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What have you done lately that you're proud of?
Anything you've been working at lately and finally got it done? Anything you finally got around to finishing/starting? Anything big happening? Feel free to gush about anything you've done but want to talk about!
Yesterday I decided to pick my acoustic guitar back up and learn Blackbird by The Beatles (Only mildly inspired by Kmac). Today I got it all down! Feeling super proud that I nailed a song like that so quickly after having played bass almost primarily for a while now.
I saved a teenager from drowning the other day. It was a Murphy's Law kind of situation. I was with some friends at a local pool, and at this pool there is a sweet rope swing. After jumping off a few times we were hanging out drinking beers near the bottom of the swing. There's usually a life guard right there but she had wandered off.
This kid goes off the rope swing, and really quickly it is apparent something's wrong. He's splashing in the water but not going anywhere with a panicked look on his face. Me and my friends were the only ones even close and out of us, I'm the only one who could potentially stand with their head above water. It's a bad idea to swim out to a drowning person and was probably would have been a lot smarter to link arms with my friends and pull him in (he wasn't super far away from the edge, but it was too deep for him to stand). I didn't think about it that deeply though, I waded out and managed to grab hold of his wrist and bring him back in, mostly keeping my own head above water.
And then we both just went our separate ways and went about our days, totally surreal.
Most people avoid the idea of death at all cost, and will only face it when it's inevitable. That's why some people react to death with a despair so deep it's sometimes impossible for them to recover.
I'm slowly but surely seeing results in my fitness goals.
I started going to the gym again because I've had terrible luck with women, being a 27 y/o virgin who has never had a serious girlfriend. I guess the tipping point was meeting a lady on Tinder last month who mocked my beer belly and told me that I looked pregnant. I wouldn't exactly call myself ugly but I'm not exactly in shape. I'm 5'11", currently weigh around 165lbs, had pretty thin arms and quite a large stomach.
This month I set myself a personal challenge to bulk up, lose fat and track my progress via a spreadsheet. So far in June I've done 630 reps of bicep curls, mostly with 10lb to 20lb dumbbells, 270 sit-ups and 110 squats. On top of that I've hit the gym at least two times a week, with my record stint being 4 sessions in a week. I burn roughly 500 calories per session in cardio and dedicate a bit of time to lifting weights.
There's been a few ups and downs, like taking several days of rest because of potential sprains or injuries. My biceps are getting a bit thicker and I've noticed that my waistline has thinned only a bit. I have a very long way to go until I can achieve a body I'd like.
Keep it up and make sure you are fueling your body the way it needs to be. If you're eating a ton of bread and dairy products it's just gonna plateau your workouts. Try to cut out all the excess stuff that isn't actually fueling your lifestyle.
Also, I hope you don't take anything from online dating personally. I am never using those websites again. Some of the most selfish, awkward people I've met through that thing. Do a little test by casually asking all your friends what the experience has been like and from my experience 95% of people are having an awful time on these apps/websites. I'll just meet people the old fashioned way. The expedition of convenient dating apps is not worth the fucking river of off-putting people you swim through to maybe find one good person.
Damn, dude. You've gotten past the hurdle already. Most people say they'll commit, weakly attempt it, and quit (guilty as charged), but you're going hard into it. You've got the determination, just keep it up and you'll see results in no time. Do note that a good diet is crucial to getting fit, if you didn't already know. You got this!
I canceled my Tinder subscription and also uninstalled it.
I was clearly addicted to it, and it was hard to keep my cool with such an immense universe of possibilities. Maintaining dozens of daily conversations and flirtatious chitchat took a toll on me. The dating itself was also draining. It's part of the human experience that a considerable portion of our social interactions will fail. Rejection is awful, but rejecting someone also requires a great deal of emotional work. I met some very interesting women and had great moments with them, but I needed a break. Without the frisson of seduction, you have to welcome your share of loneliness. And, after a 5-year relationship followed by a 7-month relationship and numerous encounters with random women, I needed to be with myself for a while. It's hard, but also good. You know what I mean.
I managed to donate 4.5 L of breastmilk, and I have over 2 L I still have to drop off. I'm lucky enough to have a good supply, and a mother in my birth and babies group posted a message about need and Northstar Mothers Milk Bank looking for donors. So, I went through the screening and started pumping and freezing routinely.
When I made my first drop off, I got a tour of the facility and that was pretty cool. Saw where they kept the frozen milk, where they pasteurized it and prepared it for shipment to hospitals. Saw a nice map of their drop off location, and hospitals they supply. Also learned about a few recipients and why or how they came to need donated breastmilk. They also gave a little oneies for my baby that says "Eat local".
I've only told my immediate family about this IRL. So many mothers have such a crazy hard time and are already put under so much pressure, I felt guilty flaunting my luck...
FYI - 4.5 L takes about a month to pump and is about 5 days worth of milk for a premature baby.
I raised an ethical violation to an authority at the risk of potential personal and professional fallout. I'm intentionally being vague with this description and won't really clarify any details in the interest of privacy, but suffice it to say that it is an issue big and involved enough that a) it warranted reporting and b) I could experience negative effects for being the one to report it.
It was something that was weighing on me quite heavily. I've lost a lot of sleep both over the effects of the issue itself, as well as my decision to come forward. Though I haven't received any blowback yet, that possibility remains and is dependent on future outcomes. We'll see how it turns out, but I'm proud of myself that I finally spoke up. What I did was unconditionally the right thing to do, regardless of what happens next.
Eating and exercising in a pretty effective manner.
At my last job while I was dating my last girlfriend I was struggling quite a bit and even without changing much of my lifestyle I was shedding weight I couldn't afford to shed. At my lowest, I was a 145 pound 6 foot man and I looked really weird. Photos of me were alarming to look at.
I am now taking in a pretty consistent amount of protein and carbs and riding my bike every day and am at least 165 pounds of good muscle and getting bigger. I would like to plateau at 175 and bounce up and down 5 pounds as my activity levels demand at the time.
Edit: Oh, I forgot the most important part. Depression. A healthy gut does quite a bit for depression and regular exercise activity absolutely OBLITERATES depression. I can't recommend it enough. If you are struggling and living a very sedentary/computer desk-centric lifestyle, please take care of your body as an indirect way to care for your mind. It always sounds like a load of shit until you do it. Bicycle riding in particular. You can cover some good distance. Visit some picturesque areas with full view, not like looking out the window of a car. Bicycles are an amazing tool to improve your life, whether it's strictly hobbyist or you wish to commute around town on it to get out of the car.
What exactly are you eating? I have the exact same issue. I'm 5'11 at 136 pounds and I hate looking in the mirror and seeing my ribcage/sternum so clearly through my skin and my hips jutting out. I've been subsisting on deli meat sandwiches and other small bullshit for months now and I can tell it isn't working much.
I'm a horrible example to go by. My body responds pretty well to exercise and proper diet so basically if you try out certain diets and they still aren't helping I'd recommend observing other parts of your lifestyle or parts of your health (microbiome/gut health). To make sure nothing is affecting you outside the realm of diet. I know of another BMX rider who said he always had problems with food, and he found out he had something like a parasitic worm. His issues cleared up after removing it.
Right now I try to stock up on protein and some good solid carbs, currently that means chicken and a beef sausage I like. I forget the brand but I can check a package when I get home tomorrow night. And for carbs I try to do roasted/seasoned potatoes 2-3 times a week, beans of your choice ~2 times a week, and wheat pasta (least healthy option) ~2 times a week. I typically go for pasta when I know I'm going to bust my ass the next morning or whatever. So that's a good time to plan your exercise.
I try to cut out breads I was using a lot for sandwiches. Easy to make, sure, but unless you are using a nice fresh bread like a fresh sourdough from market or whatever, my body just hates the bread. It's trash. Only use bread if you are getting fresh baked wheat/sour options.
Getting some fish in is great. Salmon if you feel like cooking it, tuna in a can if you just want an alternate meat to break the monotony. Another good option, for breakfast in particular, toss two eggs in one of those small microwave containers you can buy on Amazon real cheap. Do whatever you want to it. Make a sandwich if need be, throw some salsa on it, avocado slices, smother some canned tuna on it. Whatever you gotta do but getting 2 eggs down the hatch in the morning feels good. Also those roasted potatoes I mentioned earlier. 2 eggs and a serving of potatoes, that's good fuel for the day and won't bog you down like bread or milk and cereal. Dairy based stuff, avoid it mostly. Small servings only.
Gaining weight is weird. To a certain extent it's just not as calculated as weight loss information because it's far less common especially these days. I used to work with a gal that was like 5'10 and just looked like sign poles welded together. She was using a program just loading her up on food and it just wasn't working. Our bodies are insanely unique, and the process to learn what it needs is rough. But try to understand what you are eating, plan ahead, don't need to meal prep completely, but a lot of times our worst meal decisions come from "well, shit... i don't really wanna cook so i guess ill just throw whatever i have between two pieces of bread and call it dinner" or "i guess ill just go by insert_fast_food_here and get a burger on the way home". My ex-girlfriend was notorious for spur of the moment, impulse meals. And they cost your wallet and your physical health greatly. I just think of what I plan to eat for 3 square meals tomorrow, and make sure I have what I need for them. You just need to know what's going down the hatch tomorrow. And a lot of the ingredients I recommend you can buy weekly and not worry about spoiling any food. I buy frozen or canned whenever possible because I can't afford to waste a penny right now. Just be CAREFUL if you buy frozen it's 100% chicken and not a 50% soy mixture. Always check the labels and make sure you are getting what your body needs. Soy isn't bad, kinda, but that protein typically doesn't have the same bioavailability as meat protein. So it dilutes your protein intake. Also doesn't taste as good I find, personally.
Good luck and if these simple changes don't help seek out more info, do your own research. Finding what's right for you is a long term journey. Any change in your lifestyle can lead to a needed change in diet. And it's always worth putting in effort to adjust, because diet and exercise is the first step to being able to pursue your more important life goals.
Thanks, man. I'm fairly positive a lot of my issues stem from depression, as I no longer have the appetite to really eta more than 1 or 2 meals a day, which is why I'm sure I'm as thin as I am because I just can't eat too much or it all goes right back out. For the longest time, I tried to shy away from gut-biome stuff because it sounds like the most pseudo-sciencey bullshit like kombucha tea and alkaline water but the more i read about it, the more it seems scientifically sound, and the more I feel like I may need to make alterations accordingly. Thank you for the soy tip on the meats. When I feel up to cooking some nights, chicken is my go-to, because it's super easy to throw some chicken and marinade in a bag and then bake it and throw in some veggies (though I may need to try to find some more nutritious veggies and not peas/corn/green beans). Potatoes are a great idea; I fuckin' love me some baked potatoes, skin and all. I'll definitely take all of your advice and use it as best I can. Thank you very much.
I worked on a web app penetration test this week and dropped two shells on the same day. These days its kinda rare to drop even one shell on a web app. Two in one day felt awesome.
What does it mean to "drop a shell"? Does it mean to get a root shell or something?
Any shell really, root or otherwise. Have full command line access to a server after hacking some vulnerable service or web app.
I recently finished and published a website with curated resources for indie developers and people who are bootstrapping a company.
Shameless plug: Indie Sumo
Three weeks left on my internship at a fairly large tech company, and it's going good! Also juggling a remote internship at the same time, and that's going good too :)
I went hardcore mode with distractions on my phone: I deleted all social apps, changed the colors to monochrome, and made it as boring as possible so I don't mindlessly scroll around.
I did something similar with my work computer, though the network takes care of a lot of problem sites here. I want to try for my home computer soon, but I'll want to change from KDE to i3, which is a large undertaking.
After about 7 years of not programming, I've started dipping my feet in again. I've been working with The Odin Project and so far I like it. I had a bad experience a few years back after a year in college and I assumed it just wasn't for me, but after all this time it's still something I want to learn to competently do and the webdev side is something I had never approached before. I'm not very far yet but I've already learned new stuff. I'm really trying to approach it from a growth mentality perspective and trying to just enjoy the learning rather than trying to make the cleanest/best code in the world. I am trying to not be such a perfectionist.