What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0183

9101.  Do your best to spend at least as much energy expressing your positive feelings as you do the negative ones;

9102.  For any change to happen in your life, you must be wrong about something;

9103.  If you’re sitting there, miserable day after day then that means you’re already wrong about something major in your life and, until you’re able to question yourself to find it, nothing will change;

9104.  Many people are able to ask themselves if they’re wrong, but few are able to go the extra step and admit what it would mean if they were wrong;

9105.  The potential meaning behind our wrongness is often painful.  Not only does it call into question our values, but it forces us to consider what a different, contradictory value could potentially look and feel like;

9106.  Being able to look at and evaluate different values without necessarily adopting them is perhaps the central skill required in changing one’s own life in a meaningful way;

9107.  Would being wrong create a better or a worse problem than my current problem for both myself and others?

9108.  Beliefs are arbitrary; worse yet, they’re often made up after the fact to justify whatever values and metrics we’ve chosen for ourselves;

9109.  If it’s down to me being screwed up or everybody else being screwed up, it is far more likely that I’m the one who’s screwed up;

9110.  If it feels like it’s you versus the world, chances are it’s really just you versus yourself;

9111.  Failure is the way forward;

9112.  Failure itself is a relative concept;

9113.  Making money by itself is a lousy metric for yourself.  You could make plenty of money and be miserable just as you could be broke and be pretty happy;

9114.  Improvement at anything is based on thousands of tiny failures and the magnitude of your success is based on how many times you’ve failed at something;

9115.  If someone is better than you at something then it’s likely because s/he has failed at it more than you have.  If someone is worse than you it’s likely because s/he hasn’t been through all of the painful learning experiences you have;

9116.  We can be truly successful only at something we’re willing to fail at.  If we’re unwilling to fail then we’re unwilling to succeed;

9117.  A lot of this fear of failure comes from having chosen bad values;

9118.  Bad values involve intangible external goals outside of our control;

9119.  Better values are process-oriented;

9120.  If your metric for the value “success by worldly standards” is “buy a house and a nice care” and, you spend 20 years working to achieve it, once it’s achieved the metric has nothing left to give you;

9121.  For many of us, our proudest achievements come in the face of the greatest adversity.  Our pain often makes us stronger, more resilient and more grounded;

9122.  Fear, anxiety and sadness are not necessarily always undesirable or unhelpful states of mind; rather they are often representative of the necessity pain of psychological growth.  And to deny that pain is to deny our own potential;

9123.  Our most radical changes in perspective often happen at the tail end of our worst moments;

9124.  It’s only when we feel intense pain that we’re willing to look at our values and question why they seem to be failing us;

9125.  If you’re stuck on a problem, don’t sit there and think about it; just start working on it.  Even if you don’t know what you’re doing, the simple act of working on it will eventually cause the right ideas to show up in your head;

9126.  Action isn’t just the effect of motivation; it’s also the cause of it;

9127.  Action -> Inspiration -> Motivation;

9128.  When the standard of success becomes merely acting, when any result is regarded as progress and important, when inspiration is seen as a reward rather than a prerequisite, we propel ourselves ahead.  We feel free to fail and that failure moves us forward;

9129.  Attitude isn’t everything, but it is one thing that can make a tremendous difference in your life;

9130.  Your attitude is the paintbrush of your mind;

9131.  You cannot disconnect attitude from reality and expect success;

9132.  Your attitude can’t substitute for competence.  Some people confuse confidence, which is a function of attitude, with competence, which is a function of ability;

9133.  Your attitude can’t substitute for experience;

9134.  Your attitude cannot change the facts;

9135.  If you don’t like something, change it.  If you cannot change it, change your attitude.  Don’t complain;

9136.  Your attitude cannot substitute for personal growth;

9137.  Your attitude will not stay good automatically.  It’s easier to maintain an attitude than it is to regain an attitude;

9138.  Attitude alone isn’t going to cut it.  That doesn’t mean it isn’t really, really important;

9139.  Attitude is a key, powerful ingredient in the recipe for success, fulfillment and purpose;

9140.  While your attitude isn’t everything, it can do a whole lot for you; in many situations, it’s the difference-maker;

9141.  Your attitude makes a difference in your approach to life;

9142.  Your attitude makes a difference in your relationships with people.  It influences how we see others and it determines whether we lift others up or deflate them.  The right attitude allows us to learn from each person we meet, every one of which who has something to teach us;

9143.  Your attitude makes a difference in how you face challenges;

9144.  How do you go about changing your attitude: 1.  Evaluate your present attitude.  Mindfulness and awareness are key to improving an attitude that desperately needs changing; 2.  Have a desire to change.  No choice will determine the success of your attitude change more than desiring to change; 3.  Change your attitude by changing your thoughts.  Attitudes are nothing more than habits of thought; 4.  Manage your attitude daily.  Maintaining the right attitude is easier than regaining it.  As the great John Wooden said, “Things turn out the best for people who make the best of the way things turn out;” and 5.  Take responsibility for your attitude, which is totally in your control.  You can’t control the weather, but you can control the atmosphere of your mind;

9145.  The only way to achieve meaning and a sense of importance in one’s life is through a rejection of alternatives, a narrowing of freedom, a choice of commitment to one place, one belief or one person;

9146.  Travel is a fantastic self-development tool because it extricates you from the values of your culture and shows you that another society can live with entirely different values and still function and not hate themselves.  This exposure to different cultural values and metrics then forces you to reexamine what seems obvious in your own life and to consider that perhaps it’s not necessarily the best way to live;

9147.  We need to reject something otherwise we stand for nothing.  If nothing is better or more desirable than anything else then we are empty and our lives are meaningless.  We are without values and, therefore, live our life without any purpose;

9148.  The avoidance of rejection (both giving and receiving it) is often sold to us as a way to make ourselves feel better.  But avoiding rejection gives us short-term pleasure by making us rudderless and directionless in the long term;

9149.  In order to get a(n) accurate/good reading, you should put more than just the tip of the meat thermometer (probe) in (the meat);

9150.  The act of choosing a value for yourself requires rejecting alternative values;

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9051.  Just because busyness works to keep you distracted that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea;

9052.  Just because you manage to keep scary emotions at bay (by being busy) that doesn’t mean it’s healthy, productive or in your best interest.  It doesn’t even mean it’s easier or less painful;

9053.  You can’t outrun your emotions.  Distraction is at best a temporary relief;

9054.  When we sweep our emotional struggles under the rug with constant busyness, it’s like taking out a loan.  You get a little breathing room for a while, but you’re paying interest.  And the interest rate on emotional loans is far higher than most people realize;

9055.  How many relationships suffer because one person is so busy and preoccupied that s/he can’t be truly present and available for her/his partner?

9056.  How many physical ailments are made worse by the wear and tear and constant stress that comes from always being busy?

9057.  How many genuinely exciting and interesting experiences are given up because we’re too afraid of giving up control over our tightly managed schedules that prevents any alone time with our own thoughts and feelings?

9058.  The real tragedy for people, who get in the habit of using busyness to distract themselves from their own thoughts and feelings, is they miss out on life;

9059.  People preoccupied with busyness spend their entire lives playing defense against an imaginary opponent; the opportunity cost of which is that they have no time or energy to play offense and really go after the things they truly love;

9060.  Your mind is not as scary a place as you imagine it to be.  Yes, it contains frightening thoughts and difficult feelings, but you’re underestimating your capacity to deal with those difficulties head one;

9061.  Many of us are in the habit of using overly intellectual ways to describe how we feel as a defense mechanism;

9062.  You have to be vulnerable to describe how you feel with plain emotional language.  And because most of us are afraid to be vulnerable with our feelings, we subtly avoid it by intellectualizing how we feel (e.g., transforming our emotions into ideas because ideas hurt less);

9063.  When we avoid our emotions, even with the language we use to describe them, we signal to our brains that those emotions are not just painful, but dangerous which means we train our brains to be afraid of being emotional;

9064.  By avoiding being vulnerable about how we actually feel, we make it hard for other people to help and support us because we’re hiding and obscuring how we feel;

9065.  The next time you’re experiencing painful emotions and someone asks you how you’re doing, think about it like this: What would an 8-year-old kid say?  How would they describe how they feel?

9066.  When we observe ourselves feeling bad and then judge ourselves as bad, weak or immoral for feeling that way, we add a second layer of painful emotion on top of the difficult feelings we were already feeling;

9067.  Pain is inevitable.  Suffering is optional;

9068.  When you operate under the assumption that every painful emotional experience is bad, you get yourself into all sorts of unconscious habits designed to get rid of those painful feelings.  Trying to avoid or get rid of your feelings is a losing battle.  You’re only increasing their frequency and intensity in the long-run;

9069.  If you want to develop a happier, healthier relationship with your emotions, remind yourself that just because a particular feeling feels bad that doesn’t mean it is bad or that you experiencing it is a bad sign;

9070.  Learn to accept your emotions even the painful ones.  You’ll still feel the pain, but you’ll save yourself a lot of suffering;

9071.  It’s ironic that so many of us are compassionate, understanding and gentle when faced with other people’s difficulties and emotional struggles, but, when faced with our own painful emotions, we tend to be judgmental, intolerant and harsh with ourselves when we’re struggling;

9072.  We’re (pretty) mean to ourselves at precisely the moments when we should be kind;

9073.  Your self-talk is largely a learned habit generally picked up from parents or caregivers early in life and then reinforced via friends and ourselves as we get older;

9074.  How we talk to ourselves is a habit nothing more nothing less;

9075.  If you’re in the habit of talking to yourself in a harsh, judgmental way (especially during times of emotional pain), you’re going to be fueling the flames and increasing your suffering;

9076.  Decades of psychological research has confirmed, how we feel emotionally is mediated by how we think and interpret the world around us.  How we habitually think (and talk) determines how we habitually feel;

9077.  A(n obvious) sign that your relationship with your emotions needs work is if your inner narrator is a jerk;

9078.  Realize that no matter what kinds of self-talk you’ve built up over the years, with practice, they’re changeable;

9079.  You can learn to be more compassionate and gentle in the way you talk to yourself and especially the way you talk to yourself about the way you feel;

9080.  When we’re upset, we need our inner voice to be a friend not a bully;

9081.  Another hallmark of an unhealthy relationship with your emotions is that you lack confidence in your ability to manage difficult emotions on your own;

9082.  While reassurance feels good temporarily (because it alleviates some painful emotion like anxiety or guilt), it easily slips into a vicious cycle of ever lower and lower confidence in one’s own ability to tolerate and manage difficult feelings and uncertainties;

9083.  Like most addictions, reassurance-seeking is a trade-off of our long-term happiness and health for short-term comfort and ease;

9084.  Instead of instantly calling your daughter/son to see if s/he made it home after her/his flight, wait 15 minutes and prove to yourself that you can live with your anxiety instead of instantly alleviating it with reassurance;

9085.  Rather than peppering your partner with questions about how s/he feels (in order to alleviate your anxiety), give her/him some space trusting that s/he will come to you if that’s what s/he wants or needs;

9086.  If you’re in the habit of putting things off in order to escape some unpleasant emotion(, the fear of disappointment is a common one,) it could indicate that you’re not very good at managing difficult emotions and doing what needs to be done anyway;

9087.  Motivation and confidence are feelings that result from doing worthwhile things.  They’re an effect not a prerequisite;

9088.  It’s possible to do difficult things while feeling anxious, embarrassed, angry or whatever;

9089.  Feeling good is nice, but it’s not a requirement for taking action;

9090.  You don’t need to eliminate painful emotions in order to live your life.  It’s only through living your life alongside all of your emotions that you learn to manage them effectively;

9091.  No matter how severe the emotional struggles, a person with a clear sense of values and desires tends to be quite successful overcoming his/her struggles.  It’s as if having a clear sense of your values and knowing what you want makes it a lot easier to work through any sort of challenge including emotional ones;

9092.  Not knowing what’s really important to you in life is a major emotional liability;

9093.  When your whole way of being in the world is oriented around not feeling bad and staying safe, identifying what you really want and pursuing it with energy and passion is a frighteningly foreign concept;

9094.  If you have a hard time identifying what’s really important to you (e.g., what your goals, dreams or passions are), it could be that it’s your relationship with your emotions that’s to blame;

9095.  If (on a basic level) your life revolves around avoiding emotional discomfort and staying safe from emotional pain, you wouldn’t have developed the “muscle” required to take life by the horns and really chase after what you want despite how you feel;

9096.  In order to develop this “muscle” for identifying and chasing after what you really want (e.g., for making a life and not just floating through it), you need a healthier relationship with your emotions especially the painful ones;

9097.  You’re never going to find the courage to do difficult but rewarding things if you’re terrified of anxiety or embarrassment;

9098.  You’re never going to reap the benefits of big risks if you assume you must feel confident beforehand;

9099.  If you’ve got that nagging sense that there must be more to life, figuring that out just might come down to cultivating a different relationship with your emotions;

9100.  By letting the tears flow, you are letting out what hurts while making more room in your heart for positive thoughts and feelings.  Expressing your pain is actually a good way to make it stop;

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9001.  Be careful when you open your oven (door).  You can get scalded by the steam coming out;

9002.  Health-promoting molecules are produced in abundance by stressed plants; we get resveratrol from grapes, aspirin from willow bark, metformin from lilacs, epigallocatechin gallate from green tea, quercetin from fruits and allicin from garlic;

9003.  Look for plants and foods made from plants that have been raised under less-than-ideal conditions, organic, small farm-raised or from our own backyard;

9004.  When plants are stressed, they often add extra color to their stems or leaves.  For example, when a plant or a fruit is exposed to too much light, you may have noticed it produces extra red, blue or purple pigments.  These are anthocyanins and they are produced not only by radiation damage, but drought, adverse temperatures, nutrient restriction, pathogens and wounding;

9005.  Pinot noir (wine) grapes have the highest resveratrol content because they are so stress-sensitive;

9006.  A (typical) meal should consist of: A)  1-2 palm-sized portions of protein; B)  1-2 fist-sized portions of vegetables; C)  1-2 thumb-sized portions of healthy fats; and D)  1-2 cupped-handful portions of carbohydrates can be added as needed (i.e., not every meal) depending on activity levels, goals and body type;

9007.  Boundaries are not a form of rejection;

9008.  We shouldn’t hide/downplay our success;

9009.  Taking responsibility isn’t the same as self-blame;

9010.  Our happiness isn’t dependent on others;

9011.  Self-abandonment isn’t how we show love;

9012.  We shouldn’t apologize for the things that aren’t our fault;

9013.  Internal validation is more important than external validation;

9014.  Our mistakes don’t define us;

9015.  People don’t have to acknowledge our emotions for them to be valid;

9016.  Our worth doesn’t come from our output;

9017.  It’s okay to change our minds;

9018.  Being vulnerable isn’t a weakness;

9019.  We don’t need to be happy all of the time;

9020.  (I can say) I’ve made duck a l’orange (with duck fat-mashed potatoes & arugula almond salad);

9021.  Hello Fresh (meal kits) is/are pretty good . . . and easy to make;

9022.  Getting a blowjob while cooking/making dinner . . . check;

9023.  (I can say) I’ve made teriyaki pork chops (with sesame scallion rice & ginger-scented carrots);

9024.  Using a/n (wood) angled turner as a paddle . . . check . . . using a wooden spoon as a sex toy . . . (double) check;

9025.  The $3.00 buffalo chicken tacos during Happy Hour at (Joe) Theismann’s (Restaurant) are pretty tasty;

9026.  Bad chapters can still create great stories.  Wrong paths can still lead to right places.  Failed dreams can still create successful people.  Sometimes it takes losing yourself to find yourself;

9027.  In the long history of humankind, those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed;

9028.  When you get close to getting what you want, the resistance grows strongest;

9029.  The last yard is the hardest.  It’s okay to ask for help.  It’s okay if you’re not ready.  It’s okay if you want to give up, but it’s not okay to give up;

9030.  Hard is not a reason to stop.  Let the resistance be your guide.  Feel it.  Accept it.  Then move through it.  It’s not easy, but it’s worth it;

9031.  If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one;

9032.  What’s done is done.  Accept that you can’t change events of the past (although you can learn from them) and stop wondering “what if;”

9033.  Accept who you are and use all of what you know to propel yourself forward rather than focusing exclusively on goal attainment;

9034.  The solution for (the) “F(ear )O(f )M(issing )O(ut)” is being truly present, noticing everything and everyone around you – the big picture, the little pictures and all the tiny details that contribute to the moments that make up the here and now;

9035.  (The truth is that) other people’s disappointment (or pleasure) has very little to do with you;

9036.  The remedy for (the) “F(ear )O(f )D(isappointing )O(thers)” is setting boundaries;

9037.  People will often push boundaries, but there’s always one person who can set and honor your boundaries: You;

9038.  If you are unsure about trusting yourself, it will be almost impossible to remedy “FOMO” or “FODO” because staying present is hard and creating/enforcing your own boundaries will be very challenging;

9039.  If you are running on auto-pilot and constantly reacting to life’s demands, you may have lost track of who you are and what’s important to you.  The only way to trust yourself is to listen to your heart;

9040.  Try to turn every disaster into an opportunity;

9041.  People don’t respond to what you say or do; people respond to how you make them feel.  And one of the best ways to make someone feel connected with you is to make them feel understood and listened to;

9042.  We assume that because an emotion feels bad, it is bad;

9043.  Once you’ve labelled a whole class of emotions as “bad” or “negative,” you’re training your brain to view those emotions as threats and dangers to be eliminated or avoided at all costs;

9044.  The belief that emotions are dangerous and to be avoided is usually what causes serious emotional suffering in the first place;

9045.  Criticizing yourself for feeling sad is a great way to make yourself depressed;

9046.  Worrying about getting anxious is a great way to bring on a panic attack or chronic anxiety;

9047.  Judging yourself for feeling angry is a great way to feel perpetually ashamed and guilty;

9048.  When you treat your emotions like enemies, that’s what they’ll start to feel like;

9049.  Whatever your baseline preference for activity and movement, being constantly busy (e.g., always preoccupied with one thing or another and never really being present in the moment) is often a sign of a conflicted relationship with your emotions;

9050.  We use busyness as a distraction from painful feelings;

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8951.  If you really want to make an impact and move forward on your journey to significance, you have to go beyond yourself; you have to step outside yourself;

8952.  If you are struggling, stop feeling sorry for yourself and go out and help someone.  Add value to the world.  Turn your moping into mentoring and help someone climb the ladder in your world.  The best thing you can do for yourself is to make everyone around you better;

8953.  A reference is analogous art (to the claimed invention) if: (1) the reference is from the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention (even if it addresses a different problem); or (2) the reference is reasonably pertinent to the problem faced by the inventor (even if it is not in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention);

8954.  Whatever you’re not changing, you’re choosing;

8955.  The root of joy is gratefulness.  It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful;

8956.  You should photograph people either at the beginning of the day or at the end (of the day).  Photographers calls this “the golden hour;”

8957.  The worst time to photograph anyone is (in) the middle of the day.  Between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM, the sun is very high and directly above you (in the sky) so you’re going to get shadows under people’s eyes and you’re going to get lots of “hot spots” (i.e., areas of a photo that are significantly brighter than the rest) especially if s/he is wearing spring clothing, which tend to be pastel and light colors;

8958.  (In photographs,) stripes or intricate designs (on clothing) may not translate well digitally;

8959.  In photographs, try to wear solid colors or a pattern that’s not too busy;

8960.  In photographs, avoid white shirts.  They tend to be too bright and they create “hot spots;”

8961.  First, try.  Don’t not try out of fear of failure.  The next try, whether you “win” or you “learn,” may be the gateway to success;

8962.  I can accept failure.  Everyone fails at something.  But I can’t accept not trying;

8963.  There’s a huge difference between the statements “I failed” and “I am a failure;”

8964.  My blood is pretty worthless, but my plasma is gold;

8965.  “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

Oh divine master, grant that I may not seek so much to be consoled as to console.

To be understood, as to understand.

To be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

It is dying to self that we are born to eternal life;”

8966.  There’s no need to buy simple syrup.  To make it, use equal parts water and granulated sugar.  There’s no need to heat the mixture just stir until the sugar dissolves;

8967.  Don’t use room-temperature mixers when making a chilled cocktail.  Properly chilled carbonated mixers will better hold bubbles and lower the temperature of the drink to an optimal level.  The ice will melt more slowly minimizing dilution and maximizing enjoyment as you sip;

8968.  “Tate’s Bake Shop” walnut, chocolate chip cookies are (really) tasty;

8969.  Growth is an endlessly iterative process.  When we learn something new, we don’t go from “wrong” to “right.”  Rather we go from wrong to slightly less wrong.  We are always in the process of approaching truth and perfection without actually ever reaching truth or perfection;

8970.  We shouldn’t seek to find the ultimate “right” answer for ourselves, but rather we should seek to chip away at the ways that we’re wrong today so that we can be a little less wrong tomorrow;

8971.  Certainty is the enemy of growth.  Nothing is for certain until it has already happened and even then it’s still debatable.  That’s why accepting the inevitable imperfections of our lives is necessary for any growth to take place;

8972.  Instead of striving for certainty, we should be in constant search of doubt: doubt about our own beliefs, doubt about our own feelings and doubt about what the future may hold for us unless we get out there and create it for ourselves.  Instead of looking to be right all of the time, we should be looking for how we’re wrong all the time because we are;

8973.  Being wrong opens us up to the possibility of change.  Being wrong brings the opportunity for growth;

8974.  We don’t actually know what a positive or negative experience is.  Some of the most difficult and stressful moments of our lives also end up being the most formative and motivating.  Some of the best and most gratifying experiences of our lives are also the most distracting and demotivating.  Don’t trust your conception of positive/negative experiences.  All that we know for certain is what hurts in the moment and what doesn’t;

8975.  Most of what we come to “know” and believe is the product of the innate inaccuracies and biases present in our brains.  Many or even most of our values are products of events that are not representative of the world at large or are the result of a totally conceived past;

8976.  It was assumed that people did bad things because they felt horrible about themselves.  This is often not true.  In fact, it was usually the opposite.  Some of the worst criminals felt pretty good about themselves.  And it was this feeling good about themselves in spite of the reality around them that gave them the sense of justification for hurting and disrespecting others;

8977.  For individuals to feel justified in doing horrible things to other people, they must feel an unwavering certainty in their own righteousness, in their own beliefs and deservedness;

8978.  Evil people never believe that they are evil; rather they believe that everyone else is evil;

8979.  Not only is certainty unattainable, but the pursuit of certainty often breeds more (and worse) insecurity;

8980.  The more you embrace being uncertain and not knowing, the more comfortable you will feel in knowing what you don’t know;

8981.  Uncertainty removes our judgments of others;

8982.  Uncertainty relieves us of our judgment of ourselves;

8983.  Parkinson’s Law: Work expands so as to fill up the time available for its completion;

8984.  Manson’s Law of Avoidance: The more something threatens your identify, the more you will avoid it;

8985.  Manson’s Law applies to both good and bad things in life;

8986.  We all have values for ourselves.  We protect these values.  We try to live up to them and we justify them and maintain them.  Even if we don’t mean to that’s how our brains are wired.  We’re unfairly biased toward what we already know, what we believe to be certain;

8987.  Until we change how we view ourselves, what we believe we are and are not, we cannot overcome our avoidance and anxiety.  We cannot change;

8988.  Buddhism argues that your idea of who “you” are is an arbitrary mental construction and that you should let go of the idea that “you” exist at all; that the arbitrary metrics by which you define yourself actually trap you and, thus, you’re better off letting go of everything;

8989.  When we let go of the stories we tell about ourselves, to ourselves, we free ourselves up to actually act (and fail) and grow;

8990.  There is little that is unique or special about your problems;

8991.  The narrower and rarer the identity you choose for yourself, the more everything will seem to threaten you.  For that reason, define yourself in the simplest and most ordinary ways possible.  This often means giving up some grandiose ideas about yourself: that you’re uniquely intelligent, spectacularly talented, intimidatingly attractive or especially victimized in ways other people could never imagine.  This means giving up your sense of entitlement and your belief that you’re somehow owed something by this world.  This means giving up the supply of emotional highs that you’ve been sustaining yourself on for years;

8992.  Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being.  With freedom comes responsibility.  For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect;

8993.  After LSD . . . check;

8994.  Papa John’s “Shaq-a-Roni” pizza is (pretty) tasty;

8995.  (Adding) orange juice to/in (black) tea is (actually) all right;

8996.  Chances are you wouldn’t put up with anyone else talking to you the way you talk to yourself;

8997.  Popeyes’s chicken sandwich is (pretty) good, but I still like Chick-fil-A’s (chicken sandwich) more;

8998.  Hope is not a strategy.  Luck is not a factor.  Fear is not an option;

8999.  The reduced-fat turkey bacon and cage-free egg white sandwich (without cheese) at Starbucks is (pretty) tasty;

9000.  Would you love you if you met you?