Answers I liked

[Shrinky Dink]

I really wished people would realize how negative a lot of Matt Walsh's writings are and how harmful they can be.

[Portia]

My guess is that Matt Walsh is an Angelo and that in at least one of these areas is deeply hypocritical. I always look askance at anyone who is that eager to condemn others, wondering what darkness they're hiding themselves.

[Katya]

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/78913/

I would also add that on the Board I appear witty, because I have time to sit and stare at my screen while I compose my thoughts. You get the vaguely polished version of me here and miss out on all of the edits I made on this answer before it posted. In real life I'm just awkward.

So say we all.

[Katya]

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/78943/

I care a lot about how invisible illnesses are viewed, or rather, not viewed by the public in general. I think a lot of good could be done by just educating people about the fact that there are a lot of people that can look perfectly healthy, but have very real disabilities or illnesses.

Amen, sister.

[Portia]

H, yes, puppies are the correct answer to tech support. :D

[Portia]

Glad to see Anne carrying the pro-vax, pro-science, pro-your-kid-not-dying torch. B-)

[Katya]

#Boardwriterproblems

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/79041/

An answer I am writing is over hours. Now I feel like I need to provide a good answer, but the prospect intimidates me so it goes further over hours. Then I feel like I need to provide an even better answer. More time passes. Continue cycle.

So true.

Telling your roommate that you spent the last hour researching the evolution of marsupials and then trying to explain why with, "Oh, because...research. You know."

This makes me think of Clark Kent having to make up lame excuses for running away every time he has to go be Superman.

[Portia]

Holidays - traditions? A Festivus for the rest of us!

[Owlet]

I kept trying to delete that category, but it kept getting rid of "Social Sciences - Traditions" too. So I gave up and just kept them both.

[Amity]

Thanks, yayfulness, for a really interesting and comprehensive answer on male contraception.

[Katya]

I kept trying to delete that category, but it kept getting rid of "Social Sciences - Traditions" too. So I gave up and just kept them both.

That's because it's a polyhierarchy. The subcategory "Traditions" is considered to be a subset of both the category "Holidays" and the category "Social Sciences," so adding "Traditions" to the classification system adds both. That said, there are obviously traditions in the world that are unrelated to holidays, so whoever came up with the category hierarchies (*cough*) probably made a mistake with that one.

[Portia]

I kept trying to delete that category, but it kept getting rid of "Social Sciences - Traditions" too. So I gave up and just kept them both.

That's because it's a polyhierarchy. The subcategory "Traditions" is considered to be a subset of both the category "Holidays" and the category "Social Sciences," so adding "Traditions" to the classification system adds both. That said, there are obviously traditions in the world that are unrelated to holidays, so whoever came up with the category hierarchies (*cough*) probably made a mistake with that one.

Can a Patron Saint blaspheme against herself? Is their a doctrine of Katyan Infallibility?

[Katya]

I kept trying to delete that category, but it kept getting rid of "Social Sciences - Traditions" too. So I gave up and just kept them both.

That's because it's a polyhierarchy. The subcategory "Traditions" is considered to be a subset of both the category "Holidays" and the category "Social Sciences," so adding "Traditions" to the classification system adds both. That said, there are obviously traditions in the world that are unrelated to holidays, so whoever came up with the category hierarchies (*cough*) probably made a mistake with that one.

Can a Patron Saint blaspheme against herself? Is their a doctrine of Katyan Infallibility?

Luckily, it's not my job to work out my own theology.

[Digit]

It's a little scary to imagine is she had been one heartbeat away from the presidency.

[Portia]

What do we think of the situash with the wedding in D.C.? I didn't go to my two best friends' respective weddings, and my sibs are way younger and I obviously don't have in-laws.

[vorpal blade]

It's a little scary to imagine is she had been one heartbeat away from the presidency.

Not as scary as the current president.

[A Mom, but not yours]

What do we think of the situash with the wedding in D.C.? I didn't go to my two best friends' respective weddings, and my sibs are way younger and I obviously don't have in-laws.

Honestly, the only wedding I've traveled for (defining traveled as going far enough that I spent a night away from home) was my daughter's, and I'm pretty sure there was no way I was missing that one. If they have their wedding that far from friends and family, they have to expect many of them will be unable to attend.

As far as the questioner trying to find some excuse why it was wrong to have it there, I think she needs to just get over it. People do what they want when it comes to their weddings and then live with the consequences. It's not your job as friend or family to tell them why they planned their occasion "wrong". If you want to go and can afford it, go. If not, then send your regrets. I'm pretty sure this won't affect anyone's eternal salvation. I think this sort of situation is why so many Mormon couples end up having multiple receptions.

[Portia]

Life doesn't end after 25. In a review of The Days of Abandonment, some reviewer flippantly said, "does life in Italy end after 25?" And I wanted to reply, "it ain't just Italy, baby." Stumbling on this gave me three great perspectives, all different, but all good.

[Portia]

I will second Divya's recommendations for the lady who suffers from crippling anxieties that are costing her her sleep and her balance. I was fairly skeptical about the value of talk therapy -- I considered myself an independent and intelligent person -- but I do think that having outside validation of a lot of my fears/worries helped me gauge my reaction to various legitimately upsetting events in my life, as well as providing an alternative gestalt to that which I would have come up with on my own. It may not reap immediate benefit, but assuming this is the same woman who has written in on everything from SIDS to natural gas, I think this is interfering with her quality of life.

Everyone from my roommate to my brother to some of my friends here on this board has run into anxiety problems in their respective lives. And we're all more-or-less functioning adults ("more" at the moment, which is fantastic). As someone who spent many nights this summer up til 1:00 in the morning wracked by worries, I think that talking to a professional is honestly the best option. I definitely am someone who learns by writing, so keeping a sporadic journal and then reading the entries when I'm in a calmer frame of mind has been very useful for me as well.

If anyone wonders what anxiety is like, it's pretty much this. Endless stressing over things over which you have no control, racing thoughts, increased energy that essentially goes nowhere. From what I understand, depression interferes a lot with one's self-worth and motivation. It can be what makes it near-impossible to get out of bed. Fortunately, I've never suffered huge repercussions motivation wise, but it definitely robs your sleep at night, and can interfere with your relationships.

I also think unplugging is HUGE. Modern life is inherently anxious. Delete Facebook. Quit compulsively reading the Trib, who live and die by terrible clickbait. Take your young child and enjoy our lovely fall weather. Fresh air and no texting does wonders.

[mic0]

The rose in the champagne story sounds made up. I hope a French-speaking person can find evidence of it, but the fact that the Ensign story is the main thing to come up and nothing else (in English) seems to corroborate it despite it being such a supposedly widespread ceremony seems suspect.