Life Update – Sept. 29th, 2023

I’ve been dealing with a lot, but, nothing that I couldn’t handle in the long run. Both of my dogs passed away, we adopted two new ones, friends getting sick and/or drifting away from me, reading projects, physical therapy and more have pulled my interests in different directions.

One of the things that I am doing for myself however is reading a book, “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. This book is helping me learn how to improve myself everyday and to keep the habits that I want to form while reducing the ones that are harmful to me. An example is that I started working out everyday once I am done sleeping for the day. Due to my back and shoulder issues I have a hard time sleeping through the full eight hours that need. After five to six hours I wake up aching so I do my morning routine then lay back in my recliner and take a nap. After that is when I work out. At the moment of this writing I have only been doing it three days but I have noticed that the work out is getting easier already.

Part of the book takes the phrase “Fake it til you make it” and teaches the mentality behind it. You want to be a body builder? Work out everyday and tell yourself as well as others that you are one because you ARE taking the actions of a body builder by lifting weights everyday. You want to to be a healthier person in general? Make small actions to reflect that and don’t use word like trying, want, will be, going to be, etc. If you are taking the steps that others with that label do then you ARE the label as well. It’s been an epic lesson to learn and has been taught in other ways before that I just didn’t pick up on. It’s about thinking positive instead of negative. Changing your identity instead of just the outside habits… working from within to effect the outer part of yourself.

I can’t recommend the book more… truthfully. No matter what the goals you are looking for reach for the book will help! On top of that when you buy it new and email a copy of the receipt to the author he sends you a few extra pdfs to help expand and support information in the book.

The workout that I am currently doing is all weight lifting with free weights while sitting in a chair. This has helped a lot. I have been dealing with back issues since my early twenties due to an injury with my weight added on top. Recently learned that it is herniated discs in my lower back. This is the link from Live Strong that I use every morning to keep myself on task and doing the movements correctly: Full-Body Dumbbell Workout

The great thing about the workout link above is that you can do it with any amount of weight. I’m currently only lifting 3 lbs., but, I am a body builder just starting out. My free weight set goes up to 30 lbs. I am also going to be re-starting physical therapy so that I can learn more about how to stretch, flex, and body build going forward. I even have a wish list on Temu waiting for me to buy so that I can expand what I do at home to workout. I’m going to share another workout link that I will be using once I have the things in my wish list. Seated Total Body Workout for Overweight Exercisers now I know it says overweight people, BUT, I do believe that it would work with people who aren’t but also physically limited or just starting out on the working out journey.

Changing topics now. Our new puppies are awesome. We named them Charlie and Coco. My mom named Coco after Coco Chanel. Charlie I originally called Buddy, however, one day I called him Charlie and he tried to lick my face off so that became his official name. Coco is a 3 year old deer headed Chihuahua and Charlie is a 2 year old Cheagle.

I’ve been playing a lot of video games and re-watching my favorite TV shows in my down time. Please expect a series of game reviews to be posted soon. Specifically Final Fantasy 16, Cyberpunk 2077, and Generation Zero.

The link for the book is an affiliate link. So, if you are going to get the book please use that link for purchase through Amazon as I will make a little bit of money on it.

It has been an adventure

So, last month I decided to reinstall Windows 10 on my boot drive because it had been acting up a lot. I backed up my data, my bookmarks, but forgot to back up my passwords.

In the era of identity theft and rampant online paranoia to the point where a lot of people use VPNs even on their private networks. It is hell to get accounts recovered from Google. I thought that I was going to lose this blog, I had to start a new Walmart account, and I almost couldn’t get in to pay my car insurance. It was a complete nightmare.

Fair warning to all of you that read this blog. Even if you have 2 factor ID on your gmail accounts through your cell phone it is not enough to allow you to reset your password. Why the hell have it if that isn’t enough? *shakes head* Luckily, I tried an old password that I found in my offline journal for one of my back up email accounts that are linked to my main. It worked and I was saved!

Other than that life has been okay. I spent the last three weeks with sciatica, but, it is getting better quite rapidly compared to other times I’ve had it. I had to do an appeal hearing for federal disability because they want to kick me off since my cancer doesn’t seem to be recurring despite all the other issues both physically and mentally that I deal with that make it impossible for me to work a normal job. I did tell them at the end of the phone call that my goal is to go to the local community college as soon as the campus reopens and take certification courses in four disciplines. 3D Modeling, Animation, Texturing, and Business Illustration. My goal is to make my own online business where I make models for various online marketplaces, get 3D printers (normal and wood) so that I can make smaller items for sale on Etsy, and also peddle my wares on Second Life. I want to make high quality geeky/kawaii/gamer/sci fi clothing for men and décor items.

Second Life is actually a huge deal because if your business takes off and stays pretty up there you can make thousands a month. I could then take that in game money, reinvest in my business, as well as diversify into other areas like real estate, and monthly events to help expand and stabilize what I make on the game platform. I also would like to do world textures and avatar skins for Minecraft.

Doing this kind of money making business would allow me to set my own hours, work as slow or as quickly as I can with my physical and mental issues day to day will allow, and generally help keep my stress and anxiety low. I promised the guy on the phone that if I ever became wealthy enough to care for myself completely that I would ask them to take me off disability. It took months of therapy to work through the fact that I just can’t handle working the way I used to. I was raised that unless I was bleeding, dying, or so sick I couldn’t move without vomiting that I had to go to school or go to work. It’s hard to work through that kind of conditioning and except that you just can’t do that anymore.

The holidays were good. My mom liked her little gifts. I liked my little gifts. We had Chinese Food on the 24th and 25th which is the one tradition that we follow from one of the religions in the house. Though I do try to also stay mostly away from pork and shell fish as well. My one weakness on the pork front is Peking Pork. LOL

Anyway, I will start coming and writing on here again regularly soon. I have a few tv shows to write about, a new game or two, and some new stories to suggest so keep an eye out for those!

General Update – September 2nd, 2020

Okay, things have been going on behind the scenes in my life that I would like to share. Nothing that seems super personal to me since I would tell people if they ask anyway.

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I recently went and had x-rays done on my full spine from tip of base of my skull to the end of the ladder as it were. I also had ones done of my hips. They found that the natural curve in my neck is almost if not completely gone. I also have bone spurs in my neck and upper back. The ones in my upper back are starting to bridge (fuse). There is also compression in my neck, upper back, and of course lower back. The lower back isn’t surprising as I am a big guy and most fat people have compression in their lower back. The L5 disc in my lower back has fused or is fusing on the left side to another bone that I forget the name of. They also found degradation all over my spine and hips. I am not worried for about things since I am on my way to losing weight and putting on muscle which will help support the bones better as well as lessen the compression in my lower back. The degradation is most likely a combination of age (I am 40 after all), weight, cancer treatments, and the lack of hormones that I have had before the beginning of the year.

I spent a year during the cancer treatments without hormones. Chemo on top of early rapid menopause. It was fantastic. *rolls eyes* Then I had to fight repeatedly to get my hormone shots and stay on them steadily. Then for all of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 I was back to no hormones at all because my insurance and doctor at the time kept dicking me around. Once I was on disability and given Medicare I switched to a new clinic and have been steady with my hormones since.

The more I am seen and we dive into the aches, pains, etc. that I have been having the more I learn that I am not fit enough to be working. Heck, even as much as I have typed now has started my hands to hurt a little. It is annoying, but, my shrink is helping me work through that.

I hope everyone else is having a wonderful week!