Northern Dragons not for Slaying

[Barbs]

I feel like this Battle Log is almost like my BuJo - I have so many ideas and things I really want to include...but also don't feel I have quite the creativity skills to achieve what I want...but here goes anyway.

 

I have a lot I want to achieve in 2018.  Thankfully most of them can be done in unison...but I think all have different challenges to face.  This is where I really, really wish I could draw (Maybe a 2019 Goal?...or later 2018 if I get the rest done by then?).  Instead, I will try describe as best I can the scenery of my Quest-scape.

 

You are standing in the middle of a well worn cobbled circle, the center of crossroads if you will, though be careful - many an unsuspecting traveler has circled here for many an hour with indecision of which path to take.  You can see five clear paths, though smaller tracks are visible.  We'll ignore those for now.

 

To the West is a most exquisite, if slightly overbearing, building.  It is as large as it is beautiful, and many a scholar have been lost within it's depths for years, if not millenia (not least of all because it has staircases that would put Hogwarts confusion to shame).

 

The path South-West can be accessed directly from a path at the library, or from the crossroads.  No matter which way you get there, there is a woman waiting with open arms to invite you to the world of wine, pasta and everything else Italian.

 

 

By comparison to this warm and inviting path to the West, the Southern path seems cold and unwelcoming.   The dragon atop Gringotts bank seems all too ready to blast you with flame, but even that seems more welcoming than the coal mines beside it.

 

 

 

 

To the East is a mountain, picturesque and peaceful, though a force to be reckoned with as well.  Imagine if you will a more Monsters Inc version of Po (Kung Fu Panda) at the start of the trail, and further up you can see different guides and teachers to help you, each with their own unique styles and challenges to get you closer to the top of the mountain (though very few go that far).

 

 

Finally to the North.

 

 

Sure she looks as though she is slumbering as peacefully as the mountains to the East, but don't be fooled.  She is all too aware of her surroundings, and the moment you step on her path, she will be up in flight to meet you.

 

Great Barbs, that's a crazy little combination of Dragon Age, Hogwarts, Kung Fu Panda and...Under the Tuscan Sun you got going there. But what does it all mean??

 

Glad you asked  These are my Quest paths for the year.  Some shorter, some longer, but they're all my main Goals for the year.

 

Northern Dragons - unlike what she first appears, this is both my inner demon and my self wrapped into one - I can choose to fight her or work with her, both are possible, just I may feel differently about the journey depending which choice I make.  

 

This is my Big Body Goal for the year - lose 30kg.  I can choose to fight my body and give in to negative thoughts as I slay away at those kilos, or I can accept myself, work with it and I think have a better time along the way (I seriously love dragons.  I avoided killing my first dragon in Skyrim for sooo many hours it was crazy).

 

Eastern Mountains - once I've finished work (teaching English in China) and before returning to the 'real world' (mostly likely Australia), I want to go study Kung Fu for 4-6 weeks.  I haven't chosen the school/academy/temple or anything, but it'd be nice.  My son (almost 4) has started Kung Fu classes and I'll be starting adult classes at same school in March, so we should have a bit of experience  under our belts by summer (June/July).  I think the hardest part is financing and organizing the trip.  It'll definitely help with the Northern Dragons Goal though!

 

Under the Tuscan Sun - this is another 'between work and real world' adventure - I'm hoping to go to Italy to learn Italian for 6 weeks.  This has been a dream of mine for an insanely long time, and I think after returning to Oz it may be a while before I can go on long haul adventure for a little while at least, so hope to squeeze this one in.  For this I already know the school and course I want to do...just gotta get the finance and organizing again...I'm not a huge wine fan, but I think Italian food will definitely up the ante of the Northern Dragon Goal  

 

The Library - and the reason this connects over to the Tuscan Sun is cos they're both language learning - I really want to get HSK4 before leaving China...or at least HSK3 (I'm most of the way to HSK3 in speaking and listening, but omg is learning the characters for reading and writing portion time consuming!)

 

Gringotts - as if trying to fit in a month and a half of Kung Fu and another of Italian wasn't enough, this Goal is all about my Finances   Getting them in order, debts paid and maybe some savings...which will likely take more than a year to achieve, but that's why it needs to be a priority not a 'I don't have time for that' right?

 

These are my five core Goals for 2018 and so any challenges or new habits I plan will hopefully always take me closer to these...or that's the plan.  I'm not gonna use the Matrix quote, cos I feel like I've read it a couple hundred times recently, so instead I'll use my own Storm Coast version - there's a difference between knowing there's an island over there you need to get to and going down into a the basement of a building to find a cave that leads to a small dock to take you across to the island (Seriously, NONE of the boats along the whooole coastline could take you, but this hidden away one could??)

 

 

So yeah, even though I know where I'd  like to go...it doesn't mean I'll always know how to get there...hopefully I'll always be making progress in the right direction.

 

May 2018 be everyone's greatest year yet

 

~ Barbs

[Barbs]

Place holder for monthly update links...or something..

 

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