bit of trampoline at the end-- the foam pit is also out of commission ATM due to generally being a disgusting unwashable petri dish, so there's some stuff I haven't been doing (my double tucks! I miss you!) but I actually managed to kind of land a couple 1 1/2 twists from the trampoline onto a mat. Today, partner and I are going to a flu vaccine clinic at the university, which we're going to walk ~1hr each way, so... that and election anxiety are my exercise today, woooo.

Thanks! Yeah, it was okay after a few days.

Holy crapppp, this is so cool!

Didn't do great at going to the gym this week, though that was partly because the one time I did go, I did something to my neck and didn't move much for the next several days. OOPS. (I have no idea what it was! One moment my neck did not hurt, and the next moment my neck hurt a lot.) Today I went into the gymnastics club to coach a parent&tot booking, and the head coach was there, and I asked him if I could come in during his cheer class, and he said yes 😭😭😭 I literally went out to my car and started crying of happiness. I'm working half of the time anyway, so it won't even be every week, but... being able to go to the gym any Tuesday night that I'm free is still 100% more gymnastics than I was doing before. Now I feel like i need to justify my presence there by actually working out at the gym as much as I can 😭

Unpacking after moving is pretty much the single hardest task any human being has ever accomplished *eyes all the things in my apartment that are Just There because that's where I put them when I moved in* so CONGRATS ON UNPACKING

Congrats! Omg. That pole room is terrifying.

Oh wow, that looks so gorgeous!

NICE. I'm glad you got it done! The rec coordinator is still ignoring my question about adult gym, but I offered to coach a class on Sunday, so SHE'S GONNA HAVE TO TALK TO ME AT SOME POINT. I also realized that... the cheerleading tumbling class whose coach, pre-lockdown, let me come in and unobtrusovely train during, is still happening. It's being taught by the head coach of the gym, because the coach who used to do it is now on parental leave. I know the head coach likes me, and he might let me do the same... if only I can find a way to actually contact him. Ha.