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I am back! I need to work on follow through for this sort of thing! I've fizzled out on my last challenges, but travel had a bit to do with that. Travel exploded my world in the most delightful of ways. What are my goals for this challenge? Be vegan for a month. I've done it off and on, and I just want to try it, actively, for 4 weeks. I rarely do dairy, so it's not too far a jump, but being vegan forces me to focus on what I am eating, and I often am making my food anyway. Tonight starts 4 weeks of meal prep! In the Japanese bento style! I'm going to make little bento for my lunches each week, see how that works. Why Japanese? BECAUSE I AM GOING BACK, MOTHERFATHERS! I got a scholarship to go study Kuruma Ningyo puppetry there, attend a giant international puppet festival, and teach my own workshop in Tokyo! I am literally vibrating with excitement... but I don't speak Japanese so hot. I mean... I do alright, but not "hot". I have a subscription to a learning website (multiples, really), a tutor, and rampant ambition. I want to clock 10 hours of study a week, at minimum. This is not so much, but also a lot. I need to find where it fits in my routine. I joined a Doctor Who themed mini challenge which is about running around looking for The Tardis (oh, my hearts) and that will keep me physically active. Though on dreary winter days I am going to stay in a do yoga. Anyone have a suggestion for a good yoga class app? Or youtube video series? I had Yoga Studio, I bought it any everything, but they clawed it back and now want more money via subscription, which makes me want to watch it all burn. Not very enlightened of me, I know. So I am open to suggestions. Alright, a day late to the party, and I must dash, but I am in! What are you doing?

I fell off the internet again. I do that time to time, it's fine. Usually due to traveling, which I am not doing for the next month, so CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! I could write for days, because I am a verbose motherfather, but I'll bullet these. I have a big project coming up to overtake the next 7 months, it's called #SpaceJunk, and it's a filmed puppet show. I hope to spend my free creative time building the puppets and set pieces for that show. There's no way I'll be done in a month, I want the build done by mid January, but I also want to travel to Japan for New Year's if I can swing it. So I am hunkering down, which saves money, and building puppets, which doesn't save money, but doesn't spend it either. Oh! I figured out what my "and more" is. To help me get to Japan I need to apply for a special scholarship, but this involves writing a letter to a Japanese sensei and asking to come and study with him... in Japanese. Not my best language (though I am not hopeless, but I am super super basic). So where was I? Number 1. SpaceJunk building. Number 2. Scholarship Application. Number 3? Oh. I want to be vegan. I've been vegetarian for half my life now, so it's not a huge shift, but I am curious how cutting out eggs and dairy will affect my energy, health, etc. I'm not going to be an ass about it. If at someone's house for dinner, etc, I'm not going to demand a list of ingredients, etc, just sticking to the basics. But at my house, it's animal-free. Let's see how this goes. Really, it's mostly just cutting out eggs and cheese for me, which I don't do much of anyway, but it'll be nice to pay more attention anyway, can't hurt, right? and Number 4. Running. I passed someone on the street today running and I miss it. I want to get back into it. I think twice a week is a fair start, three if I can swing it. I have so little free time. Maybe I'll even commit to once a week in the morning, see if I can become a morning run person (I really love the idea of that, but I SUCK at the follow-through there... so... let's make it part of the challenge!) Okay, that's about it for now. This starts tomorrow! I'm excited. I like being excited. Hearts and Stars!

Hello, nerds! I'm back. Was it more than a week since last challenge? Has the new challenge not even started? Who cares! I am IN IT. Let's cut to it, because time is money... or time... it's precious valuable life existence being wasted as I type meaningless banter, Morty! MEANINGLESS BANTER! That's who I have become. I am a productivity machine and Lady-Rick ala Rick and Morty. No, not really, I have been working on (slash chaneling) a Rick Sanchez puppet for Dragon Con (nerdy geek-fest coming up Labor Day weekend), and that is primary goal number one: GET IT DONE. Well, done is a bit strong of a word, but this guy involves facial mechs, just so I know that I can do it, since one of my dream life goals is building and working props and puppets in TV and film (technically I am already doing that on the side, but I mean full time, forever and one hundred years film and TV art department!) So goal one is just working on puppets, not even Rick constantly, just anything, I attended the National Puppetry Conference in June and it rocked my socks (I made a movie, some of you saw it! I can post a link later when I need a pick-me-up!) and reminded me what I can get done when I focus. 1) BUILD. CREATE. ART. Okay, now more health oriented goals, of which I have two. 2) DRINK UP. As is... I am trying Soylent. Yup, figured I'd toss some dollars to the genius nerds who made drinkable food with a clever name. But really, I have become unexpectedly fascinated with caloric intake numbers, and time management. (This is where we get into TIME TRAVEL, which is what we are all doing... only in a very linear un-exciting way.) We only get so much of it (time), so I am stream-lining some of it where I can: like breakfast! or lunch, which I am at work so... drink up. This stuff is portioned out pretty much exactly what I need, and I am using it for breakfast and lunch, but eating real food for dinner, I'm a vegetarian so lately I've been making peanut/sesame kale and whatnot and it's amazing and that's that. I also signed up for my friend's Blue Apron trial, so I'm curious about those... really this week there's a Vietnamese rice stick thing and I am fascinated by those, so time to learn how to make them. Then drop the trial methinks, because money is a thing, and I am a clever chef. Oh, the point of this goal is to keep track of caloric intake, but also to see how well a Soylent powered me works in the harsh environment of the real world. 3) RUN, MORTY! RUN Oh, am I still doing that? Like I said, I've been drinking energy cut with coffee, and I mocked up an eye mech last night that I get to expound upon once I leave the moneyjob. Also, I am trying to "run" (lots of start and stop 5K training, I am sure, but the point is 30-45 minutes a day of activity). It's hard to do sometimes, to motivate, but I do know that when I do, I feel awesome. And it's been raining on me lately, which somehow feels awesom-er. Hitting that step-goal would be great too, but I'm not going to say it's a necessity this go-round. Okay, health-aside, let's look at more sort of social emotional functional goals 4) GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER and TIME IN CHECK Previous lurkers on my challenges may notice a theme. Funny, when you make art, your house seems to become a cluttered disaster area. I am trying to cull that, I've Konmari'ed pretty hard, but did not make the final adjustments of fixing my house to serve my needs. Hoping to make some strides there with this goal of batcave improvement. Studio-wise I need to build a work bench that's not my fold out cardtable, then affix my scroll saw, bandsaw, vice-I-am-buying-today, and any other hefty tools that are super dangerous on a card table (I've just been using them on the floor which isn't great, but safer for sure. Also want to cull my kitchen, I never quite did that when I Konmari'ed, so I need to. I make pretty darn awesome food, and I am starting to learn to simplify and organize my cabinets... so... I should. Time in check is more divvying up the hours alotted to me after work and on my days off, and making them productive, and relaxing, I know I need to rest too. This is me trying to make a chart, which I've not made yet (but it's July 5, and the challenge starts July 9, so I've got time) and stick to it. It will include time for art/building, running, house cleaning/ordering, and REST. I'm noticing a need or desire to sort of orient myself into a routine or schedule, that I can break out of as necessary, but also fall back on. We'll see how it goes. So, I've babbled on quite enough, now to get back to drinking energy and working at my money job! Any ideas? Suggestions? Running commentary? Requests? And awaaaaaaaaaay we go!

Soooooo! I am getting in on this new challenge too! Last challenge was a sort of "grand" return to these fine forums, and I had a lovely time doing it, and could not wait to sign up or volunteer as tribute for the new challenge! My goals in four parts are thus, this time, not all fitness oriented, because Summer's coming and I have art to make! 1) I have a FitBit. Time to make use of it's nifty app. I'm aiming to hit my step goal (10,000) everyday, but the goal is more to track food, water, sleep, and calories in/out. I tracked calories last challenge with a different app, but I am trying to take advantage of the Fitbit's all-in-one-stop-shop-ness. (This is the "pattern" part of my title, in that I am trying to sort out my eating, drinking, sleeping patterns) 2) Here's where things get more interesting, and a bit more... ME. I am building a Rick for DragonCon (ala Rick & Morty), I've not been publicizing this, but I try to bring a new puppet down every year. I've been leaning on #PuppetCapaldi from Doctor Who (you can google it, I actually show up!) but his tenure as The Doctor is ending and I feel the need to move to a new puppet. #PC is still coming with, I might even give him a new hair cut (wig). But his days are numbered. I LOVE having grumpy old man puppets, I don't know why. So I am making a Rick with mechanical eyes and brow. This is a huge step in my mechbuilding, and I am attending the National Puppetry Conference in June (during this challenge) to pick up tips from the incredible Jim Kroupa, who I studied with last year, and just wrap my brain around it all and STOP BEING SO SCARED OF JUST TRYING TO BUILD SOMETHING. Anyway, it's going to be a lot of work, but it's going to be fantastic, I hope. 3) JAPANESE. I am trying to head back to Japan to study Kuruma Ningyou Puppetry with a master there. I've been invited, which is stellar, but I want to brush up and rebuild my Japanese. Right now I have been using Memrise (I've paid for it at a discount), and I just need to keep up once-a-day practicing. This will be most difficult when I am at The O'Neill (Puppet Conference mentioned above) but I can make it work. And if I fall off the wagon, I can climb back on. Just trying to keep it a priority. Japan is freaking amazing and I need to go back. 4) My last part of my goal was going to be veganism, but I am not sure. Really it was going to be "Freeganism" because I wasn't going to complain if someone made me something that had egg in it, or dairy, I am just not that picky, or pretentious. But for myself at home, I was going to cut out dairy and animal byproducts. I am still on the fence about how much a actually care about this though. I am a vegetarian and have been for 15+ years, so that's not going anywhere... but veganism interests me, I just don't have the commitment to it. That said, I am interested in trying it out, veganism with intent rather than vegan-by-accident. Maybe I'll book mark that for the next challenge. PROPER GOAL 4) Zombie 5K Training. I tried this last challenge and utterly, utterly failed. I just couldn't get my schedule to fit it in. I am attempting 3 evenings (or mornings?) a week with this app. I just need to do it. I intend to keep up running at The O'Neill, so that's a goal the conference won't shove-off. And maybe I'll eat a bunch of vegan lentils after. Oh, and keep running shoes and clothes in a bag in my car, with an inhaler, so I am always ready to go. That's about it, I would still love accountabilibuddying! It helped me SO MUCH last challenge!