Greetings to the community that I've been looking for but never knew existed....

[Mirlith]

Salutations to all you fine and fancy geeks of self improvement!

My name is Adam, but within the safe confines of these walls I shall go by my preferred elven name of Mirlith. Before I get started I just wanted to say the following:

This website and the idea behind it is something that I've been noodling for awhile, but never knew existed. The greatest passion in my life has always been roleplaying games. As I grew older and sought to explore why these flights of fantasy were so integral to my soul, I realized that it came down to one simple thing: If I could create an entire being, a personality, a history, a background, a character from the ground up and play that being for upwards of 12 hours per week; then I had within myself the power to do the same to my own existential character sheet and become whatever type of person I truly desired to be. Until now that dream and the philosophy behind it has been something that I have only tinkered within in my own head and considered bringing to the other community that I have known and loved (Burning Man). However, upon finding this website I cannot express in mere words how happy I am that other people have not only embraced this philosophy, but have created such a loving and knowledgeable community around it. I know I am new, but I already feel at home.

Now, with all that sentimentality out of the way, a little bit about me:

I am diligent student of the arcane who has specialized in unraveling the intricate link between perception and action (RL translation: late 20's neuroscientist who has the mind, and unfortunately the body, of a typical wizard). Though I shall always identify as a wizard first and foremost, I feel that I have committed a sin that many here can identify with: emphasizing INT at the expense of all other stats. This min-maxing has left me not only with a physique that I desperately wish to change, but has eroded my WIS and CON to the point where I feel I have very little discipline. I join this community with the goal of not only improving my body, but instilling in my mind (for the first time) the discipline to stick to my goals and truly transform myself rather than simply paying lip-service to the player. In addition, I feel that the RPG mythos so awesomely embraced by this community can help me attain other goals in my life while at the same time allowing me to provide support and insight for others who share similar quests.

During the brief period I was able to afford it, I found that Bikram yoga instilled in me a peace, calm, and jedi-like intensity that I seek to return to. Therefore, I feel that the path of the druid is the one for me. However, I seek to supplement that with some at-home strength training as well as the cardiovascular exercise that I was never able to achieve with Bikram (my heart-rate was often taxed, but never my breathing).

Being the student of empiricism that I am, I apologize in advance for any skepticism that I exude regarding particular diets or their scientific basis. It will be a goal of mine to become more open minded to such new ideas and provide peer-reviewed information whenever I can rather than simply nay-saying. That being said, please feel free to call me out on my own bullshit.

I could go on, but this character intro is already turning into a mighty tome. I look forward to exchanging ideas and dreams with all of you and cannot wait to start racking up that XP!

-Mirlith

[BopGun]

Welcome! I just joined a week ago, and though RPGs have really never been my cup of tea, I'm a nerd in other ways. The general tone of this place immediately resonated with me when I stumbled upon it, and I realized I'd also kinda been looking for something like this for years without knowing it. Also much like you, I've almost totally neglected my fitness since I was in high school...though I have at least five years in age on you, so I have more dry rot. lol.

In a very short time, this place has shaken me out of my apathy and I hope it does the same for you.

[Laney]

Hello and welcome! I'm totally with you on the diet skepticism. I decided to try Primal for 6 weeks, just to see how it goes