I had my last cigarette 180 days ago. On January 1, I finished off the pack that I'd smoked most of on New Year's Eve. And that was it. My lips have not touched one since.

To celebrate and thank you for your support, I give you this very unattractive photo to laugh at.


Caryn (1997): Smoker

This is me, a college sophomore, smoking my second cigarette ever. I'd had the first only a few minutes earlier.

It was all downhill from there. Heh.


Caryn (2005): Nonsmoker

In this last picture, my brother is sitting on a step that has a plaque at its end. The marker says that step is where the water rose highest in the 1993 flood. He is not close to the river. Between him and the Mississippi, there are a lot more steps, a road, a bandshell, a dropoff and the levee.

*St. Louis riverfront in 1993 | More | More
*St. Louis riverfront sans flood

I am on vacation in my hometown with my family. I have a lot to catch you up on, but it's not going to be now. (It's probably not going to be later either, to be honest.)

However, I'm so excited about this, I am interrupting my trip to show you my new favorite thing in the whole wide world:





It was my grandma's. Apparently, my dad had thought there was an old microscope in the case, but when I opened it in the basement this morning, I nearly lost my mind when I saw what was really inside.

This thing is so cool, I don't even know where to begin. It's in amazing condition; it works; it's tiny; it's got a lot (all?) of the original attachments and instructions; and even the case is in super condition. I love the gold details, none of which is scratched off anywhere; the bobbin, which is on the side instead of inside the base; the rubber thingy that makes it all spin around; and the attachments, oh the attachments! There's an adjustable hemmer, multiple slotted binder, an edge stitcher, and a ruffler. My aunt, a former home economics teacher, told me some of the things that these attachments can do. My imagination is going crazy with ideas.

My dad couldn't figure out why I'm so excited about it, and maybe you can't either. That's perfectly OK with me.

I have to call the airline. Do you think I can carry on a sewing machine?

*Singer 238k My other sewing machine

Next time you need to get a little perspective on life, I will give you my friend Anne's phone number, so you can spend an hour and a half listening to stories about all of the dead babies she has known in the last few days in the pediatric neurosurgery unit where she works.

Makes that desperate "I need a roommate!" problem seem pretty stupid.

First, check out Rolling Stone with Jessica Alba on the cover. Inside, we have Anna Broadway!

And in Marie Claire, for three full pages just behind the Angelina Jolie cover story, Cuddle Party gets its first feature in a major women's magazine.

For both, the stories are coverlined.

Well done, kids! You're awesome!

It Can't Come Quickly Enough by Scissor Sisters
Laura by Scissor Sisters
Only You by Yazoo

*Sorry I never came back with thoughts on Seattle. Them's the breaks. (I did get to meet a pen pal face-to-face and that was awesome!)

*I haven't even left the hotel yet (got in very late last night, and it's not even 9am here), so no notes on the city just yet.

*I saw this article on CNN and had to download it. At first, I didn't feel one way or the other about the song, but I heard it a few times yesterday when I was flying cross-country. I found myself giggling and beeping along with the stupid thing. If you like idiot pop like I do (I'm talking to you goatload and Sassy), you might like it too.

*On a recommendation from Sexy Steve, I've been reading the Tao (he recommended the Stephen Mitchell translation but I’m liking Le Guin), but I knew that wasn't going to cut it for this long trip. Heather recommended The Time Traveler's Wife, which was actually at the library when I went by. The library copy is huge—a 500+-page hardcover. Was it going to be worth lugging around? I decided yes, and I was right! I’m about halfway through now. I love romance in my real life, but I don’t consume much of it in books or movies. But damn if this isn’t one of the most romantic stories I’ve ever heard. I’ll try not to read the rest of it before my return trip.

*This was the first time I flew since The Christmas That Wasn’t. I was much more prepared and also didn’t have any f*cked up drama to distract me either.

To my right ...

High marks! Bravo!

To my left ...

Boo!

*Thanks again for all the nice comments about photos. I've started a photoblog and that's where I plan to put my Seattle pictures. I'm working on my new site using Textpattern, which kicks ass. It's biggest flaw is a lack of documentation, but the active txp community has rallied and are making a txp wiki, which has been really helpful.