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This challenge is (mostly) a continuation of the previous challenge where I was doing Daily Quests. Because I figured that if I did Daily Quests in Final Fantasy XIV without a problem, then surely I could do the same in Real Life too, right? For those of you who have read any of my previous challenges, feel free to start laughing. The previous challenge daily goals were: - Sun salutations every morning, followed by a 1 min plank. The Sun Salutations have happened probably 4 times, and so have the planks. The problem here consisted of "morning". - 4 min Tabata workout on the Assault Bike every morning. See above. This daily goal was also made more difficult due to the drama surrounding the use of the Assault Bike. - Sweep the main floor every evening (because the wind from the Assault Bike sends cat and dog hair flying EVERYWHERE and I don't want to have to sweep in the mornings). Bed time arrived and I was like "nah". - Intermittent fasting (easy, because making food is annoying and this means I'll have to do it less). This was probably the only goal I stuck with from March 5 until Today (ongoing). Less effort, more win! - Go to bed at a reasonable hour (easier because if I'm sober I get tired around 9 PM because apparently I am Old™ now). And also this. - Daily bodyweight workout (the details aren't 100% figured out, so this goal may be left out, or implemented mid-challenge). The details are still not 100% figured out but I've done something each day and that will have to do. Okay, so there were at least three Dailies that survived the last challenge (and by "last challenge" I really mean the last 2 weeks of the last challenge because that's about when I started crawling out of the depression shit pit). I would like to establish some kind of a morning routine, though, which is difficult due to the aforementioned problem of mornings. And then an idea hit me in the face: why don't I do my FFXIV Dailies in the mornings? This would both a) be something I actually look forward to doing, and b) have a higher likelihood of getting me out of bed without pressing the snooze button 4 to 12 times. All I would need to do is clear space on the desk that is conveniently located at the foot of my bed and put the gaming laptop on said desk. It's not an ideal desk since it doesn't have much space for a mouse, but it's not like I need to be super precise to do daily quests on FFXIV. Week 0 goals: - UNCLUTTER THE DESK. Because if the desk is cluttered then I can't put the laptop on it and therefore can't do FFXIV dailies in the morning. - Find a spot for the alarm clock. Ongoing goals: - Stick with the Slow Carb Diet until April 21. - Do some physical exercise daily. - Attempt to get >7 hours of sleep. - Keep alcohol consumption to a minimum. Right. All of this until April 21 because I'll be traveling during the last week of April, so this will be a 4-week challenge. Or maybe 5 week anyway since I'm still doing these goals during week zero. So, uhh...7ish week challenge in total since I've been doing these goals since March 5?

Placeholder post. This challenge will be focused mainly on cosplay and drinking tea instead of booze. There will also be workouts and diet tweaks but I haven't figured everything out yet. Week zero goals: - Buy some tea. - Obtain all necessary fabric, patterns, etc. that I'll need for my cosplay(s). - Make an actual timeline for the cosplay(s). - Figure out a workout plan/schedule. - Figure out a diet/menu plan. - CLEAN. MY. FUCKING. LIVING. SPACE. I will update this post throughout the week. A timeline for the cosplay is below, but it's more like a list of steps rather than an actual timeline that has deadlines for each step. Dates will be added later. Workout plan so far: Mondays - 5 min upper body workout in the morning, conditioning class in the evening (if people show up), pole class in the evening. Tuesdays - 5 min lower body workout in the morning, BodyAttack class in the afternoon. Wednesdays - conditioning class in the evening (if people show up), pole class in the evening. Thursdays - 5 min upper body workout in the morning. Fridays - 5 min lower body workout in the morning. Saturdays - BodyAttack class in the morning. Sundays - Rest or w/e, maybe go for a walk. I might increase the 5 min upper body workouts to 15 minutes, just because I have big upper body goals for this challenge. Possible breakfast menu ideas: - 3/4 cup egg whites in a keto tortilla with a bit of cheese. - Cottage cheese with protein powder and hempseed hearts. - 3/4 cup egg whites with black beans and salsa. - Smoothie with fruit and protein powder, or something. Lunch menu: - Salad with chicken (or some form of protein). - Chili. Supper menu: - ????? - Whatever mom makes. I'd need to pre-cook chicken for my salads at some point. And also pre-cook chili (worst case scenario is that I can just have chili from a can). I love tuna, but I don't want to have it more than once a week due to the mercury content. Maybe twice. I used to make salads for lunch every day at work and it was an excellent way to get more vegetables into my diet, so I see no reason why I can't do this again. Supper is where things get complicated, because I have absolutely zero say re. what goes on in the kitchen. I also have no space in the kitchen while mom is cooking supper, so what she makes is what I have. This usually isn't bad because mom likes to cook healthy meals. Unfortunately, sometimes she'll fall behind in her day due to other things happening and then won't feel like cooking anymore, at which point we'll have frozen pizza or pot stickers or pasta or whatever. This isn't BAD, but also not weight loss-friendly 😅 So I'll need some options for backup meals. I have konjac noodles for pasta days, and...hmm, maybe I could ask that we get frozen cauliflower pizza going forward. I'll figure something out. There's also the option of getting take-out for weekly suppers since there's a place in town that makes meals that are specifically high in protein for people who work out. Shirtless bathroom mirror selfies may also happen on a weekly basis and will be taken every Saturday morning post-BodyAttack. Potential eating schedule, to be filled in before Week 1: Yeah. I'll be doing the Slow Carb diet 😆

So, 2017 was hard for me. Me, basically all of 2017 I am still dealing with the existential crisis I dealt with all year, I gained all of my weight back that I had lost in 2015-2016, and I just let other people's issues come first, when I should have been prioritizing my own life. So, you know, 2017 can Anyway, 2018 is gonna be my year. I need it to be. Six years of graduate school really took a toll on my mental and physical health, and I refuse to go into my 30s less healthy than I went into my 20s. So, it's time to catch up on a few things. Actual footage of me trying to catch up to my goals We all know that I am someone who enjoys the video games, especially MMOs and RPGs. I have recently gotten back into Final Fantasy XIV, on which I have a level 70 Ninja and am leveling up Bard. So I thought I'd do an MMO/FFXIV-themed challenge for this first challenge of 2018. Specifically, I'd do some tank, healer, and DPS quests. Keep it simple of course. Here we go! Measurement Spreadsheet 2018 Road Map TANK: WARRIOR Quest 1: Strength training twice a week Bonus EXP: Work on pull ups Quest 2: Get 100g of protein per day Bonus EXP: Eat less than 120g carbs per day HEALER: SCHOLAR Quest 1: Read one book over course of challenge Bonus EXP: Any additional books read Quest 2: Finish up one research project over course of challenge Bonus EXP: Any additional projects completed DPS: NINJA Quest 1: Running, twice a week Bonus EXP: Interval training Quest 2: Stretching, every day Bonus EXP: Work on splits DPS: BARD Quest 1: Tennis, once a week (may replace with running if league isn't going) Bonus EXP: Win a match Quest 2: Write two blog posts over course of challenge Bonus EXP: Any additional blog posts written

Cataleya's 2017 Roadmap Read first! I'm about to hit level 60 on my lovely Ninja, and I figured, well, I should hit 60 IRL too, by working toward a limit break! I'm keeping my challenge busy, but simple. I'll edit as need be, but this is what's going into effect on January 8. Zero week is for getting back into the swing of things, so I will try to check in every day. Critical Hit Rate - Once a week, use those hand wraps you got over Christmas break. Dexterity - Three times a week, do a Couch to 10K workout. Strength - Twice a week, do weight-based training. Morale - Daily, check in with other Nerd Fitness people, both people you’ve subscribed to and people you haven’t. As always, @Hazard's fitness data log that I copied is here. Date Weight 7-Day Avg. (lbs) Lean Mass 7-Day Avg. (lbs) Fat Mass 7-Day Avg. (lbs) Lean Mass per Fat Mass ratio Fat lbs Left to Lose to hit 3.5 ratio 1-Jan-2017 193.8 140.1 53.7 2.61 13.7 8-Jan-2017 15-Jan-2017 22-Jan-2017 29-Jan-2017 5-Feb-2017 Also, I've started a workout-focused Instagram. It's going to be private, but if you follow me I'll likely follow back assuming I can tell who you are. Nothing risque, I'm afraid, just a private person, generally speaking, when it comes to this stuff. I was following a few of you on my other account, but I figured I'd move all my fitness stuff over to this one, so I can feel more free to post stuff.

liliba, one of my ever-enduring conjurers, resting after a hard mission (100% chance of DOL materia on her!) FFXIV-related, all about my #squadgoals (To explain, because probably only @shaar will get it, FFXIV has grand companies you join to get seals and stuffs and when you're a high enough rank, you can have your own squadron of obedient NPCs. I'm hunting lalafells in reindeer suits, but I don't have a single one of those yet. SOMEDAY. The 3 attributes that determine squadron mission success are Physical, Mental, and Tactical.) PHYSICAL Lift 4x per week, excepting sickness or injury Achieve a 10k step goal -- weekly average Conditioning -- Either 10 min strongman stuff on arm days, or substitute with Darebee if not possible MENTAL Study 4x per week Be creative 2x per week Chill out 3x per week doing one of the following: yoga, adult coloring book, meditation, massage, read print book (Reading print books as an effort to read my physical book collection, which I often ignore in favor of Kindle) TACTICAL Roll/stretch for at least 10 min 6x per week 1x yoga per week Diet stuff: Maintenance with focus on not going over. Range is 1450-1600 as weekly average. 100 outside of range in either direction is a fail. C if range isn't hit in a smaller window. Protein 95+g 6x per week as always ENTER FATS: I've been doing quite well at protein for a little while, so I'm expanding into fats and carbs. I'm going to start at a goal of .6g per 1 lb bodyweight, or 64g. 58-68g as a daily goal. I'm also paying attention to saturated fat (yes, yes, I know, lots of nutrition opinions and studies in all kinds of directions, I'm doing self-science here). Note: I'm not grading the fat macro this time. I'm aiming for it, and will give myself bonus points if I manage it, but mostly observing what happens when I just do some simple trying to see what happens "naturally" when I try, and if I want to make additional tweaks to it next month or not. How is this easier? It looks like a lot, Ix! Yes, that's true. BUT notice the lack of adulting goals, replaced with a simple just plz study sometimes and maybe write a little goals, and some stuff specifically aimed at bringing my mind to a better place. I lowered the time requirement on mobility, and the yoga goal fulfills two goals. The introduction of fat macros isn't graded. There are no burpees (sorry, probably next time). So on the whole, easier than normal, hopefully hard enough to challenge me and easy enough not to burn me out.

Shaar slept for what seemed like forever. And she dreamed; dreams of neverending stone towers, of abandoned decay, of emptiness and gloom. The innkeeper took pity on her - from the way she moseyed her bedraggled self in there, it looked like she’d just survived the Calamity - and gave her a reduced rate so she could stay for the week to recover. And recover she did. Between fits of sleep and gorging herself on the cook’s seasonal pumpkin stew, Shaar made herself at home about The Hyaline for a spell. But she couldn’t ignore the remaining legs of her quest. The Dread Gods demanded her attention now. Tranicos, she’d muttered to herself as she packed her meager assortment of things, and prepared to head out on the open road again. One wraith down and two to go, Shaar had taken her resting time seriously and spent a few days poring over tomes within the Arcanist’s libraries, searching for information on her targets. Most of it had been relegated to myth and legend, but it was enough to get started. A light rain fell over the city as she left; cleansing in a way, but also really annoying. After having spent many weeks in a musty old lighthouse, Shaar was beginning to think she may never dry out. I hope I don’t grow gills. Have to go live with the Sahagin... She journeyed for a few days, uneventfully thank the Twelve, until she arrived at her destination - the Lost City of Amdapor. The magic and splendor of Amdapor now lived on only in history books - what was once a thriving city before the Calamity was now just an empty, decrepit husk of what once was. Long since abandoned by any sort of life, reports of lost spirits and haunts flooded recent research, and Shaar was fairly confident that she would be able to pick up on some clues here. Stepping inside she immediately became cloaked with a heavy sense of urgency and dread. This air wasn’t right, and it was eerily quiet.... Too quiet, with no organic noise to speak of. Feeling stifled and uncomfortable, Shaar reached into the small pouch at her side to retrieve the proper talisman for this job. It was obvious. Really really obvious. We always come back, to this. Shaar set the Soul of the Bard close to her chest, raised her chin a bit in bravery, and stepped forward into the ruins. Also she amazingly became a very tall dragonman, which is never really a bad thing, and also has no bearing on the story’s continuity save for screenshots~ [soul of the bard: 50/50] I will start out with a full 50 point health bar. This bar will stay full as long as I complete the weekly goals I’ve set for myself here. If I slip up and fail a week, my health will go down by a certain number of points determined by the quest in question. My goal to pass this challenge and advance the story is to come out of the 4 weeks with a 50/50 health bar. In the event of me missing a weekly goal, I’ve included some bonus quests at the end of my main duties that will help me regain points and stay in the game! 1 just one more thing [battle voice] Currently I’ve settled (shockingly) nicely into a M W Th heavy lifting schedule. My goal over time is to be working out more days than not, so at this point in my journey I’m looking to sloooowly integrate a fourth day into my week. I’ve historically had trouble getting this to stick in the past, so this will be a challenge for me. I’m aiming for Friday or Saturday, and for this challenge this workout will include something lighter like: yoga, walking/jogging/hiking, light plyometrics or cardio (no HIIT), or bodyweight/core drills. I want to ease into being mindful of activity on an extra day. This is really important to me and growing my discipline, so missing a week will set me back -15HP. 2 will sing for +dex [sidewinder] The next addition to my mobility regimen is going to be neck and shoulders, aka my NUMBER ONE PROBLEM SPOTS, so I am REALLY excited about this! I purchased a copy of FitForRealLife’s neck and shoulder workshop and holy smokes am I excited to put this into motion. (Pun verily intended) I will be adding this to my current 3-day-a-week mobility drills for wrists and ankles. Missing a day will drop me -5HP. (Aside, I’m sure D&D bards have CHA as their main or something, this is for FFXIV reasons only, so don’t flame me bro~)(I also have flaming arrows, just sayin’) 3 of venom and culling [bloodletter] My number one nutritional vice is rearing its ugly head again - no, not bread, or Mexican food, or pizza, or candy bars... mine is in liquid form, liquid like a sneaky snek, and it is beer. Fall/winter is by far my favorite beer season (hooray heavy flavor profiles) and I’m having some trouble not over-indulging lately. A lot of it for me is a very social aspect, mainly special events and brewery tap takeovers hosted by our local bottle shop, combined with really enjoying a drink while playing video games. I know too much beer isn’t good for me and won’t help me meet my fitness goals, so I need to make it a priority to nip this in the bud and be way more mindful about my intake! I won’t restrict myself completely because I feel that’s unhealthy, so I’ll pull it back to no more than one beer over the course of a M-F week span, and two allowed on weekends. Important caveat - these beers cannot be had if I am lifting the next morning! I need to be stricter with myself on this, so messing up will cost me -10HP. (The one exception to this quest will be Thanksgiving day, where our tradition is to celebrate with whisky~) 4 culinary barding [army’s paeon] Ok so this is a fun one. (I hope I’ll still be saying this later~) I’ve got a recipe book that has gone woefully underused over.... Oh, the past 8 years?? (I know, sad~) Now this is a traditional book where you write your recipes on each page - which is my favorite when cooking because I’m old school I guess - but get this, instead of actually, you know, writing down all of my recipes... I take the printouts and just STUFF THEM IN THE PAGES AND FOLDERS. LAME. SERIOUSLY. Also v. hard to find anything because it’s just a giant clutter of dumb. This quest is to finally do the thing I’ve been thinking of doing for y e a r s - write down and organize ALL of my recipes, and throw away the damn printouts and scraps of paper ya lazy bum. This quest will span the entire 4 weeks and cost me a big -10HP if not completed. In the event I slip up and fail something one week, I’ve built in a failsafe to redeem myself and my precious HP points. Extra options include: Extra GMB session - +3HP 30 minute outdoor walk - +3HP Excessive housecleaning (3 rooms) - +10HP Get some damn holiday shopping done - +5HP 30 minute outdoor jog - +8HP Ready?! READY!!! LET'S PLAY SOME DOOM METAL AND SAVE THE WORLD!!!!!

All she knew, was that she had been summoned. Shaar walked slowly into the small town of Cedarwood, casting a curious glance upwards among the trees and buildings as she did so. She had passed through these city gates many times, but this instance held a particular brand of unexplainable heaviness. Lips thinned in thought, and she shifted her travel satchels lightly about her waist, heading up the small hill to the inn. Come here. I will wait. That’s all the delivered missive had said, but the handwriting was familiar and unmistakable. And as Shaar shouldered the door to the inn gently, her gaze immediately landed upon the sender as she was greeted warmly. Shaar had been friends with Yre’na for... well, as long as she could remember, really. The Miquo’te was a drifter at heart, and would often disappear for years at a time with no word, but when she reappeared to cross Shaar’s path again it was always like no time had passed. Shaar found herself holding her breath as she approached Yre’na’s table. That’s odd. Before she could open her mouth to speak the Miquo’te’s trademark cat-like eyes flicked up to her, and a warmth crinkled the edges. “Aha, there you are.” Teeth and fangs followed through with a smile, widening, a dichotomous mix of welcoming yet predatory at the same time. Shaar found herself returning the smile tentatively, one hand coming to rest on the back of the table’s empty chair. Yre’na had always been a little.... Odd. Intense. Different. Mysterious. And sometimes a little dangerous. She and Shaar were two very different people but they always seemed to have no trouble getting along flawlessly. Like puzzle pieces that snapped together without a second thought. But this time, there was something different. Shaar made a mental note of the tiny yet vague alarm ringing in the back of her mind at this encounter, and pulled out the chair to sit, widening her smile and gesturing joyfully to her friend as Yre'na laughed joyfully, seemingly happy to be reunited. “Yeah, here I am. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long! It’s been... what, five months now? Six? I hope everything’s been okay with you.” Yre’na leaned forward, her smile softening, intense golden eyes locking onto her friend’s face. “Yes, I am very well, thank you. I actually did not call you here for me. We have a mission for you.” The exotic lilt of her voice held a mix of playfulness and curiosity, each word enunciated clearly, and the Miquo’te tilted her head gently to one side as she spoke. “Oh?” Shaar quirked an eyebrow slowly and leaned forward in her chair, interested. We. Yre’na had a history of doing side jobs for the Kraken’s Arms, a local pirate gang that was a little less ‘gang’ and more like a rebellious Robin Hood group. Their band consisted of a wide variety of... well, ‘contractors’, and briefly she found it odd that they would need someone of her service. To her credit, she was versed in multiple disciplines, so.... “Yeah? Yeah, okay. What’s up?” “You’re familiar with the Dread Gods, yes?” Shaar paused, brows furrowed before she answered softly, “Yes”. The Dread Gods were fiction turned wive’s tale, old stories you used to get your children to come home before dark and spook your friends with during All Saint’s Wake. Members of an ancient looter’s group that turned traitor, brutalized by their comrades, now three vengeful spirits left to roam the continent of La Noscea, hungry for revenge and any wayward human that crossed their path. A superstition, misfortune relegated to the history books. Yet something about the way Yre’na was watching her made the hair on the back of Shaar’s neck stand up. Without thinking, she spoke: “Vylkis, Tranicos...” “And Myrtille.” Yre’na slid in and finished the sentence with a glint in her eye. “Yes, you remember. I knew you would.” She shifted in her seat, serpentine, curling slim fingers of both hands around the arms of her chair as she continued. “These are not just tales, Shaar. The Dread Gods are real. They have roamed this land since before our ancestors settled here, eternally confined to the world of their traitorous deeds. They have been here for too long. Overstayed their welcome. And now, it is time for them to go home.” Shaar leaned back in her seat gently, almost instinctively, as Yre’na leaned forward in hers - a perfect mirror of motion. “Kill them. Your mission is to kill them. Send them home.” The Miquo’te’s tone was lilted, intense, as she locked her piercing gaze onto her friend’s bewildered face. She was still smiling with those pointed teeth. “I... wait, what? You want me to kill some wraiths? Really?” Skeptical, Shaar frowned, working to wrap her mind around all of this. Kill ghosts? Can you even? And why me? Yre’na chuckled lowly, that softening warmth returning to her eyes. “This task is for you, Shaar, because you can do this. Do you trust me?” Without hesitation, “Yes”. “Good. I then, will trust in you, and that you will know what to do when the time comes.” The Miquo’te rose slowly from her chair, declining her chin to keep her gaze settled on her friend. “Each of the Dread Gods is rumored to carry a different totem. Return them to me, and we will know the deed has been done. You will be compensated thusly, and handsomely. Remember, you are strong, and you are wise, and very, very capable.” The two regarded each other silently for a few moments, respectfully, before Yre’na nodded once, turned, and left the inn in one sleek motion. --- Shaar remained nestled in the inn for some hours later, silently observing the patrons, nursing a mug of strong ale, and rolling the days events over in her head. Kill some Gods, yeah, ok. No big. I’m your gal. Her memory wandered back to sepia-toned youth, where she recalled tales of the corsair Vylkis often being sighted in Western La Noscea, around Skull Valley and the Tidegates. So, destination set. But... Shaar let out a slow sigh, and reached for the well-worn pouch kept closely at her side. Barely bigger than her hand, she released the complex maze of securing strings and delved her fingers inside, jostling around a multitude of talismans. Different colors, shapes, no two the same. It would be important to get the right one. Just the right one for a really important job. She gave herself a few moments before her fingers closed around one. Do I even have to look? Retrieving her hand from the pouch, she glanced down, uncurling her fingers to reveal the crystal she had palmed; Soul of the Dragoon. A knowing, almost rueful smile, and she tucked this soul safely away in her belt, away from the others. Yet still that odd feeling remained, and it was likely the ale that nudged her to tuck that away for the time being - one final draught to drain her mug, and it was time to go. --- Nerds, friends, rebels, and ancient pirate wraiths! Welcome to part 1 of my new mini-narrative for the next few NF challenges!! I've got a small story I'd like to spin alongside my goals for a bit, along with some ~*~custom-made gifs and screencaps~*~ because I'm a giant nerd. (SHOCKER RIGHT?!) Anyways. [soul of the dragon: 50/50] I will start out with a full 50 point health bar. This bar will stay full as long as I complete the weekly goals I’ve set for myself here. If I slip up and fail a week, my health will go down by a certain number of points determined by the quest in question. My goal to pass this challenge and advance the story is to come out of the 4 weeks with a 50/50 health bar. In the event of me missing a weekly goal, I’ve included some bonus quests at the end of my main duties that will help me regain points and stay in the game! Main Quests 01 activity, lift x 3 days [blood of the dragon] Get back into a consistent 3-day lifting schedule. Easy peasy, right? Missing a day will drop me -5HP. 02 mobility, gmb unbreakable wrists & ankles x 3 days [sharper fang & claw] I’m very interested in mobility but all I’ve done so far is mostly collect underpants. Around the end of last year I doodled around with some basic primal work, but it never really stuck. At this point I want to develop a consistent mobility practice to keep me moving good and feeling good, especially sitting in a desk chair 8 hours a day! I’ll be starting with these two GMB flow tutorials for wrists and ankles. I really dig GMB, their mobility work is really dynamic and full-body and looks FUN to do, and having fun is really important for me to make my goals stick. Missing a day will drop me -3HP. 03 meal prep, all lunches + addition of meal prepped breakfasts [battle litany] I’ve been wanting to expand my meal prep to breakfasts and snacks for a while now, so I’ll take this step by step and just focus on adding weekday breakfasts to my current weekday lunch schedule. Most importantly I’m looking to focus on a post-workout recovery meal for days I hit the gym, something pre-made (by me!) that I can grab and bring with me to keep in the car until afterwards. Missing a week of breakfast prep will cost me -5HP. Recovery Quests These are some extra options for me to regain health if I donk up my main goals! Extra GMB session - +2HP 30 minute outdoor walk - +3HP Dynamic yoga session (not recovery/restorative) - +3HP P90X cardio workout - +5HP 30 minute outdoor jog - +5HP I'm also going to be heading up a mental health/wellness accountability group here if anyone is interested in helping keep their brains a little less stressed and jangly as we go. <3 <3 I'm looking forward to it as the holidays settle in and the days get colder and shorter... Anyways, off to hunt some pirate wraiths! ^_- I hope you'll come along for the ride!

Hi friends, nerds, rebels, strangers, spies from the Garlean empire, honored visitors of House Fortemps, and sky pirates! Welcome to my August (and some of September) challenge!! I’ll be frank - 2016 has been one of the hardest years for me that I can remember. It’s fighting me ruthlessly with all it’s got. Work stress, life stress, financial planning and worry, dealing with (and working to combat) physical and mental exhaustion, and a recent and very sudden kitty passing has left me flat out exhausted - unmotivated - overwhelmed - unhappy - depressed - flat - broken. BUT NO MORE. I’m done being sad. I’m done feeling sorry for myself. I’m packing away my grief. I can't live there anymore. I’m done with just floating along as the bad things happen. I’ve had the time I needed to mentally and emotionally deal with these things. And I have hope that the dust is beginning to settle, and I’m ready to reclaim myself. When the going gets tough, the tough put on their Herklaedi armor set, build up their Wrath stacks, and GET TO MURDERIN’!!!* (*Bad situations and feels, not people.) (it me) This challenge is all about completing a variety of goals to activate my Limit Break and hack myself out of this shitty hole life has booted me into. If you’ve played Final Fantasy you’ve probably come across the Limit Break, but if not, here it is: As you fight you build up your strength, and once your Limit Break meter is full IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME~ I’ve assigned a point value to a wide range of goals this go-around. My Limit Break meter is set at 50 points to activate and I can do this in a variety of ways, picking and choosing the goals that are working and what’s most important to me. Some goals, however, will be more important than others, and thusly have higher point values assigned.... But I’ve also calculated in a failsafe, that in the event I can’t complete a big goal (a piano falls on me, I catch bird flu, etc.) I can still make do with other accomplishments and power through. I’ve also made a variety because for Week 3 I’ll be road tripping up to New England for a week, and there are some important and fun local-based goals I can hit, too! So without further adieu: Challenge will be completed if/whenever I hit my Limit Break goal of 50 points. I AM SO VERY READY.

HI GUYS!! Welcome to my... what, 16th challenge here?? HOLY SNACKS. I honestly think I've lost count. Eep~ At any rate I’m clearly still on an FFXIV kick so for this challenge, welcome to the snowy city-state of Ishgard. This challenge is a little different from previous of mine in that the activity level has a bit of a different focus... I’m going to be doing a lot of tracking, logging, data-mining, and habit observing this go-around. Of course my regular fitness will still take place in the background! (And on my first quest!) Ishgard is as tactical as it is strong, so it seemed like a perfectly themed place to set up shop. So honestly the best job class to complete my quests would be Scholar, but I have leveled ZERO of Scholar so I’m going to take a smidge of liberty here and let ASTROLOGIAN head off this challenge!!! AST is based in Ishgard and there are lots of opportunities for research and higher learning in the city. I’ve named each quest after one of the Astrologian’s buff cards (similar to tarot cards), and am ready to dig into some studies... (witness; me making use of my $9.99/mo Adobe Creative Cloud suite~) The Bole - Deadlift Progression A long time ago in a land far away (like last year?) I managed to seriously twang my lower back while deadlifting. It was a combination of lack of skill, too much weight too fast, and a traditionally weak lower back that all contributed to the sadness. Since then I’ve shied away from any sort of deadlift because it really skeeved me out. (Aside: I also am of the long legged/short armed variety, which set me up for a little of a disadvantage anyway, positioning was always a little tenuous.) Slowly but surely I’ve been kind of excelling at one legged Romanian Deadlifts - I’m up to 50lbs right now with zero signs of low back strain or fatigue. I realized a week or so ago that I’m progressing really well with these because even when I started with around 25-30lbs, it would put a serious strain on my lower back. These days it’s still very taxing, but not in a painful way at all. SCORE! In the spirit of being a Very Careful Person (tm), I’ve decided to (gently) run with this knowledge and add some other drills to my workouts that will help me prepare for deadlifts in a future challenge. So, I will work on: Hip Hinges & Thrusts Romanian Deadlifts (Barbell) Dumbbell Deadlifts Rack Pulls - MAYBE - I have read serious conflicting information on the validity of these so I’m not sure if I’ll be adding them quite yet. More research! This list may change or vary as I research more over Zero Week but I aim to complete 8 sessions of this over the next 4 weeks - one heavier session at the gym and one lighter at home, since I have dumbbells - and see where it takes me. (And how much Tiger Balm I need to use.) A - 8 sessions of DL Progression completed B - 6-7 sessions of DL Progression completed C - <6 sessions of DL Progression completed The Balance - Food Tracking It’s time to start tracking my food intake again. (Insert non-enthused ‘yaaaaay’ here~) According to MFP the last time I tracked anything ended around February-ish? I’m not a person that can track my intake for 6+ months at a time, it makes me twitchy, and I get a little overwhelmed and unhappy with it and it’s just not good for my overall well being. So I track on and off in the hopes that the ‘on’ phase will help me get a good handle on the values of the things I’m eating, and help me make smart choices when I’m ‘off’. So I’ve been ‘off’ for a while and it’s definitely time to start again. No numbers to hit, no goals or macros to meet, just log everything for 4 weeks to see where I’m at, and use the data to decide where I need to improve. The caveat is that I won’t have MFP on my phone (this actually makes it less stressful for me!) and I’ll need to log my daily food from the desktop. Deal? Deal. A - 4 weeks logged B - 3-4 weeks logged C - Less than 3 weeks logged The Ewer - Limit Alcohol So I don’t drink a ton but it’s enough lately to really give me some gently unpleasant side effects such as - shittier sleep! - gently expanding waistline! - crappy skin! - feeling like a bloaty slug! - etc. I’ll maybe have 3-4 beers weekly now but I SERIOUSLY need to cut that back. I know I can, I don’t crave beer like I used to, and I’ve done this before and I can do it again. Limiting myself to 6 drinks over the course of 4 weeks. This one is sink or swim with zero middle ground. Easy, right?... A - 6 or less drinks F - More than 6 drinks The Spire - Managing Gil It’s time for me to sit down and take a long hard look at my financials and get my shit in order! I’m at a point now with my 32h/week job that I take in more than I expend, which is good. However, I really need to tighten the bootstraps and make my money work for me, instead of just -thinking- I know what’s going on. While I’m actively looking for something full-time I’ve decided that, when/if that does happen it’ll be great, but right now I need to start doing more to improve my current financial situation instead of... you know, just waiting. I’ll be utilizing You Need A Budget and MAKING EVERY DOLLAR COUNT. My biggest goal right now is to just be able to visualize how my money is working for me and get a little more aggressive with saving and paying some stuff down. (Luckily my credit card right now is 0% APR until April, which helps LOADS.) Oddly enough I’m STUPID EXCITED about this one and giving this system a go, as I’ve heard awesome things about it, and even reading it all over gets me hype. Again, I’m just tracking and gathering data for 4 weeks and using the results to see what kind of position I'm really in. A - Tracked financials for 4 weeks F - Tracked financials for <4 weeks BONUS QUEST! The Spear - Space Management GUYS I AM IN MY NEW VERY OWN COMPUTER ROOM!!! I’m so flippin’ excited, it’s so spacious and the lighting is lovely and I feel so chill and calm and happyyyyy~ Kell and I effectively each have our own “hobby rooms” now and we both are LOVING our new spaces! What this means for me is that I need to CLEAN. My room previously was storage, and still is to some extent, but now it’s up to me to go through the clutter in here and downsize/clean it up. Also get some shelves and my corkboard up on the walls, and some pictures I’ve been meaning to hang. This won’t be graded, but I’ll be posting photos and talking about it as I go, so yay! I THINK THAT'S ALL!??! I'm excited because these are all things I need to work on and will help to set a foundation (Ishgardian pun intended) for future endeavors. Let's gooooo~!!

Hello rebels and WELCOME to the 3rd challenge of 2016! I am RIDONKULOUSLY excited for this one because I’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to start crafting a challenge setup that works for me on a larger scale and keeps me motivated. Before I get into the nitty gritty of this challenge (pull up a chair, because it’s a big’un), it’s CROW MOON MONTH!!!!! “The Native American full moon names for March are largely based on these being considered the last full moons of winter: the crow caws its farewell to the season and worms start to surface at this time, signaling the retreat of winter and the marching in of springtime.†Hell yes my friends. I’m ready to say FLIPPIN’ FAREWELL to this winter season, and move on to warmer and brighter times. I’m really happy crow falls on this challenge, it’s one of my favorite animals, and the symbolism really jives with what I’ve got going on - ready to try something new and change it up a bit. So the 4 weeks don’t really do it for me for multiple reasons, a big one being that they’re too short for me to really get thoughtful and creative with them. One of my favorite parts of a challenge, aside from meeting more goals and evolving my progress, was being able to sit down and really cobble out a theme that would bring me through from start to finish and keep things FUN. While this 4 week challenge format (and lack of zero week) will likely change in the future, I decided to take it upon myself to adapt to whatever’s coming and make a challenge setup that could work for me, anytime, no matter how many weeks long or rest weeks in between. Welcome to Eorzea, nerds. <3 I’ve pulled huge inspiration from the MMO that’s slowly invaded my spare time - Final Fantasy XIV. I’ve played a decent amount of MMO’s in my day and right now it’s barely behind World of Warcraft for my all time favorite, and may likely surpass it if the content continues to be amazing. The storyline is fantastic, the characters and NPC’s are written and voiced just awesome. The game quality is A++++ and it’s just a giant blast to play. My character is a BIG DRAGON MAN. Here are some sassy screenshots: One of the big pulls for FFXIV is their job class system. No need to create a different character every time you want to play a new class - just learn it from the trainer and level at your leisure. One character could get every single job class to 60 in this game! IT’S GREAT. Wanna be a tank? Healer? DPS? Does a party need a sick-ass BARD to play motivating tunes in the background while they kick some primal ass?! You got this - switch jobs instantly and JAM ON, FRIENDS. (Disclaimer: my main class is bard. I play some sick-ass songs.) Anyroad (see what I did there?), I’ve taken HUGE inspiration and pulled every base level job class from this game to craft my long-term quests. I don’t need to complete them in any order, or at any given time - I have the ability to mix and match them as I please, and do as much or as little as I want during any given challenge time frame. So without further adieu, Shaarawy’s Quest for Class Mastery! DISCIPLE OF WAR + DISCIPLE OF MAGIC These are the basic DoW and DoM classes. As I complete them, certain pairs are combinable to unlock JOB classes! Example: [ARC] + [LNC] = [bRD]!!!! (Bard) So once I complete some compatible base class quests, they will unlock jobs, so I can quest further and continue to create evolving goals for myself! JOB COMBINATIONS So as you can see there is LOADS of room for progress and unlocking new goals and challenges for me. ^_______^ Awwww yiss. WAIT. You thought I was done?!!? NARP. There’s more to FFXIV than just FIGHTING. I mean. Let’s move on to our crafting and gathering classes, AHA! These will be less fitness-related and more like side quests to keep me exploring and trying new things. (Note that I’m not including ALL crafting classes because it would probably make me go crazy~) DISCIPLE OF THE HAND + DISCIPLE OF THE LAND So yeah, lotsa stuff. I’m still narrowing down what I want to tackle first and will post my choices on my Day 1 update. Which will be in.... only a couple of days yeah?!?!!!? Gosh. At this point I’m just glad that I’m done writing/re-writing/re-tinkering with this giant thing and can get on with my leveling grind!! REBELS, let us join up for battle and sit in a party finder queue until it places us all TOGETHER in the awesome Raid encounter of NERD FITNESS GLORRRYYYY!! I hope your gear is up to par and your DPS meets the enrage timer check, because here - we - goooo~~~!!