[Stronkey Kong]

 

It's gonna get busy in here. I don't even have time to come up with an original title.

 

Hi. I'm Stronkey Kong. Been here doing this thing 9 years. I'm still fat but making the best of it I guess.

 

How's that?

 

WORDS: I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year. I need to hit 1667 words daily to hit 50k by the end of November. I'm going to track my daily and total word count for November. And (despite some lame planning and number crunching on my last challenge thread) I'm going to strive to hit that 1667 minimum every day.

 

I also have two writing events to attend. The first is a NaNo write-in at the local writing center on 11/5. The second is a writing class, same place, on 11/15.

 

Nano is win/lose, but I can grade myself on word counts and EC for events. In the end, I'm just trying to get myself on a working routine with writing.

 

WEIGHTS: Still following Greyskull. I'm gonna go back to MWF, base program, but with both front and back squats and M and F. Deadlift day, W, also has barbell rows programmed in.

 

WALKS: I want to walk with coffee and audiobooks on at least two of the days I don't lift.

 

WINTERIZING: I have to get the house ready for winter.

To-do list style:

• plastic on windows
• finish the bathtub painting so I can get it all indoors
• rake leaves -- if I time it right, all I need is 40 min of leaf raking for the whole season)
• get HVAC contractor to look at my furnace
  • depending on their answer, raise hell with the gas company.

 

Last challenge I was really all about scheduling and time management, and that helped, or at least I was able to figure out what will work best for this challenge. I work 10 hour shifts, M-R. On those days I will exercise in the morning, and write in the evening before bed. On F, I often go into work for OT. I will continue to do so except on 11/15 which is my writing class. These days I only work a partial, 7-8 hour shift so I can fit in extra weightlifting and writing on both ends so no big deal. On weekends I plan to do extra writing to get that word count up, like aim for 2000 words to get ahead of days where writing gets constipated. Winterizing will be a weekend thing mostly.

 

[Sovalis]

Solid plan! Looking forward to seeing you rock your goals! 

[RES]

May your winterizing be in time! I know some areas are getting a sneak peek this week  

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Wonderfully willing to watch while you win this challenge. 

[MaeradCase]

Team NaNo! 😉 I need to double-check for local events! 😲

[Stronkey Kong]

On 10/17/2022 at 12:02 AM, Sovalis said:

Solid plan! Looking forward to seeing you rock your goals! 

 

 

16 hours ago, RES said:

May your winterizing be in time! I know some areas are getting a sneak peek this week  

 

Today was the coldest day forecast for the week,  so I think I'll be okay for now.

 

16 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Wonderfully willing to watch while you win this challenge. 

 

Wicked!

 

9 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

Team NaNo! 😉 I need to double-check for local events! 😲

 

I'm on my local forum on the nano site. I also joined their discord. But the write in is actually through the statewide, though mostly local,  writing center which had no presence on nano. But the obviously aware of it. 

[Stronkey Kong]

Also, add WEAPONS to my list of challenge tasks.

 

I decided to try getting back into studying HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts), and created a meetup group... two people joined already!

 

I'm probably not going to get super into it right away until we all figure out what the hell we're doing, but this could be really fun. I'm excited.

 

For this challenge tho, today and yesterday not so good. I've done nothing. And tomorrow and thursday will not be any better.

 

Tomorrow, I'm getting up early to go get a blood test/metabolic panel done. More on this later.

 

Thursday morning, the new, permanent crown goes on.

 

So, zero week is pretty much a wash already, cuz I just don't have the energy or time.

[MaeradCase]

15 hours ago, Stronkey Kong said:

Also, add WEAPONS to my list of challenge tasks.

 

I decided to try getting back into studying HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts), and created a meetup group... two people joined already!

 

I'm probably not going to get super into it right away until we all figure out what the hell we're doing, but this could be really fun. I'm excited.

That does sound fun! Glad you already have interested participants!

[Stronkey Kong]

And I have high cholesterol -- not terribly high, and my HDL/LDL ratio is acceptable/normal. But after a year of mostly eating vegan/vegetarian (erm, followed by a couple weeks of regular fast food, and not a lot of activity), it's still at least as high as it was last December (the Monday after Thanksgiving even).

 

<sigh>

 

I need to lose this weight and get more active.

 

Thankfully, A1C is good.

 

As I prepare for a month of sitting that ends with the most calorie dense meals of the year...

[Lyn]

On 10/18/2022 at 10:09 PM, Stronkey Kong said:

So, zero week is pretty much a wash already, cuz I just don't have the energy or time.

 

Well, seems you've made a lot of excellent progress moving forward ... just different than you had intended (possibly?) Plus going with the flow, seeing where things fit in, baseline health updates, and so forth. You've got this! 

[Lyn]

On 10/18/2022 at 10:09 PM, Stronkey Kong said:

Also, add WEAPONS to my list of challenge tasks.

 

I decided to try getting back into studying HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts), and created a meetup group... two people joined already!

 

Love this! 

 

19 minutes ago, Stronkey Kong said:

And I have high cholesterol -- not terribly high, and my HDL/LDL ratio is acceptable/normal. But after a year of mostly eating vegan/vegetarian (erm, followed by a couple weeks of regular fast food, and not a lot of activity), it's still at least as high as it was last December (the Monday after Thanksgiving even).

 

<sigh>

 

I need to lose this weight and get more active.

 

Thankfully, A1C is good.

 

As I prepare for a month of sitting that ends with the most calorie dense meals of the year...

 

Honestly, right there with you. Fitness helps with the cholesterol number, so you've got a plan moving forward. I, too, am mostly vegan/vegetarian. Cheering for you! 

 

[Stronkey Kong]

@Snarkyfishguts

 

I just ordered ring fit adventure. 

[Sovalis]

1 hour ago, Stronkey Kong said:

@Snarkyfishguts

 

I just ordered ring fit adventure. 

Ooh! I would love your review of it after you’ve played for a bit. I am super curious about it!

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

Oh man, thanks for reminding me about NaNoWriMo. I think I should give that a shot this year myself.

Sucks about the cholesterol but good news on the A1C front!

[Stronkey Kong]

21 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Ooh! I would love your review of it after you’ve played for a bit. I am super curious about it!

 

I played through the setup and first level. It was fun. The first level was like 3 min or so (a minute of which was me trying to get the left joy-con re-attached to my enormous thigh). Afterward, HR (as measured by the joy-con) was 135 bpm.

 

All I can say right now is that it was entertaining and intense enough to be worthwhile as a general/cardio workout... so I'll keep at it.

 

10 hours ago, Atrytone said:

Oh man, thanks for reminding me about NaNoWriMo. I think I should give that a shot this year myself.

Sucks about the cholesterol but good news on the A1C front!

 

No problem. Hope you get your 50K.

[Stronkey Kong]

Add wine, to my list of W's.... for today at least.  XD

[Stronkey Kong]

And now there's a bowl of halloween candy in every room at work. 

 

Friday I got my furnace checked in the morning, then the gas company came out and swapped out the old meter and now I have hot water and heat again. 

 

Between those visits, I got my covid booster and flu shots. Then went shopping and bought a lot of frozen vegetables mixes... steam in bag with sauces and such. Easy meals for the upcoming gauntlet of NaNo.

 

I also got a new journal and am experimenting with fountain pens to see if that helps certain parts of the process.

 

I mostly laced around playing BotW, but last night I played through the first world of Ring Fit Adventure, breaking a good seatt in the process.  Then this morning I did Bench press and front squats for greyskull. 

 

And now there's a bowl of halloween candy in every room at work. 

[Sovalis]

I am resisting buying the Halloween candy. I work Monday nights so I won't be home to hand it out so that is a reasonable excuse to avoid the temptation, right? 

 

Good job with your workouts. Hope your shots aren't giving you any trouble. What fountain pens are you playing with? Are you planning on doing NaNo with pen and ink over a digital format? 

[Stronkey Kong]

3 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I am resisting buying the Halloween candy. I work Monday nights so I won't be home to hand it out so that is a reasonable excuse to avoid the temptation, right? 

 

Good job with your workouts. Hope your shots aren't giving you any trouble. What fountain pens are you playing with? Are you planning on doing NaNo with pen and ink over a digital format? 

 

Same here. I work Monday, and I only for one trick or treater last year anyway. 

 

Shots gave me no more issues than soreness at the site for a day.

 

I just bought some pilot varieties (disposable,  just to experiment). I really like the switch so far. Though from here there's lots of experimenting with sizes, weights,  shapes, nibs, inks, etc. I like it for notes, free writing, world building snes fishing, plotting... I don't think this would be my choice even for a first draft. Handwriting speed is to slow for nano for sure.  I like that it frees me up, but it slows me down in a good way. Also, my journal has no lines or dots or anything. The journal is a platform for full experimentation and freedom of expression. Word processors provide linear structure and efficiency for editing.  

 

I could never use a fountain pen to produce a coherent draft,  just as I could never use a word processor to play and build a fantasy world. 

[Conquius]

11 hours ago, Stronkey Kong said:

I could never use a fountain pen to produce a coherent draft,  just as I could never use a word processor to play and build a fantasy world. 

As a Homebrew DM who has been severely struggling to homebrew said world, this intrigues me. Maybe I'll try drafting my homebrew on paper.

[Stronkey Kong]

2 hours ago, Conquius said:

As a Homebrew DM who has been severely struggling to homebrew said world, this intrigues me. Maybe I'll try drafting my homebrew on paper.

 

Do it! Blank space = freedom. And you can sketch, draw, make little figures and tree diagrams without figuring out how to change the shape/format, and then in the end you can just draw on top of everything again anyway with whatever you want.

 

All software is dumb.

[Conquius]

9 minutes ago, Stronkey Kong said:

All software is dumb.

I write software for a living and I agree

[Stronkey Kong]

NaNo is one week (or less by a few hours) away. Here is a video by Brandon Sanderson.

 

 

1. Fuck this guy for being such a prolific writer <dies of jealousy>

2. This is a really good way to tell people to fuck off so you can be left alone to write.

3. I am taking his pre-NaNo advice loosely, i.e. taking a break from sitting at the computer writing.. I'll mostly be sketching and outlining in my journal and planning what I'm going to write, and just setting up for the month to come.

 

WRITING: I've been, as I've mentioned, world building and journaling, and planning what I'm going to write for NaNo. And my plan for that has now changed over the last couple of weeks. Instead of just writing a bunch of short stories (or maybe I'll keep working on those), the focus will be on writing part 2 of the novel. The last NaNo I attempted in 2019, I wrote the bulk of part 1. As I have outlined things so far, there will five parts for the first book in this series, and it will likely be something like 200-300K words... but we'll see once I get to further drafts and edit the damn thing. I am also going to make sure I have a document set up and linked to my NaNo account (something I do through Dabble, another piece of dumb software).

 

I wasn't able to keep my paws out of the candy bowl last night, so I played a couple levels of Ring Fit when I got home last night.

 

 

[MaeradCase]

11 minutes ago, Stronkey Kong said:

1. Fuck this guy for being such a prolific writer <dies of jealousy>

2. This is a really good way to tell people to fuck off so you can be left alone to write.

3. I am taking his pre-NaNo advice loosely, i.e. taking a break from sitting at the computer writing.. I'll mostly be sketching and outlining in my journal and planning what I'm going to write, and just setting up for the month to come.

😅 But imagine how Martin and Rothfuss feel about it. But seriously, I have mad respect for Sanderson, and I feel like he has a great idea on how to write: write what's fascinating. He has so many series going because he can add to whichever one fascinates him at a time. I'm excited about his books next year. 😍

 

11 minutes ago, Stronkey Kong said:

WRITING: I've been, as I've mentioned, world building and journaling, and planning what I'm going to write for NaNo. And my plan for that has now changed over the last couple of weeks. Instead of just writing a bunch of short stories (or maybe I'll keep working on those), the focus will be on writing part 2 of the novel. The last NaNo I attempted in 2019, I wrote the bulk of part 1. As I have outlined things so far, there will five parts for the first book in this series, and it will likely be something like 200-300K words... but we'll see once I get to further drafts and edit the damn thing. I am also going to make sure I have a document set up and linked to my NaNo account (something I do through Dabble, another piece of dumb software).

I have a feeling my short stories are going to evolve into a larger plot because that's the kind of book I like, but I don't know yet what events will take it there. 😅

[Stronkey Kong]

10 minutes ago, MaeradCase said:

😅 But imagine how Martin and Rothfuss feel about it. But seriously, I have mad respect for Sanderson, and I feel like he has a great idea on how to write: write what's fascinating. He has so many series going because he can add to whichever one fascinates him at a time. I'm excited about his books next year. 😍

 

I have a feeling my short stories are going to evolve into a larger plot because that's the kind of book I like, but I don't know yet what events will take it there. 😅

 

Oof. Yeah. There's a good youtube video where Martin is interviewing Stephen King, and his very last question is "How the fuck do you write books so fast?" It's a good watch if you've got an hour or so to kill.

 

I need to read more Sanderson. I read Mistborn after I did Nano in 2019, and have had The Well of Ascension sitting on my shelves since mid 2020.  There's something about his craft that I don't care for, but I couldn't put MIstborn down at a certain point, so I can't deny he's good.

 

Just a few moments ago I put together a summary of my novel:

 

The Astral Governance, which controls the advanced Bronze age metropolis, is maxing out it's resources and is doomed to collapse in on itself or expand outward into the wild borderlands to the North. As the ruling Esterkin elites plan future conquests, unrest is brewing. Two young thieves from the Abalone Shore, Arscen and Marcel, quickly rise in the ranks of the shadow economy while working for the ruthless criminal masterminds, Eadgar and Romain. Arscen is sent undercover to gather information for a heist within the state Arcanum. While there, he befriends an anti-imperialist conspirator, Roshan, within the ranks of the Arcanum, loses focus on the heist, and gets swept up in the pre-war intrigues that will decide the future of the nascent Empire.

 

I can't deny that there's a touch of Sanderson in that, along with Martin, Rothfuss, and LeGuin.