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Beyond the Detox


Reno F

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Perhaps you don't know it, but I have already (proudly) successfully completed my 3-month detox on October the 15th, 2016. You can check my ups and downs in the journal I wrote during the period here <insert link>.

Now it is time for the next step, towards a new goal which I finally have drafted in the last weeks. But first of all, I'd like to tell a little bit about my recent history with games.

If you followed through my detox or read through it on the link forementioned, you will notice that I avoided naming the games I was moving from. It was very hard to not talk about them, even mentioning its names. Many times I had written about them but erased before posting, and this was for the specific reason that I TRULY wanted to move on from them. I was forcing myself to have other things to write about, and I would advise you to try this approach. However, I'm allowing myself to write about them here this time only, hoping that my experience could do some good to someone else.

--------Game Talk Ahead------------

Yes, I played League of Legends. I was a mediocre player. I didn't want to rank up (stopped playing ranked one year before I stopped playing League. My top rank was Silver 4). But I had a blast playing normals. I could play many characters effectively. I played evething except for top lane. I also played a lot of dominion. Normals was awesome and everyone was having fun (except for those who were having a break from ranked and were still stressed out from their last match). I tried to stop playing it once, and I was somewhat successfull for 2 or 3 weeks. The only reason I went back playing it was because I was spending the time I used to spend gaming on the internet, browsing mindlessly. So I thought "to waste time like this, I might as well play league". And that's what I did.

To be completely honest, I couldn't quit League of Legends. But I lost interest in the game when I discovered a mobile game called Heroes Charge. This game was interesting for a while, long enough to forget about League of Legends, and I'm really grateful for that. This game is also the only game that I ever spent money ingame, about 5 bucks. After 6 months wasted on it I realized that: 1 - The game is Pay to Win; 2 - When playing it, you spend 90% of your time grinding. And let's be clear here: to grind is not to play. That's the reason I was never in to MMORPG, like Diablo or WoW. 3 - The developers kept "balancing" the game, which lead to more grind to adjust your strategy. After realizing that, it was easy to quit it.

Aroudn that time, I had read Cam's most popular article on the internet, for the second time, if I'm not wrong. But I wasn't commited to stop. Maybe I was looking for a quick fix, who knows.

After Heroes Charge, I reinstalled Steam. I played several games, most games being indie retro ones, taking me back to the golden 8-bit/16-bit era of Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden and Metroid. Now, while these games are not as addicting, I was in a frenzy, finishing one and moving to the next. Oh, I just love them, makes me want to play one right now, haha. Anyway, after being depressed for a while, I commited to stop about 4 months ago. I uninstalled everything, still have some unplayed games on Steam. Maybe I'll play them one day, but this is not on my current plans

----------End of Boring Game Talk----------

By the end of my detox, I decided that I wanted to be a writer. And that is still true. I am practicing writing almost everyday, even in the absence of a measurable goal (which is something I should have clear soon). I had an idea for a book to work on (but haven't started it). Writing is also a required skill for my second goal: I want to have an online business. I want to be able to write good copy and have an independent income through affiliate marketing. I also want to have a product or a subscription type of website someday. I'm still on planning stage and I hope to have something to work towards soon. Most of all, I want to be able to help people through a business that can support me and my family, regardless of where we live. That might sum up my long term objective.

Next is regarding volunteer work. I tried to join a lifeline program here in Japan some months ago. I really wanted to do it, but the job required a relatively large investiment of money, something I could not afford at the moment. It was really a pity. On the other hand, I was close to the end of my detox and I thought it could be the right time to give something back to the GQ community, so now I'm one of the volunteers for our "Cause".

Unfortunately, I still have to sell my time and work with something I don't like to support my dreams. I guess it is all part of "the plan".

With the end of the detox, I believe I have the basics handled already and it is time to get my hands dirty. I hope I can still play the guitar sometimes, (Just checked the two game quitters songs from this topic <insert link here> , thinking of composing one as well :D).

Enough with introductions, let's get to the journal

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Well done, Reno F!  Good luck on your writing and online business plans.  I'm currently listening to "Personal MBA," and I truly enjoy all of the principles of business that actually matter explained well.  If you haven't read it yet, I would definitely recommend it =)  

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Well done, Reno F!  Good luck on your writing and online business plans.  I'm currently listening to "Personal MBA," and I truly enjoy all of the principles of business that actually matter explained well.  If you haven't read it yet, I would definitely recommend it =)  

Thanks! Added to the list!

You're taking the right action to see your vision come to life. Remember, if you keep working at it, you will get there. The reason people don't get to their vision is because they quit before they do! Keep going :D

Thanks, Cam. The vision is still blured, I believe I will see it better with some steps forward!

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Visitors at home

My wife's mother is visiting us for three days and that change my routine a bit. Today I woke up early as usual, but didn't go for that early walk because my guest was still sleeping and I didn't want to disturb her. So I just read in bed. But there are also good points: I feel less tempted to browse crap on the internet while she is around.

The other day I wrote for a virtual Medium magazine, but it might turn out that our interests are a bit different. They want exclusivity, and I can't stop writing for my blog now, neither have time to write to two different sources.

I'm also doing a lot of random writing, which is good for practice, but not good in terms of results, as I can't use those texts basically anywhere. Perhaps it is time to start to think about writing a book.

I'm reading Triggers, by Joseph Sugarman (the one about sales, not habits). Nice book, makes me want to apply the content right away, but I'm not selling anything. I might combine my write practice with the sales content and start to write copy for the sake of putting to use some of the things I'm reading.

I think there is also space for improvement with my time usage/management. Some activities seems to be better done without the pomodoro approach (creative ones, for ex)

Next week there is another interview follow up for the job I applied recently.

Now for that gratitude practice:

- Kindle, for carrying my books and sparing my eyes from bright screens.

- Washing machines, for doing the hard work for me.

- Bicycles, for making me save money, do exercise and help the planet at the same time.

PS: It turns out that I can't edit the first post. My previous journal is here.

Edited by Reno F
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Slow Pace

After drafting the outline of the book, I've started doing research for it. I'm going to have to read some stuff before I begin to write anything worth, but that's fine. While I read, I must also start to think of a timeframe to have the very first draft of the whole book available. Some variables are going to influence this decision, such as the time I'm putting on it everyday, and the priority of it on my current affairs.

Besides that, the rest of the day was filled with guitar practice, reading and listening to classical music.

Gratitude practice:

- Warner Brothers, MGM, and Walter Lanz, for their cartoons soundtrack, the best of classical music.

- Kitchen Paper, very handy to wipe the grease and dirt out of the guitar strings.

- "Plastic" Gloves, for protecting my hands when I do the dishes.

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@hycniejsy because I wash them everyday (I have to :(). I don't know how detergents are made nowadays, but a few years ago they would damage your skin on continued use.

@AlexTheGrape Look who's talking! haha

-----------------------------

Slower pace

I had a talk at my third interview. I might get hired by the hotel. It seems the job is quite boring, which I kind of like it because it's something I can change.

I also had a student today and the class was nice. I managed to work one pomodoro between the interview and the class. I also could practice on the guitar and writing, only about 300 words of fiction.

My mother in law is gone and tomorrow I'm basically free until 7pm, so I'm gonna fill up that schedule as soon as I finish here. To do list includes: research for the book, writing practice, translation stuff, house cleaning, niche market research and excercise.

Gratitude practice:

- Sushi is the Japanese traditional fast food. Nice!

- Carpet Heating

- This community

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I should try these gloves out, because couple of weeks ago my skin hands got irritated without any particular reason :(

What do you think about usage of anti-smug masks in big cities? Is it ordinary thing for you?

 

- Sushi is the Japanese traditional fast food. Nice!

Wow , seriously? What is Japanese slow food, then? :)

Greetings, Mad Pharmacist

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@hycniejsy In Japan people don't use anti pollution masks, as Japan doesn't suffer from it. the white masks you may see around are for either not spreading disease (cold, flu, etc) or as an air filter for the pollen in spring, as many people have allergy.

--------------------------

Where did my time go?

I had enough to do a lot today, but somehow I couldn't get much done. I didn't waste much time either. I wonder if I spent too much time researching on the web, since I didn't time it...

I still have exercise, writing and market research to do. I'll have to wait for tomorrow.

Kind of miss watching brazilian football championship on tv.

Strange thing of the day: I was stopped by the police on the streets and interrogated for about 6 minutes.

Today I'm grateful for:

- Tomorrow - I can finish what I started today (supposing I will wake up tomorrow, ha)

- Warm sheets

- Being able to talk to policeman in Japanese.

- Fridge, for keeping my food edible for longer. @SpiNips do you need fridges or only stove will do the job?

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Fridges are surprisingly handy here as well! In the winter everything freezes if stored in an outside temperature which means R.I.P for milk, butter, soups or anything that contains water. I think Finns used to store food in a big pile of sawdust in which they kept ice split from the lakes to keep the heat down in the summertime too. But nowadays those traditional methods are replaced by the convenience of fridges. :) 

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@hycniejsy I have no idea. I reckon allergies are common everywhere. :)

------------------

Friend's meet up day.

I'm journaling a bit earlier today, while I wait my risotto get cooked.

I had a nice chat on the internet with some friends from Brazil. We play "tabletop" rpg once a week and we are able to tell some good stories (sometimes).

I got a call from the employer the other day. This guy is playing with me. He now wants me to be a full time worker to start immediately or a part-time only to start in January. I wish Japanese people would tell us what is the problem straight to our faces. Mind you, the job I applied to now has totally different conditions than what he is offering me. Fuck, I hate to be in need of money.

Yesterday I started considering learning code once more. I would suit the lifestyle I'm looking forward to having and I also have experience with it so the learning curve would be shorter. I guess I'd have borrow time from playing guitar. I know learning code is quite imersive, but i'd need a project to truly dedicate myself to it. I'm giving it some more thought.

Today I got a little bit more done, but I still haven't done the niche search. Can't wait to make my first cents online...

Gratitude Journal:

- Supermarket at walking distance from my place!

- Relatively cheap bananas!

- Tom Waits! The man is a genius!

- Cheeeeeeeese

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I'm learning to code so if you decide to jump in it, you're not alone ;) Your situation with job is really tuff; I understand it, because I went through the same. Unemployed -> part time job -> shity full time job -> better full time job(where I'm now) and hopefully my next career step will be freelancer in programming. Just be strong, don't give up and keep going making small steps everyday!

Greetings, Piotr.

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I'm learning to code so if you decide to jump in it, you're not alone ;) Your situation with job is really tuff; I understand it, because I went through the same. Unemployed -> part time job -> shity full time job -> better full time job(where I'm now) and hopefully my next career step will be freelancer in programming. Just be strong, don't give up and keep going making small steps everyday!

Greetings, Piotr.

Hey, thanks for the kind words! Yea, I'm already in it. I used to program microcontrollers for electronic devices in C a few years ago. I've also studied assembly at the University, so I'm more like taking out the rust and moving to a high-level programming language, starting with html.

----------------------

Failing to plan is plan to fail

This weekend my wife had planned to attend a wedding ceremony in her hometown. That means I have the whole weekend for me. Sounds good, right? Yet I have nothing planned. So yesterday, friday night, reminded me of 5 years ago, when I used to stay alone at home on the computer when everyone else was having fun. Not cool. I don't wanna make excuses here, but I think I got too involved with programming.

I started studying html two days ago and boy, it made me feel like I'm 19 again. It is so involving, challenging, there is a clear objective when you are coding and you can easily see your progress... wait a minute, I think I've read something like this before alround here... Anyway, there is one single reason I decided to not pursue a career as a programmer, and it is because it is not social. I was introvert enough and I was sick of working with computers all day. I'm gonna give it a second try.

I'm gonna put some meetups in this weekend, so I can say it wasn't a total waste.

Gratitude time:

- Wireless technology

- Granola

- Rain, making sunny days more special - and vice-versa

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@hycniejsy I go out everyday for a short walk just after I wake up. Then I teach 2 or 3 times a week (about 15 minutes cycle from my place) and I eat out the same amount. I would go out more to socialize but in Japan it takes money to do anything, and I'm not making enough yet. But yea, this weekend, for example, I spent it mostly alternating betweek books, and coding, having some guitar practice and exercises in my breaks. I try to not go crazy by talking to my mates in Brazil online, but it's not enough.

-----------------

Code rush

And yes, I didn't go out on the weekend. What a waste. But on the other hand, I finished a basic course of HTML and CSS. Next step is to practice it making some web design by myself and then I can start with Javascript.

I slowed down with writing a bit. My blog is on a hold for now, as I'm practicing narrative rather than non fiction.

On this weekend I also bought 50% of my meals at a convenience store. It is not that they aren't healthy (cooked food, not processed), but it reminds me of when I used to do it because it would take time away from gaming. Not cool.

I tried to record guitar + voice just for fun, but I realized that I can't put power on singing because all the neighbors would listen. it reminded me of your worries @Hitaru, haha. I guess it is our worries now. I mean, idgaf whether they can listen to my guitar...

My thanks for today goes to:

- Southpark. Gets better every year, and this year's season is just too epic!

- Autumm. Sometimes the days are comfortably cool.

- Vegetable mix juice: why munch when you can just drink?

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@Piotr I read somewhere about w3schools. Codecademy is beginner friendly and well designed, but as you said, lacks depth, so I'm supplementing it with the shayhowe course. w3 seems pretty complete (I only checked it now that you mentioned), thanks for the indication! I'm definitely using it to study javascript and advanced html.

-----------------------

Word of the day is focus

Today I realized if I ever want to make money with affiliate marketing, I have to start doing something now. When I think about what is keeping me from starting, nothing comes up. I have a few ideas for niches and I have a better understanding on web development to lay out a nice simple website. With that said, I'm going to lay out a work plan to have one website up. Goal: make 10 dollars in a month with it. Not much, but good enough to start with. From there I see what would be my next move.

Gratitude practice:

- Hot water: essential for coffee and winter shower (don't tell me you cold shower in winter)

- knowing English: it has opened so many doors.

- Electric shavers: my sensitive skin appreciates them.

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