Scarlet

So tomorrow I cross a major item off my bucket list - I'm getting my first tattoo! I'm so damn excited I can hardly sit still today. It's going on my left upper thigh. But I'm also in the middle of a 5k program and I'm concerned about taking too much time off. I've read you should take a full week, or until it has completely healed, and I've heard I shouldn't have to take off more than a day or two. I've heard that I should wrap it in plastic wrap before I run, I've heard that just bandaging it is fine, I've heard that leaving it exposed is fine. So what are your stories? What do you recommend?

This is a great topic! It's old but I wouldn't mind having a lively conversation about nonfiction works. I recently read The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel, which is the true story of a real life hermit who lived for 20-something years in the middle of the woods in Maine, and how he did it. I also just got done with Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood, which is her memoir about growing up with a Catholic priest for a father (there's apparently a loophole to the chastity rule). Super super funny and beautifully written. I also love biographies and novelized writings of true stories; next on my list is The Professor and the Madman, which is based on the story about how the guy who put together the Oxford English Dictionary got most of his words from a "madman" serving a life sentence in prison.

Ooh my kind of question. I once spent a whole year reading only dystopian and post-apocalyptic books. It was a sad (but awesome) year. Someone mentioned A Canticle for Leibowitz above which I have to second. It was a weird one because it seemed very boring and aimless for a while, but the last five pages are some of the most powerful words I've ever read. Also read On the Beach by Nevil Shute. Someone pushed the mutual destruction button and the world is dead. The air currents are taking a radiation-scented breeze slowly south, where the only people surviving on the planet are the residents of Melbourne. Nobody knows exactly how it happened, but they all know everyone else is dead, and they're next. It's brutal but has a dry sense of humor about it that I love.

Loved that book. I identified with Dan a lot, especially when he would occasionally stop and go "this is stupid, what am I even doing here?" Made me laugh and reframed a lot of my meditation struggles to help me get over them.

Super helpful. Thanks!

Done and done! I set it up a couple days ago and only just today learned there was a forum. Thanks for the warm welcome! I do believe I have found my people. Speaking of which, I notice there are forums for the different guilds. I think there's one in particular that I'm interested in but I'm not sure how to join up. Do I just post there? Or wait for the next challenge to open?

Hello rebels! First of all, wow. This place. This system. It's all so wow. So glad I found this place. It's literally everything I have ever dreamed of. I don't want to go into a lot of detail here but I have some perhaps unusual goals that are very close to my heart. After a lifetime of trying (and failing) to live up to the standards of some pretty villainous and dastardly people, I recently broke free of the psychological chains that bound me and have been slowly but surely gaining control of my own life. I am actually pretty happy with my weight and how I look. I am not trying to lose weight, as a primary goal. I struggled with it before, but I ain't got time for self doubt anymore. What I've realized through various hardships is that I am strong, smart, and fierce...on the inside. And what I want more than anything is for the outside to match the inside. I want to be strong and vital and nimble and fast, because that's how I feel internally. I'm also a hobbit. I know this about myself. I love my home more than any other place, and I want to be surrounded by stacks of books and a variety of clever little objects that make me happy, and I want to work the earth and sing loudly and throw INCREDIBLE parties. I am accommodating and hospitable but have strong boundaries. But like some of the hobbits we know and love, I long for adventure. Or at least, I am too curious to turn it away when the opportunity arises. Another thing about hobbits? High constitution. I've got two kids who need me healthy and strong for a long time. Not thin, not sexy. Strong. High max HP is what I'm after. I love to run, although I'm truly terrible at it, and I like bodyweight exercises and working out in the privacy of my home. I like nature walks and hiking, then planting under a tree to hydrate and read. Nerd stuff, other than the hobbit talk, HP goals, and reading: I'm a gamer 4 lyfe y'all (26 years of nonstop gaming; to think they said it was "just a phase"!). Right now working my way through Persona 5, which is probably already one of my favorite games of all time. I play Magic the Gathering and I could speak for hours about Star Trek. I prefer Marvel over D.C., Star Trek over Star Wars, and I like anime. I'm obsessed with video game music and listen to it while working, driving, and running. Send me links to your favorite Let's Plays and let's nerd out together!