â™« starsapart plays her fight song â™«

starsapart · July 21, 2015

"'this is my fight song,

take back my life song,

prove I'm all right song...

my power's turned on,

starting right now i'll be strong,

i'll play my fight song -

and i don't really care if nobody else believes,

'cause i've still got a lot of fight left in me."

MAIN QUEST:

Keep it simple, keep it fun, and blast through all the obstacles in my path!

Have you played this game? No? STOP READING THIS AND GO PLAY IT AT ONCE. It is obscure and ridiculous and completely heartbreaking when you least expect it and seriously so, so lovely. It is also a story about flipping adversity the bird and doing the impossible, breaking bad cycles, and slowing down to (literally) smell the flowers. After last challenge threw a whole lot of rocks at me, I'm ready for some resilience. I'm keeping it light and easy and fun while also (hopefully) focusing in on basic foundational things that will help me keep moving forward.

I'm also playing around with quest format a bit, because I will be traveling to lovely, sunny Cancun, and frankly, I don't want to be too restrictive while on vacation. STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS, STARS!

QUEST 1: Be Limber like Falsetto! - (+4 DEX)

If you've seen Falsetto in battle (and if you haven't, again, I am telling you, GO PLAY THIS GAME RIGHT NOW), you know this girl has some crazy mobility. Unlike me - I've been neglecting my flexibility training.... again. It shows. Let's fix it! I will aim for a minimum of 3 days a week of stretch sessions. A session needs to be 20 consecutive minutes or more to count. Yoga does NOT count. It's all about them splits, straddles and backbends...:

A: 3 sessions, B: 2 sessions, C: 1 session

QUEST 2: Floral Powder - not Mineral Powder! - (+3 CON, +1 WIS)

Last challenge I realized I needed to eat more. Like.... a lot more. Like an average of 1850-2100 calories per day. And I decided to get there by adding snacks to keep my energy up between meals, because I now have a teenage boy's metabolism. And this worked great! .....Except the part where I kept snacking on chocolate. And Trader Joe's cookies. And other delicious but ultimately junky things. I haven't been eating them in large quantities - clearly my weight and body comp are on point - but this is not the most efficient way to get the extra calories I need.... and I am now getting sugar cravings/crashes again because I've loosened the reins too much. WHOOPS. Junk food = mineral powder: fast and easy and temporarily satisfying BUT ULTIMATELY POISON SHEESH STARS. Good, wholesome snacks = floral powder: more time consuming, oftentimes more expensive..... and actually good for me.

This quest has one major component + a caveat! The major component involves having a wholesome snack at work daily (wholesome = freggies, nuts, dried fruit even, cheese, jerky, hard-boiled eggs, etc):

A: 5 days a week, B: 4 days a week, C: 3 days a week**

And the second piece is a caveat - sure, I can choose the sweets as a secondary snack/after dinner sometimes if they fit my macros (full restriction isn't necessary or healthy) BUT. They need to be less available to make smart choices easier. Therefore, I am not allowed to buy junk food. PERIOD. Until I have completely consumed all that I already have. No last minute giving in to cravings when shopping. Not even sweet potato chips, stars. No, not the raspberry sorbet, either. We're going to be rational about this:

Every time I purchase something junky (unless the pantry is 100% empty), I will lose a letter grade for the week. THERE IS NO LEEWAY HERE.***

**If I bring a proper snack but for whatever reason choose not to snack at all (unlikely, but hey, maybe I'll suddenly be not hungry someday), this doesn't count against me.

***Exceptions can be made if shopping for a meal where I intend to have company and want to have something nice available for teatime; I'm not going to hold this against myself.

QUEST 3: Capture the Moment like Beat! - (+3 CHA)

Beat's always taking pictures and making memories, and honestly? I need to be more like him. I need to expand this to real life eventually, but for now, we're just talking aerial (no need to get too crazy, right???). Namely, I'm going to commit to one progress video per open gym session. It can be anything! A new trick! An old trick! A sequence! Anything at all!! I know you guys like seeing videos, and this will encourage me to try new things, too. Victories all around!

A: I did the thing! THERE IS NO TRY, SO THERE IS NO B OR C.

LIFE QUEST: Music is at the Heart of Everything - (+1 WIS, +1 CHA)

Ah, Frederic. Even his dreams are full of music. As for me... I've been neglecting doing anything more than the bare minimum. My high C took a hike some time ago as I so rarely need it. Even my high B is questionable. Not okay! Especially considering I may not have my cozy spot in the pro choir indefinitely... and if there are indeed personnel cuts, I need to shore up my weaknesses. Thus, I will commit to 2 sessions of vocalises at the piano a week - for now - focusing mostly on my upper range.

A: 2 times, B: 1 time

BONUS QUEST: Enjoy the Journey - (+2 WIS)

My healthy lifestyle is all well and good, but everyone needs a break sometimes. During week 4, I'll be on my long-awaited beach vacation, and frankly, I just want to enjoy myself and not worry so much about points and macros and whatever else. Here are the things I will commit to doing while I'm enjoying the beach:

60 minutes of movement per day, at least 5/7 days. Walking around ruins counts. Lifting at the resort gym counts. Dancing at the discoteca counts. WHATEVER. It's all good.
No more than one dessert per meal, with two "byes"
HAVE A GOOD TIME EVERY SINGLE DAY, DON'T FREAK OUT SO MUCH ABOUT BEING "PERFECT," TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES, THE END

If I meet the above criteria, I will consider vacation a job well done and give myself my Wisdom points. And if I gain back some fluff, I'll deal with it in week 5.

AND THAT IS IT!

As always, I have my handy-dandy spreadsheet which you can view to see my progress! The points thus come out like this, assuming I mathed correctly:

STR: 0

DEX: 4

STA: 0

CON: 3

WIS: 4

CHA: 4

Yup..... no strength points. Of course I'll still lift and train my inversions and so on, but this challenge isn't about that.

Measurements:

Neck: 12.8"

Waist: 26.1"

Hips: 36.1"

Shoulders: 41.9"

Thigh: R: 20.8" L: 19.9"

Calf: R: 14.8" L: 14.5"

Bicep: R: 10.6" L: 10.6"

Weight: 132 lbs

BF%: 19.4%

Dress/pants size: 0/2

starsapart · July 21, 2015

Challenge Summary

What the image says, basically!

Hello,level 9! This challenge contained a bit more stress than I had initially hoped, but it all worked out in the end. Unexpected events or not, I busted through (most) of my goals and stayed pretty cheerful overall, minus one circumstance which really.... wasn't happy-making. I miss you, kitty. But even with that, I stayed on top of things and didn't fall into wallowing..... which certainly could have happened. I feel like this is a win.

QUEST 1: Be Limber like Falsetto! - 96%
- â€‹I stretched for 20+ minutes 3 times a week, with only one session missed - the week that I lost kitty.
- I'm back in my full pancake
- My front splits are more or less back, though they could use a bit more work
- Although I didn't give it the attention it deserved, even my backbend improved a little
QUEST 2: Floral Powder - not Mineral Powder! - 100%
- â€‹I did not miss a single sensible snack day!
- I brought some non-perishable snacks to work, too, to keep in my desk
- Somehow, I managed not to buy any snack food except when my pantry was empty..... though this felt needlessly restrictive, so I'll be modifying it a bit going forward...
- That said, maintenance probably moved again, because I'm back to being starved ALL THE FREAKING TIME.
QUEST 3: Capture the Moment like Beat! - 100%
- â€‹I made 5 videos - 6 if you count the trapeze videos from vacation!
- Somehow, I managed to do this even with an injury... go me
- I'm slowwwwwly getting less awkward at transitions, so this has been a win for me
LIFE QUEST: Music is at the Heart of Everything - 100%
- â€‹Sang twice a week!
- Was rewarded with the return of high B and even C
- Was also rewarded with much more comfort in rehearsal - I need to keep up this habit for this purpose alone if no other
- Rediscovered the fun in vocalises - that's a bonus I did not expect!
BONUS QUEST: Enjoy the Journey! - 83%
- â€‹Vacation was awesome but I definitely had some misses wood-wise. Still...
- No regrets! Glad I did this!

OVERALL CHALLENGE AVERAGE GRADE: A!!!!!

Before Measurements: After Measurements:

Neck: 12.8" Neck: 12.8" (=)

Waist: 26.1" Waist: 26" (-.1)

Hips: 36.1" Hips: 36" (-.1)

Shoulders: 41.9" Shoulders: 40.1" (-1.8)

Thigh: R: 20.8" L: 19.9" Thigh: R: 20.7" (-.1) L: 19.8" (-.1)

Calf: R: 14.8" L: 14.5" Calf: R: 14.6" (-.2) L: 14.4" (-.1)

Bicep: 10.6" L: 10.6" Bicep: R: 10.5" (-.1) L: 10.5" (-.1

Weight: 132.0 lbs Weight: 131.4 lbs (-.8)

BF%: 19.4% BF%: 19.47% (+.07)

Dress/pants size: 0/2 Dress/pants size: 0/2 (=)

Feeling good about this maintenance thing! That shift in bf% is so minute as to be negligible. I.... don't quite understand the shoulder measurement - what happened? I mean, I did take it easy on my upper body for a bit due to my arm injury, but.... what? Whaaaaaaaat? Maybe I measured it differently? Eh, whatever, the rest of it is so close as makes no difference. I was a bit bloated taking initial measurements, so this is me back to "status quo." Still over the moon that THIS is my status quo, but.... yeah.

MAINTENANCE SUCCESS WAS HAD. DESPITE ALL THE TORTILLAS ON VACATION.

Lessons Learned:

Maintenance is a thing I can do. Somehow. I keep waiting for my body to rebel and start ballooning up again, but so far, so good (knock on wood).

If I don't spend time stretching, I lose flexibility when I lift. DON'T SHORTCHANGE THIS EVER AGAIN.

My high C was more or less where I left it..... score!

I can go on vacation and eat most of the things without too much self loathing - double score!

Transitions are my nemesis when I'm in the air.... must give this more time.

I still love ballet.

I need to continue the work of trying to balance out my schedule.... being busy all the time detracts from enjoyable quiet times at home with stillskies.

I still love Eternal Sonata WAY TOO MUCH.

Mr_Willes · July 21, 2015

I'm really curious to see your trustybell(.jpg)

We have an important thing in common this challenge!

Everything goes better when you are having fun! Following to see how well you can introduce it in your challenge.

shaar · July 21, 2015

Fun-centric challenges seem to be popular this time around!!!

I love your snack quest - you're right, not having it in the house is the best method. I know if I put chips or ice cream in my cart I'm gonna.... well, eat em. Womp womp. No bueno for the macros!

I'm SO EXCITED that you are going on VACATION!!! Time to shut the brain off and enjoy a week of well deserved luxury you've worked hella hard for!!

OH YEAH SUBBED, natch. â™¡

Urgan · July 21, 2015

After a super intense challenge, a lighter one is definitely what the doctor ordered. Here for the winning!

Sam Ashen · July 21, 2015

Have you played this game? No? STOP READING THIS AND GO PLAY IT AT ONCE.

Feeling really clueless. Uh. What game?

Unlike me - I've been neglecting my flexibility training.... again. It shows. Let's fix it! I will aim for a minimum of 3 days a week of stretch sessions.

Guess what? I'm doing the same thing!

A session needs to be 20 consecutive minutes or more to count.

Hmm. Mine tend to run 10. Maybe I need longer holds or maybe I just need to work up.

And Trader Joe's cookies.

I was required to bring Trader Joe's cookies on my trip.

I've been neglecting doing anything more than the bare minimum. My high C took a hike some time ago as I so rarely need it. Even my high B is questionable.

My vocal range is one eighth of an octave. :lol:

EDIT: Oh ya - Have fun with the Challenge!

blkhole24601 · July 21, 2015

CANCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN.

Here for dis~

BlackTezca · July 21, 2015

W00T!!! FOLLOWING ALONG!!!

C36.gif?3088

Really like your side quests and definitely can see this being an easier, more laidback challenge than last time. Being more limber, cutting down on sweets, singing sweet tunes and doing the THING are fantastic goals . Good luck and oooo can't wait to see pics of CAAAANNNNCUUUUUUUNN!!!!

starsapart · July 21, 2015

I'm really curious to see your trustybell(.jpg)

We have an important thing in common this challenge!

Everything goes better when you are having fun! Following to see how well you can introduce it in your challenge.

I think a lot of people are feeling that way this challenge.... the last one was kind of exhausting for many folks.

Fun-centric challenges seem to be popular this time around!!!
I love your snack quest - you're right, not having it in the house is the best method. I know if I put chips or ice cream in my cart I'm gonna.... well, eat em. Womp womp. No bueno for the macros!
I'm SO EXCITED that you are going on VACATION!!! Time to shut the brain off and enjoy a week of well deserved luxury you've worked hella hard for!!
OH YEAH SUBBED, natch. â™¡

NEED SOMETHING LIGHT.

As for the junk food thing, yeahhhhhhhhh, ever since I allowed it back in, it's been creeping into my cart more and more, and I just need to stop this. I think having a small treat daily (I really do mean small, like under 150 calories small) is just fine for me, but when I have a huge quantity of stuff lying around - and more getting bought all the time, somehow - it's tough to remember to moderate. I need to have less than 5 junky things in the house at a time, I think. So this will be my way of slowly emptying out my snack food pantry so I can re-stock it with just my faves in smaller quantities.

VACATION. I NEEDS IT MY PRECIOUS.

After a super intense challenge, a lighter one is definitely what the doctor ordered. Here for the winning!

WOOT!

Feeling really clueless. Uh. What game?

Guess what? I'm doing the same thing!

Hmm. Mine tend to run 10. Maybe I need longer holds or maybe I just need to work up.

I was required to bring Trader Joe's cookies on my trip.

My vocal range is one eighth of an octave.

EDIT: Oh ya - Have fun with the Challenge!

Eternal Sonata! The Japanese name is Trusty Bell - Chopin's Dream (I believe?), and it's absolutely fabulous in every way. I WILL JUST KEEP PIMPING IT OUT ALL CHALLENGE LONG.

Solidarity in stretching!!!

10 minutes isn't generally adequate for the deep flexibilty work I need to do..... I need to get back into oversplits, and fix my straddle, and get a better backbend.... and those all take time.

Trader Joe's cookies are crack. Which type(s) is(are) your fave?

I've got about 2.5 solid octaves, but the edges are kind of frayed right now as (due to sightreading skill) I ended up the soprano 2 soloist and got to skip the stratosphere most of then time these last few years....

Looking forward to having a good time!

CANCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN.

Here for dis~

And you'll be THERE for this right along with me, too. BRACE YOURSELF. VACATION IS COMING. THERE WILL BE RUINS AND SEA TURTLE SNORKELING AND LAZY BEACH EVENINGS AND TOO MANY FRUITY DRINKS TO COUNT.

W00T!!! FOLLOWING ALONG!!!

Really like your side quests and definitely can see this being an easier, more laidback challenge than last time. Being more limber, cutting down on sweets, singing sweet tunes and doing the THING are fantastic goals . Good luck and oooo can't wait to see pics of CAAAANNNNCUUUUUUUNN!!!!

Thank youuuuu! This challenge is kind of absurdly light for my norm, but I'll still be training aside from this, plus minis will happen so.... eh! IT'LL BE AWESOME BECAUSE I SAY SO!

BlackTezca · July 21, 2015

Last challenge was hard for me not necessarily because of the challenge but also because of the training on top of the challenge as well, so yeah totally take it light. Especially with an awesome vacation coming up .

karinajean · July 21, 2015

YAAAAAAY CHALLLLLLLENGGGGGGE!

I love your vacation goals, especially the dessert rules.

raptron · July 21, 2015

Oooh! I confess I haven't played and am still unsure about the whole PS4 playing PS3 games thing -- is it only available on PSN streaming rentals type things or what? I don't get ittt -- but oooh, so pretty.

You guys are going to have so much fun in Mexico. It's stupid gorgeous.

Also, damn it, I am going to get that song stuck in my head every time I see your challenge name.

starsapart · July 21, 2015

Last challenge was hard for me not necessarily because of the challenge but also because of the training on top of the challenge as well, so yeah totally take it light. Especially with an awesome vacation coming up .

Yeah, nice and easy is my motto this time.

Except on aerial days. I'm pretty sure that my motto on aerial days is:

YAAAAAAY CHALLLLLLLENGGGGGGE!

I love your vacation goals, especially the dessert rules.

Yeah, I was just like, lbr, I will be eating dessert. There's no "maybe" about it. So I just put up some flexible guardrails.......

Oooh! I confess I haven't played and am still unsure about the whole PS4 playing PS3 games thing -- is it only available on PSN streaming rentals type things or what? I don't get ittt -- but oooh, so pretty.

You guys are going to have so much fun in Mexico. It's stupid gorgeous.

Also, damn it, I am going to get that song stuck in my head every time I see your challenge name.

Not sure if PS4 will play it...... I have it as a disc for PS3. There's an XBox version buuuuuuuuut it's missing 3 dungeons and 2 playable characters (AMAZING CHARACTERS), so don't do that to yourself. Maybe you can DL from PSN? Not sure. I hope you can get your hands on it. It's a gem.

Yesssssss I haven't been in years and I am SO VERY READY.

I love that song. I've loved Rachel Platten for years, though she only seems to have become a familiar name for people with this latest single. Still, it's a pretty great song.

Kagetsukai · July 21, 2015

Yeah, nice and easy is my motto this time.

Except on aerial days. I'm pretty sure that my motto on aerial days is:

....now I'm imagining you with a beard. Thanks...

starsapart · July 21, 2015

....now I'm imagining you with a beard. Thanks...

Anytime.

blkhole24601 · July 21, 2015

And you'll be THERE for this right along with me, too. BRACE YOURSELF. VACATION IS COMING. THERE WILL BE RUINS AND SEA TURTLE SNORKELING AND LAZY BEACH EVENINGS AND TOO MANY FRUITY DRINKS TO COUNT.

These sound absolutely awful. I have no idea how I'm going to survive.

BlackTezca · July 21, 2015

Yeah, nice and easy is my motto this time.

Except on aerial days. I'm pretty sure that my motto on aerial days is:

Sounds like me in kickboxing...

Yeah, I was just like, lbr, I will be eating dessert. There's no "maybe" about it. So I just put up some flexible guardrails.......

Oh god desserts!!!! YUMMY!!! EAT ALL THE DESSERTS!!!!

starsapart · July 21, 2015

These sound absolutely awful. I have no idea how I'm going to survive.

It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.

Sounds like me in kickboxing...

Oh god desserts!!!! YUMMY!!! EAT ALL THE DESSERTS!!!!

BRING ON YOUR DESSERTS, MEXICO!

stillskies · July 21, 2015

Mexico, yo.

starsapart · July 21, 2015

Mexico, yo.

He's probably going to be your favorite just because of his voice.

And yes. MEXICO. It is soooooooooooooooooooooooooon.

BlackTezca · July 21, 2015

BRING ON YOUR DESSERTS, MEXICO!

FLAAAAAAAAHHHHNNNNNN!!!!

TRES LECHE CAKE!!!!!!

CHUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOHHHHHHS!!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE DESSERTS!!!!!!

starsapart · July 21, 2015

FLAAAAAAAAHHHHNNNNNN!!!!

TRES LECHE CAKE!!!!!!

CHUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOHHHHHHS!!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE DESSERTS!!!!!!

STOP MAKING ME HUNGRY; I'M SUPPOSED TO EAT LESS JUNK UNTIL VACATION COMES AROUND!!!!!!!

7.-Emma-Stone-Yummm.gif

stillskies · July 21, 2015

He's probably going to be your favorite just because of his voice.

And yes. MEXICO. It is soooooooooooooooooooooooooon.

Actually, no. Minagawa Junko voices him, and I really kind of want Echizen to die, so............ Bye bye Waltz.

BlackTezca · July 21, 2015

LOL double post. Though mine got eaten...

....MOOOOOORRRRRRRRREEEEE DESSSSSERRRRTSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

blkhole24601 · July 21, 2015

FLAAAAAAAAHHHHNNNNNN!!!!

TRES LECHE CAKE!!!!!!

CHUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOHHHHHHS!!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE DESSERTS!!!!!!

........... This is evil and not fair.

And I'm really starting to second guess how I approach eating in Mexico...................... :lol:

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