Svadhishthana's log

The main purpose of this forum; tell us what goals you're working on.
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Radical
Posts: 1726 | Thanks: 1439
Joined: Sat May 30, 2020 12:02 pm
Name: Cam
Goal: Funnel/Product Building
Age: 29
Motto: Take drastic action

Sun Sep 12, 2021 1:55 pm

Cant see any of them mate
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Svadhishthana
Posts: 321 | Thanks: 280
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
Goal: Be Free
Age: 30
Motto: Climb that goddamned mountain

Sun Sep 12, 2021 2:30 pm

Keto day 5: 182.4
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Previous goals:
- Retire in early 2022 with combo index funds / real estate. (Complete, late)
- Get fit (hotter, more athletic, more injury-resistant). (Ill defined, but improved)
- Get laid at least one more time before 30th birthday (Complete).
User avatar
Svadhishthana
Posts: 321 | Thanks: 280
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
Goal: Be Free
Age: 30
Motto: Climb that goddamned mountain

Sun Sep 12, 2021 4:04 pm

[Extraneous]
Last edited by Svadhishthana on Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Previous goals:
- Retire in early 2022 with combo index funds / real estate. (Complete, late)
- Get fit (hotter, more athletic, more injury-resistant). (Ill defined, but improved)
- Get laid at least one more time before 30th birthday (Complete).
User avatar
Svadhishthana
Posts: 321 | Thanks: 280
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
Goal: Be Free
Age: 30
Motto: Climb that goddamned mountain

Sun Sep 12, 2021 4:11 pm

Wait, no, that link doesn't work either.... Something about how the forum formats it or something maybe.... testing... testing...

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... cYYmsHqAr7

There we go. Had to use the url markdown tag.
Previous goals:
- Retire in early 2022 with combo index funds / real estate. (Complete, late)
- Get fit (hotter, more athletic, more injury-resistant). (Ill defined, but improved)
- Get laid at least one more time before 30th birthday (Complete).
User avatar
Svadhishthana
Posts: 321 | Thanks: 280
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
Goal: Be Free
Age: 30
Motto: Climb that goddamned mountain

Mon Sep 13, 2021 4:04 am

Holy shit, today was stressful and revelatory. 4 shots in public, all looking like a fucking weirdo. Also, wore a sport coat for the first time in, I think, a decade, and am happy to wait at least another decade before my next encounter.

Previous shots in public hadn't been nearly as... up front? I'd chosen spots that were out of the way, and not generally near people. Today I had no choice - just set up in a wide open parking lot, right next to a side walk, across a walking trail, in a crowded park.

Before every shot, I'd be driving around looking for a location, find something. And then I'd have to force myself to pull over, telling myself "no, it's good enough. You're just using 'it's not good enough' or 'lets find a few options' as an excuse to procrastinate". And then I'd get all my shit together in my car, the whole time just whispering to myself "no one cares, no one cares, no one cares, no one cares, no one cares, no one cares, no one fucking gives a shit, no one cares, no one cares". Then pause for half a second, realize I was still procrastinating, and say fuck it and start walking, setting up, taking test shots, posing, etc. One helpful thing I did was set a timer. Nothing really hardcore, but I would just start a timer for 30 minutes, and say "that's how long you have to get the shot." It was motivating, both because I knew I had to act *now* or I would run out of time, and also because I knew there wasn't some standard of perfection I had to achieve in my shot - just stick it out for 30 min and it'll be over.

One thing I realized is that the camera can actually provide you cover. I realized this yesterday when doing shots next to the tracks. There was a running engine I walked past when I was scoping locations, and I realized there might be someone in there who would see me walk past with my backpack on and think I was the dumbest fucking train hopper this side of the Mississippi, and I'd have a yard bull sent out to stomp my ass. Probably woulda done it just for bein' a queer in tight white pants when they found me too, lol! So when I was walking back with my pack, I made a show of stopping a few times in front of the engine, whipping out my camera and taking shots. People aren't concerned by your presence when you have a camera, since you're clearly just there to take pictures.

Then today I realized that, actually, the more outlandish your outfit the less embarrassing it is to be out taking pictures in public. When it's really obvious you're wearing something as a costume or fiddling around with the shot, then people will just assume you're doing some photography thing they don't understand. Trying to genuinely shoot myself in public... now *that* would be hard!

One last thing I noticed. When I was getting out of my car, I would just tell myself - act like you belong. Act like this is no big deal, like this is normal, like you do this all the time. Act like you have the right to be here like anywhere else. And when I stood up, my lower back would naturally be flexing. Not seizing up, but feeling strong. Like it was naturally trying to make me stand taller. Thanks body.

By the time I got to my last public shot of the day, I still had nerves, but I knew I could do it. Just set up right in the middle of a public park, took my time lining up the shot, and put on a sport coat on a warm day next to the families picnicking and the cholos blasting their stereos. And I started to not give a shit.

In during some breaks, also managed to sort through some existing pics.

Travel 4:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

I feel like I look kinda posed in these shots, but really the problem is my eyes, which I think is understandable since I was staring straight into the sun. Also left the remote on the rock a few times - doy! It was funny choosing the less serious facial expressions to match the model in this shot. The guy looks stoned off his ass in every shot he takes.

Travel 5:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Angles were difficult here. I took the shot just after noon, so the sun was coming from straight south, but if I shot with the sun, I'd have nothing but an ugly, featureless scree slope for the background. Really unfortunate, since to the south there was a beautiful shot of a couple ranges. Settled on at least getting some nearby slopes in the shot by facing almost due west.

When sorting through the photos, I though these were really bland shots until I boosted the color. Then the landscape really lit up, and actually made it a kinda good shot.

Travel 9:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Pretty meh shot overall. Same issue with angles as the last one. Plus my wardrobe was running thin, so I end up looking like a Tim Burton fan. I'd meant to pack a pair of jeans, but just forgot them.

So now there's just one dog shot, and then 12 body shots. The dog shot I'll try to get tomorrow morning when the light is still good before work. Then most of the body shots should be pretty straightforward - fewer props, fewer clothes, no dogs. If only I had a body!

Tomorrow:
- Get last Dog shot
- Email my lender to talk about when I can start offering again
- Tour a girl
- Sort more pictures, hopefully the remainder, and see if there are any worth putting on tinder.
Last edited by Svadhishthana on Thu Sep 16, 2021 4:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Previous goals:
- Retire in early 2022 with combo index funds / real estate. (Complete, late)
- Get fit (hotter, more athletic, more injury-resistant). (Ill defined, but improved)
- Get laid at least one more time before 30th birthday (Complete).
User avatar
Svadhishthana
Posts: 321 | Thanks: 280
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
Goal: Be Free
Age: 30
Motto: Climb that goddamned mountain

Mon Sep 13, 2021 4:13 pm

Got last dog pic. Thank God. Even had a brief chat with a nice lady when our dogs wanted to meet, didn't even mention the camera. I was a fuckin' silent bob for the most part, half since I was nervous, and half since I'd not had my first pot of coffee for the day yet.

Keto day 6: 182.1
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Previous goals:
- Retire in early 2022 with combo index funds / real estate. (Complete, late)
- Get fit (hotter, more athletic, more injury-resistant). (Ill defined, but improved)
- Get laid at least one more time before 30th birthday (Complete).
User avatar
Svadhishthana
Posts: 321 | Thanks: 280
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
Goal: Be Free
Age: 30
Motto: Climb that goddamned mountain

Tue Sep 14, 2021 4:05 am

Today I was pretty wrecked. Dunno why. Just not a lot done. I think all the stress from shooting in public might have taken an emotional toll I need to recover from or some shit. Workout today was extra hard - volume with no carbs.

Emailed my lender today. He said my earliest possible close date would be January 9th, 2022. So I can probably start offering in November or something. Might be getting freedom for Christmas.

Sorted a few more shots.

Travel 10:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

These honestly came out pretty good, especially considering they were taken mid day. My shoulders look friggin jacked and you can barely see the flab right above my shorts. A tan would have improved things, and better lighting might have made them less washed out, but really I'm pretty happy.

Travel 11:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Pretty meh. I didn't have the right light. Also, missed that the model's right hand is actually dangling or something. Both hands in both pockets looks awkward as fuck.

Tomorrow I start physique shots. This is gonna be ridiculous.
Last edited by Svadhishthana on Thu Sep 16, 2021 4:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Svadhishthana
Posts: 321 | Thanks: 280
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
Goal: Be Free
Age: 30
Motto: Climb that goddamned mountain

Tue Sep 14, 2021 3:50 pm

Keto day 7: 180.6
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Previous goals:
- Retire in early 2022 with combo index funds / real estate. (Complete, late)
- Get fit (hotter, more athletic, more injury-resistant). (Ill defined, but improved)
- Get laid at least one more time before 30th birthday (Complete).
User avatar
Svadhishthana
Posts: 321 | Thanks: 280
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
Goal: Be Free
Age: 30
Motto: Climb that goddamned mountain

Wed Sep 15, 2021 3:32 pm

Pretty unproductive day yesterday again. Something something stress something something.

We *finally* delivered some code at work, but then the users came back immediately and said the bug was still there. Omfg. Computers were a mistake. We should go back to stone tablets.

Met with my lender. That was the big thing. I now have clarity in my life. I closed on the house I'm currently in on 3/9. Laws for federally backed mortgages say I need to wait a full year before changing residences, but there's a loophole that says I can close on another house 2 months before the end of the year, and then officially change residences after those two months. So my earliest close date is 1/9. Since closing contracts are for 1 month, that means I can start making offers on 12/9 without potentially committing mortgage fraud and going to jail for 5-10. So now I have my deadline - get *everything* ready to go by December 9th. Additionally, I'm meeting again with my lender in early November to lock in my pre-approval, so I need to have my finances all squared away to make that work.

So,
- Get everyone on long term leases, which will help the lender get me a better deal.
- Get all financial stuff squared away. Finish changing banks, go through my statements and cull any unnecessary recurring expenses.
- Read up on general principles of STRs
- Read up on principles of interior decorating
- Find an agent.
- Crunch numbers to figure out my boundaries for making a profit.

Got my workout in with my coach. She's stoked on teaching me to clean, and I'm stoked on learning it. Workouts remain the highlights of my week.

Didn't shoot at all yesterday. Need to get back on that horse. However, I did finish sorting and editing my backlog of photos.

Casual 2:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Messed up the framing of the shot here a bit. Should have been more diligent about that. It also feels like there is something "off" about my shot. Part of it is probably that the model is wearing more expensive pants than me, and so it doesn't quite look like he's wearing tights. But I think the other is that the model's excess ink is doing the job of contrasting with the white clothes he's wearing.

Casual 3:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Messed up the framing on this one too. Here, I accidentally set the focus too close to the camera when lining up my shot, so all my good shots have me taking up too much of the frame compared to the shot I'm reproducing. Also, I should have shot from a higher angle. The model's expression in the reference shot is curious, humble, maybe a bit surprised. But the lower camera angle makes me give off a looking-down-my-nose-at-you vibe. Not necessarily the worst for a dating pic, I suppose, but not what I was trying to reproduce.

Casual 5:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

I have a habit of looking too far to the side in a lot of shots. I think when I'm doing a shot that requires looking to the side, I need to, review photos often to make sure I'm getting my angles right. As I mentioned in a previous post, the hoity-toity city slicker look really ain't my jam, so when getting the outfit for this shot I just went to the thrift store and grabbed the first coat that fit me well enough. As a result, in this shot I look like the captain of a fine sailing vessel, perhaps destined for the East Indies. I might actually keep the coat for costume parties.

Casual 6:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Fucked up the angles again. My body should be rotated more camera left. Also, looking to far off to the side. Shots are a bit overexposed, too, so I should have stepped down the shutter speed a bit more.

Casual 7:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

I think it's the pose more than anything, but I look fuckin' slick in these shots. And yeah, watch is on the wrong wrist because I reversed the shot. Overall, these came out pretty good.

Casual 8:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

One minor thing here is that my legs are spread too far apart to match the model's. The bigger issue, though, is the expression. The model's expression conveys a vibe of empathizing with someone or maybe giving advice. Most of the expressions in my shots were on point in the regard that it looks like I'm responding to someone, but miss the mark in that my expression says "are you shitting me?" Might just say something about my personality.

Dog 7:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Fucked this one up for sure. Unfortunate because it *should have been* the easiest dog shot. But my pose is totally off the mark - I'm giving off nice guy vibes, instead of the I-might-sic-my-dogs-on-you-for-fun vibes of the model. Also, absolutely fucked up the shot itself, as I forgot to increase the depth of field to account for two subjects, so Lulu is blurry in all the shots.

Dog 8:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

I gave up on trying to get an exact replica here, since Lulu is not puppy sized, and would have *hated* modelling this shot. I settled for having her lay down in my lap. Went ok. Never really got the right angle unfortunately.

Dog 10:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

This one was always a long shot, and I was actually pretty surprised with how well a lot of these shots came out. Except that I didn't notice my boxers riding up when I was shooting. Fuck. I could crop them out, but it would have been better if I just noticed during the shoot.

Dog 11:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Lulu doesn't have nearly enough floof to really get this shot right, but the law of large numbers was in effect, and I actually got a few semi-decent shots. Unfortunately, the best ones look like I'm going in for a romantic kiss with a dog.

Hobbies 4:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Weird problem in this shot - I really had to filter out a lot of shots where I look too confident or aggressive, and instead find shots where I look more nervous and apprehensive to match the model's expression. Also, fucked up the focus somehow... My shoe is more in focus than my face, which is annoying.

Hobbies 11:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Absolute trash. I was just rushing to get my shot in for the day.

Sports 2:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

I simply couldn't get the camera back far enough to get my whole body in this shot. Real issue is that the model and I have *very* different proportions, and I think his bench is just legitimately taller than the one I had on hand. Low light made this shot a challenge, with the requisite longer exposure time resulting in a lot of blurred images. Should have experimented with bumping the iso a bit more.

Travel 7:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Not bad. The bench was higher than the one in the reference shot, so I had to make some adjustments. Also, it would have been better if I just bought some white shorts instead of using the cargo shorts I had on-hand. The real challenge was getting the glasses in the right shot. When shooting, I just repetitively took them off - but way too many of the shots ended up with either glasses all the way on, or all the way off, limiting the number of shots I had to choose from later to match the reference shot. Instead, I should have tried posing in the exact position I wanted, or else taken the glasses off very slowly through the range I was trying to capture.

So, on the docket today:
- Tour a girl, see if she'll sign.
- Meal prep for the week
- Go through all the shots I took, see if any could go on my OLD profiles
- Get a physique shot
- Go through credit card statements to find cullable charges.

Oh yeah, and small victory - after working out with my friend Monday, we were hanging out in the kitchen while I still had my shirt off. My cute female roommate gave me an up-down with her eyes when she walked in. Really really obviously a case of don't shit where you eat, but a nice ego boost nonetheless.

Keto day 8: 180.5
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Last edited by Svadhishthana on Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Previous goals:
- Retire in early 2022 with combo index funds / real estate. (Complete, late)
- Get fit (hotter, more athletic, more injury-resistant). (Ill defined, but improved)
- Get laid at least one more time before 30th birthday (Complete).
User avatar
Svadhishthana
Posts: 321 | Thanks: 280
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
Goal: Be Free
Age: 30
Motto: Climb that goddamned mountain

Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:11 am

Tired. Got everything done though. Shot today was kinda half-assed and really just punching the clock. Kinda just dragged myself up to my feet with my camera. As I was setting up, I had this surreal feeling - like I was finishing a task I started in a dream. Found the thought coming into my head - what the fuck am I doing? Spending all this time and energy on some weird fantasy that doesn't even exist. Had to shake it off.

With the spark of the idea, and the intention, and the willpower, you can make it happen.

Got the shot. Body 7:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders ... p=sharing

Lighting was poor. Should have bumped the iso more so I could have decreased shutter speed. As it was, I got a lot of blur and darkness.

Tomorrow, touring some more. Get another shot. Workout. Maybe go to sleep for once.
Last edited by Svadhishthana on Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Previous goals:
- Retire in early 2022 with combo index funds / real estate. (Complete, late)
- Get fit (hotter, more athletic, more injury-resistant). (Ill defined, but improved)
- Get laid at least one more time before 30th birthday (Complete).
User avatar
Rags2Bitches
Posts: 199 | Thanks: 206
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2020 3:49 am
Name: Andrey
Goal: Build service biz
Age: 31
Location: TX
Contact:

Thu Sep 16, 2021 8:31 am

hey man, i haven’t followed your log but just looked through all the pics

obv would take a year to write about each set but broad strokes:

the good: you have an above average face and body. sometimes you get the poses and technical details of the photo right. you clearly have no problem putting in effort and i bet you’ll succeed soon

the bad:
FIX YOUR STYLE
as someone above me said, you don’t look like a guy who gets laid in almost any of the photos. to me, you look like a lovable eccentric who chases insects or collects rocks or w/e. most girls are less discerning and will just feel that something is off. you have photos that would be good that are completely useless because of what you’re wearing

your hair and beard look decent in a few of the photos, not ideal in others. when your hair gets too long it looks kinda unkempt/greasy. not a beard expert so not my area to comment, but something is weird about how high it goes and how it connects.

i can see what you’re going for in the shirtless dog photos but none of them get it right. either the dog looks uncomfortable or when it looks happy you’re hard posing for the camera. the best dog photo is DSC_6853, you and the dog are interacting, you look good in it and it doesn’t look posed.

i also like DSC_4435. shows off your body in a more natural way. DSC_4010 is a decent hobby pic as well

a couple of the travel photos would be decent if not for the atrocious orange and blue shirts. those also shouldn’t be posed. may be able to crop one of them to make it useable for now though

one of standing up suit photos is salvageable with some editing. not thrilled with that background but it’s ok.

priorities are getting a couple of portraits with grooming/style on point (one of them looking at the camera) and then a photo with other people
User avatar
Radical
Posts: 1726 | Thanks: 1439
Joined: Sat May 30, 2020 12:02 pm
Name: Cam
Goal: Funnel/Product Building
Age: 29
Motto: Take drastic action

Thu Sep 16, 2021 8:35 am

If you want help with pics make it easy for us to look at them, not 14 separate links which also then require clicking through to another file to get to the photo

Agree with @Rags2Bitches, you clearly put effort into the style but frankly its not coming off and isnt going to play great with online
User avatar
Rags2Bitches
Posts: 199 | Thanks: 206
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2020 3:49 am
Name: Andrey
Goal: Build service biz
Age: 31
Location: TX
Contact:

Thu Sep 16, 2021 4:43 pm

had my guy edit suit pic referenced above..would test, think it provides another dimension to hobby photos for now.
F243579E-91DD-4155-9E01-1A34F956D91F.jpeg
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User avatar
Svadhishthana
Posts: 321 | Thanks: 280
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
Goal: Be Free
Age: 30
Motto: Climb that goddamned mountain

Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:26 pm

@Rags2Bitches - Appreciate the feedback! For context, I've mostly been doing these shots to get reps in with the camera, so good to know that I'm getting it right sometimes!

Style is definitely my weak point - downloaded Radical's guide a couple days ago, will read through it asap.

Hair - all my recent pics were taken in the past couple weeks, so dunno if length is the differentiating factor. Might be that sometimes I've really been laying on some styling product to keep it in place when shooting, especially when the wind picks up. Will be more judicious in the future.

Beard - tried trimming the edges down a bit so they run parallel to my jawline. Will continue to experiment. Anyone's feedback is appreciated.

Will put the pics you suggested in a rotation to test. Thanks for the edit on the suit pic! It makes me super uncomfortable, as it is diametrically opposed to my personality, but into the testing rotation it goes!

@Radical - noted. Updated all links to go directly to the folders containing the raw images. Put a selection of embedded images on my tinder-specific thread here:

https://killyourinnerloser.com/forums/ ... 10#p21010

Style is on the todo list.

Edit:

Keto day 8: 178.7
PXL_20210916_190446617.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Previous goals:
- Retire in early 2022 with combo index funds / real estate. (Complete, late)
- Get fit (hotter, more athletic, more injury-resistant). (Ill defined, but improved)
- Get laid at least one more time before 30th birthday (Complete).
User avatar
Svadhishthana
Posts: 321 | Thanks: 280
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 5:28 pm
Goal: Be Free
Age: 30
Motto: Climb that goddamned mountain

Fri Sep 17, 2021 5:18 pm

Updated tinder profile with some new pics yesterday and got a match. Updated profile this morning following Rags2Bitches' recommendations in my other thread. Will boost tonight to see how it goes.

Out of good leads for the room that recently opened up. Will renew my ad and fire off messages to people during work today. Can hopefully set up a bunch of tours for the weekend and have dry ink by the middle of next week.

I think I'm keto-adapeted now. Had one night last week where my stomach didn't feel hungry, but I was having really strong cravings for food. Those cravings have dissipated, and now I feel just a mild hunger in my stomach when I think about it. But it feels like just information my body is sending me, rather than having an emotional component, and the feeling that I need to eat. Obviously, I'm losing way too fast for this to be healthy, and am probably losing a bit of muscle mass - but it's only for a couple weeks, and I'm impatient. I'm definitely losing fat still - I hold a lot in my thighs, ass, and under my abdominal wall, and you can see my love handles shrinking in my progress pics. However, my abs actually seem to be getting less defined. I doubt I'm actually losing muscle mass that quickly, and instead am guessing that this is due to my current glycogen deficit. Body has limited sugars, so it's not wasting energy keeping my muscles pumped and "ready" all the time. I have meals prepped until Wednesday next week, and I'm betting I'll hit my GW, at which point I think I'll finish my cut off by doing the potato hack, either to or until the end of the weekend. Pure carbs will be a nice change of pace, and I'm betting I'll get a pretty decent pump then. Then I can do some shooting over the weekend, before transitioning back to my more relaxed maintenance diet.

Got body 2 yesterday, but rushed it, and I doubt there are any technically good shots in there. There definitely aren't any really good shots, since I don't have the physique to pull it off.

To do today:

- Post ad and send messages
- Get another body shot
- Read the style guide
- Work out
- Boost this evening

Keto day 9: 178.9
PXL_20210917_154618207.MP.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Previous goals:
- Retire in early 2022 with combo index funds / real estate. (Complete, late)
- Get fit (hotter, more athletic, more injury-resistant). (Ill defined, but improved)
- Get laid at least one more time before 30th birthday (Complete).
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