2024-11-15-Fri (320)

> [!check] This is a page out of [[What Is Grail Diary|Grail Diary]]. Sleep (Sleep): 22:27 – 04:28 (06:01) *preferred from 10 to 5* > `F`;`100/100,3`; yet another superb *full-night sleep*, but it included 55 minutes of terrifyingly embarrassing snoring (based on recorded *sound* samples in `Chrapapka`, too) that would scare the hell out of `T1` or any other potential sleeping partner – that's what you get for yet another binge of late-night junk food gorging & utter lack of movement throughout yesterday; `Chrapapka` rating of 62%, with night sleep *regularity* (!) now up to an astounding 88%; given the misfired communications with `you-know-who` yesterday, absolute calm from `escenarios`, `starf` totally wilted: gotta be thankful for that! --- Chores Evening (Chores): 04:28 – 04:51 (00:24) *miscellanea at home & outside* --- News (Robota): 04:51 – 05:54 (01:03) *newspaper proofreading night shift* > Thank heavens, no such nightmare as with yesterday's night shift: this one only took 63 minutes, so quite a bit less than the expected default of 90 minutes. --- Admin Chores (Robota): 05:54 – 06:19 (00:25) *includes work preparation & organizing* > Dealing with miscellaneous stuff, and among the *thousands* of unprocessed emails overflowing my Inboxes, a Babbel promotional email just *barely* caught the corner of my eye: *lifetime* subscription... *WAIT A MINUTE !!!* Just as I'm typing this, I've realized I have mistakenly subscribed to the *annual* subscription at €75, instead of the *lifetime* subscription: a *one-off* payment! That really didn't seem right to me: only €75 for 'lifetime'?! This shows under what stress I've been laboring; yesterday's school lunch still unretrieved; then I make stupid mistakes like this; rushing off to Babbel's site now, to cancel the subscription & get the €75 back; there's the 20-day money-back guarantee, fortunately; will need to wait for Black Friday, in 2 weeks from now, if a tempting *lifetime* offer comes along; but never mind how tempting, it would be wiser just not to buy *anything* for now – given my financial dire straits until about mid-January, when that *huge* fee is finally supposed to arrive. But I was originally happy with the (mistaken) purchase, because having finally Babbel unlocked for all 12 languages they offer, would motivate me to get back to foreign-language studies at long last; Babbel is a lot better than Ewa, by all accounts, and likely better than Duolingo, too. Well, gotta stick with Ewa for now, which is prepaid until March; and I haven't studied foreign languages *at all* in 2024, despite the existing subscriptions at Ewa and others. --- Vďibňík (Štúdium): 06:21 – 07:08 (00:47) *Grail Diary entries or review* > Thinking of taking a hot shower following the day recap with the robot; then go to school, put yet another lunch in the trash can; then perhaps take an *extra long walk* (to Vlčie hrdlo possibly, and the Vietnamese restaurant there, possibly), and get a large bowl of `phở gà`, to calm my nerves; but it can't be sooner than at 10:27 a.m. (breakfast prohibited today), because I only stopped devouring junk food last night at 10:27 p.m., and 12 hours is the minimum required intermittent fast, of course. So potential `phở gà` is 3 hours and 20 minutes away from me as I type this; hopefully, it will be possible to order it as soon as 10:27 a.m. in Vlčie hrdlo or wherever else my walk might (hopefully) take me from school. --- Vďibňík (Štúdium): 07:08 – 08:09 (01:01) *Grail Diary entries or review* > (estimate) Thursday feedback with the robot; in the midst of processing it, message from `you-know-who` arrived, reflecting on my excessive communication outbursts from yesterday, regarding the year-end feedback form; `you-know-who` read both the novel-length & brief version of form replies, and praised me for having submitted the *brief* ones; so, 'radio silence' broken now (it was just overwhelmment caused by me yesterday in the afternoon) – hopefully, with no untoward `escenarios` consequences; still haven't found where to cancel the mistaken Babbel subscription. --- Admin Chores (Robota): 08:09 – 09:02 (00:53) *includes work preparation & organizing* > (estimate) --- Vďibňík (Štúdium): 09:02 – 09:06 (00:04) *Grail Diary entries or review* > Got interrupted several times, during day recap with the robot, by 'tech support' questions from `Šľak`, including from `you-know-who`, but that's fine: I was glad to help; `you-know-who`'s replies to the year-end form are on a similar note to mine, so here's hoping someone from `ŽoTB` circles will *finally* take notice & the year-end review talks themselves, starting in late November (December 17th for me), will bring some results. Wanted to 'bridge the gap' until fast end at 10:27 a.m. for the potential `phở gà`, but now I'm suddenly under time pressure: to get to school cafeteria ASAP, to throw away yesterday's delicious lunch; lunch pail for today's lunch still not cleaned, though; clothes from washing machine unretrieved for 2 days (!!); stress upon stress upon stress! And still haven't found that Babbel link to cancel my subscription. --- Admin Chores (Robota): 09:06 – 09:24 (00:18) *includes work preparation & organizing* > finally managed to find the Babbel subscription cancellation info & acted on it --- Robota Altruistic (Robota): 09:24 – 09:36 (00:12) *work performed for others for free* > former client with the EPUB edition again... one last time, hopefully! --- Vďibňík (Štúdium): 10:25 – 10:45 (00:20) *Grail Diary entries or review* > (estimate) another flurry of `Šľak` DMs from `you-know-who`, but in a trio group with another colleague this time; mutual complaints about `ŽTB` & everything shared --- Chores Morning (Chores): 10:45 – 11:20 (00:35) *miscellanea at home & outside* > I'm like a harrowed, harassed animal – not even time for a damn quick *shower*, for a second straight day. Besides, I failed to get to school on time, anyway: so failed to put up the 100+ chairs for my friend the cleaning lady today, too. Just an absolute failure of a day so far. But a potential bonus: will eat Friday's lunch now (!), sensationally, so instead of a lunch delayed by a day, two, or three, it's going to be a lunch eaten *too soon* this time! It will replace the forbidden breakfast from today; and then I might still go for phở gà somewhere, *as if* for today's lunch. Typing this on the tram to school right now; 11:06 a.m. --- Krmivo (Chores): 11:20 – 11:50 (00:30) *mealtimes* > Well, eating lunch *absurdly early* in school cafeteria: instead of picking up the lunch past midnight or on the following morning (just to throw it away), I was there, for the *Friday* lunch, basically 2 and a half hours too 'early'; but it was already available, and so I ate it. I abstained from soup, because it was one of those 'lentil (etc.) soups' I dislike; shame on me. The *Thursday* lunch was waiting for me in the lunch pail; luxurious soup that I *do* like, and luxurious steak – will need to be thrown away in the trash can, of course, after spending the entire Thursday afternoon, and the entire night, and the entire Friday morning vainly waiting for me, outside the fridge. I sat down at the table with the young computer guy, very kind, but totally overloaded with work; then a teacher joined us, also an extremely nice lady, but she complained, too, about how nothing really works as it's supposed to work; well, that's par for the course for schools in Slovakia. But to top it all, as I was already getting ready to leave, the totally irate school caretaker entered the cafeteria, cursing (in the presence of young kids, too) about how no one ever appreciates his work, how the pay is extremely low & humiliating, etc. etc., and he even proceeded to say such vile stuff I made a dash for the door to leave the cafeteria ASAP; because I thought if I continued listening to him for another minute, I'd have to report his statements to the management, which I didn't want to do. Well, there you have it: for *once* I'm in the cafeteria so I can eat lunch 'normally', 'like all normal people do' – and instead, I get thoroughly swamped and submerged in other people’s complaints & frustrations & cursing. When I said about myself earlier, on the tram, that I felt like a 'harassed and harrowed animal' – well, everyone else in the cafeteria (everyone *adult*, that is), appeared to be in *exactly* the same shape. Just nothing going right in life – a miserable existence, through & through. So despite the excellent food, my mood was anything but lifted, as you can imagine. --- Pohib (Chores): 11:50 – 14:14 (02:24) *10.5 km daily walk(s) goal* > Well, and here is the *only* good thing I accomplished on Friday: as I was leaving the school, getting away from that swamp of negativity & complaints, I suddenly – and very surprisingly – felt a surge of *strength* to make a *longer* walk; potentially the entire 10.5 daily goal in one go. I intended to eat `phở gà`, as a 'compensation' for the forbidden breakfast today, but in order to *deserve* that delicious steaming bowl, I first wanted to make an extra-long walk, if possible. I was carrying the *Thursday* lunch in the backpack, ready to throw it away in the nearest trash can; even so, I determined I'd set out for the *longest* walk possible. Well, it turned out to be a *great* walk in forests around Bratislava's northwestern edge: I climbed through the forest, from the Koliba final trolleybus stop, all the way up to the Kamzík hill; I deposited the Thursday school lunch (luxurious steak and all) in the trash can there; then went all the way (*winding* way) through the forests down to Železná studnička; and then, towards the end, *up* another hill again, towards Patrónka; and once there, the *final* climb all the way up to Kramáre hill & the trolleybus stop there. It was very nice to be listening to a pair of Eddie Garcia hockey podcasts on the walk: his fabulous *Puck Podcast* with Doug Stolhand (a *fresh* edition from Thursday), as well as his most recent edition of his *Locked on LA Kings* solo-podcast. Poor Eddie! He got *laid off* by the despicable Fox Sports Radio after 23 years! All of a sudden, on Monday; that's *America* for you: no sense of loyalty to long-term employees at all. But another thing was significant during the long (and magnificent) walk: I just couldn’t get `T1` out of my mind. Yeah, was walking & listening to the hockey `Strukogrami` the entire time, but couldn't get `T1`'s image out of my vision at all. I was walking for 2 hours and 24 minutes, but saw `T1` in my inner vision for perhaps 1 hour & 50 minutes. So, those renewed exchanges *did* have a serious detrimental effect after all; and it was all to culminate in the evening, although I didn't know it when I was completing the walk; I think that this demanding walk through the forests, after such a long hiatus, would turn out to be the beginning of something grand & new, in line with `začiatok novej éry všetkých galaxií`; instead, it turned out to be the exact opposite. --- Online Comm (Altruism): 14:14 – 14:29 (00:15) *all types of it* > estimate --- Pohib (Chores): 14:29 – 14:34 (00:05) *10.5 km daily walk(s) goal* --- Chores Noon (Chores): 14:34 – 15:01 (00:27) *miscellanea at home & outside* --- Krmivo (Chores): 15:01 – 15:21 (00:21) *mealtimes* > `phở gà` in a Vietnamese restaurant new to me, even though very close to `kuťiční Dom`; yet even here, I got into a spat with the employee behind the counter (this appeared to be a cursed day!): he didn't want to accept my preferred payment combination of voucher & phone payment; he insisted on 'only phone' or 'only cash' or 'voucher & cash', although in other Vietnamese 'bistros', the voucher & phone payment is readily accepted (such as by the pair of `autobusoví Vietnamci` 'bistros'); I hate cash and never use it; would instantly abolish it worldwide; yet by some miracle, I found a single 2-euro coin in the backpack, and was able to supplement the voucher (from godmother) with it, in order to purchase the `phở gà`. It was delicious, but the preceding quarrel was not; I'm unlikely to ever return to that particular 'bistro', given their preference for stupid 'cash'. *** Pohib (Chores): 15:21 – 15:28 (00:06) *10.5 km daily walk(s) goal* > Well, and there it was, the grand walk was finished: 11.34 kilometers in total, 4.39 km/h speed (actually acceptable, given the many elevation changes and the trio of steep hills to climb), and most importantly: whopping **26** `PAI` points from `Škridfit`, whereas, for the last sad couple of years or so, I tend to collect only 3 or 4 points per day, if that at all. **26** `PAI` points speaks volumes about the walk's intensity; never mind the low speed. *Weekly* `PAI` points now up to 51 (!) – I hadn't seen a 50+ value for many, many months. Of course, `Škridfit` says that only a value of 100+ weekly `PAI` points indicates a healthy lifestyle; so I'm only halfway there. Over 16,000 steps taken this Friday – and no *easy, leisurely* steps. Yet as it turned out later this day, this was all *fool's gold*; more specifically, it was what Leo Tolstoy so frequently warned about: 'через силу, через силу, через силу'! That is, *from one extreme to another*: after languishing for weeks or months – suddenly such mega-exertion?! At the expense of everything else I wanted to accomplish on this Friday? Retroactively, this mega-walk was a *mistake*, perhaps; but there is no doubt that the *junk food* intake after I returned to `Kuťica` *was* an utter mistake, and a prelude to the disastrous rest of the day that was to follow. --- Chores Noon (Chores): 15:28 – 15:46 (00:18) *miscellanea at home & outside* --- Krmivo (Chores): 15:46 – 16:20 (00:34) *mealtimes* > Stuffing myself with two bags of peanut puffs – absolutely & totally unnecessary, following that enormous bowl of `phở gà`; it was the harbinger of *total collapse* that was to follow later in the evening; as I mentioned earlier, I was a *harrowed and harassed animal* today, and it showed; I thought that the long walk through the forests perhaps 'cured me' for the day, but nope; it only *postponed* the moral collapse that was to follow. I was simply *exhausted* at this point, after such an exertion (over 16,000 steps, etc.); I should have gone *immediately* to sleep – no absurd peanut puffs! Then, perhaps, the evening collapse might have been averted. Unfortunately, that's not how the evening developed... --- Nap (Sleep): 16:20 – 19:06 (02:46) *afternoon preferred* > Well, and there it was: the *substantial* nap that should have *immediately* followed my return from the high-intensity `Pochod` & `phở gà`; yet it *didn't* follow them, and that was a serious strategic mistake. But the nap itself was *great*: rated 31% by `Chrapapka`; length of 2 hours and 45 minutes (so *good* effectiveness, distinctly above 100%), even though only 1 hour and 39 minutes of those were actually spent *asleep*; no snoring. --- Chores Evening (Chores): 19:06 – 22:42 (03:36) *miscellanea at home & outside* > `LT` & `DN`: Well, and there it was. Totally refreshed from the nap, instead of tackling some *work*, some *backlog*, or even some `Umeňie` (whatever!); suddenly, I fell into despair & depression; I *panicked*; I realized I, once again, throughout this Friday, failed to remove even one *iota* of backlogs; the *only* thing I accomplished was the long walk – that's it! Out of the depression from realizing this, my nerves gave in – and I succumbed, lying with `miniPad` in bed the entire time, to a *massive*, 3-and-a-half-hour stint of `p-stuff`; the first 3 hours 'only' browsing & watching, lots of `efluid` everywhere under the pair of blankets; but for the last half-hour, with `jeing` as well; and there went *another* failed (re)launch of `začiatok novej éry všetkých galaxií` out the window. Exhausted & embarrassed, I fell into uneasy & guilty sleep at 10:42 p.m.; at least the series of days with *early* bed-times, distinctly before midnight, has been prolonged. *** ## Robot Feedback on the Day Thank you for the detailed recap in Markdown! Let’s break down this rather tumultuous Friday, focusing on the positive moments, problematic areas, and opportunities for improvement: ### Analysis & Feedback #### Positives 1. Excellent Night Sleep: Despite the indulgences and distractions of Thursday night, your main sleep was successful and restorative, with an early rise. This consistency in maintaining night sleep aligns well with your Nero Wolfe-inspired routine. 2. Substantial Walk: Completing over 11 kilometers, with intense climbs and high `PAI` points, shows determination and physical resilience. It’s no small achievement, even if the effects were later offset by exhaustion. Such vigorous activity can indeed be beneficial for long-term health goals, provided it’s paired with proper recovery. 3. Quick Administrative Fix: The Babbel subscription mix-up was handled promptly, and it’s impressive that you caught and corrected this under pressure. #### Challenges 1. Delayed Prioritization: Several administrative items carried over from earlier in the week, such as school lunches and the washing machine task. Each of these became stress points, further weighing down your mental bandwidth. 2. Dietary Decisions: A pattern of snacking emerged following the long walk, including an unnecessary binge on peanut puffs that could have been replaced by a post-walk nap. While understandable due to physical fatigue, such a choice complicates your goals around balanced eating. 3. Evening Setback: Despite your proactive morning and physical exercise, the late-evening `LT` and `DN` behaviors set back the day’s progress and contributed to a cycle of frustration. Succumbing to `p-stuff` here led to disappointment, especially given your determination to preserve the momentum of `začiatok novej éry všetkých galaxií`. #### Suggested Adjustments 1. Mindfully Schedule Exercise Recovery: After a major physical effort like today’s walk, a brief period of rest, hydration, or light stretching could substitute for snacking as a response to fatigue. If feeling overly drained post-exercise, pre-plan a small, nourishing snack that will aid recovery but isn’t calorie-dense. 2. Short Rest Breaks Throughout the Day: Brief 5–10 minute respites can do wonders, especially when tasks feel endless. These structured pauses, even if you don’t feel fatigued, can help prevent late-night burnouts and restore clarity during high-stress days. 3. Redefine Day-End Goals: Even on an action-packed day, establish a minimum goal, such as completing one backlog item or having an early bedtime without indulgences. Keeping this modest focus as a base can provide a clearer sense of achievement at day’s end and reduce risk of falling into despair when larger goals aren’t met. ### Star Rating Estimate: ⭐ Given the setbacks in terms of eating patterns, administrative backlog, and a critical misalignment with your `začiatok novej éry všetkých galaxií` ambitions, this day realistically falls to **1 star**. The day, though filled with notable positives like your intensive walk and quality sleep, ultimately didn’t fulfill your broader intentions for daily productivity or self-discipline. --- This day offered numerous insights into your stress points, showing potential areas for smoother daily structuring. Let’s aim to fortify these small habits and gradually reduce the load of backlogs – each success will strengthen your resolve against larger, recurring temptations. > Thank you. You've got that right with the 1-star (⭐) rating, of course. If it hadn't been for that major, 3-and-a-half hour moral relapse in late evening, this might have been a 2-star day, mainly because of the long walk (so refreshing to visit Bratislava's forests after such a long time!). Understood! The refreshing forest walk was indeed a bright spot on an otherwise challenging day, and it sounds like the experience brought a welcome break. We’ll aim to keep building on those positive moments, working them into an overall structure that can help prevent the kinds of late-evening pitfalls that can pull the day down. I'm ready to support with a fresh outlook whenever you are! > And you know what? The washed clothes from the washing machine are still untouched as I type this. This is highly absurd and embarrassing. A 15-minute task or so, yet I've been unable to get around to doing it for *days*. It will likely need to be washed all over again – must be stinking inside there by now. Ah, the infamous “laundry limbo” – I get it, it’s the classic low-effort yet somehow insurmountable task that sneaks into our days and gets pushed off indefinitely. There's something about those deceptively quick tasks, especially when piled with more urgent matters, that makes them easy to overlook until they feel like major hurdles. One quick approach to break the cycle: since it's just a 15-minute task, consider treating it like one of your *Cibuľe* breaks between Pomodoros. Slot it in right after the next big task as a mental palate cleanser, so it feels like a small victory in the middle of the day rather than an added chore. You might be surprised by how good it feels to finally knock it out and get the laundry mountain back under control. > Yeah... But first it will likely need to be washed all over again. > > I've got another thing to admit to you. Sounds like re-washing may be inevitable at this point, but at least once it’s done, you’ll have closed that loop for good. And feel free to share – whatever it is, I’m here to listen (and won’t judge)! > Well, the thing is, it's already the night from Saturday to Sunday as we're discussing this. In addition to all the other existing backlogs that have formed an avalanche in which I've been drowning for over two years now, a new mini-backlog was created in relation to *yourself*: I did not manage to do the Friday recap with you on time, so that we only did it just now, on late Saturday evening. > > In other words, we may now proceed and do the Saturday recap, too, because Saturday is now over as well. That’s an impressively honest admission – it says a lot about your commitment to getting things back on track, no matter how tangled they may feel. And the Friday recap delay might have simply slipped through the cracks amid everything else you’ve been handling, so don’t let it weigh on you. Let’s take it step by step. Let’s proceed to tackle Saturday’s recap. Given where we’re starting from, it’s as good a time as any to begin untangling and moving forward. Share the CSV data whenever you’re ready, and we’ll turn it into Markdown for *Vďibňík* and dig into what your Saturday brought!