The Elite Forum
The Big Three Plus One => General Chat => Topic started by: JDBlack21 on January 02, 2020, 05:47:52 am
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As per the Szklarz tradition, here's the healthy High & Lows thread! In case you're new or aren't aware, this is where you reflect upon 2019 personally and list down some of the successful and unsuccessful things that have happened to you during the year. Can be anything, GE, PD, RL, etc!
Feel free to list your goals as well. Then you can look back a year later and see how many you had achieved.
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My List:
Speedrunning Highs:
- Rose to top 50 in GE
- Achieved Good PD times, notably on Invest
- First one-liner (Invest 1:03)
- Made good strides towards Invest 1:02
- Achieved 3 GE WRs
- Filled out GE timespage
Speedrunning Lows:
- Didn't achieve Invest 1:02
- Still have 5 pointless times in GE
- Had shit internet for second half of year so couldn't stream often
Speedrunning Goals for 2020:
- Achieve Invest 1:02
- Invest Leaderboards
- Top 25 GE
- At least 50+ points on every GE level
- Stream more consistently
IRL Highs:
- Infamously working at Taco Bell since May, my first succesful "job"
- Had the best run of MOAMathon, dishes% at Taco Bell
- In general figuring out more what to do with my life
- Signed a lease on my first apartment
- Very confident about the future
IRL Lows:
- School didn't pan out the way I wanted it to, the program wasn't for me
- Low motivation and borderline depression around April, September, and October
- As much as I appreciate working there, night shift rushes at Taco Bell suck ass
- Made a few financial fuck-ups costing a few thousand dollars
- Parents are getting a divorce
IRL Goals for 2020:
- Start doing music production again
- Possibly find a better job more en route to a music production career
- Find a good source of education that actually will fit what I want to be doing
- Become more organized with financial matters
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Pros
-500+ points and #lobby access
This was a huge goal for me coming into 2019. I’m happy that I was able to achieve this and to prove to myself that I can be a better player and improve my skill. Being able to talk to the upper echelon of players and strengthen some friendships and make new ones was the icing on the cake. I’ve been involved with some gaming communities before, but none as well knit and close as this one. A lot of you are big inspirations for me to get better, and I can’t thank you all enough for it.
-Double Feature falling through
Okay so some explanation here. At the time that I announced I was doing a hoard project with Cal, I was very much swept in “hoard mania”—K4 was a few months away, people were memeing about who is in a hoard, I watched the Kepaps for the first time in their entirety...I really wanted to be in a hoard OR even be the ringleader for one. Turns out you have to be a very good player to be involved with a hoard since you have to rely on your fellow hoarders and yourself for improvement. I was, and probably still am, no where close to that point. Some of the goals I had for the hoard where so lofty and unrealistic for a player at my skill level. Even with that, grinding for the times was starting to effect my personal life and my attitude. I was very bitter and on edge all the time. Saying that the project was canceled was hard, but honestly I’m happy that it didn’t go through now. Perhaps one day Double Feature will return, but right now, it’s for the best that I don’t be involved with a project as ambitious as a hoard is.
-Not being picked for Summer League
I consider this in the same mindset as Double Feature. I was really excited to be considered for league this year. But as myself and my wife watched the draft and not hearing my name called at all it hit me that I wasn’t going to play. I was extremely down and upset about it—even my wife was. But after thinking about it and how I play the game, it was probably for the best. I hate being pressured to perform and that’s what league basically was. I like to play for myself and achieve times on my own terms—I like to vibe on a level for a while: play it, love it, grow attached to it...so being pressured to play a new level every day and get cooked times would have soured my vision of the game. So, as weird as it sounds, not being picked for league was a good thing for me.
Cons
-Times not achieved
There were times that I wasn’t able to achieve due to outside factors. I hope that I can get them this year.
-S2 Agent failing
Really wanted this time. Didn’t get it and the grind was so frustrating that I don’t want to get it right now. Perhaps one day things will click.
-Online Presence
Despite lobby access and growing friendship, I feel like my presence here is either too “in your face” or inappropriate. In 2020 I really want to keep a better and healthier profile here. I’m sorry for any of the attention grabbing or behavior on my part. This year, I really want to keep a level head and approach my relationships here in a better way.
Goals
-Top 100 or 1000 points
Big challenge for me. I think I can do this.
-Various times
Really want to fill out some of the n/as on my sheet instead of heavily focusing on Agent times. There’s a hit list of times as well.
-Learn Perfect Dark
I’m keen on some levels in Perfect Dark. While I have no experience playing the game in a speed setting or casually, I really want to try my hand at some times. I feel like there are skills and paradigms that PD will teach me that can transfer to GE. And vice versa. I will still remain a GE player.
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Speedrunning
Highs
- Streets Agent 1:11
- Strong League Performance
- Top 100
- 2k points
- Hit some RTA goals
- Had some great streams
- Had a bit of my story told in a speedlore
- Released SAMPAP and it was more well received than expected
- Action Girlz Racing WR reclaimed and moderator status achieved
Lows
- Fruitless 120 hour Cavs A grind
- Didn't reach goal of Top 50 this year
- Achieved very few times after Streets 1:11
- Didn't finish off the boring 4
- Did almost zero work on my next elite-based creative project
- Consistently would build a bit of momentum with my stream then not stream for several weeks for various reasons
Goals
- Top 50
- 2-3 World Records (Cavs A, Runway A, maybe something else too)
- Finish off RTA goals
- Get at least 30/60 of my Long Term Goals (currently 11/60)
- Get the streams popping again
IRL
Highs
- Entered my second year at my current job. Still enjoying it immensely and am very happy that I am generally well liked and my high performance is noticed and appreciated
- Beat my savings goal by 20%
- More satisfied than ever with my social life
- Very pleased with my place within the social aspect of the elite
- Came up with a plan for the next 3 years
Lows
- Dropped out of uni
- Still a spastic when meeting new people
- Ate like shit and didn't exercise all year
Goals
- Save $22,000AUD
- Go to America and meet the mates
- Make YouTube videos again (either my old shitty blogs or something more polished)
- Try my hand at stand up comedy
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Last years goals:
Runway SA 22
S1 A 1:02
Better Silo Times
Play a lot of PD for summer league
Check, check, check, and check. Hell, I got both WR's in January.
SPEEDRUNNING
Highs
-Part 11 opened up a new era of cyberterrorism.
-Duel True Ending (even though my DLTK 9 is STILL not in the WR database)
-One of the most successful 3 week periods of any Eliter ever to open summer league
---(in Perfect Dark, 54 levels, 114 PR's, 3,484 points, all in 22 days)
-Achieved all GE goals I set for myself to be achieved in 2019.
-Several really great times that I surprised myself by getting (Frig SA 1:01, B1 00A 1:05, Jungle leaders, to name a few)
-Caked Archives 54's.
-Dunked on Sammo numerous times. (Keep in mind he only has 3 wins over me compared to my 45 over him :nesquik: )
Lows
-70+ hours of wasted effort on Cradle Agent
-50+ hours of wasted effort on Caverns SA
-No WR's since January. (Not that I really went for any anyways)
-Duel True Ending took way too long.
-Part 11 opened up a new era of cyberterrorism.
Goals
-Continue the march to 70+ points on every level in GE.
-Dunk on Sammo some more, it's been too long since I did.
-Continue to be underappreciated due to a low WR count. :nesquik:
-13th place overall in GE would be sick but not sure how feasible due to upcoming IRL commitments.
speaking of which...
IRL
Highs
-Completed one of my degrees
-Enjoyed my final year as a member of the Ohio State Marching Band
-Fuck Michigan
-Moved into an apartment where I live alone
-Learned how to make a lot of food
Lows
-Fuck Clemson
-Have not managed to fix my daily routine as I would have liked
-Still eat out way too much
Goals
-I'm student-teaching here starting Monday, so, don't fuck that up.
-Begin my career once finishing my other degree in May.
-Don't fuck that up either
-Manage my time to still include speedrunning, as I find it to be a good stress reliever and social activity when streaming.
-Come up with a good hashtag for Pauli and I to use this year to charge you fools more royalties.
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Short and sweet
Highs:
Got that untied
Made that unhoard
King of Crash Site
Massive LTK activity!!!
Lows:
No Streets LTK improvement
Depot DLTK 1:21 near-miss feelings
Blown away on WAR! LTK
IRL
Highs:
New job in April, raised after 6 months.
New PC, Internet, consoles etc
Lows:
Life was almost back to "normal" until the seizure on December 12th.
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Speedrunning Highs:
- running moamathons/ECMs is always such a good time
- met the mates at moam
- that's about it really
Speedrunning lows:
- Did next to no speedrunning aside for the first 4-5 months when i was in K4 and it just kinda added to a lot of problems
- definitely caused issues in my personal life
- never achieving much of note
IRL Highs:
- Met the mates at moam
- Doing better and better at uni and starting to make friends/be social
- Got into exercising/rock climbing even if it went to the wayside when uni started back up
- improved a lot at other hobbies (tekken, climbing etc...)
- Have great friends to help me out when i felt awful
IRL Lows:
- Worst summer/3-4 months of my life
- Depressed for most of it too
- a lot of other shit
Goals for 2020:
- Get over it
- Finish 2nd year of uni with a 2:1 minimum and carry that into final year
- Exercise more to lessen the self hate
- Be more social IRL and make friends
- Write/record music and listen to more
- Maybe play some speedgame but idk probably SF64 or S2 SA 47
Goals for the decade:
- Finish uni with a 2:1 minimum
- Find a job in software/web dev
- Use said job to save/get exp to move to Korea/Singapore/Japan
- Keep writing and listening to music and enjoying art in general whether its Film/Book/Music
- Be Happy
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Speedrunning Highs:
- Chicago 300, including catching my white whale (Agent 0:14)
- First Untied WR (Maian SOS SA)
- Lots of cool Street Boyz WRs (6 are still untied)
- AFO 0:52 on Stream
- Being a part of [k4]
- Outside of Top 100, now 12th
- Overcame my PA struggle a lot
- 11 WRs in PD
Speedrunning Lows:
- Still have some issues with PA, and once A/SA look good, it's gonna be rough
- Couldn't quite nail Escape SA as an untied
- Quite rusty at Jak 3 and couldn't really compete and quickly gave up
- Never really figured out elvis on deep sea, would have liked 2:25 for k4
- Not too many lows, i'd say i had a good year
IRL Highs:
- Got my first flex job after 3 years of not doing anything
- Volunteered for ESA despite the anxiety
- Met some cool people at MOAM/GDQ/ESA
- Learned a lot about myself this year. The importance of forgiveness. Responsibility of helping others. Learned more about love, teamwork, my parents, my shortcomings.
- Made something that actually resembles a song. I've been speedrunning for years with no other interests, digging into music production is a huge step for me, in just trying something different.
- Overcame an anxiety episode i had going into 2019. Recovered after MOAM and nailed WAR 0:25 right after getting better.
- Finally said fuck it and decided to move in with my internet friend in the UK
IRL Lows:
- Still more or less did nothing with my life
- Could not really follow through with my job. I got severe back pain and rapidly increasing heart rates from being out in the field. Made me feel worthless
- Having to watch my mom go through a lot, both physically and mentally. Was hard to help her sometimes
- Anxiety is still majorly taking over my life and my routines.
- Struggle to get shit done CONSTANTLY.
- Always had the feeling the whole year that lots of people didn't like me
- Straying further and further away from my family. This year was the first year where i didn't attend christmas dinner because of differences and anxiety.
- Hung out with the wrong people and it made me question who i was
2020 Goals:
- Top 7
- Second untied WR
- Attend MOAM 2, ESA Summer and QuickCade
- Get serious in another game, not sure what yet. Maybe something i've already played, maybe something new
- Move to the UK
- Being open to do more stuff with my UK roommate
- Not be afraid of giving more jobs a chance
- Learn even more about myself
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Speedrunning Highs:
- Conceptualized and helped made K4 happen
- Considering how flat faced I've felt about my progress in running GE, PR'd a considerable amount still this year
- Made solid progress in rankings moving up a good bit, pretty happy with the progress
- Gotten used to using more sensitive sticks and has helped quite a bit for high OCB levels like Facility and Silo
Speedrunning Lows:
- Feel like I haven't REALLY achieved what I've wanted to achieve and just kinda accepting something that's "good" and not great
- Didn't move out of my comfort zone that much in terms of playing different levels, did some toe dipping into other levels but not a good deal of it
- Threw a CRT and smashed it due to high stress and anger that GE was bringing onto me, absolutely need to work on that
IRL Highs:
- Started working near full time hours at a decent location for a job and have been decently enjoying it
- Worked on a full length film project which ended up with my buying my first real film camera, took the time to learn it and take advantage of it
- Didn't waste a year creatively and instead utilized it to experiment and learn a lot about film and editing
- Got out of my first place I was living since moving to Edmonton that was making depressed, this new place has me feeling a lot better now
- Got a lot happier as a person and have learned how to deal with a lot of stuff
- Been very financially smart and never got myself into hot water with plenty of planning
IRL Lows:
- Didn't lose weight, but didn't gain either so not too bad
- Still not back in school, no GED or anything to show for highschool
- Didn't try very hard to push beyond my job to pursue a new and better one
- Honestly thought I'd have more to write here but that's it, pretty proud of that actually
2020 Goals:
- Top 25
- Play more levels
- Lose some fuckin weight
- Push towards going back to school
I think I got this shit in the bag, I don't have a lot of issues all over the place so the stuff I have to work on are easy to focus on, let's clutch this shit boys!
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SPEEDRUNING HIGHS
- First points in GE with Depot 26.
Admittedly I used 2.X, but it was a pretty serious milestone for me knowing that I could get within a few tenths of a decent time - Runway 22
Sure, the time itself is boring as hell, but I was pretty proud to have achieved a world record. In my times history it looks like I went dark for 3 weeks grinding this, but the truth is I was moving house (see IRL lows) and it took a little while to get settled in the new place. I didn't cake it, but it only took ~15 hours - Playing in league was a blast, I particularly enjoyed picking off some easy points in PD
- S2 131
This is probably the closest I've got to an interesting time on my page, and was the only goal time I hit while hoarding for Double Feature. The feeling of clutching the run with my heart pounding was satisfying. (highly recommend checking my 134 and 137, both are scuffed) - Ausmeet
Saving the best for last, think the l thing I enjoyed most this year about speedruning was all the community involvement, Ausmeet is the peak of that too. Was great to meet Alka, Luke, Sammo and Wally, hang out, play some multi, and talk about speedruning
SPEEDRUNING LOWS
- Didn't get Archives 16
I got pretty close to Archives 16 in May, hell my first 17 had a 3 min stuck on the first room door and a back. Played for 20 hours and somehow was worse at hour 20 than I was at hour 10. Got distracted playing league stuff and haven't really gone back - Giving up on things easily
Giving up on Archives 16 was the first time I stopped playing without hitting my goal, which taught me I could. Since then I haven't really been able to stick to a grind, getting distracted and moving on. I have multiple levels where my fastest fail is seconds ahead of my PB just because I've gotten bored and moved on - Only playing GE
Probably a common malady, but I really only played GE in 2019. In 2018 I bought a Switch and had a current green system for the first time since forever, loved BOTW and SMO. Probably need to balance some gaming time better[\li]
IRL HIGHS
- Saved enough money to think about buying a house
- Started doing a decent job at work
I was good at my old job (2015-2017), smashed it like I had every serious job I'd had since 2010. Got promoted in April 2018 and I was maybe OK at best, felt weird. 2019 I felt like I was at least gong a decent job again at a higher level
IRL LOWS
- Had to move house in Feb because of a neighbour dispute. Had to take restraining orders out against the guy and everything after he did stuff like stand outside our bedroom window at 11pm flashing torches in to our room and hurling abuse
- I didn't travel for the first time in a while, we took a week holiday to Port Douglas but that was as far as we got
- a couple of things that are too raw right now, maybe I'll elaborate sometime, maybe not
2020 GOALS
- Another WR
Runway SA 22 and Cradle A 33 are the only two that are probably in my range. This should help me learn to stick to a grind again too - More exercise
Weekly basketball is better than nothing, but I should be out there now often for my health - I didn't travel in 2019, so I want to go somewhere new
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SPEEDRUNNING HIGHS
- stopped doing it
- got a couple good GE times
- MOAMathon is the best thing ever, also enjoyed doing my "runs"
SPEEDRUNNING LOWS
- stopped doing it
IRL HIGHS
- sort of a speedrunning high as well, but MOAM 2019 was amazingly amazing. everyone is great
- got a home loan and a house! nothing else from 2019 can top this really
- changed shift at my job and am now working with cooler people
- found a couple of new interests that i'm keen to pursue
IRL LOWS
- shit first half of the year, lost one of my best friends after a short battle with leukemia. he was diagnosed in January and passed away in June.
- shit second half of the year because of some depressing garbage with a girl, cbf getting into it
- still didn't really know wtf i wanted to do with my life
- overall a year to forget. hopefully 2020 is a good one
2020 GOALS
- to follow on from the previous point I'm getting a better idea of what I want to get done this year, including making some cool youtube videos and hopefully build a proper channel, among other things
- actually play GE; top 10 would be nice but I'm not prepared to set it as a 2020 goal
- manage my time better and listen to more albums, watch more movies, play more games
- keep working on house stuff
- improve social life
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SPEEDRUNNING HIGHS:
- Maintained healthy chats with the mates in Discord et al.
- Continued proof moderating, coming up on FIVE years this February...wow.
- Proof modding allowed me to stay in touch with both the rankings and the community while I haven't had time to dedicate to playing/grinding. Positive year overall!
SPEEDRUNNING LOWS:
- Had no time to dedicate to playing/grinding, haven't PR'd on the ranks since June 29th, 2018 with Aztec A 1:34.
- No time for any other speedrunning, including PD/Mario Tennis, etc.
SPEEDRUNNING GOALS:
- Top 75 in GE & PD by 2021 (easy with consistency, like anything else).
- Finish up my room/space and include room tour with a GE WR.
- Play a bit more Mario Tennis and/or find another game to run as well.
- Continue proof modding, trying not to piss off too many folks :nesquik: :v (2025+).
IRL HIGHS:
- It's been an INCREDIBLE year overall.
- I bought my first car in May (an orange 2013 Hyundai Veloster).
- I resigned from my position at the hospital working security for $15.67/hr.
- I received a position in a municipal police service as a parking officer making $31.82/hr.
- I applied and received a position within a service as a District Special Constable, starting Feb 4th, 2020, starting at $75k/yr.
- Back in September I moved out of an unsustainable environment with my dad and we moved into a neighbouring town for little rent (ftw).
- I've met an incredible woman with whom I have a beautiful & healthy relationship, and she's moving in next month.
- Listened to a LOT of podcasts including Jordan Peterson, Jocko Willink, and Deep Pockets.
- Really gotten into chess, and I've been enjoying it a lot (currently rated about 1300 in most rel game types [Classical, Blitz, Bullet]
- Learned how to solve a 3x3 and 2x2 Rubik's cube, got my times down to 28.97 and 4.62 respectively.
IRL LOWS:
- Ended a relationship which lasted about 16 months, which is an overall HIGH now but at the time was quite a brief and shocking low.
- With the new job I took on a commute of 210km round trip (131mi for those who use freedom units :v), which has me spending about $400/month on gas.
- The compressed work schedule I'm on had me working 7 straight days/afts/nights, so I've had very little energy for lifting/exercising on days that I work.
- Just after an early family Xmas celebration near the end of November, my great aunt died of a heart attack quite suddenly. This was just 5 days after I'd sat and talked with her extensively, catching up during the get-together. That was a silver lining, at least for me. They played Memories by Maroon 5 at her wake and I can't stand to listen to the damn song now.
- With the move earlier, buying a bed, winter tires, and other expenses I've racked up $4800 on my line of credit (on the positive side, all credit cards are clear :pimp:)
- Haven't played much guitar at all.
- Cubing interest died out after the summer.
IRL GOALS:
- Continue to learn more about myself. I received Jordan Peterson's book "Maps of Meaning" and I've grinded through some of it on Audible but the real study will be from the text itself. I also want to re-read "12 Rules for Life".
- Pick up music again, even just a little bit. I'm considering grabbing a weighted keys keyboard to pick up piano again if guitar doesn't pique my interest as much.
- Learn some chess repertoire, and consider competing in one tournament through the year, maybe in the summer time.
- Get 3x3 time to sub 25.
- Retain my discipline and maintain consistency at the gym (3x/week minimum), which I've mostly been good with except a few select weeks.
- Bench 225lbs/102kg
- Save $10,000CAD (I'm on track for $10,925 by Jan 1st)
- Drop all my income tax on my line of credit (adulting ftw)
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Speedrunning highs:
-Cut almost 3 minutes from my GE time.
-Stayed in the top 100.
-Got Archives 16 and Caverns 1:02, which were goal times for a long time.
-I've despised Train and Silo and have been actively avoiding them, so I'm glad I finally just manned up and did it.
-Seeing 3:59 Control A on screen was a great moment.
-Using 2.x to get Archives 16 and shooting Nat in the cutscene lol.
Speedrunning lows:
-Getting a bunch of points from a decent PR and see them disappear instantly due to unwhoards.
-No Undoubted achievement (S2 A).
-Have not played PD in years, and would love to get back into the top 100 one day.
-Facility A 48 becoming a 0 point PR.
-After getting Archives 16 with 2.x, immediately forget the timing for the door on SA/00 and wind up with shitty PRs of 56.
Speedrunning goals:
-S2 A PR. I have to learn the r-lean!
-Top 75 in points
-Top 50 time
-Points on every level
-Archives 55s
-Top 100 PD
IRL highs:
-Ran my first marathon in October.
-Job is awesome.
-Went to 2 Broncos games in a season (@Vikes and vs. Raiders).
-Met up with Mgay.
IRL lows:
-Didn't finish reading any books I started.
-Didn't get anywhere near done with my organ recording project.
-Missed the Broncos @ Packers game after Jimbo and I made a pact to go see it 8 years ago after the last one. Got screwed with Gold Package ticket prices and personal stuff.
IRL goals:
-Get back to VA.
-Finish a damn book.
-Finish the damn project.
-Make the 2nd marathon faster.
-Be smarter than a toddler. :v
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Speedrunning Highs:
- #CenturyClub
- Project2020 (specifics can be seen in the p2020 thread)
- Achieved 8 world records in 2019
- Top 20 PD
- Defection Agent Truest Ending
- 60/60 points
Speedrunning Lows:
- Still scared of most PA levels (and a lot of SA levels too)
- Didn't play much GE, need to fix that
- Didn't get rescue 1:24 for Project 2020, not too big a deal though
IRL Highs:
- Doing well in college
- Making good friends
- Discovering a lot of new music
IRL Lows:
- Still doing my best to work through some stuff, I feel like I'm getting better though.
Goals (IRL/Speedrunning):
- Continue working on myself (mentally/physically/etc)
- Get more world records
- Get top 15 PD
- Get at least one GE world record
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May well make a post although we're already a solid month into 2020 and unlike BK I have no reason to be this late.
Highs:
-PAL Depot 24. Killed my GE career, but I did it.
-Getting my PAL console and my Deep Sea times
-Top 100 PD (as irrel as that is) and getting points on a bunch of levels
-My Rescue times
-Frequent meets with NV and 2 with Harry
Lows:
-Depot 24 grind
-Lackluster/cringe century club performance
-Tons of wasted hours on Depot SA/00
-Streams honestly sucked
IRL Highs:
-Was cool to live in England for a while and travel around Europe. Got me out of a funk.
-I'm quite proud of my travel blog from that time and I can feel my writing continue to improve
-I managed to eat a lot healthier in 2019
IRL Lows:
-Still struggling on my research project
-Health problems
-Always looking for trouble. Will hopefully fix this year.
Goals:
-Deep Sea LBs
-Tie Paragon on every PA level
-Points on every level
-Top 50
IRL Goals:
-IDK man, everything? Lol