[JediNickD] World 5 Level 2: "It's So Much Bigger."

[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 healing my spine, reaching the high ranks at karate, blazing through the new Toastmasters education program called Pathways, and working to complete Novice rank at IJRS, World 4 was something new everyday.  I have moved over to the Monks to reach for more diversity in my workouts and culture as my focus has been more on my karate training in the recent months.  As I actively take on more responsibility of coaching, mentoring, and teaching in all aspects of my life, I can see a different me forming on World 5.

 

I just keep on L-I-V-I-N, fight the good fight lightin' it up, and level up my life! 

 

Challenge Lesson:  "It's so much bigger."    

 

Quote

Luke Skywalker: Breathe. Just breathe. Now reach out. What do you see? 

Rey: Light. Darkness. A balance.

Luke Skywalker: It's so much bigger.

 

The Force is more than just Light and Dark sides.  There is everything in-between the extremes, which is a lot of grey area.  In fact, like any good Gaussian curve, 90% lies in the grey area.  Humans morals and ethics are the same.  It rare to be at the extreme ends of any moral or ethical standard, whether righteous or evil. 

 

Luke could also be hinting at what might be unsee-able in the Force as they know it.  If you've read the "New Jedi Order" book series with the Yuuzhan Vong invasion and war, then you might understand what I am referring to.  But let me explain an analog.  The Force could be like the Electromagnetic spectrum with no actual limits going to infinitesimally small to infinitesimally large.  The visible light spectrum is a small portion of it.  Before electricity was "discovered" and harnessed, humans only knew the visible light portion.  What if Light and Dark ends of the Force were only the portion they had experienced? 

 

There are many other things which we perceive to know the bounds, but later find so much more beyond.  Test the limits, think outside the box, break the mold, but understand where the mean will lie. 

 

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.

 

I'm using Habitica and Excel to track a ton of things, so I may make some changes below to better integrate them, but I'm sticking to the basics drawn to 5 Weeks.

 

World 5 Level 2 Challenge:

FITNESS:

• Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 500 min total, 100 weekly.  Track time and distance. 

  STA +1
   

• Walking: Fortify the Spine - 1250 min total, 250 weekly. 
  CON +1
   

• Exercise: HIIT Lifting and Bodyweight - 300 min total, 60 weekly. 

  STR +1, STA +1
   

• Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - 700 min total, 140 weekly.  

  DEX +1
   

• Karate: Training and Practice - 1500 min total, 300 weekly.  Track progress towards belt.  Track improvement on all material. 
  DEX +1, STR +1
   

DIET:

• Lean Body - Track weight. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 5.  Looking to maintain 150 lbs or less while shrinking my waist and building muscle.
  CON +1
   
• Keep on cutting out the crap - No CheezIts, limit snacking at work, cut down portion sizes.  Drink more water.
  CON +1

 

LIFE:

• Get Stuff Done - Complete 110 Hours of various Chores and Maintenance, with at least 22 hours each week.  Chores and Maintenance are the following areas (goal hours for challenge)
  • Dishes (16), Laundry (10), Cooking/Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming/Trash/Other (32), Yard Work (2), Animal Care (24), Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance (10)

          WIS +1, CHA +1
 

• Epic Quest - Complete something EPIC!  I want to be able to look back at my four week challenge and say, "that was the challenge I did X".  My challenges tend to be a lot of the same old.  I've given myself plenty to improve in small steps, but I also want to see big strides in the things I've been working on.  What box can I check?  What have I been procrastinating?  What am I focusing on?

          WIS +2, CHA +2

 

 

INCENTIVES!  Working hard for CASH!  ($516.85 carried over)
 

1. REWARD:  For each week in which I complete 25 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 22 hours, I will give up $10 of saved cash.
    
2. REWARD:  $5 for each Personal Project hour
   CONSEQUENCE : Lose $10 for each week without at least one hour for Personal Projects.
    
3. REWARD:  $5 for each HIIT workout.  For a healthy heart among other things, HIIT is recommended by my health coach.  I don't like them, but they are a necessary evil.
   CONSEQUENCE: Lose $5 for each week without a HIIT workout.
    
4. REWARD:  $5 for each day with weight below 154.0 lbs.
   CONSEQUENCE:  Lose $5 each day with weight above 156.0 lbs. 
    
5. REWARD: $5 for 1 Sprint/Run/Bike workout (minimum 10 reps/30 min/10 min), $10 for second, $20 for third and up. 
   CONSEQUENCE:  Lose $10 for each week without one of these workouts.

 

BONUSES: 

• $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 each Home Renovation or Auto Maintenance hour

 

PENALTIES:

• Lose $10 for eating pizza, candy, popcorn, CheezIts, pretzels, potato chips.
• Lose $10 for more than 6 Dr Peppers a week or more than 6 meals with cheese a week.

[JediNickD]

I took on a new protege yesterday for Toastmasters.  She is a PhD with more career ambition than anyone I'd ever met.  She is likely the smartest person in every room she enters and wants to be able to show it, but when it comes to speaking, she is intimidated, because she does not have the natural skills others display.  English is a second language for her, so she struggles with vocabulary, which she allows to effect her confidence, as well.  She told me about how her co-workers see her struggles with briefings and recommend improvement to advance her career.  Her instinct is to compare herself to others, which, for speaking, only reinforces her negative self-image.  I believe if I can help her get around this perception to allow her to only see the progress she makes in improving her speaking skills, then she will have no problem being a vocal leader in her career field.  Toastmasters has a lot to offer her in communication and leadership practice to accelerate her career, but we will start with the basics to build a solid foundation, which is all about preparing properly.  Mastering vocal variety, gestures, and delivery comes from preparation and practice.  They are the perfect basic skills to measure progress for improving public speaking; however, it is the progress made in preparation where the difference is really made. 

 

On the way to my meeting with my new protege, I am have setup another mentorship with a Toastmaster who is struggling to focus when juggling multiple tasks.  I bumped into while walking and she explained her predicament with Toastmasters meetings and projects, as well as work tasks piling up.  I believe I can help her get the tasks in line and start checking items off.  She said she'd email me, but I'm certain I'll have to force my way into her schedule if she is to make any progress. 

 

This is the kind of stuff I love doing.  Would either considering paying for such a service (outside of Toastmasters)?  Could I make it a career without effecting my daily life?  I feel the answer is no for both based on my experiences and knowledge of friends in that service.  I don't feel I have the mastery of the required skills (outside of Toastmasters).  I would have to devote so much of my time to clients outside of regular working hours (because that is when they are available).  When the kids are both in high school, then I can begin to re-assess the time commitment.  I can start with working towards mastery of skills by applying them in Toastmasters, Karate, and my career, but I also need to expand my knowledge of the field, which means reading.  Where do I scale back to fit that in?  Or more likely how do I re-prioritize and re-focus what I am already doing to incorporate it?

[JediNickD]

We won Spookiest Trunk at the elementary school's Trunk or Treat.  It was our Wedding Anniversary (14 years), so we decided a ghostly wedding would be our theme.  We got a ghostly groom and bride costumes with white makeup, which turned out really well.  My wife made ghosts to hang, then a church and cemetery diorama out of Styrofoam.  I blacked out the windows with curtains.  We brought Bob, our life-size, pose-able skeleton, to have crawling from underneath the car.  One daughter posed as our flower girl and handed out candy.   It was pretty awesome and a lot of fun playing the part. 

 

It turned out to be a great way to spend our anniversary. 

 

Karate today, racquetball tomorrow, Go Ape ropes course and church Trunk or Treat Saturday, play practice Sunday.  I need to squeeze in two oil changes and setting up the living room for Extra Life gameday.  Busy, busy

[JediNickD]

Birthday celebrations over the weekend were a lot of fun.  Ropes and zip lines on Saturday, then dinner at a local Indian restaurant and cake at home on Sunday.  Spent the rest of the weekend at the church for trick or treating, service, and play practice. 

 

Karate practice this morning.  Maybe class tonight and Wednesday.  Thursday's class is probably cancelled for Halloween and Tuesday I have a chiropractor appointment and education session.

[JediNickD]

Attempting to increase my daily servings of vegetables and fruits.  I added a counter to my spreadsheet and will add a task to my Habitica.  I have peppers, apples, spring mix, and carrots at work.  That should get 4 servings a day.  I just need one more at home to hit my goal of 5.  My "health coach" recommended 100% fruit juice as a way to get an extra fruit serving in since I don't like most fruits. 

 

155.2 lbs Ran 2 miles, then sprints.  Phew... I need some water.  Chiropractor appointment, education session, and karate class tonight.  Toastmasters at lunch time.  Busy day.

[sarakingdom]

Your health coach is a little off base, IMO. Fruit juice is missing all or most of the fiber and a lot of the nutrients due to processing, and is pretty darned close to soda nutritionally. If you're turning whole frozen fruit into a smoothie, that's better than juice, because you're getting the whole fruit. Or using it as a gateway behavior to whole-fruit-eating. But I'd probably just eat a bigger salad, and get the fifth serving that way, if you really dislike fruit and don't plan to change that.

[JediNickD]

14 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

Your health coach is a little off base, IMO. Fruit juice is missing all or most of the fiber and a lot of the nutrients due to processing, and is pretty darned close to soda nutritionally. If you're turning whole frozen fruit into a smoothie, that's better than juice, because you're getting the whole fruit. Or using it as a gateway behavior to whole-fruit-eating. But I'd probably just eat a bigger salad, and get the fifth serving that way, if you really dislike fruit and don't plan to change that.

 

I responded with the same.  She said, just make sure it says 100% juice and no added sugar.  I have an orange juice I like, so I'll check it next time I'm at the store.  She recommended making smoothies, but I'm not a fan.  Tomatoes are probably the best way for me to sneak more fruit in, but I usually don't eat a full cup of tomato with anything.   

[JediNickD]

154.0 lbs

 

Blue stripe for roll escapes last night.  Two more stripes by the 11th.  I should be golden. 

 

Getting the house ready for Extra Life Game Day has been a drag.  Whenever I make progress, another mess comes in behind it.  Mostly, I feel bad for my wife, who will do most the cleaning Thursday and Friday while I'm at work.  I just wish all 6 of them could clean up after themselves better.  It'd make prepping for a party so much easier.

[JediNickD]

153.4 lbs

 

Back into pull ups and chin ups.  It had been a while.  My tendonitis finally healed up (and no issues after racquetball last Friday), I gave it a try yesterday.  It felt fine, so I went for a few more today after my ab blast workout.  I'm going to need to do more to strengthen other upper body muscles if I'm going to get back to level I was.  Next challenge, I'm going to plan more exercise minutes and possible drop some cardio or karate.  Probably only a 20 or 40 minute per week shift.

 

Halloween tonight is expected to be really stormy.  I might go as Mary Poppins so I can carry an umbrella.  ;-D

[JediNickD]

153.0 lbs

 

Racquetball was awesome.  My quads were sore from karate on Wednesday and walking for Trick or Treating last night.  Sore is good and I moved well.  At times, I felt like my feet were in concrete and I could use a new pair of sneakers, but I had a lot of fun and played my ass off.  I came back to win the first game, lost convincingly in the second with a bunch of unforced errors, then came back and won the last one.  I don't usually get a good run of points as my friend is very good at breaking my streaks, but I was able to keep running at the end of both matches with some great hustle.  His hamstring is still recovering so he didn't push forward for a few shots, but that was only when the points didn't matter.  When it came down to the end of the matches, he was pushing and staying competitive.  Exciting and fun games.

 

Cosmic Encounter to kickoff my Extra Life fundraiser!  Already over $300! 

 

https://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=349914

 

All donations raised through Extra Life fund the life-saving work of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals located all across North America.  Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals will treat over 10 million kids this year alone. Donations help to make miracles possible for them. My sponsored hospital, Johns Hopkins Children's Center, will directly benefit from the donations.

 

I toured the Johns Hopkins Children's Center this spring.  The staff pointed out the many ways the funds are used.  They have an incredible facility for not only treating patients, but making their stays positive, enriching, and comfortable.  They have video game consoles and toys in every patient's room plus an art studio to inspire creativity, a library to foster curiosity, and a gymnasium to run and play.  Without Extra Life and Children's Miracle Network, funding becomes a huge obstacle to have or maintain any of these.  It is wonderful to be a part of enriching children's lives while they go through a difficult and possibly life-threatening experience. 

[JediNickD]

153.4 lbs

 

Karate practice this morning.  Class all week to work on getting my last two stripes: Combos and Final Review.  I've got ideas for my breaks and spotlights already.  I'm pretty excited to test for Black!

 

Extra Life Game Day was Friday through early Sunday morning for me.  I've raised $760 so far!  It was a pretty EPIC weekend. 

 

We started Friday night with a round of Cosmic Encounter (hands down the greatest game ever).  If you've never played it, at its base is a strategy-conquest game where every player is attempting to colonize the galaxy by using their resources.  Each player has two unique alien powers to "break the rules of the game" and a hand of cards as their resources.  I have a house rules set which incorporates two editions of the game with over 100 aliens to ensure every game is a new experience.  Fantasy Flight has down an amazing job with the new release and expansions, but they have left out some of the most chaotic (read: BEST) parts of the Mayfair edition (Moons, Serpent and Schizoid Flares, and Custom Cards to allow home-brewing), so I have mixed those together.  We had 5 players for a moderate size game, but the chaos was underway early as I trounced everyone in the first encounter defending a home planet, then took the second turn to convincingly win the first outer base for everyone, except the defender of course, then in the third turn, defending a home planet again, almost successful expolited a loophole in the game play with one of my powers.  Unfortunately, for me, I got zapped.  Some time later, my daughter landed on the Anti-Truth moon, leading to everyone have to speak like it is Opposite Day and a lot of confusion trying to explain to her to leave the Anti-Truth moon to end it.  I need to check the video stream for that part to watch 4 people telling her explicitly to "NOT move that ship for that moon".  It was hilarious. 

 

To wrap up the night, we played two games after that: Splendor and Magic: the Gathering.  Splendor is always a fun quick game, which the kids can all play.  A friend and I busted out the Magic cards after everyone else turned in for the night.  Magic is probably my third favorite game as it has that anything can happen element which Cosmic has, while I get to build my own decks using strategies I enjoy.  It is just hard for me to invest money into a game for me, when I'd rather invest my money in the family, friends, and helping others.

 

Saturday morning kicked off with Halo and Diablo with the wife and kids.  At 9am, we went to a Pancake breakfast for the Boy Scouts Den of one of our neighbors.  We brought R2D2 BopIt to play at the table and in the car.  We also played Pokemon Go to hit a few game milestones while out of the house.  Around noon, we settled back down at the table for board games and had the NES emulator running for Super Mario and Legend of Zelda. 

 

We played an awesome round of "The Thing" board game with 8 players.  I've only played the game thrice now, but it has jumped to my second favorite game easily.  The chaotic social deduction game always ends with an intense climatic standoff as we fight for the right to survive.  I'm so happy my wife bough that game for me for my birthday!

 

Later, we played Trogdor and Clank in Space, which at two more favorites.  Then, my wife introduced a packed room to "Don't Stop Talking or We All Explode" VR Bomb Defusing game.  Lots of confusing and yelling and exploding and FUN!  The highlight of the stream for the day might have been when the kids were playing Clue by themselves.  My daughters were just a barrel of laughs during that game. 

 

The day was not perfect though.  My cameras and streams were temperamental, but nothing is worse than the cyber attack the Extra Life website had to overcome.  Who commits a Denial of Service attack on a charity website for Children's Hospitals?  Truly evil people for sure.  Anyway, they fixed it by the afternoon.  I just hope that the cyber attack did not involve screwing with the transactions and credit card information.  Stealing money from the kids or ID theft of the donors would just be awful. 

[JediNickD]

153.0 lbs

 

Crushed both stripes last night at karate class.  So happy to have that pressure off and I can focus on preparing for the test with my spotlight and breaks.  I ordered a sweatshirt from the dojo and I was able to order the black one.  So excited! 

 

I've still got Extra Life work to do to meet my goal, plus IJRS exam and essay to work on.  November and December will be some productive months!

[JediNickD]

153.8 lbs

 

Karate practice to work on forms.  Pulls to work the arms.  Class tonight. 

 

Knocked out another Toastmaster speech at lunch today.  Talked about coaching one-on-one which I feel is the best way to help someone improve.  It was fun, educational speech but I needed a story to tie to my message.  My story will be the results of the three Toastmasters I'm currently working with.

[JediNickD]

154.6 lbs

 

Karate practice this morning.  I worked on my spotlight for the December test.  I plan to run a one-step drill for spar class designed to teach getting out of the way of a technique for the defender and re-addressing your opponent for the attacker.  The attacker throws a combination technique to drive the defender off their spot.  In a one-step, the defender retreats straight back, then counter-attacks.  For this drill, the defender will side-step before counter attacking forcing the attacker to re-address them.  This one-step drill will be a closer imitation of a spar match.

 

I believe our one-step drill IS GOOD for one-step combos for quick feet and countering; however, more than one step backwards can trap you in a corner.  Doing one-steps with longer combos is training us to retreat in a straight line.  I think it has created some poor habits which show up on the spar floor when an opponent is retreating. 

 

I'm pretty confident my one-step drill, which I am working on a name, will be effective at training stronger spar defense habits.  The only difficulty I see is that a pair of participants will utilize a larger part of the floor space.  When we have a large class, the straight one-step sets up lanes to maximize floor space.  The rings my drill will put participants in may not support larger classes. 

 

Possible names:

Side-step Drill

Cycling one-step

Counter-step

Spar one-step

 

[JediNickD]

Calling it a combo side-step drill.

 

154.4 lbs

 

Karate practice this morning drilling on my arms for quickness.  Used the small 2 lb medicine ball to weight my shoulder rolls and punches, then I hit the bag after practicing my combos (jump turn backs need more work).  

[JediNickD]

Spotlighted my spotlight at class yesterday.  Went pretty well and not too long of a lesson.  I got to work with two students for demonstrating the technique as I talked to explain the application of the drill.  They did a great job.  I explained the three benefits for using the drill, which are to avoiding retreating straight back, to practice readdressing your target as they attempt to move around you while throwing your combination technique, and to practice moving into your opponents space to strike.

 

154.0 lbs on my 39th birthday.  Hooray for me!

 

Ran 3.9 miles for 39 years.  I don't plan on making that a habit, but I was up early enough and the weather was not too cold or wet. 

 

I need to get to the grocery store to replenish my healthy food at work.  Won't be until Thursday though, which means Wednesday I will have ZERO vegetables and fruits at work unless I plan something at home tonight.  My wife went shopping yesterday, but didn't tell me which is a bugger.  She literally hates grocery shopping so I get why she doesn't use my grocery list or ask if I need anything.  She just wants to get in and out as quick as possible.  It's funny though that she enjoys planning meals and cooking for everyone, but the act of shopping just stresses her out. 

 

I'll just hit Subway for lunch and get plenty of veggies on my sub.  It'll be tough to get all 5 cups worth of veggies on one sub though.

[JediNickD]

154.8 lbs

 

I had some cake for my birthday yesterday.  Chocolate with peanut butter frosting and semi-sweet chocolate ganache.  So rich.  Pot Pie chocked full of vegetables.  I certainly put in too many calories last night.  I'll have to climb some stairs to burn extra calories today.  Karate at the dojo tonight.

[JediNickD]

Completed two more speeches in Toastmasters.  I am planning to start a blog for another project which will wrap up my work for my Effective Coaching path.  I expect to complete a second path soon after.  I'll need to serve as a club coach to complete my second DTM though.  The blog will probably be Jedi-centric as I have a ton written for it already.  A Toastmasters blog will probably come second.  A Life Coaching blog will have to come third. 

 

Any suggestions about starting a blog?  I've written blogs at several sites before, but none were anything note-worthy.  If any reading this has any advice, then I'm willing to listen. 

 

My personal critique is that I probably keep my writing too serious and focus on personal perspective when writing.  I forget to ensure I include my target audience and have a little fun with it to keep it interesting for the readers.

[Kishi]

Wow. You've had a lot going on this challenge! It definitely sounds like you've taken a lot of steps towards things that matter very much and you've managed to do so while having a healthy balance of priorities (fitness not getting in the way of life and stuff like that). That's really impressive, and I'm glad to hear it.

 

I've blogged before, but I don't really have any advice. I don't seem to write with the right kind of voice for this kind of thing. OTOH, the Nerd Fitness blog is probably a good one to read in terms of compelling voice.

 

One thing I would advise is not to worry overmuch about market saturation or something like that. There's a wide audience out there and getting wider all the time, and even if you have nothing new to say, the way you say it is something that only you can do.

 

So, you know. Food for thought.

[JediNickD]

17 minutes ago, Kishi said:

I've blogged before, but I don't really have any advice. I don't seem to write with the right kind of voice for this kind of thing. OTOH, the Nerd Fitness blog is probably a good one to read in terms of compelling voice.

 

One thing I would advise is not to worry overmuch about market saturation or something like that. There's a wide audience out there and getting wider all the time, and even if you have nothing new to say, the way you say it is something that only you can do.

 

So, you know. Food for thought.

 

Yes, I love the way Steve writes.  Fun and inclusive.  I appreciate the advice.  I'm not worried about writing something that has already been done.  I'm more worried about doing it well so I don't look like a slacker.  A slacker appearance would just undercut everything I write about.  My posts here are casual, so I can be brief, informal, and a little carefree, but a blog I'd want to be professional.

[Kishi]

30 minutes ago, JediNickD said:

 

Yes, I love the way Steve writes.  Fun and inclusive.  I appreciate the advice.  I'm not worried about writing something that has already been done.  I'm more worried about doing it well so I don't look like a slacker.  A slacker appearance would just undercut everything I write about.  My posts here are casual, so I can be brief, informal, and a little carefree, but a blog I'd want to be professional.

 

What about being a professional slacker? Nothing wrong with an intentional informality.

[JediNickD]

152.4 lbs

 

Fun racquetball games this morning.  Fun karate class last night.  More fun on the way as it looks like we are headed to the theater for Frozen 2 tonight.  Another birthday party for a nephew on Saturday.  Sunday afternoon, I should be on the roof hanging lights.  I also need to do some vehicle maintenance. 

[Kishi]

Sweet! Let the good times roll!

[JediNickD]

152.4 lbs

 

Karate class last night.  Practice yesterday and this morning.  Getting ready for my test has been fun and a ton of work.  Last night, we worked on cleaning up kick techniques, then this morning I went back through those exercises.  I needed the details for my snap and roundhouse kicks. 

[sarakingdom]

With a blog, slacking consists mostly of not updating on schedule. It doesn't need to be too often (and maybe shouldn't be, with lots of blogs gearing up and a day job), so "updates Thursdays" is fine. The quality of the content will come. You'll find a voice.

 

My advice would be to plan ahead, and also be ahead. Have several weeks of posts in the can, but also have a calendar of ideas scheduled a ways out. You don't have to stick with those ideas, but it helps to have a direction to head in.