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I’m gonna be at MFF!
Posted 6 years agoI just found out my schedule is clear for me to go! If anybody wants to say hi, here’s my info!
Where are you staying?
Not at a hotel!
Day of arrival/Departure?
Dec 5th - Dec 8th or something like that (still need to do my research)
Transportation?
Vehicular
Who will you hang with during the convention?
Planning on meeting folks from the Rickety Cricket and GFGF on Discord, but also happy to meet whoever else is around!
How can I find you?
Send me a note if you wanna message me and I’ll give you my Discord handle! Last year I spent a lot of time around the writing panels and arcade so that’s also an option.
Are you cliquey?
I don’t mean to be, but the slight degree of social anxiety I have means I tend to stick to folks I already know, so I can see how that might be perceived that way.
Will you be suiting?
Nope
What’s your gender?
Male, but not super attached to it! Customarily he/him pronouns but I don’t super care that much.
Are you taken? Are you looking for a mate?
Single! Looking, but not super seriously
How tall are you?
5'8"
Can I talk to you?
Absolutely!
Can I touch you?
Handshakes/reasonable stuff is AOK, just don’t be out here grabbing my butt without asking!
Can I hug or snuggle with you?
I have no problem with hugs! If things have progressed to snuggling then we’ve probably discussed other things in detail; I dunno who wrote this question lol
Are you nice?
Yeah! I never mean to offend.
Are you going to any panels/shows/dances/competitions?
Probably? I still need to do my research!
Can I give you stuff?
Yeah! Unopened is best!
Do you smoke/do drugs/vape?
Not in the least! I’d prefer not to even be around it, tbh.
Can I buy you a drink?
As long as it's handed directly from the bar tender TO ME, yes!
Will you be going to parties?
Would love to if you’ll invite me!
If I see you, how should I get your attention?
I go by Clay, I suppose!
What/where will you be eating?
Mall food, goin' cheap this year.
Where are you staying?
Not at a hotel!
Day of arrival/Departure?
Dec 5th - Dec 8th or something like that (still need to do my research)
Transportation?
Vehicular
Who will you hang with during the convention?
Planning on meeting folks from the Rickety Cricket and GFGF on Discord, but also happy to meet whoever else is around!
How can I find you?
Send me a note if you wanna message me and I’ll give you my Discord handle! Last year I spent a lot of time around the writing panels and arcade so that’s also an option.
Are you cliquey?
I don’t mean to be, but the slight degree of social anxiety I have means I tend to stick to folks I already know, so I can see how that might be perceived that way.
Will you be suiting?
Nope
What’s your gender?
Male, but not super attached to it! Customarily he/him pronouns but I don’t super care that much.
Are you taken? Are you looking for a mate?
Single! Looking, but not super seriously
How tall are you?
5'8"
Can I talk to you?
Absolutely!
Can I touch you?
Handshakes/reasonable stuff is AOK, just don’t be out here grabbing my butt without asking!
Can I hug or snuggle with you?
I have no problem with hugs! If things have progressed to snuggling then we’ve probably discussed other things in detail; I dunno who wrote this question lol
Are you nice?
Yeah! I never mean to offend.
Are you going to any panels/shows/dances/competitions?
Probably? I still need to do my research!
Can I give you stuff?
Yeah! Unopened is best!
Do you smoke/do drugs/vape?
Not in the least! I’d prefer not to even be around it, tbh.
Can I buy you a drink?
As long as it's handed directly from the bar tender TO ME, yes!
Will you be going to parties?
Would love to if you’ll invite me!
If I see you, how should I get your attention?
I go by Clay, I suppose!
What/where will you be eating?
Mall food, goin' cheap this year.
6-month Fitness Update
Posted 7 years agoIt's been 6 months since I commissioned a "before" picture of myself as a cat to get some motivation to work on my fitness, and now that I'm halfway to the "after" commission, I figured I'd write a little about how it's been going and where I'm going next!
So far, I've lost 10 pounds and gained the ability to do 4 consecutive pull-ups. The key to this was consistency: I had to find something that I was going to actually do week-in and week-out. This meant ditching activities that weren't enjoyable (like mind-numbing cardio and team sports I suck at), and more importantly, ditching mental barriers to doing what I wanted to do. I realized that I wasn't going to leave the house if I had to come back home to change after work, so I brought my gym bag to my desk. Having my A, B, and C workouts on fixed days of the week meant that if I had to skip a day due to an event on the calendar, I'd skip a whole week to get back around to the missed workout and then instead just fall off the wagon entirely, so I switched to letting the three days fall on whichever nonconsecutive days of the week I had time. Those are two big ones, but I've made a ton of other little adjustments as I've gone on. The result: I've lost 10 pounds and can now do 4 consecutive pull-ups.
However, those gains have not been made with much in the way of consistent dietary changes. I've made some tweaks to what I eat here and there, but I still eat more junk than is really reasonable. The solutions are more easily recognized than carried out. They are as follows:
1. Make my own lunches. Without bringing lunch, my options are either to rely on the office cafeteria, which serves portions fit for an elephant, or to head out and grab lunch at Subway or Quiznos somewhere nearby, which is also not the best choice. I actually did this just last week, but I discovered that I accidentally went too far in the other direction - I ended up starving by 4:00. Part of that was that I decided to try going vegetarian for lunch as a way of working on my cholesterol, but the thing about those is that they're not heavy on the macros: they had to have clocked in under 200 calories, which is not good when intermittent fasting (aka skipping breakfast)! I will attempt to rectify that issue during this week's meal prep. Hopefully, if lunch is substantial enough, I'll stay satiated until it's time for dinner.
2. Go to bed earlier. I don't look forward to this one. I'm a night owl by force of habit, but I recognize that this makes making it through the early afternoon at a desk job a tough ask, and since I don't really do caffeine, sugar is my preferred pick-me-up. I'm going to have to figure out how to make going to bed consistently at a reasonable hour something that I actually want to do, because it'll benefit much more than just my figure.
3. Develop a greater repertoire of recipes. I find myself frustrated with going out to dinner, because I don't like the sensation of eating way too much of something that's way too heavy, but I also don't like eating the same thing week in week out at home. I'm prepared to spend a week at a time eating the same thing for lunch every day, but dinner is a different story. I just need to figure out how to do it with recipes that are actually easy enough for me to want to use, as opposed to most of what I've run into in cook books and the like, which are easy by the standards of an Iron Chef.
The other big thing will be travel. My job is going to involve a lot more travel in the very near future, and it has the potential to be a major trap. My last trip to Canada nearly derailed my fitness journey entirely - not only did the gym consist of a grand total of two treadmills, which is not my idea of fun, but there were also delicious poutines and butter tarts all over the place! I'm going to have to figure out an equipment-free routine that won't bore me to tears and a way to balance taking advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity to sample amazing local cuisine with the need to eat sensibly. This is also going to make it that much more difficult to keep a refrigerator stocked at home since I won't be there half the time. I'm sure I'll figure something out, though - I've gotten this far at least!
My goals for September 1st are: 1) Do 8 pull-ups in a row, 2) deadlift my body weight, and 3) come up with 5 lunch and 5 dinner recipes that are both simple and tasty.
Wish me luck! Until next time,
clayburn
So far, I've lost 10 pounds and gained the ability to do 4 consecutive pull-ups. The key to this was consistency: I had to find something that I was going to actually do week-in and week-out. This meant ditching activities that weren't enjoyable (like mind-numbing cardio and team sports I suck at), and more importantly, ditching mental barriers to doing what I wanted to do. I realized that I wasn't going to leave the house if I had to come back home to change after work, so I brought my gym bag to my desk. Having my A, B, and C workouts on fixed days of the week meant that if I had to skip a day due to an event on the calendar, I'd skip a whole week to get back around to the missed workout and then instead just fall off the wagon entirely, so I switched to letting the three days fall on whichever nonconsecutive days of the week I had time. Those are two big ones, but I've made a ton of other little adjustments as I've gone on. The result: I've lost 10 pounds and can now do 4 consecutive pull-ups.
However, those gains have not been made with much in the way of consistent dietary changes. I've made some tweaks to what I eat here and there, but I still eat more junk than is really reasonable. The solutions are more easily recognized than carried out. They are as follows:
1. Make my own lunches. Without bringing lunch, my options are either to rely on the office cafeteria, which serves portions fit for an elephant, or to head out and grab lunch at Subway or Quiznos somewhere nearby, which is also not the best choice. I actually did this just last week, but I discovered that I accidentally went too far in the other direction - I ended up starving by 4:00. Part of that was that I decided to try going vegetarian for lunch as a way of working on my cholesterol, but the thing about those is that they're not heavy on the macros: they had to have clocked in under 200 calories, which is not good when intermittent fasting (aka skipping breakfast)! I will attempt to rectify that issue during this week's meal prep. Hopefully, if lunch is substantial enough, I'll stay satiated until it's time for dinner.
2. Go to bed earlier. I don't look forward to this one. I'm a night owl by force of habit, but I recognize that this makes making it through the early afternoon at a desk job a tough ask, and since I don't really do caffeine, sugar is my preferred pick-me-up. I'm going to have to figure out how to make going to bed consistently at a reasonable hour something that I actually want to do, because it'll benefit much more than just my figure.
3. Develop a greater repertoire of recipes. I find myself frustrated with going out to dinner, because I don't like the sensation of eating way too much of something that's way too heavy, but I also don't like eating the same thing week in week out at home. I'm prepared to spend a week at a time eating the same thing for lunch every day, but dinner is a different story. I just need to figure out how to do it with recipes that are actually easy enough for me to want to use, as opposed to most of what I've run into in cook books and the like, which are easy by the standards of an Iron Chef.
The other big thing will be travel. My job is going to involve a lot more travel in the very near future, and it has the potential to be a major trap. My last trip to Canada nearly derailed my fitness journey entirely - not only did the gym consist of a grand total of two treadmills, which is not my idea of fun, but there were also delicious poutines and butter tarts all over the place! I'm going to have to figure out an equipment-free routine that won't bore me to tears and a way to balance taking advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity to sample amazing local cuisine with the need to eat sensibly. This is also going to make it that much more difficult to keep a refrigerator stocked at home since I won't be there half the time. I'm sure I'll figure something out, though - I've gotten this far at least!
My goals for September 1st are: 1) Do 8 pull-ups in a row, 2) deadlift my body weight, and 3) come up with 5 lunch and 5 dinner recipes that are both simple and tasty.
Wish me luck! Until next time,
clayburn
