Day 113: Back to Basics.

10: Start ZombieWorkout
20: Run, lift, learn new skills
30: Goto 20

That's been the gist of the Post-Apocalyptic Workout thus far, the idea that it would be simple enough even for a classically educated and therefore completely useless individual like me to continue on to the promised-land of self-sufficiency.  Okay, maybe not total self-sufficiency, but maybe buying myself a slot or two in the lifeboat (so I'm not the first one thrown out, but maybe number two or three.)

I was able to finish the first challenge because I was the beginner of beginners.  I wrapped some wounds and beat on a dummy's chest (no, not my own, you pervs!) and hopped on the treadmill and suddenly eight weeks went by and I thought, this survival thing is a cinch.

Okay, I didn't really think that either, but I did think that a workout plan + a couple of skills every eight weeks would be doable.  Except that there's that little problem of mismanaging my time (or simply not having enough of it) and miscalculating my budget.

Ask anyone: I'm a pretty decent multitasker.  As a writer, this is hugely important as you can be working on one script while rewriting another and heading into the writer's room to talk about yet another.  You need to be able to switch from writing mode to producer mode to diplomatic mode.  I have that part down pat.

Except that as most of you probably know, I'm not working a regular writing gig now, so I manage with an amalgamation of a bunch of different jobs: I work part-time at a gym, I answer customer service emails for a website, I'm on staff at a dog rescue organization, I'm doing some online marketing for a medical software company.  I also have this blog, my regular blog, and a new blog that a company has built for me (in that I can't blow it off.)  I keep up with my workouts, I look for new possible writing work, and oh yeah, I think I get to sleep in there somewhere.

Clearly, things suffer.  I blew my wad on my lockpicks and my chin up bar for this challenge, thinking that money for a freelance gig would come through and I'd be able to use a bit o' that scratch to take up guns and and check out practice locks.  Except the bastards screwed me, so I'm looking at the upcoming deadline for Challenge #2 and realizing that I won't meet it. 

I could make this a priority over everything else, but I also have to make my car payment.

Some of you have asked if I thought that you could do this sort of survival thing on your own, and while I am far far FAR from an expert, my answer is no.  Physical training is easy: an hour and a pair of running  shoes is all I need, and that I've kept up with, pas de probleme.  But the skill portions require time and planning and coordination and finally money. When it comes to those things, I'm pretty deficient on all counts.

Survival is doing the best we can with what we have.  I do feel like I have let people down.  But in an odd way, I've also learned what my limits are.  I do plan on overcoming them.  You'll just have to cut me the proverbial slack.

Abort, Retry, Fail?

I pick the one in the middle.

Comments

[Dan Wilson]

Actually, I'd say that you're discovering some very important truths... i.e. that in order to gain skills, you need resources. The very things that we need to do to survive in our current society are the things that prevent us from being prepared in case that society crumbles.

[Brooke]

Yeah...so, I've done the math and I STILL have no idea how you do it all. PLUS, don't forget, you still have a dog to walk and a husband to love!! That's a lot of things to have on one plate! I sincerely hope that you are hanging in there and finding balance (if such a thing exists). I'm rootin' for ya!!

[Arkus Ramboney]

Sad to say, i saw this coming a looong ways back. I've struggled with weight loss and weight gain for bout 8-9 years, always wanting to get in shape. About 4 years ago i was at my peak, and my friend and i would joke about "getting post-apocalyptic" and the post-apocalyptic era, so it was quite the surprise when i stumbled upon this blog. However, fact of the matter is your past few blogs have been nothing but excuses. But those WILL get you "thrown off the life boat". Maybe some understanding is in order. Life is hard and you juggle a billion jobs, dog, hubby, house, bills, etc. But "proverbial slack"? hardly. If you're going to talk, then back up your words. Now, more than anything else, I want you to stop with the excuses and go postapocalyptic. Show the world that the uhh...semi-average jane CAN transform herself into T2 Linda Hamilton. Good Luck!

[the slackmistress]

@arkus: Oh, I'm still doing the physical workout portion.That's free. I run 3x a week, spin 1-2x a week, and do the simplefit workour 2-3x a week. No burnout there.

But you're right - I am making excuses about money. I could always charge gun lessons, as chances are I won't have to worry about my credit score or paying anything back when the zombies have taken over.

But my current priorities don't jibe with that. But at least now you've had the opportunity to tell me "I told you so!" So if nothing else I've given you that.

[arkussux]

Hey arkus ramboney, smug sanctimony called, they want their judgemental nature back.

[Arkus Ramboney]

look. no need to get defensive. all i meant by what i said was that i want the old slackmistress back. the one that was 100% gung ho. the one that regardless of her monetary situation was completely devoted to her cause. B) I can't have told you "so" because we've never communicated before now. C) I never said u were making excuses about money. The excuses i referred to were the ones about you not doing your updates on this site for weeks at a time, which sadly hurts your cause, which i am totally for. No disrespect at all. D) As for the remark about me being smug. This smugness is totally of your creation, for i haven't said a word about my current situation. If you assumed i was feeling a great or offensive satisfaction with myself and/or my situtation
read again and you'll see that i've made no statements regarding how my life is at the moment. Nonetheless, people go through different experiences and we can all learn from each other. as someone who has had motivational problems, i guessed what i saw was a lack of motivation on your part, because let's face it, one does what one's really devoted to NO MATTER WHAT. While your workout routines may be on point, the purpose of this site is sadly not. i personally believe that a "role modely" motivated slackmistress would be waaay more beneficial to the cause than a perpetually distracted one. Hope you don't take this the wrong way. i don't mean to offend anyone. Much respect. Arkus

[the slackmistress]

a) I didn't call you smug. That was another poster.

b) I am not a role model. From day one I have said that I am figuring this out as I go along. If you choose to take inspiration from that, that's great. But it is not my job. I do this for free.

c) Furthermore, I am not doing this "for the cause." I am doing this for me. My thought was to document the entire thing - ups and downs - because rarely in life is progress made in a pure linear fashion.

d) If being a Sarah Connor Survivalist was the #1 thing I wanted to do in my life, I'd do it. But it is not. In fact, nowhere on this blog does it state that this is my prime objective in life. I'm a writer. I write. And if there's time to write here, that's great, but if this site has to suffer because I'm trying to get other things done, so be it.

Most people don't have the time or the resources to drop everything and focus on one prime objective, much like I don't have it to focus solely on this (unless you are willing to finance my cost of living, and then I'll reassess.) Most people are like me, with multiple commitments and debts that they have to reposition like a tetris board. Most people have moments when they struggle, most people do the best they can.

I am most people, and I am documenting it as it happens.

Instead of trying to fit this blog into some preconceived notion of what *you* think it should be, why not go read one of the many
other gung-ho survival or workout sites that are 100% focused and on track and constantly updated.

[Arkus Ramboney]

a)i know it wasn't you who called me smug.

b)even if you don't consider yourself a role model. Lot's of the cyber geeks that come into these sights consider you as such and look up to you.

c)Causes can be personal. if you do it for yourself its your own personal cause.

d)I've known and understood this from the start. No need to get all pissy and defensive about it. You could have just as well taken the time to take an update pic instead of being rude to someone who admires what you're trying to do.

[Barbara]

Arkus -- I don't ususally jump into these sort of things, but take a long deep breath and mellow out.

There was nothing at all defensive or pissy about the response you got, in fact it was lacking in any kind of reprimand, which you sort of deserved.

This is a personal blog. Nina, just like other people who write blogs, has a life and other ongoing projects that you may or may not know about. Most blogs are hobbies kept on a time available basis. Getting upset with someone who doesn't update their personal blog to your liking is similar to criticizing a friend who doesn't get her vacation pictures up on Flickr when you want to see them.

It's up to Nina to decide what priority she wants to give to her Zombie project. If she doesn't want to go into debt to keep to her schedule, I can't say I blame her.

You believe that Nina should adhere to your standards because you admire her. Fact is that she doesn't.

[Arkus Ramboney]

Sorry, Barbara but that's not the point at all. Anyways whatever. I'm tired of this whole thing. Let's just drop it and do whatever it is we were doing before this misunderstanding. Thanks for taking the time to answer everybody. Just out of curiosity though. How old are all of you?

[Arkus Ramboney]

...and no i wasn't being sarcastic. Just in case. I'm seriously curious about your ages.

[Johnny Hazard]

Um, not to derail an otherwise riveting set of comments but you mentioned one thing in there that would let you on to my lifeboat (and yeah, sure, Will can hop on board): multitasking whilst being a diplomat.

When SHTF all the guns, mechanics and cricket-bat wielding arms won't matter much if you don't have the ability to stay focused, organized and most importantly civil to oneanother. Without that, that little survival community falls apart with infighting.

I've run jungle hike tours, rafting tours and slot canyon tours and when things go awry someone with the ability to bind a splint AND get everyone to get along is worth their weight in ammunition (and yes, that came into play in the highlands of Guatemala).

Bon chance, mon ami.

[Barbara]

@Arkus -- I'm 103, but I have the abs of Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2, not to mention the delts. Does that answer your question?

[Arkus Ramboney]

prove it.

[anna]

Wow. I wanted to comment, but your comment section looks like my comment section. Yes, after eight years of blogging, I still have complete head cases thinking they actually have a say in MY space. OTOH, honesty is good. Sometimes not-so-productive, but good. So it's okay for people to be snots,
as long as they're true to themselves, right? Which is why my site is open to the public, too.

We're on the same journey, so I'm glad I found you. Only I'm 5000 times worse than you, because (although under 35) I've gained weight and lost shape from five (count them FIVE) pregnancies, the last of which was on Halloween and required post-natal surgery six weeks AFTER the birth which set my weight loss thang back even further... but I'm doing 2.5 miles, now, too. So - yey, us - we rawk for even STARTING the journey. My first 5K (3 mile run) is June 14th - wish me luck!

Thanks for the lock-picking link. I got my CCW (you can't- you're in CA) and am currently learning how to supress fires and do disaster recon on buildings zombies might've reaked havoc on (thru CERT - you should check into it, it's free thru FEMA and only five nights long and kinda interesting).

First Aid/CPR are next, and then ham radio - because when the zombies take out communications, that'll be the only method of contacting people and/or getting news. Getting certified is good, because I hear they're gonna be restricting bandwidth and licenses in the future, so doing it now is smart, right? And besides, they often offer morse code, which would be useful in communicating if trapped in a location by zombies and unable to be heard except by banging a pipe or something.

((I can't believe I'm talking about this out loud...)) At least you're not trying this with four children under seven under foot, right? *wink!* It could be worse.

Keep on keepin' on. And I'll be checking in.

[anna]

Wow. I wanted to comment, but your comment section looks like my comment section. Yes, after eight years of blogging, I still have complete head cases thinking they actually have a say in MY space. OTOH, honesty is good. Sometimes not-so-productive, but good. So it's okay for people to be snots,
as long as they're true to themselves, right? Which is why my site is open to the public, too.

We're on the same journey, so I'm glad I found you. Only I'm 5000 times worse than you, because (although under 35) I've gained weight and lost shape from five (count them FIVE) pregnancies, the last of which was on Halloween and required post-natal surgery six weeks AFTER the birth which set my weight loss thang back even further... but I'm doing 2.5 miles, now, too. So - yey, us - we rawk for even STARTING the journey. My first 5K (3 mile run) is June 14th - wish me luck!

Thanks for the lock-picking link. I got my CCW (you can't- you're in CA) and am currently learning how to supress fires and do disaster recon on buildings zombies might've reaked havoc on (thru CERT - you should check into it, it's free thru FEMA and only five nights long and kinda interesting).

First Aid/CPR are next, and then ham radio - because when the zombies take out communications, that'll be the only method of contacting people and/or getting news. Getting certified is good, because I hear they're gonna be restricting bandwidth and licenses in the future, so doing it now is smart, right? And besides, they often offer morse code, which would be useful in communicating if trapped in a location by zombies and unable to be heard except by banging a pipe or something.

((I can't believe I'm talking about this out loud...)) At least you're not trying this with four children under seven under foot, right? *wink!* It could be worse.

Keep on keepin' on. And I'll be checking in.