Day 1122: Habit RPG and other games of adulthood

My girl BenTen introduced me to the oddity that is HabitRPG, a system that grants a person money and XP for doing good things, getting necessary things done every day. And it's nice to get rewarded for stuff that ordinarily doesn't have much more than the external reward of necessity. Like doing the laundry. No one gets thanked for doing the laundry (although one receives many comments if the laundry is not done). But me? Now I get gold and XP for doing the laundry. And the dishes. Walking the dogs. And other random things that seem kinda like drudgery for most adults. (I also get rewards for, say, writing fiction or finishing a book or finishing writing a story, but that hasn't happened yet.) Still, I have been better about getting stuff done when I have an external reward. I know kids have chore charts and sticker charts to reinforce their need to do good things (I figure it's kinda cheap to reward myself for stuff I'm good at doing - the whole point of the app is to get me better at doing things I'm lame at doing). For some reason adults no longer get rewards for, you know, creating and maintaining good habits. I figure I could do with a reward or two.

The end of the week was pretty tough. I was ready to cry on the way home from work (Anna Nalick's Breathe came on the radio, and I managed to sing along without crying - go me!) on Wednesday and nearly cried on the way to work on Thursday. I ran into my first piece of real grown-up politics on Thursday. Out of my hundred and thirty-odd kids, only two are part of private petitions. I understand why my other coworkers and colleagues bemoan private petitions. They tend to be the most work, the most emotionally draining, and the most fraught with contention. Thursday's case was no difference. When I mentioned to my boss who the other two attorneys on the case were, he laughed. Not the "haha that's funny" laugh. The "haha sucks to be you" laugh. Unfortunately, the one lawyer who tends to be more obnoxious has political leverage that directly affects our state office, so I have to be super nice to him. Even though he will bully me (and he tried, on Friday, and I have yet to get back to him, but he makes me want to punch things). Apparently he kinda bullied the lawyer before me. I was super polite to him, though. We bonded over fancy pens. He happened to be showing off a fountain pen to his client and her paramour (seriously, that's the legal term these days), and I recognized the brand, because it's the same as the one my dad bought me at Harrod's when I passed the bar. And we chatted. (Earlier that day I'd bonded with a kid's grandfather over glass, because he, like my husband, had once worked in auto glass.) And we talked. And then in court he made me want to pull my hair out. This case is on the verge of exploding, and his client is going to send it down the drain.

I spent the rest of Friday and Saturday trying to pretend I was unemployed. Cody and I went to dinner with Carl, Cody's "little brother" from karate. Carl's a sweet kid, just finished his first year of college, and is getting out there and stretching his wings. Cody and I spent all of Saturday doing chores. I mowed the everything remotely green we have. (I am cheered to see some lovely roses growing among the thorns. We took the dogs for a walk and I saw some pretty purple roses in many yards. Our town is friendly to roses.) I cleaned the kitchens and the bathrooms and did most of the laundry. I vacuumed. I cleared out the clutter in the kitchen and the den. In the time I did all of that, poor Cody was digging a pit in the yard to try to get to the bottom of our leaky sprinkler system problem.

Today I taught Sunday school, and Cody helped me make dinner, and he also helped me do the dishes. When he helps me with chores, they go so much faster. One of my coworkers lent me Frozen (partially so her kids would stop watching it, partially so I could see it and hopefully connect better with all my kids who love it). It was cute, but after the way all the kids talked it up, I was pretty underwhelmed. Good music. But not nearly as fun as Tangled, I thought. Still, it kept me entertained while I was doing the dishes, and it was super catchy in some parts. Also, Idina Menzel, Kristin Bell, and Jonathan Groff. That was kind of a win.

This week will be less with the court, but probably no less with the stress. Oh well. A good night's sleep will help, only the past few nights I really haven't been sleeping well. It'll be okay, though.

One random joy of yesterday was Cody and I finally breaking into the cheese my dad gave us. As it turns out, Cody doesn't like brie or other soft cheeses, so it's all mine. He can enjoy the smelly hard cheeses all he wants. Brie for me. Yay! Also...I totally got into the orange mochi, which is divine. After work on Friday I was ready to go home and OD on chocolate, I was that stressed out. But I survived. Only three hearings next week, and I think I will survive.

Also, I made friends with a random girl online who offered to beta a short story for me. Once I can think up a title, I'll post it to the fanfic comm I run with my sister. And hey...it'll be the first story in a long while. I really do need to write more.

On a final note, I have a crazy plan to learn to write shorthand. It would come in super handy during client interviews or interviews with caseworkers who have a deluge of information and decide to lay it all on me right before court. My hands just cannot keep up. Of course, I will have to transcribe all my notes, but that's okay. Not to mention...all the fiction I can write, and so quickly. Even faster than typing. And no one will be able to read over my shoulder either. Ha! I keep a couple of notebooks and two smartphones and a tablet on me at all times, and yet I rarely manage to buckle down and write the fiction I'd like to write in my spare time.

Also, I finished reading a book this week. Reading does help keep me sane.