Thanks for the link!

I don’t mean that no one I know likes nice things; that’s almost universally untrue. Nevertheless, most of my friends (myself included) feel some sense of romance in being young and broke and idealistic. I don’t pretend that most of us think we’ll be broke forever, or that we’d like to be, but for now, we’re generally pretty content to struggle.

I like how English Major talked about the inter-relatedness between what we think and the habits that develop. Personally, I feel like fiscal responsibility and healthy eating are one and the same - they are both “consumption”, and we unconsciously react to stimulus the same way when we buy or eat based on impulse. By the same token, the answer to both unhealthy eating and fiscal irresponsibility (at least for me) was consciously consuming - thinking about my habits in order to change them. I wrote more about this here: http://www.thelifeledger.com/2007/02/06/consumption-is-a-way-of-life/.

Hey, Trent. Long time reader, first time poster. Yours is one of my all-time favorite blogs.

Just a word of warning though for both you and your readers alike. Take it easy on the St. John’s Wort, particularly if your have bi-polar mood swings (up and down feelings of alternating sadness and enervation). When a bi-polar person’s mood swings “up” the anti-depressant effects of St. John’s can tip you over the edge into full blown mania. Mania is not a apathetic, lethargic malaise, but a delusional, paranoid, uninhibited, invincible frenzy. Double. Plus. Un. Good.

Drinking alcohol makes this side-effect worse, alas. People who aren’t bi-polar don’t have this problem at all, but if you do, Google is your friend…

http://www.google.com/search?q=St.+Johns+Wort+Mania&

Also, St. John’s Wort is a MAOI inhibitor, a class of drugs which interact dangerously with other drugs, even common stuff like cough medicine. You’ll see this on the directions/warning labels of other drugs: “Do not take if currently taking an MAOI inhibitor”. St. John’s is one of those, as are most anti-depressants, so be careful.

The reason for caution is that St. John’s Wort takes 3 to 4 WEEKS to metabolize and leave the human body. It’s not like water-soluable vitamins, where you can just drink a bunch of coffee and piss it out. If you (or anybody) starts having manic episodes after taking St. John’s Wort (usually because you have bi-polar disorder and you didn’t know) it will take about a month for the St. Johns Wort to metabolize and exit your system completely. During that month, more manic episodes may occur whenever your mood swings “up” and you’ll just have to ride it out until about a month after you stop taking it completely.

A good home remedy for mania or manic emotions is to take a nap, even you don’t feel tired. (Here’s a hint, manic people don’t feel tired.) If you start feeling excessively excitable, pacing, taking louder than usual, your mind racing, that’s mania. Lay down, take a nap, and it will go away on its own.

Anyway, I hope my comment doesn’t cause you any discomfort. It’s just that we all care about you and don’t want to see new posts like “25 Cheap Ways To Keep The CIA From Reading Your Mind” and “Squirrels: Friends? Or Nature’s Little Spies?” Yours is a rare blog of enlightenment and reason, but you have to keep a clear head to keep it that way!

Thanks for the advice on sore muscles though. Sage, huh? Another good cure for sore muscles (and for energy when you’re moving): Grape Juice + Milk. Orange or any Vitamin C bearing juice works fine, and you can use dry milk too. Tang + Nesquick + Water will work if you’ve already moved the refrigerator. But grape juice is flat out the best: it has resveratol it it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resveratrol

I’ve found that drinking dry milk and grape juice all day when moving or painting the house or the like gives you lots and lots of energy without any sugar crash, headaches or other problems. So long as you’re not lactose intolerant, it should give you all the energy you need, and it’s pretty cheap.

Take it easy.