Forums

Hey , how are you doing? Been a while since we heard from you.

been there. Sucks losing talk time but I still prefer it over the 60 mins of commuting round trip.    last time I BG1’d, i did a Druid and I didn’t mind the sprite options for the class. 

I love my Well Fed cookbooks!  I do better with some carbs too, so when Paleo calls for cauliflower rice, I'll just use rice.  Since I can't do gluten or dairy, I find Paleo  recipes (with a few minor tweaks) a good fit for me.

Normally, I'm not a fan of graffiti, but I love this!

So many wonderful things going on in this update. It made my heart happy to read. Are you going to take any pictures to commemorate the bridge?   Sending so much love. 🥰

Before I left for Durham, Nic was interested in how my “walking on purpose” challenge goal worked, because he’s also looking to get back into walking but isn’t quite sure any of his old in-roads (mentally, emotionally, and scheduling wise) work for where he is now. I explained a bit about the belongingness piece, and the going-without-arriving approach, and how I had been letting those two factors be the ‘containers’ of my walking habit, not the gym location or clock time or how far I wanted to go or really any of the factors that I used to measure. He thought about that and a few days later proposed that we start walking to an independent coffee shop in the mornings, a place that is a 20 minute easy walk from our respective homes, and also helps him hold his desire to trade getting coffee at the Starbucks drive-through with getting coffee at a neighborhood space and sitting and enjoying it before going to work.    I loved everything about this suggestion, as you might suspect, and said yes. We took our first walk yesterday, and it was brilliant, especially because the bridge I walk over is now covered in amazing graffiti — the bridge is coming down for replacement (it’s too far gone for repair), and there was a neighborhood party over the weekend to say goodbye to the bridge. The graffiti is lovely and much of it talks of how much we love the bridge (“you’ve been such a good bridge”) and how much we love Roanoke (“2013-NOW, because I ❤️ it here!!”) and there’s a lot of socialism, too, all of which warms my heart in equal measure. Sadly, the bridge coming down will mean that the walk has to be completely rethought, but Nic says he’s working on that, and I am willing to enjoy the last few days of the walk while he noodles the post-bridge plan.   We ended up walking the greenway after getting coffee yesterday, and talking, and then walking back to his house and he drove me to my apartment building. It was a really brilliant time, and I was glad I had the extra time to take. All told, I walked over seven miles yesterday, and I thought I would be sore today, but I wasn’t, and by 10 this morning I was craving the walk again, which was just right. I walked to the coffee house, we drank our brews, and then I walked back to resume work, and all of this is just as it should be.    Vivian had early dismissal today, so I spent my lunch hour meeting her at the library near the school, then riding the bus back to downtown, where we ended up having tacos for lunch at a local taqueria near the bus stop. It was really good, and she read me the next installment of her story, which is coming along well. I made a note (just an asterisk in the margin) of a couple places where I think she could expand the back-story (or side-story, or internal-monologue thing), and overall I just enjoyed her sharing her creativity with me, enjoyed sharing a meal, enjoyed walking around and being together. We have a lovely relationship.    Today I’ve walked 4 miles so far, and I don’t feel particularly sore or tired, and all of this is Right and Good. This is the Way.    @Sovalis pointed out that there is only a week and change left in this challenge, and that brought my Eclipse Reflection Mindset goal to mind. My explicit goals for this challenge are making the space I inhabit as wonderful and settled as possible; making the body I inhabit as whole as it can be; and nurturing the alliances that hold me well. I’m glad I had the Mindset first and foremost, because holy moly there has been a lot of unexpected energy and happenings, most all of it very good indeed. The IKEA building definitely got put on pause, and I might not pick that up again until reflection week (April 29-May 5). The existing pieces and parts of the Apartment are definitely settling in nicely. The walking is going well, and the alliances are nurturing me as much as I am nurturing them. This is good. This is the Way.   Ben and I met at the library yesterday to go over pinball scoring and the Holy Spreadsheet, and that was good. I am looking forward to launching the Summer Season of the Women’s Pinball League in June. I’m possibly (re)launching SOPHIA Roanoke in May, but definitely in June. Also along the way, the novel that I planned out and storyboarded in 2020 has started tugging at my sleeve once again, and it’s time to start writing this in a deliberate fashion. I’m hoping to have it completed-enough by Labour Day. All of this is very ambitious indeed, especially with classes. I’m not taking any new classes on, but I do still have to finish out this term over the next ten days. I managed to miss a whole assignment, and now my grade is down to 92% — still an A, but my wiggle room is gone. No matter; all will be well.    I hope you have a beautiful, going-without-arriving moment today. ❤️   

There is no need to do that (also, you made some of us worried  ) We've all quit on our challenges more than once. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

I vehemently disagree. Reframe them as demon monsters and kill them with fire!! 😈       Ouch! That sounds beyond frustrating. I hope that this situation changes for you, and soon!     Holding ground can be a victory. A strategic retreat can lead to a victory. Adapting successfully as our circumstances change, is a triumph at times. 

The same way one would throat-slit from behind. Long arms and lots of silence  

The internet connection here has been iffy since yesterday. We get a minute of good wifi, then it stops for 2 minutes, then a minute good again, so I called our provider and they'll send a technician over. In the meantime, I'm mostly online using my phone as a hotspot. They've given me and the missus extra data capacity for this. Whatever works.   It did make working from home rather odd.   Went for a long walk during TimovieDaughter's football practice to get my steps in for the day, and for Mordor. Food's been going well all week. Except I'm not working out as I should. *Again.* Curfew was actually ok, but I'm still not seeing a big improvement in sleep length, even though I really should. Oh well.   Week so far:   Week 4   M T W T F S S Intermittent fasting               Calorie intake               Calories spent               Calories in/out deficit               Curfew               Sleep               Avg. sleep 5h57 Steps               Avg. steps 10.96K Distance 16.27 km Workouts 0.0 Days with (mini-)workouts 0         Here's something that doesn't happen very often. I got a song recommended to me by my mom. One she's heard on the radio several times and really likes. I love the artist, but didn't know he'd released a new song. It's like his first in 30 years or so. It never plays on the radio station I most often listen to, and it doesn't play on the one Mrs. Movieman listens to, so I was completely oblivious to this song. So thanks for the recommendation, Mom! This is Billy Joel's first song in decades, and it sounds like one he made in his prime. I also love the video. The de-aging to show him throughout the years  is done well, and the use of AI to make him sound more like his younger self, adds to the trip down memory lane. And he kept a verse with his current older voice. But man, what a song again!   Billy Joel - Turn the Lights Back On