Happy Anniversary To Me!

Writing for school has left me little time to write for my blog this last week. I had hopes of catching up on posts over the weekend, but that didn’t pan out, so I’ll just start fresh here.

I feel like I’m starting fresh in more ways than one because I am thrilled to report that today is my one-year anniversary since quitting smoking. Even better, I have not even slipped once in that entire time. I often refer to this timetable, where I can see how my body has restored itself since quitting. And this site lets me calculate my risk of dying compared to nonsmokers. Comparing my risk before and after quitting is some certain motivation.

People often ask me what worked and I’m not really sure. I didn’t even plan on quitting when I did; I was just ready. My Doctor gave me a prescription for Wellbutrin (as a substitute for Zyban) and I had been taking that for some time in preparation. Months earlier I had also called Colorado’s Quitline that sends out free nicotine patches to people ready to quit.  My family and household were a huge help by being supportive, but mostly by not being smokers themselves. I’ve never smoked in my house, so being outside in the cold with only a cigarette to keep you company loses its appeal. Also, I had made quitting attempts about a dozen times before. Remembering that you can always try again is important.

Anyway, Congratulations Me!

The Strike is Nearing an End

If all goes well, Hollywood writers should be accepting the agreement made between them and the producers on Saturday. Filmschoolrejects.com was quick to report this list of when we can expect our favorite shows to return to the screen. Hooray!

Before Gore gave us the Internet…

I can spend as much time poking around strange Wikipedia articles as I can on Youtube. Last night I was reading the article on Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes) from back in the day. These were all the rage with the nerd-folk and myself back then. (Notice how I differentiate between myself and the nerd-folk there…) After Prodigy started requiring a credit card to get their free month of service with a $5 software disk, I was forced to stop buying $5 disks and making up fake names to use for service. That was a bummer. Fortunately my Dad turned me onto the BBS systems. Not quite as fun looking as Prodigy, but nevertheless, I dug right in and helped SysOp a couple boards. Apparently BBSes are still up and running – who’d have thought!

The whole wiki BBS article is interesting, but the links at the bottom of the page are worth a look for nostalgic purposes. Here is a site that lists historical BBSes by area code. I found all the ones I frequented. Now if only someone kept a historical drive with all mine and my brother’s old ASCII and ANSI art.   

Shoe-Lovin’

I’ve nodded to Shoewawa before when highlighting their “ugliest shoe of the week” posts, but their blog in general is fabulous for shoe-lovers. Updates are done multiple times a day. One of my favorite features at Shoewawa is their “play the stylist” posts. A unique  pair of shoes that are typically hard to dress up are shown and readers are asked to send in outfit ideas to go with them. Fun stuff. This week you can attempt to style an outfit around a pair of Jessica Simpson’s polka-dot-pumps.

I’m Diggin’ it

Digg.com has exploded in popularity since I blogged about it back in the summertime. (Maybe they’ll send me a check – I’m sure I contributed to the fame!) Since then they have launched Digg labs – a deeper look at  how news stories are dug. As un-neat as this sounds, you’ll be intrigued by the site. A colorful screensaver is available that allows you to scan headlines and watch the evolution of news as it develops.

More on the Caucuses

Last night I proudly joined my precinct and caucused for my favorite candidate. Volunteers were needed to help count voters and calculate delegates, so I decided to step out from under my rock and really take part in the process. I was glad I did because the whole ordeal was fairly disorganized and I think the chair person was needing my new found skills. Real energy and hope was present in that room. Voters were excited for change and appeared united amongst varying candidates. I became further inspired and decided to nominate myself as a delegate for my precinct, and with unanimous support, I will be representing my hood at the county convention. I’m hoping this gets me tickets to the big convention in Denver later this year!   Wish me luck!

Have a Happy Super Tuesday!

Tomorrow is the big day, so remember to make your voice heard if your state is having a caucus. This is a very exciting time for me because I haven’t had the opportunity to take part in a caucus before. With such great candidates for this year’s election, I feel almost happier than at Christmas time. Here are some tools for tomorrow’s big day:

Colorado Democrats can make sure they are registered with the party and find out where and when to vote here. And Republicans can find their info here.

Catch up on the candidate’s debates here.

I do realize it would be more appropriate to have a picture of two donkeys or two elephants going at each other, but you get the gist. Happy voting!

P.S. For added reading fun I have coded this message with who my vote will be cast for tomorrow.

On the Turntable…

My head is getting dizzy with all the information I have consumed this weekend from textbooks and the like. Because of this, I give you the top 10 songs (of the moment) that are sure to help you relax and doze off into a pleasant slumber:

1. Iron and Wine – “Sixteen, Maybe Less”

2. Damien Jurado – “Abilene”

3. The Beatles – “Something”

4. (Smog) – “River Guard”

5. Uncle Tupelo – “Moonshiner”

6. Cat Power – “Metal Heart”

7. Neko Case – “Porchlight”

8. Elliott Smith – “Somebody that I used to know”

9. Palace – “West Palm Beach”

10. Palace – “Gulf Shores”

Good Stuff!

Sportin’ a New Bag

My brother-in-law has been talking up Timbuk2 bags for some time, so when Julian wanted a new bag for Christmas I decided to buy him a Timbuk2 messenger. He’s been loving it for school. Since he totes a laptop back and forth, I made sure to purchase the design with a built-in laptop sleeve. Pretty heavy-duty. Of course, I also fell in love with his bag and have been wanting one ever since. Thorina Rose recently designed a bag for their artist series and I decided it was the one for me. Unfortunately they are limited edition and I think I got one of the last bags in this design, but at Tiimbuk2’s website you can find other artist series, classics or build your own design.  All bags are made in a small, employee-friendly factory in San Francisco.

More unique, small-business friendly bags (and matching accessories) I love can be found at Queen Bee Creations, located in Portland, Oregon. Their site has been fun for me to watch, because with each visit it grows and grows in popularity. I purchased a ‘7″ Record Trucker” bag from them years ago and still get compliments every time I wear it. A zipper on the inside flap lets you trade out 7″ records, so everyone can see your fabulous music taste. Also, Queen Bee caters to the non-leather lovers – their bags are made of a high-quality vinyl. Fabulous!

Fun with Mr. Lewis

Fittingly, at Idrinkyourmilkshake.com you can listen to the endlessly creepy, but charismatic Daniel Day-Lewis recite his line from There Will Be Blood over and over. Discussions about the movie are also at the site. I’m still waiting for a BastardinaBasket.com.