[Scaly Freak]

Brief challenge progress report: 

 

HP (physical health)

Yesterday was gym day. Exhausting, but more than worth the effort. Felt great once the immediate after-workout tiredness lifted.

 

Mana (mindfulness/mental health)

Remembered Friday. Forgot Saturday. About to sit down and meditate again after typing this.

 

Stamina (emotional energy)

Friday: Lots of reading and relaxing. Spent time at the music social event in LOTRO again. 

Saturday: Colored a large number of pictures in my app whenever I needed a break.

Sunday: Nothing yet, but my day is just getting started. I have reactivated the FTS-talisman, and I am planning a journal entry this evening. The journal is on my pillow, so it won't be forgotten.  

 

Update: Mediation has been done. Currently cooking a lemon-pepper bacon gravy turkey for H. because his birthday is this weekend, and turkey makes him happy. Also, I like cooking it.

[Harriet]

gymmmmmmm ❤️ 

[Loveable_Bouncer]

On 4/12/2024 at 6:05 PM, Scaly Freak said:

 

Oh, interesting! I wonder is this is why every city park large enough to accommodate it has a pond?

Not 100% sure, I almost wonder if it ended up being "people pay more if they have a beutiful park" (aka law of gentrification). I know in MN a lot of ponds/lakes I've learned it is actually water management here (every large city I live in was built on swamp/lake land back before all the build up of the 1800). By finding side effects of "making it prettier" that later turn into "oh, water tends to be less polluted when we allow nature to be nature....". 

I was a bit overwhelmed by my answer lol.... From my understanding the last 20 years of studying have shown us "oh, we like this because it is REALLY good for us". Kind of like the whole quality of life when you bond with animals thing >.> 

 

Glad the self-care is kicking in to help get your week started off great!

[Mad Hatter]

On 4/12/2024 at 9:53 PM, Scaly Freak said:

This morning I woke up to a good-news message in the family group chat: The x-rays and CT scans are completely free of signs of cancer. A referral to an oncologist has been made, but as of right now there is nothing for an oncologist to treat. Phew! 

Yayyayay!

 

On 4/13/2024 at 1:05 AM, Scaly Freak said:

Oh, interesting! I wonder is this is why every city park large enough to accommodate it has a pond?

Personally I think it's because everyone loves ducks. 😄

[Scaly Freak]

On 4/14/2024 at 5:06 PM, Loveable_Bouncer said:

Not 100% sure, I almost wonder if it ended up being "people pay more if they have a beutiful park" (aka law of gentrification). I know in MN a lot of ponds/lakes I've learned it is actually water management here (every large city I live in was built on swamp/lake land back before all the build up of the 1800). By finding side effects of "making it prettier" that later turn into "oh, water tends to be less polluted when we allow nature to be nature....". 

 

I'm sure there is a water management side to it as well... though here it is most likely because they wanted rain water to be able to drain to somewhere, because when it does rain in desert climates, it does its best to make up for lost time.

 

On 4/14/2024 at 5:06 PM, Loveable_Bouncer said:

From my understanding the last 20 years of studying have shown us "oh, we like this because it is REALLY good for us". 

 

Yeah... it's weird how that almost seems like a pattern, doesn't it...? 

 

12 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Personally I think it's because everyone loves ducks. 😄

 

Something is wrong with everyone then. ducks are mean and aggressive and their poop is gross. (The spring migration patterns strike again... the ducks have arrived in our neighborhood!)

[TimovieMan]

23 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Personally I think it's because everyone loves ducks. 😄

Absolutely!

Especially roasted, with orange sauce. 😋

[Mad Hatter]

13 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

Something is wrong with everyone then. ducks are mean and aggressive and their poop is gross. (The spring migration patterns strike again... the ducks have arrived in our neighborhood!)

Really?? Compared to the geese and swans I've seen ducks are lovely (admittedly with some disturbing... kinks) and have never done me harm. 

 

2 hours ago, TimovieMan said:

Especially roasted, with orange sauce. 😋

Yum!

[Scaly Freak]

HP (physical health)

Went to the gym tonight. Details below.

 

Stamina (emotional energy)

Breathing exercises during and after a frustrating meeting to help me stay focused and avoid self-immolating while on camera on Zoom.

 

The co-worker someone here dubbed the Drama Llama last fall remains a source of frustration and difficulties. She seems to be genuinely incapable of questioning the status quo, or thinking outside the box, or in any way comprehend why either of those two things might be needed in a customer service environment. She also either despises collaborative decision making as a concept or has no idea what it is, because any attempt to involve her in it is met with a frustrated, "I thought you were going to give recommendations for us? I don't understand why you're having us go over this list of objectives together!"

 

Um... the list of objectives that need to be met in order to achieve the project goal are my recommendations. The reason we're going through the list together is to give you a chance to see them and voice concerns before this goes in front of Support Management and you have to implement this whether you like it or not. 

 

And in the big scheme of things, this is a small thing.... unless, of course, a person has been having the April I have, with one death from cancer, and one possible-but-not-actually-after-all cancer in the family, who lives halfway around the plant from me. Those things, in combination with a lack of sleep, have completely destroyed my Stamina and Mana bars to the point that I kept it together for another hour in a training session where I thankfully didn't have to be on camera, before heading out for the daily walk with H. Where I vented and ranted  and eventually had a tearful meltdown just as we arrived back home. 

 

So we went to the gym this evening so I could get barbell therapy and relax while lifting things, and it really helped. The Iron Temple has healing powers.  

 

And now I'm going to go read my a mindlessly silly fairy-tale based book, because stories heal too, and I will feel better tomorrow.  

[Mad Hatter]

Hugs! 

 

3 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

So we went to the gym this evening so I could get barbell therapy and relax while lifting things, and it really helped. The Iron Temple has healing powers.  

 

And now I'm going to go read my a mindlessly silly fairy-tale based book, because stories heal too, and I will feel better tomorrow.  

Wonderful! Glad you have effective tools to heal up those health bars. 

 

What book are you reading?

[Mistr]

Yay for your parent not having cancer now!

 

Good job on finding another pleasant place to walk and going to the gym. I am glad that H is supporting you on dealing with the family challenges and frustrations of your job.

[Harriet]

10 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

And in the big scheme of things, this is a small thing.... unless, of course, a person has been having the April I have, with one death from cancer, and one possible-but-not-actually-after-all cancer in the family, who lives halfway around the plant from me. Those things, in combination with a lack of sleep, have completely destroyed my Stamina and Mana bars to the point that I kept it together for another hour in a training session where I thankfully didn't have to be on camera, before heading out for the daily walk with H. Where I vented and ranted  and eventually had a tearful meltdown just as we arrived back home. 

 

Very understandable that your tolerance for drama llama is reduced. I'm so happy that the lifting helped you feel better. That's awesome.

[Scaly Freak]

On 4/17/2024 at 2:29 AM, Mad Hatter said:

What book are you reading?

 

I'm re-reading a fantasy romance series by Rena Marks.  

 

On 4/17/2024 at 9:15 AM, Mistr said:

Good job on finding another pleasant place to walk and going to the gym. I am glad that H is supporting you on dealing with the family challenges and frustrations of your job.

 

The job frustrations have faded considerably, which support the theory I formed back on Tuesday, that the frustrating incident on Tuesday was actually very minor. It just became that famous very last drop that cause the water glass to spill over.

 

On 4/17/2024 at 9:33 AM, Harriet said:

Very understandable that your tolerance for drama llama is reduced. I'm so happy that the lifting helped you feel better. That's awesome.

 

I'm trying to learn from mistakes I've made in the past, when I "managed" stress by hiding from it, and self-medicated with ice cream and whiskey. shockingly, this doesn't actually make the stress go away.  

 

Gym again tonight. I is leg day!

 

 

[Mistr]

16 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

I'm trying to learn from mistakes I've made in the past, when I "managed" stress by hiding from it, and self-medicated with ice cream and whiskey. shockingly, this doesn't actually make the stress go away.  

 

Aiieeee, that sounds  painfully familiar. Although I mostly relied on chocolate, not ice cream or whiskey. I feel like I am only a few steps on the path to healthier strategies. There is less chocolate.

[Mad Hatter]

On 4/19/2024 at 2:18 AM, Scaly Freak said:

I'm trying to learn from mistakes I've made in the past, when I "managed" stress by hiding from it, and self-medicated with ice cream and whiskey. shockingly, this doesn't actually make the stress go away.  

I think I need to repeat this mistake a few 100 times more, then maaaaybe I'll be able to learn. 

[Scaly Freak]

On 4/19/2024 at 10:44 AM, Mistr said:

Aiieeee, that sounds  painfully familiar. Although I mostly relied on chocolate, not ice cream or whiskey. I feel like I am only a few steps on the path to healthier strategies. There is less chocolate.

 

Well, I've recently graduated from whiskey to chocolate... which I firmly believe is a step in a healthy direction. I refuse to give up the ice cream though. I have however made efforts to eat less of it, and less often. This became surprisingly easy once I realized that I can simply opt not purchase ice cream when we place our grocery orders. 

 

10 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

I think I need to repeat this mistake a few 100 times more, then maaaaybe I'll be able to learn. 

 

That would make you human then.  

 

 

 

HP (physical health)

Preparing for gym later today... chest and upper back day today. There will be bench pressing and there will be barbell rowing, and possibly some accessories if there is time and energy for them.

 

Mana (mindfulness/mental health)

Finished meditating before coming here to check challenges.

 

Stamina (emotional energy)

Attended the weekly musical event again last night. Also did lots of breathing exercises and lots of coloring. Colored before meditating today, and will do more meditation later, because we have a busy weekend this weekend. This evening there is a family dinner for someone's birthday. Tomorrow there is brunch with family visiting from out-of-town, and after brunch I have a hair appointment. 

 

My cousin's funeral service was yesterday, and emotional margins and resilience reman gone. Gym will be helpful.

[Mad Hatter]

13 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

That would make you human then.  

Can I opt out and be a house cat instead? 

 

13 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

brunch I have a hair appointment. 

Is this in the draining or recharging category?

[Scaly Freak]

2 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

 

Is this in the draining or recharging category?

 

I am not sure yet. 

[Mad Hatter]

2 minutes ago, Scaly Freak said:

I am not sure yet. 

Let's hope for the latter, it sounds like a draining weekend. Hope the family time will be nice even if a lot.  

[Scaly Freak]

 

19 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Let's hope for the latter, it sounds like a draining weekend. Hope the family time will be nice even if a lot.  

 

It was definitely in the latter. My hair stylist's scalp massage skills might be a big factor there. 😇

 

The family time was nice and fun, since this is family that we like. It was energy draining none the less, but not in a bad way, just in a tiring one.

[Scaly Freak]

Mana (mindfulness/mental health)

Meditated while drinking morning tea, before heading over to family event.

 

Stamina (emotional energy)

Colored a couple of pictures and did breathing exercises through the day.

[Scaly Freak]

Overall feeling considerably better about everything today, despite not sleeping as much as I should have. Good quality sleep, just not enough of it, which is my standard these days. I had a surprisingly good day at work. Had a brief encounter with the Drama Llama in an early afternoon meeting, and handled it much better than last time (admittedly not difficult to do), and genuinely shrugged it off immediately after. Last week, after my little meltdown, H. patiently reminded me that since Drama Llama isn't actually above me in the hierarchy, I don't actually have to do what she wants, or even respond in kind when she pushes back against what I want to do. I can simply do what I'm supposed to do and leave it to her to figure out how to deal with it. So I'm testing that approach now.

 

I'm also deliberately skipping the gym visit this evening to save energy and to do other mental-health things. Right as I left work, H mentioned that he really wants to have a quiet evening by himself, with as few interruptions as possible, since he also feels drained and needs to recover after the large amounts of socializing this weekend. So now he's sitting with his gaming PC in his room and I'm sitting with mine in my room, and he will let me know when our dinner gets here, and we will both have as much solitude as we can for the rest of the evening.

 

Rivendell, here I come! 

 

 

 

 

[Mistr]

Good for you and H taking a much-needed evening off. That sounds lovely. 💓

[Kishi]

I really admire that you and H are able to be solitary with each other like that. I can see myself needing something like time away but I wouldn't know how to ask for it or even to trust that I could. That's really cool to me and something to strive for.

[Scaly Freak]

12 hours ago, Mistr said:

Good for you and H taking a much-needed evening off. That sounds lovely. 💓

 

It was. I still need more sleep, but I feel a lot less stressed.

 

3 hours ago, Kishi said:

I really admire that you and H are able to be solitary with each other like that. I can see myself needing something like time away but I wouldn't know how to ask for it or even to trust that I could. That's really cool to me and something to strive for.

 

We call it "alone-time". We've unintentionally developed a rule through the years that if one of us asks for alone-time, they immediately get it, no questions asked.  And to be able to go off and have that solitude and know that it won't be taken as a negative, or misunderstood, is something I am grateful for. Any introvert who needs this in their life, deserves to have it.