Atrytone Tries to Keep Fighting

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

So my last challenge derailed for a couple reasons. Firstly, my laptop is regularly overheating and shutting down. Secondly, I began two jobs (Job 1 and Job 2b) and was in training for three different positions. It was quite overwhelming and exhausting. I've also been picking up extra shifts when I can and haven't had much in the way of free time. Unfortunately this means that I haven't had the energy to go to the gym, or eat well, or do much of anything really. That needs to change. However, I know if I try to tackle too much I'll falter again. So I'm going to probably set my goals lower than need be and hope that I give more than I'm asking of myself.

 

Goal One: Gym

I will go to the gym at least twice a week for a total of eight gym days this challenge.

 

Goal Two: Water

I will drink at least eight glasses of water a day for a total 216 glasses during the challenge.

 

Goal Three: Life Stuff

This will essentially be a fluctuating checklist of things to complete before the end of the challenge. I'll add things to it as I think of them or as they come up.

• finish repacking (7 boxes left)
• go to the bank and set up RRSP
• bake a cheesecake 
• learn a few words in Hungarian (hello, good-bye, yes, no, sorry, please, thank you, etc)
• tba

 

That's all. I know it seems quite sparse and I hate myself a little for making my challenge so easy but I don't want to fail again. 

[bker1370]

27 minutes ago, Atrytone said:

I know it seems quite sparse and I hate myself a little for making my challenge so easy but I don't want to fail again.

Let's see...   two jobs + extra shifts?   sounds to me like making to the gym 1x in the four weeks won't be easy, so 2x/week for 4 weeks definitely doesn't sound like making it easy on yourself.

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

10 minutes ago, bker1370 said:

Let's see...   two jobs + extra shifts?   sounds to me like making to the gym 1x in the four weeks won't be easy, so 2x/week for 4 weeks definitely doesn't sound like making it easy on yourself.

 

I think it's doable. I just need to be strict with myself. On my days off I've mostly been bumming about the house instead of doing anything. Thank you for your concern though.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following.

[DJtrippyT]

there you are! I thought I'd missed you.

 

I had to go back to your last challenge to see why you're learning Hungarian. That is SO awesome that you would think of your coworker and extend yourself in that way to her. I wish everyone were that considerate

 

 

 

 

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

On 8/23/2016 at 6:22 AM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Following.

 

Happy to have you.

 

22 hours ago, DJtrippyT said:

there you are! I thought I'd missed you.

 

I had to go back to your last challenge to see why you're learning Hungarian. That is SO awesome that you would think of your coworker and extend yourself in that way to her. I wish everyone were that considerate

 

Nope, I'm just late out the gate this time. 

 

She's not my coworker but one of the residents at the facility I'm working at. Close enough though.  It's a small enough thing to do but I hope it can make something of a difference to her.

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

Guess I should post a bit of an update. @bker1370 you were right about getting to the gym being difficult. I have had neither the willpower nor the motivation to go yet this week. I also picked up a 7.5 hour shift on Monday that I didn't have before so there's that as well. (I mean it's going to net me around $100 but still).

 

I'm blasting through my water goal though. It's still pretty hot most days so it's not difficult to drink a lot. 

 

As for Life Stuff I'm going to the bank today for my RRSP. The minimum amount I can put in is $25/month with the maximum being something like 25% of my gross yearly income - and I am allowed to dump more money into it each month if I choose or a large sum at the end of the fiscal year to offset taxes if I so desire.

 

Other money related stuff: I've been withdrawing ~10% (to the nearest $20) of each paycheck in cash and setting it aside for emergencies/fun stuff. I think it's a good habit to get into while I have almost nothing in the way of bills. Then I'm setting all but ~$100/paycheck in my savings account to be set aside for paying off my loan/moving out. When I do move out I plan to open a separate savings account for paying my bills and save my TFSA for the 10% I'm currently withdrawing in cash. Hopefully that way I can leave a fair chunk of cash in my TFSA to earn interest. I know it isn't going to keep up with inflation but it's better than nothing. My checking account will be maintained for things I can't pay electronically - such as groceries and gas. It's a rough idea still and I'm not sure it will work in practice but I very much like the idea of having separate accounts for separate purposes. Also whenever possible I'll be sure to take some cash out to set aside. It is surprisingly comforting to know I have a decent chunk of cash squirreled away against my need for it. Even if the "need" is just something fun.

[bker1370]

3 minutes ago, Atrytone said:

you were right about getting to the gym being difficult

Comes from years of experience with long work hours (my schedule right now is roughly 60+ hours per week LOL).

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

4 minutes ago, bker1370 said:

Comes from years of experience with long work hours (my schedule right now is roughly 60+ hours per week LOL).

 

Yikes! Well I'm not working that much but it's still enough to knock me on my ass since my days off are sprinkled about at random. Ah the joys of being a casual employee.

[bker1370]

Mine is pretty well fixed, one day off per week (Monday) and then 6 days with an average of about 10 hours/day (give or take a little)

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

1 minute ago, bker1370 said:

Mine is pretty well fixed, one day off per week (Monday) and then 6 days with an average of about 10 hours/day (give or take a little)

 

Damn. I can't imagine working that much. I suppose you'd get used to it though. I'd cheerfully maim for a fixed schedule myself.

[bker1370]

hours a little longer right now as one of the bosses is out of town on vacation, but I worked a very similar schedule for about 20 years LOL

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

RRSP banking stuff all done! I begin paying into my investments next month.

 

Spoiler

This is a huge thing for me since I grew up in a remarkably poor family. My parents are finally in a position of some financial security but for all of my childhood we struggled to make ends meet. So much so that I got a job when I was 16 to take care of my own expenses and take some of the financial burden off my parents. This is, of course, something I am certain many people have experienced and I don't regret it despite some of the hardships it caused. However, now that I am lucky enough to be in a position to save for the future I can't countenance not taking advantage of it. I can't really describe in words what it means to be able to save up for retirement; I always assumed I'd have to work into my 80's just to make ends meet. Now I'll have more freedom to choose. If I work into my 80's (and I just might) hopefully it will be because I wish to and not because I need to. I don't know if anyone who hasn't been poor can understand exactly what financial security means to me. The best I can sum it up is that now I know I won't have to work myself into the grave - when I always thought that I was going to have to. I will probably be able to retire - which I never thought I could. My feelings are all tangled up but mostly I feel relief.

 

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

So my parents are gone for the week and I have the house to myself and it's pretty awesome. Except I've been sleeping like crap. I woke up around 4:30 am (second time I woke up during the wee hours of the morning today) and was attempting to go back to sleep when I heard a sound like someone bumping into the furniture (spoilers: it was my cat jumping onto the back of a chair - but I didn't know this yet). 

 

I told myself it was probably just my cat but I knew I wouldn't be able to go to sleep again without checking. So I turned on my light, put on my glasses, and grabbed my pry bar which is conveniently stored on my bookshelf (although it may find a new home under my bed until my parents get home since the bookshelf is right by my door). I called out ("hello?" of all fucking things) and when I got no response I crept out to the living room and turned on the light. There my cat was, on the back of the chair, purring his fool head off. 

 

I put my pry bar away and decided there was no sense going back to bed since my alarm is set for 6 am anyway. 

 

And that's my adventure for the day!

[DJtrippyT]

On 8/27/2016 at 10:19 AM, Atrytone said:

 

Other money related stuff: I've been withdrawing ~10% (to the nearest $20) of each paycheck in cash and setting it aside for emergencies/fun stuff. I think it's a good habit to get into while I have almost nothing in the way of bills. Then I'm setting all but ~$100/paycheck in my savings account to be set aside for paying off my loan/moving out. When I do move out I plan to open a separate savings account for paying my bills and save my TFSA for the 10% I'm currently withdrawing in cash. Hopefully that way I can leave a fair chunk of cash in my TFSA to earn interest. I know it isn't going to keep up with inflation but it's better than nothing. My checking account will be maintained for things I can't pay electronically - such as groceries and gas. It's a rough idea still and I'm not sure it will work in practice but I very much like the idea of having separate accounts for separate purposes. Also whenever possible I'll be sure to take some cash out to set aside. It is surprisingly comforting to know I have a decent chunk of cash squirreled away against my need for it. Even if the "need" is just something fun.

 

 

Smart, smart, smart. 

 

 

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

56 minutes ago, DJtrippyT said:

 

 

Smart, smart, smart. 

 

 

 

You're making me blush; thank you. I grew up quite poor so now that I'm earning a decent amount I want to set it aside against future need.

[Rurik Harrgath]

On 2016-08-29 at 0:02 PM, Atrytone said:

You're making me blush; thank you. I grew up quite poor so now that I'm earning a decent amount I want to set it aside against future need.

 

And you're all the more wise for taking steps to ensure future prosperity!

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

Oops. Overdue update time.

 

Goal One: Gym

I've been to the gym once. That's all.

 

Goal Two: Water

Crushing this goal. 152/216 glasses of water. Not counting today I'm averaging approximately 10 glasses of water a day.

 

Goal Three: Life Stuff

On 8/22/2016 at 1:44 PM, Atrytone said:

• finish repacking (7 boxes left)
• go to the bank and set up RRSP
• bake a cheesecake 
• learn a few words in Hungarian (hello, good-bye, yes, no, sorry, please, thank you, etc)

 

Today is the first day of school here and I'm super bummed I'm not going back. It's a good thing I work today so I won't be moping around the house. I've set up a viewing for a cabin in the area. It's super affordable but very tiny. Its a trade off I guess. Fingers crossed that it goes well but chances are I won't get it.

[DJtrippyT]

how'd the viewing go? a tiny cabin sounds so appealing.

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

3 minutes ago, DJtrippyT said:

how'd the viewing go? a tiny cabin sounds so appealing.

 

The landlady called the day before the viewing to let me know she already rented it out. I had another viewing - a slightly less small, slightly more expensive upper level suite in the middle of nowhere - and loved the place. The pros definitely outweigh the cons. That was about a week ago and the person hasn't gotten back to me yet (I emailed him today since I noticed the place was no longer listed online) so I'm a little worried that they found another renter for that place too.

 

Aside from that everything in the area is either too expensive or doesn't allow pets and because of this guy:

that's a bit of a problem for me.

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

EDIT: Guy from the suite just got back to me and I did not get the place. fml

[DJtrippyT]

11 minutes ago, Atrytone said:

EDIT: Guy from the suite just got back to me and I did not get the place. fml

 

Arrrgh. Hang in there. You'll find a space.

 

13 minutes ago, Atrytone said:

 

 

that's a bit of a problem for me.

 

 

Awwww look at that face!

 

 

[Terra]

You are killing the "audulting" portion of this challenge!!!  And you will figure out the rest in time.  Cute kitty!!!!  And finding a place will happen, have faith/patience.  Hugs!  

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

35 minutes ago, DJtrippyT said:

Arrrgh. Hang in there. You'll find a space.

 

Awwww look at that face!

 

Yeah, I will probably. It just sucks. The place had a breakfast bar - I fucking love those things.

 

Right? He's an adorable menace. 

 

33 minutes ago, Terra said:

You are killing the "audulting" portion of this challenge!!!  And you will figure out the rest in time.  Cute kitty!!!!  And finding a place will happen, have faith/patience.  Hugs!  

 

Thanks. He's pretty cute isn't he? We need to go to the vet today for a checkup so he's not going to be a happy boy. 
 

Thank you, I suck at patience - I wasted it all waiting for my degree. It's just a matter of time though. I made an ISO post on a local house finding page so fingers crossed. //hugs

[NeuroPunkNonsense]

On 8/22/2016 at 1:44 PM, Atrytone said:

Goal One: Gym

I will go to the gym at least twice a week for a total of eight gym days this challenge.

 

I went to the gym exactly once this challenge. I'm pretty disappointed in myself for that honestly.

 

Quote

Goal Two: Water

I will drink at least eight glasses of water a day for a total 216 glasses during the challenge.

 

I drank 221/216 glasses of water during the challenge. I didn't always reach 8 glasses/day but I averaged about that amount.

 

Quote

Goal Three: Life Stuff

This will essentially be a fluctuating checklist of things to complete before the end of the challenge. I'll add things to it as I think of them or as they come up.

• finish repacking (7 boxes left)
• go to the bank and set up RRSP
• bake a cheesecake 
• learn a few words in Hungarian (hello, good-bye, yes, no, sorry, please, thank you, etc)

 

I guess this wasn't a failure but I don't really consider it a success either.

 

I'm not sure if it's the constant work, or my lack of a reliable internet connection, or just some of my own personal failings but I've felt pretty disconnected from the community the past couple challenges. I think it's probably because I'm not trying hard enough to connect with other people. On top of that I haven't had the motivation/dedication/willpower to go to the gym or do pretty much anything fitness related. (I'm kind of going through a mental dissatisfaction with my life right now and it's not helping either). I know I need to stop making excuses and just put in the work but I really feel like I can't right now. Because of this I'm abstaining from the next challenge. I can't bear to let myself down anymore right now. I'll probably poke around and lurk on a few people's challenges so I don't feel entirely disconnected from this amazing community but right now I feel like I don't really belong among such amazing, wonderful, hardworking people. 

 

Thank you all so much for your patience and support and kind words. It means more than I can ever convey but right now it's not enough. I think I need to stop looking for external motivation for what needs to be an internal change. Hopefully I can figure it out and join you again soon.