Letter Never Sent Tell me when to go.

If you shave your face on a regular basis you know how difficult it is to find good shaving cream. It’s become a hobby of mine to find the best shaving cream. I’ve tried several different varieties from the cheap store-brand shaving creams to that mentholated green gel stuff that foams up when you use it. I’ve also tried less foamy things like Zirh Shave Gel and Neutrogena Skin Clearing Shave Cream, which irritated my face probably due to the salicylic acid. Some of the best stuff I’ve found is Aveeno Shave Gel with Natural Colloidal Oatmeal. It has a great oatmeal smell and makes your skin feel great. The only problem is that I wanted something I could apply with a brush since wet shaving with hot water seems to do a good job of softening a tough beard, which helps minimize irritation.

Here are a few things I’ve tried and what I liked or disliked:

1. Aveeno Shave Gel with Natural Colloidal Oatmeal – Great natural oatmeal fragrance. Aveeno does a good job of moisturizing the skin and feels nice. A little on the expensive side for canned shaving cream, but you can buy it almost anywhere. $4.49 for 7 oz. I would recommend this for your travel kit since it’s difficult to take a brush on the road.
2. Zirh Shave Gel – I got a tube of this as part of a gift pack two Christmases ago. It has a nice cool fragrance and the gel feels pleasantly cold going on. Since it’s a clear gel you can still see your skin while you’re shaving, the razor leaving a path devoid of whiskers. This is novel since normally you just see the contrast between soapy foam and skin. One problem with the shaving gels is that since they do not foam up they don’t seem to last as long in terms of how many shaves you get out of them. You will have to use enough to cover your face whereas with most shaving creams you squeeze out a little and lather it up. I like the Zirh gel a lot, it’s just a little more expensive and harder to find. $14.00 for 4 oz.
3. Palmolive Brushless Shaving Cream – “The Shave Cream with Olive Oil!” This is something your grandpa probably used. It promoted itself as a brushless shaving cream at a time when most men used a shaving brush, although that’s just the way I used it because I didn’t like lathering it on with my hands. It has a nice pearly green color to it and has great old-school toothpaste tube packaging. It’s also super-cheap. $2.60 for 4.4 oz.
4. Truefitt & Hill Lavender Shaving Cream – Established in London in 1805, Truefitt & Hill has been making shaving cream and grooming products for two hundred years. This is fancy stuff, but it’s also the best smelling, best lathering shaving cream I’ve ever used. The bubbles in the lather are microscopic giving it a very creamy consistency like peaked egg whites. A little bit of it goes a long way. You just push the brush into the jar and wipe up a dab of the cream before lathering it up. Used with hot water this is a very pleasant experience. I find myself covering a lot more of my face due to the abundance of cream and just because it feels wondeful. My only quarrels are with the price and the fact that my face feels a little dry when I’m done. To be fair, the price issue is mitigated by the fact that you will get hundreds of shaves out of the amount you buy. Also, if I used a moisturizer the dry, slightly soapy feeling would probably vanish. $22.00 for 5 oz.

Theodore Roosevelt High School’s class of 1995, my class, is having its ten year reunion this weekend in San Antonio. I was all gung-ho to go until I found out it was going to cost about $200-300 to attend. It breaks down like this: $89 per person for not registering early, and an additional $10 fee for buying tickets within the last seven days prior to the event. Then I have to drive down there and all the way back up to Dallas and Oklahoma the very next day. Insane. At that expense you really have to ask yourself, “Do I want to pay $300 to see people I never bothered keeping in touch with on my own?” No offense intended and none taken, since none of these people bothered to keep up with me either. I’m still planning on going, but only because I told a couple people I would be there. I also want to see the sheer spectacle of it all. The competition to see who makes the most money, has the smartest kids, or the most sincere and good-looking spouse. Why am I going? Do I have something to prove like that? Maybe that my life is “on track”, but then why should I care what anyone else thinks about that? I certainly don’t give thought to what anyone else has done with their life.

Going down the list of attendees there are about 4-5 people I would really like to see. I’m disappointed at all the people who decided not to go. Many of those are the people I was closest to in high school, the perpetually uncomfortable or maybe just the worst at hiding our discomfort. But again, we could have all stayed in touch on our own if that’s what we wanted. When I think about high school, all I see are experiences good and bad, much like the rest of life. Experiences shared with my fellow travellers on this extended road trip called life. There has been a lot of looking backwards this year. Ten years gone and spent. Ten years past a period of much signficance and discovery, when everything seemed new; possible and impossible all at once.

While writing this I have decided not to go after all. I am impulsive, unreliable, and, most importantly, cheap. My apologies to any of my former classmates who expected me there. I will gladly treat any of you to dinner one on one, just drop a line of some sort. One more request, please burn me a copy of the “memory CD”. Whatever the hell that is.

I finally got my first payment from Google once I realized I needed to put my tax information in the system before they would pay me. As soon as I did that, I got an automatic deposit from Google the next day or so. Everyone should be using AdSense ads in their blog. Yes, it’s advertising, but the ads are pretty flexible in how they can be used. You can change the type of ad, the appearance, and where the ads will show up on your site. It’s a good way to defray the costs of running a website and you might even make a little additional unexpected income. Create an AdSense account and mess around with it. You might be surprised at the result. The ads are pretty simple to incorporate. Just read the instructions.

The weekend was relentless. Over the weekend, I spent nearly 14 hours just driving, most of that in a truck pulling a ten foot trailer. Friday was spent packing and getting all the necessary equipment arranged for the move, the truck and trailer from my dad in San Antonio, the handtruck and additional boxes from Lowe’s. We packed and cleaned all day until midnight. Then saturday we got up at 6 am and drove over to pick up my friend and then my brother to help load the truck. The loading went okay except for a couple episodes involving various amounts of property damage and the ensuing aftermath. It was hot, but we managed to get everything loaded before the sun was on us. For the unloading we were not so fortunate. When we arrived in Dallas at two in the afternoon, the humidity pushed the heat index to 110 degrees Fahrenheit and since we had the freight elevator reserved for a couple hours we had to keep moving until we had everything unloaded. I was completely exhausted and soaked with sweat. Luckily, my brother works outside every day for a furniture company, so his tolerance and relative ease kept me going. I kept thinking, hell is one endless move. I would recommend it for anyone trying to get in shape because if it doesn’t kill you it will definitely get you in shape.

After seeing Mister Sinus Theatre (Red Dawn) at the Alamo Drafthouse on friday, Phillip, Courtney, Sab, Erik, Jody, Phillip’s brother, and I went out for some impromptu carousing. I’m not a big drinker and rarely imbibe, but I made up for the whole rest of the year that night. The debit card transactions are just now starting to roll in, telling a tale of drunken marauding that spanned (apparently) much of downtown Austin. I swear my card was overcharged at least once, but I’ll be damned if I know where those receipts are, and my memory of the night is spotty at best. I’m here to tell you that it will never happen again. If I never get drunk again it will be too soon. Sure, the alcoholic buildup was pleasurable and novel in its own way, but I was sentenced to an aftermath worthy of Greek tragedy replete with disgraceful episodes of sickness and foolishness. I was still inebriated when I woke up the next morning wondering what the hell had happened and hoping to God I had not said all the things I thought I remembered saying.

There was an interesting article today on the growing awareness of depression in China, Black cloud over China. I found one bit particularly weird and funny:

Prozac is among the most popular antidepressants in China. Its name in Chinese, Bai You Jie, means “free of a hundred worries.”

I have a theory that the reality of depression is very different from the popular conception of it as a strictly medical / neurochemical problem. It seems like the psychiatric field possesses a biased view of the mind as a chemical / organic machine, in the sense that mental health issues are caused primarily by chemical imbalances in the brain. To me this is myopic. Obviously I am not a scientist, so I have only my own anecdotal and limited experience to go on. I think the symptoms of depression may contain their own cure. What if the treatment for depression is right under our noses? Here are the nine classic symptoms of depression:

1. Depressed mood for most of the day
2. Disturbed appetite or change in weight
3. Disturbed sleep
4. Psychomotor retardation or agitation
5. Loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities; inability to enjoy usual hobbies or activities
6. Fatigue or loss of energy
7. Feelings of worthlessness; excessive and/or inappropriate guilt
8. Difficulty concentrating or thinking clearly
9. Morbid or suicidal thoughts or actions

Amazingly, almost all of these classic symptoms of depression can be acutely and positively affected by attention to the body; that conglomeration of muscle, bone, and blood most of us use primarily as a vehicle for our mind. Balanced exercise and activity stimulates mood. It increases appetite. It makes you more healthy resulting in more energy. The more active you are the better sleep you will get. Exercise has also been show to stimulate the brain, even areas that seem to have little to do with exercise.

Along with this idea of treating the body, I believe there are a few simple habits and strategies that could help people fight depression:

1. Adequate sleep. Go to bed a few hours after dark and get up at dawn. After dark refrain from turning on too many lights so your body will wind down. Don’t start watching a movie at 10:00pm. Get eight hours of sleep, no more, no less. Too little sleep will make you feel exhausted, too much sleep will make you feel sluggish. I say get up at dawn because I imagine that as diurnal creatures (active during the day) we need to experience sunlight. I know that staying up late when no one else is around and everything is dark is a recipe for feeling bad. The sun feels good as long as it is not too hot outside.
2. Physical activity. It’s hard for me to suggest exercise since I have a difficult time doing it myself. I need to have more of a goal than just “exercising”. That’s why I’m using the word “activity” instead. I had this experience recently where I had to help Jody move into her apartment. It was a lot of work, as anyone who has moved before knows. It pushed my physical limits. I was hot, sweaty, sore, and exhausted when it was all said and done. However, I remember sitting in a chair afterward and feeling blissfully worn out. I was exhausted and shaky but I also felt great. I noticed that I had this very pleasant and unfamiliar feeling of absolute mental stillness, as if the vibrating, warm sensations coming from my tired muscles were lowering the volume and intensity of my inner voice. I remember the same thing from working in the fast-paced warehouse at Fedex. If I showed up to work feeling blah, a few hours loading shipping containers would really get the blood flowing. If you have trouble getting enough exercise, you can do little things to fit it in. Try using the stairs at work, or walk to lunch. Go bowling, or dancing. Do something physical. If you’ve been feeling depressed, how much exercise have you really been getting? Even if you don’t feel like it, exercise will help you feel better.
3. Balanced social interaction. Depression can often result in social withdrawal, but too much social interaction can being overstimulating. Good relationships go a long way to improving your outlook and emotional state, but it is also important to spend quiet time by yourself. As important as it is to have a support network of friends and family, you should also develop a friendship with yourself. Do things by yourself that you like to do. One thing I do is try to remember what I used to enjoy as a kid. Many of those activities have a calming effect. For example, lately I’ve been reading a lot more than I have for a long time and it helps me focus on something other than what’s going on in my little bubble.
4. Stay busy and get out of your head. Is it denial to try to work through a bad spell? It might be, but I often feel better the more productive I am. When I get things done I feel like I’m doing something useful and productive. More importantly, I feel more active in my own life and affairs. One of the best experiences I had recently was when I took an hour or so to clean and wash my car. It felt so good to power spray all the dirt and bird crap away leaving something that shined. I got in and vacuumed out all the trash and gunk in the floor and wiped down the dashboard and windows. I even sprayed in some of that cheesy cherry air-freshener with that gun they have hanging next to the vacuum. It was satisfying to take my car and spruce it up with a little elbow grease, even an old car like mine. Cleaning can truly be a creative activity, and it seems to tap into that same motivation I have for building or making things.To clean is to restore, and that’s not much different from creation itself.

There’s a good article today from the Mayo Clinic I haven’t had much time to read about how exercise can ease symptoms of depression and anxiety:

Before you think, “Yeah, right,” and move on, consider this: Exercise doesn’t have to come in large doses to offer psychological benefits. Even as little as 10 minutes of low-intensity walking helps. Your goal doesn’t have to be losing 20 pounds, being able to run five miles nonstop or hitting the gym at 6 a.m. three days a week for a sweat-drenched workout.

Rather, the idea is to do something active in order to trigger the mechanisms that reduce negative moods and improve positive moods. And with a little planning and some practical tips – after all, it’s not a matter of sheer willpower – adding exercise to your treatment program won’t seem so daunting, even if you experience severe symptoms of depression or anxiety.

Despite ongoing research, just how exercise reduces symptoms isn’t clear. There are plenty of theories, though, about both the physiological and psychological pathways that can improve symptoms related to depression and anxiety disorders, including sadness, anxiety, stress, fatigue, anger, self-doubt and hopelessness.

One of the physiological mechanisms that may be at work is an increase in levels of certain mood-enhancing neurotransmitters in the brain. In addition, exercise may boost feel-good endorphins, release tension in muscles, diminish sleep abnormalities, reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol and even increase body temperature, which has calming effects.

Maybe depression is such a modern problem because of how much our lifestyles have changed. Think about it, fifty years ago most families had one car, one television at best, and no computers or Internet. A lot of people walked to work or school. Most families cooked their own food and ate every meal at home. If you owned one major appliance you were doing pretty well. One thing I notice when I go to Oklahoma with Jody to visit her folks is that my normal daily life is very fast-paced and overstimulating compared to the quiet and slowness of being out of my normal routine. When I’m out in the country, sometimes I’m just sitting around on the porch watching the barn swallows catch bugs or I’m just eating lunch and having a nice quiet conversation. You don’t realize how wired up you are until you get away from yourself.

I like to forget about PostSecret, so I can go back every few weeks and read a big hunk of new postcards. Here are some good ones…

1. # I’m scared of cockroaches crawling into my mouth while I sleep.
2. # I skipped math to stand in the lunch line with him.
3. # What hurts more than losing you is knowing you’re not fighting to keep me.
4. # Sometimes I put coins in other people’s parking meters.
5. # Everyone thinks I do it to make people stare… but really, it’s to keep them from looking too closely.

Today I found out that one of the members of my club worked for the Austin Police Department as a psychologist until his retirement two years ago. I knew he was a psychologist by training, but I didn’t know anything more than that until today. After the meeting I told him my father worked for the APD in the late 70’s and early 80’s. He inquired after my dad’s name and it turns out he actually remembered him after twenty plus years. I told my dad about it later over AIM and he was pretty surprised. The world is a very small place.

I have SkypeIn so I can receive calls whenever I’m on the computer anywhere. Incoming calls are basically free. The other day I received a sweet but misdirected message from an old woman named Esther. Listen for yourself. (mp3)

How To: Save Skype voicemail as an .mp3