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• Follow Following 1 Folding bicycle? Kitts asked in Bicycles 11 months ago 4 Answers by elbie, soundslikepuget , Adam Washington…

• Comment on Fnarf's answer…

  1 0 Yes! Bring a friend who you can trust to say something looks good or bad on you. I was in your situation and am just recently starting to enjoy wearing clothes. Other advice: If you can, find a consignment shop or thrift store that has some good stuff. Set a budget that will allow you to buy one or two whole outfits at the store (at a lot of thrift stores, that will be under $50, and definitely under $100). Go with a friend and have them help you assemble one or two outfits that you like and that you feel comfortable wearing. Then when you notice how great you look wearing them, you'll have more positive feelings about dressing up. At least, I did, especially when I got compliments on my cute dress. I still felt self-conscious, but more in a good way, and now I no longer feel like I'm going to get in trouble for dressing nicely. Also: I always got too nervous to buy magazines or anything, but I started skimming a lot of fashion websites and blogs, and reading some of the online "how to find your style" guides. A lot of them are silly, but they got me thinking about what kinds of clothes I wanted to wear. I also started looking at what people on the street were wearing, and which items I thought might look good on me. That way when I did get up the courage for shopping, I had some idea of what to look for. It also started getting me adjusted to the idea that I wouldn't be punished for showing up in something nicer than t-shirt and jeans. Anyway, that little voice is awful, but it will fade with time, especially if you work to move past it. Good luck! Kitts commented 11 months ago

• Follow Following 1 How to deal with an asshole prof? Kitts asked in Ask Dina Martina about 1 year ago

• Follow Following 1

  Best dim sum place

  1 0 According to my Taiwanese friends, the best place for dim sum is Vancouver. Failing that, they suggest Jade Garden. I haven't made it up to Vancouver, but Jade Garden is easily the best dim sum I've had in the states, and it's affordable. It's where the UW China Studies grad students go, too. But if you want to go on a weekend, prepare to wait 15-20 minutes. If you have more than a couple people, call ahead, because they do take reservations. Kitts answered in Eating Out about 1 year ago Answer, comment & read 7 more answers »

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  Tipping etiquette for if I just get drip coffee?

  1 0 When I was a barista, these were the rules I expected people to follow if they didn't want me secretly thinking they were jerks: Drip coffee, tea, pastries: the coin change from your payment if you paid cash, a dollar if you paid with a credit card, because running the card is a hassle, and who pays with a credit card on 1.50 cup of coffee? Anything that requires use of the espresso machine ( lattes, americanos, chai): a dollar. This is skilled labor, and my care and attention to this can make a big difference in how your drink tastes. I usually did my best regardless, because I liked making good drinks, but it's good to show your appreciation for the attention I am paying to your needs. Large orders of anything: at least a dollar, more if I'm making five or six or ten fancy drinks for your office. So if you have the same barista every time you go, then a dollar a week seems reasonable to me. I wouldn't have considered you a jerk. But if you're worried about what your barista thinks, you could always ask them. Kitts answered in Eating Out Etiquette about 1 year ago Answer, comment & read 6 more answers »

• Comment on Griffin's answer…

  0 0 That map is awesome. Who knew the Basques had the world's highest lactose tolerance? (yeah, I know, tiny sample size. but still!) Kitts commented about 1 year ago

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  Why isn't there any cheese in Chinese or Japanese food?

  1 0 To add to the other useful knowledge contributed, it's worth remembering that China and Japan have their own weird cultured/rotten foods, just made from soybeans instead of milk. Japan has natto, and China has stinky tofu, which... lives up to its name. There are a couple of places where you can get cheese in traditional Chinese food-- there's a small area in Sichuan that eats goats' milk cheese. Sichuan has a lot of different ethnic groups, so even the Chinese food is going to be pretty different in the more isolated areas, where it's received a lot of other influences. On top of all that, as dicrisci noted, cheese is coming into East Asian food. A lot of Japanese bar food and snacks are now involving cheese, including some weird ones like gyoza with cheese, or ramen with cheese. And frying things in butter has also become a thing. Cheese hasn't made much of an inroad into China yet (once I ordered lasagna in an Italian restaurant in Shanghai, and it came with hardboiled egg instead of ricotta. Ew.), but it has in Taiwan. I've eaten hotpot where one of the things to drop in was squares of cheese. (It was really good.) And the city of Taichung, which specializes in these flaky bun-things called suncakes, now makes some with cheesecake red bean filling. Oh! Which reminds me, cheesecake is pretty popular in Japan and Taiwan, too (and the more international mainland Chinese cities). In general the cheeses that have caught on in these places are the ones that are soft and mild, like cream cheese or really mild cheddar or American cheese. Much like the soy products that have caught on here are the mild ones like silken tofu, not the stinky tofu (it smells like an open sewer!). Hong Kong, of course, has had cheese for ages, thanks to colonialism. I think Pacific Cafe in the ID has a rice bake that has some cheese in the sauce. As for other dairy in China/Japan, neither country has historically done a ton of cattle cultivation. There's not really room in Japan (plus meat was periodically outlawed whenever Buddhism was extra-popular), and most parts of China went in more for pig farming. The exception is the north, where there hasn't been much milk or cheese, but drinking yogurt is really popular, and has been for a long time. Even now, several of the major dairy companies in China are owned/run by people of Mongolian descent, where the dairy areas are. But remember, Mongolia hasn't been part of China for most of its history. India has had paneer for a very long time, at least according to wikipedia. I study East Asian history, not South Asian, but I'd guess that India's long history of raising cows is what led them to develop their own kind of cheese. I mean, you have all this milk, so you need to do something with it. But that's all speculation based on my reading the wikipedia article on paneer, so standard disclaimers apply. Anyway, sorry for the long and rambling answer. I study Chinese history, so this sort of thing is interesting to me. Also, I like to eat! Kitts answered in Cheese & Dairy about 1 year ago Answer, comment & read 3 more answers »

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  Has there been any developments in treatment for anxiety/depression in the last couple years?

  1 0 After all the good advice below from many of the other posters, I only have one thing to add. Have you registered for accommodations from your school? Public schools tend to have better and clearer policies, but all schools have to make reasonable accommodations around disabilities, including chronic depression. This could involve deadline extensions (though those can be worse, if they just pile up), or can mean your grades don't get docked because of bad attendance (again, try not to skip class, but you don't want to fail a class you've done good work in because your illness has caused you to miss too many days). Talk with your school's office of disability support (or whatever they call it). They'll be able to help you register for accommodations, explain what sort of accommodations are considered reasonable, and point you towards on-campus support groups and other resources. And in most schools, registering for accommodations doesn't mean you actually have to take them, but registering your disability now, instead of at the end of the term, will make it easier to make a request if it turns out you do need it. And for me at least, sometimes the knowledge that I could get accommodations if necessary lifted the anxiety enough to do the work without them. Kitts answered in Recovery about 1 year ago Answer, comment & read 10 more answers »

• Comment on Canadian Nurse's answer…

  0 0 This is the advice I wish I'd had ten years ago. Kitts commented about 1 year ago

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  Adult ADD: anyone good in Seattle?

  1 0 Dr. Kathreen Gimbrere used to work with UW students who have ADHD, and now works for either Harborview (unless she has since moved on-- my info is about two years out of date). Since a lot of people don't get treatment for ADHD until college or grad school, she's had a lot of experience assessing people. Much like the other poster's doctor, she's trustworthy, experienced, and attentive to your concerns. If she's taking new patients, I highly recommend her. For more general advice, since I've been through three intakes now (thanks to embarrassment over the issue combined with moving cross-country multiple times and needing new doctors): Technically, a diagnosis of ADHD is supposed to involve a very expensive (several thousand dollars!) test, one which isn't covered by most insurance plans. However, unless you're applying for social security or accommodations from somewhere really strict, a formal diagnosis from a psychiatrist will usually do the trick, as far as getting medication and accommodations from school or work. So don't stress over that test. You really should see a psychiatrist, and one who specializes in ADHD and learning disorders. The most a psychologist can do is say, "You probably have ADHD" and give you a referral. That's useful if you have a therapist you already know and trust, but if you want a medical diagnosis, you will need to see a psychiatrist. Your current psychologist should be willing to give you a referral. A good psychiatrist will be able to make a diagnosis fairly quickly, and if needed, refer you to a therapist with experience supporting people with ADHD. A psychiatrist will probably need an initial 1-2 hour intake session, where they will ask you about everything from family history to your life story, and maybe make you take a little quiz. Just answer everything honestly, without worrying about what your answers mean-- my diagnosis was based partly on some things that I had thought totally unconnected. Some doctors will be ready to prescribe at the end of that, others will want to schedule one more appointment. This will depend both on their treatment style and on your own concerns. If they think you have ADHD, you'll probably need a couple of followups over the next month or two to get the medication levels right, then a monthly appointment for a few months to see how you're handling everything, and then every two months, and then maybe once every three. All this is going to vary by doctor, but regardless, it shouldn't take months to get your yes/no. Seeing a therapist who understands ADHD-related issues may be a good idea, too, given all the guilt and anxiety issues that can afflict people who don't get a diagnosis until adulthood. You may want to read up on medications before your appointment, to have an idea of your treatment options should you be diagnosed with ADHD. The main kind of medication for ADHD is stimulant medication (ritalin or dexedrine), which is highly controlled, so filling prescriptions is a little bit of a hassle. Some people take certain kinds of anti-depressants instead, like Wellbutrin. There are also some experimental sound-based treatments, but I don't know if any of them have been proven effective yet. Anyway, good luck! Kitts answered in Recovery about 1 year ago Answer, comment & read 2 more answers »

• See all of my 9 Questions , 26 Answers and 21 Comments