Scalyfreak vs Stir Crazy: Tales from the Bunker

[Scaly Freak]

The time has come to close the door. All preparations that can be made have been completed, up to and including the protective wards around the teleportation circle in the corner. Anything that comes in through the circle will be stopped, scanned, and if necessary it will be purified with the help of a scroll from the large stack on the shelf next to the food supply.

 

Scalyfreak sighs and shakes her head, and glances down at the little Self-Indulgence imp that’s standing next to her, likewise surveying the large amounts of food, beverages, purification scrolls, and the practice area they have created for weapons drills.

 

“What do you say, little one?” The imp looks up at Scalyfreak, and makes a questioning thrilling sound, then shakes its head and points towards the snoring figures of Self-Sabotage and Procrastination, curled up comfortably together on the room’s only bed.

 

“I know.” Scalyfreak sighs again. “I tried locking them outside, but they seem bound to me to the point they magically show up wherever I go. And yes, it’s annoying.” She glares at the Self-Sabotage demon, and wrinkles her nose. “Bound to be dangerous too… I mean, we know what they’re capable of.”

 

Self-Sabotage snorts in its sleep and rolls over, then begins snoring again.

 

“Well, they can’t stay sleeping on the bed, that’s for sure.” Scalyfreak nods decisively. “I’ll kick them out before it’s time for bed.”

 

She then turns away from the snoring demon creatures and heads over towards the small table set up in the center of the room, and opens the small plastic case sitting on top, and begins taking out tiles and stacking them them on top of each other until she has four low walls forming a square. After taking a seat, she rolls two dice, and then slides them across the table towards Self-Indulgence.

 

“Time for distractions. Highest roll is East.”

 

 

So Husband and I have taken it upon ourselves to self-quarantine, reasoning that since our state government is doing fuck all to protect its constituents, it is up to us to take the steps they should be taking. We are practicing social distancing and staying inside our house as much as possible, mostly because we have no idea how careful everyone else is being.

 

Since we have already dealt with one massive firestorm when my Flame of Anxiety went volcano, a lot of my goals this challenge will be aimed at reducing the risk of that happening again. One of the things that makes my anxiety go crazy is feeling trapped, not only physically but emotionally and mentally. Being unable to go anywhere, even though self-imposed, is bound to provide some fuel for The Flame. Add in the stress we’re both dealing with from everything that is currently going on in the world, and circumstances are less than optimal for both of us right now.

 

So this challenge will be all about reducing stress as much as possible, and managing the stress that cannot be avoided. The challenge goals might not seem like much right now, but may become quite challenging if the current situation continues and continues causing stress.

 

So here we go:

 

1. Continue lifting regularly with the adjustable dumbbells. I am experimenting with various lifts and plan to emerge from Zero Week with a dumbbell program I enjoy using.

 

2. Continue meditating every day. Obviously.

 

3. Continue going for daily walks in the sun with Happy Sidekick and Husband. It’s good for everyone.

 

4. Find one thing every day that Procrastination thinks can wait. Make a realistic plan for doing this thing. Execute the plan. (This does not all have to be done in one day, as long as the time line is set reasonably and without input from Procrastination.) If I think of more than one thing at a time, start a list in this thread so I can track the things.

 

 

Tales From the Bunker, v 2.0:

 

1. Rest at the Bonfire

 

 

Resting at the bonfire restores all healing items, spells, and health, and it is also where players rekindle (= restore) humanity and become alive again. For this goal, resting at the bonfire symbolizes my efforts to build replacements for the routines I lost when I started working from home. I need a morning routine that clearly signals that it is time to go to work now. I need an end-of-day routine that clearly marks the end of my work day and helps me make the shift to off-work mode. And I need one for the break from work in the middle of the day, one that gets me away from the work room by taking me out of the house if at all possible. That one will be detailed under Goal 2. For goal one, I will make an attempt to build two new daily routines, for work days. For the duration of my stay in the bunker, references to going to and from work, refers to the act of going to and from the upstairs guest bed room where my home office has been set up.

 

Morning routine:

 

• Get out of bed when alarm goes off - no snoozing or second alarm allowed!

• Feed the Sidekicks and make coffee

• Do the skincare morning routine, including sunscreen

• Coffee and meditation

• Do makeup and hair and get dressed for work

• Take phone charger, and go to work

 

End-of-Day routine:

• Take phone charger with me when I leave work

• Change out of work clothes into sweat pants and comfy top

• Take a minimum of 30 minutes to myself before socializing with Husband again

• During these 30 minutes, do my German lessons in Duolingo. The German will be the signal to my brain that we are not at work anymore.

 

The end-of-day routine may need lots of tweaking, as I am still hazy on what will actually work there. I’m calling it a work in progress right now.

 

2. Praise the Sun

 

 

Sunlight is critical for mental health. I am not going to go into details, partly because I’m hazy on them and would need a refresher first, and partly because I know I don’t need to in this particular little community.

 

To make sure The Flame is exposed to sunlight I will turn my lunch break into a Walk Outside Break. Happy Sidekick will join me, since she also needs sunlight and exercise, and as additional incentive to me to go when I don’t feel like it.

 

Weather exception: I own a raincoat and a pair of water resistant track pants. If the weather is not severe enough that they make no difference, weather is no excuse.

 

Non-negotiable exception: My appointments with my therapist are during my Monday lunch break every two weeks. During these Mondays, walking in the sun will become a part of my end-of-day routine instead.

 

3. Attribute Increases

 

 

Lifting makes me happy, and keeps The Flame of Anxiety at bay. My routine to go to the gym and lift was scheduled in my Google calendar, but I removed those recurring calendar events when the gym closed. I think that was a mistake, and I need to schedule workouts again. Effective immediately, lifting is scheduled to take place on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, in the evening. I will continue to follow the little program I created with two different workouts, and track them in the Fitness Logbook that Husband gave me for my birthday back in February.

 

4. It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this Jolly Cooperation.

 

 

So apparently we introverts need human contact too. Since I keep forgetting that, I am hereby scheduling social interaction for myself:

 

Family:

My parents and siblings, who still live in Sweden, have made a point of reaching out to us in the social media apps we use to stay in contact. Since I have my parents in one app, and my siblings in another, my new goal is to proactively reach out to at least one of the two groups everyday, even if it only is to post a funny meme or tell them we’re still fine and I’m going to bed now.

 

Socialize with these forums:

Check in every day. Ideally, I will interact in other rebels’ threads and talk to people there. At the very bare minimum permitted, I must is to check my own thread and respond to anything that needs responding. I also must post an update on my goals every day.

 

Nerdfitness D&D:

Daily contact! To my great joy and good fortune, I am now a part of a D&D campaign with a group of new and not-so-new friends from this forum. We have a Discord server, created by our noble DM, that I can access from my phone during my work day. Since the campaign is being played partially in an in-game channel on the server, I will check this Discord every day, most likely in the evenings after work during the work week. I will post as much or as little as I need to in order to remain a full participant and not delay the fun for the rest of the (outstanding!) group.

 

Old friends:

We have a Discord server that long ago was created for old friends who were in danger of drifting apart due to geographic distances. This sever has come back to life with everyone being in quarantine, and for my new goal, I will also check in with this sever every day. Posting is optional, but encouraged. If this friend group schedules a group event online, I will do my best to join, even if I’m only an observer. The same goes for my NaNoWriMo community, specifically the cabin group reunion we created for the April Camp this year. Check in every day. Posting encouraged but optional.

 

Version 2 officially kicks off on Monday, April 6^th.  

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following along again.

[h3r0]

[Harriet]

1 hour ago, Scalyfreak said:

1. Continue lifting regularly with the adjustable dumbbells. I am experimenting with various lifts and plan to emerge from Zero Week with a dumbbell program I enjoy using.

 

2. Continue meditating every day. Obviously.

 

3. Continue going for daily walks in the sun with Happy Sidekick and Husband. It’s good for everyone.

 

4. Find one thing every day that Procrastination thinks can wait. Make a realistic plan for doing this thing. Execute the plan. (This does not all have to be done in one day, as long as the time line is set reasonably and without input from Procrastination.) If I think of more than one thing at a time, start a list in this thread so I can track the things.

 

Number four is very badass. Find the thing you don't want to do. Do the thing. So defiant, yet simultaneously zen master-like. 

[Mad Hatter]

18 hours ago, Scalyfreak said:

4. Find one thing every day that Procrastination thinks can wait. Make a realistic plan for doing this thing. Execute the plan. (This does not all have to be done in one day, as long as the time line is set reasonably and without input from Procrastination.) If I think of more than one thing at a time, start a list in this thread so I can track the things.

I have to disagree and say this goal is very challenging! And I'm not just saying that because the chore monster in my house is spawning despite me having ALL of the time.

[Scaly Freak]

17 hours ago, Harriet said:

 

Number four is very badass. Find the thing you don't want to do. Do the thing. So defiant, yet simultaneously zen master-like. 

 

41 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

I have to disagree and say this goal is very challenging! And I'm not just saying that because the chore monster in my house is spawning despite me having ALL of the time.

 

Accomplishing something challenging is one of the more common definitions of "badass"

[KB Girl]

Ok let’s go!

 

[Red1263]

Following to see your rock this!

[Scaly Freak]

Okay, tomorrow is lifting day again. I'm still trying to figure out what to replace my assisted pullups and seated rows with, but I have not explored all options yet, so I'm optimistic I'll find something before the end of the week.

[KB Girl]

my sisters solution  

[Scaly Freak]

17 minutes ago, KB Girl said:

my sisters solution  

 

That looks similar to what I a trying to do, except I don't have such a perfect anchor point anywhere in my house, so I may need to look at body weight exercises instead. Still searching... if ever there was a time to get creative about working out, it is now.

[Mad Hatter]

1 hour ago, KB Girl said:

my sisters solution  

Clever

[Harriet]

2 hours ago, Scalyfreak said:

That looks similar to what I a trying to do, except I don't have such a perfect anchor point anywhere in my house, so I may need to look at body weight exercises instead. Still searching... if ever there was a time to get creative about working out, it is now.

 

Yep. I have a press and some legs to do, but haven't yet found an adequately difficult pull. 

[Scaly Freak]

11 minutes ago, Harriet said:

 

Yep. I have a press and some legs to do, but haven't yet found an adequately difficult pull. 

 

That's the exact same problem I'm having, making it challenging enough. My resistance tubes are 30 lbs and 40 lbs, and I found myself doing three sets of 20 the other day. That's far too light.

 

I think an inverted body weight row would be the easiest way to solve this conundrum, but I have no reliable place to hold on to for the rowing. My kitchen table is not heavy enough.  

[KB Girl]

Why not just do a dumbell row? 

[Scaly Freak]

Just now, KB Girl said:

Why not just do a dumbell row? 

 

I am.

 

I'm trying to put together two different workouts, for variety, so I'm looking for a second version of the same movement. Without variety I will grow bored and may stop doing the workouts, and I'm trying to preempt that.

[Harriet]

 

22 minutes ago, Scalyfreak said:

 

That's the exact same problem I'm having, making it challenging enough. My resistance tubes are 30 lbs and 40 lbs, and I found myself doing three sets of 20 the other day. That's far too light.

 

I think an inverted body weight row would be the easiest way to solve this conundrum, but I have no reliable place to hold on to for the rowing. My kitchen table is not heavy enough.  

Right. I have no heavy tables here. I filled a backpack with books, but it's still too light. Those adjustable dumbbells you have... I found them online but they said they'd arrive in 1-2 months. MONTHS. They're also a few hundred dollars. I would definitely go for them if we weren't going home in five months, and if they would arrive in time to help me with the quarantine. But no. 
 

19 minutes ago, KB Girl said:

Why not just do a dumbell row? 

 

So I noticed KBs are popular... Are they especially different from DBs? Trying to think about what I could get, and wondering which would be better. DBs can be used for bench. But KBs are probably easier to squat with. Hmm. I guess either is okay for a one legged 'deadlift'. Can you use KBs for rows? Or do they hang too low? 

[Scaly Freak]

3 minutes ago, Harriet said:

Right. I have no heavy tables here. I filled a backpack with books, but it's still too light. Those adjustable dumbbells you have... I found them online but they said they'd arrive in 1-2 months. MONTHS. They're also a few hundred dollars. I would definitely go for them if we weren't going home in five months, and if they would arrive in time to help me with the quarantine. But no. 

 

Yikes, that is quite the delay. I'm guessing curb-side pickup from a local store is not an option for you right now? That would give you more options, but it also seems less safe than delivery.

 

Wait! I have a yoga strap! I may be able to anchor that to something and use it for rowing! My staircase banister is too flimsy for my weight, but maybe there's other fixtures I can use... I must explore this!

[Harriet]

7 minutes ago, Scalyfreak said:

 

Yikes, that is quite the delay. I'm guessing curb-side pickup from a local store is not an option for you right now? That would give you more options, but it also seems less safe than delivery.

 

Wait! I have a yoga strap! I may be able to anchor that to something and use it for rowing! My staircase banister is too flimsy for my weight, but maybe there's other fixtures I can use... I must explore this!

I don't know if there ARE local stores in Berkeley with that much choice of equipment. In SF, sure, but I can't get there. Plus whatever I pick up I have to carry home on foot  

[Scaly Freak]

59 minutes ago, Harriet said:

I don't know if there ARE local stores in Berkeley with that much choice of equipment. In SF, sure, but I can't get there. Plus whatever I pick up I have to carry home on foot  

 

I have a Dick's Sporting goods store in walking distance from my house, and they offer curb side pickup. I am contemplating trying to get a pullup bar or more resistance tubes from them while they are still open. 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

1 hour ago, Harriet said:

So I noticed KBs are popular... Are they especially different from DBs? Trying to think about what I could get, and wondering which would be better. DBs can be used for bench. But KBs are probably easier to squat with. Hmm. I guess either is okay for a one legged 'deadlift'. Can you use KBs for rows? Or do they hang too low? 

KBs work for rows. I do bent over rows and have no problem.

[Scaly Freak]

Music, inspired in no small part by the theme of @Harriet's challenge. The movie is a classic, and this is one of the more genuinely hopeful goth songs out there:

 

Spoiler

 

 

[KB Girl]

3 hours ago, Harriet said:

So I noticed KBs are popular... Are they especially different from DBs? Trying to think about what I could get, and wondering which would be better. DBs can be used for bench. But KBs are probably easier to squat with. Hmm. I guess either is okay for a one legged 'deadlift'. Can you use KBs for rows? Or do they hang too low? 

I think anything you could do with a dumbbell you could do with a kettlebell 🤔

They’re just a tad more expensive.. and you can do things with them that you couldn’t with a dumbbell. 
But honestly I’m clueless about kettlebells mostly. I’m just like an olympic weightlifter that doesn’t understand any other use for a barbell and plates. Like benching, what even is that?

[Scaly Freak]

4 minutes ago, KB Girl said:

I think anything you could do with a dumbbell you could do with a kettlebell 🤔

They’re just a tad more expensive.. and you can do things with them that you couldn’t with a dumbbell. 

 

I certainly hope so. I don't know how long my stay in my current "bunker" will be, and the adjustable dumbbells have an upper weight limit. I was hoping to move up to a kettlebell if I am still sheltering in this place when that happens. 

[Jupiter]

Great challenge! Following.