[JediNickD] World 4 Level 3: "This is NOT going to go the way you think!"

[JediNickD]

Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge.. World 1 was my first extended stay through 22 challenges.  I took a hiatus from NF and came back with a new direction for my goals where I warped to World 2, which I defeated in a Boss Fight slaying some mighty big goals. 

In World 3, I continue to develop my fitness, getting my body in the best shape of my life, even with the Degenerative Disc Disease, Arthritis, Disc Fissures, and more.  Through physical therapy exercises and karate, I have maintained my core and back muscles to ease the pressure off my spine, but in the end I defeated World 3 by transforming my life into a new form.  With chiropractic care for my spine, hitting the high ranks at karate, starting the new Toastmasters program called Pathways, and working to complete my Novice training at IJRS, World 4 feels like something new everyday. 

 

I just keep on L-I-V-I-N, fight the good (and healthy) fight, and level up my life!

 

Challenge Lesson:  "This is NOT going to go the way you think!" - Luke Skywalker, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi {I avoided spoilers this time!}

 

We can plan and schedule everything in life.  We can make assumptions, predictions, and estimations.  We can set expectations high or low.  None of it may amount to a hill of beans.  There are always outside factors, randomness, errors, and poor judgement to throw any perfect plan off track.  For each of these, we just reset, re-plan, reschedule, and go again.  But nothing every goes exactly how we think.  Worrying about it, getting frustrated with it, or crying about it is a waste of time and energy.  It is a waste of life.  Killing time is not murder, it's suicide.

 

In this spirit, I decided to focus on a few items in different ways for this challenge.  Chores and Maintenance I have a lot of control over my time.  Others Life Categories are effected by how my free time gets chewed up or manipulated by outside factors.  Instead, I'll have those tie into my incentives to push me more in those areas.

 

I upped the stakes on my IJRS Lessons.  There have been a lot of things keeping me from doing that, most of it on my shoulders for not making it a priority over other things.  After Epic Nerd Camp, it'll be time to get it done.  The things I prioritized over it, namely Toastmasters, needs to take a backseat for a bit.

 

My evening Toastmasters club may be folding in September.  It just has not gone well.  I could go on and on about the new Toastmasters education program and it's online platform, but I already vented about it in an email to another Toastmaster.  I feel it has a direct correlation with all of my clubs recent struggles with member retention and recruitment.  Even I am having difficulty using it, which just shows how poor the user interface and program design is.

 

 

My Main Quest and Mission:

My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow.

 

World 4 Level 3 Challenge:

FITNESS:

• Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 320 min total, 80 weekly. 

  STA +1, DEX +1
   

• Walking: Fortify the Spine - 600 min total, 150 weekly
  STR +1
   

• Exercise: Lifting and Bodyweight - 240 min total, 60 weekly. 

  STR +1, STA +1
   

• Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - 560 min total, 140 weekly. 

  DEX +1, STR +1
   

• Karate: Training and Practice - 800 min total, 200 weekly. 
  DEX +1, STA +1
   

DIET:

• Weight Control - Track weight. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4.  Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days.  Track lunch portions for 24 of 28 days.  Track "fasting" after dinner nightly for 24 of 28 days.  TURN UP THE HEAT!
  CON +4

LIFE:

• Get Stuff Done - Complete 80 Hours of various Chores and Maintenance, with at least 20 hours each week.  Chores and Maintenance are the following areas (goal hours for challenge
  • Dishes (10)
  • Laundry (8)
  • Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming/Trash/Other (20)
  • Yard Work (4)
  • Animal Care (32)
  • Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance (8)

          WIS +1, CHA +1

 

INCENTIVES!  Working hard for CASH!  ($257.20 carried over)

1. REWARD:  For each week in which I complete 20 or more hours of Chores and Maintenance, I will put aside $10 to spend how I see fit. 
   CONSEQUENCE:  For any week where I complete less than 20 hours, I will give up $10 of saved cash.
    
2. REWARD:  $5 for each Personal Project hour (Epic Nerd Camp, Extra Life, Jedi website, VHS-to-DVD conversion project, etc)
   CONSEQUENCE : Lose $10 for each week without a Personal Project hour.
    
3. REWARD:  $50 for each completed IJRS lesson. 
   CONSEQUENCE: Lose $10 for each week without completing an IJRS lesson.
    
4. REWARD: $1 for each night of fasting after dinner.  Fruits and veggies allowed in small quantities, but no dessert or snacking.   
   CONSEQUENCE: Lose $2 for each day without fasting.
    
5. REWARD: $1 for each day with a small, healthy lunch. 
   CONSEQUENCE:  Lose $2 for each day without a small, healthy lunch.
    
6. REWARD: $1 for each morning or night of brushing and flossing.  $0 for just brushing.
   CONSEQUENCE:  Lose $1 for each morning or night I forget to floss.  Lose $2 for NOT flossing for the full day. 

 

BONUSES: 

  Life:

• $1 for each hour working on Jedi Training (mentoring, reading/writing, charity, meditation, IJRS lessons). 
• $2 for each hour working on Toastmasters including meetings.
• $2 for healthy grocery shopping or healthy meal prep.
• $2 for each Home Renovation or Auto Maintenance hour.

  Workout:

• $5 for each cardio session over 30 min
• $10 for doubling any weekly minimum

 

PUNISHMENT:

• Lose $10 each day with weight above 150.0 lbs. 
• Lose $5 for eating more than 2 slices of pizza in any day.
• Lose $5 for each morning not weighing in.

[Blaze]

I like your monetary system of rewards and punishments.  I find actual financial gain, or loss, to be far more motivation then tracking Stats.

[JediNickD]

23 hours ago, Blaze said:

I like your monetary system of rewards and punishments.  I find actual financial gain, or loss, to be far more motivation then tracking Stats.

 

That's the Incentives idea.  I've considered other incentives, but sticking with money since it is flexible.  I splurged for Madden 19 this past weekend with my saved up cash, so video game time could be a trade off for cash.  I usually won't play unless I've done an hour of chores anyway.

[JediNickD]

149.0 lbs this morning.  Stretch and karate.  Hit the bag with combos working on my flow.  I need to work on just being lighter on my feet. 

 

Epic Nerd Camp starts Wednesday, so I'm crushing work, so I can be guilt-free at camp.  Also, I will be doing heavy house and animal cleaning before driving up to camp.  My bag is already packed.  I may have over-stuffed it for a 4 days of camp especially with cosplay stuff (a cheap Chewbacca onesie, a spot-on except for the mustache and hair Dread Pirate Roberts, and a Spaceballs Lonestar getup), but I wanted to make sure I had options.   

 

Karate tonight.

[Manarelle]

Piiiiiictuuuuuuuuures....... Please. 

[JediNickD]

16 hours ago, Manarelle said:

Piiiiiictuuuuuuuuures....... Please. 

 

I'm so bad about sharing pictures or even remembering to take pictures.  Thanks for the reminder.  I'll try to keep it in mind.  At the very least, I can post some of the public pictures from the Facebook group after the weekend. 

[JediNickD]

148.0 lbs.  Stretch and run.  Karate tonight, hopefully.  I need to be all packed first (except for my pillow).  I have a few things to hunt down.  Also, I need to leave my house in order for the pet sitter. 

 

Toastmasters in two hours.  I haven't been working on a speech, but I could cue up my local cable TV interview promoting my evening club for my Communicating on Video manual.  I'll go prepared in case there are no other speeches. 

[JediNickD]

EPIC NERD CAMP was EPIC and NERDY!  I have plenty to input to the House Cup spreadsheet.  I'm so tired, but my back and neck managed to survive!  I'll post more later, but the short story is that I made a ton of new friends, learned how to sword fight, learned how to juggle two balls and working on the third, and wore my body out each day.

[Manarelle]

2 hours ago, JediNickD said:

EPIC NERD CAMP was EPIC and NERDY!  I have plenty to input to the House Cup spreadsheet.  I'm so tired, but my back and neck managed to survive!  I'll post more later, but the short story is that I made a ton of new friends, learned how to sword fight, learned how to juggle two balls and working on the third, and wore my body out each day.

 

Winning!

[JediNickD]

My wife was on staff this year at Epic Nerd Camp, so she drove up Monday last week with our roommate.  The van broke down 100 miles from camp.  She said it started smoking, so she pulled over, then she heard metal grinding.  The smoke was coming from the belt area.  At work, there was little I could do.  I thought about leaving early, but I'd have to come back.  While they were on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck with the hazard lights on, the battery died.  I'm also told that they think the belt is rubbing causing the smoke.  I can't diagnose over the phone, but I fear that recent service from a front-end collision could have been shoddy.  Radiator, fans, alternator, and belt could have been put on wrong.  I also just replaced the power-steering pump... They get towed to camp.  I purchase a new battery and belt, then wait until Wednesday to head to camp. 

 

When I get there, the van doesn't appear as bad as it sounded.  I replaced the battery and belt, then started it up.  The old belt was fine, but there was a whine coming from the belt area.  Something was causing the engine to work harder.  I decided it had to be the alternator.  The valve cover leaks grease directly on to the alternator gumming it up.  I had to replace it two years ago.  If it died metal grinding and smoke is possible, but didn't happen last time it broke.  The battery just died on me.  Unfortunately, I can't get the alternator anywhere nearby or have one shipped to camp.  They just are not available.  It is a Kia Sedona base model with a DVD player, which means to alternator is different from typical Sedona vans.  We decide our options would be to tow the van home, or charge the dead battery and attempt to drive home switching the battery out when it died.

 

On Saturday, the dead battery is fully charged, so it looks like plan B has a shot.  Cellular service was spotty throughout camp, but on Saturday I had a decent connection.  I got on YouTube and listened to some different whining sounds from engines.  It's definitely the alternator.  I decide to look online for an alternator again.  I find the quantity on Amazon is through the roof now.  They went from ZERO available on Wednesday to 10 from this seller, 10 in this brand... etc.  It was eerie.  And I could have it delivered on Wednesday. 

 

Sunday morning is Pack Up and Leave day.  After breakfast, I'm on shuttle duty driving luggage and campers to the airport.  After dropping everyone off and returning the vehicles, my wife and I are "stranded" at the airport in Scranton.  To pack up the van, our roommate drove the van to the bunks and it smokes again.  We can't risk driving it full of expensive camp stuff.  My wife and I debate towing it home for $500 or towing it to a dealer and trading it in.  Then it hits us.  We are in Scranton with real auto parts stores.  After finding an alternator online, there is a decent chance we could get one here.  No luck on the first two searches, but amazingly, Auto Zone has one. Instead of waiting for our ride in a couple hours, we rent a car, drive to Auto Zone, and back to camp.  In couple more hours with daylight fading... and after pulling the part and everything in the way, we finally have the new one in and the van back together and on the rode. 

 

It was a long and expensive trip, but we had the time of life with new friends doing insane things and made it home safe.  This van has been a pain in the butt.  My wife is fed up with it.  The doors aren't working right all the time.  I've had to replace a few parts, but nothing in that van seems to last as long as it should.  I'll have a few more parts to replace in the next two years, plus new tires soon.  The biggest pain is the alternator with this being the second time it died on a long trip.  It is on alternator number 3.  There will not be a 4... 5 is right out. 

 

Instead, next year, we will likely have a new van.  We were planning to replace just one of the vehicles at our leisure in the next year, but now it is looking like both.  At over 200k miles, the Prius isn't doing great either.  We can't have two car payments at the same time, so it will have to last longer.  I better keep it in good shape.  I just had it serviced for a throttle body issue.  I'm going to have to drop a few hundred for spark plugs, belt, PVC valve, brake pads, rotors, and muffler repair, but it'll be cheaper than a new car.

[mkdutch]

So, I really like the reward system you've got going. My question is, where does the money lost go?

[Manarelle]

4 hours ago, JediNickD said:

It is on alternator number 3.  There will not be a 4... 5 is right out. 

 

Nice.

 

Man, that's a very full week you had. Glad you had the knowledge and ability to get it all working again, despite the headache of dealing with it. May I absolutely recommend Hondas? My sister is still driving her '99 CR-V; I traded my 2003 Civic in for a 2014 Civic, very few issues with either (and parts are everywhere). Still, congrats on the Epic Nerd Camp geekery, it sounds amazing. 

[JediNickD]

1 hour ago, mkdutch said:

So, I really like the reward system you've got going. My question is, where does the money lost go?

 

Thanks!  All the money stays in my bank account.  The Incentives allows me to put some of the money aside for myself.  The money "lost" is just money I don't get to spend on myself.  Hopefully it gets saved for a car repair, vet bill, or another emergency.  Personally, I'm saving up for things like video games, MTG cards, board games, comic-con tickets, and maybe a tattoo.  You know, stuff I could live without. I saw some really awesome lightsabers and cosplays which made me want to run out and spend that money, but the Incentive keeps me in check and encourages me to work hard first. 

[JediNickD]

19 minutes ago, Manarelle said:

 

Nice.

 

Man, that's a very full week you had. Glad you had the knowledge and ability to get it all working again, despite the headache of dealing with it. May I absolutely recommend Hondas? My sister is still driving her '99 CR-V; I traded my 2003 Civic in for a 2014 Civic, very few issues with either (and parts are everywhere). Still, congrats on the Epic Nerd Camp geekery, it sounds amazing. 

 

I've never owned a Honda.  I've worked on one and it wasn't as intuitive as my Toyota or past cars, but I'm willing to test drive.

 

More details on ENC coming soon.

[JediNickD]

The class schedule at ENC was divided into 4 periods with lunch and recess in the middle.  The first period started after breakfast and the fourth period ended just before dinner.  It made for a great flow with plenty of time between to shower, change, and hangout as desired. 

 

I planned my day to get 3 hours of physical activity spaced out to maximize my experience of different physical classes and give myself some rest time.  It worked out real well expect for Saturday, when it rained and I got soaked but decided it was pointless to shower or change until the rain stopped, then almost got hypothermia while working on my Fairy House.  Anyway, here's a look:

 

Day 1

1. German Longsword
2. Fairy House
3. Artemis Starship Bridge Simulator
4. Lightsabers
    

Day 2

1. Katana Swords
2. Fairy House
3. Artemis Starship Bridge Simulator
4. Ropes and Giant Swing

 

Day 3

1. Wall Climb and Zip Line
2. Fairy House
3. Character Building Workshop
4. Boffer Battle

 

During Recess, I planned to play Quidditch, Recoil Lasertag, or swimming in the lake or pool.  Each evening had an activity planned with the game room open for pick up table tops.  Day 0 was check in all day with evening Bunkmate Trivia.  Day 1 had a Bizarre in the evening for vendors to sell their nerd crafts.  We decided this would be an awesome spot for Recoil.  Day 2 we had a Masquerade/Cosplay Ball.  Day 3 was Cosplay Karaoke.  

 

I'm going to break this up to separate posts, because it is going to be very long and I want to WRITE ALL THE THINGS!

 

 

[JediNickD]

Vacation to North Carolina with my wife's family, then work and karate craziness.  I've been working 9 hour days and almost going straight to karate after then hitting the sack.  I'll get an update here and write more about ENC next week hopefully.

[Manarelle]

Hope your weekend was a bit more restful (and no further car issues arose). 

[JediNickD]

World 4 Level 3 Challenge GRADES!

FITNESS:

• Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 320 min total, 80 weekly. 

  STA +1, DEX +1   A = 470 min, weekly met
   

• Walking: Fortify the Spine - 600 min total, 150 weekly
  STR +1   A = 1170 min, weekly met
   

• Exercise: Lifting and Bodyweight - 240 min total, 60 weekly. 

  STR +1, STA +1   A = 270 min, weekly met
   

• Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - 560 min total, 140 weekly. 

  DEX +1, STR +1   A = 560 min, weekly met
   

• Karate: Training and Practice - 800 min total, 200 weekly. 
  DEX +1, STA +1   A = 800 min, weekly met

DIET:

• Weight Control - Track weight. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4.  Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days.  Track lunch portions for 24 of 28 days.  Track "fasting" after dinner nightly for 24 of 28 days.  TURN UP THE HEAT!
  CON +4   C = 149 lb start, 149.2 lbs end... but my minimum was 148.0 lbs.  I did well with fasting and my lunches (until the last weekend), but my commitment to healthy eating was weak.  Heat was warm, but needed to be hotter for my goal.

LIFE:

• Get Stuff Done - Complete 80 Hours of various Chores and Maintenance, with at least 20 hours each week.  Chores and Maintenance are the following areas (goal hours for challenge
  • Dishes (10)
  • Laundry (8)
  • Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming/Trash/Other (20)
  • Yard Work (4)
  • Animal Care (32)
  • Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance (8)
    WIS +1, CHA +1   A = 83.3 hrs, weekly met.  Sundays were tough to make it each time.

 

INCENTIVES!  Working hard for CASH!  ($257.20 carried over)  Carry $294.35 over to next challenge. 

1. REWARD:  For each week in which I complete 20 or more hours of Chores and Maintenance, I will put aside $10 to spend how I see fit. 
   CONSEQUENCE:  For any week where I complete less than 20 hours, I will give up $10 of saved cash.
   4 * $10 = $40
    
2. REWARD:  $5 for each Personal Project hour (Epic Nerd Camp, Extra Life, Jedi website, VHS-to-DVD conversion project, etc)
   CONSEQUENCE : Lose $10 for each week without a Personal Project hour.
   5.5 * $5 - 2 * $10 = $7.5
    
3. REWARD:  $50 for each completed IJRS lesson. 
   CONSEQUENCE: Lose $10 for each week without completing an IJRS lesson.
   0 - 4 * $10 = -$40  Vacation, work, and karate took priority.  Next challenge.
    
4. REWARD: $1 for each night of fasting after dinner.  Fruits and veggies allowed in small quantities, but no dessert or snacking.   
   CONSEQUENCE: Lose $2 for each day without fasting.
   19 * $1 - 9 * $2 = $1
    
5. REWARD: $1 for each day with a small, healthy lunch. 
   CONSEQUENCE:  Lose $2 for each day without a small, healthy lunch.
   26 * $1 - 2 * $2 = $22
    
6. REWARD: $1 for each morning or night of brushing and flossing.  $0 for just brushing.
   CONSEQUENCE:  Lose $1 for each morning or night I forget to floss.  Lose $2 for NOT flossing for the full day. 
   19 * $1 - 9 * $2 - 0 * $1 = $1

 

BONUSES: 

  Life:

• $1 for each hour working on Jedi Training (mentoring, reading/writing, charity, meditation, IJRS lessons).  $44.55
• $2 for each hour working on Toastmasters including meetings.  $12
• $2 for healthy grocery shopping or healthy meal prep.  $2
• $2 for each Home Renovation or Auto Maintenance hour.  $46.60

  Workout:

• $5 for each cardio session over 30 min  $30
• $10 for doubling any weekly minimum  $40

 

PUNISHMENT:

• Lose $10 each day with weight above 150.0 lbs.  -$10
• Lose $5 for eating more than 2 slices of pizza in any day.   -$0
• Lose $5 for each morning not weighing in.    -$55