Yasha's Last Minute Mini(nuke) Challenge

[Yasha92]

Greetings all~

I love Fallout (especially 4 at the moment, but 3 was my first love, and Vegas my bit on the side) and wanted to have a mini(nuke) Fallout-themed challenge to get me back into the swing of things straight away, without waiting for next year, since waiting to start on Jan 1^st full of resolutions and alcohol from the night before has never worked for me before.

So: starting now I’m going to bring in a little Fallout and try and steer myself in the right direction to undertake a full 6wk challenge in the New Year. I’ve joined up in the Ranger Thread to be an NCR Ranger this challenge. Because I'm joining so late in the game I'm having my thread run from 14th Dec to 3rd Jan, to make a little dent before getting back on the 6-week bandwagon next year.

 

Mini-Nuke Quests:

Caps Stash:

  

Caps Stash- Put $50/week into saving for our own house. Not much for sure, but if I’d done it when I said I was going to almost a year ago I’d have $2600 more than I have today, which kind of stinks. Bonus nuke for organising a direct deposit so I never even see the money before it goes into the saver.

 

Red Rocket Station:

Red Rocket Station- In these 3 weeks leading up to Giftmas and the New Year I will consume fewer fizzy beverages. At the moment I have an unhealthy relationship with lemonade, having one or more 600mL bottle each day. This is unhealthy, bad for my teeth and far too encouraging to my second-chin. Purified water, and not Nukacola will be my main hydration of choice.

You Cannot Fast Travel From This Location:

 

You cannot Fast-Travel from this location- Walk walk walk. Every work day I will walk to work. DnD game nights I can catch the bus to the game, but get off one stop early. I have been wearing a pedometer, and on days when I walk to and from work I’m hitting the 10,000 but weekends seem to be a problem which leads to the trackable part of this goal- 10,000 steps a day. I can ‘buy’ future steps but not loan them (eg, on Monday I bank 15,000 steps, so on Tuesday I can walk 5,000 and still be on track, however I can’t walk 5,000 on Wednesday planning to do more and make it up on Thursday, because I know I won’t). this will hopefully combat some of the weekend number disappointment.

Salvage:

 

https://www.facebook.com/schoneschieSchone Schie Facebook Page

Salvage- bonus nuke/life challenge – I will do a ‘Schone Schie’ inspired clean-up once on each weekend of the three weeks, doing an 'emu bob', collecting up litter: recycling what I can, putting the rest in the bin instead of the ground.

Points/Stats/Karmas:

Because this is a mini challenge I am focussing on the accountability more than any prize or points I might allocate myself. Ideally it will get me in gear to start next years first challenge prepared and back in the swing of forum-accountability. I hope to post minimum twice/week, ideally each day to keep on top of the steps/lack of lemonades.

 

Thanks for Reading~!

Sorry(not sorry) for the gif-heavy post.  

[Yasha92]

Me and my sister's (not counted) cleanup this weekend. Note my lemonade-inspired double chin.

[Kes]

I can ‘buy’ future steps but not loan them (eg, on Monday I bank 15,000 steps, so on Tuesday I can walk 5,000 and still be on track, however I can’t walk 5,000 on Wednesday planning to do more and make it up on Thursday, because I know I won’t). this will hopefully combat some of the weekend number disappointment.

 

 

That's a great system!

 

Sounds like you have a good plan in place.

[Yasha92]

Day One Update:

 

Caps: I will be paid on Thursday, so I don't expect much activity here until then. I have a decent(ish) stockpile of foods, and only $2 to get me through to Thursday. Might be inadvertently mixing in a 'use up what's in the cupboard' challenge. My own fault for being irresponsible earlier in the pay period.
 

Red Rocket: No Lemonade consumed! Win! This was eye-opening for me as to how heavily I rely on the pick-me-up of that fizzy business. 4 times I went to get a lemonade, 4 times I talked myself out of it. At one stage I had the thought "I have a headache, I probably need a lemonade", which is most likely the opposite of what I needed, or my sugar addiction throwing a tantrum about not getting what it wanted. Food-wise I didn't do amazingly today, but that's for future challenges, my first hurdle is the Lemonade. Water consumption was good (roughly 3L). In leiu of energy drink I had one small coffee (I'm trying to keep energy drink as a no-no too, in the same team as Lemonade). Fight the Fizzy Foe!

 

 

Fast Travel: 10,372 steps (banked 372 for the weekend). I was running late this morning and nearly caught the bus to work, but I couldn't bear the thought of failing on the very first hurdle, so I power-walked the whole way there and arrived only a few minutes late (and very sweaty). I will give myself more travel time tomorrow. I caught the bus into town after work, bought a piece of material to make a pair of Khajit ears for a game tomorrow, then walked the rest of the way to tonight's game. I do not think catching the bus to one stop from the game will hit my steps target, but I guess we'll find out.

 

 

Salvage: Nothing today - likely going to focus this on the weekend, however if I stop my daily business to clean up some litter I'll note it down.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome to the Ranger Corps! Thanks for dropping my thread, I do hereby return the favor! Those look like good solid goals to hold you over till the next challenge starts on Jan 4. Also, you never have to apologize for gifs here at the rebellion!

[Yasha92]

Welcome to the Ranger Corps! Thanks for dropping my thread, I do hereby return the favor! Those look like good solid goals to hold you over till the next challenge starts on Jan 4. Also, you never have to apologize for gifs here at the rebellion!

Thanks for the welcome! Happy to join the Rangers and I expect to continue the challenges in this class for a while as my long-term goals do seem to align with the Rangery mindset. I'm hoping by starting with a couple small, (hopefully) achievable goals I'll find my footing and be ready to smash the New Year.

 

 

Caps: Still putting this off until payday, which is either tomorrow or Thursday. I feel like it is usually Thursday, but some workmates indicated that it’s payday tomorrow. Also I remembered I’m paid fourtnightly, so I’ll be making two larger deposits, rather than four smaller ones. It’s the same money really, but not sure if it will be easier or harder or the same.

 

Red Rocket: Today was tough, had a game night, nay a dress-up game night, with PIZZA, and an OPEN bottle of lemonade which people offered to me twice O_O. I was strong and didn’t have any lemonade, however I did have two small glasses of energy drink that the DM made for me. As I usually drink 4-6 glasses of energy at this gamehouse I feel it was a drastic improvement and chalking it up as a technical win. Also, I cosplayed my character (see below), which I’ve never done before so that was fun. I’m a Khajiit Magic User (note lack of lemonade chin in the photo, it's working! (wishful thinking)).

 

Fast Travel: Did pretty good today – walked to work, walked back home, walked to the bus stop and caught the bus to the game, got a lift home with the Tiefling sorcerer. All in all 13,140 steps. Banked 3,140 for a weekend for a total of 3,512. Thinking I’m going to make the bank expire on the weekend if I end up walking the 10,000 on the weekend days, otherwise I’m not really stretching myself, but we’ll see how we go. Also it was super hot and muggy on the way home with a tiny sprinkle of rain and heaps of thunder and lighting. The powerlines were buzzing, so I went the back way through the nature park thing which was pleasant, but still very hot.

 

Salvage: Nothing salvaged today, but I’ve signed up (on Facebook) for a beach clean-up this weekend at a nearby beach with a group of landcare people. Hopefully it won’t be too hot as a requirement is long pants and long sleeves. I will have to try and remember to bring my hat back from work too. Rubbish that has the potential to get into the ocean is of particular concern to me, and I'm hoping working in a group will be encouraging, rather than melancholy.

 

[Yasha92]

Caps: Pay day was today after all~ I pulled $100 over to the saving account to cover this week and next week so we’re halfway there for this challenge. $100/$200.

Red Rocket: I had no lemonade today, but I had a sip of Mr’s rum and coke and a glass of vodka and soda. We bought coke and lemonade to be mixers for our adult beverages, so we shall see how I go with having it in the house. I’m telling myself I can’t drink it unless it’s in the form of an adult beverage, and then only one. I may have to give myself a pass tomorrow since we’re going to see StarWars!! And soft drink with your cinema popcorn is kind of a requirement… Perhaps I will just have a small, or pull some Kronk-level slight of hand.

Fast Travel: Walked to work and home again, walked to the liquor store and bought many adult beverages. We don’t have a car, so on the way home (me carrying 4L, Mr carrying a case of beers and additional 4L of assorted alcohols in glass containers) as we were regretting our carrying decision a stranger offered us a lift and we gratefully accepted. 17,007 steps. 7,007 banked for the weekend for a total of 10,519 banked.

Salvage: I picked up one piece of stray tinsel on my walk home, I’m guessing it fell off someone’s Santa Pub Crawl outfit… Other than that I checked the bus route to get to the beach clean up on the weekend and that was all my salvage/salvage related activities.

All in all a pretty good day, although I am very tired.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Looks like some good days, have fun at Star Wars

[Yasha92]

Caps: Taken care of for the week ~ ~

 

 

Red Rocket: Had one adult beverage which had a bit of lemonade in it (maybe a third of the glass, it was pretty alcohol heavy)… Then I went and saw STAR WARS!!! And I drank a large lemonade, which is like a litre. It wasn’t ideal, but it was somewhat expected. I did make good decisions the rest of the day with all the other potential lemonade moments (morning meeting, lunch walk, part of the afternoon in another office, takeaway dinner), so it could be worse…



Fast Travel: I was running quite late this morning. Usually I leave at 7:15 to get there a little early to start the 8am shift. My friend (and sometimes walking buddy) texted at 7.35 to say she was running late and did I want a lift. I accepted the lift, and so didn’t walk to work. With some reshuffling to still get some steps – I walked the 10mins to her house, she drove us to work and I walked for half an hour in my lunchbreak. I walked home no problems. I also paced about waiting for STAR WARS (we booked tickets online and were one of the first people to arrive so we waited for ages). Walked from the cinema to McDonalds to get me some food because I was ravenous, then from Maccas to a friend’s house, and then another friend drove us home from there. Altogether hit 13,229. Banked 3,229 for a total balance of 13,748. Pretty good for a day that started with a lift.

 

Salvage: Picked up 2 empty cigarette packets.

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Well done, I hope you enjoyed Star Wars. I see it tomorrow.

[Yasha92]

Well done, I hope you enjoyed Star Wars. I see it tomorrow.

 

We loved it! I hope you do too

 

Caps: So far so good, now entering the territory where it starts to be about not taking it out rather than putting it in. I’m telling myself that the money in the saver is spent and non-refundable. Let’s see how that goes…

Red Rocket: No lemonade today, I really wanted one when I arrived at work, but instead I had a juice. Nutritionally I expect it’s not that much better, but I’m just working on kicking the habit and cravings to start with, then thinking I’ll be a little more restrictive for the first 6WC next year. No liquid calories, perhaps? Or maybe water/adult beverages only.

Fast Travel: Walked to work, caught the bus into town to meet Mr, then walked from there to a friends, then (later) from the friend’s house home. Total 16,325 today. Banked 6325 for a total balance of 20,073. Happy with that effort.

Salvage: Nil. Thinking I might up this to at-least-one-piece-of-litter picked up each day, plus a Schone Schie on the weekend.

[Yasha92]

Caps: Didn’t take any out of the savings account, did spend too much on sushi, will be another tight week next week (curse you impulse control!)



Red Rocket: I didn’t have any lemonade per se, but while at sushi I had a 250mL bottle of ‘passionfruit infused water’ as a treat, which when I read the label had 24g of sugar in it (just a little less than a 500mL bottle of lemonade).
 

Fast Travel: Didn’t have to use any of my banked steps because I stepped 10,072 woot woot. Banking the spare 72 for a bank balance of 20,145.

Salvage: I picked up an empty water bottle and a popcorn packet on my way home from walking with Mr to work. Super keen for the big salvage tomorrow, so I should head to bed to be ready for it.



So far this week has been pretty good! Aiming to do a proper week-in-review tomorrow after D&D.
 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Good first week, keep it up!

[Yasha92]

Caps: Didn’t take any out of the savings account. Bought some bananas, mushrooms and baby spinach to make some homemade lunches to take to work this week to minimise spending.


Red Rocket: I didn’t have any lemonade, I did have one rum-and-coke.
 

Fast Travel: Smashed my previous Sunday track record with 12,710. Didn’t have to use any of my banked steps. Banking the spare 2,710 for a bank balance of 22,855. I walked to the bus stop, caught the bus to the closest stop to the beach-clean-up, then walked half an hour the rest of the way. Walked about for the hour of cleaning and then once done walked back to the second nearest bus stop via the shops for some lunch-noms. Today’s walk felt much longer than just to-and-from work, although the distances are comparable.

 

Salvage: Spent an hour doing a big beach clean with a group. I didn’t gather as much trash as I expected, with only a quarter of my sack filled, but every little piece of plastic that didn’t make it into the ocean is a huge win for the sealife. I didn’t find trash-bashing in the company of strangers particularly better or worse than going it alone, except that when there’s 30 people roaming about collecting trash a. there’s less trash to pick up and b. people don’t look at you weird. I joined the beach-cleaners Facebook group, and am hoping to do some cleans a little closer to home in the New Year. I’m expecting to clean by myself next weekend, as it will be Boxing Day and the day after. I also found a little plastic dinosaur in my cleanup, which was like a little reward.



 

[Yasha92]

!!!Week in review, Scroll up for Sunday's Daily Log!!!
 

Caps Stash: Put $50/week into saving for our own house: So far, so good with this goal. Responsible spending has always been an issue for me, so I’m hoping this will be a baby-step in the right direction of getting a bit more of a handle on my finances. $100/$200

 

Red Rocket Station: Less Lemonade: I am drinking so much more water than I previously had been, hoping to see the benefits for my skin and weight start to happen as a consequence. A few slip ups and a few purposeful beverages is infinitely better than my previous habit of guzzling the fizz with no reason. I flip-flop between not wanting it at all and suddenly being struck with a massive craving. I’m hoping in time it will become more the former than the latter. 1.5 strikes.

You Cannot Fast Travel From This Location: Walk wherever possible, 10,000 steps/day: I’ve done so much better at this goal than I expected, hitting the 10,000 mark on every week day (expected) as well as banking over 22,000 additional steps (unexpected) and hitting over 10,000 on both weekend days too (completely unexpected). It seems the being accountable is shaping my actions even more than I thought it would. I’m happy about that. I’ve decided I will keep the bank balance rolling over, so see how many extra steps I’ll have done by the end of the mini-challenge. 7/7, banked 22,855.

Salvage:Trash-Bash on the weekend for half an hour: I’ve been interested to note how much rubbish I’m noticing in my day-to-day life now, and the feelings of wanting to make a little dent whenever I can. I’ve had one structured clean up and joined the beach-cleanerds Facebook group which I’m hoping will lead to more cleans over the new year. I’m going to alter this goal to be “pick up one piece of litter per day, plus a half hour weekend trash-bashâ€. One big effort on the weekend is excellent, but it’s the little consistant chipping away at litter that will truly improve my environment.

All in all I am very pleased with my progress. I feel better about myself as a member of society from the cleaning, and am starting to feel more confident in my ability to get around by foot to all the places I need to go. Lemonade is still a craving that I am dealing with, but the 7-21 Lemonades I HAVEN’T had must have been good for my body.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

What a great first week, cutting back on sugar is always beneficial. The less sugar you have the less you will crave it, and the more you will enjoy unsweetened things. Good job on all the walking and on the cleanup. Just keep the momentum going.

[Yasha92]

Caps: Today my Dad sent me some money for Giftmas, I moved a third of it over to the savings account, and the other two thirds will go to buying some shirts for the gym should I meet my mini-challenge goals. I wasn’t going to have a prize, but having a little extra cash in hand means I can afford to do so.



Red Rocket: I did not have any lemonade today. I did have an iced tea when we went to see Star Wars again instead of getting a lemonade and I didn’t really enjoy it. The taste wasn’t worth the ‘meh’ feeling of it sort-of-not-really breaking the rules. I finished it, but I don’t think I’ll be tempted by it again, plus it meant I had a plastic bottle and after noticing more and more of them, and in my research discovering plastic bottles as being one of the top 10 littered items I was somewhat disappointed in my choice. All good, I'll do better next time.
 

Fast Travel: Smashed this today, although it didn’t really feel like I did more walking than usual. I was in a different office to usual, so I had an additional flight of stairs, and I ran paperwork back and forth between offices a few times. Walked home, walked to the bus stop, caught the bus into town with the plan of going for groceries, instead went and saw Star Wars again, walked to a friend’s house after, then taxied home because it was 2am. All in all a whopping 20,337 steps, banked the spares for a total bank balance of 33,192. I suspect I may not need to use any of my banked steps, but I’ll keep tracking them just in case.



Salvage: Making the decision to pick up one piece of trash/day has opened my eyes even more to how much litter is out an about. I started with one juice box, by the end of my walk home I’d put into recycling bins 3 water bottles, 4 cans, the juicebox and a lollipop stick. The fact that it was pouring with rain made me less fearful of ants and everything seemed cleaner. I wonder if, with a little trash-bash each day, it will become harder for me to find little to collect… I suspect not, but we shall wait and see.

Bonus: Today I read a quote "take imperfect action", and I felt like it really applied to me. I didn't (don't) have all my ducks in a row before starting, but already I'm moving forwards.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Yep, we'll never get anywhere in our fitness goals if we wait until we are in shape to start getting in shape.

[Yasha92]

Caps: Today I used some of the giftmas money to buy gym shorts and shoes from a shop-shop. I’m planning to buy several shirts online, but I have some shirts I can wear in the meantime. I bought some chicken, bacon, spinach and feta cheese, and with that we’ll have no $20 til Thursday. *sigh* I won’t be getting onto the strip anytime soon, put it that way… (But I didn’t take any out of the special saver, so that’s a win).



Red Rocket: I had a rum and lemonade. It was waay too sweet. I put lemon juice in it to try and tart it up a bit but it was still crazy sweet. I’m counting it as a half-strike, since even when I wasn’t really enjoying it I still finished it. On the upside that was the last of the lemonade in the house, the longest a bottle of lemonade has lasted here in a very long time. Now it will no longer tempt me every time I look in the Fridge.



Fast Travel: Walked to work (other office again, so more stairs than usual.), got a workmate to drop me at the shops because it was raining, walked home in the pouring rain carrying groceries and Gym stuff. I know I got a little over 13,000, but can’t be more specific because I’m in bed and the pedometer is not. As a supplement to walking I’ve reactivated my gym membership to shake the dust off before getting fully into regular classes again in the next 6WC.



Salvage: I picked up a single coke can. Saw heaps more, acknowledged it, kept moving. I was running late the morning, and overencumbered on the way home.



Bonus: Started getting some things organised for the 6WC. Contacted my two debt/credit companies (engagement rings, playstation) to get the total balances/time left payable. Called the gym to re-activate memberships & found out I have a free month with them in Jan – woot woot. Bought the aforementioned gym shorts, plus a new pair of sneakers (joggers?) to gear up and replace my current holey ones. Also pushing for brushing teeth twice per day (3 days in a row, yay!). 

[Yasha92]

Quick morning update before the larger afternoon daily log. I went to the 6am BodyPump ("Low impact weights based class designed to improve muscle tone and body shape") at the gym, ooohhh boy am I going to feel it. I'll move around as much as possible at work and drink lots of water, but is there anything else people would recommend to reduce the owwies? I'm planning to hit the sauna on the way home (mmm, sauna <3 ).

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Quick morning update before the larger afternoon daily log. I went to the 6am BodyPump ("Low impact weights based class designed to improve muscle tone and body shape") at the gym, ooohhh boy am I going to feel it. I'll move around as much as possible at work and drink lots of water, but is there anything else people would recommend to reduce the owwies? I'm planning to hit the sauna on the way home (mmm, sauna <3 ).

Foam rolling, and stretching will help too.

[Yasha92]

*types update gingerly, trying not to anger any of the muscles*

This morning's "Ooh-Rah!" has turned to more of a "Oooh! Argh!" I'm sure it's only because I haven't been to the gym in ages, but the class this morning really wiped me, I was pouring sweat by half way through (thankfully took 2 towels) and moved to bodyweight only for the second legs section. I'm proud of me for giving it a fair go, and excited to see progress. I've decided against another class tomorrow, but I may visit the gym's sauna as that was very comforting this afternoon.

I will have to get some tennis balls or a foamie so I can follow Tank's suggestion to reduce these owwies. For now I'm working with a heat pack to gently massage the sorest bits. This is not pain, it's gainz (not an injury type feeling, just an out-of-practice one). Hopefully shouldn't take too long to get back up to ooh-rah, probably some time in the next 6WC.

 

On to our regular program~

Caps: Nothing new on this front except I realised I don't get paid until 31st, and then I'm not sure if New Years will delay the payment.This will be an exercise in left-over utilisation.

RedRocket: I had no lemonade. I was tempted for an instant at the vending machine at the gym, but then I told myself it would be daft to drink that much nonsense when I just spent an hour trying to deal with the aftermath of doing so for so long.

 

Fast Travel: Walked to gym, Body Pump, walked to work, walked to gym, walked to bus stop. 14,700 steps. Banked the spares for a balance of 41,592. I may need to used some of that bank tomorrow, we shall see how I feel.

 

Salvage: I picked up 3 glass bottles, 2 plastic bottles and a milk-drink box. I'm becoming more aware of bins as well as rubbish and have a little conversation when I notice a recycle bin out ("hey look, you could put some rubbish in that, can you see any rubbish? Oh look there's some. Look it's on my way, I might as well...") I'm also more diligent about washing my hands before eating now, since I'm picking up someone else's rubbish which could have germs (ick, backwash).

 

(wow that was almost all Disney .gifs, thanks SmartBin for saving the day).   

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

DOMS are a badge of honor, wear them proudly, work out again and they'll go away quicker.

[Yasha92]

---I wrote this all out last night and fell asleep without pressing 'post', when I woke up I checked to see if there had been any activity and found I never posted it at all. Noodle.---

Caps: I noticed a $2 coin in the pole holding a shelf up at Mr's work (petrol station), pointed it out and with a little fishing (coffee-stirrer+tape) he managed to fish out a total of $8 (score!) We went to a friend's for Giftmas Eve so spent no money on food and got quite full on delicious home-made goodies.

 

Red Rocket: Two big temptations for me today, first being at a party there was lemonade on offer, as well as fizzy apply juice and assorted other fizzy baddies. I had a glass and a half of egg-nog, then water the rest of the night. My second temptation came when I went to deliver Mr his phone which he left at home to him at work. Because it was midnight (he works the night shift) he was getting rid of all the drinks that the date had passed, and he offered me a free Fanta. Free! and Fizzy! I initially said no, then I felt bad that they would end up in the bin and took one. On the way home I was searching myself, and realised I didn't want it, I just didn't want it wasted. I put it on the wall next to the letterbox of a bunch of uni students. Hopefully someone gets a nice surprise. I'll keep an eye on it over the next few days and if noone adopts it I'll tip it in the gutter and recycle the bottle.

 

 

Fast Travel. Walked to work, got an early mark, caught the bus partway home, walked the rest of the way. After foods walked to the petrol station and back. Total 13,750, banked the spares for 45,342. This is way better than I thought seeing as I was suffering (loudly) from DOMS.



Salvage: I picked up one platic bottle and one can. It is surprising (and a bit sad) to me that it doesn't matter at what stage of the day I remember to salvage I always find a piece of rubbish within a few steps of there. Hopefully as I continue being diligent with my trash-bashes it will get harder and harder to find rubbish. On a related note I'm quite excited with a new invention the Seabin and I hope to donate a little money to that when I next get paid. ((Info page for those interested/who haven't heard of it: http://www.seabinproject.com/))

Onwards! To see what I can do to better myself on Giftmas.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

You are doing really well, especially with the fizzy drinks. Keep up the good work.