Tzippi Longstockings Goes on Board

[Tzippi Longstockings]

INTRO TO CHALLENGE/CHALLENGE INSPIRATION

 

My life recently has been a lot like my namesake's. Like Pippi (the Strongest Girl in the World!), I live in strange circumstances, and am meeting new friends, finding new challenges, and not giving up! I spent the last challenge adapting to life in my forest treehouse, but now must seek new places to range! And so, I must travel!

 

I have my choice of many different vessels:

 

 

 

 . . . but for now, I decided to sign on with a pirate ship bound for the Grand Line (pirate paradise). The Going Merry (which has one of the best figureheads ever, I believe) is crewed by a strange bunch of pirates who (to my knowledge), have never actually committed an act of piracy.

 

 

From these five people, I intend to practice the skills and traits that will make me stronger, more flexible, healthier, and overall happier and braver as I search for "One Piece", the fabled pirate treasure (which is, as far as I can tell, totally an allegory, and thus even more appropriate for my challenge. Ranger/English major cross-class FTW!)

 

I found that I craved MOAR NUMBERS when determining how I was doing in my questing. I realizd I was grading very harshly at the beginning, and being waaay more lenient at the end. That is sloppy grading, and that means I need a rubric. I have divided up the Challenges into more of less four categories, and the five crewmates/nakama of the Going Merry are my inspirations for each one.

 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

RUBRIC

 

Okay, so my Big Goals this time around are pretty amorphous:

Strong and Tough

Healthy and Well-Fed

Protected from Threats

Long-term Goals (One Piece)

 

But my Rubric should break it down. I wanted to have more ways to succeed this time, so I four goals, each one divided up into two mini-goals. If this is getting way too hard, I will reevaluate at week three.

 

STRONG AND TOUGH - with Monkey D. Luffy (the Rubberman) and Roronoa Zoro (three-katana swordsman [yes, he holds one in his mouth. No, this is not actually the most ridiculous thing in this show])

 

Running and Bodyweight work are my two favorite ways to make myself stronger and tougher. As the weather is nasty cold, I will be a little more flexible about just how these goals get met, but I want to get back to seeing results. 

 

Running:

2 short, 1 long = A (1 DEX, 2 STA)

2 short or 1 short, 1 long = B 

1 run = C 

If weather doesn't permit running, tabata skipping rope or hooping session can be substituted.

 

Bodyweight:

3x/week = A (2 STR, 1 CON)

2x/week = B  

1x/week = C

If weather doesn't permit outside, 4 reps of a standard Neila Rey can substitute.

 

HEALTHY AND WELL-FED - with "Black Leg" Sanji (chef and Savate-style kickboxer)

 

I fell off the wagon hard with my last challenge as far as eating goes. What with one thing and another, I stopped cooking, stopped packing bentos, started eating a ton of bread again, skipped breakfast and then ate donuts . . . the whole shebang. These goals are going to be pretty easy for me, but apparently not including them is just asking for trouble. I will continue to keep track of my food intake, but want to avoid scurvy by ;

 

Eating greens and veg:

1/day = A = 1 CON. Pass/Fail. I can miss one day per week, tops.

 

Packing bentos:

This was one of my big successes the first challenge and big failures the second. I need to cook more, and have stuff prepped. 

3+ bentos/week = A (1 WIS) Pass/Fail

 

PROTECTION FROM THREATS with Usopp (liar, marksman, and coward) and Sanji (ladies' man and devoted slave of Nami)

I have two big threats to my continued progress and health (mental and physical): Sugar and Clutter. I don't like cleaning and making time to clean, but the apartment is small, and I just have to do it. I may try out gamifying chores and getting treats (buy a song on iTunes, get some nail polish, etc.) when I complete them. Not sure. At any rate, clutter is definitely the lesser threat. My sugar intake went through the roof this holiday season, and very little of it was from things like big holiday meals, cookie parties, gifts it would be rude not to eat, etc. It was mostly me going and buying processed-sugar crap and eating it. So I need to cut back.

 

Shooting out Sugar: I'm not sure where to go here, but a large majority of my sugar is from things that are pretty much "desserts". Ice cream, cookies, these little pancake-things you can get here, etc. So my goals are as follows;

3 desserts/week: A (3 WIS)

4 desserts/week: B 

 

More than 4 = FAIL

 

I am including things like toast with jam as "desserts". I am hoping to make myself remember to say "I don't eat desserts often", and pass on the everyday sugary crap that is everywhere, and save up for the good stuff, like dark chocolate, sweets with tea ceremony, and good ice cream and cakes. Also apples, mikans, and other fruit with fiber ins. 

 

Cleaning: 

5 chores completed from list/week: A (1 CHA)

4 = B

3 = C

 

Sanji does chores as a labor of love, and I want to try to love my home and learn to enjoy keeping it nice. So chore time will be marked with a fresh cup of tea, some music or a book on tape, and putting on my apron to symbolize getting down to it.

 

LONG-TERM GOALS - with Nami (Thief/cartographer) and Luffy (Rubberman)

 

Stretching: Luffy is literally as stretchy as rubber (he ate the Gomu-gomu Devils' Fruit), and his flexibility lets him do amazing feats. I have let the stretching slack a bit as it got cold/I got lazy. That is a surefire way to head toward injury, and injuries are not in line with my long-term goals. Therefore, stretching will become a major part of my life again. I can stretch while watching TV, whatever, but I have to do it.

 

Stretching sessions will be ten minutes, minimum. 1 minute minimum in each stretch/pose.

 

6 stretching sessions per week (one for each workout) = A ( 1 DEX)

 

Study: Nami's dream is to create a map of the entire world. I have many goals that are creative and intellectual, but the one I wish to concentrate on now is my Japanese language study. Unlike my first challenge, where I gave myself 10 kanji/week, I will satisfy my need to diversify my studying by studying five days/week, a minimum of half hour per day.

 

5 study sessions /week = A (1 WIS, 1 CHA) 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

GRADES BY WEEK

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Tallies by Challenge

Run
Week 1 - Wednesday OTHAFA 30min Friday walk (knee recovery) Saturday walk (knee recovery)
Week 2 - Wednesday OTHAFA 30, 1 hour-long walk Friday

Week 3 - Two long walks while in recovery for knee.

Week 4 -  Long walk Thursday, long ride Friday, 60-min OTHAFA Sunday

Week 5 - 

 

Lift
Week 1 - Tuesday Neila Rey Archer x 4 Thursday ATS lvl 1
Week 2 - Datura online isolations Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday

Week 3 - Datura Tuesday, 4x Archer Neila Rey, 2x Neila Rey Thor

Week 4 - Datura Conditioning Monday, shieldmaiden x4, Datura Sa

Week 4 - 

 

Stretch
Week 1 - TWThSa
Week 2 - TWTh

Week 3 - TWFSu

Week 4 - MTWFSaSu

Week 5 - M

 

Bento
Week 1 - MTWThF
Week 2 - MTWF

Week 3 - MTWThF

Week 4 - MWThF

Week 5 - 

 

Greens
Week 1 - MTWThFSa
Week 2 - MTWTh

Week 3 - MTWFSa

Week 4 - MTWThFSu

Week 5 - MT

 

Study
Week 1 - MTWTh
Week 2 - None whatsoever

Week 3 - MTTh

Week 4 - MTWF

Week 5 - MT

 

Dessert
Week 1 - Monday, pancakes. Thursday, caramel corn and chocolate cake from Hamazushi. Friday, lots of chocolate. Saturday, chocolate cake. Sunday Morning- toast with jam. FAIL
Week 2 - Monday, eclairs. WTF? Wednesday matcha ice cream, and so many more others I didn't even really notice. Bad.

Week 3 - Tuesday - some white chocolate things. Week proceeded to include pancakes, cakes, cookies, chocolate .

Week 4 - Eclair on Tuesday night, parfait Wednesday night, then so many more. Eek.

Week 5 - MT

. .

Chores
Week 1 - Tuesday, 2 things. Saturday, 6 things.

Week 2 - Keeping up with Laundry and dishes, but nothing from the list.

Week 3 - Swept hall, took out trash(all of), FINALLY GOT RID OF HUGE CARDBOARD PILE!!!.

Week 4 - Reorganized kitchen shelf and under the sink.

Week 5 - 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

UNLOCKED ACHIEVEMENTS

Went to a taiko session for the first time!

Am organizing a belly dance class, that I will teach! Eek!

Learned some ways to alter movements for a knee injury.

Got rid of the giant pile of boxes and things to be thrown out!

Fixed the huge tear in my black "Granny Weatherwax" skirt from . . .hrgm. the car crash last July.

Learned how to clean and leather condition my new Doc Martens.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Cleaning Mini-game

Sweep and mop
O Living Room - 2 points 1/10
O Kitchen - 2 points 1/10
O Hall - 2 points 1/10 1/25
O Toilet - 1 points 1/10
Clean sink (including drain and everything) and counter - 5 points
Clean ovens (fish and toaster) - 4 points ¡1/6/15!
Clean stove - 4 points
Clean shower - 8 points (it's an entire room)
Clean tub - 5 points
Clean toilet - 5 points
Clean all mirrors - 2 points
Clear windowsill - 4 points
Clear kotatsu - 4 points
Clear/reorganize one shelf of kitchen shelving system - 4 points 2 shelves-1/10/15   2 shelves-1/31
Recycle everything (including cardboard) - 8 points 1/25!
Take out trash - 2 points 1/25

Every fifteen points, I can purchase a song on iTunes to add to my dancing/working out lists.

If I complete each item at least once during the challenge, I will buy myself a new skirt and choli set from Flying Skirts.

Current tally: 41
Song purchase achieved:XX

Songs purchased:

1 Point extras:
Cleaned wax off of menorah, put it away 1/6/15

[Xena]

If weather doesn't permit outside, 4 reps of a standard Neila Rey can substitute.

 

That's generally enough to thoroughly kick my butt :-)

Challenge looks good! Look forward to following and hearing more about your continued adventures. You can be a winter warrior with me!

[Everstorm]

I like your challenge goals! Eating too much sugar is a problem for me, too. Looking forward to seeing you kick sugar's butt!

[shaar]

Oh gosh. One Piece. I just love this so much. Subbed to see you kick some ass!!

(Also, sugar, whyyy you gotta be so tough, and everywhere.)

[ShadowLion]

Great challenge and I love your theme!

Have you ever heard of "Chore Wars?" It's gamified housework with characters, XP, magical items, etc. Simple, but fun and motivating. Chorewars.com

[viki]

You have great goals and I love your theme. Subbed to see how it goes. 

@ShadowLion Now, I have to look up Chore Wars... sounds like fun.

[Erick the Red]

Great challenge and I love your theme!

Have you ever heard of "Chore Wars?" It's gamified housework with characters, XP, magical items, etc. Simple, but fun and motivating. Chore wars.com

 

You have great goals and I love your theme. Subbed to see how it goes. 

@ShadowLion Now, I have to look up Chore Wars... sounds like fun.

 

We used it with our kids to track their jobs around the house, and to show them that no matter how much they thought that they were doing, Dad (and especially Mom) always did more. 

[Erick the Red]

Your running and bodyweight goals look especially well-balanced and productive.

 

And I appreciate the importance of preparing food!  It makes it so much easier (and cheaper, for me anyway) to have prepared food and avoid the traps of easy, empty calories.

[mevre]

I want to try to love my home and learn to enjoy keeping it nice.

i love this. changing mindset about "unpleasant" things is so amazingly helpful. i had a similar switch last year from hating the overcast and cold of winter to finding it peaceful, refreshing, and invigorating.  

i too am in the "oh lord why did i eat so much sugar??!?" phase of the post-holiday craze. though i decided to straight-up cut all the sweets out of my life for a few months. heartbreaking right now, but i think i will thank myself come March.

you have great goals! looking forward to seeing your progress!

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Well, what I did last night was on the fourth, and therefore pre-challenge, but so far today:

 

Despite sleeping in for a week and a half (combination days off, late nights, sore throat), I managed to wake up right before my alarm went off this morning! I didn't wake up early enough to get dressed and exercise, but I'm going to keep nibbling back at my wake up time until I have enough time in the morning to get dressed and work out before my getting ready for the day starts (shower, dressed, makeup, breakfast, pack lunch)

 

I have packed my first bento of 2015! Leftover curry on brown rice and a big green salad. Not super exciting, but it should be filling. I also made a bento side that is waiting in the fridge for tomorrow. 

 

I am also enjoying the quiet day at work - I just need to find an empty classroom to sneak off to in which to do something to warm myself up. It is cold in the teachers' room!

 

EDITED TO ADD: 

 

I also studied for 40 minutes! Just my flashcard review took me that long (I haven't studied them for two or three weeks), but now that I'm back in it, I can probably start moving forward with study tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

[Xena]

Sounds like a good day.

 

I'm totally curious about the "unlocked achievements" posts. Are those for posting about successful milestones reached? Or are they for some kind of reward when you complete something?

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Sounds like a good day.

 

I'm totally curious about the "unlocked achievements" posts. Are those for posting about successful milestones reached? Or are they for some kind of reward when you complete something?

 

I included it last time for any milestone I reached. For example: last challenge I ran 7K for the first time ever, learned how to make a new healthy dish, and moved up in my squat progressions. It's nice to have a place to keep those.

[KnitJoy]

Your goals look good. I especially like how you are grading your goals! I'm looking forward to you kicking butt!

[Alexandrite]

Subbed for continued support! Let's figure this sugar thing out together!

I recently joined a FB group that is all Japanese learners and native speakers. They post questions, riddles, games, and even have Google+ chats occasionally to improve their skills. Some of the people are in Japan and meet up for practice. Perhaps you could find a group similar so you can do the study for fun too? =)

- Sent from my magic Navi-powered device!

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Had my first dessert of the week tonight, along with sushi and a cabbage-and-sweet potato stir fry. 1/3

[Raxie]

Mmm sweet potato stir fry sounds nomalicious. Love your challenge!

Sent by TARDIS delivery service. Apologies for typos caused by interactions with the time vortex.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

I don't know how many of you play pathfinder, but I just rolled up a gnome archaeologist and am naming her Pashri Rhombalala

[spockgrrl]

Hey Tzippi! Just stopping by to say, once again, your goals and organization are awesome. I love the theme, too. You have a level of self awareness that I really admire and will make you a success. I'm hoping to be around more this challenge so feel free to stop by

[tundralily]

I don't know how many of you play pathfinder, but I just rolled up a gnome archaeologist and am naming her Pashri Rhombalala

 

Pathfinder! Awesome! My hubby and I organized a Star Wars RPG one shot last week on New Years. So much fun! 

 

 

Hope you had a great day! We'll battle those self-shame monster together 

 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

I have made myself a mini-game for cleaning. I wanted to get real, non-virtual rewards for doing stuff, and make a nice mix of easy (sweeping, taking out the trash), unpleasant-and-time-consuming (cleaning sinks and ovens) and super-challenging (figuring out where to take all this cardboard and these largeish recyclables, folding and tying it all up, and taking as many loads as necessary (no car) to wherever they need to go).

 

I have small rewards for completeing a few medium chores, and a large reward for if I can do it all. If someone does one for me, I'll either redo it later in the challenge (it's dumb to clean your bathtub two days in a row, unless you're keeping gin in it) or figure out something of equivalent challenge to make the place nice.