Brogo does something different

[Stronkey Kong]

 

Hold on a second...

 

I accidentally posted in the previous challenge...

 

I've been doing a lot of the same goals lately. And chasing a lot of the same demons. So I'm gonna mix things up a bit and go on some adventures. 

 

Goal 1: Get hungry

 

I eat too often, and I eat too much. Even though it's mostly healthy,  reality is I eat too much. 

 

I recently read It All Starts with Food. Aka, the whole 30 book.  The single most useful sentence in that book was:

 

"If steamed fish and broccoli doesn't sound delicious,  you're not really hungry."

 

So that will be my mantra. And I will only eat if SF&B makes my mouth water a little. 

 

I'm also gonna skip breakfast. I don't have time in the morning for healthy,  and it'd be better to skip than grab unhealthy garbage.  Plus I know I'll make up for it later.

 

Goal 2: Stretch

 

I've been noticing a lot of tightness,  everywhere lately.  I need to get back to regular stretching and self massage,  yoga stuff etc. I hate feeling like a rusty old piece of machinery,  plodding along ungracefully, and uncomfortably. 

 

Goal 3: Explore

 

I spend too much time cooped up in my apartment. I need to go someplace new each weekend. Mainly I want to get out to some parks/trails and hike/ruck a bit. 

 

Goal 4: Paint

 

And while I'm out I ought to get some painting or sketching in. 

 

Goal 5: Learn Slovene

 

It's my heritage. I'd like to visit there someday. I downloaded a free pdf. 

 

Sladke sanje.

 

[Jayniana Jones]

I like the exploring and painting adventures. Maybe doing those two adventures regularly will keep you busy enough that you'll succeed at making steamed fish and broccoli hungry?

 

Do you plan on posting any of your paintings? Just curious because I love admiring artwork. 

[Stronkey Kong]

14 minutes ago, Jayniana Jones said:

 

Do you plan on posting any of your paintings? Just curious because I love admiring artwork. 

 

Of course... I already did. 

[Jayniana Jones]

I like it. I wasn't sure if you had created it or not. Nice work.  

 

What paints do you use?

[Stronkey Kong]

 

That one is digital... I did it on my computer with a drawing tablet and a program whose name I can't remember. 

 

That's a sketch and I'm gonna eventually do that with oil on canvas. 

[Sylvaa]

OH MY GOD I GET A FULL CHALLENGE WITH BROGO AS AN ADVENTURER?!

 

I am totally following you (as usual) because I know there will be alcohol and dieting and alcohol make for fun adventures!

 

Also, @Teros is a big Whole30 proponent who has had a lot of success on it. 

[Teros]

@Sylvaa

 

 

@Curl Brogo

I did a combo of intermittent fasting and Whole30.  Breakfast is the easiest to skip.  I sort of did a mega-lunch and then a tiny dinner later and that seemed to work pretty well.  120+ pounds down.  If you have any W30 questions then just @  me.

[Stronkey Kong]

Today I didn't totally skip breakfast but i had a much smaller one.  Just a couple health-food-wanna-be-cookies. Lame but better than donuts and probably half the calories of the norm. Then McDonald's for lunch... Oh! The shame... dinner was healthy,  just chicken and veggies... was supposed to be lunch... and like 4 beers. And the fourth was the last in the fridge. Zero week is for clean up. I'm pretty sure I at least didn't top 3000 calories. 

 

The one exciting thing... I came up with a pretty interesting idea for a design to put on cafe press... where it can be printed on demand to t-shirts,  coffee mugs,  phone cases,  etc. It's kitschy AF, but it I think it could catch on and I might make a little money on the side.  I got home and spent a couple hours sketching it out,  and I like it so far. Sorry,  no share. It's super top secret until I post it. 

[WhiteGhost]

 

[Jord]

following!

[WolfDreamer]

Welcome @Curl Brogo. Challenge looks awesome. Following.

[Stronkey Kong]

Busy weekend with the holiday. 

 

I went to my friends' house yesterday to grill and chill by the pool. Beers were drunk... and absinthe for some reason.  We grilled some brats and asparagus, and homemade crab rangoon among other things. Then we watched a couple movies. Today I have a cookout with family.

 

That said eating less has not really happened yet. I did skip lunch in anticipation of this but not sure that was enough to compensate. 

 

But,  I got my batch cooking done for the week. I made some slow cooker pork. And I made some salmon cheese for quick breakfasts. I think the best way to tackle this is to not snack on my breaks at work. That's usually when most of the unnecessary calories creep in. So I'll have breakfast,  but no snacking, and I'll watch my portions more carefully. 

 

I did some stretching while I was in the pool yesterday. 

 

I got out of my apartment,  but I didn't do anything new... so whatever. 

 

I'm gonna try to get some sketching or painting done this week. 

 

Addit: I have to work overtime this week, which means I'm working on the fourth,  but at least that means I get OT + holiday pay.

[Stronkey Kong]

Well adventurers,  I did something adventurous... kinda. 

 

I filed a FAFSA... I've got a couple ideas for what to do with that... like get an MFA maybe. Or will I chicken out and study database administration?

 

At least it's a step forward. 

[Jayniana Jones]

1 hour ago, Curl Brogo said:

I filed a FAFSA... I've got a couple ideas for what to do with that... like get an MFA maybe. Or will I chicken out and study database administration?

Awesome for being adventurous. My vote is for you to go with the one that gets you the most excited (which sounds like the MFA). However, if you are nerdy and love to code database admin can be fun (or so I've heard from those who love it). My experience with databases is that they don't appreciate creativity and expect me to be precise with my code. 

[WolfDreamer]

9 hours ago, Curl Brogo said:

At least it's a step forward. 

 

That's what it's all about, brother! And I second @Jayniana Jones. Do what sets you on fire most (not literally, of course). You don't want to spend all that time/money and end up with a career you hate, or even a career you only like a little. School is an investment and one that may cost you years later. So make it worthwhile.

[Stronkey Kong]

We need to catch the new folks up on the Ballad of Brogo... and this will be good review for the rest of the class. 

 

(Enter a lute and piccolo,  key of D, Dorian mode)

 

Gather 'round.

Gather round. 

Do not peep

nor make a sound

For Brogo has a tale to tell

of wants,

of woes,

Of who the hell knows...

 

Bah! Screw this.

It's taking to long.

I'll just tell you in prose. 

 

I've already been through a lot of school. I did five years as an undergrad,  starting in fine arts and computer science (graphic design basically) the first year. I switched largely because I felt that whole I had plenty of artistic skill, I just didn't think my work had any real emotional or creative content. Little did I realize at the time but I was probably just really depressed because my Dad died of cancer at end of my first semester. Thought I could just suck it up and move on... 18 year old boys are ambitious and stupid. 

 

Then I switched to biology and stuck that out the other four. I took two years off to work in a lab getting research experience prior to graduate school.  I then spent six years working toward a PhD. At the end of my third year I had a mental breakdown. Fun fact: the drawing in my first post, The Demon Toad King as I know him, was inspired by an insomnia and stress induced hallucination I had during that time. Clearly, I was not content with the path I was on. But, through sheer grit and determination I hung on for another three years only to leave with my Master's, when finances, stress,  and depression finally all got the better of me.

 

When you abandon a PhD, you really piss off your advisor,  so I've burned an important bridge into any professional work related to biology. And six years of training in evolutionary and computational genetics does not get you the right combination of credentials, transferable skills,  and experience to be competitive for good positions in related fields... at least the way I did it,  and especially without a good reference from your advisor. 

 

So FML, I work in an Amazon warehouse. For the last year and a half I've been trying to advance there just to put some money in my pocket. I've tried getting other jobs, I've even looked into temping. Nothing is coming through. There's plenty of things to pursue, get some more school,  get a cert,  but the only thing I really want to pursue is art.

 

That's just it. I need to go back to school and commit to a new path. 

 

But now I'm 33. I have piles of debt, and doubt. I could do another master's, but first I know I've got to take some prereqs. And it might take a year before I could start another program. And I'd have to incur more debt to get through. 

 

And art can be risky. 

 

Idk. :/

[SageAndRage]

1 hour ago, Curl Brogo said:

We need to catch the new folks up on the Ballad of Brogo... and this will be good review for the rest of the class. 

 

(Enter a lute and piccolo,  key of D, Dorian mode)

 

Gather 'round.

Gather round. 

Do not peep

nor make a sound

For Brogo has a tale to tell

of wants,

of woes,

Of who the hell knows...

 

Bah! Screw this.

It's taking to long.

I'll just tell you in prose. 

 

I've already been through a lot of school. I did five years as an undergrad,  starting in fine arts and computer science (graphic design basically) the first year. I switched largely because I felt that whole I had plenty of artistic skill, I just didn't think my work had any real emotional or creative content. Little did I realize at the time but I was probably just really depressed because my Dad died of cancer at end of my first semester. Thought I could just suck it up and move on... 18 year old boys are ambitious and stupid. 

 

Then I switched to biology and stuck that out the other four. I took two years off to work in a lab getting research experience prior to graduate school.  I then spent six years working toward a PhD. At the end of my third year I had a mental breakdown. Fun fact: the drawing in my first post, The Demon Toad King as I know him, was inspired by an insomnia and stress induced hallucination I had during that time. Clearly, I was not content with the path I was on. But, through sheer grit and determination I hung on for another three years only to leave with my Master's, when finances, stress,  and depression finally all got the better of me.

 

When you abandon a PhD, you really piss off your advisor,  so I've burned an important bridge into any professional work related to biology. And six years of training in evolutionary and computational genetics does not get you the right combination of credentials, transferable skills,  and experience to be competitive for good positions in related fields... at least the way I did it,  and especially without a good reference from your advisor. 

 

So FML, I work in an Amazon warehouse. For the last year and a half I've been trying to advance there just to put some money in my pocket. I've tried getting other jobs, I've even looked into temping. Nothing is coming through. There's plenty of things to pursue, get some more school,  get a cert,  but the only thing I really want to pursue is art.

 

That's just it. I need to go back to school and commit to a new path. 

 

But now I'm 33. I have piles of debt, and doubt. I could do another master's, but first I know I've got to take some prereqs. And it might take a year before I could start another program. And I'd have to incur more debt to get through. 

 

And art can be risky. 

 

Idk. :/

I like the ballad prose combo. I can relate to parts of this. 

 

With all that going on I'd definitely only go back for something I love and I'd write out all the reasons I was going for when it got tough. 

 

I dropped out of two colleges over depression and PTS including my last semester of my second senior year.  I was doing 18 hours of biology with 4 labs....

 

Now I'm working in office/field construction. I nearly killed myself last year for a job I loved. 

 

Anyway, all this to say, I am also a poet and I make time for it and submit on the side. So even if you don't do it full time, never give up on your art. It looks pretty awesome. 

[Leimanu]

On 6/26/2017 at 7:06 PM, Curl Brogo said:

 

I've been doing a lot of the same goals lately. And chasing a lot of the same demons. So I'm gonna mix things up a bit and go on some adventures. 

 

Goal 1: Get hungry

 

"If steamed fish and broccoli doesn't sound delicious,  you're not really hungry."

 

So that will be my mantra. And I will only eat if SF&B makes my mouth water a little. 

 

Goal 2: Stretch

 

I've been noticing a lot of tightness,  everywhere lately.  I need to get back to regular stretching and self massage,  yoga stuff etc. I hate feeling like a rusty old piece of machinery,  plodding along ungracefully, and uncomfortably. 

 

Goal 3: Explore

 

I spend too much time cooped up in my apartment. I need to go someplace new each weekend. Mainly I want to get out to some parks/trails and hike/ruck a bit. 

 

Goal 4: Paint

 

And while I'm out I ought to get some painting or sketching in. 

 

Goal 5: Learn Slovene

 

It's my heritage. I'd like to visit there someday. I downloaded a free pdf. 

 

Sladke sanje.

 

Can I steal that mantra?  It hit something with one of my always-there demons.

[Leimanu]

I want to say something about your wonderful share about your educational journey, but I'm not sure what, so here's a ramble.  I've been following as you've been working at Amazon because I've actually been impressed with your attitude about it.  All I knew was the you'd finished a Masters and now working at a warehouse.  One of the causes of my awful depression a few years ago was having my awesome education and stupid debt and barely finding minimum wage work.  And I was like, look at this guy, using his warehouse job to up his steps, get back into shape, and build a chicken house .  Also, I was just super jealous you eventually got your own apartment.

 

So, your attitude is awesome.

 

Can you take a little time off?  Is that possible in your position at Amazon?  Even like, a week.  I think it would help to get some distance from the day to day and see just what you'd like to have a career in the future, with a side gig of art to help keep you sane.   Diversify that work portfolio because the world of work is so unstable anymore.  Goodness knows your educational background is diverse.

 

Ramble over.  

[Stronkey Kong]

Well... I left work early today, like half the day early. They moved me into another role,  my old stowing role, that I fucking hate BTW, and I just fucking could not. 

 

So I left early... after sitting in my car for 20 minutes debating leaving. 

 

Also,  I didn't eat anything all day up until dinner so maybe I hads a bit of hanger.

 

But that meant I did well on the hungry goal.

 

When I got home I checked my email and I got a response from one of the universities about their mfa program.  I promptly fired back a bunch of questions... so that's rolling forward. 

[Jayniana Jones]

I liked your ballad/prose mainly for the creative way of telling your back story. I just closed my web design business with about a fourth of the customers being artists. Some of them had no formal training, some had undergrad degrees in something besides art, and others had MFAs. They all successfully sell their art and some of the more successful ones have only a college degree. There are a few with no degrees that make more money than the ones with degrees.

 

With the new information from your back story here are some questions that pop to mind (and you don't have to broadcast your answers)

Do you really need to go to college to do your dream career?

Is a masters or doctorate really needed?

If finances are tight, what could you do to get the information you're after to see if you really want to pursue it?

Are their specific classes that you could take online that would get you the information you need that may not be tied to a college but just as valuable?

Are there ways to make it affordable without getting more debt? (i.e build up a chunk of change and pursue your degree in another country - I've learned that some foreign universities are nearly half the cost of America for advanced studies, apply for every scholarship you can find, go part-time, marry a princess...  )

How can you reduce your current debt load to give you breathing room?

 

If you are interested in pursuing art as a career have you considered taking your art seriously enough to start a business and sell what you create? There's an excellent book I read on how to do just that (https://theabundantartist.com/). 

 

I'm not trying to tell you what to do or sway you one way are another because I don't have the full picture. However, if you are feeling stretched to the limit (budget-wise) it might be good to move forward carefully. I'd love to see you (and everyone else) pursue your passions and do work that is meaningful to you. Sometimes the leap is simply dipping a couple toes into the water and seeing what happens.

 

As a tiny back-story, when my hubby and I were slightly younger than you (I'm 39 right now), we had $48,000 in debt, a business that had sporadic work, and two toddlers. We hit a point where we struggled to pay bills, work we were "qualified" to do was nearly a two-hour drive away, and we were exhausted. 18 months later (with lots of focus - among other things) we were debt free, our business grew steady because we were more firm with customers, and I two years later I was able to drop to part-time to homeschool our kids. Words don't capture what if feels like not to be stifled by debt. Yes, it's a pain in the butt because we have to wait. Yet it also has ignited creative thinking on how to get the knowledge needed without going back into debt. Because of my own experience, I would love to see you (and everyone else) become debt free because the mental relief and peace of mind is worth more than you know.

[Stronkey Kong]

 

Today I definitely got hungry. I skipped breakfast,  and only had a Naked juice for lunch.

 

That put me in a deeply reflective mood. I was thinking a lot about this painting thing.  Thinking about my roots and where I grew up,  family,  old friends... but not in a nostalgic way. I thought a lot about the friction of growing up. The conflicted emotions of being a slightly precocious introvert in a small rural "town" filled with poor, uneducated rednecks. How they/we lived and what we struggled with, how they see the world and what they like vs what myself and the people around me now are like. The weird things that happened there, that exist there still. And processing the effects it had on me and how it made me who I am. And how I've carried around a lot of anger and baggage from it. 

 

I actually had a lot of material for emotional and narrative content in my art around me but I didn't get it at the time and kept trying to differentiate myself from it by ignoring it. It's funny how when you look at those around you growing up, and all you see are the differences,  then you go out into the world and meet new and different people and when you look back you notice the similarities, the common experiences.

[Stronkey Kong]

All I ate today was a chicken wrap and a soda at lunch. Not the best choice,  but according to my fitness tracker I got 31382 steps, which is a PR by 3000 or so. 

[Broba Fett]

I remember waaay back when you had the most jacked bull on the face of the planet as your 

 

One time I (or someone else, idk, it was like 4 years ago now) asked about it and you explained in great detail how this breed of cattle was genetically manipulated into being fucking stacked.

 

I don't really have any important point here, just thought I'd share that cool memory because your discussion of your grad school reminded me of it.

 

Biggest advice I can give is that life is too short to spend doing something that you hate so much that you need to leave in the middle of your day.

[Stronkey Kong]

23 hours ago, Broba Fett said:

I remember waaay back when you had the most jacked bull on the face of the planet as your 

 

One time I (or someone else, idk, it was like 4 years ago now) asked about it and you explained in great detail how this breed of cattle was genetically manipulated into being fucking stacked.

 

I don't really have any important point here, just thought I'd share that cool memory because your discussion of your grad school reminded me of it.

 

Biggest advice I can give is that life is too short to spend doing something that you hate so much that you need to leave in the middle of your day.

 

It was one of the Belgian blue cows.  They abs other muscley animals like greyhounds have mutations in myostatin which is a muscle growth regulator... it usually puts the breaks on muscle growth.

 

In other news, or warehouse is hiring for another programming position. So I applied. It's basically the same as the one applied for a couple months ago. But this one is in my home building and department so that's a huge advantage. Plus,  the position uses database and Web development skills. So I can develop my database skills opening the path in that direction and I'll learn to make Web pages, so I might be able to build my own Web based art business. And if I get it,  I'll probably double my income or more. So debts would be settled soon.