Level 4: User page integration into Replacement Orders

Total Unlocked: $60

Spent: $28.76

Balance: $31.24

Cards:
[Whimsicott V deck]
Hisuian Sneasler V x3
Boss's Orders
Telescopic Sight
Bronzong
Rapid Strike Scroll of Swirls
Single Strike Stonjourner
Moon & Sun Badge

I finished stage 4-1 yesterday (adding buttons to the user page to create replacement orders), and stage 4-2 today (adding a display to the user page to show all current + past replacement orders). That completes stage 4, except that I'm expecting my boss to request a number of changes when he gets back, as he'll have his coding and styling preferences to request implementation. Accordingly, I've unlocked another $10 in purchase power, and will unlock $25 more once things meet with his imminent change request. Monday I'll warp back to stage 3-2, so that I'll be inches away from completing both Level 3 and Level 4.

Now that the latest set has released, some card prices are plummetting. That let me acquire most of what I lack for a decent deck featuring the new cards, all while spending only $5. I have my eyes on a very strong deck for the likely sum of a whole $10, once the weekend passes and prices continue to fall a bit further.

3b ==> Warp

Total Unlocked: $50

Spent: $23.34

Balance: $26.66

Cards:
4x Whimsicott V,
3x Whimsicott VStar,
2x Fan of Waves
1x Zacian V CEL

Monday, I spent the day completing what I'll call Stage 2-5. It was a bonus level to address 10 things that had changed about the implementation for the project Level 2 (Replacement Order Interface). $5 unlocked, but it doesn't count as a new level.

Tuesday and Wednesday, I completed Stage 1 of Level 3: Integrating support for custom tags into our anomaly tracking system. Stage 3-1 was about integration into the interface for individual anomalies. 3-2 is the rest of the project, which is integrating into the listings pages for all anomalies. That unlocked another $5.

However, I've been asked to warp to Level 4: Integrating the Replacement Order System into additional existing parts of the site. So I'm warping to Level 4 for the rest of the week, and then coming back to address 3-2 when Level 4 is complete.

As a side note, I'm currently holding off on making purchases of new cards, because a new set was just released. Many cards from this set are going to be among my next set of purchases, but at the start of release, the prices are ridiculously high compared to where they will be just a few weeks from now. Since I'm not actively competing, I can afford to wait for that price drop.

Level 3!

Total Unlocked: $40

Spent: $23.34

Balance: $16.66

Cards:
4x Whimsicott V,
3x Whimsicott VStar,
2x Fan of Waves
1x Zacian V CEL

I finished level 2 (and, as a sub-component, stage 2-4)! That unlocks $5 (for the stage) and either $25 or play in a tournament (for the level). Since I'd still be over my unlocked spending if I did anything other than take the $25, that's the route I'm taking.

I've walked Rufus once this week, and intend to do a second walk within the next hour. We'll see if that walk leaves me feeling pain.

Levels 3 and 4 will each consist of 2 stages that represent related projects, each of which looks significantly simpler than the project that encompassed Level 2. Specifically, Stage 3-1 will be Anomaly Details Page Updates, Stage 3-2 will be Anomaly Listing Page Updates, Stage 4-1 will be Device Details Page Updates, and Stage 4-2 will be Device Listing Page Updates. I expect each Level to take 1-2 weeks.

Level 2A-4a and Spending on Whimsicott VStar

Total Unlocked: $10

Spent: $22.26

Cards:
4x Whimsicott V,
3x Whimsicott VStar,
2x Fan of Waves

I ended last week by finishing the 3rd task (e.g. work level 2-3). That unlocked another $5, bringing my total to $10. However, over the weekend there was a pokemon prerelease, wherein timing for buying can be a big factor in how much money you can make off of selling cards and sometimes it can even determine whether or not you can purchase a prerelease kit at all. Thus I elected to go ahead and buy a kit for $20 (in part because I had a coupon that made it $20 instead of the normal $30). And I managed to get quite a few good cards. I've already sold one of them for the $20 price I paid for the whole set, and at least 2 more should sell for somewhere in the $10-$30 range.

With that sale under my belt, and with my daughter expressing an interest in learning more about how to play, I decided to go ahead and spend some money putting together a deck that's reasonably strong and also reasonably straight forward: Whimsicott VStar. Accordingly, I bought the cards for it. So all told, my total spending this weekend on Pokemon cards was $20, minus the $20 I have coming in, plus the $22.26 that I spent on cards for the deck to teach my daughter with. I've exceeded the funds that I had available, but I feel like doing so was justified, and I know that I'll unlock the rest of the required funds within the next few days.

I completed two days of dog-walking last week, which means I'm landing back on level A-a for that one. Here storms played a role again, but an equal contributor came from the fact that my walking shoes randomly started hurting my feet on both of the days that I did walk. Each time, it left my toes on my right foot feeling a bit squished, remaining sore for the rest of the day and into the night. So not walking him more was roughly equal parts laziness, cramped schedule, and conscious decision due to minor injury. I'll plan to do some sort of walking with him this week, in different shoes. I'm not yet even contemplating whether or not I reach level B yet.

Level 2A-3a

Total Unlocked: $5
Spent: $0
Cards: None

I finished the 2-week task that comprised level 2-2! On to Level 2-3! $5 unlocked!

No progress with walking the dog as of yet. Busy days. May still try to fit it in.

Gamification: Week 2

 Last week didn't see as much progress as I'd have liked. We got a ton of rain, and I let that ruin my forward momentum on walking Rufus, since I'm able to get him enough exercise indoors via fetch and the like in a pinch. Similarly, I didn't quite finish Level 2-2 on work stuff. I'm getting close, and definitely expect to get there by mid-week. I'm not ruling out completing Level 2 in it's entirety this week.

But for now, we're rolling exercise back to stage A-a, so we're on Level 2A-2a once again. Here's hoping for more visible progress soon!

Humpday Gamification Update

I've advanced from 25% of the way through level 2-2 for work and at the start of level A-a for exercise up to 70% of the way through 2-2 for work, and up to A-c for exercise. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to reach level 2A-3d.

The work involved with the Left Column has been much more complicated than I initially forsaw.

Time to Gamify: Initial Rules

I've been really digging the videos from "Better Than Yesterday" on Youtube. Today, I came across one about turning life into a game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6tLGo9yij0

I love it. This feels like it will be so useful in helping deal with the problems I'm facing in daily work motivation.

I'd catch everyone up on everything, but that'd take forever, and frankly, returning to this blog right now is for me. But I'll still give high notes of where things are right now. For future me to read. 

1. My wife and I have been married for over a decade. My first-and-only child turns 7 years old later this month.
2. From a week before she was born until last June, I didn't have a solid job, but solid investments and some good luck paved the way to that not being an issue.
3. As above, I started a job last June. Doing programming with Brian again. ASP.net with C#.
4. Investments can probably continue to make the job unnecessary, but it does provide a nice cushion, and frankly the market sucks right now, so it's better to NOT pull out money (and to dump more in to the extent that's possible). Continuing this job will help with that.
5. This is another job that's pretty much all about the money. I was happy to leave my last gig for that reason. Life's too short and whatnot. But the money is meaningful to my family. And that's important enough for me to stay.
6. I've been struggling HARD with staying motivated enough to actually accomplish much at work. I'm hoping to change that, by embracing some of the Gamification Stuff from the video above. 

Here are the Rules:

1. Each project / distinct task is a level. Some levels are easy. Some aren't. If they are too easy, they can be grouped to create a cluster of stages making up a level. Currently, I'm probably on level 76 or something, but we'll just call it level 2. Because I finished level one in the first half of the current project, and each is big enough to be distinct.
1. Level 2 has the following stages:
   Heading, Left Column, Right/Center Column, and Finalize Order Execution. 
2. Technically, the last one there is part of the heading, but it was set up as a distinct section in the requirements, so it's getting a full-blown stage. 
3. I have completed the stage 2-1: Heading w/o Finalize Order Button. I've started on stage 2-2: Left Column. I'm about 25% of the way through completing stage 2-2.
2. Each stage that I complete, unlocks the purchase of ~$5 in Pokemon cards. Because I'm getting addicted to Pokemon cards. Each level I complete unlocks my choice of the ability to play in an online pokemon tournament OR purchase of ~$25 in Pokemon cards. Purchases unlocked within a given level must be for the same deck, so if I want to build new decks IRL, I've got to reach a new level.
3. Down the road, there will likely be new things that get gamified. New levels added as side quests. For exercise and probably some other stuff. Actually, now that I think about it...
   
4. I'll start the exercise side on the "Walk The Dog" level, which we'll call level A (so that we can progress in both dimensions separately. That means, currently, I'm on level 2A-2a. Walk the Dog will also have 4 stages, but with a time limit of one week for completion (after which time, you get reset to A-a). Not sure what the reward will be for this one though. Will have to think on it.