... "Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'"

[Jean]

Another one of my weird picks: I... don't like the cloud. Like, I'm sure this attitude will save my freedom one day. I can use it from time to time but it's definitely not a standard go to and I have no App installed allowing to do that. Also, I try to keep my mails as far of my smartphone as I can (because if not, I'd read them and then I'd want to answer or worry about the things they'd imply I have to do) so that service isn't configured either.

 

 

[Tobbe]

No mail? No apps? Doesn't sound like a very "smart" smartphone   

[Jean]

Yeah, the dumbest thing I've ever bought. I thought it was mandatory for a professional use of What's App until I've actually tried it and realised that the use they had for it was... well, not optimized is what I'll call it.

 

It still lets me take pictures (I'd have better quality for the same price if I had bought a camera instead) and it has built in altimeter, hygrometer and barometer, combined with the GPS tools that I have had some use for from time to time. Other than that, it's more cumbersome, less practical (touch screens are way less efficient than keyboards if you ask me, especially when it's raining ), has less battery and is better at tracking me than my usual dumbphone. All that for thrice the price. ^^

 

The only thing smart with smartphones is how people use them to get our money (seriously, built in stores, a tiny screen that we use for media following anyway, all the tracking apparatus you'll ever need to target adds and sell data... it's pure genius. Just... not from a user point of view).

 

EDIT: Oh, and don't get me started on the whole "App" concept. The whole things are just internet pages in a format that the device can handle (because it's too dumb to handle real internet browsers' functionalities)...

[Arkania]

7 hours ago, Jean said:

EDIT: Oh, and don't get me started on the whole "App" concept. The whole things are just internet pages in a format that the device can handle (because it's too dumb to handle real internet browsers' functionalities)...

That would be webclips (yes, they exist)

[Tobbe]

56 minutes ago, Arkania said:

That would be webclips (yes, they exist)

 

Had never heard about web clips before! Seems to be an iOS only feature. First mention I found was from way back in 2008!

[Arkania]

9 minutes ago, Tobbe said:

 

Had never heard about web clips before! Seems to be an iOS only feature. First mention I found was from way back in 2008!

 

We use them sometimes @work.

[Jean]

On 1/3/2019 at 8:33 AM, Arkania said:

That would be webclips (yes, they exist)

 

Well, I would have a use for it. I'm still searching for a way to display my pogression at work (what is done and what still needs to be) in an interactive way as my desktop background. I guess I'll search if there's a way to adapt them to a Windows OS (Win 10, argh, these people are fools, I tell you!).

 

Anyway, Week 1:

• 1 hour in nature: easy peasy: some work on the vineyard (it was a real pleasure, taking the sun and some fresh air while being active and not having cold) and getting back to some small walks have done the trick;
   
• 2 workouts: I've half-assed my 3A and skipped the planks on both but I've finally got around to doing it on Friday and today;
   
• daily spendings tracking: done!

Tomorrow is back-to-work day. I don't fear it too much even though there are some important things that I've left behind while going on holidays, so the morning meeting with everybody will be the hardest part of the day. I doubt I'll be expected to do much more than catching up and planning the week so the exhausting part of the day will be over by 8 am.

 

Theme music: Sia - Unstoppable

 

 

[Tobbe]

10 hours ago, Jean said:

I'm still searching for a way to display my pogression at work (what is done and what still needs to be) in an interactive way as my desktop background. I guess I'll search if there's a way to adapt them to a Windows OS (Win 10, argh, these people are fools, I tell you!).

 

 

Rainmeter can most likely do what you want/need https://www.rainmeter.net/

 

[Jean]

On 1/7/2019 at 3:07 PM, Tobbe said:

Rainmeter can most likely do what you want/need https://www.rainmeter.net/

 

I have yet to try it (running late on quite a few things) but thanks for the tip.

 

 

Week 2:

• 1 hour in nature: Checked. 2x45' walks;
   
• 2 workouts: Barely. I've skipped the planks, halved the hanging out time and the second one, which was meant to happen on Saturday, waited 'till Sunday evening. There's definitely room for improvement, here.
   
• daily spendings tracking: done!

 

[Jean]

I gave in to my cravings today: we were speaking about sauerkraut at work and I just "had" to go buy some afterwards (even though my fridge is already full for the week).

 

The lesson here is: eat lunch, don't be hungry when talking about food or shopping.

 

Also, I really don't like the small all purpose shop we have around here. They don't have half the stuff I like. I'll have to find a way around that but that'd mean driving to the neighboring town and I don't want to do that on a weekly basis. Oh well, choices... choices...

[RES]

16 hours ago, Jean said:

The lesson here is: eat lunch, don't be hungry when talking about food or shopping.

While sounding relatively simple, it's a tough one to learn!

 

Though sauerkraut is not a bad thing to crave...I don't understand why i can't crave it instead of chocolate or salted caramel 

[Jean]

Sauerkraut is awesome! I'm somewhat disappointed to have let the craving build, though. I'm focusing on spending less time at work this challenge and that means short lunch breaks. Unfortunately, lately, since I tend to forget to take my lunch with me when I leave home and don't wan't to buy anything precooked (because of the price, I'm trying to watch my budget too), that means that I've already had some "single coffee" lunches. This is what happened yesterday (and I had a homecooked lunch ready at home, I just didn't pack it...).

 

I can crave chips, canned corn, stew, cashews or all the chocolate. Sauerkraut was a first. It's basically anything I don't eat that much of and suddenly want, mostly when I don't eat enough and am hungry (so focusing on eating enough to fill my body's needs should help, though I'm fighting a years long habit so I tend to under-evaluate how filling will be everything I can fit in my pans).

[RES]

15 hours ago, Jean said:

Sauerkraut is awesome!

I agree! I made a pork loin with sauerkraut in the instapot last week, was quite yummy with some mashed cauliflower  

[Tobbe]

On 1/15/2019 at 1:56 AM, Jean said:

I gave in to my cravings today: we were speaking about sauerkraut at work and I just "had" to go buy some afterwards

 

Funny how that works. I had something similar happen a few days ago. I had eaten lunch, but just a short while after I started feeling this undefined craving. At first I had no idea what it was I was actually craving. So I just assumed it was something sweet. I had work to do on the computer, so I just ignored my unspecified craving since I couldn't really figure out what it was I wanted. Then, as I sat down at the computer an advertisement came up for dill pickles on some random website. And I immediately realized I had an unopened jar of dill pickles in my fridge. Before the ad I had not thought of those cucumbers at all. Had forgotten I even had them. But now that I saw the advertisement I just had to have a pickle. So I did. And that unspecified craving just went away right there! As I said; funny how it works sometimes...

[Jean]

@Tobbe : you have no idea how much of a craving for liver spread and pickles on bread you've given me. Pickles, indeed!

 

Week 3:

• 1 hour in nature: Checked. Vineyard and 1x45' walk. This will have to do for now but I'd like to get more Wild than that on the long run. I mean, a cow is hardly a wild beast, I'd like to reach at least domestic goat status, here.
   
• 2 workouts: Done. I've fallen back to emergency workouts but that's why they're here for so, still a win. I'll adapt all that for next week so we'll see how that goes.
   
• daily spendings tracking: done!

 

Overall, I'm still on track but I tend to fall back into "tank until the year is done" behavior way too much and should aim for way more than that (my house should be clean and I should go out more, for example), yet, I don't seem to find the strength for that anymore. It may be a good idea to take some days off in February to see how I can make them work.

 

 

[Tobbe]

3 hours ago, Jean said:

liver spread and pickles on bread

 

Ohh, good stuff! I love that too   

 

3 hours ago, Jean said:

I've fallen back to emergency workouts but that's why they're here for so, still a win.

 

Still a win indeed! Well done!

[Jean]

EDIT: So, the site won't let me post my update but I'm not giving up just yet, so here's another try.

EDIT 2: Yay! It works!

 

Week 4

• 1 hour in nature: checked. Vineyard and small walks.
   
• 2 workouts: checked. I actually went for the full package of 3. I'm doing my emergency workouts and liking it very much: they're quick and can be performed anywhere, yet plenty energizing. I'm currently at 1 set of 11 push-ups and 11 squats. I'll go for 12 next week.
   
• daily spendings tracking: done. We're nearing the end of the month and it's going according to plan. The plan is pretty tough, though, so it may be a good idea to introduce some leeway into it. I have the feeling of being draining myself, which is not good and must be adressed. Feeling day-to-day improvements would be a good thing, something like splitting my extra savings toward day-to-day pleasures (10%), right now investments (40%) and debt killing (50%). I'll think a bit about that.

 

All in all, it's been a pretty good week. My schedule is a mess but I'm not focusing on it too much and instead putting more awareness toward the important macro (doing my workouts, practicing tai chi, studying (physics!), cooking (meals and sandwiches), doing my job hours, resting and not over-exerting myself).

 

So far so good.

 

 

[Dark_Mother]

Way to get it!

 

1 hour in nature is a very nice target. I like that!

 

As for daily spending, in the past, I have been a huge fan of the seemingly simplistic app GoodBudget. It helped me so much that I went from living paycheck to paycheck to living one month ahead of myself and saving for holidays every single week. It was very nice! Maybe there's something out there that could help you similarly? I definitely think you need to be able to reward yourself if that works into your financial goals and income. Heck, you might even consider making it variable based upon how many of your Rebellion goals you accomplish per paycheck Might be a sick combo!  

 

[Jean]

2 hours ago, Dark_Mother said:

I have been a huge fan of the seemingly simplistic app GoodBudget.

 

I'm living year to year. xD

 

 

There are two things I don't like, though:

• I'm letting stress at work disorganize me enough that I end up paying for work expenses with my own money (mainly the phone system which is way more than I'd want) ;
• I don't like the numbers (but I may be just aiming too high).

All in all, I wish I was a few years forward, with a more secure situation (I'm freshly out of studies - they've taken longer than they do for most - and I have a huge accumulated gap to fill because I've delayed investments (like dental treatments, a new computer, clothes,... ) that I must pick up).

 

Good news, though, I've gotten a written warning from my job that I ought to watch my hygiene more because it's hurting people around me. While hygiene is a real problem and nobody should have to deal with smelly coworkers, and as such, I'll make as much as an effort as I can (there's definitely room for improvement), I feel like they're being a bit too sensitive, and that their sense of priorities is way out of place (most everything is dysfunctional if you ask me, which add to the stress, which add to my - no-time-for-teeth-brushing-let's-get-to-work attitude).

 

That means that I have to put more emphasis on my body routines and am justified to do so at the expense of work efficiency (I was already but have a hard time aknowledging it myself) and if my contract gets terminated, that'll mean that I can finally take some rest, get unemployment benefits AND cut on some big expenses like the too big house, the unhealthy tax level and the bloody smartphone (I'll laugh maniacally when I do that... it's the small things that bring us the most, sometimes).

 

Aaaand writing this, I realise that this job is taking more of a toll on me than I would like to acknowledge so, let's let this rest a bit this week-end and come up with a workable solution for Monday.

[Mikey Fitpants]

Hi Jean. Work sounds like a bit of a nightmare at the moment. It's even eating into 'teeth brushing time'. Oh my - I've never been that busy.

 

What are your emergency workouts?

[Jean]

Oh, I won't say that I put much of a priority on "teeth brushing time" usually either. There IS some truth to the remarks I've gotten and there are some steps that I ought to take to be a better human being and bring more balance into my life while asserting myself more and force balance into the messy environment I'm working with. Yet, they are having a huge turnover and people feel pressurized all around so I'm feeling like this is just one more added pressure over everything else and that they want everything without giving anything back. I should also note that I'm getting eaten because I allow them to eat me and could very well put both feet on the wall and not do anything more than what I'm paid for (though I'd get shout at if I do that).

 

All in all, it's just one of these transitions that have you putting things into order one thing at a time until they all fall in place. It's just that I'm cumulating those these last few years and I really, really, yearn for some rest and drop back (like, it's ok that peace of mind has to come from within, but is it really mandatory that the outside environment never helps it one bit?).

 

Emergency workouts are 12 push-ups and 12 squats. I'm working my way up one rep more a week until I reach 20, so 2 sets of 10, then one more rep a week, then one more set and so on. It's simple, it doesn't take much time and I'm still feeling some results out of it. I like it much.

[Mikey Fitpants]

Ah, tres bon. Les pushups et aussi les squats. Mon franglais est terrible!!! (Ma franglais?? - je ne sais pas)

[Jean]

Je ne sais pas pour ton franglais mais ton français est impeccable.

 

[Mikey Fitpants]

Merci    Tu es trop gentil. J'ai oubliee plus francias que je souviens (je le souviens?)

[Mikey Fitpants]

And there's no way I can do accents on a computer, you will have to add those in mentally yourself