Some of you may have noticed my absence last week. On Friday April 3rd at about 2:00 am I got up out of bed too fast and passed out from the lack of blood flow to my brain. I have always had a history of falling when I get up too fast, but it's never made me pass out. This condition is known as orthostatic hypotension. It was especially bad before I started lifting. I hadn't had this problem for years now and didn't think it was an issue until that Friday. On the way to the ground I hit the left side of my head and the base of my neck, almost tearing my ear in half in the process. The result? A concussion and four stitches. As well as a major red flag that my thyroid medication is underdosed. This is the first concussion I've ever had. I'm hoping it's the last as well. But it has taught me some valuable lessons that I needed this year. So here is what I've learned: 1. Your brain needs idle time We spend a tremendous amount of time over consuming information. I realize now that I constantly bombard my brain with inputs. From podcasts to books there are very few of those precious moments where my brain can sit still. For some of you this might sound like a kind of hell. For me it took a bit more adjustment than I would have liked. I spent hours staring at my boring, white ceiling. I couldn't read, I couldn't listen to anything, I couldn't get up. It was just me and my brain. It was quality time with the only person in I should know best: me. It's amazing what staring at a ceiling or taking a walk without a podcast can do when your brain is already healthy. When you're concussed, it's mandatory. I realized that this idle time is what allows your brain to reconnect with the world around it. So many of us buy into woo woo nonsense like "grounding", or "chakras" when the answer is staring us in the face. The whole time it was just sitting with the silence that brings you back to the world around you. There is no need to live forever when there is an eternity in every moment if you'd stop to find it. That, by the way, is me getting a little woo woo.

1. The Spring Champion will be winning a T-Shirt AND a $300 gift card to Big Spoon🥄 courtesy of @Rose Rivezzi (if you’d like to learn more check out https://bigspoonpotsdam.com) 2. The winning team will all get Spring Champion t-shirts. BUT sooo many of you loved the Hero of Yule t-shirt that I’ve decided to make it available for purchase to all players! The link will be available after the winning team is announced and will only be available for 7 days, after that the 2026 Spring Champion design will be gone forever. We will text you the link as well as put it here for you to order 3. We will take on a mountain! ⛰️ On Sunday April 19th we will hike Mount Arab to celebrate our victory and all adventurers are welcome to attend! IF the weather is bad (and I mean actually bad not a little bit of rain bad) we will reschedule to the following weekend. 1. Unfortunately the live Q and A today has been cancelled due to an unforseen gnome invasion. We will be back at it next month though! Just 2 more days to our Quest! You got this!!

Monsters, Apothecaries, St. Patrick himself, even the Duckichaun has gotten involved! Be careful out there, and even if you haven't been assigned a team, be sure to draw your random event! This time things are different, only one random event will buff you, all other events will effect your team, other teams, or they will give you prizes. And yes, some of them are just.. plain... mean... But you'll recover! Get out there and LIFT, HOIST,... uh... LIFT!!

Today @Richard Bradshaw is competing in a weightlifting competition. It will be live at 3:00 pm. Let’s give him our support!!! You can watch the event live, today at 3:00 pm, at the link here below https://www.youtube.com/live/HNaLg8sscR8?si=-q8Rxdcd06a0W_7R

I hope you all are doing well. I have spent the last few days meditating at the Monastery and working on a few side quests. While I have enjoyed the peace and quiet, the time has come to clean my tools and set up for my return to the Forge to aid you in your quest. But I wanted to fill you in on something. During my side quests I heard a rumor that a creature from one of the Adirondack lakes has been making its way down the Racquette River. I worry that if it isn't stopped it may make its way all the way to the St. Lawrence and there grow into a beast that could halt shipping lanes, or worse, destroy the power dam. If this is true, then millions could be at risk of being unable to charge their phones and look at AI cat videos. My bet is that it'll be here sometime in March. Who knows, there might be some rewards if we can stop it. Also I recently spoke with an apothecary about some potions and powders that could aid you on your quests. Details to come. Also...Also... Shirts from our Yule Quest... They are VERY late... But, as of today, they are on order!