Hello comrades and welcome to the last improvement megathread of April! It's the last Sunday of April, a good time to look back on the month.
As usual, some discussion ideas:
- How was your April?
- Do you want to share something you've done in the previous week? Everything counts, nothing is too small.
- Do you have any goals for next week?
- Do you have any streaks? For example, "sober for one day." Feel free to post your streak every day in this thread.
- If you don't have a continuous streak, did you manage to abstain from something for a day or more?
- Did you come across some useful information or resource that might help others?
Poster caption: If you want to be like him - exercise!
Good luck with your goals 
I moved back out on my own this month. Now that I'm back out, my only regret is not moving out sooner, because I really underestimated how much of a toll on my mental health being in my mom's house again was taking on me. I love and appreciate that woman but I can't live with her any more.
Another benefit is that I haven't slept in late or missed any of my twice-daily walks with my dog since moving. I'm waking up with the sunrise again, and sleeping on a totally natural schedule. It feels good.
Goal for next week is to get a job interview. I've got UI benefits and savings so I'm not in trouble, buuuut there's definitely a time limit on me right now.
This week I went to the store and bought groceries and have been eating mostly homemade meals instead of relying heavily on fast food.
next week I hope to keep it up, go out to eat even less, and make sure to eat all the perishable foods that I bought, and pick up more fresh food late in the week.
also doing better on cleaning/household chores, but not quite there yet. I may need some more spring and summer appropriate clothes but I want to sort through more of my mess before I commit to buying anything new. maybe thrift some shirts
TVP tacos are up there. I love how shelf stable tvp is, great for most things that need a seasoned and ground protein.
I havent made it in a few months but okonomiyaki is also really fun and delicious though it usually makes a disaster of my kitchen lmao
I've been wanting to try cooking with TVP for ages, but noone around me sells it. I should check on how economical it is to order it.
what? no way. that sucks, its pretty widely available near me.
its shelf stable and light/not bulky though so I bet ordering it online is fine. looking online it appears the brand they sell near me you can get 4 bags (3lbs total) for sub $30 which I'm pretty sure is cheaper than in-store lol
There's a few recipes from when I was a kid that really take well to it but I just like having a shelf stable protein too because meat and even tofu are kind of annoying when you are cooking for one and have a bad habit of going weeks without cooking a proper meal
Yeah I just moved to a small town with only one-and-a-half grocery stores - but maybe the general store has it? I haven't gone in there yet.
ah gotcha, yeah meat alternatives may not be on the list there then
Haven't heard of TVP until now, I will be checking it out
Btw what is the commie desktop?
its linux
just a play on the common linux refrain(/running joke, depending on who's telling it), that "<CURRENT YEAR> will be the Year of the Linux Desktop" (ie the year that mass adoption of linux for home computers takes off in the mainstream) because of some improvement in user experience or some microsoft debacle
also yeah tvp rocks I think its just basically soy protein (edit: can be any legume/pulse that is made into oil basically, uses the leftover protein) made into craggly crumbles that you can rehydrate. I made decent tvp "bacon" bits once too but then realized I rarely have a use for bacon bits and eventually ate most of them plain lol.
it probably isn't the healthiest or most ecologically perfect food but I like it. and its not like its the star of the show, its just adding protein or soaking up flavor mainly
Hell yeah I've been doing this too the past week. Only eating out I've done is a ramen bowl at a local place, everything else has been grocery store food. Saves so much money and feels good besides.
Traditional Grip: Not trying to spend much time here, I have so much technique I need to de-emphasize working on it.
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Moeller technique, super slow, choreographed movements. 80BPM, each click indicates a motion. Rest position. Arm up, forearm out- stick on head. Drop arm hard but not stupidly back to rest position. 10 mins.
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Trad grip, middle finger exercise 65BPM. Not sure how people play faster single strokes on traditional grip yet. 5 mins.
Foot Technique: I'm getting close I can feel it.
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Bounce Knee on Pedal/Leg Motion 65-75BPM. 7.5 mins.
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Ankle Technique 75-65BPM 7.5mins
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Heel Toe left foot, 80BPM. 5 mins.
Groove Studies:
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Rhythmic Scale using Benny Greb app, focus down sixteenth notes. Try to get to sextuplets and 32nds. 40 BPM. 20 mins.
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Benny Greb App. Play ideas and keep it in time. Right now it's RLLK and RLKK. RLKKRLLK. 70BPM 10 mins.
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Benny greb app. Swing orchestrating paradiddles between left hand and right foot. 80BPM.
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Benny greb app. 32nd notes funk. 1xxx (+xxx) 2. Explore all bass drum permutations on the 2nd half of beat one while only moving the the first half after going through everything in the second group. 80bpm 10mins
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Benny greb app. 32nd notes funk. Samething but just one bass drum note moving through all the possible 32nd note subdivisons. 80 bpm. 10 mins.
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roll call:
@SeventyTwoTrillion@hexbear.net
If anybody else wants to be added to the roll call, just let me know
My April was going well until last Friday when my back got fucked up. But other than that it went well. This month I continued running, cooked healthy meals and lost a bit of weight. Last week was a shitshow because my back still hasn't recovered and I also got sick. So I don't have any goals for next week except to chill and recover
April was very ok.
Physically fine. Got a modest amount of my workouts done, but certainly without the consistency of the previous month. Weight has stayed stable, which I don't mind a ton. Ideally I would have liked to have seen some progress, but the most important thing for me right now is feeling good. When I've been at the weight I'm at right now in the past I've felt sluggish and heavy. Don't feel like that right now.
Mentally has been a bit of a struggle. I just feel like the daily grind is getting to me a bit. Even when good stuff happens my mind can't help but wander about and end up in a sea of negativity. Like I went out for a few drinks with a couple of people this past Friday and in the moment it was fine. But afterwards I just started thinking about past relationships and prospective ones and felt kind of sad about not building better relationships.
Anyway for this upcoming week my main goals are mainly to get back on track with my weight goal. With the weather improving I'll probably start running more consistently. I also want to start going to the gym again. I also want to cut out more of the junk that I've been eating for lunch lately. Went grocery shopping for some stuff to make myself some lunches. Want to start off with at least 2 lunches a week from home.
Finished my groups demo this week even though it took 4 days longer than I wanted to get started. Watching yourself perform can be rough. But this time, the anticipation was worse than actually doing it.
I haven't procrastinated that badly since school.
I stopped smoking weed throughout April and I have to say not only have my thoughts been way more coherent, but I've been able to speak without slurring or stuttering.
I'm doing this not only because weed is making me broke and complacent but I'm getting into a job that requires drug screening.
