I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to workout until the outset of The 14th Expedition, but I began on Tuesday. It was from a few things: 1) I just felt the desire; 2) my new usage of Habitca promotes the behavior; and 3) when one feels the wave of momentum, you gotta ride it through.

The desire I feel shouldn't come off as a surprise for its a natural evolution of a calorie-unrestricted, 30 total carbs diet. It asks me to take it out for a spin, so I oblige.

And when I feel the momentum of something good taking place, why fight it, ESPECIALLY just because some calendar says something different? Dates can be changed with a couple of clicks, especially in context with positive results.

Gamification is a key for my success. When I've been able to apply it in areas of my life, no matter what era, I've found success. In this instance with Habitca, I find its snappy interface and RPG elements to be delightful. The developers use of color as it relates to activity is just smart. I like smart things! While I'm largely indifferent to its use socialization, attributable to being an INTJ more than anything else—it's why my favorite World of Warcraft class was the me party of a hunter and his pet—I'd welcome people with a similar drive as mine. And hey, I would no longer be roaring venomous invective at these Feral Dust Bunnies that I've been fighting these past couple of days!

Of course, I gotta always ask those "why" or "to what end" questions even to a well-developed SMART goal. So, when I considered what Habits, Dailies, and To Do's, I want them to lead toward a overarching goal instead of deriving value in of themselves (or the pleasure of accomplishing the process). I won't lie: I find a tweak of happiness when I check off a goal, but, if that goal has no purpose…

I do like that Habitica gave me a challenge that features these two To Do items:

1. Brainstorm different topics that interest you

What are some things you aren't already an expert in, but which sound intriguing to you? What have you always wanted to read up on, but haven't taken the time? Think of a few such areas of knowledge and write them down!

2. Pick one topic to delve into this month

Once you've completed the "Brainstorm different topics" To-Do, look at your list and pick one of the areas of interest to focus on this month. Which do you feel has the richest potential for growing your knowledge right now? Go for it!

Despite only having been in NYC for a Europe layover in 2007, I am now a proud cardholder of the Brooklyn Public Library. Do I have any plans on going up there? Nope!

But, for $50/year, I have the same access to its e-resources as a resident, and while I have Libby targeted, Brooklyn provides further resources where my local library system falls short. In fact, with Libby alone, Brooklyn provides greater availability and a larger collection. For example, in non-fiction audiobooks, the Tennessee READS provides just over 5,000 whereas Brooklyn is over 13,000. And while I don't know Brookyln's specifics of the quality of the added numbers, I already have found titles by a couple of favorite authors, Annie Jacobsen and Michio Kaku, that my local library does not have.

Of course, my local system is free. But, c'mon fifty bucks a year is a heck of value and blows the water out of Netflix's $108-$192/year—OK, so the Netflix model is compared to everything under the sun that has an Internet context, but for my purposes, they can be loosely considered as substitute goods.

I'll go ahead and call it: an out-of-state library card from the Brooklyn Public Library is the best value of 2020.

Eight years ago today, it was a 21 July in Plzen. On a Saturday break from my TEFL studies, I returned from a tram ride into town to purchase a Plzeň-to-Prague train ticket for the next Saturday. While amidst the rigors of the program and my own discipline of fasting on just Czech green tea and perlivá voda, I kept my mind on what lay ahead. Maybe that approach has cursed me; maybe it has empowered me. Nevertheless, it has been my defining characteristic, not envisioning the future of others' expectations, but what I wanted to accomplish. Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like if I was like everybody else, but, thought experiments aside, would "I” exist?

I considered posting the picture of that July 21, when I had turned 34 earlier that month alone in that communist-era dorm. It was the me without today's silver wisps, but the forgotten dark chest hair I once had and a new crop of beard with no gray. I suppose it is easy to romanticize that time, but I remember my mind then as I see it now—I'm no different. Clearly, the situation and the context contrasts wildly…but, hasn't that been the bassline of my entire adult life?

In my own preparation for 2021, specifically in the realm of physical fitness (though there's wider potential), I'm applying something in which I've been intrigued with for a long time, something I wanted to figure out back in 2005, but never got around to anything substantial: virtual gamification for real-world targets. Back then, of course, I wanted to figure out how I could learn from my zeal for World of Warcraft and applying them to activities that provide greater value—not that a night of pizza, beer, and adventuring across Azeroth didn't captivate; I just wanted to apply something that works in one arena to another context. But, I never did anything with it.

Today, I ran across Habitica and it does just that, in a fun, 2D RPG graphical setting. It basically lays out three things for advancement for your character whom is powered and equipped by the following:

• Positive and negative things you do daily
• Daily tasks
• A To-Do list

For example with my daily task for Mondays, I could just write, "do my back resistance routine,” but, in the spirit of RPG, I wrote:

Weave the Cloak of Cataclysmic Power.

I find that a little more inspirational.

For a To-Do example, sure, I could say, "write a blog post,” but instead, I chose,

Enchant the 42nd Inscription

And finally, for the daily + / – bit, I applied it toward food:

Eat freely of the Hunter's Feast // Eat of the Corrupted Carb

Sure, I can lower my shoulder and get real-world objectives completed; however, dancing the dance of metaphors has always been a strength of mine—why not have fun with it? And you never can go wrong with planning your day instead of just reacting to your day.