So - SWIM has recently been on a precipice - he transitioned into a new job. One where he has ample time to himself.

A few months ago, prior to the change-over - SWIM burned some Kratom at work. It was dangerous-feeling, exciting, fun, and surprisingly easy to pull off. His co-workers didn't notice at all.

So he started to push the boundaries - he'd crush up two ritalin pills and snort the powder in fat rails in the bathroom. He'd take kratom caps at lunch. He never got TOO high. Never REALLY risked discovery - but there was a thrill to the idea of not just sitting at his desk and mindlessly waiting for the day to be over.

Then the new job...

I've had this floating around in his head for a while. I doesn't know shit about biology or neurochem - so this is about as realistic as a unicorn.

Disclaimer up front: Yes - there are plenty of steps a user can take to avoid post-MDMA depression. That's not the point here.

Lots of people have experienced long(er)-term depression after using MDMA. This is anecdotal, but prevalent enough to say is a fairly common thing. 4-6 hours of fun burns out those little receptors and the body spends the next few days (weeks) replenishing and coming back to normal - during which the seratonin balance is effed and the people feel generally down in the dumps and blue....

I think sometimes, in the pursuit of science, we lose track of the aesthetic-ideal.

Kratom tea works. Particularly when bolstered by an initial ethanol-soak. But son of a bitch, is it gross.

10oz of tea - easy enough to drink...by the time you get to the last gulp, you're already starting to feel the initial effects.

But the taste lingers, horribly, like a homeless dude chilling next to the liquor store. Unavoidable and shameful...and annoying as hell.

What is it that drives us to find new methods of assay? Who thought, "you know, if I crush up enough of these seeds, mix them with lime and rail them up my nose, I could totally...

12 lbs of sugar
1/2 liter of OJ
1/2 can frozen grape concentrate
5G of water
1 packet of lavlin EC 1118
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient mix

2 weeks

Not something you'd want to drink.

This is what they like to call a thin wash. It makes a really disgusting wine.

But a perfect base for vodka.

Ideally - you could just put sugar in water with yeast...that's the cheapest recipe - but it's not efficient...you've gotta add shit...acid for PH, tannins for mouthfeel, fiber to trap dead yeast and provide a good base for the lees. And then, you've gotta figure out how many times you want to run the...

to burning Kratom at work is that you want to tell someone about how great it is...but somehow, while having a beer at lunch is totally ok, SWIM feels pretty confident that this would be viewed as distinctly NOT ok.

Yeah...SWIM opted to burn a small dose today. He got some "Super Malaysian" delivered today and half of his office...shit, half of his industry...is gone today and for the rest of the week at a big convention. So with quiet hallways, he figured...this would be a good time to try it out.

So far? V. impressed.

He's been wanting to put together a comparison chart of various kratoms and their qualitative effects...and SWIM realizes...

SWIM owns a crack-pipe. That's gotta be some sort of flag, no?

But it's not for crack. Honest.

SWIM's pretty much off of tripping. Because really - who has the time?

Acid and Shrooms used to be bi-weekly events - but SWIM genuinely can't think of many worse things than spending 7-15 hours in hyperspace....particularly with acid and that chemical-yawn.

Shrooms are shorter and more mellow and yet they're still the kind of overwhelming experience that SWIM needs time to recover from....and SWIM just doesn't have that kind of time any more. He misses the swirling visuals...the carefree loose-association...the epiphanies and the...

So - SWIM opted out on the Friday burn...which turned out to be a good thing because his morning was pretty much a cluster-fuck.

And while the Kratom buzz is functional and energetic...it's not really the kind of mind/body space that promotes multi-tasking. It's more appropriate for doing one boring thing for a long period of time. And preferably not one where names and numbers are involved.

SWIM rewarded himself for fighting the urge with a big fat grapefruit and a healthy dose of Maeng Da mixed with some premium Bali today.

And he's feeling pretty good about that.

Now - will he repeat the experiment? Yeah - almost 100% yeah. ...

So...today was a first for SWIM.

SWIM did something he'd never done before...and it wasn't any particular life-changing event that made him do it...it wasn't a grand scheme or a fuck-you to the system.

SWIM went to work high.

Well, wait, back up now, cause that's not accurate really. SWIM burned some enhanced Maeng Da kratom before work.

That's not high like being stoned....but it sure as hell isn't sober.

Kratom needs its own language and descriptors. Some other heads on another forum call the act of ingesting it "burning" Kratom - because they think that makes it sound like it's incense and that...