the 13th letter is on lockdown

[the 13th letter]

To those who are following the storyline from my last challenge:

Beware.

Of.

Major.

Spoilers.

Seriously, this whole challenge intro is a major spoiler for the storyline I have yet to conclude in the other challenge. You have been warned.

Book 5 – Prologue

I stared in disbelief as the two guards dragged their prisoner closer in my direction. Could it really be? Was Emma really their prisoner now? The very same Emma who regularly bested me, who snuck up on me, who promised she'd lend me a hand if things got too ugly? And now she was a prisoner of the Rangus guards? What on earth had happened?

"Emma!", I called out to her as she passed my cell.

She raised her head slightly, and looked at me. Her right eye was swollen, she must have been beaten. She gave me a weak grin.

"Sorry, sweetcheeks." she mumbled softly.

"Quiet!", a third guard behind them shouted. Then he pressed a two-pronged pole against Emma's back. The instant she came into contact with the pole her body jerked upward violently and froze in place.

"Emma!", I shouted in horror. I was rattling onto the prison bars as tightly as I could.

The guard withdrew his pole from her, and turned to me. Emma had become limp.

"I said 'Quiet!'" he shouted at me, as he pressed his pole against the prison bars.

At once, I felt my own body jerk straight and freeze in place. A muscle cramp unlike any I had ever experienced covered my whole body from top to bottom. I was stuck in this position, cramped all over, holding on the prison bars that were conducting the electricity that was giving me those cramps. I couldn't do anything as I waited for the guard to let his grip on me go. When he finally removed his pole, I sank to the ground, my knees too weak to hold me upright.

Then I realized just what exactly that guard was holding. A taser pole. An advanced immobilization weapon that was very difficult to defend against. As long as he had that, and I had nothing to shield me from the electric current, I was at a severe disadvantage. And so was Emma. Was that how she had been captured?

I caught my breath again, then looked out for Emma again. They had vanished. Surely the guards were taking Emma to a cell of her own. Even though the exit was just ahead, I realized I couldn't leave yet! I'd have to return to the depths of the asylum and rescue my mentor!

---

Just as I finished that thought a loud siren started to wail. The sound was truly deafening. I shut my ears tight, but the sound was still deafening.

"All personnel, prepare for immediate lockdown! I repeat, prepare for immediate lockdown!"

What? Lockdown? Now? Dammit, this would only complicate my rescue mission even further. Lockdown meant less freedom of movement. Higher risk. A stronger need to carefully plan my every step. And to map out where I've been and where I'm going next.

"No matter," I say to myself once the siren finally decides to shut up. "I didn't get a degree in tactical military warfare for nothing!"

I chuckle, and correct myself. "Well, mathematics. Same thing, really." Then I sigh as I realize there's no one around to hear my jokes.

But no matter. I have a ninja to save.

---

Author's comments: Yada yada yada creative freedom yada yada yada. And I've never been tased before, nor do I plan to be, but this account is based on what I know about how tasers work, and what I've heard others say about how it feels.

TL;DR: Challenge goals

• Do everything from last time.
  • sleep at 12am
  • wake by 9am and get ready
  • do "Convict Conditioning" bodyweight strength training
  Only this time, actually do it.

  Reward for doing it: uh… happy dance?

  Punishment for slacking: something awful, to be decided on. Probably push-ups. 25 burpees per session missed. I blame llw and Kishi.

• Take cold(er) showers. 'Cause damn, I'm being beaten by a 16-year old girl who isn't even actively trying to beat me. I will not go without a fight!

  Reward: happy dance…?

  Punishment: probably push-ups. 25 burpees per day missed.

• Record your progress in your journal. While much of my journey is documented here, more or less, I've severely neglected my own journal in the meantime.

  Reward: happy dance…?

  Punishment: probably more push-ups. 25 burpees per day missed.

Why so much punishment? Why not embrace the positive side of life?

Because this makes the stakes oh so much higher.

[littlewings]

Push-ups? Do burpees! Those'll scare you into doing your challenge goals a lot more.

[Kishi]

I second doing burpees.

 

Also, what are you planning to do to actually do the things that have beaten you last time? Are you trying new systems? Do you have other approaches in mind? How are you going to do these things beyond 'just doing them'?

[the 13th letter]

Push-ups? Do burpees! Those'll scare you into doing your challenge goals a lot more.

I second doing burpees.

I'm suggesting push-ups because those are my MA boss' standard go-to tech for punishing us. Whoever caused the punishment counts out aloud, and at the end everyone says "Thank you, X." Boss says it's actually a sneaky way of getting everyone to know everyone else's name……So alright, fine, burpees it is. 25 per round of punishment, I suggest.But geez, this thread has been up for a few hours, and already the responses are geared towards seeing me suffer. Have you people sensed blood or something?

Also, what are you planning to do to actually do the things that have beaten you last time? Are you trying new systems? Do you have other approaches in mind? How are you going to do these things beyond 'just doing them'?

More severe punishment for skipping, and, for sleeping at least, automatic log-out and lock-out, enforced by software.And I'm actually hoping the happy dances help.

[littlewings]

But geez, this thread has been up for a few hours, and already the responses are geared towards seeing me suffer. Have you people sensed blood or something?

 Some of us monks are part shark...

[the 13th letter]

3 days to go (Friday, 2014-02-21)

While I'm not officially tracking yet, I tried to get into the vibe of what I'd be facing in a few days…

…so I took a cold shower this morning. And while it probably wasn't that cold, I was positively shivering during the whole thing. Just as planned.

Anyhow… Posted this challenge thread, then had guitar lessons, then had martial arts class, and then had le tired… and then I had to give emergency I-need-to-hand-this-in-tomorrow maths tuition. Meh. And now I'm here.

Goals

1. Legacy work:
   1. 
      
   2. sleep by 12am: NO. Didn't track that yesterday.
      
   3. wake up (by 9am?) and get ready: YES. Not at 9am though.
      
   4. do CC bodyweight strength training: SKIP. Rest day. Yes, I actually worked out yesterday. Without telling you. I'm so evil.
      
   5. Cold shower: YES. And ohmaigawd, it was cold.
      
   6. Journaling work: YES. I tried not to stare at the large gaping hole between today and my last entry on September 8th too much, but I could swear it was calling my name…
      
      

[the 13th letter]

2 days to go (Saturday, 2014-02-22)

Slept in, took my cold shower, then got dragged by my parents to a looooooooong talk. In our family, we have the biggest house, and some of our relatives were in the process of selling theirs and moving in with us. Which means things will change around here, yada yada yada, I can't go on like I'm living by myself, blah blah blah, etc etc etc. The usual.

Then the highlight of this month happened: My brother had ordered a PS3 just a few days ago, and today, the first PS3 game arrived! Sonic Unleashed! Woohoo! You have no idea how long I have been looking forward to playing this!

And yes, I am planning to grab one of the Assassin's Creed games too. I'll probably start with Brotherhood, it being the first one I watched an LP of.

(To those who have played Sonic Unleashed, here are my first impressions about the Werehog: the gameplay is decent, the werehog is much more brittle and prone to gangbang than the Wii version, and yes, this feels quite misplaced in a Sonic game, but I can tolerate that just fine. I had more pains with Tin Pin Slammer in The World Ends With You, or That-Card-Game-Whose-Name-I-Forgot in Final Fantasy IX. And then there's the mini-games in the The Legend of Zelda series, some of which have been the source of major headaches, like that 1500 points archery challenge in Ocarina of Time, which I still haven't beaten.)

So there I was, mentally absent until the evening, when I wrapped up and did what I still had to do to finish the day.

Goals

1. Legacy work:
   1. 
      
   2. sleep by 12am: NO. Posted my challenge and updates to the punishment methods on that evening.
      
   3. wake up (by 9am?) and get ready: YES. Again, not at 9am.
      
   4. do CC bodyweight strength training: YES. See below.
      
   5. Cold shower: YES. This one was colder than the day before.
      
   6. Journaling work: YES.
      
      
      Strength training
      (Legend below.)
      
      • Level 3 angled bridges: 10/9/NA (0/+1/NA, beginner+) (last session: 2 days ago)
        Still trying to get used to being upside down.
        

---

Legend:

• x/y/z (a/b/c, std): I managed x/y/z of this exercise during this session, the difference to last session being a/b/c. As of this session, I'm at std standard.
  
• NA: not applicable; I didn't do this set
  
• beginner, intermediate and progression: beginner, intermediate and progression standard, according to “Convict Conditioningâ€
  
• beginner?: I am maybe at beginner standard; I can't tell for sure because I can't accurately reproduce the training scenario
  
• intermediate+: I have exceeded intermediate standard, but not yet reached progression standard.
  

[the 13th letter]

1 day to go (Sunday, 2014-02-22)

Slept in even worse. I shouldn't have done my strength training so late.

Took another cold shower. I'm afraid I'm slowly getting used to them. They don't induce any dread anymore. (Though they still induce annoyance.)

I spent the majority of the day on a computer science project: write a metadata tagger (artist, title, albumname, etc.) for an as-of-yet uncommon audio format: Opus. I had previously read the format specification—at least the parts that say where and how to store the metadata—and estimated it to take a couple of hours to write. That turned out to be wrong… I had overlooked a crucial minor detail, meaning I had to write more code myself than I had assumed I would have to. So while it ultimately worked, I feel that I spent too much time on it; I should have devoted more time to my job hunt instead.

On the plus side, this could easily be turned into a blawg post. I dunno. Opinions, anyone? Do you even read my blawg?

And on another plus side, I didn't spend any time at the PS3 today. Which surprises me too. Of course, I'm not intending to keep it that way.

Goals

1. Legacy work:
   1. 
      
   2. sleep by 12am: NO. The strength training session turned quite late.
      
   3. wake up (by 9am?) and get ready: YES. Not at 9am.
      
   4. do CC bodyweight strength training: YES. See below.
      
   5. Cold shower: YES. Cold, but bearable. Yay for goose bumps!
      
   6. Journaling work: YES.
      
      
      Strength training
      (Legend here.)
      
      • Level 4 flat frog (leg) raises: 20/16/14 (+4/0/+3, intermediate+) (last session: 4 days ago)
        Getting back into the groove. Whew.
        

[AshPS]

Late to the party but I am here M!!!!

 

And Whoooooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooooooo for happy dancing!!!! :triumphant: :triumphant: :triumphant: :triumphant:

 

Now, I will be back to catch up better!

 

Have an awesome day!

[sammyrulez]

Cold shower?!? You are a brave soul!

[formymonkey]

I might have to add the punishment section to my goals too.  Definately ups the motivation.  Keep kicking ass!!

[formymonkey]

I might have to add the punishment section to my goals too.  Definately ups the motivation.  Keep kicking ass!!

[AshPS]

Back to say that I am thrilled to see so many Yes's! Good going my friend!

[the 13th letter]

Day 1 (Monday, 2014-02-24)

Today was one of those family counseling days where my mom decided to talk with me about stuff, about relationships, and character traits, and things I ought to change, and Adam and Eve, and bees and butterflies, and university degrees, and… wait, what?

Oh, and, uh, martial arts. And some Sonic Unleashed. That's about all that happened.

Goals

1. Legacy work:
   1. 
      
   2. sleep by 12am: NO. Minor cosmetic glitches (i.e. 15 minutes too late). I haven't set up the timer yet.
      +25 burpees (T_T)
      
   3. wake up and get ready: YES. 9am, no. Even though I'm sleeping so early. wtf…
      
   4. do CC bodyweight strength training: DARN IT. I waited too long.
      +25 burpees
      
   5. Cold shower: YES.
      
   6. Journaling work: YES. Though it was a half-assed entry, since nothing much happened.
      
      

[Kishi]

Burpees build character, man. And they make you tired. Hopefully, they will help you sleep.

[RisenPhoenix]

Dear lord your challenge is intense.  Like, frightening cold showers intense.  What is Kishi doing to us all?

 

And burpees.  I'm sorry.  I'm so, so sorry.

[the 13th letter]

Day 2 (Tuesday, 2014-02-25)

Today consisted of my challenge work, a lot of Sonic Unleashed, and a report to the professor. Felt almost like busywork, I must sadly admit. Not enough positive outlook, maybe?

Additionally, I started working off my punishment today. That was interesting in and of itself. More interesting than the rest actually, IMO.

Goals

1. Legacy work:
   1. 
      
   2. sleep by 12am: NO. Willful transgression: I started a deep late-night discussion, and I wouldn't have wanted to stop short just because "lockdown starts at 12am" and "the guards will beat the crap out of me if I'm not in my cell". I can already imagine the responses: "What guards? What cell? Dafuq are you talking about?"
      +25 burpees.
      
   3. wake up and get ready: YES. I will get to 9am before the end of the challenge!
      
   4. do CC bodyweight strength training: YES. Double-time, even.
      
   5. Cold shower: YES. Not as cold as yesterday, but still not really warm. I had to go out straight afterward, and emerging as a frozen old fogey instead of a semi-presentable old fogey is… unhelpful.
      
   6. Journaling work: DARN IT. I checked the next day, and it turns out I forgot…
      +25 burpees.
      
      
      Strength training
      (Legend here.)
      
      • Level 5 full (bodyweight) squats: 30/30/NA (0/0/NA, progression) (last session: ~15 days ago (I think…?), or 20 days ago (I know))
        Squats are always the first ones to go if I feel like I don't have the time/energy/patience to do them. Should have done them yesterday, actually.
        They still hurt. Stupid 2-1-2-0 cadence.
        
      • Level 3 knee push-ups: 14/11/NA (−1/+1/NA, beginner+) (last session: 6 days ago)
        Meh.
        
      • 40 burpees of punishment, 60 more to go.
        Ugh, why did today have to be a push-up and a squat day…?
        So, I found out that I can't do sets of 25 burpees. Or sets of 10, really. #6 still looks okay, but afterwards, you have to squint really hard to see the burpee in my "burpee".
        Now, I did these just past midnight, outside in my garden, because that's the first chance I had once I realized I had 100 burpees to do (ugh…). Yes, this is past lights-out time. No, I'm not going to punish myself for serving my punishment at an inappropriate time, because, yes, I did them in the dark, literally with the lights out. Ha!
        

[the 13th letter]

Day 3 (Wednesday, 2014-02-26)

Woke up early! Like, very early!

…

…okay, so it was 9.45am, which I know is late for many of you. But it's better than the 11.55am I seem to otherwise do.

I celebrated my extra time with… more Sonic Unleashed. Hey, don't give me that look. I can't work in my room if lil' bro is still asleep in there. (Yay for kids-rooms-turned-mini-offices with two beds!) And I got ready as promised.

After losing repeatedly in the most embarassing way to the first boss totally showing the boss who's boss, I debugged a problem with my e-mail setup that was preventing me from sending mail. It turned out to be a software misconfiguration that, by sheer luck, hadn't bitten me until now. By the time everything was set up properly again, it was late afternoon, and time for martial arts class.

After martial arts class I went out to continue serving my punishment. I got to 20 burpees before my dad ordered me in. He's scared (shitless, if I may add) of the neighbors seeing something weird and deciding to call the cops. Hmph. No burpees, then, I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning instead.

Speaking of burpees: I'm going to take an additional rest day from strength training tomorrow. Today should have been my rest day, but I'm partway doing burpees, and I went to martial arts class, and I'm continuing with burpees tomorrow too. That's nowhere near a rest day. If by tomorrow night I figure I need another one, I'll take Friday off too.

Goals

1. Legacy work:
   1. 
      
   2. sleep by 12am: YES, SORTA. I was in bed as soon as my brother stopped working in my room. That was after my 40 burpees. If the guards actively screw up lockdown and keep us awake, I see no reason I should be the one suffering the consequences.
      
   3. wake up and get ready: YES. 9.45am! 9am is now within reach!
      
   4. do CC bodyweight strength training: SKIP. Rest day.
      
   5. Cold shower: YES. Damn, this one was cold.
      
   6. Journaling work: YES. Made sure I did this before writing this status update.
      
      
      Strength training
      
      • 20 burpees of punishment, 40 more to go.
        …until my dad stopped me.
        

[formymonkey]

Awesome attitude M. I love that you went out on the dark to do your punishment. It somehow seems fitting. Good luck at reducing the number off Burpies!

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

[Kishi]

Well, let's look on the bright side, shall we? Last challenge, you kept missing and skipping and nothing worked. Here we are, three days in, and you're already seeing more success than you did in most of the last challenge. So, something's firing right for you here. Keep it up!

[Sweet Pea]

holy crap your challenge makes me want to take a hot shower and then curl up in bed and forget that I even know what burpees are...

 

yikes.

 

Lookin good so far though!

[Swampling]

Won't the neighbor be even more alarmed if he happens to catch you doing your burpees after midnight in the dark, instead of in broad daylight?!

Just a thought...

 

Keep up the good work, M!

[bluekiwi1]

Rawr!  Keep going, M!  Looking Super Duper!  Good Luck!

[the 13th letter]

Day 4 (Thursday, 2014-02-27)

A much-needed rest day, more or less. I did nothing work-related today, instead playing the driver for the rest of my family. Tomorrow I'm back to my strength training and work timetable.

In between playing the driver for everyone, I finished reading the last book of The Hunger Games trilogy. It was a great, compelling read, but… it was also highly depressing. Truly distopian. I was hoping for a good end, but instead I can only describe the end as "sober". I still recommend reading the books… so long as you can handle a sober ending.

In very other news, I also visited the doctor today. I'm cleared for all kinds of activities again. But I'm not going to be trying pull-ups just yet: I have what the doc called a "ganglion" (this maybe?) on the underside of my formerly-broken finger, and it's more pressure sensitive than my other fingers. (Not good for pull-ups.) Since it's so small that it's invisible from the outside, and since the doc didn't talk about it beyond naming it, I'm assuming it'll vanish by itself sooner or later. Once that happens, I'm back to pull-ups.

Sorta kinda by accident, I didn't get to doing burpees today. On the bright side, this means I did have a full rest day today, and will be in much better shape tomorrow. I'll still add another 10 burpees because, heck, you don't escape punishment unpunished.

Goals

1. Legacy work:
   1. 
      
   2. sleep by 12am: YES.
      
   3. wake up and get ready: YES. 10am.
      
   4. do CC bodyweight strength training: SKIP. Rest day.
      
   5. Cold shower: YES. It doesn't seem to be getting easier. If anything, I feel like it's killing my circulation (which wasn't great to begin with). Gotta re-check if I'm doing this right.
      
   6. Journaling work: YES.
      
      
      Outstanding Burpees
      50

[Kishi]

Yeah. Katniss doesn't get a happy ending. She's a shell-shocked survivor of lots of horrible things, and finding her way to a quiet place is probably the best she could hope for. If these were kid's books, the adult books would pick up at that point and follow her as she learned to live again.

 

It was worth reading, for sure. Definitely didn't expect it to end so solemnly.