A wee bit of miscellany...

- The biggest thing going for me is that I have now been a non-smoker for a year. The year itself ended up being not very hard at all. Once I got beyond the first few days, it was pretty easy. I cheated once in the first week or so, but have been faithful since, and I think I am past the point where I might regress. I smoked a hell of a long time, and there is no way I don't have a large bill still due because of it, but I think I might yet avoid some of the worst side effects. Only time will tell. I can't say I miss it all that much, but all the same, I enjoyed it for many years. I think I have the good sense to never fall back, but I have quit for longer than a year in the past and still ended up going back, so until I hit the 3-year mark, I am not totally sure I trust myself. I still think having one here or there isn't so bad if I really wanted one, while I also realize that is the first step towards undoing the whole effort. In any event, a year is worth noting. Noted.

- One thing I worried about was becoming a mega-blimp again after quitting, but not only have I not plumped up post-butt-habit, I weighed myself this weekend, and for the first time since my late teens/early twenties, I weigh less than 200lbs. This is no small feat. In spring 2000, I rolled a full 100lbs. heavier than that. I am trying to dig up a full-size fat boy shot for y'all to enjoy - though my super-blimp era predates ownership of a digital camera. This one is pretty good for a full-on lifestyle comparison, and this one shows what a zeppelin under hot summer sun looks like. I have one old picture from a trip to Washington DC from Summer 2000 that I know is me looking my fattest, but it will take some time to find and scan. You'll have to feast your eyes on my 275lb. era instead and just imagine a few more bowling balls stuffed into the duds. I lost weight in part by taking a weight loss Rx, but I really didn't lose much until I switched off of sugared soda and until I gave up meat. I think meat-eating has little to do with it, but by not eating meat, I could no longer eat fast-food. THAT is when the weight really started falling off. I have now had the weight off long enough, I have made it to my self-imposed deadline for buying some new clothes. All suit and sport coats in the closet are from my prime orca era, and now I need some I couldn't complete hide in. Where I go and how many I get, I dunno, but the days of XXXL, or 44-inch (or 42-inch "Loose Fit") are far enough in the past that I can get rid of all that clothes for good. Thankfully, I have needed only casual clothes of late (no accident baby - it is just how I roll, sans rolls of course.) If I get a suit, I will post a picture, but I am trying to avoid needing one, so dopey sport coats might be as close as I get.

- In addition to weight loss and smoking cessation, I have begun to make a real effort at paying off my debt and getting free of bad money habits. This is going to be the toughest of them all, but I did go so far as to cancel many credit cards. With my car payment a thing of the past, all that dough can go into paying off cards - which is huge. More importantly, without a car, I will no longer be tempted to stop in and shop all the time. The idea I "save money" driving to a big-box store turned out to be bullshit. In truth, I bought way more stuff than I needed just because I had access to it and it appeared to be cheaper than my local city stores. It is cheaper as far as cost goes, but if I buy it cheap when I don't need it at all, nothing is saved and much dough is lost. This I have learned since rejoining life on the hoof. There is a part of me that very much misses having a car, and I might again get one, but I want to pay down much debt first. My man Ken in OH went through the credit card payoff struggle and was able to pull it off, and I am inspired to now try the same. Only time will tell if the homeboy pulls it off.

- All that said, I think I might travel over Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have been a pretty good boy and avoided wild weekend trips for quite awhile. It is time to do a little roadwork just to keep myself in good spirits. I love to go places and see stuff - in the absence of other destructive habits, doing so in moderation makes me happy. I have the rest of my life to be a broke hermit in my parent's basement - no reason to rush it by staying home all the damn time and choosing misery on the installment plan.

- While I have been bad in keeping up my web-writing in general, I think I am going to soon be back in the swing. I have been trying to keep up with at least one a week at Yes But However, but am a few short of that (my job has been a real job again in recent months - sucks no?) As for Twitter and such, I think of that as not mission-critical. I may never use this weblog to do daily stuff like I did in the middle of this decade, but I don't intend to ever abandon it. For whatever reason, people still visit. If they stop, I might - but having no visitors never stopped me at the beginning! Ha! Trompe Le Monde! Anyway, thanks for hanging with me. I hope it eventually produces some reward for you - and I hope that reward is one I intended to create!

-I have been victimized by the parking enforcement jihad in Oakland. While waiting for the title to come so I could donate it to charity, I got 2 tickets. F you Oakland. I will pay the tickets because I have no real choice. I will not do ONE PENNY of shopping in Oakland unless it is an emergency until I have removed from the Oakland coffers 2x what they are taking from me. No Holiday shopping. No groceries. Nothing. Not only are the tickets absurd, they are expensive. I can't imagine what their jihad is doing to the poor in the city. I thank God I don't have kids to worry about. Imagine paying these astronomical fines while unemployed, poor, or on a fixed budget?!? The people running Oakland have no shame. They are covering for their financial mismanagement by inflicting misery on those easiest to get at. It hurts me less because I have more discretion than many Oaklanders. I can move when my lease is up. Thank God for that. Booting the douchebags out is not enough. You can't inflict on them the pain in proportion to the pain they dish out, so it doesn't pay to hold the anger too long. And with this entry, I shall try to let it go.

- There were no dog references in this post. Quit yer bitching!