Mark this momentous day, December 9th, 2008. This was the day that I escaped the prison of nicotine addiction. I didn’t “give it up”, but I have come to the full realization that there is nothing enjoyable or good about smoking. Anything I can do while smoking, I can do better not as a smoker. So I do not have, and will never have a reason or motivation to smoke another cigarette.

I’m finally free from that weed and all the pain that it brought into my life! I feel like I’ve escaped from shackles in some dank, moldy medieval dungeon, and have stepped into the gloriously beautiful light of day, with the fresh air on my face. It’s that awesome!

A weekend of glorious fun and excess (kind of).

Friday night:
1) Katie flakes on going out. Instead goes to local bar and has a beer with Brenna.
2) Sarah picks up Jeanne late from LAX
3) Everyone’s having good time at “Good” (bar).
4) Everyone = Raf, Mark, Loryn, Sean, Tom Wr., Max, Helen, Bridget Don., Erin, Tim, Others(??)
5) Sarah, Jeanne and I arrive almost simultaneously. The party really starts.
6) Move to “Winchester’s” due to insane crowd @ Good.
7) Lose Bridget, Helen, Max, Sean, Tom. Gain Joey, Dana, Laura Lau., Others.
Good times continue. Shots. Copious Photos.
9) Crash at the McLean’s. Star Wars chat with Mark. Good times.
Saturday
1) Wake up. Beginning skimming Star Wars book.
2) Scare Mrs. McLean.
3) Get Starbucks. Go to Orellana’s. Chat with Raf over Starbucks. Good times.
4) Lunch @ El Pref with Raf, Jeanne, Sarah. Raf leaves to visit Gabe.
5) Great talk with Sarah and Jeane about Faith, belief, and the importance of Truth underlying what we live by. Very Good Times.
6) Part ways with Sarah & Jeanne. Head into Ventura (towards Fry’s). Call Joy. She’s finishing shift at golf course. Perfect timing. I veer from course and head towards golf course. Hang out in Bar & Grill, chatting with Greg and Dustin, the bartenders, who serve me free beer. Good times.
7) Sister and I want to see a movie. Katie does not, but says she’ll be ready in a couple hours. Sister and I go see Wanted. Get iced chai tea and chat before movie. Good times.
Watch Wanted with Sister. Very Fun movie.
9) Sister and I part ways. Supposedly only for hour or two until we meet again in downtown Ventura. I go to the Scanlon’s.
10) Empty Scanlon’s house, minus Katie, Brenna and Kirstie. Kinda weird (the house being empty, that is). Preparation to leave begins. Promises are made.
11) Drinks with Katie while other two get ready.
12) Drinks with Katie and Kirstie while other one gets ready.
13) Everyone ready to go. All looking (in my opinion) just as pretty as when I arrived. Me and three pretty girls. Good times.
14) Arrive at Main St.
15) Meet up with a gorgeous Colleen (as always) and a debonair-evil Evan (it’s all about the goatee). Definitely one of the prettiest (and smartest) couples around.
16) Cafe Fiore. Dancing. Drinks. Pictures. Meet up with Sarah, Jeanne, and Raf. Good times.
17) Head to “J’s”. Kirstie has an in, but it’s packed, and definitely not our kind of crowd. Up to Star Lounge, say hi to Joey and Dana. Off to Winchester’s (due to later last call than other places)
18) Drinks, pictures. More drinks. More pictures. Last Call. More pictures. Pizza on the way back. Group splits. Sarah, Jeanne and Katie. Brenna, Raf, Kirstie and me.
19) Back to Scanlons. Brenna and Kirstie crash. Raf and I make ourselves some Screwdrivers. Great conversation (even better than usual) with Raf until pre-dawn light in the sky. Good Times, good times.

Sunday
FORTHCOMING (gotta sleep now)

Smoker: No
Alcohol Consumption: 3 Corona Lights. 2 Glasses red
Weight: 242.6
Symptoms: Dry, scratchy throat. Blurry vision. Mental tiredness.
Food Intake: Delicious BBQ chicken (prolly about 1.5 lbs), summer squash/zucchini, salad, and 5-6 pieces of garlic bread, for dinner (at Anthony and Anne-Marie’s) Apple pie for dessert. Lunch was club sandwich w/ salad at the Scanlons. Strawberry ‘n Creme Starbucks. Large Diet Coke.
OMG I feel like a fattie after listing all that: Yes, ’specially ’cause Iz ’bout to has ‘nuther Corona Light (it’s ok tho cuz its lite = makes me skinnier the more I drink)

Cool Idea for a T-Shirt:
The Meme Shirt. A 3×3, 4×4, or 4×5 grid of rounded corner squares (white space in between) with something that distinctly represents a famous meme. Including:
lolcats, AYBABTU, hampster dance, dancing baby, dramatic prairie dog, peanut butter jelly time, ultimate showdown, Leeroy Jenkins, Snakes on a Plane, O RLY owl, OK GO, Canon D, Chuck Norris Facts, Mentos + Diet Coke fountains, Ask a Ninja, Maddox, Rickroll, Homestar runner.

The title of the shirt reads “Don’t Worry, Ma’am. We’re from the Internet.”

Tomatoes with Salmonella.

Floods destroy farmland.

Food Crisis.

Spinach with E. Coli.

West Nile Virus.

Bird Flu.

Population Bomb.

We’re all gonna die. No doubt about it. But only your neighborhood News wants us to think it’s gonna be tomorrow, unless we watch their show for them to tell us how to “Protect Ourselves and Our Children” (won’t SOMEONE think of the CHILDREN!??!!!) from the latest uber-mega-hypo-pandemic.

Well, keeping in line with my new oh-so-health-conscious mentality, I’ve decided that my personal health needs to be under 24-hour surveillance, in case one of these random Armageddon-esque dangers was to sneak up on me all quiet-like. So, without further ado, I create the OMG HEALTH category to track details about my physical condition that will appear useless and inane to all but the most trained eyes.

So here it is:

SMOKER: no
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION: 1
WEIGHT: 232.2 (kg or lbs - my scale doesn’t say)
BODY FAT %: 85 (estimate based on self-image)
ACTUAL BODY FAT %: unknown
DIET:
1 large bowl of Grape Nuts w/ Granola (1% milk)
2 A&W Cream Soda
1 Corona Light
IMAGES forthcoming…