This blog has been getting a lot of attention from the folks directed to this blog via my SEOmoz profile. So welcome, everyone. I find myself only slightly embarrassed that you are here, but that will pass in another week or so. It's interesting to have a considerably "personal" blog in so public a space, but it's happened before-- when my old blog, Schoolgirl Sophistry was hosted on the UO's .edu servers and became the #1 Google hit for the search term "schoolgirl." ... yeah. Nevertheless, I'll continue this social experiment until I get Dooced or worse. Why not?
I forgot to mention the beer tasting I went to with my dad last weekend. A friend of Justin's & mine spends much of her office job winning radio contests. She's the one who hooked the neo-con company Jimmy Dean into putting on the Sausage Fest for the people at The Abbey. So she won two tickets to Hops on Equinox, a beer fest at the Seattle center. For them, we gained one $20 entry each, with a souvenir glass and six free 6 oz. tastings, though for some reason they gave us not SIX but NINE tasting tickets each. Mmm-MM, 54 ounces of free beer! We spent many of our trying the "red carpet" imported beers, which cost two each. Nevertheless, there wasn't much to do but drink and refill and I soon found myself slightly tanked. We ended up spending our last three tickets on mini meat pies from Pies & Pints. I ought to record what we tasted, for good measure, so...
( Click here to read the list!)
Porter:
*Scuttlebutt Brewing Co. - Porter Dry Hop wih Oak
Red Ale:
*Lagunitas Brewing Co. - Lagunitas Imperial Red
Stout:
*Young's - Young's Double Chocolate Stout [this went well with cake]
"Other":
*Chimay - Chimay Cinqcents (Triple)
*De Proufbrouwerji - Bottleworks Van den Vern Grand Cru [WTF?]
*New Belgium Brewing Co. - 1554
*New Belgium Brewing Co. - Skinny Dip [Yum!]
*Stone Brewery - Arrogant Bastard
Draft Cider:
*Wyder's Cider - Wyder's Raspberry Cider
I'm proud to say that I've developed a taste for the stuff, even if Justin still can't handle it. I like beers without a bitter aftertaste. Actually, I pretty much enjoy any beer that doesn't have an aftertaste-- that's what kills it for me. I guess the same can be said of life. *chuckles* Anyhow, we've got a full weekend planned with an early start and late end tomorrow (a massage in-between, hurrah!) so I'm off to bed.
Posted on March 30, 2006 @ 10:34 PM | 5 comments
Comments:
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!
A big announcement from the work world. We just launched The Web 2.0 Awards, a pet project of mine that started small and grew wildly out of control. What the hell is Web 2.0? Well, if you don't know, read the zeitgeist before browsing the awards. The awards are rather content-rich, so take your time looking through them, because you will probably find sites that will change your life- or fun ways to waste tremendous amounts of time. We've already been mentioned in The Seattle PI and hopefully more press will follow.
If you like what you see-- and what you see is all my hard work-- check out our mentions on Digg and del.icio.us and add us/digg us to bump up the project's visibility.
Posted on March 28, 2006 @ 3:05 PM | 7 comments
Comments:
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
Just back from the Rat City Roller Girls' first bout of the season, with injury to prove it. We always sit in the "crash zone" for the photo ops and the hands-on experience of catching the skaters as they spin out-of-bounds. This time I took a skate to my right foot (smack dab on that little bone bump on the lower ankle) and another to the outside of my left thigh. Camera's fine, but man will I be sore tomorrow!
Posted on March 25, 2006 @ 11:30 PM | 3 comments
Comments:
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
Posted on March 23, 2006 @ 8:21 PM | 3 comments
Comments:
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
Last weekend I went to Portland with my dad and younger sister to visit Liz, who is at Lewis and Clark. We hiked near Multinomah Falls, ate Moroccan food, went to Moonstruck chocolates, and visited the Portland Art Museum... then drove back early Sunday afternoon so Justin and I could make it to our first Sukiyaki Party. Mmm, Sukiyaki. We spent the evening at the house of the master sushi chef himself, Toyoda (a.k.a. Nat-chan), making delicious sukiyaki and drinking copious amounts of Sake. The man has a wonderful house and an amazing home speaker system, let me tell you!
After that, I spent a bit of time getting back into the swing of things. I was *supposed* to have an appointment for a cut-and-color plus deep conditioning treatment for my hair on Tuesday but I guess when I made the call and the receptionist said "next Tuesday" he was already thinking a week ahead. So that's still coming up-- which is good, but will cost a fortune-- which is bad.
I dropped some cash this week, too, taking Justin to Jazz Alley on Thursday where we met my dad and sister to watch Dr. John perform. Jazz Alley is a great venue though from my limited experience I'd have to say I prefer the atmosphere of The Triple Door to it.
Friday, we couldn't help ourselves and went to sushi anyway. At the end of the work week I often feel to burned out to cook. Then we finished up the first season DVD of Lost. What will I do with my time now? (Oh yeah, play WoW.)
Saturday was the icing on the cake. We spent the whole afternoon soaking and sauna-ing at Banya 5, a Russian-style bathhouse/spa in downtown Seattle. Mmmm. I had some major residual arm soreness from a personal training session I won on Wednesday, and that soak not only felt really nice and helped me sleep well, it made me able to move my arms again.
Today we went for a run around Greenlake and kept house a bit. I feel back on track. And the best part is, the indulgences continue next week. Because of the mis-schedule, I have my hair appointment on Tuesday... and tomorrow I have my first medically-approved massage. Hooray for $12 co-pays!
Apologies for the somewhat cheese-sandwich post, but I felt all the good things were worth keeping record of.
Posted on March 19, 2006 @ 7:29 PM | 16 comments
Comments:
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
( Click here for details...)
This 15GB 3rd Generation iPod is in excellent working condition and comes with tons of accessories!
I'm selling this iPod because I just won a new one. I have used this iPod for a little under two years now and it works great. There is nothing wrong with it, I simply no longer need it with the increased space and functionality of my new iPod.
All of the features of this iPod (backlight, display, click wheel, buttons, and lock) work great. There is some superficial surface scratching, as you can see in the pictures, but nothing deep. Fully charged, this iPod still has good battery life and has never had any problems. It's never been dropped or otherwise mistreated.
This iPod comes with all the basics for your listening pleasure (headphones, USB cable, etc.) and a whole host of great accessories that you'd otherwise have to buy! Take it on the go with a sleek Apple belt-clip case. Easily access your songs out-of-pocket with the clip-on remote. Enjoy your music while jogging with the neoprene armband. Record interviews, sound clips, and Podcasts directly to your iPod with the Belkin voice recorder. ALL these accessories (and more) are included!!
With this purchase, you will get:
# One 15GB 3rd Generation iPod
# One original apple cloth belt clip holster
# USB 2.0 cable for charging iPod and transferring songs
# Original iPod plug-in, lapel-clip remote
# Apple earbud headphones with NEW foam covers
# One dock plug cover (small plastic bit to protect the iPod jack)
AND, you will get, in addition to these original accessories:
# One Belkin voice recorder ($50 value!)
# One neoprene sports armband ($25 value!)
# One pair like-new Panasonic over-ear sports headphones with additional covers and cord extender ($15 value!)
All accessories except the additional earphone covers have been used and tested. They are all in working order and sold as-is. I cannot guarantee the longevity of the included headphones, but they have lasted me a long time and you may replace them with any basic headphone set if you prefer.
My asking price is $150, shipping included. Paypal payments only-- anyone can use Paypal! Feel free to ask questions in the comments here or Email me to make an offer. I will put my iPod up on eBay in a few days if I get no takers.
Posted on March 18, 2006 @ 1:10 PM | 9 comments
Comments:
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
On that note, I now need to sell my old iPod. If you're interested email me. Here are the details:
15GB 3rd Gen iPod, Used, Some scratches but fully functional and with good battery life
Accessories included: Belt clip case, USB synching cord, wall power adapter, headphones, remote
Price: $125, negotiable
Additional accessories available: Voice recorder, neoprene armband
Price: $25 for both
Anxiety: I'm keeping my therapy appointments and starting a low dose of Celexa, the old-and-busted version of Lexapro (that's essentially the same).
Posted on March 15, 2006 @ 1:00 PM | 6 comments
Comments:
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
I ended up getting a convertible skin by Marware in black. It's not the most gorgeous iPod condom, nor does it let me admire the stylized "Ning" engraved on the back, but it does do well what it is supposed to do. Plus, the price is right for the functionality. This puppy has more forms than a transformer-- it swaps from belt clip to wrist lanyard to armband in an easy click. And it comes with a hard shell for the iPod face (in addition to the screen guard) for taking it somewhere it might get mashed or rained upon. I highly recommend this case. I ran three miles with it today and not only did my iPod have NO impact problems during a very intense workout but it also fit MUCH better than my full-coverage neoprene arm band which was both too big for my arm and too clunky.
I'm also glad for the hard shell, because the SECOND accessory I picked up means that I'll be taking my iPod into the great outdoors much more often. I just couldn't resist the camera connector. I've never used the USB cable with my EOS 20D (the card reader is more convenient) but I'm glad I kept it around. Now if I'm on the go and I want to empty a card, all I need is that cable and my iPod with camera connector. The current iPod software doesn't have the ability to display RAW format photos for viewing, an inonvenience I'm sure they'll fix eventually, but it still stores them nicely... making my new iPod in to a 60GB portable drive. Convenient and even smaller than the $500 portable drives available for the same purpose now!
Posted on March 14, 2006 @ 9:24 AM | 4 comments
Comments:
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
I am considering continuing sessions nevertheless, because at a $80 per visit continual rate, two times a month for a few months might be well worth it. Justin has volunteered to assist with the cost, even though I make more than him now, because he knows that even though I can "technically" afford it, I'm too proud to justify the cost. I suppose, however, that it's more worth it to spend the money on the counseling than on material goods or even on savings & loans if I can't be happy enough to enjoy the alternative.
Doctor Ross seemed more than willing to meet my goals for therapy: to have a counselor to validate the difficulties I experience and help me formulate coping mechanisms to deal with them. I was very specific that while I expected her to spend time analyzing the reasons for my anxiety, I didn't want to nitpick because I'm already quite self-aware. I want to focus on productive solutions rather than finding some kind of psychoanalytic "breakthrough"-- I've had too many of those to count.
I also decided not to fill the Rx for Paxil. After thinking about the reasons for my aversions to that drug and reading about others' experiences with side effects and withdrawls, I was seriously turned off. And frankly, I don't want to *doubt* the medications that is supposed to help my mental health. I talked with Dr. Ross and my medical doctor about Lexapro, which my sister is taking. But later I learned that Regence considers it a tier-3 drug, which means they don't cover it at a traditional co-pay but rather at 50% of some stupidly-high cost. There are no generic equivalents, but I was able to get a scrip for Celexa, which is of a similar family, though perhaps more minor in effect.
I am NOT, I repeat NOT taking these drugs to "get better." I want nothing LESS than to be on a medication for the rest of my life. I need something to help me overcome the sensation of anxiety, which ranges from distracting to crippling, that I feel daily. I need something to slow my mind and help me focus on one thing at once. I need a little boost so I can start coping and have the energy to make positive changes. I feel like a failure for resorting to it-- because God knows I'd have liked to have fixed me by myself, but I think it might just work.
Posted on March 13, 2006 @ 9:22 PM | 3 comments
Comments:
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.
Posted on @ 1:42 PM | 8 comments
Comments:
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
I'll be spending the weekend in Portland with my dad and youngest sister visiting my other sister who goes to Lewis and Clark.
:D
Posted on March 10, 2006 @ 6:23 PM | 1 comments
Comments:
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
Looks like 2006 will be the year all the eldest Ortland sisters go on some form of anti-anxiety medications. Blah to poor genetics, crappy learned behavior, and stressful circumstances.
Posted on March 09, 2006 @ 3:29 PM | 5 comments
Comments:
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
Posted on March 08, 2006 @ 7:18 PM | 6 comments
Comments:
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
AND I ACTUALLY WON!
The folks over at Ning.com are having an iPod-a-Day contest that started on the 15th Feb and runs till the 15th of this month. I read about it the day they announced it which was, incidentally, about six days after it started. If you check out the contest page, you'll note that to put yourself prominently in the running, you ought to accrue points. Well, folks, it isn't hard. Ning is looking for new users for a reason-- they want to succeed with their Web 2.0 venture. Ning is a good idea that just hasn't taken off-- they put social applications and mashups in the hands of the masses and people just haven't run with it. Frankly, I wish them the best of luck (they did take second or third place in SEOmoz.org's Web 2.0 awards' "Web Dev & Coding" category-- TBA shortly) and I think the contest is awesome promotional material. But they just don't have the publicity they need.
It wasn't hard for me to see that previous contest winners were not Super Users with a metric fuckton of points... all it took was a bit of nosing around to get myself in the running. And it's fun, too! As I said, Ning.com really ought to have more going for it than a "What's Cutest" application as its most popular feature. So please, for the love of God, people, go check it out. Maybe you'll find it useful-- because it is, if you make it-- and maybe you'll win yourself a nice, shiny, 60GB video iPod like I did.
Update: Looks like Adrienne took my advice to heart and (rapidly) won herself one, too. Nearly statistically impossible, no? Not really, given that she created 5 apps (25 points to the raffle, I created 3) and added a STAGGERING 92 things to the interface (I added... uh... five. What can I say, I'm short on time). I spent maybe an hour using the site. Maybe. And that was just mucking around doing research for my project... Now the rest of you go spend some time, too! MAKE SOMETHING USEFUL!
Posted on March 07, 2006 @ 12:22 PM | 9 comments
Comments:
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
Posted on @ 9:11 AM | 0 comments
Comments:
Posted on March 06, 2006 @ 11:13 PM | 5 comments
Comments:
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