Jarric's got worms

[Jarric]

Jarric's got worms

 

When I was little, probably 6 or 7 years old, I told my parents that my best friend had Worms. They, having not heard of this new computer game, were rather concerned until I managed to explain it to them.

 

Anyway, I upgraded my computer over the weekend (with no small amount of help from @Mr_Willes and @jonfirestar), and finally got round to playing Worms W.M.D. In honour of that, and because I feel like I need some aggression and comedy violence to push me through this next challenge, I'll be running a Worms theme this time round.

 

I need your help with this. Each of my goals will be a worm, and the aim of the challenge if to finish without killing any of my own worms. I would like you to suggest names for my worms (preferably names that don't make me want to kill them). Bonus points if you include a picture of your worm that I can include in updates.  @Starpuck @deftona @sarakingdom  @DarK_RaideR @WhiteGhost and @cn3wton have named my worms, and now I will do my best to keep these precious guys alive!

 

 

Previously on Jarric's challenge...

Spoilered for size:

 

Spoiler

Challenge wrap up

 

Well this one was a difficult one, but that's no surprise with the house move, the end of the financial year, and just the general stress of current life. Let's start with goals

 

1 - Move daily - 15XP

This could be a workout, it could be packing and moving boxes of stuff, it could be hanging curtain rails or painting ceilings. Everything counts, but this is important because if I move more I feel better. I'd like as to run as much as possible as part of this, as I'm low on mileage for the year so far.

 

I feel like this went pretty well overall. I lost a couple of days around moving house, a couple of days when I went on a one night holiday with some mates, and the last couple of days of the challenge focusing on upgrading/fixing my computer. Otherwise a pretty good run. I've also signed up for some events now, so next challenge will be more intense on the fitness and focussed on getting match fit for those.

 

Score: 29/35 days, 12XP earned, £41.43 to my treats fund and £8.57 to my mortgage account.

 

2 - Protein shake daily - 10XP

This is just one of these easy habits which lead to me largely taking care of my nutrition.

 

Another goal that went pretty well. The days I missed were weekend days in weeks 4 and 5, and that really goes to show that my interest in the challenge was waning a bit. I'm in a routine where it's hard to miss weekdays, but it takes a little conscious thought to remember this on weekends. Next challenge I'll be dialling in my nutrition more, and looking to lose a bit of weight so I have less to carry round on course.

 

Score: 30/35 days, 8XP earned, £42.86 to my treats fund and £7.14 to my mortgage account.

 

3 - Brush teeth daily - 10XP

This is something I'm bad at, and much worse when I'm tired or stressed. Having it as a goal and keeping myself accountable may help.

 

SO this worked until it didn't. Weeks 1 and 2 were great and then I just dropped off with it, through lack of enthusiasm and no small amount of stress. This goal stays until I can consistently get it right. I also need to book a dentist appointment; that should spur me on a bit!

 

Score: 13.5/35, 3XP earned, £19.29 to my treats fund and £30.71 to my mortgage account.

 

4 - One word daily - 10XP

This place is good for me, so I intend to post here every day. I acknowledge that I'll have very little time or energy to do so, so all I need to hit this goal is to post one word on this thread.

 

This was a good idea for a goal. Some days I hit it and some days I didn't, but in general it kept me accountable, and on the days I did come here I thought about my other goals more. The only trouble was that without interacting with others' threads as much as I liked, there wasn't a lot of activity on my own thread, and as a result I was less mindful of engaging with it. I think that's a symptom of the new forum layout too, as it's much easier for a thread to get lost in amongst all of the others.

 

Score: 21/35, 6XP earned, £30 to my treats fund and £20 to my mortgage account.

 

Final thoughts

Overall I think I did pretty well this month, given a lot of stressful things going on. Now that I've got a race booked in I'm hoping it will light a fire under my arse for the next challenge, and I can focus on gaining again instead of maintaining.

 

I wagered £200 on my goals this challenge, and I walk away with £133.58. The remaining £66.42 will be paid as an overpayment on my mortgage.

 

I'll also be awarding myself 100XP for fully moving in to my new house, because buying my first place fully deserves a level up. That puts me up to level 15 at the end of this challenge.

 

 

 

2021 Goal Update

 

Part 1 - Make a House a Home

Well I own a house now, and it's half decorated and half unboxed. I need to keep this a focus as now I've done the emergency stuff it'll become easier to let everything else slip, so I need to be mindful of planning my goals around home improvement.

 

Part 2 - bragging rights and party tricks

My mileage for the year so far:

January: 109.39

February: 83.37

March: 42.46

April: 57.56

 

I need to be averaging 100 miles per month, so you can see I'm way behind here. I didn't account for the impact moving house would have on my weekends, which is when a lot of my mileage happens. I'm less than a quarter of a way to my goal of 1,202 miles after a third of the year. Or, to put it another way, I now need to average 114 miles per month to get there. So much more consistency needed, and I probably need to think about increasing my mileage a little too.

 

On my other goals, I'm back at Crossfit which should help my muscle ups and handwalking. I'm going to keep practising handstand holds at home. Not sure what the plan should be for single leg squats right now, or what I want to add to the list.

 

Part 3 - create stuff

I've not been doing any of this thanks to the move and being really busy. Now is the time to get back on it I think, so I need an appropriate goal next challenge.

 

 

In addition to my main goals for the year, I've got a race coming up on 4th July. Nuclear Oblivion to be exact, which is a minimum of 2 laps of the 12km Nuclear Rush obstacle course, known for fantastic obstacles, ludicrously sticky mud, and far too many trenches. I've done it in the past and felt thoroughly defeated by the end, so this time I want to defeat the race instead. I don't have a race strategy for that as yet, so far the plan is just go hard for 2 laps and see how I feel, but in the meantime my training will be based around doing the best I can on 4th July.

 

 

I'll have a team of 6 worms, and each of my goals will be tied to a worm. Worms have 175hp, and I can do a maximum of 70hp of damage per week (or 10hp per day) if I fail my goals.

 

Each goal will also be worth £35 of real money. For the percentage of my goal I complete, I get to spend that money on whatever I like. For the failure percentage I put the money as an overpayment on my mortgage. This means that I'm wagering £210 on myself this challenge. Money is on the total percentage, so whilst my worms could die half way through the challenge, I could still get to keep a little bit of bread if I don't 100% fail.

 

 Don't Wormy, Be Happy ('Wormy' for short) - workout 10 times per week - 15XP

This one's simple enough (if not that easy), just hit 10 workouts each week. The plan for that is Crossfit MWF, running TTSS, handstand practice and hangboarding TT (after my weekday runs) and bouldering on a Sunday.

 

There's a couple of cases where this will change a bit. Sunday of week 1 I'm going on a running training thing called "run smart - run efficient" which should be fun, so that week bouldering will have to be Saturday. Saturday of week 2 I have an obstacle training session, so I'll probably do a short run before that, move my long run to Sunday that week, and skip bouldering.

 

 Wormintrude - cut calories - 15XP

I was initially planning quite an aggressive calorie cut, but as I've got a race fairly soon I'm going to take it a bit easier. The plan is to average 2,520 calories per day, for a total of 17,640 per week. That should be around a 20% deficit, based on some somewhat dodgy maths. I also plan to focus on making sure I get enough protein, but I won't be making a certain number a requirement for now.

 

I can split calories up however I like - at the moment I'm thinking 5 days at 2,300 and the remaining 2 at 3,070, but we'll play it by ear and see what fits in with my routine.

 

 Slimey - unpack boxes - 5XP

This is a really easy one, just for me to keep some momentum with sorting out the house - unpack at least 1 box every week. If I achieve that, my new home will look a lot nicer by the end of this challenge. My hope is that one box will lead to another, and I'll do more.

 

 Tiberius (the muse worm) - draw two things - 5XP

I want to get back into drawing. I don't really know where I'll find time to do that right now, but I'm certain I can find time for a couple of short drawing sessions per week. So that's the challenge, two drawing sessions per week, doesn't matter how long they are or what I draw. I might do some of the #MerMay prompts, or maybe some random stuff, or work on a thing for a D&D scenario I want to write, it really doesn't matter.

 

 Sir Reginald - brush my teeth - 5XP

I've got a good routine of brushing my teeth every morning when I shower. I don't have a good routine of brushing before bed, and that needs to change. This is a goal that I keep repeating, and is either really easy or incredibly hard, but it needs to be a priority because I'd quite like my remaining teeth to stay in my head, thank you very much.

 

 William - check in daily - 5XP

This worked really well last challenge, in that when I checked in I focussed better on my goals, and the check-in goal helped to draw me back here if I missed a couple of days. It wasn't perfect, but it helped. All this needs is for me to write a single word on my thread, and I'll count it as a success.

 

So please, send me some names for my 6 worms. Bonus points if you also include a little picture of your worm to go with it. Let's do this!

 

[starpuck]

There are a million images of worms, and none of them are cute.   That was a challenge in and of itself, but here I provide for you ...

 

Tiberius, the Muse Worm~!

 

He's the fella on the right, and he's super into drawing?  Look at that pencil grip!!  Be amazed!

 

Here to follow along.   I think you might be the new @raxie lol -- also, I really want to get back into drawing too.  

[Jarric]

28 minutes ago, Starpuck said:

There are a million images of worms, and none of them are cute.   That was a challenge in and of itself, but here I provide for you ...

 

Tiberius, the Muse Worm~!

 

He's the fella on the right, and he's super into drawing?  Look at that pencil grip!!  Be amazed!

 

Here to follow along.   I think you might be the new @raxie lol -- also, I really want to get back into drawing too.  

 

I don't remember ever watching that show, but as soon as I saw the picture it triggered something buried in the back of my brain

 

I'm not sure why I'm the new @Raxie, but I'll take it as a compliment!

 

And you should get back to drawing. I will if you will?

[deftona]

 

This is Wormintrude and if you kill her we're gonna HAVE SOME WORDS, BUDDY. 

[sarakingdom]

Here is Slimey.

 

 

Slimey hangs out with a dude in a trash can, so he's good for cleaning goals. But he also exercises, if you need a workout worm.

[Jarric]

9 hours ago, deftona said:

 

This is Wormintrude and if you kill her we're gonna HAVE SOME WORDS, BUDDY. 

 

Aww, she's so cute! I will look after her.

 

9 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

Here is Slimey.

 

 

Slimey hangs out with a dude in a trash can, so he's good for cleaning goals. But he also exercises, if you need a workout worm.

 

Aww, I watched the whole video and that was really quite touching. Welcome aboard Slimey!

[DarK_RaideR]

I'm on my phone and can't find a decent image to go with "Don't wormy, be happy" but I'll return to edit this post once I'm on my PC.

[Jarric]

Monday this week was a bank holiday in the UK, so I went into crossfit a bit later than normal. I worked up to 132.5kg (~292#) on deadlifts, and it felt pretty solid. It's only 5kg of my 5 rep PR, so I don't think it'll be long before I'm back where I left off before lockdown.

 

WW and I used the rest of our day off to do odd jobs. We wandered down the park and put up a tent I'd bought to check it was all there, and briefly look forward to the idea of going away. Then we unpacked some boxes at a leisurely pace, and the living room is looking much better now we can see a bit more of it. In the afternoon we played some Worms WMD and then just chilled out.

 

Yesterday I ran first thing, just an easy 4 miles (~6.4km). Had a really busy day at work, WW cooked an amazing feta, pomegranate and spinach filo pie for dinner, and I wrote this challenge late evening. Stayed up a bit late watching Crit Role and browsing through on here.

[Jarric]

4 minutes ago, DarK_RaideR said:

I'm on my phone and can't find a decent image to go with "Don't wormy, be happy" but I'll return to edit this post once I'm on my PC.

 

I look forward to it

 

[DarK_RaideR]

43 minutes ago, Jarric said:

I look forward to it

There it is, in all its badassery

Fun fact: It is a worm of German descent, tracing its ancestry back to the city of Worms

[WhiteGhost]

William the Worm reporting for duty

[deftona]

28 minutes ago, WhiteGhost said:

 

😮 how could I forget the best worm ever?! Jarric, you really need to be careful not to kill these cute worms ❤️ 😢 

 

[cn3wton]

Sir Reginald, the most dapper hat wearing worm this side of the ground.

 

 

[starpuck]

I am so mad at myself, for forgetting my most favorite worm of all time!   From the video game Pyre!!

 

 

 

 

[Jarric]

On 5/5/2021 at 10:25 AM, DarK_RaideR said:

There it is, in all its badassery

Fun fact: It is a worm of German descent, tracing its ancestry back to the city of Worms

 

Nice! Does this worm have a name, or just 'Don't wormy, be happy'?

 

21 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

William the Worm reporting for duty

 

I hate to admit this, but I've never seen that film... Welcome to William though!

 

21 hours ago, deftona said:

 

😮 how could I forget the best worm ever?! Jarric, you really need to be careful not to kill these cute worms ❤️ 😢 

 

 

I'll be careful! Hopefully the pressure will help me with my goals!

 

19 hours ago, cn3wton said:

Sir Reginald, the most dapper hat wearing worm this side of the ground.

 

 

 

Love it! Good to see a properly dapper worm

 

 

18 hours ago, Starpuck said:

I am so mad at myself, for forgetting my most favorite worm of all time!   From the video game Pyre!!

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't played this game, but that's a badass worm!

[DarK_RaideR]

1 minute ago, Jarric said:

Nice! Does this worm have a name, or just 'Don't wormy, be happy'?

That's the name, though you can call it "Wormy" for short.

[Jarric]

3 minutes ago, DarK_RaideR said:

That's the name, though you can call it "Wormy" for short.

 

Excellent  

[Jarric]

Looks like we've got our worms for this challenge! Thank you @Starpuck @deftona @sarakingdom  @DarK_RaideR @WhiteGhost and @cn3wton . I've edited my goals to include these little fellas, and now I'm really worried about letting them down!

 

On 5/4/2021 at 9:46 PM, Jarric said:

 

 Don't Wormy, Be Happy ('Wormy' for short) - workout 10 times per week - 15XP

This one's simple enough (if not that easy), just hit 10 workouts each week. The plan for that is Crossfit MWF, running TTSS, handstand practice and hangboarding TT (after my weekday runs) and bouldering on a Sunday.

 

There's a couple of cases where this will change a bit. Sunday of week 1 I'm going on a running training thing called "run smart - run efficient" which should be fun, so that week bouldering will have to be Saturday. Saturday of week 2 I have an obstacle training session, so I'll probably do a short run before that, move my long run to Sunday that week, and skip bouldering.

 

 Wormintrude - cut calories - 15XP

I was initially planning quite an aggressive calorie cut, but as I've got a race fairly soon I'm going to take it a bit easier. The plan is to average 2,520 calories per day, for a total of 17,640 per week. That should be around a 20% deficit, based on some somewhat dodgy maths. I also plan to focus on making sure I get enough protein, but I won't be making a certain number a requirement for now.

 

I can split calories up however I like - at the moment I'm thinking 5 days at 2,300 and the remaining 2 at 3,070, but we'll play it by ear and see what fits in with my routine.

 

 Slimey - unpack boxes - 5XP

This is a really easy one, just for me to keep some momentum with sorting out the house - unpack at least 1 box every week. If I achieve that, my new home will look a lot nicer by the end of this challenge. My hope is that one box will lead to another, and I'll do more.

 

 Tiberius (the muse worm) - draw two things - 5XP

I want to get back into drawing. I don't really know where I'll find time to do that right now, but I'm certain I can find time for a couple of short drawing sessions per week. So that's the challenge, two drawing sessions per week, doesn't matter how long they are or what I draw. I might do some of the #MerMay prompts, or maybe some random stuff, or work on a thing for a D&D scenario I want to write, it really doesn't matter.

 

 Sir Reginald - brush my teeth - 5XP

I've got a good routine of brushing my teeth every morning when I shower. I don't have a good routine of brushing before bed, and that needs to change. This is a goal that I keep repeating, and is either really easy or incredibly hard, but it needs to be a priority because I'd quite like my remaining teeth to stay in my head, thank you very much.

 

 William - check in daily - 5XP

This worked really well last challenge, in that when I checked in I focussed better on my goals, and the check-in goal helped to draw me back here if I missed a couple of days. It wasn't perfect, but it helped. All this needs is for me to write a single word on my thread, and I'll count it as a success.

[WhiteGhost]

2 minutes ago, Jarric said:

now I'm really worried about letting them down!

We'll be here to see that you don't

[sarakingdom]

1 hour ago, Jarric said:

I hate to admit this, but I've never seen that film... Welcome to William though!

 

You should, but you've nonetheless chosen the perfect job for him. He is a checking in worm, without a doubt.

[TimovieMan]

32 minutes ago, sarakingdom said:

 

You should

^ Seconded.

 

That movie is great! I've already made sure my kids've seen it too... 😇

[Jarric]

1 hour ago, WhiteGhost said:

We'll be here to see that you don't

 

Thanks man!

 

54 minutes ago, sarakingdom said:

 

You should, but you've nonetheless chosen the perfect job for him. He is a checking in worm, without a doubt.

 

Good to know. And yeah, I must get round to watching it.

 

21 minutes ago, TimovieMan said:

^ Seconded.

 

That movie is great! I've already made sure my kids've seen it too... 😇

 

It's definitely on the list of films to see. (Unfortunately, that's a very long list, including a lot of classic films!)

[Cheetah]

[cn3wton]

You know whats incredible. I am working on getting a brushing schedule down too! I am horrible about it. And you picked my worm for it!

 

[sarakingdom]

2 hours ago, Jarric said:

It's definitely on the list of films to see. (Unfortunately, that's a very long list, including a lot of classic films!)

 

It is now old enough to be a classic movie, and if you don't see it, you're going to be bemused by all the people responding to your check-ins with "'Ello."