Winner of 5 stages!

I have kept to my schedule, and I just finished 7.5 hours of organization. It's getting harder and I'm running out of good ideas of what to do next. This is the part that arouses anxiety. Know what is the easiest way to deal with anxiety? Simply do not do what makes you anxious. If the guilt bothers you, use drugs and alcohol. Without a doubt, that is the easiest way, but as Rhett Miller penned in the Old 97s latest album, "the easy way gets harder all the time". The problem with drugs and alcohol, besides all those empty calories, is that when one becomes sober again, the problem which caused the anxiety has not been resolved and is still dangling in front of you mocking both your hangover and your cowardice. Anxiety is not always our friend. The problem with not doing it, besides the aforementioned continual dangling and mocking, is that avoiding means anxiety won. And, my friend, if anxiety won, guess who lost? Just as winning 5 stages of the metaphorical tour de Missouri, makes me a stronger metaphorical cyclist, winning makes anxiety stronger.

Anxiety is like a bully. The only way to win is to call its evil little bluff and DO the thing that creates such anxiety. (Unless it's something stupid like taking physical risks and then you should always listen to your mother and DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT). Seriously, you have to stand up to it, and give it the evil eye, and get an annoyed and disgusted look on your face and push it aside. I suggest practicing in a mirror for the appropriate look. Also I guarantee, that once, pushed aside, it takes a while for anxiety to recover. It never fights back immediately. The best thing, is that once you've defeated it once, both of you know who has that capability to be stronger. You just can't forget that. Be ruthless.

And speaking of ruthless. During our freshman year, Arlene and I had an English professor named Ruth Knegy. One day she didn't make it to class. We waited the requisite 20 minutes (for a full professor) and she didn't show up. Afterward, Arlene explained that we were ruthless. Oh well, it was funny at the time; I guess you had to be there.