Surprise! Level 4!

In many RPGs, side quests can be worth vast amounts of EXP. I recently completed two.

The loot in my right hand is my A+ Certificate. Before starting my new job, I was at a point where I was ready to test some of my newfound discipline. I was frustrated, however, by my inability to settle on a direction for my focus. First I needed a quest to test the waters and gain confidence in my new skills. When working on my Professional Development plan, I came across this grand opportunity. It was a challenge because I set myself an ambitious timetable. And because I haven’t taken an important exam in a very long time. And because the material is sometimes a teensy bit dry.

The second side quest was not as expected. Adjusting to working full time after staying at home with my kids for almost 3 years was a much bigger challenge than I anticipated, and everything is essentially humming along now.


For these two epic quests combined, I have awarded myself an entire level. 


But now I am feeling a familiar nagging in the back of my mind. It is the same feeling I had when I started this adventure. Then, it was driven by my awareness of my complete lack of discipline and my attempts to make self-improvement hard to refuse.

Now I have the advantage of being able to look back at the progress I made, and realize that although I have slid on some of my goals, I do not have to start all over. I am ready to level up.


I resisted the urge to jump on the fascinating diversion of game design theory, gave the site a face-lift and set up my worksheet. 

I've decided I quite like the idea of side quests. My main training regiment is now made of things that I would like to be doing regularly. A way to build new habits and grow. Side quests aren't new habits I am trying to build, rather things I need to get done. Unless specified, there are no deadlines. They don't even have to be completed by the end of the level in which they are started. Although, perhaps bonus points are in order if they are?

Behold: My current Side Quests

Level Up! Hello Level Three.

Heck yeah, Level 3! About a month ago, I accepted a position in the IT department at New Pioneer Co-op. I figured that was worth 50 bonus points, which means it’s time to level up!

I am still working on laying out my worksheet for this level. With such major life changes going on, it is a lot harder to do! I still like the idea of using this as a time management system/motivation source/thing I can’t help doing anyway - I just have to tweak it a little to fit the scene.

Whenever I play a video game RPG, I play until I reach the point of competency, and then I start over so I can do everything again, but better. Without getting too maudlin, I can admit that I sometimes get frustrated with the fact that I can’t do the same with my whole life. But life, being more challenging, unpredictable, and fascinating than a game, doesn’t allow for new game save files. Instead we get to look at our growing pains - with 20/20 hindsight! But I guess once you get over the horror that is being honest with yourself, you can look closely at those mistakes and use them to fuel future you.

State of the Project Address

photo source

I love my local library. It frequently allows me to indulge my imagination and curiosity without much commitment. Over the last few months I have been dabbling in sports psychology, with mixed results. Athletes seem to be masters of the great mysteries of motivation. I am very interested in what keeps them on their course, especially in the light of recent “hard work trumps talent” themed revelations. Great achievements require great effort, and athletes are a ready illustration of this principle.  I have been doing a lot of thinking about motivation lately, as it seems to be the core of my project. Motivation is a tricky thing - it hides in strange places, it comes and goes, and has the potential to propel man to heroic feats.

In the face of the rather daunting field of motivation psychology I began to analyze my doings a little more deeply. My project isn’t just about motivation. It’s true that I set up my point system as a way to motivate myself, but it seems to go beyond beyond the carrot on a stick I initially envisioned. Are the undercurrents of play and gaming the reason it works for me? 

Character Sheet and Important Level 2 Updates

Firstly, I was delighted to find this AD&D stats quiz online and did not hesitate to apply it to my training.

The quiz results reinforced the fact that I have neglected the physical for far too long. While I still have a long way to go, I am far more comfortable in my body than I was at the beginning of my training. In fact, I've progressed enough that today this happened:

The elliptical is obscuring the science officer's logo on my Star Trek uniform.

Level 2 and 15 Pounds Lighter (on Earth)

Say hello to me at Level 2!

Level up!

I lost 15 pounds during the course of level 1!

On Shoes, The Sims 3, and Getting Things Done

Winter has arrived in Iowa, if not officially then in spirit. Which means it is cold, and the terrain has become treacherous. Appropriate footwear is imperative.

Anyone who has tried to endure a Midwest winter in a pair of Converse All Stars will tell you that it is a fool’s endeavor. The canvas upper does nothing to keep out the cold and wet, and frankly, neither do the soles.

So this is the year that I say finally say goodbye to a steadfast pair of shoes. They’ve carried me on many adventures, pushed strollers many miles, and even attempted to dance a fair number of times.

Apocalyst, Now

It is November, and I am forced to accept that Winter has gone from "looming" to "fast approaching". I have a half dozen huge, daunting projects that I have been doing constant battle with and am hoping to finish in the next 6 weeks or so. If I fail, these projects will very seriously impede my plans for surviving the dark months ahead. (Plans that include not much more than finding the perfect recipe for chai and watching the television series Lost in its entirety.)

In my battle-rummaging I came across what I believe to be the third draft of my “Apocalyst”. I would estimate this document was created during the Winter of 2006. It is, as the name suggests, a list of a wide variety of preparations to be made in order to better survive the potential apocalypse.

Highlights include:

• put solar panels on our house
• learn to turn the heel while knitting a sock
• learn bicycle maintenance
• canning (learn it and do it)
• research general butchery