I'm so proud of you, beer drinking girl!! ;)
The Grand Cru would be classed as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, as categories go... I know, I'm a beer geek, but there are worse things to geek out over.
For beer-geekage, check out beeradvocate.com-- they'll help you out with beer geek questions (if you happen to have such things).
By inkandpen, at 7:43 AM, March 31, 2006
Mmmmm Arrogant Bastard... delicious...
By Rachel, at 8:49 AM, March 31, 2006
Mmm... 1554... mmm...
I'm going to be so sad when I move away from a place where I can get all those brews at my local store. Except maybe the Grand Cru.
By Cory P., at 12:58 PM, March 31, 2006
hey, this is random as fuck but you're a smart, literary-minded gal who lives in seattle:
what can you tell me about the post-intelligencer / its reputation / etc.?
By , at 12:56 PM, April 01, 2006
Hey! I just bought Arrogant Bastard beer this past weekend! Found your blog through Monk. I like it!

Kat - great, great job on these reviews. Definite digg.
-Elliott
By Elliott, at 4:42 PM, March 28, 2006
OMG LAVA!
By , at 7:37 PM, March 28, 2006
...LAVA?!
By Kat, at 7:44 PM, March 28, 2006
great job.
thank you for your hard work.
By keen, at 11:48 PM, March 28, 2006
woot to my awesome intarnet cntr1oraar!
By Rachel, at 8:40 AM, March 29, 2006
Wow awesome work, dugg it delic. and putting alink on my blog. I am gonna grab a cold drink or six and give this a real close look.
By Sam, at 1:21 PM, April 03, 2006
Now it's good to see that you were actually doing some real incredible work out there! Seriously--that's a hell of alot of sites you reviewed, and some really interesting rankings that you ended up with.
Considering that you saw that many sites, and actually (probably anyway) had to use them to gauge all of the ranking factors, which ones were your favorites? Which ones did you find during the project that you still use today? That would be interesting to find.
You should be proud of the work you did, Kat! Way to go.
By Abhilash, at 1:40 PM, April 03, 2006

Last roller derby I had the bruise from a skate to my thigh for about a week afterwards. I was so proud of it!! Hehe. Roller derby rocks. I wish you could come down here and check out the Rose City Rollers with me again. Love ya!
By Titania, at 11:24 AM, March 26, 2006
Hehe how long does the roller derby season go for? Is it too late to catch a game soon?
By Rachel, at 8:17 AM, March 28, 2006
This was the first bout of the season!
We'll soon have tickets for the next bout on April 29th. Schedule beyond is May 20th, July 15th, August 26th, Sept 22nd, and the Championship on October 21st. That enough information?
By , at 11:42 AM, March 28, 2006
good luck with teh shrink. :)
By Rachel, at 2:53 PM, March 24, 2006
Hey Kat --- no need to stress. Work will be there but it will end.
A dessert on Broadway soon?
Waiting to see what the wasteland holds.
Jeff
By , at 10:57 PM, March 24, 2006
i feel ya. i've been in a similar state lately. ugh.
- meegan
notsosimple.net
By , at 6:47 PM, March 27, 2006
Cheese sammiches are delish!
I'm glad that you're enjoying life more. What good is life if not to enjoy?
By Rachel, at 9:03 PM, March 19, 2006
Yay! letting yourself enjoy life is definately a step in the right direction.
I want a cheese sandwich... damn dorms and the relative lack of food.
By Titania, at 9:46 PM, March 19, 2006
omg what ever happened to the cunt fig?
By , at 11:56 PM, March 19, 2006
I like cheese-sandwich posts! They let you know what someone is up to... and that's the cornerstone of being a nosy blog-reader!
;-)
What I'm most looking forward to from our hotel stays on our wedding/honeymoon trip is that most of them have whirlpools and saunas - one even has an in-room jacuzzi. I needs me some hot relaxation.
By Lazy Lightning, at 6:43 AM, March 20, 2006
Dinner at Toyoda's house ?!?! I am SOOOO jealous! What an awesome experience. Natchan is taking you under his wing - WOW !
Good to see you are indulging a bit - life isn't fun if you can't enjoy living it.
By , at 10:14 AM, March 20, 2006
i saw you caught the flowers at rachemicah's wedding.... when's yours?!?!?!?!?
By , at 11:30 PM, March 20, 2006
rebecca- the cunt fig is in a ziploc bag attached by a magnet to our fridge. I oughta eBay that thing! *lol*
steph- welllll, shouldn't be forever away, but once we get engaged I want to stay that way for a while and try it on for size too. ^_^
By Kat, at 11:34 PM, March 20, 2006
Did she ever catch it... go see IMG_961 in our wedding photo proof gallery. I would link it, but I can't. Words cannot describe the hilarity!
By Rachel, at 12:20 PM, March 21, 2006
Moroccan food, eh? Was that at Marrakkesh? Because I miss that place...
By Cory P, at 8:18 PM, March 21, 2006
get married PRONTO!
at least get a ring and post a ring pix. siiiiiiiigh. i want to punch justin sometimes.
ummm... DEFINITELY eBay that fig. people pay shitloads of cash for way, way lamer stuff. or put adrienne on it, and give her a cut.
By , at 8:29 PM, March 21, 2006
Man...proposal hostility abounds on the net!
By , at 12:40 PM, March 22, 2006
also there should be a law requiring hot bloggers to post more pix.
By , at 3:15 PM, March 22, 2006
also there should be a law requiring hot bloggers to post more pix.
By , at 3:15 PM, March 22, 2006
don't you see the writing on the wall, if after aaaaaalll this time he's still not making that commitment? duuuuuude, there are thousands of worthwhile men in the seattle area alone who'd love to have a chance dating you.
By , at 7:41 PM, March 22, 2006
Uh. Huh. WHAT writing on the wall? We've *discussed* our plans for the future of our relationship and agreed that we didn't want to get engaged until we had spent more time together in the same location. We're living in the same zip code for the first time in two years.
I wouldn't question Justin's level of commitment. He's the one who wanted to stay together when I went to Tokyo, alone, for twelve months. We've been together and faithful to each other for six years. Please don't make assumptions about commitment. Could YOUR relationship survive distance over time?
By Kat, at 7:50 PM, March 22, 2006
Some of these comments are awfully silly. You are right to take things as you feel ready for them, rather than acting based on feelings of insecurity or outside pressure.
By , at 11:45 PM, March 22, 2006

How long (please be honest) does the battery last with a full charge? 6 hours, or much fewer? Thanks
By , at 9:52 AM, March 19, 2006
To be honest, I'm not certain because I haven't timed it. The original battery life is supposed to be eight hours, out of box, though even that's pushing it for a new one. I'd say five would be a good estimate because I regularly listen to it for two 2 1/2 hour sessions each week before recharge. Maybe even more.
By Kat, at 11:22 AM, March 19, 2006
I'll try to charge it up and time it, though it might be hard to do since I don't listen to it for that long regularly. I'll put it on my desk in front of me on Monday or something and see how long it goes for.
By Kat, at 12:14 PM, March 19, 2006
Ooookay... we're timing it now at six hours continuous play and counting.
By Kat, at 8:42 PM, March 19, 2006
Its battery ran down at 6 hours and 42 minutes.
By , at 11:47 PM, March 19, 2006
Well, I'm sure you won't accept this offer, but I'd give $100 for it--assuming you could get it to me by this Thursday.
By , at 9:56 AM, March 20, 2006
omg - $100! that's laughable - don't do it Kat! You can get way more on da 'bay.
By Adrienne, at 10:33 AM, March 20, 2006
Thanks for the offer Kaneda, but iPoddy alone is worth more than that. My cousin will be its proud new owner shortly. Hope you find what you're looking for too!
By Kat, at 11:36 PM, March 20, 2006
Glad you found a buyer. My offer was low, but the new video Ipod is coming out as early as the end of this month/beginning of next. $100 would be money taken away from buying the new one, was my reasoning. Cheers
By , at 11:53 AM, March 21, 2006
We have been rocking the free iPods, holy crap!
It seems so unlikely... my mom even asked me if what we did was illegal!! (No, we're just awesome like that!)
By Lazy Lightning, at 1:45 PM, March 15, 2006
I'm waiting for my bad karma to kick my ass again. Cuz winning an iPod is just too cool. *yay* for Ning.com!
By Titania, at 3:42 PM, March 15, 2006
whoa, rock on, little sister! i don't see her on ning. i wonder if they've chosen all the winners?
By , at 8:03 PM, March 15, 2006
oops, sorry that was me. rebecca.
By , at 8:04 PM, March 15, 2006
Any way you could post a pic of your ipod (the one you're selling)?
By , at 9:53 AM, March 17, 2006
Yep, I'll put one up this weekend, with details and accessories. If nobody's interested here, I'll put it on eBay.
By Kat, at 10:27 AM, March 17, 2006
Lucky!!!
By Titania, at 10:35 AM, March 14, 2006
Longest comment ever:
I passed up the marware because with all my previous iPods, I got dirt in between the protector and the iPod, scratchin' the screen. Plus... it's huge and wouldn't fit in my purse. Passed up the iSkins this time because you gotta take that shit off to charge it, and again, hello scratches!! Passed up the leather folios due to the bulkiness and the same reason as the Marwares...
Finally settled on this "Sleevz" microfiber case by Radtech. http://www.radtech.us/Products/SleevziPod5G.aspx
It seems perfect - fabric, (which I love), not too much sticky vinyl, very thin (can use it with my big-ass 3rd gen 40GB iPod dock from the stoneage. I also ordered my powerbook some expensive crap it doesn't need, while I was at it. (As if we'd have any kind of Apple-related store in this state, aside from on the Internet.)
Let me know how to like that camera connector. I've been considering one, but I always have my computer along on overnight trips, and I've only ever run out of room on my Powershot S2 IS's 512 card one time in a single day (Rachel's wedding), and since then I've added an additional 1GB card to my storage capacity.. so I'm not sure I can justify. Also, I don't use iPhoto - I'm pretty sure that's what the iPod uses for photo access.
By Adrienne, at 11:12 AM, March 14, 2006
Those look really neat!
Two questions though:
-How do they put you any less at risk for dirt scratches?
-What do you do when you want to take your iPod to the gym?
By Kat, at 12:10 PM, March 14, 2006
I just answered your email.
In short: I don't take it to the gym. This case is just for at home/in the car use. And I hope it's less dirt risk because this is a very very thin case and made of non-sticky materials, so I shouldn't have to take the iPod out much. We'll see if that's true when I receive it.
Don't worry - I'm just extremely OCD about this to the point of it not being funny. Your case is good quality.
By Adrienne, at 2:28 PM, March 14, 2006
Sounds like you are being very proactive with all of these choices. Hope both the meds and the doc work out for you.
I'll talk to you soon about my doc visit too.
Love you,
Allie
By , at 1:48 AM, March 14, 2006
Good for you, KK. I agree that some discussions with a therapist are well worth the money. And do remember that while you are without a doubt very much self-aware, keep an open mind to the perspectives that this person might observe about you. I'm really glad to hear that it went well.
By Rachel, at 10:43 AM, March 14, 2006
I'm sure I've never told you this, but I have moderate-severe anxiety as well. It's never been overly crippling to me because it's hard for me to imagine life without it. I think in my case it was entirely a learned behavour, as well as a response to some traumatic events that happened earlier in my life.
Almost two years ago my quack obgyn put me on effexor for reasons unrelated to my anxiety. While it didn't help the problems, I was utterly amazed at what it did to my anxiety. It almost totally went away.
The only downside was that effexor is a nasty drug with nasty side affects. I never so much as considered taking it long term, and I actually just quit it cold turkey day when the nausea became overwhelming.
Scary thing is, my anxiety never fully returned. While this is great, I hate to think that my brain and body have been forever altered by this drug. It's freaking scary.
Did it come by UPS or post office? I want mine!!
Make sure you get it a good case that protects the screen, or it WILL get scratched RIGHT NOW. Until then, keep it in a sock or tape some toilet paper around it or SOMETHING.
By Lazy Lightning, at 2:09 PM, March 13, 2006
Gee, you're forgetting the very bestest iPod accesory! :P
By , at 4:10 PM, March 13, 2006
meeh, I wish I understood Web 2.0.
and I R confused... a nano is not an accessory!
By Rachel, at 4:55 PM, March 13, 2006
Adrienne-- They shipped it USPS Certified Priority. Yikes, I know, but it got here.
Alex-- See, that thing is neat, but really, I don't know any music I'd feel right getting off too. Or any music that knows how I like to get off. *lol*
Rachel-- I know the nano isn't *really* an accessory, but I might get one also, anyway, for working out. And they're so small they seem like accessories!
By Kat, at 5:02 PM, March 13, 2006
it's funny how much time i, looking back, apparently wasted on ning, and how utterly depressed i am now that i didn't win. you guys are lucky! =-) i so can't afford an ipod. oh well. i will keep ninging and maybe win in the last two days. heh. yeah right.
By , at 8:35 PM, March 13, 2006
I got me a new iPod skin (w/ workout options!) and the camera connector. That means now I have a 60GB portable drive for my EOS 20D! WOOOO.
Chin up rebecca, they might not have given out the awards since the 8th yet. They haven't updated the page to reflect anyone past that date. I suspect they may not have contacted the winners since Thursday or Friday. So you may still have a chance! I know Justin has his fingers crossed, having spent a ridiculous amount of time online ning-ing.
By Kat, at 9:08 PM, March 13, 2006
whooooooooa, freakin' awesome! maybe i did win! do you know if they clear your accumulated points at the end of the day and you have to start over the next day though?
By , at 10:35 PM, March 13, 2006
okay i'll shut up after this question: do you think "Adding content" to an app applies to, like, regular comments...?
By , at 10:37 PM, March 13, 2006
You guys should all come visit ME too!
We can go up to Mt. Baker and play in the snow :) And then go eat all you can eat sushi in Vancouver!
By , at 1:32 AM, March 11, 2006
About the IUD - my mom had one for a while, but she said it pinched a great deal. A friend of mine has a 7 month old daughter, and she refers to the child as 'the IUD baby'... just two personal experiences that were enough to keep me away.
About the Paxil... That does seem like a strong one. My ex was on Wellbutrin for a while, but it had side effects he didn't like (I can't remember what, sorry), and ended up on Celexa, which worked better. Everyone's different though.
By Lazy Lightning, at 3:52 PM, March 09, 2006
I was on Wellbutrin for a bit during college. I was having a very hard time concentrating in class, and completing assignents. I was quite stressed at this time also. Instead of treating me for an attention problem, right away, they wanted to see if the anti-depressant would improve things at all. I don't remember the side effects...they weren't too severe, just maybe mildly annoying...but it also didn't seem to help with the problem much.
By sometrouble, at 8:05 AM, March 10, 2006
Good luck with the IUD consultation and let me know how it goes. I will never try that again, mebbe if/when I have children *shudders*.
I know you already know what I'm going to tell you. You know that in order to treat anxiety effectively, treating the symptoms with medication may work in the short term, but in order to treat it effectively, the source of the anxiety must be discovered and worked through.
With regards to both of those comments above, everyone and their bodies are different, so you must do what you think is best for you, best friend 'o mine. I support you regardless!
By Rachel, at 8:47 AM, March 10, 2006
btw, woot woot to health insurance!
By Rachel, at 8:54 AM, March 10, 2006
You _did_ get a lot done at the doctor's office, and you picked some really great services to look into and body levels to check (for a person in your age range / phase of life).
And you are incredibly fortunate to have such a great health plan! It distresses me to no end how millions of Americans are left out of the loop about health care and must rely on clinics and the emergency room. Most countries in western Europe consider universal health care a right not a privilege. Maybe one day we'll be as cool as them.
By , at 12:12 PM, March 13, 2006
Do vitamins make you feel sick at all? I only take one-a-day and an extra calcium supplement, but unless I take them with my biggest meal of the day, I feel horribly nauseous. I know you're supposed to take 'with food', but 'with food' for me seems to have to be 600+ calories.
At least you can sleep at night - I have the opposite problem lately. Tired/lethargic all day, ready to party & stress all night long.
By Adrienne, at 7:48 PM, March 08, 2006
Good description of anxiety- it does feel like caffeine jitters. Don't drink real caffeine or it makes you feel worse. I was so addicted when I lived in the "6 pack" because I didn't sleep. I was at like 4-5 cups a day to keep running. I felt soooo aweful! I had to cold turkey caffeine because I was having such bad anxiety attacks. Yuck.
By Titania, at 8:31 PM, March 08, 2006
Liz: I rarely drink coffee and avoid it just for that reason. I actually LIKE the stuff though so my severe reaction to it is rather unfortunate.
Adrienne: It's the B-vitamins that will make you yak on an empty stomach. Because those provide the biggest pick-me-up, I take them after lunch, when I need it most. The other supplements (iron, buffered C, Calcium, fish oil) I take in the morning or evening, depending if I eat breakfast at home or at work. :)
By Kat, at 9:07 PM, March 08, 2006
Adrienne: me too. If I don't take my once daily vitamin with a huge meal, I feel rotten.
By Loreleilee, at 10:23 AM, March 09, 2006
I'm glad I'm not the only one!
By Lazy Lightning, at 11:23 AM, March 09, 2006
The B-vitamins are very strong and frequently cause nausea when not taken with food. Some people are hyper sensitive to them too, so it depends on your bod. But keep taking them, their benefits highly outweigh the slight bouts of nausea that they may cause. Don't forget your calcium either laides! We wanna be standing up straight with strong bones when we're gracious and old.
Caffiene and I have an on-again-off-again relationship too. I don't drink it when I'm anxious and when I'm feeling calm I really enjoy sipping on a cup in the morning. It just tastes so goooood (I'm not addicted!... am I?). I will never be one of those people who can drink coffee with after-dinner dessert tho, I would never get to sleep!
By Rachel, at 8:53 AM, March 10, 2006
Hay doodz are there any bridges around here I can live under?!
By , at 1:45 PM, March 07, 2006
Haaaay, there's the Fremont bridge... but it already has a troll.
By Kat, at 1:54 PM, March 07, 2006
Congrats!
By Jonathan, at 2:22 PM, March 07, 2006
Hey that's cool! We love our 30 and our 60 just to DEATH!
By Lazy Lightning, at 2:48 PM, March 07, 2006
Cat pictures ARE totally useful. And I gotta say, my first 2 apps were totally tests. I had no clue what was going on.
TIP: Adding shit to your OWN apps counts as adding content. So uploading say... 50 photos to an app gets you not only a cool app, but also BANG, 50 points RIGHT THERE.
By Lazy Lightning, at 7:42 PM, March 08, 2006
i don't see how to win an ipon on ning!!!!! help.
By , at 10:30 PM, March 08, 2006
Click the iPod-a-Day link in the post, rebecca
By Kat, at 11:39 AM, March 09, 2006
hm, i wonder if they clear your entries every day if you don't win.
By , at 2:34 PM, March 09, 2006
I still don't quite understand how to use it. Mayhaps I should take a closer look... but it's kind of confusing to me.
By Rachel, at 8:27 AM, March 11, 2006
oh woe is me
By , at 6:17 AM, March 07, 2006
Indeed, woe is you: a anonymous coward on the internet writing souless insults to someone you don't know, or if you do, wouldn't have the courage to confront in person. It doesn't get much lower. Woe *is* you.
By Kat, at 9:08 AM, March 07, 2006
Additionally, you have no fucking idea what I'm going through or how hard it is for me to get through every day. I am being HONEST in my attempt to make personal progress and your immature, selfish stupid comment is a consious attempt to laugh in my face.
Would you laugh at your mother if she suffered from serious anxiety? Would you tell your father "woe is me" if he made incessant cracks about killing himself? I think not. So shove your sociopathic insensitivity back into your fat mouth, you goddamn troll and DO NOT fuck with me. I will not be silenced, shamed, or mocked in my own forum. It is my right to feel safe posting whatever drivel I want here, and because this is MY BLOG, your right to swing your fist ends at my face. So consider it brought, coward. At least I have the courage to maintain identity, integrity, and personal honesty.
And I swear IF I find out you are my sister's insipid little stalker, Frank, I promise you that the next time I see you in person, should that day come, I will make you regret being alive, you sick fucking bastard.
By Kat, at 9:27 AM, March 07, 2006
haha, I troll blogs and get my jollies off of writing things in people's blogs to piss them off, hahahaha. i wish I had real friends, but I don't cos I'm clearly a social pigmy.
thanks for your IP address, btw. in case you didn't know, no one is ever really anonymous on the internet.
my real friend Kat is having some real issues that she is being honest with herself by working them out. mocking her is just your special way of showing everyone that you are a coward who covers up their own issues that are clearly much deeper than hers.
By Rachel, at 2:26 PM, March 07, 2006
Kat,
Do add me to your list of supportive listeners-- I sympathize with what you're going through. I'm really glad to see you figuring out what actions you need to take to make things better-- it's not about self-pity, as I'm seeing it, but more about self-care. Which is awesome. Hooray for dealing with this shit, instead of being ruled by it!! And thanks for sharing, in spite of the trolly-trolls.
By inkandpen, at 7:06 AM, March 08, 2006
Perhaps...it means you are where you should be and that everything is connected. The world is after all...a seemingly disconnected series of coincidences. *smiles*
Take care, deary.
By Cad, at 8:58 AM, March 07, 2006
Weird.
I'll look for him and let you know when he's back here at the UO.
By Rachel, at 2:18 PM, March 07, 2006
For my first couple years in Eugene, I swore I would steal his "Free God News" sign. Then I realized that he was just standing there, waiting for people to talk to him... and how cool that was. I still feel bad for wanting to steal his sign way back then.
By Cory P, at 12:21 AM, March 08, 2006
whoa! crazy! that has to be fortuitous in a good way; that guy is the least-offensive and best-intentioned of all the UO characters. now that hatoon's dead i mean.
By , at 4:50 PM, March 08, 2006
Before you fix anything else, help a blog reader, for chrissake!! your blog is SO hard to read. harsh white background, teeeeeeeeeeeeny tiny type, and when you open the comment box it's not delineated very well at all. another jumble of teeny type on white background. check out that katie chick's blog, the one married to dave or whatev. love your blog, hate reading it.
By , at 6:58 PM, March 05, 2006
Your blog is very interesting. Normally i wouldnt post on blog nor would i read one, but karma bought me to your site. I really wanted to lend a kind heart to help abit with your anxiety. you seem like an intelligent young lady so hopefully
this article wont go in one ear and out the other.
i think alot of people anxieties comes from a deep rooted fear of something...from things like what people think of us to what going to happen next. it is often when we ask too many questions which causes confusion in your mind. life is a funny old thing really it doesnt have to be that hard, its really what ever we chose to make it...it is our mind that flavours the very experiences we have so its important to cultivate postive emotions("mind") like patience, compassion, generosity to replace negative emotions like anger, jealously, pride etc..
When you learn techniques that can quieten the mind you my find life flows alot easier and your not always digging your heals in to prevent change but allow change to provide positive enrichment to your life.
ps...i hope you enjoy the article on my website
By , at 7:29 PM, March 05, 2006
Thanks anon, I'll check it out. :)
As for the blog design, I think the issue may be with your browser font size. You can increase it, typically in the "view" menu. (Probably something else if you're using IE). Font size ought to be legible and easy to read, if it's not it's probably a CSS issue. Haven't had any complaints before. Design is subjective-- you can never make everyone happy!
That being said, I'm hoping to have a more tabular CSS design sometime in the next few months. But it's not something I'll be putting any energy into.
By Kat, at 9:12 PM, March 05, 2006
In case you're curious about medications for anxiety, I've taken 2 different kinds. One was a pill I took only at moments of overwhelming anxiety and/or at times when I had trouble falling asleep. I found it helpful in reducing bodily symptoms of anxiety (breathlessness, high heart rate, trembling) and good for times I needed to concentrate (i.e before a big test, presentation) or for relaxation before bed. After a 2 month break, I switched from that one to a daily pill for general anxiety which seems to help a lot. I still get anxious because the same stressful circumstances are still there, but once again the symptoms of anxiety are not as strong or as ever present. I feel like it lets me deal with things more rationally because I'm not physically freaking out. I know opting for medication is sort of a tough choice to make. I'm not sure I want to stay on drugs forever or anything either. But I feel in the short run it makes progress a little easier. Maybe you should give it a try, or at least ask your doctor? We seem to have similar issues, and it's been helping me a lot.
In the meantime though (or if you opt to keep trying to deal yourself), keep it up with being positive about future goals and don't become too overwhelmed by the big issues that take time to change. Good luck, Kat. Love you much.
By Titania, at 10:54 PM, March 05, 2006
And sorry that was heinously long.
By Titania, at 10:54 PM, March 05, 2006
whateva: rather than give you the how-dare-you-write-a-flame-in-a-very-personal post reaction that you want, I will remind you that the person who writes this blog has feelings, just as you do, although you create an online persona to cover them up so as to not confront the issues of your own. and btw do keep in mind that your IP address is in the hands of those who can make sure you are never able to access this blog again, should you keep your inappropriate comments flowing.
Numine: the anon post above has a lot of truth to it, ideas that we all know but sometimes have a difficult time applying to real life. I love you and you are awesome, I love the reaffirmation of Kat! You have our support and can anything you want with us anytime and we will listen.
By Rachel, at 7:04 AM, March 06, 2006
KAT.
An ex of mine struggled with anxiety troubles. A very intelligent individual, he would become crippled with fear on a near daily basis, sweating and shaking in a fetal position on his bed, the floor, or in the car. A combination of vitamin supplements and an antianxiety med helped him a bit in the end (in addition to a not-quite legal but readily available in the northwest plant, of course - no worries then). Anyway... hopefully your appointments will solve some issues and get you the treatment (med or non-med) that you need and deserve.
whateva - the problem is with your browser, not her blog. (And if it were with her blog, that would be the LAST thing she should worry about fixing.) This is the easiest format I've seen to read. It is white with 12 pt sans serif black font. Perfect. The comments have the same format. Don't dump your own problems on others.
By Adrienne, at 3:04 PM, March 06, 2006
Thanks Liz, Rachel, and Adrienne. I really appreciate your support. I'll be asking the doctor about meds that aren't necessarily seratonin reuptake inhibitors, but those that may just serve to lower heartrate, etc. I do take vitamins for the purpose of curbing anxiety and seasonal depression (daily dose: 1000mg fish oil w/D, Calcium citrate w/ D, 1000mg vitamin C, occasional iron, and a B-vitamin multi complex). I haven't smoked pot in a while, but it does worry me because a) it's a downer and b) I tend to be quite non-functional when stoned, though that's probably my own fault for smoking too much.
I'm going to try to make some changes, which hopefully involve some meditation time, massage, someone "objective" to talk to, and perhaps some meds. Will keep the blog posted.
By Kat, at 3:10 PM, March 06, 2006
The pot, it's definitely a couch-potato maker!
It worked best for my ex when he just had ONE hit, before doing something stressful like going to a store, etc. Tiny, relaxing buzz.
Of course he could never just have ONE hit. Obviously, you have better options!
By Lazy Lightning, at 2:51 PM, March 07, 2006
Kat,
It's great that you can open up in public like this... I appreciate reading it - makes me a feel a little better about my own anxiety issues.
Thanks,
Elliott
By Elliott, at 1:23 PM, March 08, 2006
Thank you for the supportive comment, Elliott. It means a lot. :)
By Kat, at 3:31 PM, March 08, 2006
Sorry in advance if this comment is a bit tardy.
I always feel that anxiety is caused by the stress of caring without control. You seem like the warm and fuzzy sort of person who would like to fix and mend every ill that she could.
So the first step is to have a News-media free week. This is the Bob Dobbs Philosophy of Media Ecology. The news is always bad, they never show anything good; it will get you down. See how much happier you are after only 1 week free of The News. If you can't give up completely straight away - at least switch to The Onion.
Secondly you need to practise 'not caring'. Try it on small things at first - it's a real artform - and also the fastest way to beat stress. During your day keep tabs on what you are doing. When you notice a chance to abandon, leave or not care about something - do it. Like any training it takes time but you'll feel the rewards after a few short days.
Graham
By Graham, at 4:50 AM, March 31, 2006
You've put it into true perspective - weighing the positive of a great experience (I've attended a few over the years) with the downside (neighborhood concerns in a crowded metro region). It's too bad it won't be supported anymore (my opinion) but being a resident in the city... you have to weigh a lot of things. If they decide to change their minds - can I join you and J for a free listen? drinks R on me.
By , at 7:15 PM, March 01, 2006
bummer for no free concerts, but hooray for less crowded streets. mebbe next year they will go through the appropriate channels of getting the neighbors on board with the concert series.
By Rachel, at 10:50 AM, March 02, 2006
is it just me or is everyone on MySpace or Craigslist these days?! jesus! cell phone or ipod in the ear... is it only a matter of time before we just want cybersex?
By , at 2:55 PM, March 02, 2006
i mean irl
By , at 2:55 PM, March 02, 2006
What does that have to do with anything?
And IMO, the Web moves people more toward connection, not away from it. Plus, there's nothing wrong with Cybersex, speaking from experience.
By Kat, at 3:01 PM, March 02, 2006