The Leaf’s Locus

[Sciread77]

No time for a full update, because tons of amazing things have happened since the last challenge. But in summary:

 

-My sister-in-law is cool and my co-brother-in-law is my new best friend. 

-I am starting a side business with my wife that could become a full-time career if the pilot phase goes well, and may just be something fun/fulfilling on the side of it doesn’t lend itself to supporting a family. 

-We found an amazing, perfectly-located house north of us so we’re going to put an offer in and put our house on the market. 

-The kids are doing great. Reading is going very well for all of us. 

-French has taken the back burner for now but I should be ready to hit it again after our (hopeful) move. 

-I gained about 10 lbs in the last month and 15 since January and my physical shape is generally awful. I’m sad to say that my job is now a total dead end, the culture changed from, Team-based to cutthroat, and I’ve eaten the heck out of my stress. 

 

I’ll be back later to detail my goals. For now:

 

1. Prep and sell house

2. Eat more pulses.

3. Do something at least lightly physical 7 days a week 

4. Sleep 7+ hours a night

 

[Sylvaa]

Welcome back!

 

I noticed you had two posts up, so I deleted one before you started getting responses on both.  

 

Fingers crossed on the house situation!

[Sciread77]

11 minutes ago, Sylvaa said:

Welcome back!

 

I noticed you had two posts up, so I deleted one before you started getting responses on both.  

 

Fingers crossed on the house situation!

 

Double-posting: my perennial faux paux.

 

Thanks! My preferred magical assistance is push ups, though I will gladly accept all flavors!

 

1. Prep and sell house. 

 

     We’ve been more or less stuck in our house for a while. It’s been hard to sell since our HOA,l is poorly run and doesn’t maintain the roads. Last time we were on the market, there was a pothole that was actually larger than my car that probably déterres potential buyers as well as a house that had been on the market for something like 2 years straight.

     Our situation is changed for the better and we can afford houses we want in a better area (job and family wise) without relying on funds from the sale of our house at all.  And they patched up the road early this year so we’ve got a fighting chance. 

    That said, this all came up since Saturday and we’re coming off of a show and our first out of town overnight visitors so both of us are barely rested after pushing ourselves to the limits. There’s a ton to do and fortunately, I got a good head start while I was taking time off to be with the baby. 

 

2.  Eat more pulses. 

 

     My wife and I are seriously considering the prospect of adopting a vegetarian diet. For us, not the children.  It’s mostly for health and financial purposes. We already eat the expensive fruit and veggie stuff. Meat is also expensive. I love it, but also love vegetarian sources of protein so it’s not exactly the biggest sacrifice in the world. (I like most food a lot). Given that I’ve ballooned up and no longer fit most of my clothes, I’m ready to give it a go again. I was vegetarian for most of one year and accidentally vegan for a summer, so I’m pretty well-versed in making tasty and healthy meals. 

     Note: there’s only the tiniest chance I would ever become a strict vegetarian or  vegan. I plan to occasionally still barbecue, roast, and smoke meat. But we can save money, eat healthier, and reduce our carbon footprint by eating less meat and being mostly vegetarian, so I think it’s  a win. 

     Eating more pulses is a good step. They’re good protein, good fiber, and frankly, I like them a lot. 

 

3. Do something at least lightly physical 7 days a week. 

 

      Work has been pretty rough. It’s. It the actual work, or the people I manage. It’s the other people in my group at my level. As I mentioned, when I was out on leave most of the people I like left and several people I don’t care for came over. I’m not comfortable around them and the environment is no longer a team effort, but a hostile free-for all. The actual workload is less, but the involved stress is through the roof. Also, I’m bored and feeling incredibly burned out since the advancement opportunities dried up. This is combining with the fact that I’m probably experiencing a bout of depression. It’s really easy for me to just stare at my screen all day, letting my body and mind degrade. Which is more or less what I did for a while in spite of my attempts to power through and overcome it. 

     Now, the rule is 30+ minutes of light activity every day. Preferably with some more intense exercise and strength stuff thrown in. But no day should go by without me at least going for a walk or doing some housework. 

     I want to have a bigger goal, but I’m pushing for achievable right now. 

 

4.  Sleep 7+ hours per night. 

 

     I’m gonna need it. 

 

That’s it. I’m keeping it simple and hopefully achievable. I need some wins. 

[Sciread77]

Note: the title of this challenge references the leaf in the wind, which is how I often feel in life. I strive to relax and make the best do everything. Life can be surprising. Locus refers to locus of control. I usually have an internal locus of control and strive to maintain that feeling of agency. I’ve been losing it lately and it hasn’t been good. 

[Sciread77]

Edits for spelling when I reach a PC. This is embarrassing lol

[Sciread77]

On 4/25/2018 at 1:18 PM, Sciread77 said:

 

1. Prep and sell house

2. Eat more pulses.

3. Do something at least lightly physical 7 days a week 

4. Sleep 7+ hours a night

 

 

1.  Working on it now. 2 loads into storage and currently taking a break whilst feeding le bébé. 

 

2. Two servings a day every day this week. 

 

3. I’ve taken walks or carries boxes every day this week. 

 

4. I’ve also averaged just under 8 hours of sleep per night. 

 

 

Back to work!

[Sciread77]

Today is 1 week into my stated goals. 

 

1.  2 rooms are 90% done. Storage unit is effectively 60% packed. Realtors are probably coming to our house tonight. 

 

2. I’ve lost 3 lbs just prioritizing pulse consumption. I’ve had previous success prioritizing protein and fiber with healthy fats. I’m just not sure how to avoid the ravenous rebound since my prescriptions interfere with blood sugar levels and turn me into a maniacal muncher when they get off. 

 

3. Done and done. 

 

4. Good on average. Last night was not good. Binge watching Orange is the New Black, which we just recently got into, is creeping into bedtime. And we can’t do it when the kids are awake. Blech.

 

 

Otherwise, this weekend was amazing. I slept until I woke up yesterday, which is a rare luxury that would be even better if caffeine withdrawal didn’t limit the length of my coma.  We got a ton done. We have multiple actual tons of stuff. 

 

Anyone have any “staging a house with several small children” tips?

[WolfDreamer]

7 minutes ago, Sciread77 said:

2 rooms are 90% done.

 

7 minutes ago, Sciread77 said:

I’ve lost 3 lbs just prioritizing pulse consumption.

 

8 minutes ago, Sciread77 said:

Done and done.

 

Celebrate your victories! I'm really proud of you.

[Sciread77]

1 hour ago, Wolfen said:

 

 

 

Celebrate your victories! I'm really proud of you.

I'm pretty psyched. It's off to a good start. I'm also anxious as all gets out.

 

What I'm leery of is this: I'm awesome at starting.  It's the finishing or the long run that bites me.  I am going to feel so very much better when we're actually done with this and in a new house.  I hate having a house on the market and having all of our stuff packed up like we barely live in the house.  We've tried to sell probably 3 previous summers without success, and while circumstances are substantially better this time I'm still anxious about the whole thing.

 

Also, I can usually lose 5-10 lbs before hitting a plateau.  I broke through one a year ago in August and climbed back over it in the last couple of months.  I'm 0.2 lbs below that plateau now.  I hope I don't experience an uncontrollable rebound, because I'm just coming off of one of those and it's both frustrating and depressing.  
 

[Sciread77]

Wait, we might be in the middle of a bidding war?  It's funny how you just want something to be done but when the pace accelerates beyond a snail's it feels like you just went to Ludicrous Speed.

[CallunaTook]

Ludicrous Speed?! Oh no! Stop the ship!!

 

Bonne chance dans le maison! Et aussi d'autres objectifs...

[CallunaTook]

Also, I am intrigued by this new business venture.

[Skywalker]

A bidding war might cut short the pain of staging for selling with the kids. Good luck!

[Sciread77]

32 minutes ago, CallunaTook said:

Ludicrous Speed?! Oh no! Stop the ship!!

 

Bonne chance dans le maison! Et aussi d'autres objectifs...

 

We can’t stop, it’s too dangerous! We have to slow down first!

 

Merci! Qui n’avance pas, recule. Nous marchons avec de la chance!

 

42 minutes ago, CallunaTook said:

Also, I am intrigued by this new business venture.

 

My wife and I are getting into voiceovers. I recorded a practice demo last week (on my

phone, without the good microphone) and did a good enough job that the kids are constantly badgering me to go to the local pizza place. I’m jazzed and while I have no idea if it’ll be successful, we’ll never know without going for it. And it can all be done after business hours, so I can test the waters without leaving my current job behind. 

 

21 minutes ago, Skywalker said:

A bidding war might cut short the pain of staging for selling with the kids. Good luck!

 

Unfortunately, that would be on the house we want to buy. Others are showing interest and it’s a seller’s market. We put in an offer and listed our house last night. I’ll know if they accept in about 24 hours. I anticipate nonstop anxiety and nausea until the closing is complete lol. 

[Sciread77]

Also, the side business isn't out of nowhere. My wife is a theatre teacher and has been involved in directing and performing for her whole life.  I've been considering getting into the voiceover and voice acting business for about a decade now.  I really moved to action recently, though, when discussing how localization of anime seems to be dominated by only a handful of big voices out of Funimation (now a subsidiary of Sony).  

 

I understand that my region, with its low cost of living and decent internet infrastructure, has attracted quite a few people in the business.  We thought we could get involved in localization... but neither of us speaks Japanese and I don't speak French well enough to do professional-level localization.

 

BUT.  My friend is an author with a few published books and a 7-book contract, and he thinks my voice would be a good fit for his Missouri native character. It's a royalty share so it won't likely pay a lot, but I LOVE those books and it's an actual gig I can start with.  So I'm setting things up and will begin recording those soon.  I will be having my wife direct me, because 1) she's an awesome director, 2) she doesn't hold back and while I'm from the Midwest I have more of an East Coast mindset when it comes to feedback and work after working with East Coasters for most of my professional life, and 3) she's willing to do it.  

 

My biggest concern is finding a way to ensure I have consistent quality in case we move in the middle of the recording, and once the staging is set I think I'll be able to make the setup work. We've already re-arranged the room for staging and found that the kids go to sleep faster and easier in their own room now, so that's the first problem solved!

[CallunaTook]

That sounds awesome! It seems like you have a great starting point, and even building your resume already! Very sweet. I don't get the relationship to pizza, admittedly... 

 

I've been thinking off and on about voiceover/narration for awhile, as well. It seems like it would be really fun... plus anything that I could theoretically do in my pajamas gets bonus points.  I also have a theater/speaking background, but I don't think I have a great voice quality. I know there is a place for every type, but I'm always a little bit startled when I hear recordings of myself (like... I feel so serious that I forget I'm a chipmunk...).   

[Sciread77]

13 minutes ago, CallunaTook said:

That sounds awesome! It seems like you have a great starting point, and even building your resume already! Very sweet. I don't get the relationship to pizza, admittedly... 

 

I really, really like pizza. So one of my spots for my demo is a commercial voiceover for a local pizza joint. 

 

15 minutes ago, CallunaTook said:

 

I've been thinking off and on about voiceover/narration for awhile, as well. It seems like it would be really fun... plus anything that I could theoretically do in my pajamas gets bonus points.  I also have a theater/speaking background, but I don't think I have a great voice quality. I know there is a place for every type, but I'm always a little bit startled when I hear recordings of myself (like... I feel so serious that I forget I'm a chipmunk...).   

 

Apparently, the deep booming voice and the announcer/radio voices are less on demand than regular people’s voices. I’m looking to hit whatever work I can get. I don’t really care how interesting it is atm, though long-term I’d love to voice a cartoon, work with Disney, etc. I presume that most of what I’ll get is audiobooks and corporate training stuff. I’ve been watching the YouTube channel of Billboard DeWees, who seems to have had a lot of success making voiceover his full time job as well as coaching people to do the same.

 

I would love to be able to work in my PJs. Or without a commute. 

[Sciread77]

Contract to buy: accepted. 

 

Contract to sell: needed by July 30th. 

 

The clock is ticking! 

[Sciread77]

Our house has officially been on the market since something like 11 pm last night.  Due to illness and the like, we aren't taking any showings until Sunday.

 

We have 8 showings on Sunday.

 

8.  

 

Starting at 8:30 am and we have to be out of the house by 8 am.

 

So now I'm taking off work Friday and skipping to get the house ready. I mean, we were expecting a hotter market, but not this level of interest!

 

I'm still terrified that they're not going to like the house or that they'll find something wrong with it.  I mean, it's not perfect but it's a nice house and we've put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it.  Over the last 6 years, we've added a bedroom, added a sleeping area, finished most of the basement, added a full bathroom (including a full concrete rough in), replaced the stairs, installed new flooring, refinished the kitchen counter tops, and rewired a chunk (the previous owner, through incompetence, accidentally wired it to burn down  if you used the kitchen appliances at the same time as the lights and central vacuum cleaner/anything large in the garage).

 

All except the carpet portion of the flooring is stuff that we did ourselves under the guidance of family members in their respective trades.  So it's done well.  But still, you always want other people to appreciate what you've done even if they don't like it as much as you.

 

I think this is my anxiety and nerves kicking in, because we've clearly gone to plaid.

[Sciread77]

Bedroom wing: done

Garage: done

Kitchen: mostly done

Living Room: a wreck

Basement: basically needs a controlled fire 

[Sciread77]

So, the upstairs is done. 

 

The finished part of the basement is also done, in spite of the fact that DS2 poured an entire root beer on the floor in the playroom, the only carpeted area lol. We we still have tons of work we can do to make it more show ready and prep ourselves to actually move, but it’s good enough for a showing. Which is good, because the first showing started an hour and forty-five minutes ago. 

 

We’re celebrating 2 1/2 hard days of work st the steakhouse, then going home to make brownies and collapse in bed.

 

The closest thing to a pulse I’ve had today is a sirloin steak, which I think is a pretty fair trade. 

[CallunaTook]

Good luck on your house showings tomorrow!

[Sciread77]

 

6 minutes ago, CallunaTook said:

Good luck on your house showings tomorrow!

 

Thanks! We’ll take all the luck we can get. 

[Sciread77]

I moved around 3,000 lbs worth of stuff in around 100 discrete units up a flight of stairs and 1/4 mile (walking) into storage during my 3 days of total work, including some early Sunday morning.  That's another reason my primary training goal involves carrying heavy stuff over distance.  I feel like I've been placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds, but I'm also feeling pretty BA too. 

 

I know people say that Kindle books are lighter, but they're a lot harder to decorate your house with.  We love the feel of physical books.  So don't get me wrong.  I buy books on Kindle, but I usually also buy a physical copy (hardcover if available) to go with it.  

I didn't eat any pulses over the weekend and I ate a lot of junk food, but I'm back to a more routine diet today.

I met or exceeded my sleep goals all week, and I've DEFINITELY hit all of my activity goals!

[Ann of Owlshire]

18 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

I know people say that Kindle books are lighter, but they're a lot harder to decorate your house with.  We love the feel of physical books.  So don't get me wrong.  I buy books on Kindle, but I usually also buy a physical copy (hardcover if available) to go with it.  

 

I used to have about 10 tall book cases, but I move about every year and a half on average* and got tired of schlepping them so most of them went to library donation a few years ago XD Now Mr and I share a four book cases (two of which are almost solely RPG books because that's the kind of geeks we are). I love my kindle and I use it mostly for library loans, but I agree--often if I love a book I've borrowed enough to buy a copy, it'll be a physical book for the shelf. The good news is that utilizing the library I only buy a dozen or so books a year now. Instead of a month >_>;

 

That said, the kindle for traveling changed my life. I used to pack like 10 books for a week long trip. My suitcase is considerably lighter now XD

 

Good luck on the house sale/buying! I don't envy you, although I do look forward to when we next move. We have a great house, but it was a house set up for two adults and a cat, and the new addition is most welcome, but even with 9 months warning we've found it hard to adjust our habits and previous room arrangements XD

 

*We've been at the current house for almost two and a half years now. This is the... second or third longest time I've lived one residence in the last 20 years. It helps considerably that Mr owns the house, but even then, he's only lived in it maybe a third of the time since he bought it--he constantly moves for his career. (And thus, now so do we.)