Scalyfreak studies alchemy and meditates

[Scaly Freak]

Tired but happy after her many travels, Scalyfreak returns to the Guild Hall that became her home the first time she crossed the threshold. The water coolers are still there in the corner, and the many power racks are still in place as well. The large buffet table that stretches along the entire back wall is still covered in various holiday dishes, and the fire in the hearth burns bright and warm.

 

It is good to be home. Scalyfreak makes her way to her favorite reclining chair, the one in the quiet corner near the fire, and settles in to review her most recent accomplishments and to plan her next steps. But before she does, she reaches into her backpack for a small bright blue jar, and passes it to the demanding creature that has been following her around since long before her journey started in earnest.

 

“Here, this is for you.”

 

Little Self-Indulgence snatches the jar out of Scalyfreak’s hand and scuttles off into a corner. Soon, happy purring and chirping noises can be hard from that corner, as the imp loving pets its shiny new treasure, stares at the dark blue print the side, and reverently opens the jar to peer at the contents.

 

Scalyfreak turns her attention to the tablet she always carries with her, and begins contemplating points assignments. She is pleasantly surprised to discover that Mindfulness has been unlocked as a class skill, and less pleased to discover that she can’t raise it without first increasing Meditation, which of course remains a non-class and costs twice as much. The new attribute point goes into Wisdom, and the newly unlocked skill slot is spent on Alchemy.

 

 

So here we are. 2019 was a crazy year, and because the Game of Life likes increasing the difficulty level on me, a lot of the crazy seems hellbent on following me into 2020. Since I already know the boss fights are coming, I’m going to prepare for them as best I can, and make it a point to not freak out about upcoming difficulties that won’t go away just because I freak out about them.

 

Instead, I’m going to focus on all the things I overcame in 2019, and the fact that after defeating Stress Monster, Self Sabotage, and Stress Hydra (several times!), something has changed.

 

The monsters that used to be boss fights are now standard dungeon enemies. Things that used to be a really big deal at work, such as surprise decisions, projects, important and time-sensitive tasks handed to me with no warning, are now a part of my daily job. They are not boss fights anymore, and my brain needed to fully comprehend that before it could recalibrate. My brain needed time to realize that these events/enemies are less important and less dangerous than they used to be, and not stress over every random encounter as if it is a dungeon boss. And my brain learned.

 

This is pretty much the definition of leveling up, so naturally this challenge period is dedicated to celebrating my victories and my newfound powers. To begin with, and to commemorate leveling up, I have changed my avatar to one that more accurately reflects my inner half-orc (for obvious reasons). Secondly, I’m taking a step back and revisiting the basics of being a strong warrior, both mentally and physically. To this end, I am giving myself simple goals for this challenge:

 

Goal 1: Re-learn lifting

One of the more lasting effects of the boss fights of 2019 is that I lost all the emotional energy that was necessary for going to the gym. I need to figure out how to get this back, and then use my replenished energy to make it back into the gym. I am returning to the GreySkull program I used last spring and summer, and will probably have to reset the weights to the point I’m starting over, but that is irrelevant. Reduced weight is an opportunity to work on form, which I probably need as well. Either way, we will reconnect with the glory of barbells and plates. This goal will be considered a success if I can make it to the gym at least twice per week this challenge.

 

Goal 2: Meditate

I may have mentioned in the past that I am very bad at remembering to meditate on my days off, because on my days off I don’t follow the same morning routine as I do on days when I go to work. This challenge requires an unbroken streak of days in Insight Timer, because I’ve been meditating for so long now that I really should know better than to skip it just because I didn’t get out of bed early this morning.

 

Goal 3: Level up the Alchemy skill

My first batch of kombucha, started early in the holiday mini challenge, has been stirred and bottled, and the bottles placed on a shelf in the pantry to ferment a second time. This is supposed to add carbonation fizziness to the kombucha. I put orange juice into some of the bottles to give the kombucha some sugar to work with, and cranberries in some of the others, for the same reason. I also started a new batch, since I couldn’t think of anything else to do with the scoby from the first batch. I’m cautiously optimistic that I will be able to learn how to make my own probiotic drinks in the future, and not have to pay the grocery store exorbitant amounts of money for pre-made kombucha. Time will tell.

 

The third goal will be considered successful if I manage to make tasty and nutritious kombucha, while not accidentally food poisoning myself in the process.

 

And The Flame will be harnessed once more.

 

[h3r0]

I like the new avatar 

[Scaly Freak]

1 minute ago, h3r0 said:

I like the new avatar 

 

Thanks! I cropped the second picture on this page, because I like it when artists who portray half-orcs make it more obvious that there really is a human parent involved, instead of just drawing a less ugly orc and leaving it at that. If a half-elf looks more human than elf, why are we assuming that all half-orcs look more orc than human? The human genes are supposed to be the dominant ones, after all.  

[h3r0]

I would assume that Orc genes would be pretty dominant but I'm not going to argue with a pretty badass avatar picture. It makes me self conscious about mine. Maybe I should change to something more 1970s metal album cover. 

[Harriet]

54 minutes ago, Scalyfreak said:

 

One of the more lasting effects of the boss fights of 2019 is that I lost all the emotional energy that was necessary for going to the gym. I need to figure out how to get this back, and then use my replenished energy to make it back into the gym. I am returning to the GreySkull program I used last spring and summer, and will probably have to reset the weights to the point I’m starting over, but that is irrelevant. Reduced weight is an opportunity to work on form, which I probably need as well. Either way, we will reconnect with the glory of barbells and plates. This goal will be considered a success if I can make it to the gym at least twice per week this challenge.

 

 

Hopefully starting from scratch with lighter weights will mean there's less of an emotional barrier to going. When I was pushing myself to do 90%+ intensities I would be tempted to skip days if I hadn't slept well. Now that I'm taking the focus off pushing the weights up as fast as possible, and being more patient, it doesn't matter so much if I'm not at my best.

 

Much glory to you. 

Also, love the avatar. Very mighty.

[Scaly Freak]

20 minutes ago, Harriet said:

Hopefully starting from scratch with lighter weights will mean there's less of an emotional barrier to going. When I was pushing myself to do 90%+ intensities I would be tempted to skip days if I hadn't slept well. Now that I'm taking the focus off pushing the weights up as fast as possible, and being more patient, it doesn't matter so much if I'm not at my best.

 

I had not considered this, and this is an excellent point. If I am not pushing myself to lift really heavy weights and increase the weight at a steady pace,  then I won't need to bring as much energy with me into the gym. I could in theory make the emotional energy last longer, and turn it into a larger number of gym workouts, if I don't need as much energy for each. You are also correct that it will lower the bar for getting into the gym in the first place, because those emotional barriers are what's really stopping me (it's Procrastination's main form of attack).

 

Based on the above, it will be important for this goal to remember that the important part is not to go to the gym and lift mightily. The important part is to go to the gym.

[Scaly Freak]

2 hours ago, h3r0 said:

I would assume that Orc genes would be pretty dominant but I'm not going to argue with a pretty badass avatar picture. It makes me self conscious about mine. Maybe I should change to something more 1970s metal album cover. 

 

Nice choice of a warrior avatar! In every sense of the word.  

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following along. 

[Harriet]

14 hours ago, Scalyfreak said:

Based on the above, it will be important for this goal to remember that the important part is not to go to the gym and lift mightily. The important part is to go to the gym.

 

Most definitely. I sometimes have to remind myself that a mediocre lifting session is so much better than no session.

[Scaly Freak]

On 1/4/2020 at 9:25 AM, Harriet said:

a mediocre lifting session is so much better than no session.

 

In honor of this statement, I made myself go to the gym. I have just returned home, cleaned cat boxes and showered, and now I get my reward: Watch the recording of the Seahawks-Eagles playoff game.

 

[Scaly Freak]

Mediated this morning.

 

Tomorrow is time for gym again. I'm posting it here for accountability purposes, to make it harder for me to "forget" to go.

[miss_marissa]

Woo hoo! Cheers for getting back into a gym habit again

 

2019 sounds like it was an EXCELLENT level up for you!

[Grumble]

Following.

 

The iron church has missed you.

[JustCallMeAmber]

On 1/3/2020 at 7:28 PM, Scalyfreak said:

while not accidentally food poisoning myself in the process

This seems like a good goal

 

Also digging the new avatar! (Though I confess it made me do a double take, wondering if there was a new wise warrior among our ranks.)

[Scaly Freak]

1 hour ago, Grumble said:

Following.

 

The iron church has missed you.

 

I have missed the iron. I am quite sore today, but in a good way that I have decided to refer to as growing pains for muscles.

 

1 hour ago, JustCallMeAmber said:

 

Also digging the new avatar! (Though I confess it made me do a double take, wondering if there was a new wise warrior among our ranks.)

 

If the posts seemed wise, I can see why you mistook me for someone else

[Harriet]

1 hour ago, Scalyfreak said:

in a good way that I have decided to refer to as growing pains for muscles.

 

I like this. 

[Grumble]

1 hour ago, Scalyfreak said:

 

I have missed the iron. I am quite sore today, but in a good way that I have decided to refer to as growing pains for muscles.

It's like how I feel about problem headaches that I'm working to solve. Growing pains.

 

1 hour ago, Scalyfreak said:

 

If the posts seemed wise, I can see why you mistook me for someone else

Beat me to it. 

[Scaly Freak]

Quick goal update:

 

Resting after gym yesterday.

Meditated this morning.

Attempted alchemy by combining salt and baking soda with white vinegar, and applied it to a very clogged bathroom sink. It fizzed and bubbled and reeked, but the sink works much better now.  

[Red1263]

Following as well!

[Scaly Freak]

Today's goal update:

 

1. Lifting: Yes! I went to the gym this evening and spent a lot longer there than I had planned. I did a bunch of stretching, and some of the exercises from the mobility mini challenge @miss_marissa posted. Even though weight numbers are as far down as expected, lifting a full workout felt great and I ended the long workout feeling more relaxed and content than I have since the pleasant lounge restaurant at hotel Intercontinental in Sofia, back before Thanksgiving. 

 

2. Meditated this morning. The streak in Insight Timer remains unbroken.

 

3. Alchemy Adventures: Braved the first of my homemade kombucha bottles after gym this evening. Not quite as fizzy as the store bought, but the flavor was good, and am not yet showing any signs of food poisoning. Now I need to figure out how to add flavors without ending up with a bunch of fruit /berry gunk at the bottom of the bottle. I'm thinking concentrated fruit juice might work. They have sugar for the bacteria too.

[Harriet]

9 hours ago, Scalyfreak said:

1. Lifting: Yes! I went to the gym this evening and spent a lot longer there than I had planned. I did a bunch of stretching, and some of the exercises from the mobility mini challenge @miss_marissa posted. Even though weight numbers are as far down as expected, lifting a full workout felt great and I ended the long workout feeling more relaxed and content than I have since the pleasant lounge restaurant at hotel Intercontinental in Sofia, back before Thanksgiving. 

 

Yay lifting, yay consistent meditation, and yay drinkable alchemical concoction! But mostly yay for lifting and feeling good  

[Scaly Freak]

18 minutes ago, Harriet said:

But mostly yay for lifting and feeling good  

 

Absolutely! Also a great reminder to me that mediocre lifting (I had to skip the last set on both cable rows and squats) is still awesome and so very much worth the effort.

 

It's probably not a very good sign that it took me a few moments to recognize the feeling of relaxed contentment for what it was. I'm going to have to pay attention to this and make sure that I continue to prioritize meditating and lifting over self-care shortcuts like a hot bath or a pint of ice cream. I should not go without the calm happy feeling of knowing that the Flame of Anxiety has been banked and contained, for so long that I forget what it feels like.

[Scaly Freak]

Challenge goal updates:

 

1. Rest after lifting last night

2. Continuing the streak in Insight Timer

3. Drank some more of the kombucha. Food poison symptoms remain absent.

[Scaly Freak]

There is not enough music in this thread.

 

 

[Harriet]

10 hours ago, Scalyfreak said:

2. Continuing the streak in Insight Timer

 

It's somewhat motivating, right?