What I want for Christmas

This is what I want for Chistmas which will hopefully stop whoever keeps breaking into my Jeep from doing so...

The Fever

Ya know, the biggest drawback of working with my travel photos for the Flickr site is that I'm now suffering from an acute case of Travel Fever, the only cure for which is to hop on a plane and go somewhere.

I feel another adventure coming on....

Travel Photos

Hi all. Just wanted to let everyone know that I've set up a Flikr page where I'm posting images from my various travels here and there. It's a work in progress, with photo sets being added when time and motivation allow. Feel free to post comments about the pics should you desire to do so. I'm finding this whole Flikr thing rather the addictive pastime....

Deck the Halls

As it looks like I'll be home for the holidays for the first time in a few years, I'm giving some serious thought as to putting up a Christmas tree. I have not done this in a long time... 1997 was the last time I believe.

Of course the great question is how the cats are going to cope with it. I'm rather sure they will see it as a new toy and begin attacking it the moment I begin to set it up. I'm considering a small live tree and am very curious as to their health should they decide to eat it. Hmmm.

Form vs. Substance

It has been quite some time since I last posted anything of substance. I've been curiously reflective lately, though a worn journal book and favorite pen has been the medium of choice instead of the blog. Just in one of those moods I guess. There's nothing of any real consequence going on, it's just that I've been more inclined towards the processual creativity of putting pen to paper. Something deeply comforting about this and personal in ways beyond the mechanical limitations of a keyboard.

From the Local Paper

A random obituary from last Friday's edition of The Virginian Pilot begins as follows (and I'm not making it up): "P------ A-- H----, 69, died November 8, 2006 at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital from one damn thing after another..."

Just a brief note....

...to let everyone know that I'm alive and well. And still smoke-free (will soon pass the 12 week mark).

Perhaps this weekend I'll gather fortitude enough to sit down and hammer out an update. Nothing too exciting to report, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Freedom

With the removal of the last patch early yesterday morning I completed the ten week non-smoking regimen and have supposedly broken the habit. I feel better overall and can breathe so much easier, but the cost of this is continued lack of mental clarity/focus, recent bouts of anxiety, and chronic mood swings (ok, perhaps "swings" is not accurate as there has been little variation in my mood beyond the parameters of "bad" and "worse" and it must duly be noted that I rarely ever in a foul mood prior to quitting. Now I am just evil). I suspect both of these will improve with time. I will give it another week.

Manager of the Year

Despite rumors to the contrary, the clip below is NOT footage of me at work. I don't work retail and I'm not named Chad. Some might say the differences end there. Judge for yourself.

Step Down Day

Today I step down to the 7mg patches following the requisite two weeks on the 14mg. I removed the old patch early this morning but decided to wait a few hours before slapping on the new one, mainly out of curiosity as to how my body would respond to this brief nicoteine-free period. I was without a patch for about five hours and only at the end did I become a litle antsy and my mood begin to sour. Presumably there was still sufficient nicoteine in my body at the outset to ward off any ill effects, but as time passed, that lingering need, that lingering addiction began to surface. Not wishing to have the Evil Me emerge, I put on the new patch and thus continued with the regimen. When you first put on a patch, it burns and itches ever so slightly. This has become a curiously welcome thing over the course of the quitting process and it certainly was this morning. So now that the need for nicoteine has been sated, I'm back into a happy mood and trying to forget that the daily hit is half of what I've been getting.