Captain’s Log: Burnout, Recovery & Escaping Reality — From Open Enrollment Chaos to Star Trek Adventures

Captain’s Log, Stardate 2602.18

It has been far too long since I’ve written a blog. Between Open Enrollment, the holidays, vacations, and being sick more than once, life completely took over.

Honestly, my holiday break didn’t turn out the way I expected. But lately, that seems to be the theme — expectations rarely match reality.

Surviving Open Enrollment Burnout

This year’s Open Enrollment season was a complete disaster. There’s really no other way to describe it. From mid-September through December 16th, I worked 7 days a week, 14–16 hours per day.

Burnout doesn’t even begin to cover it.

I was supposed to return to work January 5th, but instead, I immediately came down with pneumonia. Apparently leaving my work bubble and re-entering the real world didn’t go well for my immune system.

Ironically, I had avoided getting sick during Open Enrollment, even though the kiddo got sick twice. My usual routine of Zicam every few hours worked perfectly — until it didn’t.

By the time pneumonia hit, it was too late.

I managed to get back to work for about a month before Open Enrollment ended January 15th, but then February brought another round of illness. Both my boyfriend and the kiddo got sick, and despite my best efforts, I ended up with an upper respiratory infection.

Thankfully it wasn’t pneumonia again, but the moment my chest tightened, I definitely had a moment of panic.

Why do kids bounce back in two days while adults are down for a week? Life’s mysteries.

Friendship, Escape Rooms & Michigan Memories

On a much brighter note, part of my holiday break included seeing one of my best friends from Michigan when he visited Fort Myers. We’ve been friends for nearly 25 years, which is honestly wild to think about.

We decided to try an escape room — his first time — and somehow managed to pick the hardest one available. Needless to say, we did not escape. Hence the photo title for this blog.

It’s been a great year for reconnecting with long-time friends. Last summer during our two-week road trip, I visited another friend from our group in North Carolina. Somehow, most of our Michigan crew ended up relocating to Florida over the years.

These friendships mean a lot to me. There’s something special about connections that have lasted decades.

Relationships & Trust

It’s funny — my friend group is mostly guys, and my boyfriend has zero issues with that. That hasn’t always been the case in past relationships.

Trust really does make all the difference.

Considering his past experiences, I appreciate that even more.

The Reality of Adult Burnout

Lately I’ve noticed more people talking about burnout, financial stress, and how exhausting life feels right now. It’s not just me — it feels like an entire generation is overwhelmed.

Between work demands, rising costs, and constant responsibilities, it’s hard to find balance. Free time often turns into catching up on tasks you didn’t have time to do earlier.

It’s no wonder people are struggling.

Gaming Escapes: PlateUp & Star Trek

For those of you waiting for an update on whether I finally beat Day 15 in my Tier 10 Franchise Salad Restaurant in PlateUp, I’m sorry to report… I haven’t tried again yet.

Part of the reason is I got completely pulled into Star Trek games.

If you follow my TikTok (tiktok.com/@leveling.up.life), you already know I’m a huge Trekkie. I’ve watched every Star Trek series in chronological order — twice.

Recently I started playing:

• Star Trek Resurgence

• Star Trek Online (STO)

Star Trek Online has completely taken over my gaming time. I reached Level 65 Fleet Admiral, which is where the game becomes extremely challenging — especially missions in the Delta Quadrant.

Now I bounce between STO and PlateUp depending on my frustration level.

PlateUp Disaster: The Turbo Mistake

Speaking of PlateUp… I made a huge mistake.

My friend introduced me to a great map using the code OXFORD, but after a game glitch forced me to restart, I didn’t realize the settings had changed to TURBO mode.

If you’ve never played PlateUp — Turbo mode is brutally difficult.

I abandoned the entire Tier 6 franchise out of pure frustration.

Sometimes you just need a break.

Star Trek Online & Learning Curve

Thankfully, my AI assistant Kovek has been helping me improve my starship builds. Apparently, certain ships are optimized for specific weapons — something the game does not explain well.

The learning curve is real.

If you’re looking for fun games on Xbox, I definitely recommend:

• PlateUp

• Star Trek Resurgence

• Star Trek Online

New Star Trek Content Excitement

A brand-new Star Trek game released today:
Star Trek: Voyager — Across the Unknown

The fact that new content is still being created for a series that started in 1995 is incredible.

There’s also a new series on Paramount Plus — Starfleet Academy. It has its pros and cons, but I’m honestly just thrilled Star Trek continues to expand.

You’ll definitely be hearing more of my thoughts on future Star Trek series ideas in upcoming blogs.

Stay tuned.