Chris-Tien Jinn Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 I see a theme emerging in our first few new challenges here. Start small, but start ... This challenge, I'm doing a point system and keeping track by repurposing an old, old online program (Chore Wars) to keep track of my points and determine when I level up and what my character's (old school DnD) class should be. One of my goals this coming year is to rewrite it in Ruby on Rails as an example for my software design and development class. Meanwhile, it works pretty well and has a cute, constantly updating, badge so you can see how I'm doing. It has a static level-up every 200 points system, which is why I've set every task to award very low points. My focus for this challenge is also to rebuild healthy patterns and habits after too many life changes. Success will be determined if I gain 200+ points .... starting yesterday. Physical activity: go to CrossFit class at least 3 times per week Nutrition: cook at home, dammit!!! I'm easing into a mostly-Paleo diet, but the big thing is to cut out refined sugars. Learn: study up on Paleo, especially reading the Nom Nom Paleo books and Michelle Tam's blog. Mental/emotional health: meditate daily Work: get the article finished!! Everything else is a step in the direction of eating better, working out, and not letting other people ruin my equanimity. 9 Quote Level 63 Human ... Oath of Ancients Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 14 | DEX: 14| CON: 17 | INT: 17 | WIS: 17 | CHA: 14 Link to comment
Sloth the Enduring Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 Welcome back old friend. 1 Quote “We might as well start where we are, use what we have and do what we can." – Caitlin Rivers Sloth: The Man with the Hammer battle log Link to comment
Elastigirl Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 Glad to see you! 1 Quote Wisdom 22.5 Dexterity 13 Charisma 15 Strength 21 Constitution-13 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind' Luke 10; 27 Link to comment
DarK_RaideR Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 Yay CTJ is back! 2 Quote Lvl 54 Multitasker Link to comment
fitnessgurl Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 3 hours ago, Chris-Tien Jinn said: This challenge, I'm doing a point system and keeping track by repurposing an old, old online program (Chore Wars) to keep track of my points and determine when I level up and what my character's (old school DnD) class should be. This is pretty cool! 2 Quote L3 Human Ranger/Assassin Str. 6 Dex. 2 Sta. 1 Con. 12 Wis. 8 Cha. 3 https://www.nerdfitness.com/character/58014 Motto: Where there is life, there is hope. Soli Deo Gloria Link to comment
Tanktimus the Encourager Posted December 30, 2019 Report Share Posted December 30, 2019 So glad to see you posting a challenge again. 1 Quote Current Challenge "By the Most-Righteous-and-Blessed Beard of Sir Tanktimus the Encourager!" - Jarl Rurik Harrgath Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted December 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2019 On 12/29/2019 at 2:36 PM, Sloth the Enduring said: Welcome back old friend. Thanks, but watch the "old" comments. I turn 60 this year .... 😉 On 12/29/2019 at 3:01 PM, Elastigirl said: Glad to see you! Glad to be seen. I don't know where the fall went ..... I think I ran afoul of a wrinkle in time. On 12/29/2019 at 3:55 PM, DarK_RaideR said: Yay CTJ is back! *wave* What's new?? 23 hours ago, fitnessgurl said: This is pretty cool! Thanks! I didn't write the original, and it was not very successful in getting the fam to do their chores. But I think it has potential. Of course, I have now downloaded the Wodify app for my CrossFit workouts .... so we'll see if I can keep up with two tracking apps. 20 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said: So glad to see you posting a challenge again. Thanks. It's really hard to find people who are working on self-improvement around me. So .... here I am. Encourage away!!! 5 Quote Level 63 Human ... Oath of Ancients Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 14 | DEX: 14| CON: 17 | INT: 17 | WIS: 17 | CHA: 14 Link to comment
Loveable_Bouncer Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 Yay Welcome Back! I personally lost the hang of my challenges since you moved to Iowa! From some of the posts I've read, you sound like things are a little less chaotic than UofM... On 12/29/2019 at 2:15 PM, Chris-Tien Jinn said: his challenge, I'm doing a point system and keeping track by repurposing an old, old online program (Chore Wars) to keep track of my points and determine when I level up and what my character's (old school DnD) class should be. I didn't realize Chore Wars was that old, but then again I have a hard time believe 2007 was over a decade ago... I'm intrigued by how your goals with the game turn out! On 12/29/2019 at 2:15 PM, Chris-Tien Jinn said: Mental/emotional health: meditate daily I am also doing this! What are you using for your meditation practice? 1 Quote Larger than Average Fairy Druid Level 1 10 STR / 8 DEX / 10 CON / 13 INT / 13 WIS / 17 CHA (DnD Stats) Link to comment
Mrs Van Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 👋😊 Hallo again... 1 Quote Mrs. Van's Latest Challenge Zechariah 4:6 "Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord." Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted December 31, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 12 hours ago, LovelyBouncer said: I am also doing this! What are you using for your meditation practice? Generally, I just do sitting zazen. Now and then, I try something else, but that's the type I keep coming back to. 2 Quote Level 63 Human ... Oath of Ancients Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 14 | DEX: 14| CON: 17 | INT: 17 | WIS: 17 | CHA: 14 Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted December 31, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 At the CrossFit gym this noon (last class of the year), it was PACKED, and I KNEW that I had no idea how to do a squat clean for the day's WOD and was not ready to pair up with anyone on a barbell. So, I hid in a corner and started biking on one of the stationary bikes. I figured I'd watch and learn. But the substitute coach found me and introduced me to MY scaled down WOD, which was hard but doable. I'll feel it tomorrow, but I did finish! And was so grateful to the coach and the other people in the class who gave me fist bumps for my little, tiny achievement. Am I hooked?? Oh yea. Preparation for the Challenge are progressing: Hubby got me my first month's membership at the CrossFit box for Christmas, and I've started week 2 as of today. The first two workouts (last week) had left me feeling woozy, and I wondered if I was able to do this, frankly. But today, I finished and felt OK. I also brought a smoothie to drink right after class to combat the brain fog, which seemed to help. Cooking is going to be a challenge, honestly. While living apart, hubby and I have gotten used to a lot of take out and quick pickups at the deli. But, I'm growing microgreens and shoots and herbs at the kitchen windows in an effort to have some leafy greens that I am able to throw into meals. And we have been roasting vegetables in big batches so that we have a starchy but veggie substitute for pastas. And if I'm really hungry in the morning, my eggs go on top of red flannel hash (a mix of roasted beets, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic). I have both Nom Nom Paleo books, and I've even made pickled carrots and a salsa already. I pulled out my meditation cushion and have put them in the kitchen garden spot. It just feels like a nice, inviting location right now, and I hope it will encourage me to use it daily. And mini-challenge ..... I'm hydrating. I have reusable bottles scattered everywhere. And when I've been working out, I find that I WANT to use them. Fortunately, I have never been big on sodas or sugared & creamed coffees. I do have to avoid wine and beer, however. Tonight, we're going to go out for Chinese and then walk over to a local brew pub for a beer. And then back home to watch the next season of The Expanse. 7 Quote Level 63 Human ... Oath of Ancients Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 14 | DEX: 14| CON: 17 | INT: 17 | WIS: 17 | CHA: 14 Link to comment
Sloth the Enduring Posted December 31, 2019 Report Share Posted December 31, 2019 I haven’t started it yet, is the Expanse living up to the first three seasons? Quote “We might as well start where we are, use what we have and do what we can." – Caitlin Rivers Sloth: The Man with the Hammer battle log Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted January 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 16 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said: I haven’t started it yet, is the Expanse living up to the first three seasons? We had to go back and watch the last two episodes of season three to remember how that season ended. Might start season 4 tonight. 1 Quote Level 63 Human ... Oath of Ancients Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 14 | DEX: 14| CON: 17 | INT: 17 | WIS: 17 | CHA: 14 Link to comment
Mrs Van Posted January 2, 2020 Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 On 1/1/2020 at 12:17 AM, Chris-Tien Jinn said: But the substitute coach found me and introduced me to MY scaled down WOD, which was hard but doable. I'll feel it tomorrow, but I did finish! And was so grateful to the coach and the other people in the class who gave me fist bumps for my little, tiny achievement. Am I hooked?? Oh yea. Well done! Glad that the sub.coach helped out and everyone is so supporting. 👊 *airwaves fist bump* 2 1 Quote Mrs. Van's Latest Challenge Zechariah 4:6 "Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord." Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted January 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 On 12/31/2019 at 5:38 PM, Sloth the Enduring said: is the Expanse living up to the first three seasons? Yeap. I'm amazed that they are able to keep putting out this show. Lots of complex politics and solid nods to the challenges and realities of space exploration. We're rationing episodes. Anyone see the new Doctor Who episode?? 1 Quote Level 63 Human ... Oath of Ancients Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 14 | DEX: 14| CON: 17 | INT: 17 | WIS: 17 | CHA: 14 Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted January 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 Well, it's Friday of Week 0 ...... I'm still at the 2 x per week level of Cross Fit training. Good nutrition, lots of hydration, warming up and stretching, and foam rolling ..... My goal is to get past this and be going to class 3 times per week, without getting hurt. Cooking?? Yes!!! I've made homemade salsa from one of the Nom Nom Paleo books. Actually, pretty simple: apple juice, apple cider vinegar, fire roasted canned tomatoes, lots of garlic, some onions and the amount of chili peppers that you can stand. It went on Taco Salad one night and has been appearing in breakfast (scrambled eggs and microgreens + salsa) this week. And I whipped up some homemade stir fry sauce too. Tossed with some steak and stir fry veggies (frozen), it was a nice sauce over cauliflower rice. Didn't even really miss the starchy rice this time. I'm still working on making a proper lunch a habit. Too easy to work through lunch and grab a Soylent instead of planning ahead and bringing soup or something. Oh well, that's what the challenge is for, right?? Meditating .... Once. Hubby and I are still getting used to being in the same house together and getting over the sense that we need to spend time together because it is going to end as soon as one of us goes back "home" for the week. 4 Quote Level 63 Human ... Oath of Ancients Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 14 | DEX: 14| CON: 17 | INT: 17 | WIS: 17 | CHA: 14 Link to comment
Loveable_Bouncer Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 Yay for finding microgreens and recipes! Nice mix of having meditation brought together with greens! And yay for having crossfit working out. So many good wins for the first week Quote Larger than Average Fairy Druid Level 1 10 STR / 8 DEX / 10 CON / 13 INT / 13 WIS / 17 CHA (DnD Stats) Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted January 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 I made the mistake of reading my teaching evaluations from last term ..... *Sigh* 1 2 Quote Level 63 Human ... Oath of Ancients Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 14 | DEX: 14| CON: 17 | INT: 17 | WIS: 17 | CHA: 14 Link to comment
Elastigirl Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 I never thought of using the fire roasted canned tomatoes for salsa-awesome idea! 1 Quote Wisdom 22.5 Dexterity 13 Charisma 15 Strength 21 Constitution-13 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind' Luke 10; 27 Link to comment
Loveable_Bouncer Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 3 hours ago, Chris-Tien Jinn said: I made the mistake of reading my teaching evaluations from last term ..... Aww sorry! How long have you been working at the school you are at? 1 Quote Larger than Average Fairy Druid Level 1 10 STR / 8 DEX / 10 CON / 13 INT / 13 WIS / 17 CHA (DnD Stats) Link to comment
Jarric Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 Hey CTJ, feels like I haven't seen you round here in ages! Awesome that you're getting into Crossfit, I'm sure you'll settle in and be going 3 times per week in no time. 1 Quote Level 20 Wood Elf Ranger STR: 15 - CON: 21 - CHA: 6 - SAN: 16 - INT: 17 IAgreeWithTank™ "Shit is going down, but I am not." - iatetheyeti Don't say "I don't have enough time", say instead "that's not a priority right now" and see how that makes you feel. Current Challenge: Jarric vs Mountain External: Epic Quest - Instagram - Strava Spoiler Previous Challenges: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 Old Stuff: Battle Log - My Introduction - 2017 Road Map - 2018 Road Map - 2019 Road Map - 2021 Road Map - 2022 road map/wrap-up Link to comment
SkyGirl Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 Hi CTJ!! I thought I had followed you, but I hadn't! 😮 You've had some great successes so far - I'm so sorry about the teaching evaluations. Were they concrete complaints, or just general beefs? We know you're an incredible teacher no matter what they say! ❤️ 2 1 Quote SKY ELVENWORD NOBLEHEART The Silver Archer, Ranger Level 53 Jesus-follower | Writer | Encourager | Resident Myers-Briggs and Enneagram Geek "Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people." - Fred Rogers Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted January 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2020 On 1/4/2020 at 1:14 PM, Bouncer_the_Lovable said: How long have you been working at the school you are at? This is my second year here. I've been teaching in a wide variety of settings and colleges/universities for decades and have never had such snarky comments. But they are fairly common for female faculty in the Science Division at this college. On 1/5/2020 at 4:26 PM, SkyGirl said: We know you're an incredible teacher no matter what they say! ❤️ Thanks!! There was not much that was actually useful. I am clarifying some requirements for assignments and will expand some lessons. I am still working on increasing the number of days I get to CrossFit. At least today was an arm day ..... typing might be a bit of a challenge tomorrow ..... I'm already beginning to feel like a T-Rex at the keyboard. 3 Quote Level 63 Human ... Oath of Ancients Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 14 | DEX: 14| CON: 17 | INT: 17 | WIS: 17 | CHA: 14 Link to comment
Tanktimus the Encourager Posted January 7, 2020 Report Share Posted January 7, 2020 2 hours ago, Chris-Tien Jinn said: This is my second year here. I've been teaching in a wide variety of settings and colleges/universities for decades and have never had such snarky comments. But they are fairly common for female faculty in the Science Division at this college. That sounds like something those students would do well to grow out of.* *This is far more diplomatic than my initial response. 4 1 Quote Current Challenge "By the Most-Righteous-and-Blessed Beard of Sir Tanktimus the Encourager!" - Jarl Rurik Harrgath Link to comment
Chris-Tien Jinn Posted January 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2020 11 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said: That sounds like something those students would do well to grow out of. ..... and faculty members too!! How to use those evaluations as part of our job evaluations has been hotly contested, especially with the data that shows bias against several underrepresented populations in different disciplines (men in Education and Social Work have the same issues). Some days, I check the calendar to see which century we are in. On the other hand, I loved the latest Dr. Who episode with Ada Gordon and Noor Inayat Khan. 3 Quote Level 63 Human ... Oath of Ancients Paladin "We are better than we know, if we can be made to see it, [then] for the rest of our lives, we'll be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn STR: 14 | DEX: 14| CON: 17 | INT: 17 | WIS: 17 | CHA: 14 Link to comment
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