Day 12 is sponsored by bacon

Nothing says I love you
like a sizzling plate full of crispy delicious pig candy.


Welcome to day 12 of my life without cigarettes.
I'd like to take this time to thank our sponsor
for day 12... Bacon.








Just what the doctor ordered.

9 out of 10 doctors recommend fried bacon as an important
part of any healthy balanced diet.***

***Any claims of health benefits from bacon and all statistics regarding them are purely the ficticious creation and malinformed opinion of the author of this post. Prolonged exposure to bacon and/or bacon fat may cause cancer, birth defects, chronic diarrhea, migraine headaches, anal bleeding and miscarriage. Children under 3 should only be given bacon under close adult supervision with the recommendation of a board certified physician. In some individuals bacon may cause a rare but serious condition
known as bacon fever. If you experience foaming at the mouth, irrational anger, paranoia or night tremors, please contact your local poison control center.

Day 11

Well, it's day 11 of nonsmoking and I am delighted to say that it is going pretty well. I feel most anxious at night and took two tylenol PM pills to ensure restful sleep. I have definitely experienced a bit of grogginess as a result this morning.

For the most part I have not wanted to smoke, but when I looked at this photo of the broken cigarette it made my heart beat quickly and lustfully. It's strange how a simple image can illicit such a strong physical response.

Also, I am on day 4 of no coffee. I've replaced it with tea. I've been feeling oddly calm and a bit giddy. I feel very optimistic about life right now. I read a bit more of the artist's way and embark on a journey of artistic exploration starting next week. It's a bright new leaf to turn over and one that is long overdue.

The Djembe Man

Sometimes I find myself scared of my dreams.
It makes me scared of sleeping. It makes me stay up late
drinking and thinking and avoiding drifting away.
Last night I went to bed early and drifted into the land of dreams.
I found myself greeted by a very smiley man. I was in an African instrument shop.
I started by playing the djembe and he asked me why I was so fascinated with the djembe and told me that he had many other instruments that made even more interesting sounds.
He kept bringing me instruments to play.
There is a drumshop/African instrument shop over on Union Street and 4th avenue. I have been meaning to go into it for months. I want to explore the use of alternate instrumentation, specifically African instruments for the third album.

I know, first things first, I have to polish up the 2nd album, package it and finally share it with the world.

but for now, here are some of the sounds in my head that will be shaping some of the upcoming music.

Day 10

Well, It's day 10 of nonsmoking. Last night I felt for the first time very anxious and agitated like there was something missing. I drank orange juice to calm my nerves and went to bed early. I feel like my lungs are starting to purge a bit, which isn't the most comfortable sensation, but I know it will pass soon.

Whoo Hoo! Day 10!

As part of my turning over of a new leaf I picked up a book that has been on our shelves collecting dust. It is called The Artist's Way and has been given rave reviews by my friends who have read it. Though, from my understanding thus far, only having gotten through the introduction, it's more of a course on self discovery and unblocking one's creativity as an artist than it is just a straight read. It should be interesting to see what comes from such self exploration. Hopefully it will act as some sort of plunger for my artistic plumbing. I am ready to dive in and find out.

Day 9

"Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times. " - Mark Twain

Here we go again. I am on day 9 of quitting smoking. I have lost count of how many times I've quit. My last long stretch was for 3 years. Then, a big ball of stress came rolling into my life and my knee jerk reaction was to pick up a cigarette, which led to another which led to another which led to a pack, which led to an addiction. Well, We had a friend staying with us in our apartment and all three of us got a cold at the same time. I'm just now getting over it thanks to lots of water and mucinex and homeopathic remedies. I cannot praise the power of chicken soup and cayenne pepper enough.

I developed a very nasty cough, as did my friend who smokes. K did not develop the cough, most likely because he does not smoke. I was forced to put down the cigarettes because I could not breathe. I think I would still be coughing had I not put them down. My friend is still smoking and on antibiotics and is still coughing a great deal. I had a panic attack on the train the other day because it was so crowded and I could not cough and I needed to and by supressing it, I started having an asthma attack on top of the congestion. I ran out of the subway and out onto the street near the bridge and called K, totally freaking out. I couldn't get back on the train, so we walked for a bit until I calmed down.

So, it's day 9 and I have barely even missed smoking. I don't crave the cigarettes like I normally do at this point in the quitting process. I am going to keep my determination and kick this nasty habit. I like breathing and right now I am breathing better than I have in months. I'm sure my singing voice and my lungs will thank me for this.

an angry toothfish is swimming in my stomach

You learn something new every day if you keep your eyes and ears open. Today for instance I learned that there is no such thing as chilean seabass. Yes, stop the presses. I know your dreams are shattered and you feel just as let down and lied to as I feel at this moment. Chilean seabass is in fact the sexy name given to the rather unfortunate looking patagonian toothfish which isn't even a bass.

I had never sampled the pleasures of patagonian toothfish until someone got my order wrong just a few minutes ago and gave me the little critter instead of salmon. I decided to just suck it up and try something new. It was nothing to write home about but didn't really upset my stomach or anything.

That is until I opened my web browser and saw this.


I now have an angry patagonian toothfish thrashing around in my tum tum.
I will try to summon my comfort animal and an artificial forcefield of zen.
If that fails there's always the backup plan of tums and a ginger tea.

internetless

We have been without internet service for over a week.
Communication has come to a grinding hault.
Hopefully we'll be up and running very soon.(crossing fingers),