Catchup on points and activities

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to catalog daily activities. I feel like daily posts might be overwhelming and/or annoying, but if I DON'T record it every day, I'm likely to let a long time elapse (like now) and forget.  Plus the point of this was to track progress and to recognize the things I'm doing to be an active participant in my health - and for you guys to help me recognize that through achievements.  Kind of hard to do that when I don't tell you what I'm doing.

So I think from now on, I'm going to follow the model that we set up with weekly missions - I'll make one post on Sunday, and update it throughout the week.  If that doesn't work, we'll just try something else!

(I posted all the boring day-by-day stuff at the bottom.)

Sunday, March 5 total: 297 (through 3/4)
Sunday, March 20 total: 715 (through 3/20)
Cashed in 25XP to buy Tetris Party for DS

Final total: 690

Also, I was able to run across the parp go to scifi book club on Monday, which made me really happy. (The "parp" is a reference to this Hyperbole and a Half comic, which Jamie and Matt were using to tease me about my insistence that I could go to the book club meeting after having the biopsy that afternoon.)

I don't remember a lot of this week either.  There was a lot of sleeping, and I've been on Vicodin since last week, so that doesn't help with the whole memory thing.  As I mentioned, I was off work this whole week, and I'm actually ordered off work until I get the biopsy results on Wednesday.  I'll just have to find a way to make up the extra 20 XP per day that I got from work... ;)

I don't feel like I should get XP for sleeping, but I evidently need it.  I slept for 15 hours Friday night, and 11 hours Saturday night, plus naps during the day.  I'm mildly alarmed by this, but Matt keeps saying I must need it, because I don't typically sleep that late.  I've been awful about playing cello this week, but I was awful about doing a lot of things because of the biopsy.  Hopefully next week will be better.

I want to give like a million XP to Jamie for coming down here and staying with me.  She really helped Matt and I both out by driving me around and helping around the house.  Also, she brought me a bunch of awesome CDs - classical music and meditation stuff.  So instead of a million, how about like 175? 25 per day that she was here, plus 50 for the CDs - seriously, she brought me a bunch.  I need to update Courtney on other people that deserve XP and compile all our awesome music into a playlist - or maybe someone could help me out with that last one? Allies, please be sure you post comments on Courtney's weekly recap posts letting her know what you did for me - I want to make sure you're recognized for how awesome you are, and sometimes I suck and don't remember to tell her. :)

Also, 50 XP to Carrie for beating her own Tech Evil and setting up Skype so we can have Skype dates.  Yay!

And 50 XP to Courtney for managing the weekly mission posts.  That really helps me out!

And 10 XP to everyone else just for sticking with me in this game and being awesome.  :)

I'm going to update the pages of the WoH this week to get everything current.  If I miss anything, please let me know!

Daily Minutia Crap

3/5
Yoga and energy routine - 10 XP
30 minute walk - 5 XP
went shopping - 2 XP
Felt pretty good today - 10 XP

3/6
Was social for 3 hours and played pool - 6 XP (I gave myself 2 XP/hr)
Unloaded and loaded dishwasher - 2 XP

3/7
2 hrs doctor's appointments - 20 XP
Laundry 3 loads - 6 XP
Hit Level 80 - 10 XP
took dog to daycare - 2 XP

3/8
Yoga and energy routine - 10 XP
Work for 4 hours - 20 XP
Sorted out biopsy business - 10 XP (this required many hours of calling many doctors)
Blog post - 2XP
Laundry 2 loads - 4 XP
took dog to daycare - 2 XP

3/9
Worked for 4 hours - 20 XP
Cello lesson - 10 XP
took dog to daycare - 2 XP
(I don't remember what else I did that day -- see, this is the problem with not posting!)

3/10
Yoga and energy routine - 10 XP
Worked for 4 hours - 20 XP
Dishes - 4XP
took dog to daycare - 2 XP

3/11
Yoga and energy routine - 10 XP
Worked for 4 hours - 20 XP
took dog to daycare - 2 XP

I slept a lot that week, I remember that.  Matt was out of town and my face was swollen and hurting, and I would come home from work and just pass out on the couch for a few hours. 

3/12
Impromptu gathering at my house of friends, yay social! - 25 XP
(I don't remember much else...)

3/13
I have no recollection - Jamie, help?

3/14
Biopsy - 25 XP (This isn't really an achievement, but I feel like I should earn XP for surviving medical procedures.  And Jamie said I wasn't even crabby!)
Ran across the parp Went to scifi book club, more socialness yay! - 25 XP
(The "parp" is a reference to this Hyperbole and a Half comic, which Jamie and Matt were using to tease me about my insistence that I could go to the book club meeting after having the biopsy that afternoon.)

3/15
Ran errands (or, more precisely, sat in the passenger seat in a narcotic haze while Jamie drove) - 4 XP
Took dog to dog park for about 1 hour - 5 XP
Did a whole lot of nothing as my face looked like I had a golfball in my cheek

3/16
Hour long walk with Jamie - 10 XP
Drove up to Ft Collins - 5 XP

3/17
Follow up with surgeon because I was alarmed by the swelling - 10 XP

3/18
INR check with doctor - 10 XP
Bought groceries - 2 XP
Conference call with boss - 5 XP

3/19
Went to Home Depot and Safeway with Matt - 10 XP
Meditation for 1 hour - 10 XP
Played WoW for 1 hour - 10 XP

3/20
Picked up prescriptions - 2 XP
Dishes - 2 XP
Participated in #hcsm Twitter chat - 25 XP (this is career related)
Wrote a career-related blog post draft - 10 XP
Blog post - 2 XP

Ally activity, tasks, and XP

This is a game mechanics question, so I'm posing it out of character ;)

I've been thinking the last few days about how we, Jess' allies, can more effectively assist her, both in a gaming sense and in the real life sense.

I recently joined SparkPeople, a very popular (and very free) health and weight loss website. Since I joined, I have learned a lot of things about my own behavior, but I think the most important thing I've learned is this: small steps, big goals, great success. That is, it's great to have big goals--in fact, we should have big goals--but the best way to get there is through setting smaller, more immediate goals to get you there. For example, I want to lose 75-80 lbs in the long run. One of my first goals on SparkPeople? To track the foods I'm eating for one week. That one week of tracking made me hyper aware of what I was eating, and I began to develop more healthy eating habits. In two weeks, I've already lost 6 lbs.

How does this relate to WoH? Back in one of the first posts on this blog, Jess listed assignments we can take her on. I'm not sure if those assignments have been officially divvied out yet, and/or if people have decided whichthey will take on. If not, we should definitely decide that. Then I suggest the following:

Each ally gets a task for the week. One small thing--or two, or three, depending on how active you are able to be--that will help and support Jess. If one of your assignments is to help Jess manage stress, maybe your task this week is to spend 30 minutes mediating with her (note: by "with her" I mean either physically or virtually, since I know many of us are not local). Or something like that.

At the end of the week, there will be a post we can all reply to sharing how our tasks went. If we completed them, we get XP!

...which leads me to another thought! If allies earn XP, I'm thinking we could use that XP to support Jess. My boyfriend Dave and I recently found this original roleplaying system that is...totally awesome, and I can share it with you if you like, but the relevant aspect of that system is dice pool. Each character has 7 dice per session that they can add to rolls they make... OR, they can throw in to rolls other characters make, to support their teammates. For example, if one character is piloting a plane and is about to make a piloting role, another character who is in the cockpit with him, rubbing his shoulders let's say, can throw in dice from her pool because she is positively affecting the pilot's morale.

I'm wondering if there is a way we can adapt this system for WoH, with XP? Like if I have 10 XP, and Jess is 10 XP shy of reaching some reward, I can give her my XP... and then I am directly helping her to reach goals and obtain rewards. It may be a great morale booster, and make Jess feel even more supported :)

What do you all think?

Call for allies, points update

I saw Doc again on Monday.  He gave me some new serums to try -- the previous ones, while effective, were burning up my system.  He wants me to try these new ones to defend against the vampire's infection, and to keep my Wolf in check.  I was doing pretty well - until today. Today pain flared up in old wounds, and I'm losing my hard-won balance.  Today, I need help to fight the enemies that surround me.

Calling all allies - Battle underway!

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My infectious disease doc took me off the IV antibiotics and pulled my PICC line on Monday (is this an achievement?) He said after 8 weeks, the drug just starts doing more harm than good, so he switched me to oral antibiotics and is waiting to hear what the surgeon says.  I was doing pretty well, and even people at work were commenting on how I looked better and seemed in better spirits, but today my face swelled up and has been getting increasingly painful.  I plan to call the surgeon tomorrow, but I just feel really discouraged and worried again, and that's why I'm calling on you, my allies, to help me.

I don't really know how - make me laugh, give me little missions to take my mind off of it, or just call/txt/message me to BS. I know you'll come through - you always do, and that's the beauty of this game.  We can put the pain, the worry, the fear in a different context.  I just need a little help doing that. 

For an update of points, here's where I'm at:
Sunday: 35 XP
Monday: 44 XP (work, PICC line out, picking up prescriptions, doctor's appointment, cello practice)
Tuesday: 55 XP (work, site I've been working on for months at work launched [FIERO!], doctor's appointment)
Wednesday: 35 XP (work, doctor's appointment, cello lesson)

I've had a doctor's appointment every day this week, and as a result, I've not been doing much in the evenings besides resting and playing cello and WoW.  I'm not sure if resting earns me points, haha.

They had to draw 7 vials of blood today, and without the PICC, that was a long and somewhat painful endeavor.  This was for an immunology panel to try to see why I have no immune response to anything.

The points scale can be found in the comments in the previous post.

Oh, and as a random update - I changed the settings so all the contributors should be notified when there are new comments as well as new posts.  Let me know if you find this really annoying.

Battle with a vampire, progress report, and mechanics update

This morning I felt pretty good.  Rested, strong.  I let my guard slip for a moment, and paid the price - this afternoon a vamp came out of nowhere, tackling me into the dirt.  It was a ballsy SOB - it wasn't even dark yet.  I wonder if they are getting stronger, or finding ways to circumvent their weaknesses.  At any rate, the fight was pretty intense, and for a moment I thought I was a goner.  But then I remembered a new potion that Matt concocted, and it worked marvelously.  I finished off that Beast like he was nothing.

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Progress Report:
So this afternoon I got hit with pretty intense stomach cramps, dizziness, and nausea.  I'm almost certain it's due to a new medication that I'm on - the same symptoms hit me Wednesday night, when I started the medication, and have been coming and going ever since.  They are also listed on the bottle as side effects, so that's also a good clue. 

Matt suggested making me Wild Berry tea, as it contains both blackberry and raspberry, which help with stomach issues.  Then I thought to ask him to grate some fresh ginger in there.  Mixed with some agave nectar and milk, the result not only made me feel better but tasted really, really good.  So we can add that potion to our arsenal, yay!

It's been one week since we started this game, and I wanted to document the results on me as we go along.  It may be coincidence, but I have felt happier and more hopeful this last week than in a long time.  I've told my coworkers about this game, and they comment on how awesome the idea is, and I feel... energized talking about it.  When those stomach cramps hit today, I started to feel emotionally upset because I wanted to do some things to day, but then I looked at Matt and said, "Hey, these cramps are a battle with a vamp, how do I fight it?" And that's how he got to thinking about the tea, suggesting it as a "potion."  So far, it seems like it's working! I'm not so anxious and upset about the surgery I may have in two weeks, and reading all the posts here by my friends have definitely helped me, more than I can put into words. 

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Mechanics Update:

I have been reading Jane's book, Reality is Broken, and one of the things she identifies as part of a game is feedback.  I think it's really important for me to have that feedback mechanism to start seeing the things I do to fight the Evils as heroic, and not just because I "have" to.  This is kind of a hard thought for me to articulate, but just boil it down to say that I think feedback is really important for me.  So I want to assign points to achievements and missions that I complete, and then use those points to "buy" my rewards.  This is where I need your help though, gang.  I suck at rewarding myself fairly, so when I post an achievement or a mission completed, could someone chime in with how many points you think that's worth? And when we get the rewards up, could someone assign points levels to them?  For rewards, here's a list of things I've got so far:

-WoW sheet music for strings book (I CAN PLAY WOW MUSIC ON CELLO ARE YOU KIDDING?!)

-New cello bow

-New Macbook Pro

-Assassin's Creed

-Batman: Arkham Asylum (if my computer can run it, I'm still trying to figure that out)

-Dinner out at a favorite restaurant

-Going out to a movie

-Weekend away with Matt

-New sketchbook and pencils

-Hiking poles

-New perfume (this can be used multiple times because I love perfume)

-New wallet

-Massage

-New road bike

-Wii

-Kindle

-Gauged earrings

-Broken image necklace from Think Geek

-New tattoo

-Bottle of my favorite wine or a 6-pack of my favorite beer (can be used multiple times too)

And some achievements/missions I thought of:

-X points per hour of work

-X points for playing cello for 20 minutes (this is a power-up, but sometimes I'm so tired it's hard to play, even though I love it)

-X points for 30 minutes of working on my programming stuff

-X points per hour at doctor's appointments

-X points for posting to this blog

What do you guys think?