Sunday, March 31, 2013

By The Numbers 13/52

Three months in to the year.

Wealth
Net Cash Gain: $63.93
Not much, but I still have a lot of cash on hand which I don't recall being the case at the end of last week. I've also played a bit with timing things to make this a bit better by delaying paying my phone bill until tomorrow so it counts for next week's expenses.
Jobs applied for: 0
I've averaged one job application per month. This needs to improve.

Health
Net Calories: -3799 Calories
An ok week. It would have been a very good week but I ate a bunch of chocolate today and take out on Friday.
Weight: 98kg
A slight move in the wrong direction
Fitocracy points: 1408
A big week. A major step up in the use of the treadmill at a much higher setting. I am getting blisters on my feet though so I may have to actually start wearing shoes while using the treadmill.
Fitocracy level: 8
So after spending most of the year so far getting from level 6 to level 7, I then managed to reach level 8 in one week. I'm not sure if I can repeat this next week.

Life
Bike riding: 402km
A bit of non commuting riding this week
Darts: 501 in 36 rounds
Books read: 0
Games Played: 3. 2 games of Dominion (just the base set) and Battlestar Galactica with the Pegasus Expansion. My second time as a cylon, and I did a bit better at not getting caught, but the humans got a very good start and the cylons weren't able to hit them hard enough during the last jump, but we got close (two of the dials were down to 2)

Things done
Monday:
Tuesday: exercise
Wednesday: exercise
Thursday: exercise
Friday: Social gaming,
Saturday: exercise
Sunday: exercise, Coursera work (Greek History quiz and peer review of Philosophy essays)
So much for the three things a week. Let's have another go next week.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

By The Numbers 12/52

Almost at the end of March. My time flies.

Wealth
Net Cash: $167.74
Jobs Applied for: 0
If job hunting is a numbers game, I'm definitely playing it wrong

Health
Net Calories: -5248 Calories
My will power seems to be improving. On Thursday among my groceries I bought two packets of mint slices, and I'm still making my way through the first packet.
Weight: 97kg
A lean diet this week hasn't really translated into weight loss. At least my pants seem looser around the waist.
Fitocracy points: 165
Walking to the shops instead of getting home delivery really helps with getting exercise
Fitocracy level: 7
I leveled up! Yay for arbitrary numbers increasing

Life
Bike riding: 352km
Books read: 0
Still working through How to Win Friends and Influence People (I'm forcing myself to keep going, once I'm done I'll post some of my thoughts) and The Geek Manifesto on the side
Darts: 501 in 37 rounds
An all round atrocious effort
Games played: 1 St Petersberg

I'm going to add a new section which I'm hoping will make me do more things with my free time rather than just watching tv shows and playing around on the internet. The aim is to do at least three things each day. I've not done it every day this week, but I'll see what I can remember
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday: wrote Intro to Philosophy essay (I'll post it next week after submissions are finalised)
Thursday: Walked to the shops (exercise in general will count as a thing for this), watched English Composition lectures and wrote "I am a Writer" essay,
Friday: read a chunk of How to Make Friends and Influence People
Saturday: watched Microeconomics lectures and completed quiz, looked at handbrake on bike to see why the brake light isn't working properly (the switch isn't working, I'm getting it fixed tomorrow), checked the oil and lubed the chain, played St Petersberg with Simon and Dan and learnt a bit about roofing (social things in general will count)
Sunday: Watched Games without Chance lectures and completed the quiz, watched the storm, mopped the floor (aftermath of the storm), read a chunk of How to Make Friends and Influence People

I'll make notes next week so I can provide a more complete list

Sunday, March 17, 2013

By The Numbers 11/52

A milestone I've been working towards was achieved this week, but I fell a little short of another one so let's recap

Wealth
Net Cash: $223.58
It was bonus week at work this month, which accounts for a bit over half of this surplus. I've also been on earlier starts which means the free parking spot near work had spaces available, which saves about $45 on parking. The milestone I achieved was this has allowed me to finish paying off my credit card, which was about half of the debt I had at the start of the year. Hopefully the second half will be paid off a bit quicker, and the 2nd creditor offers much more flexible terms.
Jobs applied for: 1
A friend sent me a link to a job being advertised at their company, and it looked good so I sent in an application.

Health
Net Calories: -2385 Calories
I slipped a bit on Saturday as my DnD group reverted to getting pizza instead of going out for subway, but a bit of exercise today helped a bit
Weight: 97 kg
Fitocracy points: 148
Fitocracy level: 6
I only exercised once this week, and while I did 100 jumping jacks and some pushups while doing the prep for this post I'm still 72 points short of leveling up

Life
Bike riding: 351km
Just the regular commute to and from work
Books read: 1
The Flight of the Horse, a collection of stories by Larry Niven. An enjoyable read, and a pleasant distraction from How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Darts: 501 in 16 rounds. Amazing how much better you do when you go out on your first try instead of busting for 15-20 rounds
Games played: 3 Battlestar Galactica with the Pegasus expansion, Through the Ages, and a session of Dungeons and Dragons

Sunday, March 10, 2013

By The Numbers 10/52

And we're into March now.

Wealth
Net Cash: $66
Could be better, but a positive figure
Jobs applied for: 0
I'm slack. But I've been browsing seek more regularly, which is a step forward

Health
Net Calories: -5094 Calories
A pretty good result
Weight: 98kg
Fitocracy points: 271
Fitocracy level: 6
I'm almost at level 7, if I do as much exercise next week I should level up.

Life
Bike Riding: 371km
Books Read: 1
Drift by Rachel Maddow of MSNBC fame. A pretty dismal look at how America has made going to war much easier and with less oversight. Also, the Iran-Contra scandal was even dodgier than I previously understood. I had thought the reason they were using money from arm sales to Iran to help the contras was just to keep it secret. It turns out the reason they did that was because Congress had specifically said you can't spend our money helping the Contras, but Reagan wanted to anyway. I'm now part way through Flight of the Horse by Larry Niven
Darts: I'm skipping this week
Games Played: 1, Cranium, and may I just say I suck at the green ones.

Sunday, March 03, 2013

By The Numbers 9/52

Wealth
Net cash gain: -$50.18
A major once off expense this week, my accommodation for PAX is now sorted out, I'll be sharing a room with a friend from bordercon in the city within hiking distance (4-5km) from PAX, so I'm pretty happy with it.
Jobs applied for: 1, a graduate analyst position in Melbourne, which might mean the above payment for a hotel room for PAX might end up being unnecessary, but that would be a problem I'm more than happy dealing with if it arises.

Health
Net Calories: -1903 Calories
A hermit-like weekend made up for a major blowout on Friday.
Weight: 99kg
Fitocracy points: 0
This is especially bad as on Sunday I got a free pass to a gym for 5 days and I managed to go to the gym exactly 0 times. A combination of logistics (having to bring in a complete change of clothes including shoes and a towel on the bike), bad weather (any change of clothes I did bring would be drenched when I got in) and distance (when they called me up to offer the pass, I was thinking they were only a block or so from work, turns out the place was about a 30 minute walk away). But that still doesn't excuse not doing anything at home.

Life
Bike riding: 326km
Books read: 1
I finally finished Mr Gatling's Terrible Marvel. Main points were amateurs inventors good and American style patents good. Very light on technical details though. Not sure what my next book will be, contenders are Drift by Rachel Maddow, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carneggie, and My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor (2 of these have been featured on the Daily Show this year)
Darts: 501 in 30 rounds, half for the first 498 points, another 15 for the final 3
Board Games played: 2 Through the Ages and Eminent Domain