[Artemis Prime]

Welcome one and all to my one-year anniversary of Cleric Challenges! Things are going rather swimmingly, all in all. So we're rolling it back almost unchanged, starting with the Big 3:

 

1. Become an Ordained Deacon in the ACNA

I'm taking a fall class on systematic theology which has just started, so I haven't formed much of an opinion yet, but if nothing else I will be halfway through my certificate program when this is done. Other goals include submitting my policy paperwork, scheduling my psych eval, and getting my school transcripts. Tangential but related things - meeting with my Spiritual Director, weekly journalling (still a new goal very much in formation) and chairing the women's retreat happening on September 21. I'm really excited about this goal and love how the other clergy and my parish are rallying in support of my journey to the diaconate. It's probably going to be another year before I hit this milestone, but I am working on enjoying the process and not being too impatient.

 

2. Strength GainZ

I was consistent with going to the gym over the summer (first time ever, I think, that my workouts haven't stopped over the summer!) but mostly did maintenance volume work. I am really enjoying the Candito strength/control program with its upper/lower split. The goal is 3 workouts per week.

 

 

3. Finish Barndominium

Things are moving slowly here, but I am picking away at it. My two main goals this challenge are to finish the deck and get electric run so I at least have a couple light bulbs this winter. However, after consistently failing to hit my challenge goals here, my plan this time around is to set very small, weekly goals to give me that nice boost of getting something done instead of constantly coming up short on a bigger reach.

[Artemis Prime]

Let's talk mechanics! It's been a while since I went through the whole spiel here, and I think it will be useful for myself as well as anyone popping in who isn't familiar with the process.

 

Combat

Can't have D&D without some encounters, so my workouts fill in for the combat pillar of the game. I get 10 points for every workout, and get to make a melee attack against my opponent.

 

Exploration

For the second pillar of D&D, we have exploration. 1 point for every mile walked, hiked, or biked. I'm not counting steps here, just purposeful movement. Also get to make a ranged attack against my opponent. This has not been a priority, and probably isn't going to be one this challenge either.

 

Social

The third and final pillar of D&D. 20 points for social encounters which is anything that doesn't involve my family, or does involve my family but is us going out and doing something, not just hanging out at someone's house. Will be running a Forbidden Lands game which counts (but maybe half credit since it's a virtual game?) and am also going to try to make it to the local gaming venue at least once this challenge, plus regular social stuff.

 

Cantrips

Cantrips are my daily goals. 1 point per day, plus damage where applicable.

Light - out of bed by 6:15. When I get this on workout days, my Lightbringer mace deals an extra 1d6 radiant damage.

Word of Radiance - Morning Prayer. If my opponent fails their CON save, they take 1d6 radiant damage.

Toll the Dead - Music practice. Can be piano, guitar, or trombone. Opponent makes a WIS save or takes 1d8 (d12 if already damaged) necrotic damage.

Mending - Basic maintenance stuff, checking tire pressure, cleaning the chicken coop, etc. 

 

Spellcasting

I have 9 spell slots per week divided amongst levels 1-3. I get 10 points x spell level for each casting. Damage where applicable. I'm not feeling motivated enough to type up all my spells, so we'll cover them as they come up.

 

Channel Divinity
One use per week. Making some tweaks here.

Preserve Life - freezing produce. Haven't been doing much of this, but we are getting into the time of year where it's more likely to be applicable.

Destroy Undead - Turn Undead has been my decluttering goal, 10 points per thing gotten rid of. Since reaching Level 5, I have been pondering how to level that up to Destroy Undead, and I've decided to just give myself more opportunities to earn points. Each week, I can roll a d6 and get rid of that many items, earning 10 points per item removed. My mother has hoarding tendencies, so it's a delicate balance between keeping the clutter under control and not upsetting her too much, but I have plenty of my own stuff to downsize to meet this goal.

[Everstorm]

15 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

was consistent with going to the gym over the summer (first time ever, I think, that my workouts haven't stopped over the summer

Well done!

 

16 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

but if nothing else I will be halfway through my certificate program when this is done

???

[Artemis Prime]

Opponents are not changing this goal. First, the Vampirate:

 

 

They will get to attack me whenever I miss a workout. Before I can attack them, I have to dispatch any of their Shadow minions lurking about.

 

The Shadows get to attack whenever I miss Morning Prayer.  Each Vampirate has 1d4 Shadows accompanying them.

 

Since I am once again taking damage this challenge, I'll have to be more mindful of using my short rests and healing spells. But I also have protein powder I want to use up, so drinking a protein shake after a workout equals one common healing potion.

 

Oh, and since I haven't mentioned it yet, the point goal this challenge is to Level Up! That means I have to go from 11,505 points to 14,000 points. The reward for doing so is a Kensui weight vest.

[Artemis Prime]

Zero Week means I track and get credit for whatever I do, but there are no goals and thus no risk of taking damage.

 

Monday - Was off work for Labor Day. Got a nice chunk of work done on my deck (spacers placed and started on the decking) for Sanctuary points, cleaned my chicken brooder for a Mending point, and made salsa for Purify Food and Drink points. Then enjoyed sipping wine and eating salsa with my sister and basically chilled the rest of the day. Finished reading the second Thursday Murder Club book.

Tuesday - Back to work. Still waiting on interview news. Got Light and Word of Radiance points and aired up my tires for a Mending point. After work, finished running in lag bolts and got more decking down. As soon as I post this, have to make a couscous salad for a work thing tomorrow, which will be more Purify Food and Drink points.

Wednesday - Office lunch, helping my neighbor after work. Maybe class stuff in the evening.

Thursday - Gym during lunch, barn work in the evening and maybe class stuff.

Friday - Gym during lunch, barn work in the evening and maybe class stuff.

Saturday - Retreat prep in the morning, hopefully some barn work in there, but very high chance of rain. A friend is having her end-of-summer party, so socializing points. Oh, and I'll have to make another dish, so more Purify Food and Drink points. Possibly a home workout, but it's Zero Week, so only 2 workouts are allowed. If the rain keeps me inside, I'll do some cleaning and work on any class assignments if I haven't already gotten them done.

Sunday - Church in the morning, no plans later. My brother and sister will probably be over, but if the weather is fine I'll be doing barn work. 

 

The plan for Candito, since it doesn't really have start/end points, is to run it straight through and use Zero Week for deloads, but since I just started it's a bit early for that. Instead, I'm just not fussing about only getting 2 workouts in and I'm not trying to add weight.

[Sovalis]

Here to cheer, of course!

[Cheetah]

sounds good!  happy challenge!

[Salinger]

woooooo go AP!!!!!! xx

[sylph]

11 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Still waiting on interview news.

 

here to wait.

and watch vampirates meet their doom.

[Everstorm]

Here for vampire slaying!

[Sovalis]

Here to cheer!

[Artemis Prime]

2 hours ago, sylph said:

here to wait.

 A modicum of news!

I finally broke and asked my boss if he had heard anything from downstairs. He had, but had just assumed they'd communicated with me, which they hadn't. But the gist of it is, they're not sure if they want to hire me as Admin Assistant while they train me to do something else, or make a new trainee position that would expire after I learn a new position and move out of it, which would leave them free to hire a permanent Admin Assistant instead of having me fill that position while I technically do something else. So it makes sense, and creating a new position does take a bit of time, but it would be nice if they touched base with me instead of just leaving me hanging. Brandon is going to "accidentally" bump into the HR director in the next day or two and do a little more fishing for me, but it's nice to at least have a vague idea of what the hold up is.

[sylph]

1 hour ago, Artemis Prime said:

He had, but had just assumed they'd communicated with me, which they hadn't.

I find this to be the norm in large bureaucratic organizations. We've had three meetings about it so surely everyone knows?

Oh wait, of all the Venn diagrams of the attendants of those meetings, there were two people who somehow weren't at any of them.

 

Or

 

Joe led the discussion so some folks assume he'll follow up with Mary. 

but

Elise is the overall owner of the project and Joe assumes that she's going to handle all the follow up.

so

Mary gets left in the dark.

 

Hooray for news/progress, though! Stuff's moving and it sounds like you're in, it's just...what role will you be in while you train for your later role.

[TimovieMan]

19 hours ago, sylph said:

I find this to be the norm in large bureaucratic organizations. We've had three meetings about it so surely everyone knows?

Oh wait, of all the Venn diagrams of the attendants of those meetings, there were two people who somehow weren't at any of them.

 

Or

 

Joe led the discussion so some folks assume he'll follow up with Mary. 

but

Elise is the overall owner of the project and Joe assumes that she's going to handle all the follow up.

so

Mary gets left in the dark.

 

Hanlon's Razor at work: never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

[Artemis Prime]

19 hours ago, sylph said:

I find this to be the norm in large bureaucratic organizations. We've had three meetings about it so surely everyone knows?

Yeah, in this case I don't blame Brandon at all - this is really between me and the director of the other department, and he has no reason to insert himself into it. He hears things, just because he knows people, but he doesn't say anything to me unless I bring it up to him first, which I think is the right move for him. He's been more than cool about this whole thing, including going fishing for more information for me. And HR really doesn't involve themselves other than on the backend of administrative stuff. So it's really up to the new department to communicate. I can't say that I'm surprised they haven't, I just wish they did.

 

19 hours ago, sylph said:

Hooray for news/progress, though! Stuff's moving and it sounds like you're in, it's just...what role will you be in while you train for your later role.

It definitely sounds promising, although at the moment it kind of feels like Schrödinger's job opening.

 

 

Morning, friends! Got my Word of Radiance point yesterday and Bless points for going over to my neighbor's after work, and that was that. I have blown through my level 1 spell slots this week, so I'm starting to use level 2 slots for them. It works out because I haven't been using much of my 3rd level spells, so I can use those spell slots for 2nd level, but at some point I should probably revisit my 3rd level spells and see what I can do make better use of them.

 

Today - head to the gym on my lunch break for squats and deadlifts. Make a ranger character for the new West Marches style adventure that just went up in the PvP forum. Also need to start getting serious about my Forbidden Lands prep. And this evening I want to do some serious deck laying.  I was seduced by a dice advent calendar last night, but I've sworn off ordering it until my deck is done, so that's some extra motivation to get it done.

 

On 9/3/2024 at 9:26 PM, Artemis Prime said:

Exploration

For the second pillar of D&D, we have exploration. 1 point for every mile walked, hiked, or biked. I'm not counting steps here, just purposeful movement. Also get to make a ranged attack against my opponent. This has not been a priority, and probably isn't going to be one this challenge either.

Except I totally agreed to run a Thanksgiving 5k with my brother again. I'm not super concerned about my time, but I would like to make a decent showing of it and not die afterward, so at least a little running must happen.

[Everstorm]

49 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

Schrödinger's job opening

#accurate

 

49 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

run a Thanksgiving 5k

 

Ooh, that sounds fun!  Do you follow a training plan or is running pretty comfortable when you get to it?

[Laghail]

Here to cheer, but like louder and less effectively than @Sovalis

[Harriet]

Oooh, this is a splendid set up. I'm actually looking forward to seeing you uncluttered the undead. I like a good tidy undead-free house.

[Artemis Prime]

23 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Ooh, that sounds fun!  Do you follow a training plan or is running pretty comfortable when you get to it?

I have never been a fan of the "run a minute, walk a minute" style of plan which seems to be the vast majority of running plans easily available these days. I'm usually pretty good to just wing it on my own and gradually build up distance/pace. I think I'll aim for a mile on Sunday, see how that feels, and go from there.

 

19 hours ago, Laghail said:

Here to cheer, but like louder and less effectively than @Sovalis

It's not a competition (except Sov is totally winning) ?

 

 

Happy Friday, y'all!

 

Got my Light point yesterday and Word of Radiance vaporized a Shadow, so Week 0 points are stacking up nicely. Had a good workout - squats and deadlifts. Squats are heavy, not sure how long this linear progression is going to work for. Had a little grip trouble on deadlifts, even though I've lifted that weight before without issue, so it could just be an anomaly, but something to keep an eye on. Had a little time after so decided to put lat pulldowns back in the rotation since assisted pull ups are kind of a pain to set up and also very difficult to quantify the amount of assistance being used. (Oh, what I wouldn't give for an assisted pull up machine!) Still not a fan of the gym's pulldown machine, wish it had one attachment point directly overhead, instead it's two independent handles at a Y, and wider out than I would like. Started with a very light warm up set, and had decent lat activation. A slightly heavier set also went pretty well. By the final warmup set, I'd started to lose the mind-muscle connection, so for my working weight I went back to kneeling directly under one of the handles. It just means it takes a tiny bit longer because I can't do both sides at once, but that's not really a deal breaker. Although I might keep doing lighter warm up sets in the seat to see if I can keep improving my lat activation there, although I think the real problem is just that the machine is built to accommodate people much bigger than me.

 

I am currently salivating over this rack - have a smaller one picked out in case this doesn't fit in my apartment, but I think I am willing to stick with a twin-sized bed if it means I can have this beauty in my bedroom:

Look at that - get a solid bench with a leg extension/curl attachment and I could do every exercise I ever wanted on that thing! It's got a rowing station and a single point overhead pull down!!! I wants it, my precious!

 

Ahem.

 

But anyways, a good workout and landed a solid hit on the Vampirate, so off to a good start there. Laid some decking after work, didn't get quite as much done as I wanted, but it turns out heavy squats do not lend themselves well to lots of ladder climbing later. But I still got barn stuff done - figured out my stair stringers (I hope?, it's kind of a tricky business but I couldn't find anyone local who custom cuts them) so ordered the lumber for that, and to avoid paying extra delivery fees I went ahead and put the railing lumber on order as well, plus some extra decking since I undercalculated that on my first order.

 

Today - upper body day at the gym (might try folding lat pulldowns back in here next week, although for time reasons it might work better to keep them on squat/deadlift day.) The plan is to lay more decking tonight, but there might be thunderstorms, in which case I could do class stuff. No class tomorrow, so it doesn't matter that I haven't done anything this week, but it does mean having to double up next week to get back on schedule. Also have to put together another batch of couscous salad to take to the picnic tomorrow.

 

I hope you all have a lovely Friday!

 

 

[Artemis Prime]

26 minutes ago, Harriet said:

Oooh, this is a splendid set up. I'm actually looking forward to seeing you uncluttered the undead. I like a good tidy undead-free house.

Exactly. One or two skeletons in the closet is just normal, but nobody needs piles of zombies strewn helter-skelter in every room.

 

Which reminds me - I got Turn Undead points this week as well. Rolled a 3, so got rid of an old purse that was looking the worse for wear, some tea someone gave me that I didn't care for, and cleaned out the basement fridge.

 

Also have been meaning to mention - my brief experiment with food tracking last challenge went about as well as expected. Which is to say, things seemed to be more or less on track, but it's hard to tell when I'm guesstimating measurements and comparing them to a guesstimated target. Not going to bother keeping it going, think it's more helpful to just weigh myself on the regular and so long as my gym weights are increasing, even if slowly and incrementally, and the scale weight is staying more or less consistent, nutrition should be mostly on track. I would like to curb the boredom munching at work. Was kind of trusting that learning a new position that kept me busier would do that, but since movement on that front appears to be slow, I guess I'll just have to do it myself.

[Salinger]

Hey AP! Thats one brilliant rack!!!!!! 

 

Whats your typical day of food?

 

xx

[Harriet]

I also want this power rack for you. POWERRRRRR

 

Yeah guestimating can be off by a few hundred calories at least (over the course of a day), which is the difference between maintenance and loss/gain.  But obviously if your weight and weights are right then it's all good.

[Laghail]

20 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

Which reminds me - I got Turn Undead points this week as well. Rolled a 3, so got rid of an old purse that was looking the worse for wear, some tea someone gave me that I didn't care for, and cleaned out the basement fridge.

 

Nosy questions time! How are you in an apartment but you have a basement fridge? Is this a barndominum thing? 

[Artemis Prime]

22 hours ago, Salinger said:

Hey AP! Thats one brilliant rack!!!!!! 

Hi, Sal! Isn't it just???

 

22 hours ago, Salinger said:

Whats your typical day of food?

Well, I don't really have one, which is one of the reasons I thought tracking might help so that I'd get some kind of baseline. What I eat is mostly good (with the exception of some of my bored work snacking) but how much varies a lot. Some days I eat a full breakfast, some days I drink a smoothie, some days I don't eat breakfast at all. Lunch is usually a sandwich or leftovers and often some fruit, but on the weekends especially if I get busy I tend to skip lunch and just kind of graze whenever I need a quick bite. Dinners are pretty consistent - almost always a meat, a veg, and a carb. Usually a salad of some kind. Sometimes dessert, but I seem have to lost my sweet tooth in recent years. My weight is pretty consistent, so I'm not worried about that, but gym progress has been hard won lately, so I thought a bit more protein and calories might serve me well. But I hate tracking and bad data is worse than no data, so I've thrown tracking out the window and back to winging it. Going to prioritize getting a protein shake in after a workout and see how that feels.

 

22 hours ago, Harriet said:

I also want this power rack for you. POWERRRRRR

 

22 hours ago, Harriet said:

Yeah guestimating can be off by a few hundred calories at least (over the course of a day), which is the difference between maintenance and loss/gain.  But obviously if your weight and weights are right then it's all good.

Exactly. I was mostly interested because my gym progress has slowed, but I am still progressing and might just have to accept that I've been at this consistently enough long enough that I have used up my beginner gains and shall now have to be content moving along at an intermediate pace.

 

22 hours ago, Laghail said:

 

Nosy questions time! How are you in an apartment but you have a basement fridge? Is this a barndominum thing? 

Well, once it's all done I might have a fridge and/or freezer in my tack room, so I guess it kind of is a barndominium thing, but not right at the moment. The apartment isn't finished, so I'm not living in it yet, still in the main house with my parents, which is where the basement fridge is located. 

 

 

Hi, Friends. Friday was a bit rough. Started out fine, got my workout done no problem. But sharks are closing in, so I was starting to feel a bit achy and moody. Then I got notified that the Administrative Assistant position I had applied for was filled. This doesn't necessarily mean anything for my hopes of becoming Farmland Preservation Coordinator, since my boss told me they were thinking about filling the Admin spot with one of their clerks and creating a new position to basically be FPC Jr. so someone can learn the job. But that hasn't officially been communicated to me at all, and I really feel like I've been left hanging. I was trying to think of ways I could fish for the information, but then my sister suggested I just straight up ask, which is probably the best move here. So Monday I will email HR and just say, "Got this notice, heard a rumor there might be a new position in the works, is this the end of my hopes and dreams, or is there still a chance?" I'll actually see my friend who works in HR at the picnic today, but I try not to bug her about work stuff during social things. 

 

Anyways, so was feeling kind of grumpy and put out by the end of work, not to mention I think I pushed a little too hard this week (Zero Week, AP, respect the Zero Week!) and was just tired. So I was talking myself out of barn work when a big thunderstorm hit, because sometimes Mother Nature knows I cannot be trusted to do the right thing by myself. And then I thought maybe I'd do some class stuff, but first I rolled the attack for my work out and got a natural 1. I took that as a sign, put on my sweatpants, and Feigned Death for the rest of the evening.

 

Feeling much better after about 10 hours of sleep, so I think that was my main problem. Still kind of busy today, but going to try to take it a little slower. Need to make couscous salad for the picnic, then off I go to Bible study. If my lumber isn't delivered before I leave, it should be here when I get back. Don't have to leave for the picnic until 4ish, so have a good chunk of afternoon to work with. Might do a little barn work (and I do mean little, like 1 or 2 rows of decking), might listen to some class lectures, might just lay in bed and watch Critical Role. We'll see how I feel. Then off to the picnic for some social points, and that's a wrap for the day.

 

Wishing you all a restful Saturday!

[Everstorm]

44 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

my sister suggested I just straight up ask

 

Sounds like a wise woman