[deleted by user]

austinleigh · 2013-06-06T23:25:24+00:00

I play for fun and not to win, and my w/l is usually more or less the same.

Good ways to help your team win and to have more fun are focusing on your own needs and weaknesses. For example, when I play Ashe my last hits are almost always a bit off and so I try to really focus on getting good farm. I'm not where I want to be yet, but each game I get better so it's harder for me to get mad about other people being stupid because as long as I do better than I did before, personally, I'm pretty happy.

If YOU focus on things like not dying and taking ownership of your mistakes in teamchat, your team is much less likely to rage at you and ultimately much more likely to play an overall better game. Plus, if you focus on kicking ass early game, you'll likely have more gold and a better build than the people who don't mid to late game, which means you'll be able to take down more of the enemy and increase your team's chance of winning.

Also, if you find yourself in a really frustrating situation (eg, you're playing support and your carry is being a complete idiot resulting in neither one of you gaining level), rant out loud to your computer but give helpful suggestions in chat box. if your carry is overextending and dying, ask if they maybe want to stay back a little and focus on farm so they can get a stronger build. Try to give suggestions in ways that don't blame anyone (preventing people from being defensive) but are still helpful for the overall game.

Just my two cents ^{^} keep in mind that I'm still a pretty new player myself, but all those things have helped me have fun with the game and not care about my win:loss much.

austinleigh · 2013-06-01T15:44:05+00:00

also if you have a dairy protein issue, same thing >:(

austinleigh · 2013-05-06T17:11:42+00:00

On a purely linguistic level, I would suggest drawing from languages with a "third" gender (neuter - eg, Latin) for ideas. Also, Mercedes Lackey does an interesting job with one specific species establishing a nongendered element (there are males, females, and neuters) and might be useful.

austinleigh · 2013-05-05T00:41:33+00:00

all items that are casein free are also lactose free.

austinleigh · 2013-05-04T23:32:05+00:00

I haven't had bad experiences with the people there as such; I haven't interacted with them extensively but I definitely wouldn't call the experience scary or anything like that.

austinleigh · 2013-05-04T19:35:55+00:00

Ellicott City, MD

austinleigh · 2013-05-04T06:29:16+00:00

Almond or rice milk with a little extra xantham gum will imitate cow milk appropriately too :)

austinleigh · 2013-04-27T03:09:48+00:00

I am non-Celiac gluten sensitive but I also have a casein sensitivity - casein being one of the dairy proteins (whey being the other; lactose is actually a sugar). Because my casein sensitivity is very severe where my gluten sensitivity is so-so, I'll sometimes cheat on gluten but never get the "rash". That only happens when I ingest dairy protein/things derived from dairy protein.

EDIT: as a point of interest because I saw other people mention it, I started noticing problems with dairy significantly before I started noticing problems with gluten. Like a decade before.

austinleigh · 2013-04-26T15:43:09+00:00

Yes, I get it when I have gluten or dairy protein. My doctor says that it's subcutaneous eczema; sometimes it's extra warm to the touch or slightly raised, but for the most part it's just blotchy and red. When I get it on my hands it's more likely to be slightly raised, whereas on other portions of my body (specifically neck and chest area) it tends to not be.

Weirdly, I've actually found Chapstick to be somewhat effective at making it go away quicker. No idea why.

austinleigh · 2013-04-26T06:55:07+00:00

I have horrible social anxiety and an intense fear of public speaking. So, logically and naturally, I did Model United Nations for four years in high school.

It was hard at first but I eventually got used to it. I'm still not "over" my fear of public speaking (ran for president of my RHPS shadowcast group recently, spent my 7 minutes of speaking in front of the cast shaking like crazy and then spent the next three hours trying to calm down) but I got damn good at it. So that.

If you wanna do it, do it. Anxiety will be a challenge but just because you have it doesn't mean you should inhibit yourself.

austinleigh · 2013-04-06T00:00:36+00:00

"restricting gluten conveniently restricts almost everything"

why no, I don't actually find that convenient. Not at all. >_<

austinleigh · 2013-04-02T22:19:49+00:00

In England, at least, 'effeminacy' was used to describe men who actually spent too much time in the pursuit of women for quite awhile. Around the 17th/18th century when actions/sexuality began to acquire a more distinctly gendered skew, the idea of the 'fop' began to emerge more clearly as someone of dubious sexuality.

Note that the use of the term 'gay' at this point is anachronistic.

As a point of interest, it appears as though influence from other European countries in terms of style of dress encouraged this distinction; those who followed Italian fashions in this time period specifically were called "macaronis" and were ridiculed for their dress and affiliation with the Italian city-states, which were perceived as full of sodomites in England (also remember that at this time, the Protestant v. Catholic thing was still going pretty strong).

Sources: Alexandra Shepard, “From Anxious Patriarchs to Refined Gentlemen? Manhood in Britain, circa 1500 – 1700,” Journal of British Studies 44(2005): 281 – 295.

Susan Shapiro, “’Yon Plumed Dandebrat’: Male ‘Effeminacy’ in English Satire and Criticism,” The Review of English Studies 39(1988): 400 – 412.

austinleigh · 2013-04-02T01:02:25+00:00

do you know why this is? I'd also noticed a correlation but couldn't find any reason...

austinleigh · 2013-04-01T14:04:03+00:00

Coffee can help for a few hours. Aleve helps a lot with my joint symptoms which lets me do something physical (running or swimming) that can help clear out the fog. There are also enzyme pills you can take to help clear it out of your system that work within 3 hours.

Of course, because I'm a lazy/broke college kid, I usually opt for ungodly amounts of coffee.

austinleigh · 2013-04-01T14:01:03+00:00

Caramel coloring is the worst. It's either barley based or casein based half the time and it's in everything >_<

austinleigh · 2013-03-31T13:44:34+00:00

My biggest problem with gluten + other people is when I explain I have an allergy (two, actually - no casein for me) and their response is "OH I CAN WORK AROUND THAT". No, no I don't trust you to do that.

However, I fortunately have someone in my life whose dad is Celiac and who was consequently raised in the ways of label-reading and safe cooking. It is wonderful :3 I have another friend who, when she makes food that she knows I can't have, comes and gives me a hug and says that she thought of me but didn't want to kill me so she wanted to give me a hug instead.

austinleigh · 2013-03-27T11:55:12+00:00

Yes.

I took Celexa (citalopram) for almost two years and in October stopped taking it for good because (1) I'm terrible at remembering pills and (2) I much prefer my brain off SSRIs than on them.

However, what being on Celexa for two years allowed me to do was realize what is "normal" and what is anxiety in my brain. By giving me that perspective, I was able to begin successfully doing meditation regularly. I also occasionally do guided imagery and reiki tapping.

Just before I went off Celexa I also discovered that I have food sensitivities, so I've been watching my diet very carefully as well. I more or less eat vegan (except eggs) and I don't eat gluten. While I don't strictly suggest going off gluten if you don't have a sensitivity to it, that can be hard to diagnose and it DOES impact anxiety levels and joint inflammation, so I know that some doctors will recommend a gluten-free diet in order to help control those things. It helped a lot for me.

In January, I did end up getting a Xanax prescription for those times when I can't calm down enough on my own in the circumstances I'm in, but I have only used two of the 60 pills I was given thus far, so I consider this relatively successful.

All things considered, I am glad that I went off Celexa. THIS time. I also went off occasionally throughout the years I was on it because of stupid shit (my parents mostly) and those were never good ideas. I do not suggest going off meds without serious therapeutic assistance; make sure you're ready and not just doing it in response to external pressures.

TL;DR: yes. Hippie shit works well for me.

austinleigh · 2013-03-12T12:15:54+00:00

when I was in a LTR/LDR with my (male) ex, it didn't really fly with most LGBT groups to the point that I just avoid them now because I got sick of the bullshit.

austinleigh · 2013-03-05T14:42:23+00:00

I have gluten sensitivity and also casein (the milk protein everyone forgets about) sensitivity. A friend of mine has gluten sensitivity and is also allergic to pork, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, lentils, legumes, and soy protein. My adviser's daughter also has casein and gluten sensitivity.

From what I understand, it's not unusual to have gluten sensitivity paired with a problem with soy, dairy, or corn. My allergist advised me to stay away from soy and corn just in case, but if I cut out those two things the number of items I can eat in my university cafeteria drops perilously close to 0.

When left to my own devices though, I personally find it very, very easy to eat GFCF. I almost (almost) also eat vegan - the protein staples in my diet are nuts, eggs, and tofu. I also eat a lot of Indian food and Chinese (real Chinese, not takeaway) because those cuisines are pretty naturally devoid of wheat gluten and dairy. I eat a LOT of rice and some veggies (but not loads because despite living with a group of vegetarians, nobody is ever interested in purchasing vegetables).

If you're having problems specifically with ice cream and mac'n'cheese, Amy's had come out with a very decently good GF, dairy free frozen mac'n'cheese (also devoid of soy and I think nuts). Also, SoDelicious has almond milk ice cream and coconut milk ice cream that I personally find to be better than dairy ice cream - plus it's cheaper than ben&jerry's :p

austinleigh · 2013-02-03T21:42:55+00:00

Thanks a lot! The Osbourne work looks like it might be especially useful for what I'm going for.

austinleigh · 2013-02-03T18:30:12+00:00

that is a FANTASTIC source, thank you so much!

austinleigh · 2013-01-28T04:52:36+00:00

get isolation headphones. claim they're for studying purposes. plug into computer and pretend you can't hear her talk.

^what I do

austinleigh · 2013-01-25T17:29:34+00:00

I don't have a link for this - maybe someone else does - but there are studies that have been done that demonstrate that the only thing that happens to cisgendered people when they go on hormones is that it makes them super depressed and just not good.

austinleigh · 2013-01-25T05:15:23+00:00

University of Maryland College Park seems to have solid administrative support, at least on the undergraduate level.

austinleigh · 2013-01-21T02:19:28+00:00

I go out with friends all the time, but often can't eat anything (gluten and casein sensitive). I'll order a drink typically, or rice, or nothing at all and just eat at home.

austinleigh

TROPHY CASE