In 1998 I lived in a teeny, tiny studio apartment in Chicago. We’re talking like, dorm room size — I’m not even kidding. At the time only Basil and Hopper lived with me, and at that point in my life I had been smoking for 12 years. I was never a heavy smoker — just a half pack a day of Marlboro Lights, box, please. On the weekends I tended to smoke more, sometimes up to a pack-and-a-half, especially if I had a paper to write. It was my senior year of college, you see.

One day, maybe night, I took a look at my cats. Or who knows? Maybe one of them looked at me, the way Basil did when I took this picture a few days ago, and I made the horrible realization that if they ever got lung cancer, it would be entirely my fault. When I worked at an animal hospital, there was a cat who was often treated for asthma, yet his owners continued to smoke. I didn’t want to be like them. Never mind my own health; I was, and continue to be, concerned about my cats’ well-being.

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I didn’t do it cold turkey or start smoking a brand with lower tar and nicotine, like I had in the past when I made a few half-hearted attempts at quitting. Instead, I stopped smoking inside my apartment. Since my place was at the end of the corridor, I was near the fire escape and smoked out there. The most difficult time was when I was on the phone. Cordless phones are nice, aren’t they? Eventually, I quit buying (it was $2.45 a pack back then) and just bummed from my friends at school.

That was it. I don’t know how, except for my own conviction and commitment to my cats, but by November of that year I had quit. Up to a year later I occasionally had a social smoke when I was out with friends, but nothing more than that. I haven’t had one since, and Basil and Hopper, now 10 and 11, will be around a lot longer. Heh. And so will I.

I was reminded of all this when I came across Stop It! (dead link) while blog surfing yesterday. The blog is for people who want to quit smoking, and is a place to post ongoing experiences. Since it’s a community blog, you have to register to have posting privileges, but it doesn’t cost a thing. However, the blog is also a challenge. Here’s the catch: if you slip, you donate $10 to the ASPCA. How cool is that?

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Angelo says: More pet pics are available for your viewing pleasure at this week’s Friday Ark. If you post your own pets’ photos, leave them a trackback or comment and you’ll be listed there, too. And remember — they don’t limit pictures just to cats!

is it me, or has this feature been glitchy lately? last weekend i noticed that it took my site forever to load because of that rental code. i also know that you folks must have paid more visits to The T Stop, my previous tenant, than what the stats actually are, am i right?

if it’s glitchy, i’m going to hold off renting for a bit. glitches give me twitches.

over the past several days, i?ve learned that it?s possible to have anxiety about your own mood disorders. in my case it’s bipolar and anxiety.

i?ve had real trouble fighting whatever mood state keeps me from getting in the shower every day. i?ve only missed showering for a couple of days at the most, which for me, when i?m in these states of mind, is really good. it isn?t that i don?t want to get out of bed, it?s knowing that i have to get in the shower that keeps me under the covers.

the only times i?ve gone out is if i?m with Brian. i haven?t even left the apartment to go to Starbucks! the funny thing is, i?m not remotely interested in having a latt?. i haven?t been for a few weeks now, actually.

my appetite has been horrible–nothing sounds good. even when my tummy is rumbling, it?s all i can do to get up from the couch or my desk to nuke some soup and drink it down. i?ve had to force myself to eat, and sometimes i lose that battle. now i?m armed with a few Soups at Hand, some yogurt, and pudding. it?s easier to shove food in my mouth that i don?t have to chew. besides, not eating makes you more depressed.

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thanks to Cat, i am now addicted to Yahoo! Widgets. being the geek that i am, i downloaded one called Word of the Day. today’s word is uxorious, which means:

excessively fond of or submissive to a wife

i searched for the etymology here, and learned that uxor is Latin for “wife.”

certainly Brian is “excessively fond of” me–i’m his wife, after all, but i wouldn’t describe him as “submissive.”

what a poor, confused word. its own definition has 2 contrasting connotations–1 positive, and 1 negative. i’m no mathlete, but doesn’t that mean then, that the word “uxorious” cancels itself out?

i don’t know why it even occurred to me to do this, but i was curious about the exfoliating properties of my husband’s whiskers. so, the other night i asked him to scrape a healthy dose of his 5 o’clock shadow against my cheek.

after the initial burning sensation, my face itched a lot. when i looked in the mirror, i saw that teeny, little hives had broken out on my cheek! fortunately, a cold pack and some Benadryl took care of that.

i noticed that he shaved the next morning, which he doesn’t usually do on the weekends. still, Brian and i have been together for over 6 years. wouldn’t i have known earlier on that i’m allergic to my own husband?