What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0172

8551.  Avoid buying jewelry in big-name stores or at the mall;

8552.  Consider buying diamonds from a good online source (where they are certified by a gemologist);

8553.  Gemstones other than diamonds are becoming more popular in wedding rings so that’s an option;

8554.  The cost of movie popcorn is inflated by a ridiculous 1,000%;

8555.  Theater popcorn is chock-full of chemicals and additives that are bad for you, but taste oh-so-good;

8556.  There is a clear difference between accepting something and agreeing or approving of the way in which it is proceeding;

8557.  If you find yourself in a situation with a trigger that you simply cannot abide and your only option seems to be having a panic or anxiety attack then you may find it useful to distract yourself with alternative stimuli in order to short circuit the attack and help yourself self-correct;

8558.  The specifics of what you do to take yourself out of the moment doesn’t matter as along as it serves to take your mind off of the negative emotion that is threatening to spill out;

8559.  Before your next (panic or anxiety) attack hits, consider a variety of activities that you could have on hand that will require your full concentration to complete successfully.  Focusing your concentration away from the inciting issue will help to make whatever your issue is that much more manageable;

8560.  Helping others is a great way to get your mind off of the issue that is causing the problems.  While not always available, you may find that community service makes it easier to put your problems into perspective overall;

8561.  Regardless of how you feel about your current situation, it is likely that you have made it through worse in the past and have lived to tell the tale.  As long as you can find a positive variation of the situation in question then whatever you are facing at the moment should suddenly feel that much more manageable;

8562.  While not applicable in every situation, if you can find a way to force yourself to feel an emotion that is opposite of whatever emotion the situation is causing you to feel, you can cancel out the panic or anxiety attack with ease;

8563.  If you are familiar with mindfulness meditation then you are familiar with the concept of perceiving thoughts without interacting with them is a great way to show your negative thoughts the door;

8564.  If you feel your thoughts starting to take over, you may find it helpful to count backwards from 100 or recite something you have memorized for just such an occasion.  If you can ensure you keep control of your thoughts then you can be sure they won’t be taken over by emotions;

8565.  It is important to always remember that having thoughts of all types is perfectly normal; the thing that matters most is the way in which you react to them.  If you force yourself to refrain from making negative judgments about yourself when these negative thoughts do appear, you will find that they are much easier to dismiss out of hand;

8566.  To get profit without risk, experience without danger and reward without work is as impossible as it is to live without being born;

8567.  (It’s official,) I don’t have a milk allergy;

8568.  Family does not mean a consistent sacrifice in your mental or emotional well-being;

8569.  You heal by releasing not by suppressing;

8570.  The caterpillar grows wings during a season of isolation.  Remember that the next time you’re alone;

8571.  You can have it all, but, if your soul is not nurtured, you will feel empty even at the most extravagant celebration;

8572.  The rich invest their money and spend what is left over.  The poor spend their money and invest what is left over;

8573.  Apparently, deadbolt keys are longer than other keys;

8574.  Everyone uses the same basic eye patterns when it comes to remembering trauma, either real or imagined, which means that by changing the movements of the eyes during this period the intensity of the experience in question can change as well;

8575.  Elizabeth likes lilies;

8576.  Apparently, fragrant lilies are more expensive;

8577.  Elizabeth’s favorite color is cobalt blue;

8578.  Blowing your load onto her breasts and/or neck . . . check;

8579.  Ideas are cheap execution is valuable;

8580.  Getting married isn't a goal, but being married is;

8581.  Being vulnerable opens relationships to possibility;

8582.  “Maybes” are usually procrastinated “no’s;”

8583.  “This too shall pass;”

8584.  Nothing and no feeling is permanent.  As night changes to day so moments of joy and despair replace each other.  Accept them as the nature of things; as part of life;

8585.  You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose;

8586.  Using food as a source of comfort is something most people struggle with at some point in their lives;

8587.  Be aware of your “trigger” times.  The most common emotional eating times are after work, mid to late afternoon and after 8:00 PM;

8588.  During periods of stress, trigger times, strong cravings or emotions, stop and ask yourself before you reach for food: Am I hungry?  Am I angry?  Am I lonely?  Am I tired?  If you feel angry, lonely or tired, acknowledge these without judgment.  Being angry, lonely and/or tired are some of the most common non-hunger related food triggers;

8589.  Physical hunger hits below the neck, builds gradually, is easily satisfied and energizes you;

8590.  Emotional hunger hits above the neck, has a sudden onset, is not easily satisfied and leaves us feeling tired, sluggish and sometimes guilty;

8591.  If you’re unsure what kind of hunger you’re experiencing, ask yourself where you feel it in your body and eat a healthy snack or a small portion of the food you crave.  Note what happens 15-20 minutes after.  If you feel satisfied, you are likely experiencing physical hunger.  If the craving strengthens or now you want something else, it may be emotion related;

8592.  Angry?  Work towards a resolution of the issue by calmly addressing it.  If this is not possible or you aren’t ready, express yourself in another way.  Run, do jumping jacks, climb stairs or get on a bicycle or elliptical.  Find a way to regain control of your heart rate through activity.  Need to settle down?  Paint, write or use another relaxation practice.  Attempting to regulate this emotion with an endorphin release from food not only fails to resolve the problem, but can compound it by later causing increased feelings of guilt and, in some cases, more anger;

8593.  Dost thou love life?  Then do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of;

8594.  Be mindful of the tendency to overemphasize the negative while overlooking the positive;

8595.  Negative thinking stops us from seeing and experiencing positive outcomes even when they happen often.  It’s a mental block that filters out all of the positive and only letting in the negative;

8596.  Try not to focus on extremes.  We have a tendency to want to see things in black and white, all or nothing.  And, most of the time, we view anything less than perfect as being extremely bad.  The truth is there’s a lot of grey area in between and just because something isn’t perfect doesn’t mean it’s a failure or a worst-case scenario;

8597.  Stop seeking negative signs from others.  We are often hasty to jump to negative conclusions especially when it comes to interpreting signs and communications (or lack thereof) from others;

8598.  Jumping to negative conclusions causes us unnecessary worry, pain, frustration and stress;

8599.  We can’t assume anything about others especially what they’re doing or thinking;

8600.  Identify underlying triggers to negative self-talk.  To change the way you think, you have to be mindful of your thoughts.  Instead of ignoring negative self-talk or blindly being a slave to it, pay closer attention to it and document it.  Write down the thoughts, when they come to you and identify what triggered them;

What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0171

8501.  We first make our habits and then our habits make us;

8502.  Pain doesn’t tell you when you ought to stop.  Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue you will change;

8503.  The fear of death is the fear of time.  And the fear of time, deep down, is the fear of unlived moments of an unlived life.  So what to do?  Live more and more intensely.  Live dangerously.  It is your life.  Don’t sacrifice it for any sort of foolishness that has been taught to you.  Don’t sacrifice it for words, theories, countries or politics.  Don’t sacrifice it for anybody.  Live it;

8504.  When you can’t control what’s happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what’s happening.  That’s where the power is;

8505.  Ben Rector’s voice sounds (to me) like a combination of Peter Cetera and Bruce Hornsby;

8506.  As I let go of the need to arrange my life, the universe brings abundant good to me;

8507.  Our struggles in life develop our strengths;

8508.  Without struggles we never grow and never get stronger so it’s important for us to tackle challenges on our own;

8509.  Our flaws are not the reasons that make us unhappy or feel insecure, it’s the way we judge ourselves;

8510.  It’s our internal dialog that drags us down emotionally and dictates our life decisions;

8511.  2 step process to change the way you judge yourself: 1.  Accept how you feel and remind yourself that nobody is perfect.  Example: I feel insecure about being fat.  That’s okay; everyone is dealing with their own insecurities.  I am not the only one; and 2.  View your insecurities with a sense of humor.  Example: Damn, I haven’t seen my penis in so long, I’m starting to feel like Caitlyn Jenner.  Who cares?  I am not fat; I have just been bulking up for the past 15 years;

8512.  Once you accept how you feel you can start to relax;

8513.  Learn to not identify with your negative thoughts;

8514.  Learn to be free from judgment;

8515.  From a place of nonjudgment, learn to view things with a sense of humor;

8516.  If you need energy for (some) late night puzzling, try (listening to) some EDM (specifically Gareth Emery);

8517.  Chocolate martinis (i.e., 1.5 oz.  Godiva milk chocolate liqueur and 1.5 oz. Absolut Vanilia) can be dangerous;

8518.  The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have;

8519.  Mezcal is not a fancy version of tequila; it’s the other way around.  Tequila is (in fact) one style of mescal;

8520.  Tequila is made only from the blue agave plant (i.e., Agave tequilana), while mezcal can be made from one of more than 30 different agave species;

8521.  According to Mexican law, the spirit labeled “tequila” can be made only in the area surrounding the city of Tequila and in the Jalisco Highlands (both in the central-western state of Jalisco);

8522.  Mezcal comes primarily from the state of Oaxaca, but it is made in numerous other states in Mexico

8523.  Tequila is generally made on an industrial scale, while mezcal is mostly made by small-scale producers in facilities known as fábricas or palenques;

8524.  There is much greater diversity in the flavor and character of mezcal, depending on the species of agave used, the soil upon which it is grown and the details of its production method;

8525.  Each agave plant can take up to 30 years to fully mature before harvest;

8526.  Agave used to make tequila is processed in steam ovens;

8527.  Mezcal is made by burying as many as 100 piñas (i.e., agave hearts) for a few days to a week in a giant charcoal or wood-fired pit oven, which accounts for its smoky aroma;

8528.  Whether for tequila or mezcal, the cooked piñas are mashed to a pulp, transferred to large vats or barrels with water and allowed to ferment for anywhere from 4 to 10 days;

8529.  The alcohol that forms from fermenting cooked piñas is distilled 2 or 3 times until it reaches the desired concentration;

8530.  Tequila is typically distilled in copper kettles;

8531.  Some mezcals are first distilled in clay jugs (en barro), which can give them a mineral-y, astringent quality;

8532.  There are more than 300 known compounds found in both tequila and mezcal including complex alcohols, methanol, esters, aldehydes, terpenes and furans, each of which contributes to the character of the particular spirit in question, providing it with fruity, smoky, cocoa, herbal, floral, malty or woody flavors and aromas.  Some of these molecules are present in the agave itself, while others form only during cooking or fermentation;

8533.  Agave syrup is a sweetener made from several species of agave including blue agave;

8534.   Agave syrup is made much like tequila and mezcal though the inulin-rich juice is typically extracted from the piña before being cooked to convert its sugars into fructose;

8535.  Agave syrup is 1.5 times sweeter than sugar;

8536.  “Amber” versions of agave syrup has a pleasant, caramelized flavor;

8537.  Agave nectar ranges in color from pale gold to amber depending on the amount of filtration during processing;

8538.  Lighter agave nectar has a relatively neutral flavor, while darker nectar has a caramel-like taste;

8539.  Agave contains 2.9 calories per gram compared to sugar’s 4 calories per gram;

8540.  You can use 2/3 cup agave nectar for every cup of sugar;

8541.  When substituting agave nectar for sugar in baking, you should reduce the liquid content of recipes by 1 ounce per 2/3 cup of agave used, drop the oven temperature by 25 degrees and up the baking time by 6 percent;

8542.  Use agave for sweetening drinks, but don’t use it for baking;

8543.  It is easy to forget that everyone is running his/her own race and that you only have to keep up with your own pace;

8544.  Knowing you need to make a change is not enough.  You’ve got to find the guts to do it;

8545.  Name-brand printer ink is marked up by 300%;

8546.  A quick search reveals that off-brand printer ink can be purchased for 50% less than name-brand (ink).  Read the reviews before purchasing, but most off-brand (printer) ink is just as good as its more expensive counterpart;

8547.  Coffee at your favorite shop comes with a 300% markup and that’s not including whatever you tip your barista;

8548.  When you make your coffee at home you’re spending $.25-$.50 cents a cup (depending on what you add to it);

8549.  You can expect at least a 300-400% markup on jewelry (especially diamonds) often even higher.  And you might not even be getting the quality you think you’re paying for;

8550.  Jewelry stores will often run 50-75% off “sales” on their goods and they’re still making a nice profit.  Not only that, but many big-name jewelry stores are selling inferior diamonds that were purchased from socially and environmentally unsafe sources;