DarK_Raider spends his summer holidays in the Monastery

[DarK_RaideR]

Last few days have been a mess, more on this on my Battle Log if you wanna read the whole story.

 

Week 3(?) recap

 

Muay Thai: 3 out of 4 steps completed. Little mess regarding a planned outdoor workout, details on my Battle Log

Adulting: This is a serious mess

HWA: Planning the PPV, glad @Kishi likes it!

Music Blog: I just posted the EP review at last and also asked if the band would be willing to do an interview after their show.

Lucha Underground: Goal completed plus I watched the premiere of Season 3 so now I'm all caught up

[Xena]

3 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

Adulting: This is a serious mess

 

I know you are talking about your own pack of stresses, but this statement is awesomely generally true!

[DarK_RaideR]

Removing the Mr.Robot and Lucha Underground goals from my reports, since I've cleared them both by now.

 

Monday, September 12th

 

Muay Thai: 3 out of 4 steps completed and attending on a regular basis, meaning I'm about to take it to 4/4. More details on my crazy schedule and how the workout went are on my Battle Log. @Red1263 this keeps getting better and better!

Adulting: Yesterday's mess gave me some time during the morning to get stuff done.

HWA: Back to a normal schedule at work and this week is expected to be slow, so I might be working on the PPV

Music Blog: Finally put out the EP review. Not linking it because it's in greek. I also got a yes for the post-show interview.

[Xena]

Sounds like good news about the music blog!

[Everstorm]

It sounds like you are liking Muay Tai more and more.  I am curious to see where you go with that in terms of the Ranger-Monk thing.

[DarK_RaideR]

14 hours ago, Phoenix Burning said:

It sounds like you are liking Muay Tai more and more.  I am curious to see where you go with that in terms of the Ranger-Monk thing.

Classes take 2 hours and the fitness part is quite tough, plus there are plenty of outdoor training sessions planned ahead which include trail running etc so I'm a pretty happy Ranger-Monk so far. We'll see how it plays out.

 

Tuesday, September 13th

 

Muay Thai: 3 out of 4 steps completed, rest day due to masters' class

Adulting: Not sure of the specifics, but I got stuff done. Made a list for Wednesday morning so I can get back on track

HWA: No news here, I'm trying to pace this thing

Music Blog: It's sad to realize that once again, unless I post about an event organized by a specific group of people in town, the traffic isn't that much. Oh well

 

[Xena]

How long have you been doing the blog? Since you know at least one way to get traffic, maybe you can use that to gradually build an audience.

[Red1263]

Heh! I knew you'd like the MT classes! It's like I had previous knowledge about the subject

 

[Kishi]

I'm really glad to see the martial arts making such a concrete difference where you are. That's the kind of difference we're supposed to be all about, right?

[DarK_RaideR]

On 15/9/2016 at 3:38 AM, Xena said:

How long have you been doing the blog? Since you know at least one way to get traffic, maybe you can use that to gradually build an audience.

I assume you mean the music blog. First post was May 22, 2014 and the last one before hiatus on February 22, 2015 so a total of about 8 months. Thing is the social dynamics in a small community like my hometown work like that. A certain group of people has set up a union and delivered a series of wonderful gigs and festivals, but on the flipside this has created a "closed circle/clique" kind of deal where anything that's not related to them is not preceived as so worthwhile.

 

Speaking of social dunamics in a small town, here's another fun fact: This all happened around the time I agreed to be a candidate for the city council. I had connections to local authorities previously anyway and my rationale was to offer using them to facilitate what those people were doing. I even offered to "roadie it out" and help them set up/tear down sets for gigs. The response has always been extremely reserved and almost a year ago I learned why from a third source: they thought I was doing it all in order to take advantage of them, their circle, the exposure and their work for my municipal candidacy. Bunch o' scared, closed-minded kiddos playing rock star god in their own little bubble world...

 

On 15/9/2016 at 10:17 AM, Red1263 said:

Heh! I knew you'd like the MT classes! It's like I had previous knowledge about the subject

I am enjoying it quite a bit. I never thought the obnoxious sounds of traditional thai music would make me feel like a total badass during hand bandaging. Or that they'd help with sparring; there's so much twisting of the hips and waist that it feels very much like dancing. Music helps the pace and reminds me not to be all tightened up.

 

16 hours ago, Kishi said:

I'm really glad to see the martial arts making such a concrete difference where you are. That's the kind of difference we're supposed to be all about, right?

Indeed. It has to do a lot with the kru's socio-political views, but it's not just that. Crossfit is a welcoming and global community, but for some reason I can't imagine them pulling such a kid in and covering its expenses like that. Speaking of that kid, here's a little fun story from Wednesday, copied from my Battle Log:

 

"...during that time the kru seperated the more advanced people and had them spar freestyle while the rest of us did combo drills. During one of the many partner switches, I found myself with the new kid. After a friendly nod and tap of the gloves, I raised my hands in defense to let him go first, but instead of doing the combo drills, he straight out went wild. He was freestylin' it and hammering out; boy fought like a cornered animal, scared and murderous at the same time. I can't even begin to imagine what he's been through, you could see in his eyes it has left a mark. Anyway, I tried to calm him down while getting punched, but he wouldn't stop. All I could do was suck it up, Ranger up and try to get some counteroffense rolling until it was time to switch partners again. I will not lie, I was scared shitless. Anyway, kru saw us and asked what the hell we were doing, which is when I realized the kid neither spoke nor understood the language. Being the guy that I am, I decided to take the blame and make it seem like I was the one who got it wrong. He showed us what to do once more and let us loose, only to have the kid box me once more. At least this time he was right next to us and broke it up immediately, showing the drill over and over again until we were all on the same page."

 

I won't bother with an update for the last few days, instead I'm wrapping this up and here's my challenge report:

 

Muay Thai

Another thing I've talked about for a while and the main reason I'm Monk-ing (this is now a word) this round. It's finally time I took the step towards the dojo next to my home. It's closed for the summer right now, but I'm keeping an eye out. This quest consists of 4 sub-quests, the first 2 of which are my must-do baseline:

1) Drop by, check the place, talk with the owner and get some info, especially if I'll be ok training in my contact lenses

2) Do a free tryout class

3) Subscribe for a month to try this thing out

4) Attend 3/week

4 out of 4 basically, if you take out the Friday I skipped in favor of the outdoor Saturday workout, which I also missed. This is interesting. I'll keep it up and see where it takes me

 

Adulting

There's stuff that needs to be done and I'm on staycation at home until the end of August, so I must use that time to take care of everything. I'll make a list of tasks every morning and cross them out as they're done. Anything remaining carries over to the following day.

Wasn't true to the format of this thing and a lot of the items on the list are still undone. I did take advantage of my staycation, especially given the circumstances. Barely a passing grade here.

 

Blogging: HWA

Pumped out more posts than I expected here and made it all the way up to right before the big event. I am satisfied with where this is going. Meanwhile, it got me hooked again on Total Extreme Wrestling (booker/manager game). I initially wanted to use the editor and make all the HWA characters, but it's not only a lot of work, but revolves around mechanics that I'm not yet 100% familiar with (I ended up a load of inhumanly powerful wrestlers in a tiny, underfunded promotion) so I'm playing the game and keeping the idea on the backburner. Because of that, I peeked around the forums of the company that makes this game and discovered what they call "Dynasties". These are practically threads where a person presents their wrestling promotion of choice and posts the results of the events they have booked, often spiced up with some extra narrative of their own. Some write out the promos, some add a backstage narrative to include their business choices besides events and it is not unusual to announce future cards in advance and play a game where users try to predict the outcome. Doing an HWA Dynasty there is a massive concept yet, but taking my stuff there might be a nice evolution of the blog, combining my creative and my gaming side while sharing it with li

 

Blogging: HHH

My goal here is to publish the album review, the interview, attend the concert, put out a review and think of ways I can keep that blog alive. I might even put out a request for a local correspondent in my hometown!

Album review is out and interview scheduled. Waiting for the rest down the road. Still considering working with someone.

 

Training changes

My Crossfit subscription ends early October, but I've been disappointed with my box since the start of 2016. Thing is, the only decent box I'd like to go to is far away from my workplace and home. I'm using the summer break to disappear from my box and try out Muay Thai, but I'll have to use September to finalize my plans. Where will I be crossfitting and how will I combine that with Muay Thai if I catch that bug as well? I need an answer by the end of the challenge

I have a tentative plan stretching all the way to Easter 2017, but I'm not sure I'll be able to follow it. Still, I do have a plan and it's long term, so success.

 

Catch up with Lucha Underground and Mr. Robot

Both goals made. I'm into the 3rd Season of Lucha Underground, speaking of which I should watch last Wednesday's episode 2. Likewise, Mr. Robot done and I'm watching Season 2 with the SRLF whenever able.

 

Overall, it feels like a rather meh challenge, although the wrap up makes it not look that bad. This is mainly because I haven't included a nutrition goal, an aspect I've loosened up about this month and tracking on my Battle Log. Considering all the other insanity that happened, I'm good. There's more coming where the insanity came from, but I'm confident that I'll manage. Thanks for keeping up and see you next challenge (if I do one).

[maegs]

On 8/21/2016 at 1:50 PM, Kishi said:

 

Well, it's just that I wear glasses and my eyes don't like contacts all that much. Trust me, it wasn't my first choice.

On 8/22/2016 at 1:03 AM, DarK_RaideR said:

I feel you Kishi, I used to train swimming as a teen like that and even nowdays there have been more than a few CF workouts I've done like that. As long as there wasn't any running in the street involved, it felt safe enough. Let's see what'll happen with Muay Thai.

I got laser surgery (PRK, not LASIK due to a number of factors including full-contact sports) almost 2 years ago, and it's been life-changing! I would definitely recommend looking into it and asking your eye doctor if it's suitable for you (I had to wait until my prescription settled down, it changed a bunch when I was a teen/in my early twenties). Just gotta be careful that I don't do this  

 

 

On 9/16/2016 at 8:46 AM, DarK_RaideR said:

Speaking of social dunamics in a small town, here's another fun fact: This all happened around the time I agreed to be a candidate for the city council. I had connections to local authorities previously anyway and my rationale was to offer using them to facilitate what those people were doing. I even offered to "roadie it out" and help them set up/tear down sets for gigs. The response has always been extremely reserved and almost a year ago I learned why from a third source: they thought I was doing it all in order to take advantage of them, their circle, the exposure and their work for my municipal candidacy. Bunch o' scared, closed-minded kiddos playing rock star god in their own little bubble world...

and then there's this guy...

 

I agree that your challenge wrap-up looks pretty good! Nice job!  

[Xena]

This challenge seemed like more of an exploration than anything else, and you did what you set out to do.

 

I'm pondering whether to retreat to a battle log too. It's starting to feel like the elves sailing west in LOTR.

[Mr_Willes]

If you do one, be sure to post the link here  

 

Even with the nutrition goal you set out to do stuff and you made it happen. So i think this challenge is a win! We don't have to be supernatural every challenge! 

[DarK_RaideR]

19 hours ago, maegs said:

I got laser surgery (PRK, not LASIK due to a number of factors including full-contact sports) almost 2 years ago, and it's been life-changing! I would definitely recommend looking into it and asking your eye doctor if it's suitable for you (I had to wait until my prescription settled down, it changed a bunch when I was a teen/in my early twenties). Just gotta be careful that I don't do this

My mother's been working with the doc who practically invented LASIK for over two decades now, so I have a pretty good team on standby and perhaps a price discount as well

 

19 hours ago, maegs said:

and then there's this guy...

Fenriz was a legend long before this. In terms of "crazy awesome cool guy" I'd say he's the rightful heir to Lemmy.

 

12 hours ago, Xena said:

This challenge seemed like more of an exploration than anything else, and you did what you set out to do.

This is probably the best description. I'm feeling out a lot of the new stuff, big announcement coming soon on my Battle Log...

[Kishi]

Dude, good job with everything! It all looks terrific from out here. You found your way into a gym, and it appears to be meshing with your current training quite nicely.

 

I mean, I definitely understand that feeling of disconnect between accomplishing what you wrote down and the sense that somehow it wasn't enough. That just means you outgrew them. Which, in a way, is kind of the whole point, right?

 

Congrats again.

 

So! You gonna stick around for the next challenge, or are there other destinations for you?

[DarK_RaideR]

Certainly Kishi. Thanks a lot. Like Xena said, this challenge was mostly about exploring, feeling stuff out, sorting the little things that tend to get in the way and adjusting my course towards a slightly new direction. In that sense, it was neither ambitious nor did it feel epic, but it was necessary.

 

I'm probably going to stick around next challenge as well, taking Week Zero to make plans because I want it to be stricter, SMARTer and probably longer than 4 weeks. I've discovered a yummy carrot for the endgame, just need to figure out the stick part.

 

P.S. Major life events and announcements on my Battle Log, dropping the link here so I don't cross-post walls of text.