Search the Community

"My daddy's smarter than Einstein, stronger than Hercules, and can light a fire with a snap of his fingers! Are you as good as my daddy, mister? Not if you don't visit the Gatherer's Garden, you aren't!" Aaaand I'm back! Grad school's been hella busy (did I seriously just say that?), but I'm ready and excited to start my first 6WC as a n00b assassin. I've decided on a Bioshock theme this time around, since I've recently been thinking about the games (thanks, Timehop). Who's ready to evolve?? Main Quest: Slim-Down Okay, so this wasn't actually a usable gene tonic in the games, but it was certainly advertised! My long-term main quest is to decrease my BF% from 24-26% to 14-16%. Let me go ahead and restate that it's a LONG-TERM goal, just to remind myself that patience is a thing that will serve me well here. Fun Fact: In Rapture, you could choose to receive either the Slim-Down or Telekinesis plasmid for free with a root canal. I've had 2 (or is it 3..?) root canals already, and I've yet to get a free plasmid with the procedure... ='[ Quest 1: Extra Nutrition, Fountain of Youth (+3 CON) Rapture probably isn't the best place to grab a snack, seeing as the edibles mainly consisted of things like alcohol, potato chips, and canned goods. Thankfully, I'm in Athens and have access to grocery stores. For this challenge, I'll be cutting out grains and limiting dairy (super loose, "paleo-my-way" type), as well as intentionally drinking more water. Should be attainable, seeing as I already don't eat many grains/dairy, though the local bakery (Fluff) is constantly calling my name, and I've got one hell of a sweet tooth. Drinking enough water during the day is more of a struggle for me than I generally realize, but it's nothing I can't fix with a bit of determination. I'll be tracking my meals/water on TwoGrand, which my friend will be using for added accountability. Goal: Drink all of the water and stick to no grains/limited dairy 90-100% of the time; I don't expect perfection--my best will do just fine ;] Quest 2: Sports Boost (+3 STR, +3 STA) While this technically is more about speed, I'm tailoring it to be a bit more broad (does that mean I also have the Clever Inventor tonic? I'm going with yes.). The goal for this quest is to work out 3-4 times a week, likely doing more than that when possible. I just bought YAYOG, so I'm going to look into that in the upcoming weeks, hopefully checking out the program tomorrow morning (I generally start my week--and therefore my challenge--on Sunday). I'll be typing up a more specific program tomorrow when I'm not dead tired. Goal: Work out 3-4x per week; I'm a hero! Quest 3: Armored Shell, Human Inferno (+3 DEX) This goal is all about injury prevention and maximizing potential, though I wish I were actually going to be a human inferno. I'll be working on flexibility and mobility, therefore increasing my body's defenses (injury prevention) and offenses (maximizing potential). Similar to the role of water in my life, I've tended to neglect this area of fitness, so I've decided to make it a main part of this challenge. Goal: Perform mobility routine once a day (add some simple stretching through the day), 5-7 days a week; I'm going to shoot for every day, but I realize that habits aren't formed overnight. Life Quest: Brain Boost (+3 WIS) Another gene tonic that's only sort of mentioned in the games. I've just past the halfway point in my first semester of graduate school, and I've been doing really well in my courses. With only a bit over a month left, I'm determined to keep that trend going and kick ass for the rest of the semester. I've got a couple projects and a presentation left to do, so I'll be focusing much of my brain power on those. Goal: Finish the semester like a boss because I'm awesome ;D ---------------------- Well, now that I've finished my novel, I think it's bed time. More on this tomorrow, my friends.

...the Vita-Chamber! I'm back, and sticking with the theme of my 6-week challenge, Bioshock =] And now to share my little story... The first two weeks were pretty average, meeting my fitness goal, but slacking on my diet. By the third week, my depression/anxiety--affectionately called "The Fear" by my friends and I--was kind of in full swing (or at least trying to get there), and I succumbed to the temptation of eating my feelings, something I've always struggled with. Certainly didn't help that that week was Thanksgiving, and I was cooking with and for people who don't make healthy eating a priority. Basically, I totally binged on food and exercised maybe once all week. At the end of that week, I was feeling incredibly down on myself, and hardly worth the work I wanted to put in to get healthier. I'm back on track so far this week, but The Fear is still hanging around like a red-eyed Big Daddy (ever been charged by one of those muthafluffas while your back was turned? TERRIFYING). I'm fighting him pretty hard this time, but stress from grad school is also playing a big role. My first final opens up online tomorrow at some point, followed next week by two other online finals and one in-class exam on the 12th. I'm only slightly worried about the last one, but at least I've got all week to prepare for it. The problem is that that particular professor, as evidenced by the midterm exam, tends to test us on the most obscure knowledge, making it very difficult to study. Bright side, I've stepped out of the Vita-Chamber with new determination that I'm hoping will carry me at least until the end of finals. I'll be extending my 6WC by a week to make up for the week of Thanksgiving (let me say "week" one more time in this sentence). My vigor and spirit have certainly been restored slightly, but I'm sure it'll still be a struggle until finals are over. Good luck to everyone else in the same boat! I'll be cheering for you all ;]