If you have a hatchback, it’s even easier. Lean in, start the car, roll down the windows, walk around to the hatch. I don’t even bother doing more than one open and close anymore.

The pocket depression rectangle is great for distraction noises in a pinch.

Same, that one is completely unrelatable to me. My boyfriend can do it, but we suspect it’s actually dissociation, a trauma response.

Ding ding ding! For me, the thoughts become so pervasive/overwhelming that I either retreat completely, or get lost in the sauce. It’s not uncommon for my spouse to check in on me while I’m on the toilet. “You’ve been in there for an hour.” Zero recollection of time passing, and little to no memory of thoughts. Or I’ll be in the shower, have a stray thought snag a neuron, and who knows how long later I’m still standing there holding the soap, unsure of what I’ve washed already, but shaken because I just mentally experienced a dozen different versions of a traumatic event that hasn’t actually happened. The former is as close as I get to head empty, the latter is everything firing at once in the least productive way possible.

I’ve tried to so many times “clear my mind of thought” as people say to do for meditation, but all the attempts have ever done was leave me more stressed than I was before. My brain does not shut the fuck up. Ever. I’ve been suffering from insomnia as far back as I can recall, all because no matter how tired I am, sometimes my brain just will. not. be. quiet. Everything is a potential stimulus. Any minor sound, the feeling of my bedsheet, even having my partner turn over could remind me of some obscure memory or story or fact, and my brain doesn’t stop, it just changes direction.

Loud and clear. For meditation, I’ve found that guided works better for me. And instead of “clearing my head” (ha), concentrating on abstract visualizations related to the guidance helps. For sleep, I have to break all of the “rules.” Have something to concentrate on like a game, video, or book until I feel like I’m “ready.” (Like dropping the phone or controller.) And then have music playing low to take my attention as I fall asleep. Without it, as you said, any little stimulus is enough to send things into overdrive and undo any sleepiness. Doubly so if the stimulus leads to anxiety.

Also, fuck doctors that won’t listen. And double-fuck those that insist on trying to cram everything into boxes that they’re familiar with, to the exclusion of maybe just MAYBE the person living through the experience has a better read on said experience than you do.

the neighbors will remember this

I honestly do not know why the conservatives demonized Hillary so much

Easy way to move the Overton window.

faint echoes of “I heard that!” in the distance

First hit activated the rocket. The force of the rocket against the wing broke the glue. Next hit activated the rocket again, the hit after that (because I’m a button-mashing casual) knocked the rocket over.

https://youtu.be/Zf5iwGZNY_Q

Buy baggy sweatpants. Some of them will go up to your moobs.

Mordor, probably.

I had a crush on Christine when I was like 7. Pepperidge Farm remembers.

is no longer an audience member for anything Nickelodeon-related

You’re not going to Heaven 
Eat a thousand crackers, sing a million hymns 
None of you are going to Heaven 
You’re not my children, you’re a bad game of Sims

[email protected]

Fr, I can fuckin go to sleep on my meds at times.

I didn’t do much but sleep for two months after getting back on the pharma-go-round after a couple of decades off of it. My psychiatrist refused to take my reports seriously and kept finding other things to blame. (And to be fair, there’s a LOT going on right now.) So I stopped le stimulant… and have had a grand total of two naps in as many weeks. I’m still exhausted all the time, but at least I can stay awake. I’m also not nearly as irritable.

Has anyone seen Frank Bennedetto? He might be able to help with the popcorn sitch. Also, he still owes me five bucks.

I find guided meditation the easiest to follow. The “empty your head” thing I don’t think is possible for me. So let’s say it’s guided audio on deep breathing and a countdown from 20. Breathing in, I imagine the number taking shape. Could be a sports jersey, someone’s upcoming birthday or anniversary, anything associated with the number. Hold the breath, let the number solidify. Exhale, the number fades or gets blown away. Repeat, letting the audio keep me on track. My mind will wander. It’s inconsequential. The audio will either bring me back, or not. I can try again later.

The most important thing is that any form of mediation takes practice. It’s a skill like any other. It’s often suggested in therapeutic settings, usually for grounding etc. But it should be practiced while not in distress for it to be reliably there to lean on for the time you really need it.

Pretty sure they don’t usually do that.

Her opponents:

• Black mayor of a majority-minority lower-income city
• Jewish mayor of a neighboring majority-minority immigrant sanctuary city
• Black/immigrant teacher’s union leader
• Jewish legislator running on rightwing talking points
• White lapdog for the mob boss in the southern part of the state who has been deeply embedded in politics for decades

I would have preferred any of the first three listed, but when people call NJ solidly blue, that blue is on a national level, and leans heavily corporatist/“centrist.”. “White ex-military mom” is about as centrist as it got here, which unfortunately is what flies on the state level. The dem machine is thoroughly corrupt, and progressives don’t get much traction outside of their districts. The solid blue narrative really falls apart once you start getting local. There’s a band of blue that roughly follows population density between NY and Philly, with pockets of red where the pockets are deeper. Parts of the NW and SE are basically Alabama.

The current D governor (a milquetoast investment banker) is the first two-term dem since the 70s, and the second term was by a hair (to the current R nominee). He replaced two-term clown turned national clown Chris Christie.

People like to shit on NJ because of Jersey Shore memes and the areas around NYC being mostly concrete, swamp, and/or industrial. Save it. There’s plenty of real issues to dunk on. If the shade you’re throwing comes from an informed perspective, it’s more effective.

On a side note, I was very wrong about my predictions a few weeks ago. I was convinced that either the lapdog or the DINO was going to win… mostly because of campaign advertising. Sherrill completely ignored my area aside from some preliminary feelers early on. But she had the backing of the machine (which I was not aware of), and, well, here we are.

Can’t speak for the single, but here’s the album:

https://www.discogs.com/release/5137461-Ozzy-Osbourne-Blizzard-Of-Ozz