Funny I’d walk up randomly to my Spouse’s siblings and the kids and just say “anong ginagawa mo” which translates to “what are you doing”. “Mamaya” is another favorite of mine. It means “later” as in “I’ll do this later” or “I’ll see you later.”
Responses range from “#### tubig.” The pound symbols are gibberish but I know that tubig is water and this person is telling me they’re drinking water. Most of the time a smile and “lol wala” which means “nothing.” Or I’d just get messed with and a full response in Tagalog that I don’t underhand. “Hindi Ko Alam” I could say which means I don’t know. Usually I get some laughs walking away and I’ll say “ah Sige” which means “ok.” Lol I got a kick out of this especially today.
It’s the first time I noticed that my Spouses family is not just speaking gibberish (this is tongue in cheek when I type this … it means basically as far as I know everything being said is some type of code I can’t decipher). I could pick up things here and there. Another way to describe this phenomenon is that I don’t think they’re really speaking that “fast” as I initially assumed. The experiences lately are giving me an idea to do some research on the best way to learn a language.
I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility I can get small talk fluent. If they can pick up some English, I can try to reciprocate. It’s actually pretty fun especially once I got over the hump of overthinking what to say. I just started imitating how a toddler might speak if they only know single words or simple phrases.
Lemur Journal!
Re: Lemur Journal!
Time for the monthly post. I think I skipped the last one or two.
September 1, 2023
Net-worth:
$691k (Up $28k)
Finances: Fun fact I learned recently was that if you're married, and your Spouse doesn't have the 40 work credits at your retirement age, they're still entitled to receive an amount that is equal to 1/2 of your benefit. So if I retire at 63 and I am entitled to $1,200 a month from social security, my Spouse could also claim and get $600 a month. If she does have 10 years worth of working, but her entitlement only adds up to say $400 a month or so, social security would let her claim the higher amount of the two potential benefits.
Spending: Came in at $2,560.17. Above personal cap again at $2,500 but surprised how low this was given that we were in the Philippines last month and I felt like we were eating out a lot. Food was so much cheaper there though. We didn't really grocery shop per say - basically relied on family cooking, street foods (so bad for you but so good lol), snacks, etc.
Health: Gained weight due to overseas YOLO and no exercising really except push-ups or something. I'm getting back into the swing of things though. Put on 5lbs. So 178lbs now. Goal weight is always keep myself under <170lbs so I have some work to do. Once again fighting the same 10lbs for the past 2 years.
Mental Health: Deleting this section for future updates and combining physical/mental/diet all in one health block. Mainly because my mental health is extremely stable and if something does come up that throws me off, I can just put it under that health block. Channeling Jin+Guice's recent posts, I think one of the reasons I'm very content in this life and mostly blissful daily is due to a personal philosophy where I put a premium on gratitude and a general state of contentedness. Namely that my physiological needs have been met for a while due to financial independence and the recognition that any problems I do have mentally are of my own creation and I've the mental tools to deal with those as they come. Generally I'm just grateful for the classics in my life - the quiet walks in the morning and afternoon with my Spouse, the remote job that is pretty laid back, even the kids running around keeping me busy. It ain't a perfect life but I'm grateful for it all having experienced a more difficult life in my 20s.
Job: Deleting this section. I won't bore anyone any longer with typical salaryman thinking.
Gardening: Deleting this section as I'm not planting much and garden log is better anyway if I do want to show something.
Learning / Reading: Expanding this section. I've been thinking a lot lately about effect mapping, web of goals, etc. I was reading the ERE book again during downtimes while I was in the Philippines. It was a good time to look through this book again because I was in state of deliberate non-productivity ... this allowed me a lot of time to just relax and reflect and I started seeing my goals in a different light. A more creative light I think. I'll try to explain with an example of a passing thought:
For example... one reason I won't pull the trigger on retirement is because I want to hit my five year mark in the Federal service to guarantee a pension when I'm older despite the fact that financial wise (using 3-4% rule) we could pull the trigger now with some expense trimming. Downside of course is I've to work 3 years longer instead of retiring and eliminating the salaryman life. This is also preventing us from moving to the Philippines and staring a life here and its something we've talked about doing for years now. Not a big deal of course - I don't hate my job and 3 years is not terribly long.
But I had a creative idea about how to live overseas sooner and thought okay well maybe there is a way to connect all this stuff to align with what I could've done. I could have learned a second language (Tagalog) + take foreign language assessment through State Department + qualify for a federal job overseas in the country where I want to live. Not saying I'm going to do that now (still playing with this idea and I'd have to do some more digging to see how feasible this would be) but it was an idea of how I could've aligned things better years ago if I was more creative....considered more options. It would had been worth it years ago if I actually did the exercise of mapping out a web of goals instead of thinking in strict financial terms only. I suppose I only think of this now because the finances are basically a solved problem and I'm looking at goals now a bit differently that aren't strictly financially speaking.
Speaking of learning another language - that is my main goal now for many reasons that I'll elaborate on in a future post. I've been very consistent - studying daily since being/leaving the Philippines last month. I've jumped straight into getting an Anki deck, a grammar book, watching videos, listening to music; all in my target language Tagalog. It is so much fun
. But also I have a book coming in on how to learn a language effectively and I've watched a few videos about polygots - certainly I need to theorize a good strategy. Just to make learning more efficient.
One interesting fun fact about Tagalog is that it is one of the 9% of world languages that uses a verb-subject-object (VSO) word order. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb%E2%8 ... word_order
Example: "The child is eating" would be translated to "Kumakain ang bata." (literally Eating is the child). Eat is "kumain" / Eating is "Kumakain.” The ka is some sort of affix but can also denote second person singular. Yeah Tagalog is weird as it doesn't have "to be" verbs per say but many complex verb conjugations that will take a while to learn.
What is cool about Tagalog is that it is flexible and one could technically say "ang bata ay Kumakain" (literally The child is eating) and it would be grammatically correct but no one actually speaks that way in practice.
Goals: Keep studying Tagalog. Get back in shape in September.
September 1, 2023
Net-worth:
$691k (Up $28k)
Finances: Fun fact I learned recently was that if you're married, and your Spouse doesn't have the 40 work credits at your retirement age, they're still entitled to receive an amount that is equal to 1/2 of your benefit. So if I retire at 63 and I am entitled to $1,200 a month from social security, my Spouse could also claim and get $600 a month. If she does have 10 years worth of working, but her entitlement only adds up to say $400 a month or so, social security would let her claim the higher amount of the two potential benefits.
Spending: Came in at $2,560.17. Above personal cap again at $2,500 but surprised how low this was given that we were in the Philippines last month and I felt like we were eating out a lot. Food was so much cheaper there though. We didn't really grocery shop per say - basically relied on family cooking, street foods (so bad for you but so good lol), snacks, etc.
Health: Gained weight due to overseas YOLO and no exercising really except push-ups or something. I'm getting back into the swing of things though. Put on 5lbs. So 178lbs now. Goal weight is always keep myself under <170lbs so I have some work to do. Once again fighting the same 10lbs for the past 2 years.
Mental Health: Deleting this section for future updates and combining physical/mental/diet all in one health block. Mainly because my mental health is extremely stable and if something does come up that throws me off, I can just put it under that health block. Channeling Jin+Guice's recent posts, I think one of the reasons I'm very content in this life and mostly blissful daily is due to a personal philosophy where I put a premium on gratitude and a general state of contentedness. Namely that my physiological needs have been met for a while due to financial independence and the recognition that any problems I do have mentally are of my own creation and I've the mental tools to deal with those as they come. Generally I'm just grateful for the classics in my life - the quiet walks in the morning and afternoon with my Spouse, the remote job that is pretty laid back, even the kids running around keeping me busy. It ain't a perfect life but I'm grateful for it all having experienced a more difficult life in my 20s.
Job: Deleting this section. I won't bore anyone any longer with typical salaryman thinking.
Gardening: Deleting this section as I'm not planting much and garden log is better anyway if I do want to show something.
Learning / Reading: Expanding this section. I've been thinking a lot lately about effect mapping, web of goals, etc. I was reading the ERE book again during downtimes while I was in the Philippines. It was a good time to look through this book again because I was in state of deliberate non-productivity ... this allowed me a lot of time to just relax and reflect and I started seeing my goals in a different light. A more creative light I think. I'll try to explain with an example of a passing thought:
For example... one reason I won't pull the trigger on retirement is because I want to hit my five year mark in the Federal service to guarantee a pension when I'm older despite the fact that financial wise (using 3-4% rule) we could pull the trigger now with some expense trimming. Downside of course is I've to work 3 years longer instead of retiring and eliminating the salaryman life. This is also preventing us from moving to the Philippines and staring a life here and its something we've talked about doing for years now. Not a big deal of course - I don't hate my job and 3 years is not terribly long.
But I had a creative idea about how to live overseas sooner and thought okay well maybe there is a way to connect all this stuff to align with what I could've done. I could have learned a second language (Tagalog) + take foreign language assessment through State Department + qualify for a federal job overseas in the country where I want to live. Not saying I'm going to do that now (still playing with this idea and I'd have to do some more digging to see how feasible this would be) but it was an idea of how I could've aligned things better years ago if I was more creative....considered more options. It would had been worth it years ago if I actually did the exercise of mapping out a web of goals instead of thinking in strict financial terms only. I suppose I only think of this now because the finances are basically a solved problem and I'm looking at goals now a bit differently that aren't strictly financially speaking.
Speaking of learning another language - that is my main goal now for many reasons that I'll elaborate on in a future post. I've been very consistent - studying daily since being/leaving the Philippines last month. I've jumped straight into getting an Anki deck, a grammar book, watching videos, listening to music; all in my target language Tagalog. It is so much fun
. But also I have a book coming in on how to learn a language effectively and I've watched a few videos about polygots - certainly I need to theorize a good strategy. Just to make learning more efficient. One interesting fun fact about Tagalog is that it is one of the 9% of world languages that uses a verb-subject-object (VSO) word order. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb%E2%8 ... word_order
Example: "The child is eating" would be translated to "Kumakain ang bata." (literally Eating is the child). Eat is "kumain" / Eating is "Kumakain.” The ka is some sort of affix but can also denote second person singular. Yeah Tagalog is weird as it doesn't have "to be" verbs per say but many complex verb conjugations that will take a while to learn.
What is cool about Tagalog is that it is flexible and one could technically say "ang bata ay Kumakain" (literally The child is eating) and it would be grammatically correct but no one actually speaks that way in practice.
Goals: Keep studying Tagalog. Get back in shape in September.
Re: Lemur Journal!
September 30, 2023
Net-worth:
$680k (Down $11k)
Finances: $700k is just a milestone that we just can't seem to touch lol. Just up down up down with volatile markets but less so in the past few months - I've been reallocating to VGIT which now makes up 18% of our investments. Approaching 25%. I also have a cash position in the 5 figures.
Spending: $2,333.07. Nice! Hey we actually came in under the arbitrary $2,500 limit for once. Our SWR is at 4.12% (annualized spending divided by current net-worth).
Health: err...keep gaining weight. Now 183 lbs. Exercise routine is good but geez I gotta lay off the pumpkin pie lol. Getting too comfortable with highly palatable foods. Okay mulligan this month!
Learning / Reading: I haven't been too active on the forums. Not even browsing as much as I used to. Mostly my time is just tied up with life. Still working 40 hours a week, maintaining an exercise routine, and dealing with too many kids and occasional adult-children. Add on to that and the big thing for me is learning a second language right now. Most of the free time that I do get is being dedicated to that. Some days, I just hit up my 40 flash cards for the day and call it good. Its more important to be consistent on a daily basis as I am in this one for the long haul. On real productive days, I'm getting my flash cards done, studying my grammar book, and also getting in active immersion / input through YouTube videos or Tagalog shows/movies. As far as a strategy per say, there is a lot of resources out there and I'm still trying to build a roadmap of the most effective way to adopt a second language - comprehensible input is key it seems, but its tough to see how useful that is without first getting over what I call the "beginners hump." Where one knows so little in a second language, that watching movies/shows or trying to read a book - most of it will just be gibberish and can be really really frustrating... so I am throwing my darts everywhere and doing a bit of everything.
In any case, the best moments of learning is where it doesn't feel like studying/learning and it is just fun. There is a good feeling when I hear a sentence and I think "oh I know what is being said there / I've a general idea of what is being talked about here." So the comprehensible input that I am doing - might be some truth to it where my brain is picking up the content subconsciously but it might be a really long time before everything starts really clicking. Perhaps years even. Every now and then I get a flicker of understanding and those moments are really motivating. I said to my Spouse's sister in law one time on a video call "anong kinakain mo" which means "what are you eating." The cool part of this moment is that it was said in a second nature kind of way where I didn't have to think about it. And I managed to even use the right verb conjugation (there is like 4 different ways to use the root word kain - meaning to eat. Can't quote me but this is not based on tense like in English but verbs are conjugated based on aspect). I never even studied that sentence in particular. I can now speak a lot of real simple phrases like this. Progress is progress and I'll take it because there are tons of frustrating times like when you see a word that you've seen 100 times before and you still forget or haven't fully grasped it.
I stated once before Tagalog is a VSO language (Verb-Subject-Object). To be more specific, there is another useful acronym VAOL that I believe basically means the same thing but splits out the object to denote that the location comes last. Stands for Verb + Actor + Object + Location.
Job: For this month, I removed the goals section as my goals are actually pretty clear and one dimensional for the most part (make and save money, don't get fat, learn language).
Anyway...despite saying I was gonna delete this section, this month became real interesting because my job is pushing to have everyone return to the office starting January 2024 for 3 days a week. I live 70 miles from work... I made a declaration or perhaps a sworn statement that I wouldn't go back to this nonsense of commuting. I want to stick this job out for 5 years to qualify for a pension when I'm older but I still have 40 months to go.
So Lemur family has to make some decisions I guess. I won't rush to decide now what I want to do (suck it up and commute, move closer to work, quit, get new job, retire young, etc.). Will have to sleep on this one for a while. So many variables. And maybe this will all blow over for nothing - it happened before where certain skill positions were not effected but government is always influenced by the swing of politics.
Net-worth:
$680k (Down $11k)
Finances: $700k is just a milestone that we just can't seem to touch lol. Just up down up down with volatile markets but less so in the past few months - I've been reallocating to VGIT which now makes up 18% of our investments. Approaching 25%. I also have a cash position in the 5 figures.
Spending: $2,333.07. Nice! Hey we actually came in under the arbitrary $2,500 limit for once. Our SWR is at 4.12% (annualized spending divided by current net-worth).
Health: err...keep gaining weight. Now 183 lbs. Exercise routine is good but geez I gotta lay off the pumpkin pie lol. Getting too comfortable with highly palatable foods. Okay mulligan this month!
Learning / Reading: I haven't been too active on the forums. Not even browsing as much as I used to. Mostly my time is just tied up with life. Still working 40 hours a week, maintaining an exercise routine, and dealing with too many kids and occasional adult-children. Add on to that and the big thing for me is learning a second language right now. Most of the free time that I do get is being dedicated to that. Some days, I just hit up my 40 flash cards for the day and call it good. Its more important to be consistent on a daily basis as I am in this one for the long haul. On real productive days, I'm getting my flash cards done, studying my grammar book, and also getting in active immersion / input through YouTube videos or Tagalog shows/movies. As far as a strategy per say, there is a lot of resources out there and I'm still trying to build a roadmap of the most effective way to adopt a second language - comprehensible input is key it seems, but its tough to see how useful that is without first getting over what I call the "beginners hump." Where one knows so little in a second language, that watching movies/shows or trying to read a book - most of it will just be gibberish and can be really really frustrating... so I am throwing my darts everywhere and doing a bit of everything.
In any case, the best moments of learning is where it doesn't feel like studying/learning and it is just fun. There is a good feeling when I hear a sentence and I think "oh I know what is being said there / I've a general idea of what is being talked about here." So the comprehensible input that I am doing - might be some truth to it where my brain is picking up the content subconsciously but it might be a really long time before everything starts really clicking. Perhaps years even. Every now and then I get a flicker of understanding and those moments are really motivating. I said to my Spouse's sister in law one time on a video call "anong kinakain mo" which means "what are you eating." The cool part of this moment is that it was said in a second nature kind of way where I didn't have to think about it. And I managed to even use the right verb conjugation (there is like 4 different ways to use the root word kain - meaning to eat. Can't quote me but this is not based on tense like in English but verbs are conjugated based on aspect). I never even studied that sentence in particular. I can now speak a lot of real simple phrases like this. Progress is progress and I'll take it because there are tons of frustrating times like when you see a word that you've seen 100 times before and you still forget or haven't fully grasped it.
I stated once before Tagalog is a VSO language (Verb-Subject-Object). To be more specific, there is another useful acronym VAOL that I believe basically means the same thing but splits out the object to denote that the location comes last. Stands for Verb + Actor + Object + Location.
Job: For this month, I removed the goals section as my goals are actually pretty clear and one dimensional for the most part (make and save money, don't get fat, learn language).
Anyway...despite saying I was gonna delete this section, this month became real interesting because my job is pushing to have everyone return to the office starting January 2024 for 3 days a week. I live 70 miles from work... I made a declaration or perhaps a sworn statement that I wouldn't go back to this nonsense of commuting. I want to stick this job out for 5 years to qualify for a pension when I'm older but I still have 40 months to go.
So Lemur family has to make some decisions I guess. I won't rush to decide now what I want to do (suck it up and commute, move closer to work, quit, get new job, retire young, etc.). Will have to sleep on this one for a while. So many variables. And maybe this will all blow over for nothing - it happened before where certain skill positions were not effected but government is always influenced by the swing of politics.
Re: Lemur Journal!
What resources do you use for language learning?
What's your current housing situation?
What's your current housing situation?
Re: Lemur Journal!
Hey b00gs!
Resources for language learning - https://www.tagalog.com/ . I purchased the 2k Anki Deck from them for $5. Worth every penny. Each flash card comes with a definition, audio sample, multiple uses of a word in a sentence, verb conjugations (if its a verb), and also a video search for the word on their website. The 2,000 word Anki Deck is comprised of the most common words in Tagalog. Apparently the authors scrolled through millions of videos/writings of content to determine this. They seem reputable to me so I took that. Secondly, I use two beginner books. One called "An introduction to Filipino: Tagalog for Beginners" by Joi Barrios. That I purchased for $35. Another I got from a library: "Basic Tagalog: Learn to speak modern Filipino/Tagalog The National Language of the Philippines Third Edition" by Paraluman S. Apillera & Yolanda Canseco Hernandez. Lastly, I use http://www.canvas.ph for Children's books (I can't find graded readers for Tagalog so this is the closest I can get for now and it is free) and I listen to "TV Patrol" which is a Filipino news station that has almost daily uploads on YouTube for listening input.
Housing Situation - Sister owns home. We rent the basement and share kitchen for $1200 a month including utilities. I do the yard work as well. We've one child (age 7). My younger brother (for the past 2 months) now also lives upstairs with his two kids (age 5, age 2). Financially speaking, this is tough to beat and it is a big reason why we've been able to have a high savings rate since 2016 (oh wow its been 7 years?). So big pro there. Cons of course is many kids, lack of privacy, and being too close to extended family drama. Keeps me busy in sometimes a good way, sometimes in a stressful way.
Resources for language learning - https://www.tagalog.com/ . I purchased the 2k Anki Deck from them for $5. Worth every penny. Each flash card comes with a definition, audio sample, multiple uses of a word in a sentence, verb conjugations (if its a verb), and also a video search for the word on their website. The 2,000 word Anki Deck is comprised of the most common words in Tagalog. Apparently the authors scrolled through millions of videos/writings of content to determine this. They seem reputable to me so I took that. Secondly, I use two beginner books. One called "An introduction to Filipino: Tagalog for Beginners" by Joi Barrios. That I purchased for $35. Another I got from a library: "Basic Tagalog: Learn to speak modern Filipino/Tagalog The National Language of the Philippines Third Edition" by Paraluman S. Apillera & Yolanda Canseco Hernandez. Lastly, I use http://www.canvas.ph for Children's books (I can't find graded readers for Tagalog so this is the closest I can get for now and it is free) and I listen to "TV Patrol" which is a Filipino news station that has almost daily uploads on YouTube for listening input.
Housing Situation - Sister owns home. We rent the basement and share kitchen for $1200 a month including utilities. I do the yard work as well. We've one child (age 7). My younger brother (for the past 2 months) now also lives upstairs with his two kids (age 5, age 2). Financially speaking, this is tough to beat and it is a big reason why we've been able to have a high savings rate since 2016 (oh wow its been 7 years?). So big pro there. Cons of course is many kids, lack of privacy, and being too close to extended family drama. Keeps me busy in sometimes a good way, sometimes in a stressful way.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Happy world lemur day
Re: Lemur Journal!
@fiby41.
I should've known. So we're gonna ask ChatGpt now for 10 fun facts about Lemur's for this month's post.
1. Madagascar's Primate: Lemurs are found only on the island of Madagascar, making them one of the most iconic and unusual primates in the world.
2. Ancient Relatives: Lemurs are often considered one of the most primitive living primates, with characteristics that resemble the early ancestors of primates.
3. Diverse Species: Madagascar is home to over 100 different species and subspecies of lemurs, ranging in size from the tiny mouse lemur to the larger indri, which can grow to over two feet in length.
4. Nocturnal Lifestyle: Most lemurs are nocturnal, which means they are primarily active during the night, making them well-suited for exploring the dark forests of Madagascar.
5. Exceptional Senses: Lemurs have a highly developed sense of smell, and they use scent marking to communicate with each other. Some species, like the aye-aye, have an elongated middle finger used for extracting insects from tree bark.
6. Social Creatures: Many lemurs are social animals, living in groups known as troops or bands. These groups are led by a dominant female.
7. Unique Vocalizations: Lemurs are known for their distinct vocalizations, which can range from eerie howls to bird-like chirps. The indri, in particular, is known for its haunting call.
8. Arboreal Acrobats: Lemurs are skilled climbers and acrobats in the trees. They use their strong tails for balance and leaping between branches.
9 Seed Dispersers: Some lemur species play a crucial role in the ecosystem by serving as seed dispersers for various plant species, aiding in forest regeneration.
10. Endangered Status: Many lemur species are currently threatened or endangered due to habitat loss, hunting, and other factors. Conservation efforts are crucial to preserving these unique primates.
November 1, 2023
Net-worth:
$670k (Down $10k)
Finances: I opened 100 $8.50/$7.50 bull put credit spreads on SoFi that went against me very quickly so I decided to take the chance of selling out the long leg (I profited 300% on this) and rolling out the short leg uncovered for a credit. That is -100P $7.50 EXP 01/19/24. Should this option expire worthless, I stand to profit about $12k. Worst case scenario is the stock keeps falling and I get assigned those shares. I've the funds to cover that so not a terrible scenario because I've a long-term bullish outlook still on the stock. I wouldn't like to though as I am trying to maintain my portfolio allocation.
Spending: $2,600 in October.
Health: Down 2lbs and started doing weighted squats again. Making some progress as I focused on removing added sugars lately. So 181lbs. I want to be a lean and mean 165lbs by next Spring.
. BTW for the squatting, I removed these years ago due to my chronic lower back issues but I found a way to do them that causes no pain for my body type and flexibility. Thank you squat university...anyway key for me was a narrower stance and putting my heels on plates due to poor hip & ankle mobility. When squatting this way, I can do so without pain and much better form.
Learning / Reading: Tagalog studies have slowed down slightly but I'm still averaging about 15 minutes of study a day. I tend to dive deeper on the weekends and leave M-F as minimum study to keep the habit up.
Job: Adding back the job section. I was gonna remove it but it has been incredibly busy lately which effected reading/learning energy. As expected, we lost some teammates due to the return to office policy. So guess who picked up the slack...I have been getting overtime though which is nice.
Nothing else to post. Till next month.
I should've known. So we're gonna ask ChatGpt now for 10 fun facts about Lemur's for this month's post.
1. Madagascar's Primate: Lemurs are found only on the island of Madagascar, making them one of the most iconic and unusual primates in the world.
2. Ancient Relatives: Lemurs are often considered one of the most primitive living primates, with characteristics that resemble the early ancestors of primates.
3. Diverse Species: Madagascar is home to over 100 different species and subspecies of lemurs, ranging in size from the tiny mouse lemur to the larger indri, which can grow to over two feet in length.
4. Nocturnal Lifestyle: Most lemurs are nocturnal, which means they are primarily active during the night, making them well-suited for exploring the dark forests of Madagascar.
5. Exceptional Senses: Lemurs have a highly developed sense of smell, and they use scent marking to communicate with each other. Some species, like the aye-aye, have an elongated middle finger used for extracting insects from tree bark.
6. Social Creatures: Many lemurs are social animals, living in groups known as troops or bands. These groups are led by a dominant female.
7. Unique Vocalizations: Lemurs are known for their distinct vocalizations, which can range from eerie howls to bird-like chirps. The indri, in particular, is known for its haunting call.
8. Arboreal Acrobats: Lemurs are skilled climbers and acrobats in the trees. They use their strong tails for balance and leaping between branches.
9 Seed Dispersers: Some lemur species play a crucial role in the ecosystem by serving as seed dispersers for various plant species, aiding in forest regeneration.
10. Endangered Status: Many lemur species are currently threatened or endangered due to habitat loss, hunting, and other factors. Conservation efforts are crucial to preserving these unique primates.
November 1, 2023
Net-worth:
$670k (Down $10k)
Finances: I opened 100 $8.50/$7.50 bull put credit spreads on SoFi that went against me very quickly so I decided to take the chance of selling out the long leg (I profited 300% on this) and rolling out the short leg uncovered for a credit. That is -100P $7.50 EXP 01/19/24. Should this option expire worthless, I stand to profit about $12k. Worst case scenario is the stock keeps falling and I get assigned those shares. I've the funds to cover that so not a terrible scenario because I've a long-term bullish outlook still on the stock. I wouldn't like to though as I am trying to maintain my portfolio allocation.
Spending: $2,600 in October.
Health: Down 2lbs and started doing weighted squats again. Making some progress as I focused on removing added sugars lately. So 181lbs. I want to be a lean and mean 165lbs by next Spring.
. BTW for the squatting, I removed these years ago due to my chronic lower back issues but I found a way to do them that causes no pain for my body type and flexibility. Thank you squat university...anyway key for me was a narrower stance and putting my heels on plates due to poor hip & ankle mobility. When squatting this way, I can do so without pain and much better form. Learning / Reading: Tagalog studies have slowed down slightly but I'm still averaging about 15 minutes of study a day. I tend to dive deeper on the weekends and leave M-F as minimum study to keep the habit up.
Job: Adding back the job section. I was gonna remove it but it has been incredibly busy lately which effected reading/learning energy. As expected, we lost some teammates due to the return to office policy. So guess who picked up the slack...I have been getting overtime though which is nice.
Nothing else to post. Till next month.
Re: Lemur Journal!
December 4, 2023
Net-worth:
$727k (Up $57k)
Finances: One of the best months ever. Still holding the SoFi -100P $7.50 EXP 01/19/24. Also made money with covered calls as well with my position. Up to 8000 shares of SoFi. I never stopped buying even when down 90% at one point. I'm up big here along with general market returns. We feel like we've been in the $600ks for a long time now but never stopped buying no matter how the market swings and here we're with a sudden upshot.
Spending: Also possibly a record for this year but I'll have to do a 2023 in review. $2,125.33. Well the holidays will crush me in December but my usual expectation anything under $2,500 a month is a good month and this month we really undershot. Part of the dent was much lowered food costs. Our neighborhood has this program where expired foods coming in from Walmart, Harris Teeter, etc. is given away in crates instead of tossed into a dumpster. So we've been loading up fruits and veggies (mostly freezing them) and whatever else we can find. Its been a boon.
SWR: My spending for the month annualized divided by the net-worth gives a SWR of 3.51%. That is awesome! I remember for the longest time now getting under 4% was the holy grail of FIRE and for us to be consistently below 4% now (with even some fat to trim) is just great. I didn't think we would be at 3.5% for quite a while...I've much gratitude for this position in life.
Health: Could be better. My chronic lower back issues are a real bummer in the winter times and the sciatica in my right leg flares up. I'm doing what I can to mitigate pain. This does remind me to one day live permanently in a more warm climate. Since I can't sleep at night and I don't feel like doing anything else ... I'm uncharacteristically watching a lot of Netflix. Narcos specifically...badass show btw.
Learning / Reading: I'm at least 1/3rd of the way through one of my Tagalog beginner textbooks still averaging only about 10-15 minutes or day or so. I'm at this interesting hump where I still do a lot of reading and almost every sentence now I at least recognize some of the words. One day I'm hopeful things will start clicking. Just need to keep at it.
This month was very successful on the spending side of the equation. I think we put some more ERE into practice. Almost all of our family and friend gatherings this month were homecooked. Acquiring free food helped a lot. Only spent $23 on gas too. That is more of the result of staying inside during the winter months though.
Job: Work has just been absolutely busy even around the holidays. Getting a lot of overtime as well (mostly just credit hours). As mentioned before, we lost some people who either went to private industry or jumped agencies due to the return to office policy starting up in January. I'm the sucker holding this bag right now. Well I'm not the only one I suppose but probably the only one choosing it (doubt my co-workers are FI).
I deliberated leaving myself but...still holding. I like my job right now and I make good money for what I do so as the saying goes...make hay while the sun shines. I'm sort of hopeful that things will change and we will go back to more sane telework policies or I can get some sort of exception for my role (again). It was also really nice this month to finish up a project that I've been working on for over a year. Got some kudos and all that but just as quickly - on to the next thing.
Net-worth:
$727k (Up $57k)
Finances: One of the best months ever. Still holding the SoFi -100P $7.50 EXP 01/19/24. Also made money with covered calls as well with my position. Up to 8000 shares of SoFi. I never stopped buying even when down 90% at one point. I'm up big here along with general market returns. We feel like we've been in the $600ks for a long time now but never stopped buying no matter how the market swings and here we're with a sudden upshot.
Spending: Also possibly a record for this year but I'll have to do a 2023 in review. $2,125.33. Well the holidays will crush me in December but my usual expectation anything under $2,500 a month is a good month and this month we really undershot. Part of the dent was much lowered food costs. Our neighborhood has this program where expired foods coming in from Walmart, Harris Teeter, etc. is given away in crates instead of tossed into a dumpster. So we've been loading up fruits and veggies (mostly freezing them) and whatever else we can find. Its been a boon.
SWR: My spending for the month annualized divided by the net-worth gives a SWR of 3.51%. That is awesome! I remember for the longest time now getting under 4% was the holy grail of FIRE and for us to be consistently below 4% now (with even some fat to trim) is just great. I didn't think we would be at 3.5% for quite a while...I've much gratitude for this position in life.
Health: Could be better. My chronic lower back issues are a real bummer in the winter times and the sciatica in my right leg flares up. I'm doing what I can to mitigate pain. This does remind me to one day live permanently in a more warm climate. Since I can't sleep at night and I don't feel like doing anything else ... I'm uncharacteristically watching a lot of Netflix. Narcos specifically...badass show btw.
Learning / Reading: I'm at least 1/3rd of the way through one of my Tagalog beginner textbooks still averaging only about 10-15 minutes or day or so. I'm at this interesting hump where I still do a lot of reading and almost every sentence now I at least recognize some of the words. One day I'm hopeful things will start clicking. Just need to keep at it.
This month was very successful on the spending side of the equation. I think we put some more ERE into practice. Almost all of our family and friend gatherings this month were homecooked. Acquiring free food helped a lot. Only spent $23 on gas too. That is more of the result of staying inside during the winter months though.
Job: Work has just been absolutely busy even around the holidays. Getting a lot of overtime as well (mostly just credit hours). As mentioned before, we lost some people who either went to private industry or jumped agencies due to the return to office policy starting up in January. I'm the sucker holding this bag right now. Well I'm not the only one I suppose but probably the only one choosing it (doubt my co-workers are FI).
I deliberated leaving myself but...still holding. I like my job right now and I make good money for what I do so as the saying goes...make hay while the sun shines. I'm sort of hopeful that things will change and we will go back to more sane telework policies or I can get some sort of exception for my role (again). It was also really nice this month to finish up a project that I've been working on for over a year. Got some kudos and all that but just as quickly - on to the next thing.
Re: Lemur Journal!
December 30, 2023
Net-worth:
$765k (Up $38k)
Finances: I closed out 90 of my 100 short puts leaving 10 behind to eek out a little bit more premium on the SoFi short puts. As I posted in the investments trade log, this stock is now passed what I feel is a fair value for it. I sold all of my shares at $9.42 and I am really happy to come out with a profit on this. What a wild run...2 years of averaging down, trading options around it, and at one point holding even when being 90% down at the worst
. I don't know if that was worth it. Probably not. SoFi will probably keep going up with the Fed Pivot and they will reach profitability in 2024. Maybe I'll miss that rally or maybe not who knows. I don't have a crystal ball. What I do know is that I require a larger margin of safety now because I'm under 4% so I feel no reason to be overtly risky in one stock position...I'll consider buying again if the stock moves under $8.00. Might never happen again but who knows.
Spending/SWR: A bit high at $2,716 due to holiday spending. Despite that, still saw a SWR of 4.26% for the month.
Health: Terrible. Chronic lower back issues have gotten worse. I've lost sleep half the nights. I'm dreading the return to office commute. On a positive note, I did dive into literature on my problems and designed a new exercise regime to fix this problem once and for all. I now believe that avoiding spinal flexion and being "careful with my back" was a mistake over the past decade. All it gave me was a degenerative cycle...what isn't used is lost. Now I am, counterintuitively (going against the advice of my past Doctors and PT practitioners), doing Jefferson Curls, lower back extensions, and heavy load deadlift. That might seem crazy but the evidence is there and I discovered a really good physiotherapist that used just these to overcome his own herniated disc / sciatica. I got a gym membership (because $25 a month for a 1 year contract beats 12 sessions of useless PT at $40 a pop). Okay hindi ko dapat (I shouldn't) call it useless as I am sure some people have benefited but I've done the PT route twice before with no success. Chronic back issues are complex and I believe now the only real way to solve the issues is very long-term strength training and rehabilitation coupled with flexibility and mobility. I only did the ladder on an occasional basis while completely forgoing the former out of fear of making my problem worse.
Long ...patient...progressive overload is what I need (aka graded exposure). I'll set the expectations justly: might take all of 2024 to overcome but I wish I had done this earlier. It hasn't been that long but I am up to 140lbs for 5 reps and adding 5lbs per workout. Taking it slow. I am having some interesting...observations. I have a lot more tolerance for sitting which I didn't have before but my sciatica has been flaring up more as well. That tells me I'm already developing less sensitivity to compression and flexion which is a good thing and what I need. I'm going to keep at this and see where it takes me as there isn't much to lose but a lot to gain.
For nutritional changes...eating now at a caloric surplus (I need to rebuild tissue) and increased protein intake. Added Vitamin D3, Turmeric, upped fish oil dosage and taking collagen peptide before bed (mixed evidence on this last one but can't hurt).
Learning / Reading: I spent most of the month diving into spinal disc literature. I also watched a couple of lectures on spiral dynamics which I've recently returned to thinking about again on my long walks. I need to get a book on this so I'll get on that in 2024. I can look back on my life and sort of easily see how I changed from an angry red teenager, to a short-term stint at blue, to basically being a stereotype orange as I built up my net-worth and only cared about my salary and self-help, to during pandemic times getting into green when I became self-aware of climate change and all that stuff. Recall in my journal I went through that phase also when I was trying out veganism / vegetarianism and the like...Also my net-worth was getting high enough to where the money wasn't the carrot it was before.
This stuff is just so interesting. The interplay of the different colors ...just everything makes more sense when I see the world in this view. Like I see where my younger brother has issues (an excessive Green coupled with an undeveloped orange with not enough appreciation for blue) and I see in myself where I need to work on (what are the roadblocks to Yellow for me? Its like I can touch the tip of that but I'm still far from it. Why do I wane back and forth between orange/green? Are these the same roadblocks that sort of keep me stuck at the same Wheaton Level / Ego? Something I need to ponder). I used to have a sort of disdain for blue types while I was in the military (I hated being in the military...and I really did not like religion when I was going through my dogmatic atheism phase) but overtime I developed an appreciation for some of those values (my Spouse is Catholic and that took the edge off my anti-religion trope in my early 20s as I've seen firsthand how it benefits many people where she is from). So when I see that disdain in my younger brother, I know exactly where those feelings are coming from. Neither of us are big fans of strict hierarchy but that has its place too.
Still studying Tagalog and getting the reps in but just at a slower pace.
Job: I'll probably begin job hunting to find a remote position. I'm not in a rush though. Still going to attempt negotiating things with my superiors.
Net-worth:
$765k (Up $38k)
Finances: I closed out 90 of my 100 short puts leaving 10 behind to eek out a little bit more premium on the SoFi short puts. As I posted in the investments trade log, this stock is now passed what I feel is a fair value for it. I sold all of my shares at $9.42 and I am really happy to come out with a profit on this. What a wild run...2 years of averaging down, trading options around it, and at one point holding even when being 90% down at the worst
. I don't know if that was worth it. Probably not. SoFi will probably keep going up with the Fed Pivot and they will reach profitability in 2024. Maybe I'll miss that rally or maybe not who knows. I don't have a crystal ball. What I do know is that I require a larger margin of safety now because I'm under 4% so I feel no reason to be overtly risky in one stock position...I'll consider buying again if the stock moves under $8.00. Might never happen again but who knows. Spending/SWR: A bit high at $2,716 due to holiday spending. Despite that, still saw a SWR of 4.26% for the month.
Health: Terrible. Chronic lower back issues have gotten worse. I've lost sleep half the nights. I'm dreading the return to office commute. On a positive note, I did dive into literature on my problems and designed a new exercise regime to fix this problem once and for all. I now believe that avoiding spinal flexion and being "careful with my back" was a mistake over the past decade. All it gave me was a degenerative cycle...what isn't used is lost. Now I am, counterintuitively (going against the advice of my past Doctors and PT practitioners), doing Jefferson Curls, lower back extensions, and heavy load deadlift. That might seem crazy but the evidence is there and I discovered a really good physiotherapist that used just these to overcome his own herniated disc / sciatica. I got a gym membership (because $25 a month for a 1 year contract beats 12 sessions of useless PT at $40 a pop). Okay hindi ko dapat (I shouldn't) call it useless as I am sure some people have benefited but I've done the PT route twice before with no success. Chronic back issues are complex and I believe now the only real way to solve the issues is very long-term strength training and rehabilitation coupled with flexibility and mobility. I only did the ladder on an occasional basis while completely forgoing the former out of fear of making my problem worse.
Long ...patient...progressive overload is what I need (aka graded exposure). I'll set the expectations justly: might take all of 2024 to overcome but I wish I had done this earlier. It hasn't been that long but I am up to 140lbs for 5 reps and adding 5lbs per workout. Taking it slow. I am having some interesting...observations. I have a lot more tolerance for sitting which I didn't have before but my sciatica has been flaring up more as well. That tells me I'm already developing less sensitivity to compression and flexion which is a good thing and what I need. I'm going to keep at this and see where it takes me as there isn't much to lose but a lot to gain.
For nutritional changes...eating now at a caloric surplus (I need to rebuild tissue) and increased protein intake. Added Vitamin D3, Turmeric, upped fish oil dosage and taking collagen peptide before bed (mixed evidence on this last one but can't hurt).
Learning / Reading: I spent most of the month diving into spinal disc literature. I also watched a couple of lectures on spiral dynamics which I've recently returned to thinking about again on my long walks. I need to get a book on this so I'll get on that in 2024. I can look back on my life and sort of easily see how I changed from an angry red teenager, to a short-term stint at blue, to basically being a stereotype orange as I built up my net-worth and only cared about my salary and self-help, to during pandemic times getting into green when I became self-aware of climate change and all that stuff. Recall in my journal I went through that phase also when I was trying out veganism / vegetarianism and the like...Also my net-worth was getting high enough to where the money wasn't the carrot it was before.
This stuff is just so interesting. The interplay of the different colors ...just everything makes more sense when I see the world in this view. Like I see where my younger brother has issues (an excessive Green coupled with an undeveloped orange with not enough appreciation for blue) and I see in myself where I need to work on (what are the roadblocks to Yellow for me? Its like I can touch the tip of that but I'm still far from it. Why do I wane back and forth between orange/green? Are these the same roadblocks that sort of keep me stuck at the same Wheaton Level / Ego? Something I need to ponder). I used to have a sort of disdain for blue types while I was in the military (I hated being in the military...and I really did not like religion when I was going through my dogmatic atheism phase) but overtime I developed an appreciation for some of those values (my Spouse is Catholic and that took the edge off my anti-religion trope in my early 20s as I've seen firsthand how it benefits many people where she is from). So when I see that disdain in my younger brother, I know exactly where those feelings are coming from. Neither of us are big fans of strict hierarchy but that has its place too.
Still studying Tagalog and getting the reps in but just at a slower pace.
Job: I'll probably begin job hunting to find a remote position. I'm not in a rush though. Still going to attempt negotiating things with my superiors.
Last edited by Lemur on Sat Dec 30, 2023 9:33 am, edited 6 times in total.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Here is some interesting papers I collected on spinal disc rehabilitation:
Can specific loading through exercise impart healing or regeneration of the intervertebral disc?
Steele et al (2014) Spine J, 15, (10)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26409630/
Mechanobiology of the Human Intervertebral Disc: Systematic Review of the Literature and Future Perspectives
Ruffilli et al (2023) Int J Mol Sci, 24(3)
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/3/2728
Randomized Trial of General Strength and Conditioning Versus Motor Control and Manual Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain on Physical and Self-Report Outcomes
Belavy et al (2020) J Clin Med, 9(6)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32503243/
Which Patients With Low Back Pain Benefit From Deadlift Training?
Berglund et al (2015) PMID 25559899
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25559899/
Individualized low-load motor control exercises and education versus a high-load lifting exercise and education to improve activity, pain intensity, and physical performance in patients with low back pain: a randomized controlled trial
Aasa et al (2015) PMID 25641309
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25641309/
The effects of a free-weight-based resistance training intervention on pain, squat biomechanics and MRI-defined lumbar fat infiltration and functional cross-sectional area in those with chronic low back
Welch et al (2015) PMID 27900136
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27900136/
Can specific loading through exercise impart healing or regeneration of the intervertebral disc?
Steele et al (2014) Spine J, 15, (10)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26409630/
Mechanobiology of the Human Intervertebral Disc: Systematic Review of the Literature and Future Perspectives
Ruffilli et al (2023) Int J Mol Sci, 24(3)
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/3/2728
Randomized Trial of General Strength and Conditioning Versus Motor Control and Manual Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain on Physical and Self-Report Outcomes
Belavy et al (2020) J Clin Med, 9(6)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32503243/
Which Patients With Low Back Pain Benefit From Deadlift Training?
Berglund et al (2015) PMID 25559899
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25559899/
Individualized low-load motor control exercises and education versus a high-load lifting exercise and education to improve activity, pain intensity, and physical performance in patients with low back pain: a randomized controlled trial
Aasa et al (2015) PMID 25641309
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25641309/
The effects of a free-weight-based resistance training intervention on pain, squat biomechanics and MRI-defined lumbar fat infiltration and functional cross-sectional area in those with chronic low back
Welch et al (2015) PMID 27900136
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27900136/
Re: Lemur Journal!
Thanks for your journal!
For me the pain recurs every few years and while it's painful it does not last long if I move through the pain. I switched my chair to a stool which has made a big difference. It's amazing how quick your body can sit without a back for a whole day. This suggests building back muscles is a good idea.
Heavy deadlifts sound risky to me! Interesting to read how those work out for you.
When I got lower back pain I read a book about it. The book said that lower back pain is very common and affects more than half of the population. In most cases it is a recurring amount of pain you have to move through.Lemur wrote: ↑Sat Dec 30, 2023 8:05 amHealth: Terrible. Chronic lower back issues have gotten worse. I've lost sleep half the nights. I'm dreading the return to office commute. On a positive note, I did dive into literature on my problems and designed a new exercise regime to fix this problem once and for all. I now believe that avoiding spinal flexion and being "careful with my back" was a mistake over the past decade. All it gave me was a degenerative cycle...what isn't used is lost. Now I am, counterintuitively (going against the advice of my past Doctors and PT practitioners), doing Jefferson Curls, lower back extensions, and heavy load deadlift. That might seem crazy but the evidence is there and I discovered a really good physiotherapist that used just these to overcome his own herniated disc / sciatica.
For me the pain recurs every few years and while it's painful it does not last long if I move through the pain. I switched my chair to a stool which has made a big difference. It's amazing how quick your body can sit without a back for a whole day. This suggests building back muscles is a good idea.
Heavy deadlifts sound risky to me! Interesting to read how those work out for you.
Re: Lemur Journal!
To be a random point of statistical noise; I’ve deadlifted 2x bodyweight, Jefferson Curled 1x bodyweight (200ish I think?), and done 20 single leg back extensions in a set, and I don’t have any back pain (muscle soreness excepted). But correlation != causation, and I always wonder if the guys who can do the stuff / look a certain way try to sell the fix to promote themselves / their products.
The lower back pain can come from weaknesses / imbalances pretty much anywhere down the posterior chain and could also involve hip flexors, so I would play around with those variables and see what seems to improve the pain. Weak Hip flexors are a very common issue, as can be proper glute activation, etc.
When you find the cause, You should start to see improvement of the symptoms in a fairly short time frame (especially post training). The hard part is finding the right things to be doing for your particular individual issue.
The lower back pain can come from weaknesses / imbalances pretty much anywhere down the posterior chain and could also involve hip flexors, so I would play around with those variables and see what seems to improve the pain. Weak Hip flexors are a very common issue, as can be proper glute activation, etc.
When you find the cause, You should start to see improvement of the symptoms in a fairly short time frame (especially post training). The hard part is finding the right things to be doing for your particular individual issue.
Re: Lemur Journal!
@delay
Risky...maybe. I don't know if it is possible to feel worse. I've used a standup desk the past 3 or so years as I've worked from home so I've avoided sitting as much as possible and kept moving. Like I'm starting to believe - that might have been a mistake.
@Slevin
Impressive numbers. The most I've deadlifted ever was 385 pounds when I was 19 years old. That put me at 2.08 ratio. I don't know if I can ever get back to that. For comparison, from my latest workout, my deadlift was 145lbs for 5 reps (I'm up from 135x5, 140x5). That is incredibly weak for a 6'0 male with a past history of weight training. Pretty sure there are Grandmas on YouTube that can do more lol.
Optimistically, that is a good thing though - it means I know I'm weak as fu*k and I have an obvious area I can improve on. For Jefferson Curls...yeah I'm taking those easy. Can only do that with a 5lb dumbbell taking it slow (and I still look awkward doing it) so when you saying you can do that with 200lbs I'm like holy sh*t.
I just got through my first week of a slight variation of starting strength: 3x a week schedule is this:
Ex 1. Squat 3 sets of 5 (This hurts like hell right now so I might drop for a split squat or something. I've tried warming up with goblet squats but no avail. That sciatica is a real bit*h.)
Ex 2. incline press or shoulder press 3 sets of 8 (Regular bench press hurts too much but I can tolerate incline).
Ex 3. Deadlift 1 set of 8 for warmup, 1 set of 5 (heavy load, low volume. Surprisingly of all...the deadlifts while they feel uncomfortable, I feel much better afterwards).
Ex 4. Jefferson Curls for 15 reps (Real low weight but high reps to improve flexibility & mobility)
Ex 5. Back Extensions if I can handle it at this point.
Ex 6. Elliptical for 30 minutes (I don't know what it is but that machine feels so damn good on my lower back. Not sure what that tells me).
For each lift, I am going up 5lbs a workout until I hit a wall. Then I'll de-load and adjust the progression to 5lbs a week...and then de-load / adjust to 5lbs every 2 weeks. The aim is to run this program as long as I can while I'm gaining strength.
Finding the cause is admittingly difficult because it could be anything from my lower back extensors and the muscles surrounding that area, the hip flexors as you've mentioned, the glutes, abductors, hamstrings or perhaps a mix of many of these areas in the core / posterior chain. The good news is deadlifts are like a giant hammer at the problem because they tend to hit a good chunk of these already. I'll have to look into hip flexor and glute exercises - especially something a bit more loaded. I also don't feel like glute bridges ever did anything for me. I'm convinced that some load is needed to induce adaptations...but that has just been my experience.
I want to mention one improvement already so maybe you're on to something with the short time frame. I usually can't sit longer than 5 minutes without having to get up from shooting sciatica pains. But my tolerance for sitting has increased quite a bit...can go 20-30 minutes or so. My hypothesis is that I'm already seeing some positive adaptations to a compressive load on the lower spine.
@NewBlood
Possibly ... I think I hesitate to ask for accommodations out of pride. Everyone and their mom has back pain. My particular issue is not so much the back pain but the accompanied sciatica / radiculopathy. I'm one of the unlucky I suppose having dealt with this issue for over a decade. I forget the exact number I've read (came from a table for age and MRIs showing herniated discs) but roughly half of all older adults have bulging discs / herniated discs but they're asymptomatic and present no problems.
Interestingly enough - some pain can even be mental even if it feels very real. I've pondered before that I think about this problem so much that maybe the focus on it is increasing the intensity of the pain. I have lately been listening to something like this on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/sAFsp1x0lH ... kLrjhj9EKE and focusing on my breath to sleep. Its silly but it helps and I've used it successfully to fall asleep which has been a struggle in the past month. I can't think my way out of pain but its possible to remove the focus on it to the background when I need to.
Risky...maybe. I don't know if it is possible to feel worse. I've used a standup desk the past 3 or so years as I've worked from home so I've avoided sitting as much as possible and kept moving. Like I'm starting to believe - that might have been a mistake.
@Slevin
Impressive numbers. The most I've deadlifted ever was 385 pounds when I was 19 years old. That put me at 2.08 ratio. I don't know if I can ever get back to that. For comparison, from my latest workout, my deadlift was 145lbs for 5 reps (I'm up from 135x5, 140x5). That is incredibly weak for a 6'0 male with a past history of weight training. Pretty sure there are Grandmas on YouTube that can do more lol.
Optimistically, that is a good thing though - it means I know I'm weak as fu*k and I have an obvious area I can improve on. For Jefferson Curls...yeah I'm taking those easy. Can only do that with a 5lb dumbbell taking it slow (and I still look awkward doing it) so when you saying you can do that with 200lbs I'm like holy sh*t.
I just got through my first week of a slight variation of starting strength: 3x a week schedule is this:
Ex 1. Squat 3 sets of 5 (This hurts like hell right now so I might drop for a split squat or something. I've tried warming up with goblet squats but no avail. That sciatica is a real bit*h.)
Ex 2. incline press or shoulder press 3 sets of 8 (Regular bench press hurts too much but I can tolerate incline).
Ex 3. Deadlift 1 set of 8 for warmup, 1 set of 5 (heavy load, low volume. Surprisingly of all...the deadlifts while they feel uncomfortable, I feel much better afterwards).
Ex 4. Jefferson Curls for 15 reps (Real low weight but high reps to improve flexibility & mobility)
Ex 5. Back Extensions if I can handle it at this point.
Ex 6. Elliptical for 30 minutes (I don't know what it is but that machine feels so damn good on my lower back. Not sure what that tells me).
For each lift, I am going up 5lbs a workout until I hit a wall. Then I'll de-load and adjust the progression to 5lbs a week...and then de-load / adjust to 5lbs every 2 weeks. The aim is to run this program as long as I can while I'm gaining strength.
Finding the cause is admittingly difficult because it could be anything from my lower back extensors and the muscles surrounding that area, the hip flexors as you've mentioned, the glutes, abductors, hamstrings or perhaps a mix of many of these areas in the core / posterior chain. The good news is deadlifts are like a giant hammer at the problem because they tend to hit a good chunk of these already. I'll have to look into hip flexor and glute exercises - especially something a bit more loaded. I also don't feel like glute bridges ever did anything for me. I'm convinced that some load is needed to induce adaptations...but that has just been my experience.
I want to mention one improvement already so maybe you're on to something with the short time frame. I usually can't sit longer than 5 minutes without having to get up from shooting sciatica pains. But my tolerance for sitting has increased quite a bit...can go 20-30 minutes or so. My hypothesis is that I'm already seeing some positive adaptations to a compressive load on the lower spine.
@NewBlood
Possibly ... I think I hesitate to ask for accommodations out of pride. Everyone and their mom has back pain. My particular issue is not so much the back pain but the accompanied sciatica / radiculopathy. I'm one of the unlucky I suppose having dealt with this issue for over a decade. I forget the exact number I've read (came from a table for age and MRIs showing herniated discs) but roughly half of all older adults have bulging discs / herniated discs but they're asymptomatic and present no problems.
Interestingly enough - some pain can even be mental even if it feels very real. I've pondered before that I think about this problem so much that maybe the focus on it is increasing the intensity of the pain. I have lately been listening to something like this on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/sAFsp1x0lH ... kLrjhj9EKE and focusing on my breath to sleep. Its silly but it helps and I've used it successfully to fall asleep which has been a struggle in the past month. I can't think my way out of pain but its possible to remove the focus on it to the background when I need to.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Sorry to hear it's been so challenging, Lemur. I hope you can get back to a place where you are able to sleep better at least.
I had a period with hip/lower back pain that will forever remain undiagnosed and mysterious, but for a few weeks I could hardly sleep and I thought I was going to lose my mind. I'm still not sure what's made it all mostly go away, a combination of things, but forcing myself to move more and be more active was a big part of it (unsurprisingly).
The book "Built to move" might also have good pointers.
A lot of people might have disc issues, but I would argue that if you can't sit for more than 5 mins without being in pain, it's reasonable to ask not to have to commute, especially if you can do all your work remotely.
I had a period with hip/lower back pain that will forever remain undiagnosed and mysterious, but for a few weeks I could hardly sleep and I thought I was going to lose my mind. I'm still not sure what's made it all mostly go away, a combination of things, but forcing myself to move more and be more active was a big part of it (unsurprisingly).
The book "Built to move" might also have good pointers.
A lot of people might have disc issues, but I would argue that if you can't sit for more than 5 mins without being in pain, it's reasonable to ask not to have to commute, especially if you can do all your work remotely.
Re: Lemur Journal!
@NewBlood: Some good news at least. My supervisor has approved me to telework for the next 60 days. The conversation was not a big deal at all. If I still have issues after that, I can stay telework while I go through the reasonable accommodation approval process to see if I can get a permanent telework status. As a veteran with documented issues...its unlikely I'll be denied but you never know. Worst case scenario is I'm denied and it is what it is. I'm hoping this window can buy me enough time to recover enough to where I'm not living with significant pain.
Recovery though has not been linear. I had to drop the deadlifts, squats, military press, incline - anything that involves too much compression. It was a nice theory... but did not work in practice as I started getting spams and increased pain. I think I need to be a lot less inflamed before I can think about returning to these. And when I do - go even lighter then I thought.
On a more positive note, I did discover some exercises I can do that should help underlying problems. Underlying muscles that often weaken with herniated discs are the quadratus lumborum and the multifidus. These muscles can be strengthened without flexion of the spine through single arm farmers walk, back extensions (need to be careful), paloff presses. Additionally, a weak core and hip flexors can be strengthened with standing leg raises. Each of these exercises can be progressively loaded and do not involve flexion of the spine.
Lastly, my Spouse also joined me at the gym and got a membership. So that is cool - I've been preaching for her to exercise for almost a decade now lol. I took her as a guest for 2 workouts and she got real into it. So we're walking treadmill buddies after I do my round of machines.
Recovery though has not been linear. I had to drop the deadlifts, squats, military press, incline - anything that involves too much compression. It was a nice theory... but did not work in practice as I started getting spams and increased pain. I think I need to be a lot less inflamed before I can think about returning to these. And when I do - go even lighter then I thought.
On a more positive note, I did discover some exercises I can do that should help underlying problems. Underlying muscles that often weaken with herniated discs are the quadratus lumborum and the multifidus. These muscles can be strengthened without flexion of the spine through single arm farmers walk, back extensions (need to be careful), paloff presses. Additionally, a weak core and hip flexors can be strengthened with standing leg raises. Each of these exercises can be progressively loaded and do not involve flexion of the spine.
Lastly, my Spouse also joined me at the gym and got a membership. So that is cool - I've been preaching for her to exercise for almost a decade now lol. I took her as a guest for 2 workouts and she got real into it. So we're walking treadmill buddies after I do my round of machines.
Re: Lemur Journal!
QL raises / extensions might serve you well in there too. A little less gruesome than the full back extensions, and in a different plane of motion. Id consider something working the piriformis as well if this line of inquiry doesn’t work out; the piriformis can be tightened too much, not allowing the pelvis to move from anterior to posterior pelvic tilt nicely (and the other planes too).
As always, feel it out, never work through pain (we want healing not added damage), go slowly. Hoping this new set of treatment works better than the deadlifts!
As always, feel it out, never work through pain (we want healing not added damage), go slowly. Hoping this new set of treatment works better than the deadlifts!
Re: Lemur Journal!
That's awesome news, congrats!!Lemur wrote: ↑Tue Jan 09, 2024 1:09 pm@NewBlood: Some good news at least. My supervisor has approved me to telework for the next 60 days. The conversation was not a big deal at all. If I still have issues after that, I can stay telework while I go through the reasonable accommodation approval process to see if I can get a permanent telework status. As a veteran with documented issues...its unlikely I'll be denied but you never know. Worst case scenario is I'm denied and it is what it is. I'm hoping this window can buy me enough time to recover enough to where I'm not living with significant pain.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Generally doing terrible lately. Sciatic pain so intense, I can’t sleep and when I do fall asleep, I am up again in 2 hours or so. Absolute misery and nothing else matters while I am dealing with this. NASIDS and muscle relaxers stopped having any effect.
I have been targeting my core with single-armed farmer’s walks, standing leg raises, and paloff press. Additionally hitting posterior chain with glute/hip thrusts and hamstring curls.
I can see it in my posture - I am standing up straighter. I generally feel stronger and walk with a better gait. Just has not translated over to less pain yet.
I don’t have Doctor’s appointments until end of January. I will be requesting physical therapy. Will also try to push for an MRI - at least to rule out other potential causes.
I am no longer against surgery if it comes to it. This sucks.
I have been targeting my core with single-armed farmer’s walks, standing leg raises, and paloff press. Additionally hitting posterior chain with glute/hip thrusts and hamstring curls.
I can see it in my posture - I am standing up straighter. I generally feel stronger and walk with a better gait. Just has not translated over to less pain yet.
I don’t have Doctor’s appointments until end of January. I will be requesting physical therapy. Will also try to push for an MRI - at least to rule out other potential causes.
I am no longer against surgery if it comes to it. This sucks.
Re: Lemur Journal!
Very sorry to hear of your plight. Chronic pain is the worst. It's not entirely true that nothing* else matters when experiencing chronic pain, but little else matters for sure. I was willing to spend $40,000 to travel to cheaper medical region and have somebody surgically remove my colon and replace it with a plastic bag, if nothing else worked for my Crohn's disease. Hopefully, a non-surgical solution will work for you too.
*For instance, I am sure you would still attempt to run out into the street to save a child from injury.
*For instance, I am sure you would still attempt to run out into the street to save a child from injury.