#it was meant to be an easy and fast exercise but oops it took me much longer than expected

[pastawayallday]

So... i was cooking something.

It's not spiderverse and i gave up halfway with the shadows because i no longer have time to work on it, but i thought it was decent enough to put here.

Overall, it was a nice exercise.

[mysynthfetish]

Путін хуйло

Well, I didn't really wanna get political here, but it's unavoidable really. What a fucking mess. First we have to deal with a pandemic that's in its third year now and not really showing signs of slowing down all that much depending on where on the planet you are. Then we get a goddam war to go with it. The title of this post is Ukrainian for Putin is a dickhead. This particular exercise in madness frustrates me because I am a Russophile. I'm a Cold War kid. I grew up with the constant, though well in the background, definite possibility that we damn well could have a nuclear war. Russia, well, the USSR, was The Enemy. The Bad Guys. That's just the way it was. Then in my late teens the Berlin Wall fell, and the Soviet Union disintegrated and that was that. Fast forward a decade and I find myself in Japan, where I found legit Soviet Era stuff in random shops and from online sellers and listed on the auction. Fucking COOL man! I have a small collection of Soviet shit. Then I found out analog synths were made in the USSR too. FUCKING NO WAY!!! And after a bit of searching, as luck or good timing would have it, I found a Polivoks on Digimart (an online aggregator where music gear shops from all over Japan can list items for sale all under one front end page). At the time it was the most expensive synth I bought, at around $1400. I was SO in love with that thing. Infatuated even. It was so weird, and different. But after a few years I used it less and less until I finally decided to clean it up a bit and see it off. I have another Soviet Era synth here that my friend Egor in Belarus sent to me, but it needs some TLC and there are some SERIOUS shenanigans going on inside on the main circuitboard that left me just shaking my head so it's been shelved indefinitely. Anyway, the war in Ukraine has saddened me for more than the usual reasons. It means in all likelihood that now I won't ever be able to visit Russia, which was a weirdo dream of mine. Fucking politicians. Fuck Putin.

Anyway, recent shenanigans here include me spotting an O1R/W on the auction for a decent price, bidding on it, and winning with no other bids being placed. The previous owner stickered the shit out of it though. Check this out.

WHO DOES THIS??!!?!?! Aside from the stickering, it's in good shape. Had a dead backlight, so I was able to use the LED replacement one I bought for the O1R/W I have that died on me. Took care of that this morning. It was really easy except for swapping out a surface mount resistor that was the size of three grains of salt really. Goddam do my hands fucking shake anymore. I'm getting too old to deal with parts I can barely fucking see. But I pulled it off and it works fine and looks good. See for yourself.

So yay me. Though at one point I did step on the soldering iron's cord and it fell on the carpet... I was able to quick grab the handle and pick it up before anything caught fire or melted. Dumbass.

Oh someone sent me an email about the Sony HR-MP5. I meant to reply to that but it looks like instead of archiving the mail I put it in the trash. Oops. So if you're out there reading this, shoot off another mail at me and I'll get back to you. Sorry bout that.

Stay safe y'all.

[danceworshipper]

Confession - Fifth Year

"Rowan, come with me."

"Huh?" Rowan looked up from her book curiously.

Sarah grit her teeth. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Rowan asked as she closed her book to put it in her bag.

"I don't know, outside somewhere, I guess," Sarah said. "Wherever no one else is."

Rowan cocked her head in confusion. "If you're avoiding people, why are you inviting me?"

"You'll find out, alright? Just come on."

Rowan stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. Sarah turned on her heel and hurried out of the library. To say she was having second thoughts would be an understatement. She was probably on her hundredth thoughts by now. This could not go well. Rowan wasn't like that. Letting people in was bad. Letting people in killed you.

Sarah stopped dead in the hall, causing Rowan to bump into her.

"What's wrong?" Rowan asked.

Sarah took a deep breath. You need to heal, Bill had said. She won't hurt you.

"Nothing." Sarah walked again.

The sun was setting and a cool autumn breeze swept by. Sarah zipped up her sweatshirt as she continued walking. There didn't seem to be people over by the hillside. They could go there.

Rowan stayed a bit behind Sarah all the way there, only catching up as Sarah slowed to a stop. Rowan set her bag down and stood next to Sarah, looking out at the sunset.

"It's, uh, it's pretty, right?" Sarah said, mentally smacking herself for the lame attempt to start the conversation.

"It is pretty," Rowan agreed. She glanced up at Sarah for a moment. "I think sunrises are beautiful though."

"You've seen a sunrise?"

"Every year on the summer solstice, my grandmother would take me to see the sunrise. Well, every year besides this year."

Sarah clenched her jaw. Rowan's grandmother had had a stroke over the summer and was still recovering. Rowan hardly ever talked about it.

"Heard any news on her lately?"

"No," Rowan said quietly. "I think that she's getting worse and doesn't want to worry anyone."

"My uncle did that," Sarah said before she could really stop herself. God, she had never mentioned her uncle before. Why would she bring him up now?

"Huh?"

"My uncle. He had cancer. We all thought he was doing better until we got the news that he had kicked the bucket."

"I'm sorry," Rowan said. "Were you close?"

"He was basically my dad," Sarah admitted. "My actual dad is a cheating douchebag."

Rowan's eyes widened. "I never knew."

"I didn't want anyone to know. He didn't know I knew. I didn't even tell my mum. I guess I thought it would be better to have a breaking family than a broken one."

Rowan stepped closer, a look that Sarah couldn't quite read on her face.

"Mum found out this year," Sarah continued, "on her birthday. I haven't heard from her since. She took every single trace of her."

Sarah tried to inhale, but it stuttered.

"I shouldn't be this upset. I shouldn't even be telling you."

"I'm glad you're telling me," Rowan said. She cautiously placed a hand on Sarah's arm. "It almost feels like you trust me."

"I do trust you."

"You - you do?"

"Yeah. I don't know why."

Oh dear god, smite me, Sarah thought. Rowan was doing the smile. The stupid dorky smile that made Sarah's heart race. I can't do this. I can't.

"INCOMING!"

Rowan was no longer standing in front of Sarah.

Sarah stared as Rowan's limp body fell down the steep hill. The bludger that had hit her kept zipping around.

Skye Parkin ran up next to Sarah, panting.

"What the fuck did you do?" Sarah demanded. She should be chasing after Rowan. Why couldn't she move?

"I wanted to see how good of a Beater I would be," Parkin said.

"You're a fucking terrible one," Sarah growled.

Rowan had come to a stop at the bottom of the hill. Sarah finally got her legs to catch up to her brain and raced down the hill. She could feel Parkin following her.

Sarah skidded to a stop and dropped to her knees. Rowan's head was bleeding from a large cut over her eyebrow, and she wasn't moving besides for a minuscule rise and fall of her chest. Sarah felt panicked.

"Oops," Parkin commented.

"Oops?!" Sarah yelled. "Oops?! You could have killed her! Why weren't you doing your stupidity on the goddamn pitch?!"

"Slytherin had it booked," Skye said defensively. "It's not my fault you decided to do your sulking in the open space."

"You are the reason I hate Gryffindors," Sarah hissed.

Sarah got her arms under Rowan and stood up with her. Rowan wasn't as heavy as she thought she would be.

"Maybe go catch your bludger before it hits someone else," Sarah said, pushing past Parkin to make her way up the hill. The dammed bludger was still zipping about; it had complete free reign. "Actually, let it hit you."

Sarah walked as fast as she could while carrying another person. The Hospital Wing wasn't that far of a walk from the front doors, but it felt like 1800 miles. The halls were suspiciously empty, which probably meant that dinner had started. Hopefully Madam Pomfrey ate in the Hospital Wing.

The doors were open when Sarah got there, which was a good sign. Sarah hurried Rowan over to the row of beds and laid her down on the nearest empty one. The blood had stopped flowing, thankfully. Somehow, the blood stained on her face made Rowan more alluring.

"Miss Etsysa, what happened here?"

Sarah didn't look away from Rowan's head. That was really a nasty cut.

"Parkin hit her in the head with a bludger."

Madam Pomfrey tutted. "Miss Parkin does indeed need to learn to exercise a bit more caution. This wound doesn't appear to be that deep, though, so hopefully the worst Miss Khanna will get out of this is a concussion."

"When will she wake up?"

"I'm not sure. Shouldn't be more than a few days."

"Hm."

"You seem concerned."

"With all due respect, Madam Pomfrey, Rowan happens to be my best friend. I'm offended how shocked you seem that I care." Sarah glared over at the nurse for a moment.

"I can handle this from here," Madam Pomfrey said to change the subject. "You should go and eat."

"Fine. I'm coming back afterward."

"You may only stay until curfew."

"Yeah, I know."

Sarah wandered out of the Hospital Wing and down the hall. The Great Hall was as noisy as ever, which didn't improve her mood at all. She made her way over to her seat at the Ravenclaw table, which was empty. So was the seat next to it. Rowan's seat. That seat shouldn't be empty.

"Are you alright?" Badeea asked as Sarah randomly put some food on her plate. "You seem more tense than usual."

"Parkin's a dumbass."

Badeea chuckled. "Well, yes, we knew that. What did she do this time?"

"She put Rowan in the Hospital Wing," Sarah snarled.

"Oh goodness!" Badeea exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Apparently Parkin wanted to see if she could be a Beater. Hit Rowan right in the head."

"That's terrible," Badeea said. "What did Madam Pomfrey say?"

"She should make it out with just a concussion but it might take her a couple days to wake up."

"That's a pity. We have double History tomorrow. Isn't that Rowan's favorite class?"

"Yep."

Badeea's attention was called away by a younger Ravenclaw that she had been tutoring. Sarah didn't mind. She didn't really feel like talking.

She had randomly grabbed some steak while she had been talking, which she regretted. The steak at Hogwarts was always overcooked; Sarah liked it rare. The broccoli, which she had also grabbed, was the exact opposite: undercooked to hell. It was barely even warm half the time. It was no wonder Sarah's diet was so bad. The only foods the House Elves didn't screw up were the easy ones like pasta and chicken.

Sarah noticed Skye Parkin entering the Great Hall. She didn't even look guilty. Sarah glared and stabbed her dried out steak with the knife.

"Calm down, will you?" Tulip snapped. "You startled Dennis."

"Boo fucking hoo," Sarah said.

Tulip made a face. "Bitch."

"Describing yourself, huh?"

Tulip rolled her eyes and focused her attention on her toad.

Sarah gave up on the thought of eating and stood to leave. Before she could get past the doors, however, a firm hand gripped her shoulder and stopped her in place.

"Bill."

"Sarah, are you alright?" Bill asked. He moved around to face Sarah since she didn't turn to face him.

"No, I'm not alright," Sarah said. "Would have thought that was obvious."

"What happened?"

"Rowan. Parkin. Bludger."

Bill winced. "That's not good."

"Nope."

"You really don't want to talk right now, huh?"

"Nope."

"Alright. Go break something. Just make sure to repair it afterward this time."

"Yeah, yeah."

Bill stepped aside and Sarah continued on her way. Myrtle was in for a show today.

[aviwrites]

Lost Gems: The Escape

Fandom(s): Steven Universe (OC centric)

Warnings: N/A

Prompt: [Series, part 1/?] After countless years of being stuck in the same old routine, Hematite makes a split second decision that could lead to his departure from Homeworld.

Notes: ajtdnfmn FUCK I meant to have this up DAYS AGO. Anyway, here’s the first part to a story series I’ve always wanted to do ever since I made my Gem OCs. I hope to keep this up for a while, but we’ll see. :)

Word count: 1457

Fic/Link to Fic: [DeviantArt] [Fanfiction] [AO3]

All Gems had a purpose.

Lapis Lazulis spent their time terraforming host planets into something the Homeworld could use. Agates curated important buildings and locations and were downright terrifying when keeping their subordinates in line. Pearls were servants, simple as that. Rubies guarded, Sapphires foresaw, and Diamonds ruled.

And Hematites? They were warriors. Mercenaries that were always available in high supply and just as easy to call upon when a battle needed to be fought. When there were no wars, they performed glorious fights in front of hundreds of upper class Gems as gladiators. They were perfect, ready-made, free-to-use soldiers.

He hated everything about that, so much so that the very thought made him grind his teeth.

There were games today that his troop was scheduled to fight in, but he was already riled up as it was. Everything was always the same for Hematites. Wait for the call, fight for the entertainment of other, more elite Gems, and then do nothing while they waited again. He'd talked about this the other day with the only other Gem he considered a friend, a talkative Fluorite pilot (all Fluorites were pilots, but they weren’t supposed to be talkative), and even then he was just as upset as he was now. Wait, fight, nothing. A cycle that repeated itself over and over again, and for what? Nobody ever comforted them if they lost a battle, nor did they ever get congratulated if they won, unless it was from a fellow Hematite. But those upper class Gems? They would never care what happened to them unless they didn’t fight.

And that was exactly what he was planning. He wasn't going to fight today.

"So, what?" a fellow Hematite, 2XJ, confronted him when he wasn’t moving with the rest of them. He didn’t like 2XJ all that much. She always thought she was the boss. "You’re just going to sit here all day?"

"That ain’t a problem, XJ," 5XR interjected, grinning widely as she grappled the closest Hematite in a playful headlock. "All the more glory for the rest of us!"

"Yeah, see?" he answered, waving a hand in 5XR’s direction. "I’m not stopping you from having your fun. Nobody will care if I’m not there."

"Nobody except the top Gem. C'mon, XF, you're gonna get us in trouble."

"But think about it, XJ! Those noble Gems--they don’t care if we win or lose, they're just here to get excited! Doesn’t that bother--"

"Now, what is going on in here?"

Hematite 3XF was interrupted by a familiar, dreaded voice. Every Gem in the room snapped to attention. 5XR quickly let go of the Hematite she was holding and fixed her hair. Even 3XF himself stood up from where he was lounging, but he didn't bother to hold up the salute his fellow Hematites gave as the new Gem stormed in.

She was an Agate, a Zebra Agate, the keeper of the Battlefield on this side of the planet. Like all Agates, she was uptight and near tyrannical towards the Hematites under her command, but although they dreaded her presence it didn't stop them from making fun of her when she wasn't aware. In fact, the way that her hair was done made them coin the nickname "top Gem," but they wouldn’t be caught shattered calling her that to her face.

Regardless of all this, of all the very few Gems he knew, 3XF hated her the most.

"Well?" the Agate demanded, her eyes darting from one Hematite to the next. "Is one of you going to tell me why you lot neither have your weapons ready or are on your way to the field?"

As if on cue, every Hematite in the room summoned their weapon, as though that could keep her wrath from growing. 3XF reached a hand to his Gem, on the left side of his head where his undercut was, and pulled his double-bladed battle axe. He stuck the end in the ground and let it lean against him.

The summoning of weapons, however, was undoubtedly not enough to answer Zebra Agate's question. To no one's surprise, it was 2XJ who stepped forward to her and blurted out the problem.

"3XF is refusing to enter the arena today. She says she's tired of it."

"Is that so?" Zebra Agate turned to face him, and it took all he had not to flinch under her stern gaze. "Care to explain yourself, 3XF?"

He clenched his teeth, seething momentarily before he answered. He really did not like 2XJ. "It's just as 2XJ said. I don't want to go out today. I'm tired of fighting for no reason."

"It is not for no reason," the Agate countered. A flare of annoyance within Hematite 3XF threatened to boil over into anger. "We have the glorious honor of performing for Her Clarities…"

She rattled on, but Hematite 3XF was no longer listening. He was too mad, his grip tightening around his battle axe further and further as his gaze bounced between Zebra Agate and 2XJ. One was a fellow fighter who did not share the same views as he did and felt it necessary to reprimand him for thinking differently. The other was a superior, exercising her authority over others by punishing them. Diamonds, it disgusted him.

"--and I do not run this arena just to have my Hematites refuse to fight when they are supposed to!"

Ah. He missed the rest of Zebra Agate's rant. Judging by the expressions on the other Hematites, they didn't care to hear it either. Except for 2XJ, maybe. She was grinning smugly at him.

"With all due respect, ma'am," Hematite 3XF replied, choosing his words carefully, "I don’t fight for the entertainment of other Gems just to get told off by an Agate with an ugly luster."

There was a moment of stunned silence. The Agate looked aghast, 2XJ was surprised, and then the other Hematites present started oohing. Zebra Agate's face twisted into absolute rage, positively fuming at the insult.

"How dare you!" she shouted. "You are a Hematite, and I expect you to act like one and fight in the arena when you are told to fight in the--"

And then it happened too fast for him to register. One moment 3XF was fuming, holding his axe in a death grip, and the next his anger burst and he lunged forward, catching Zebra Agate and 2XJ in the swing of his axe--the latter accidentally. Oops.

It wasn't until their Gems clattered onto the ground that he fully realized what he had done.

All the other Hematites were staring at him. He stared back, the reality settling in. He just committed an act of treason. Fear prickled up the back of his neck as he watched the gazes of the others carefully, but he didn't make a move back or forwards. Instead he stood where he was, axe still held out, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Oh my Diamonds...!"

"3XF!"

"Did she...She really did! She did that!"

3XF finally took a step forward, axe still in front of him. The other Hematites flinched and stepped away, all too nervous to do anything against him. Every single eye was on him. And then he took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves as an improvised plan formed in his head. It was patchy, uncertain, but it would have to do for now.

"You all," he started, voice surprisingly still despite his own emotions, "go out on the field. Nothing happened. You hear me?"

He was answered with fearfully wide eyes and several nods. When they were hesitant to move, 3XF gestured for the entrance to the field with the end of his axe, and they nervously complied, all marching along just as they normally would.

"What about you, XF?"

5XR was still there. He turned to her, relaxing slightly and standing upright, but she continued anyway, "What are you going to do? You just--when they find out, the Diamonds, they'll--you'll--"

"Hey," 3XF said, snapping her out of her worried stammering. "You don't have to worry about me anymore. I’m gonna get off this damned planet."

"You...you have a plan?"

"Something like that. You'll probably never see me again, one way or another." He shrugged nonchalantly, already turning to make his way out of the arena. The battle axe fizzled into light and faded away and he stepped away, but then 5XR spoke up yet again.

"Good luck, XF."

"Thanks, XR. You too."

And then he started to run, thinking on his feet. He would have to be fast, and he would have to find a communicator as soon as possible. There was a pilot he had to get in touch with.

[karenemilne]

Anti-chafe bands are the future.

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday and happy summer hols for the teachers out there- we made it!! As promised, here is the monthly blog!! My last blog was 5 weeks ago and in that time I have lost just over 4lbs. Now if I’m honest, I am pretty certain those 4lbs are back on after Germany, but I have absolutely no regrets or hang-ups about that as for me, the whole point in working out and making targets is so that I can enjoy myself guilt free when I have the opportunity (and I can confirm, the beer/ice cream/chips were most certainly guilt free!!!). 4lbs in 5 weeks also isn’t the most impressive weight loss but I’m at a point where my weight has plateaued. For the first few weeks I really struggled to shift my weight below 69kg and I found it quite difficult to motivate myself when I felt like I was working my arse off but not getting the results. I think at this point it would probably be quite easy to give up and have a ‘what’s the point’ attitude but I couldn’t let myself down (or you guys) and I decided to try to change my routine slightly to reach my target. In the last couple of weeks before the final weigh in, I increased the number of workouts and cut out the level of binge eating. I certainly don’t mean I cut out cheat meals (never!) but I tried to binge slightly less and for the last couple of weeks in June I cut out alcohol (yes you have read that correct. Karen Strongbow Milne, cut out alcohol). If I’m honest, this month has been pretty hard going but see the feeling I had when I stepped on the scales and saw I had reached my main target- it was the best feeling ever and made it all worth it. In my first blog I wrote that I wanted to get down 10kg by the summer hols and with hard work and dedication (copyright, Mayweather) I achieved that, weighing in at 67.15! I’ve made the decision to not weigh myself this week (or probably for the foreseeable future) until I’ve given myself time to lose what I will gain during my holidays.

 So, similar to the last blog, I am not going to go through every day for the last 5 weeks as this blog will become the size of a dissertation and ‘ain’t nobody got time for that’.

 Week 1- I had a bit of a mixed week this week. I worked out 4 times during the week but also ate more than usual for someone on a ‘diet’. This week I tried to vary my exercises at the gym so that I wasn’t just sticking to the one routine and getting bored or used to it. I still swear by red-zone running- follow them on Instagram! I switch between long endurance runs and sprinting sessions and each run involves interval training, which has definitely improved my speed and endurance, especially when I’m running outside. In fact, this week I managed to run my fastest 5k under 30mins! Usually when I am at the gym I do all my cardio first and then do weights, but a couple of times this week I did a 5min warm up jog, moved onto weights and then finished on a 20min run when my body was already tired which meant I had to work harder- this is shit at the time but makes you leave feeling gassed and like you’ve pushed your body to it’s limits. This week I also did more weights and started using the free bar to do squats (I am shit at this)! Now that all sounds very positive but here’s the not so healthy part. I had a midweek Chinese, many cans of strongbow on the Saturday night and then a takeaway in the small hours to prevent a strongbow hangover (that’s my excuse anyway!). I also patched a boxing workout because I got home from work and it was raining/windy outside and once I was in I couldn’t face leaving the house again- we’ve all been there!! So yeah, a mixed week, so mixed that I actually gained 1lbs- oops!

 Week 2- Another not so great week (and I wonder why I plateaued). I actually had a very busy week at work with two late night events so I struggled to fit as many workouts in. Yes, I could have found the time and if I wanted to I would have, but sometimes you just have to be honest and say ‘I can’t be arsed’. It’s not a crime!! I did go to the gym a couple of times this week and as well as my usual running workouts, I included kettle bell circuits, deadlifts and rowing intervals. Now the main achievement of this week was the run I completed on the Sunday. This week I signed up for the Glasgow half marathon and I asked Ross to take me out on a long run to prove to myself that I could do it. I managed to run 12.1 miles without walking at all!! Now I could lie and say this was easy but the full thing fucking sucked. About 5km in I realised that my toes were rubbing together and to be honest, I probably should have stopped to readjust them but I knew the only way I would survive this run was if I kept going no matter what happened. By the 10km part I already felt very tired and found this run really mentally draining, as I knew that the next half of the run would be harder as I still had two big hills to face. Now I don’t normally believe in miracles but mid-run I found £1 in my pocket, which Ross took from me and ran ahead to buy a bottle of water. I honestly don’t think I’d have completed this run if it wasn’t for that bottle! Around the 17km mark I reached the biggest hill of the run. At this point I was gubbed. My legs were hardly lifting and honestly, I had a total breakdown. I burst into tears which was the worst idea as then my throat got blocked and then I couldn’t get my breath back- all in all, I was an absolute riot. BUT, I persevered and made it to the end (and then cried another 2 times because I was so proud of myself!). As much as this run SUCKED, it has made me feel a lot more confident about the half marathon as I think I’ll be able to manage it!! On a side note- HOW does anyone complete a full marathon?! How!! I couldn’t imagine being able to double that run. I don’t think I’d have toes left!!! At the end of this week I was back down to 69 meaning I’d lost the pound I had gained, but was still sitting around the same weight (frustrating but deserved)!

 Week 3- There are no words to explain the PAIN I felt on Monday morning. I was walking around school like I’d shit my pants, I couldn’t stand up without making a noise that sounded like I was dying inside, I had to wear sandals to prevent squishing the 5 blisters I had under my toes and my hair was such a riot (as I was too tired to do it the day before) that a child asked me at 1pm if I ‘was just out my bed’. Good times! I had to take Monday off to recover but I actually felt okay by Tuesday! I went to the gym 4 times this week but avoided outdoor running to help my legs recover. At the beginning of the week, I also replaced running with walking fast up a steep incline on the treadmill and focused on arm weights instead of legs. One thing that really helped me diet/exercise this week was that when I did my weekly meal planning, I planned that I was getting an Indian at the weekend. This meant that those times when I couldn’t be arsed working out, I thought to myself ‘push yourself and think of how much you’ll have earned that takeaway’ and it worked for me (and my god was the Indian worth it!!). By the end of this week (before the Indian) I weighed in at 67.45 (21.5lbs down and 0.5lbs away from target!).

 Week 4- I was really strict with myself this week as my final weigh in was on the Saturday. I stuck to cornflakes/porridge for breakfast, my really boring, dressing-free salads for lunch, and a healthy meal at night with no snacks in between and honestly, depriving myself of snacks made this week so much harder, but I knew it had to be done if I wanted to reach my goal! Again, I had quite a busy week at school, but this time instead of allowing that to be a barrier, I made time to exercise no matter how short a workout it was. On days where I was busy I did a 20mins Joe Wicks full body workout to get a sweat up and burn some calories. I also went out for a run between work and an evening event and as much as I couldn’t be arsed at the time, I’m so glad I did as I achieved a new 10K PB of under 1:05!! Although it meant that I was exhausted later that night, knowing I had done another workout made me feel better. I also LOVE running in the morning (as long as it’s a nice day!). As much as it is the worst feeling when the alarm goes off at 5:30, it is so worth it to know that at the end of your working day you can go home and relax completely guilt free!! On Friday night, Ross and I went to Aileen and Sinkies where we would normally get a takeaway and have hunners of bevy but this time round Sinkie cooked a healthy meal and I stayed alcohol free to help cross the finish line the next day! By the Friday I would have loved a prosecco/cider/gin/anything but I knew deep down if I had a drink I wouldn’t make my target in the morning so staying sober was worth it (on this one occasion!). By the end of this week I reached my target and weighed in over 10kg down and sitting at 67.15- unreal! Can’t quite believe I managed it!!

 Week 5- This week I was away in Germany on a music trip with the school. What a week!! And it is safe to say all healthy eating went straight out the window (and not a single fuck was given!). I ate crisps, chips, ice cream, German sausages, developed a new love for German beer and do you know the best thing about it all? I didn’t feel slightly guilty at all. I felt like I had earned it. I knew I would gain weight and feel bloated but because I had already lost weight, I didn’t feel worried or self-conscious about a wee flab roll or two! Similar to the week before, although I was on a school trip, I made time to exercise (with a lot of help from Paul and Elaine). I went for 2 early morning runs along the Rhine in Boppard and although the runs were difficult as it was 24 degrees at 6:30am, the views made it so worth it!! I also took 10 children down to the Rhine to do a 6am HIIT workout one morning, which was actually a lot of fun and they seemed to get a lot out of it too (even though they couldn’t walk the next morning)! On a side note- everyone with a thick thigh needs to buy anti-chafe bands. Absolute game changer!!! Even when I was a size 8 (a long ass time ago) my legs have always chafed! The bands I got were £3 from Sainsburys (online) and it just made the whole holiday more enjoyable as I didn’t have to worry about the dreaded rash. I don’t care if talking about this makes people think I’ve got tree trunks, I had tree trunks which didn’t rub for once and that was fabulous!!! Since I’ve been home I’ve been to the gym a couple of times and will continue to hammer it until Ross and I go to Greece on Tuesday, and who knows, maybe I’ll even go for a morning run there!!

 So there you go! That has been my breakdown of the month of June! Reached a big target, signed up for a half marathon and discovered a love for beer- what a month! In July, I have two big holidays where again I will be eating and drinking what I want but isn’t that why we workout? To feel good and enjoy ourselves guilt free? That’s certainly why I’m doing it (and to resemble a bowling ball less than before)! One last thing I’ll say in this blog- I only have one big regret since I’ve started this ‘journey’. I never took a ‘before’ photo because at that time I was disgusted looking at myself in the mirror and couldn’t face coming across a photo of myself looking like that, but now that I’ve lost weight, I wish I had a comparison photo to see how far I’ve come! People always say to me that they can see a big difference, but I just wish I could see it as much too!! So, if you are reading this and thinking you’re going to start, no matter how much you hate how the photo looks, take that picture!! You’ll regret it if you don’t!! Thank you for reading and I’ll be back in a month! X

[themoneybuff-blog]

Just solve the problem!

While the contractors were working to replace the siding on our new home last summer, they discovered a termite infestation outside the bathroom.

Further investigation revealed that the floor under the tub was not only wet and damp, but had actually completely rotted. So, we hired somebody to repair the damage. On the first day he was here, I went into the bathroom barefoot. Oops. I stepped on a shard of glass tile. That splinter was stuck in my foot for weeks. At first, it didnt really affect normal activity. If I wore sneakers and socks, I barely felt it. But if I wore sandals, I got a sharp stabbing pain in the side of my left foot. If I tried to run, the same thing happened. And forget about going to the gym! Now, the obvious response here is, Why didnt you remove the sliver from your foot? Great question! On the very first night, Kim did try to remove the sliver, and we thought she got it. But the next morning when I took Tally for a walk, I realized the sliver was still there. But I didnt do anything about it. I lived with it for weeks, a constant source of low-grade irritation. This, my friends, is a perfect example of a couple of things. First, its my familys mentality in action. For some stupid stupid reason, we Roths dont like dealing with medical issues. When were sick, we suffer for days (or weeks) before going to a doctor. When were hurt, we just suck it up. When I was young, my mother sprained her ankle. She limped around for months before seeking medical attention. In college, I broke a finger playing touch football over Thanksgiving. I dealt with the intense pain until Christmas break, at which time I finally decided to see a doctor.Second, this a perfect example of putting up with a problem instead of finding a solution. Most people myself included are willing to tolerate a great deal of dissatisfaction and discomfort before deciding to remedy whatever is wrong in their lives. Im not sure why this is the case, but its true. With the glass shard in my foot, most of the time I barely noticed. But sometimes the pain was especially bad. I remember one morning while walking the dog, it felt like somebody was stabbing me with a needle. I just need to solve the problem, I thought to myself and that reminded me of some wise advice I once received. Just Solve the Problem About a decade ago, I worked with a life coach. Each week, wed have an hour-long phone conversation about the ways I was trying to become a better person. I made great progress in some areas, but little progress in others. One day, we were talking about my inability to eat a healthy breakfast. Ive always been the sort of guy who knows he should eat a nutritious breakfast but doesnt actually do so. My coach had been encouraging me to make this a habit in my life, but I kept complaining about all the reasons it wasnt possible. Eventually, shed had enough. J.D., youre being ridiculous, my coach said, exasperated. This isnt rocket science. Millions of people eat a healthy breakfast every day. You can too. You need to stop making excuses. You need to identify the problem and solve the problem. Just solve the problem! This advice hit me hard: Just solve the problem. Obvious, I know, but that doesnt mean its not powerful. I began to recognize that, in so many ways, I deliberately lived in the problem instead of living in the solution. I realized that maybe I could fix the things that were broken in my life if Id only take the time to do so. (After all, Id already made the resolution to become a money boss and that had worked wonders with my financial situation!) With breakfast, for instance, the solution was to make it easy to have healthy choices. For me, that meant stocking the fridge with egg whites and chicken sausage. It meant learning to like yogurt. It also meant giving myself permission to spend a little extra on pre-packaged fruit and not kidding breakfast steaks. (I was eating paleo at the time, so a piece of filet mignon was perfectly acceptableif somewhat expensive.) Related reading: A few months ago, there was a thread on Reddit discussing why people choose long-term inconvenience over short-term inconvenience: I just spent at least 10 minutes undoing several screws using the end of a butter knife that was already in the same room, rather than go upstairs and get a proper screw driver for the job that would have made the job a lot easier and quicker. And I spent weeks limping around with a sliver in my foot rather than have Kim spend five minutes taking it out. How Do You Solve the Problem? Just solve the problem is terrific advice that can be applied to all aspects of life. For almost a decade now, its been a mantra of mine. Admittedly, its a mantra that I sometimes forget to repeat to myself. But when I do remember to heed these words, they help me get a hell of a lot done. But just how do you go about solving the problems in your life? I believe theres a six-step process that you can use to tackle the things youve been neglecting for too long: Recognize a problem exists. You need to be conscious that a problem is present before you can figure out what that problem is. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Its easy to get complacent, to just accept that this is the way things are. For instance, you might be unhappy with your financial situation; you might realize that something with the way youre handling money isnt working.Identify the problem. After youve recognized that things arent right, ask yourself why. What is the specific problem thats leading to your unhappiness? Is there more than one problem? Using the previous example, once youve realized you need to do something different with your dollars, you might find that debt is dragging you down.Diagnose the source of the problem. Next, try to figure out why your problem exists. How did it start? Why does it continue? Why does it make you unhappy? With our financial example, youd quickly discover that your debt exists because you spend more than you earn. But why do you spend more than you earn? When did you start doing this? Why do you continue to do so?Brainstorm solutions. Now that youve identified the problem (and its source), its time to figure out how to fix things. This is the fun part. Come up with a list of ways you can overcome the problem thats been holding you back. To get out of debt, for instance, you might take a two-pronged approach: boost your income by taking a second job while also cutting back temporarily on some non-essentials.Formulate a plan. Once youve come up with a solution to your problem, make a plan to turn these dreams into reality. How specifically are you going to implement your solution? What steps can you take today and tomorrow to solve the problem? If youre trying to trim your budget, you might draft a prioritized list of places you can cut your spending. Then you can write down concrete steps to take toward each of these goals.Take action. The last step is the most important. To solve any problem, you must take action. It doesnt do any good to identify the problem, to brainstorm solutions, and to formulate a plan if youre not going to do the work necessary to make things right. Youll never get out of debt if all you do is tell yourself you ought to spend less. You must truly spend less in order to eliminate the problem. Heres one way Im currently using this just solve the problem methodology in my own life. As you may recall, Kim and I both packed on the pounds during our 15-month trip around the U.S. Weve been home nearly two years now, but we havent lost any weight. Were both aware that a problem exists: Were uncomfortable with how we feel. Why are we fat? Why arent we fit? Whats the source of the problem? Well, alcohol is a big culprit. We drink far too much beer and wine. In fact, Id go so far as to say that all the extra weight that each of us is carrying comes from booze. The lack of fitness, however, is because we got out of the habit of exercising. When we first met, we both went to the gym five times a week. Thats dropped to zero times a week. Yikes. So, how can we solve the problem(s)? First, we can drink less. Second, we can choose healthier foods. (Our diets arent terrible, but they arent great either.) Third, we can look for ways to make exercise happen instead of coming up with reasons that it cant. Now that we have some solutions, we can develop a plan to put them into action. Kim recently spent a couple of weeks doing a medically-supervised water fast to reset her system. When I return from this road trip, Im going to make fitness my top priority. (Sorry, GRS. Youll drop to number two.) Im going to return to my trusty paleo-ish diet, commit to cycling every day, and do what I can to avoid alcohol. The Bottom Line I have a terrible tendency to overthink things. I make them more complicated than they have to be. That was certainly the case back when my life coach was trying to teach me how to eat a healthy breakfast. I mean, how hard is it to pull a yogurt from the fridge? I get frustrated when people come up with reasons that something cant be done instead of thinking of ways it can be done. Yet Im guilty of the same thing when I fall into the trap of overthinking the problems in my life. Taking my foot as an example, I used all of the following as reasons not to remove the sliver: Oh, the contractors are still here. We should wait until they leave before we remove the splinter. (But, of course, by the time theyd left Id forgotten about it.)Oh, my feet are dirty right now. We should wait until Ive had a chance to clean them.Oh, Kim just got home from work. I should give her a chance to rest before I ask her to remove the splinter. (But, of course, Id forget to ask her to help me later.)Oh, were about to leave. Itd be inconvenient to take the time to get the splinter out now. We should do it when we get home.Oh, Im tired. We should just go to bed. We can always remove the splinter in the morning. Looking back, its clear to me that these were lame excuses. Id come up with reasons not to remove the sliver of glass instead of looking for an opportunity to get it done. Eventually, I recognized how foolish I was being. Kim and I sat down one night and she spent 45 minutes searching for the splinter in my foot. And you know what? As soon as she pulled it out, everything felt so much better. Hard to believe such a tiny splinter could cause so much pain. And hard to believe Im so stubborn and stupid that Id live with that pain for a couple of weeks instead of simply solving the problem.

https://www.getrichslowly.org/solve-the-problem/

[andrewdburton]

Just solve the problem!

While the contractors were working to replace the siding on our new home last summer, they discovered a termite infestation outside the bathroom.

Further investigation revealed that the floor under the tub was not only wet and damp, but had actually completely rotted. So, we hired somebody to repair the damage. On the first day he was here, I went into the bathroom barefoot. Oops. I stepped on a shard of glass tile. That splinter was stuck in my foot for weeks.

At first, it didn’t really affect normal activity. If I wore sneakers and socks, I barely felt it. But if I wore sandals, I got a sharp stabbing pain in the side of my left foot. If I tried to run, the same thing happened. And forget about going to the gym!

Now, the obvious response here is, “Why didn’t you remove the sliver from your foot?” Great question!

On the very first night, Kim did try to remove the sliver, and we thought she got it. But the next morning when I took Tally for a walk, I realized the sliver was still there. But I didn’t do anything about it. I lived with it for weeks, a constant source of low-grade irritation.

This, my friends, is a perfect example of a couple of things.

First, it’s my family’s mentality in action. For some stupid stupid reason, we Roths don’t like dealing with medical issues. When we’re sick, we suffer for days (or weeks) before going to a doctor. When we’re hurt, we just suck it up. When I was young, my mother sprained her ankle. She limped around for months before seeking medical attention. In college, I broke a finger playing touch football over Thanksgiving. I dealt with the intense pain until Christmas break, at which time I finally decided to see a doctor.

Second, this a perfect example of putting up with a problem instead of finding a solution. Most people — myself included — are willing to tolerate a great deal of dissatisfaction and discomfort before deciding to remedy whatever is wrong in their lives. I’m not sure why this is the case, but it’s true.

With the glass shard in my foot, most of the time I barely noticed. But sometimes the pain was especially bad. I remember one morning while walking the dog, it felt like somebody was stabbing me with a needle. “I just need to solve the problem,” I thought to myself — and that reminded me of some wise advice I once received.

Just Solve the Problem

About a decade ago, I worked with a life coach. Each week, we’d have an hour-long phone conversation about the ways I was trying to become a better person. I made great progress in some areas, but little progress in others.

One day, we were talking about my inability to eat a healthy breakfast. I’ve always been the sort of guy who knows he should eat a nutritious breakfast but doesn’t actually do so. My coach had been encouraging me to make this a habit in my life, but I kept complaining about all the reasons it wasn’t possible. Eventually, she’d had enough.

“J.D., you’re being ridiculous,” my coach said, exasperated. “This isn’t rocket science. Millions of people eat a healthy breakfast every day. You can too. You need to stop making excuses. You need to identify the problem and solve the problem. Just solve the problem!”

This advice hit me hard: “Just solve the problem.” Obvious, I know, but that doesn’t mean it’s not powerful. I began to recognize that, in so many ways, I deliberately lived in the problem instead of living in the solution. I realized that maybe I could fix the things that were broken in my life if I’d only take the time to do so. (After all, I’d already made the resolution to become a money boss — and that had worked wonders with my financial situation!)

With breakfast, for instance, the solution was to make it easy to have healthy choices. For me, that meant stocking the fridge with egg whites and chicken sausage. It meant learning to like yogurt. It also meant giving myself permission to spend a little extra on pre-packaged fruit and — not kidding — breakfast steaks. (I was eating paleo at the time, so a piece of filet mignon was perfectly acceptable…if somewhat expensive.)

Related reading: A few months ago, there was a thread on Reddit discussing why people choose long-term inconvenience over short-term inconvenience: “I just spent at least 10 minutes undoing several screws using the end of a butter knife that was already in the same room, rather than go upstairs and get a proper screw driver for the job that would have made the job a lot easier and quicker.” And I spent weeks limping around with a sliver in my foot rather than have Kim spend five minutes taking it out.

How Do You Solve the Problem?

“Just solve the problem” is terrific advice that can be applied to all aspects of life. For almost a decade now, it’s been a mantra of mine. Admittedly, it’s a mantra that I sometimes forget to repeat to myself. But when I do remember to heed these words, they help me get a hell of a lot done.

But just how do you go about solving the problems in your life? I believe there’s a six-step process that you can use to tackle the things you’ve been neglecting for too long:

Recognize a problem exists. You need to be conscious that a problem is present before you can figure out what that problem is. Sometimes this is easier said than done. It’s easy to get complacent, to just accept that this is “the way things are”. For instance, you might be unhappy with your financial situation; you might realize that something with the way you’re handling money isn’t working.

Identify the problem. After you’ve recognized that things aren’t right, ask yourself why. What is the specific problem that’s leading to your unhappiness? Is there more than one problem? Using the previous example, once you’ve realized you need to do something different with your dollars, you might find that debt is dragging you down.

Diagnose the source of the problem. Next, try to figure out why your problem exists. How did it start? Why does it continue? Why does it make you unhappy? With our financial example, you’d quickly discover that your debt exists because you spend more than you earn. But why do you spend more than you earn? When did you start doing this? Why do you continue to do so?

Brainstorm solutions. Now that you’ve identified the problem (and its source), it’s time to figure out how to fix things. This is the fun part. Come up with a list of ways you can overcome the problem that’s been holding you back. To get out of debt, for instance, you might take a two-pronged approach: boost your income by taking a second job while also cutting back temporarily on some non-essentials.

Formulate a plan. Once you’ve come up with a solution to your problem, make a plan to turn these dreams into reality. How specifically are you going to implement your solution? What steps can you take today and tomorrow to solve the problem? If you’re trying to trim your budget, you might draft a prioritized list of places you can cut your spending. Then you can write down concrete steps to take toward each of these goals.

Take action. The last step is the most important. To solve any problem, you must take action. It doesn’t do any good to identify the problem, to brainstorm solutions, and to formulate a plan if you’re not going to do the work necessary to make things right. You’ll never get out of debt if all you do is tell yourself you ought to spend less. You must truly spend less in order to eliminate the problem.

Here’s one way I’m currently using this “just solve the problem” methodology in my own life.

As you may recall, Kim and I both packed on the pounds during our 15-month trip around the U.S. We’ve been home nearly two years now, but we haven’t lost any weight. We’re both aware that a problem exists: We’re uncomfortable with how we feel.

Why are we fat? Why aren’t we fit? What’s the source of the problem? Well, alcohol is a big culprit. We drink far too much beer and wine. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that all the extra weight that each of us is carrying comes from booze. The lack of fitness, however, is because we got out of the habit of exercising. When we first met, we both went to the gym five times a week. That’s dropped to zero times a week. Yikes.

So, how can we solve the problem(s)? First, we can drink less. Second, we can choose healthier foods. (Our diets aren’t terrible, but they aren’t great either.) Third, we can look for ways to make exercise happen instead of coming up with reasons that it can’t.

Now that we have some solutions, we can develop a plan to put them into action. Kim recently spent a couple of weeks doing a medically-supervised water fast to reset her system. When I return from this road trip, I’m going to make fitness my top priority. (Sorry, GRS. You’ll drop to number two.) I’m going to return to my trusty “paleo-ish diet”, commit to cycling every day, and do what I can to avoid alcohol.

The Bottom Line

I have a terrible tendency to overthink things. I make them more complicated than they have to be. That was certainly the case back when my life coach was trying to teach me how to eat a healthy breakfast. I mean, how hard is it to pull a yogurt from the fridge?

I get frustrated when people come up with reasons that something can’t be done instead of thinking of ways it can be done. Yet I’m guilty of the same thing when I fall into the trap of overthinking the problems in my life.

Taking my foot as an example, I used all of the following as reasons not to remove the sliver:

“Oh, the contractors are still here. We should wait until they leave before we remove the splinter.” (But, of course, by the time they’d left I’d forgotten about it.)

“Oh, my feet are dirty right now. We should wait until I’ve had a chance to clean them.”

“Oh, Kim just got home from work. I should give her a chance to rest before I ask her to remove the splinter.” (But, of course, I’d forget to ask her to help me later.)

“Oh, we’re about to leave. It’d be inconvenient to take the time to get the splinter out now. We should do it when we get home.”

“Oh, I’m tired. We should just go to bed. We can always remove the splinter in the morning.”

Looking back, it’s clear to me that these were lame excuses. I’d come up with reasons not to remove the sliver of glass instead of looking for an opportunity to get it done.

Eventually, I recognized how foolish I was being. Kim and I sat down one night and she spent 45 minutes searching for the splinter in my foot. And you know what? As soon as she pulled it out, everything felt so much better. Hard to believe such a tiny splinter could cause so much pain. And hard to believe I’m so stubborn and stupid that I’d live with that pain for a couple of weeks instead of simply solving the problem.

The post Just solve the problem! appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

from Finance https://www.getrichslowly.org/solve-the-problem/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[foursprout-blog]

Just solve the problem!

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/just-solve-the-problem/

Just solve the problem!

While the contractors were working to replace the siding on our new home last summer, they discovered a termite infestation outside the bathroom.

Further investigation revealed that the floor under the tub was not only wet and damp, but had actually completely rotted. So, we hired somebody to repair the damage. On the first day he was here, I went into the bathroom barefoot. Oops. I stepped on a shard of glass tile. That splinter was stuck in my foot for weeks.

At first, it didn’t really affect normal activity. If I wore sneakers and socks, I barely felt it. But if I wore sandals, I got a sharp stabbing pain in the side of my left foot. If I tried to run, the same thing happened. And forget about going to the gym!

Now, the obvious response here is, “Why didn’t you remove the sliver from your foot?” Great question!

On the very first night, Kim did try to remove the sliver, and we thought she got it. But the next morning when I took Tally for a walk, I realized the sliver was still there. But I didn’t do anything about it. I lived with it for weeks, a constant source of low-grade irritation.

This, my friends, is a perfect example of a couple of things.

First, it’s my family’s mentality in action. For some stupid stupid reason, we Roths don’t like dealing with medical issues. When we’re sick, we suffer for days (or weeks) before going to a doctor. When we’re hurt, we just suck it up. When I was young, my mother sprained her ankle. She limped around for months before seeking medical attention. In college, I broke a finger playing touch football over Thanksgiving. I dealt with the intense pain until Christmas break, at which time I finally decided to see a doctor.

Second, this a perfect example of putting up with a problem instead of finding a solution. Most people — myself included — are willing to tolerate a great deal of dissatisfaction and discomfort before deciding to remedy whatever is wrong in their lives. I’m not sure why this is the case, but it’s true.

With the glass shard in my foot, most of the time I barely noticed. But sometimes the pain was especially bad. I remember one morning while walking the dog, it felt like somebody was stabbing me with a needle. “I just need to solve the problem,” I thought to myself — and that reminded me of some wise advice I once received.

Just Solve the Problem

About a decade ago, I worked with a life coach. Each week, we’d have an hour-long phone conversation about the ways I was trying to become a better person. I made great progress in some areas, but little progress in others.

One day, we were talking about my inability to eat a healthy breakfast. I’ve always been the sort of guy who knows he should eat a nutritious breakfast but doesn’t actually do so. My coach had been encouraging me to make this a habit in my life, but I kept complaining about all the reasons it wasn’t possible. Eventually, she’d had enough.

“J.D., you’re being ridiculous,” my coach said, exasperated. “This isn’t rocket science. Millions of people eat a healthy breakfast every day. You can too. You need to stop making excuses. You need to identify the problem and solve the problem. Just solve the problem!”

This advice hit me hard: “Just solve the problem.” Obvious, I know, but that doesn’t mean it’s not powerful. I began to recognize that, in so many ways, I deliberately lived in the problem instead of living in the solution. I realized that maybe I could fix the things that were broken in my life if I’d only take the time to do so. (After all, I’d already made the resolution to become a money boss — and that had worked wonders with my financial situation!)

With breakfast, for instance, the solution was to make it easy to have healthy choices. For me, that meant stocking the fridge with egg whites and chicken sausage. It meant learning to like yogurt. It also meant giving myself permission to spend a little extra on pre-packaged fruit and — not kidding — breakfast steaks. (I was eating paleo at the time, so a piece of filet mignon was perfectly acceptable…if somewhat expensive.)

Related reading: A few months ago, there was a thread on Reddit discussing why people choose long-term inconvenience over short-term inconvenience: “I just spent at least 10 minutes undoing several screws using the end of a butter knife that was already in the same room, rather than go upstairs and get a proper screw driver for the job that would have made the job a lot easier and quicker.” And I spent weeks limping around with a sliver in my foot rather than have Kim spend five minutes taking it out.

How Do You Solve the Problem?

“Just solve the problem” is terrific advice that can be applied to all aspects of life. For almost a decade now, it’s been a mantra of mine. Admittedly, it’s a mantra that I sometimes forget to repeat to myself. But when I do remember to heed these words, they help me get a hell of a lot done.

But just how do you go about solving the problems in your life? I believe there’s a six-step process that you can use to tackle the things you’ve been neglecting for too long:

Recognize a problem exists. You need to be conscious that a problem is present before you can figure out what that problem is. Sometimes this is easier said than done. It’s easy to get complacent, to just accept that this is “the way things are”. For instance, you might be unhappy with your financial situation; you might realize that something with the way you’re handling money isn’t working.

Identify the problem. After you’ve recognized that things aren’t right, ask yourself why. What is the specific problem that’s leading to your unhappiness? Is there more than one problem? Using the previous example, once you’ve realized you need to do something different with your dollars, you might find that debt is dragging you down.

Diagnose the source of the problem. Next, try to figure out why your problem exists. How did it start? Why does it continue? Why does it make you unhappy? With our financial example, you’d quickly discover that your debt exists because you spend more than you earn. But why do you spend more than you earn? When did you start doing this? Why do you continue to do so?

Brainstorm solutions. Now that you’ve identified the problem (and its source), it’s time to figure out how to fix things. This is the fun part. Come up with a list of ways you can overcome the problem that’s been holding you back. To get out of debt, for instance, you might take a two-pronged approach: boost your income by taking a second job while also cutting back temporarily on some non-essentials.

Formulate a plan. Once you’ve come up with a solution to your problem, make a plan to turn these dreams into reality. How specifically are you going to implement your solution? What steps can you take today and tomorrow to solve the problem? If you’re trying to trim your budget, you might draft a prioritized list of places you can cut your spending. Then you can write down concrete steps to take toward each of these goals.

Take action. The last step is the most important. To solve any problem, you must take action. It doesn’t do any good to identify the problem, to brainstorm solutions, and to formulate a plan if you’re not going to do the work necessary to make things right. You’ll never get out of debt if all you do is tell yourself you ought to spend less. You must truly spend less in order to eliminate the problem.

Here’s one way I’m currently using this “just solve the problem” methodology in my own life.

As you may recall, Kim and I both packed on the pounds during our 15-month trip around the U.S. We’ve been home nearly two years now, but we haven’t lost any weight. We’re both aware that a problem exists: We’re uncomfortable with how we feel.

Why are we fat? Why aren’t we fit? What’s the source of the problem? Well, alcohol is a big culprit. We drink far too much beer and wine. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that all the extra weight that each of us is carrying comes from booze. The lack of fitness, however, is because we got out of the habit of exercising. When we first met, we both went to the gym five times a week. That’s dropped to zero times a week. Yikes.

So, how can we solve the problem(s)? First, we can drink less. Second, we can choose healthier foods. (Our diets aren’t terrible, but they aren’t great either.) Third, we can look for ways to make exercise happen instead of coming up with reasons that it can’t.

Now that we have some solutions, we can develop a plan to put them into action. Kim recently spent a couple of weeks doing a medically-supervised water fast to reset her system. When I return from this road trip, I’m going to make fitness my top priority. (Sorry, GRS. You’ll drop to number two.) I’m going to return to my trusty “paleo-ish diet”, commit to cycling every day, and do what I can to avoid alcohol.

The Bottom Line

I have a terrible tendency to overthink things. I make them more complicated than they have to be. That was certainly the case back when my life coach was trying to teach me how to eat a healthy breakfast. I mean, how hard is it to pull a yogurt from the fridge?

I get frustrated when people come up with reasons that something can’t be done instead of thinking of ways it can be done. Yet I’m guilty of the same thing when I fall into the trap of overthinking the problems in my life.

Taking my foot as an example, I used all of the following as reasons not to remove the sliver:

“Oh, the contractors are still here. We should wait until they leave before we remove the splinter.” (But, of course, by the time they’d left I’d forgotten about it.)

“Oh, my feet are dirty right now. We should wait until I’ve had a chance to clean them.”

“Oh, Kim just got home from work. I should give her a chance to rest before I ask her to remove the splinter.” (But, of course, I’d forget to ask her to help me later.)

“Oh, we’re about to leave. It’d be inconvenient to take the time to get the splinter out now. We should do it when we get home.”

“Oh, I’m tired. We should just go to bed. We can always remove the splinter in the morning.”

Looking back, it’s clear to me that these were lame excuses. I’d come up with reasons not to remove the sliver of glass instead of looking for an opportunity to get it done.

Eventually, I recognized how foolish I was being. Kim and I sat down one night and she spent 45 minutes searching for the splinter in my foot. And you know what? As soon as she pulled it out, everything felt so much better. Hard to believe such a tiny splinter could cause so much pain. And hard to believe I’m so stubborn and stupid that I’d live with that pain for a couple of weeks instead of simply solving the problem.

The post Just solve the problem! appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

[chronically-angelic-transripts]

Draw My #ChronicLife

February 6, 2000. This is where my story begins. My mom and dad met a few years before, had gotten married and then had me. I was born on February 6th obviously in the poorly drawn state of Ohio. In 2002 my family had another addition. I was no longer an only child. This baby was my little sister her name is Mandy. In 2004 we had yet another addition. The first and only boy so far my little brother, Micah. And then again in 2006 my little sister Elly made the debut into the family. 

Sometime in between 2009 and 2010 I'm not quite sure on the time frame of that, I started having chronic back pain "OW!" The only reason that I remember it was even within this time frame is because of a memory I have with one of my friends. I was over at her grandparents house and we were lying on the floor for some reason and I commented that it felt nice to lay on the floor because it stretched my back out and I said "My back hurts all the time now I don't know why..." 

In 2010 I had my first move. We had been living in the same house ever since I was baby. But when I was 10 and we had to move to new one. Up until now I had been schooled at home but now I went to a real school. I actually got held back a year because my mom actually wasn't that great of a teacher and so I didn't retain a lot of information so I ended up having to redo a year but I went to a community school right there in town. 

So when I went to this new school I was well the new kid obviously. It was fourth grade and I was kind of a loner. I mean not by choice I was just kind of over here and they were all kind of over there. I mean I guess I don't blame them like I was the new kid they didn't know me but it just kind of sucks, you know? So there was this one girl named Destiny and we became pretty fast friends. So we would hang out most all of fourth grade and then partway through 5th grade and then partway through 5th grade she just kind of decided that didn't really mesh and she kind of left. 

At this point I had already been struggling with a little bit of depression and my one friend that I had abandoning me was just a little bit too much for me to handle honestly. What I am trying to draw here is like a Cheshire Cat face but I can't draw so I'm going to explain that that is what that is supposed to be. Having my friend leave me just the depression consumed me I didn't have anything to keep me occupied. My only memories from fifth grade are being in the dark, trying to get help, trying to pull out. I sat... you know those lunch tables where there's like half of it it's like really long but there's like two parts to it that are very clearly established? Yeah I started eat lunch out one of those all by myself. I felt very isolated. 

In sixth grade things got a little bit better. Depression never really goes fully away but you can have enough fun to kind of forget it's there the blackness kind of fades a little bit. It never really goes away but... there you go. So the blackness can fade a little bit so you distract yourself things get a little bit better. That was sixth grade for me. I found this group of people this kind of group of other outcasts kind of like me and we made our own little group. I actually named it. We called ourselves M&M; or the modern Musketeers with our motto "all for one and one for all" There were two boys and three girls. Just the five of us. The two boys were Justin and Trey and then there was me Delaney and Madi. 

Madison and Trey both left the school after sixth grade so it was just me Justin and Delaney which I actually have some pretty good memories from that time. We were all kind of awkward and we never went out for recess so we would always help the janitor clean up the cafeteria while everyone else was at recess. Which doesn't sound that great but it was really fun 'cause it was just the three of us in this wide open cafeteria and I remember this one time when we smashed open a barbecue packet. We made a lot of messes because meaning we were just gonna clean them up anyway. Never started a food fight though. Okay moving on. 

So my mom had gotten pregnant yet again and this time there were two of them I don't know why I I tried to add the babies holding up peace signs but I failed terribly at this but I thought it was funny that the babies would be giving peace signs and also that I failed so terribly at having the babies give peace signs so I just kept it. This happened in 2012 by the way...because I forgot to do that earlier. Okay so my mother had finally given birth. I had two little baby sisters named Mia and Libby. This is all the children and then my parents have as of yet so yes still just the one boy. That same year or maybe it was the year before that. I have a terrible memory okay? This is very hard. 

Ever since, actually ever since I was born we had been going to this one church it was it was kind of weird It had a lot of rules. Girls could only wear skirts. I wore pajama pants around the house sometimes in the winter and stuff but I08:49never wore a pair of jeans until I was 12. We were also supposed to have very long hair and cutting it even just trimming the dead ends off was just...no. And you couldn't pierce your ears either. That's what that's supposed to be. That's supposed to be an earring but it kind of just looks like more hair but no. No ear piercings or tattoos. It was the only place I could put a tattoo leave me alone. 

My mom had decided that this church wasn't really for her anymore and kind of peaced out on that. I don't know why I keep using peace in this section but she says "peace I'm out! "and she gone. This actually led to me questioning religion a lot. It sent me into a tizzy that lasted for years and I'm still no quite decided but it was really bad at the beginning. I was just so confused I mean what was right? Christianity? There's Jewishism? I don't even know what you call it. I don't know. I know what you call it I can't remember okay leave me alone. science? There Scientology? Aliens? what do I believe? What should I believe? 

In 2015 I had to move from my second house of my life an hour away from my hometown. Our family was getting pretty big at this point and my dad already worked in that town so we just decided it would be better to move there instead. So, 2015 it was finally time for high school. Yes this is an actual model of what my high school looks like it's really weird.11:292016, 10th grade. At this point in tenth grade my health started to decline. I was having more trouble with my back, I was having more trouble with my hips I was having trouble with my knees. My ankles started to be all weird my my toes my declining health also meant that my depression took a hit for the worst. I started to descend into the darkness, which was not fun. 

I decided to seek out therapy and they referred me to a psychologist (or I forget. Is it psychologist? I think it's psychologist.) where they gave me meds. The first med that I was on didn't really help me much but then the second med that I got on it helped me a whole lot I am so much less depressed than I was. So I know that my mental health was in a pretty good state I decided I needed to take a real look at my physical health. I went to my PCP and she decided we were gonna do "ALL THE TESTING EVER!!!" Despite all the testing I still have no idea what's wrong. 

The one piece of advice my doctor did give me was to exercise and I figured swimming is pretty easy on the joints. So I did that. I was not a very good swimmer in slightest but I did it. Halfway through the season I kind of realized that it was a terrible mistake because the joints in my arms had started hurting. I never had problems with the joints in my arms before and then suddenly I did. It was not fun. Now I'm going to go to a video by me from before so. 

About halfway through the season I didn't really go back anymore because my wrists and my hands had started hurting my joints never used to click before and now they do. My wrists started hurting they didn't used to click either, my elbows started hurting they don't really click but they hurt now, my shoulders click if I do this and they hurt by themselves now too. I used to have a lot of shoulder like muscle pain but now I'll get joint pain and sometimes it'll even feel like my shoulders trying to fall out of its socket I never be used to be able to bend my fingers back this far, I never used to be able to do (oops the camera can't see) I never used to able to touch my thumb to my forearm like this, I never be used to be able to do any of that. Oh they also didn't used to be able to do this this or any of this you can see. I think they used to click a little bit but now they click like a lot. 

I can touch my toes now which I can only I only used to be able to get to about here (my knees) and now I can touch my toes all the way down. See I can lift that up. My sister measured with (you're foot is in the shot) My sister measured it for me and it goes up like seven centimeters off the ground. My elbow doesn't really hyper extend but it still hurts all the time. My shoulders are the same way and yeah it's just a big ol mess. I also have started experiencing POTS symptoms and I didn't really start experiencing that until I started exercising. So honestly I'm a little scared to exercise at all anymore because I'm scared of it getting worse. Which I think is understandable.

So now I'll explain a little about POTS symptoms basically whenever I would stand up my heart would freak out. It's due to it it's a type of dysautonomia which is a dysfunction the autonomic nervous system which regulates things like blood pressure, heart rate, digestion all that good stuff. So basically my first symptom was my heart just would freak out. 

Because I was experiencing this, I went to my doctor. She referred me to a cardiologist and he ordered me a tilt table test. I actually fainted during the tilt table test. So I went back to the doctor who was under the assumption that I was just fat and had not been exercising and he was like "I don't know I'll just give you some meds and no diagnosis" 

So now we're almost to the present. 11th grade. By 11th grade given the problems in my... everything now, I had started walking with a cane over the summer. I only use it sometimes when I need it during school but even on days when I have to use it I still I get home and I just... I crash and it really sucks to be honest. My path ahead is still just one giant question mark. I have hope that I will get into this online academy thing that my school does where I can still be a student but I go and do it. It sounds like a wonderful solution and I'm probably gonna find out the day after tomorrow whether or not I got it. I don't think I'm gonna add it here just let it be unfinished. 

So that's my life so far. I may do a part two in a year or two. Who knows? But if you want to see it as it happens ,subscribe! The vlogs have been pretty inconsistent but I'm hoping to get better if I get in to the online school. Like, share subscribe and follow my media. Links in the description.

[themoneybuff-blog]

Just solve the problem!

While the contractors were working to replace the siding on our new home last summer, they discovered a termite infestation outside the bathroom.

Further investigation revealed that the floor under the tub was not only wet and damp, but had actually completely rotted. So, we hired somebody to repair the damage. On the first day he was here, I went into the bathroom barefoot. Oops. I stepped on a shard of glass tile. That splinter was stuck in my foot for weeks. At first, it didnt really affect normal activity. If I wore sneakers and socks, I barely felt it. But if I wore sandals, I got a sharp stabbing pain in the side of my left foot. If I tried to run, the same thing happened. And forget about going to the gym! Now, the obvious response here is, Why didnt you remove the sliver from your foot? Great question! On the very first night, Kim did try to remove the sliver, and we thought she got it. But the next morning when I took Tally for a walk, I realized the sliver was still there. But I didnt do anything about it. I lived with it for weeks, a constant source of low-grade irritation. This, my friends, is a perfect example of a couple of things. First, its my familys mentality in action. For some stupid stupid reason, we Roths dont like dealing with medical issues. When were sick, we suffer for days (or weeks) before going to a doctor. When were hurt, we just suck it up. When I was young, my mother sprained her ankle. She limped around for months before seeking medical attention. In college, I broke a finger playing touch football over Thanksgiving. I dealt with the intense pain until Christmas break, at which time I finally decided to see a doctor.Second, this a perfect example of putting up with a problem instead of finding a solution. Most people myself included are willing to tolerate a great deal of dissatisfaction and discomfort before deciding to remedy whatever is wrong in their lives. Im not sure why this is the case, but its true. With the glass shard in my foot, most of the time I barely noticed. But sometimes the pain was especially bad. I remember one morning while walking the dog, it felt like somebody was stabbing me with a needle. I just need to solve the problem, I thought to myself and that reminded me of some wise advice I once received. Just Solve the Problem About a decade ago, I worked with a life coach. Each week, wed have an hour-long phone conversation about the ways I was trying to become a better person. I made great progress in some areas, but little progress in others. One day, we were talking about my inability to eat a healthy breakfast. Ive always been the sort of guy who knows he should eat a nutritious breakfast but doesnt actually do so. My coach had been encouraging me to make this a habit in my life, but I kept complaining about all the reasons it wasnt possible. Eventually, shed had enough. J.D., youre being ridiculous, my coach said, exasperated. This isnt rocket science. Millions of people eat a healthy breakfast every day. You can too. You need to stop making excuses. You need to identify the problem and solve the problem. Just solve the problem! This advice hit me hard: Just solve the problem. Obvious, I know, but that doesnt mean its not powerful. I began to recognize that, in so many ways, I deliberately lived in the problem instead of living in the solution. I realized that maybe I could fix the things that were broken in my life if Id only take the time to do so. (After all, Id already made the resolution to become a money boss and that had worked wonders with my financial situation!) With breakfast, for instance, the solution was to make it easy to have healthy choices. For me, that meant stocking the fridge with egg whites and chicken sausage. It meant learning to like yogurt. It also meant giving myself permission to spend a little extra on pre-packaged fruit and not kidding breakfast steaks. (I was eating paleo at the time, so a piece of filet mignon was perfectly acceptableif somewhat expensive.) Related reading: A few months ago, there was a thread on Reddit discussing why people choose long-term inconvenience over short-term inconvenience: I just spent at least 10 minutes undoing several screws using the end of a butter knife that was already in the same room, rather than go upstairs and get a proper screw driver for the job that would have made the job a lot easier and quicker. And I spent weeks limping around with a sliver in my foot rather than have Kim spend five minutes taking it out. How Do You Solve the Problem? Just solve the problem is terrific advice that can be applied to all aspects of life. For almost a decade now, its been a mantra of mine. Admittedly, its a mantra that I sometimes forget to repeat to myself. But when I do remember to heed these words, they help me get a hell of a lot done. But just how do you go about solving the problems in your life? I believe theres a six-step process that you can use to tackle the things youve been neglecting for too long: Recognize a problem exists. You need to be conscious that a problem is present before you can figure out what that problem is. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Its easy to get complacent, to just accept that this is the way things are. For instance, you might be unhappy with your financial situation; you might realize that something with the way youre handling money isnt working.Identify the problem. After youve recognized that things arent right, ask yourself why. What is the specific problem thats leading to your unhappiness? Is there more than one problem? Using the previous example, once youve realized you need to do something different with your dollars, you might find that debt is dragging you down.Diagnose the source of the problem. Next, try to figure out why your problem exists. How did it start? Why does it continue? Why does it make you unhappy? With our financial example, youd quickly discover that your debt exists because you spend more than you earn. But why do you spend more than you earn? When did you start doing this? Why do you continue to do so?Brainstorm solutions. Now that youve identified the problem (and its source), its time to figure out how to fix things. This is the fun part. Come up with a list of ways you can overcome the problem thats been holding you back. To get out of debt, for instance, you might take a two-pronged approach: boost your income by taking a second job while also cutting back temporarily on some non-essentials.Formulate a plan. Once youve come up with a solution to your problem, make a plan to turn these dreams into reality. How specifically are you going to implement your solution? What steps can you take today and tomorrow to solve the problem? If youre trying to trim your budget, you might draft a prioritized list of places you can cut your spending. Then you can write down concrete steps to take toward each of these goals.Take action. The last step is the most important. To solve any problem, you must take action. It doesnt do any good to identify the problem, to brainstorm solutions, and to formulate a plan if youre not going to do the work necessary to make things right. Youll never get out of debt if all you do is tell yourself you ought to spend less. You must truly spend less in order to eliminate the problem. Heres one way Im currently using this just solve the problem methodology in my own life. As you may recall, Kim and I both packed on the pounds during our 15-month trip around the U.S. Weve been home nearly two years now, but we havent lost any weight. Were both aware that a problem exists: Were uncomfortable with how we feel. Why are we fat? Why arent we fit? Whats the source of the problem? Well, alcohol is a big culprit. We drink far too much beer and wine. In fact, Id go so far as to say that all the extra weight that each of us is carrying comes from booze. The lack of fitness, however, is because we got out of the habit of exercising. When we first met, we both went to the gym five times a week. Thats dropped to zero times a week. Yikes. So, how can we solve the problem(s)? First, we can drink less. Second, we can choose healthier foods. (Our diets arent terrible, but they arent great either.) Third, we can look for ways to make exercise happen instead of coming up with reasons that it cant. Now that we have some solutions, we can develop a plan to put them into action. Kim recently spent a couple of weeks doing a medically-supervised water fast to reset her system. When I return from this road trip, Im going to make fitness my top priority. (Sorry, GRS. Youll drop to number two.) Im going to return to my trusty paleo-ish diet, commit to cycling every day, and do what I can to avoid alcohol. The Bottom Line I have a terrible tendency to overthink things. I make them more complicated than they have to be. That was certainly the case back when my life coach was trying to teach me how to eat a healthy breakfast. I mean, how hard is it to pull a yogurt from the fridge? I get frustrated when people come up with reasons that something cant be done instead of thinking of ways it can be done. Yet Im guilty of the same thing when I fall into the trap of overthinking the problems in my life. Taking my foot as an example, I used all of the following as reasons not to remove the sliver: Oh, the contractors are still here. We should wait until they leave before we remove the splinter. (But, of course, by the time theyd left Id forgotten about it.)Oh, my feet are dirty right now. We should wait until Ive had a chance to clean them.Oh, Kim just got home from work. I should give her a chance to rest before I ask her to remove the splinter. (But, of course, Id forget to ask her to help me later.)Oh, were about to leave. Itd be inconvenient to take the time to get the splinter out now. We should do it when we get home.Oh, Im tired. We should just go to bed. We can always remove the splinter in the morning. Looking back, its clear to me that these were lame excuses. Id come up with reasons not to remove the sliver of glass instead of looking for an opportunity to get it done. Eventually, I recognized how foolish I was being. Kim and I sat down one night and she spent 45 minutes searching for the splinter in my foot. And you know what? As soon as she pulled it out, everything felt so much better. Hard to believe such a tiny splinter could cause so much pain. And hard to believe Im so stubborn and stupid that Id live with that pain for a couple of weeks instead of simply solving the problem.

https://www.getrichslowly.org/solve-the-problem/