My hotel in Pittsburgh. Actually, it’s a priory, but I’m not nearly Catholic enough to know the difference
I present this photo of me as a 17-year-old premature smoker (though smoking at 17 was legal in North Carolina at the time) in observance of the fact that I quit smoking thirteen years ago today.
I don’t miss it. That’s interesting, because a lot of people do.I guess I’m just one of the lucky ones; the thought of smoking a cigarette now is actually pretty repulsive to me, and I can’t even stand to be around other people when they smoke.
My strategy was as follows:
- Stop smoking inside the house. This cut down my consumption pretty drastically and forced me to think about every cigarette I smoked.
- Choose a specific “quit date” and observe it.
- Use a little of the nicotine gum (though I only remember buying two or three boxes).
After a few months of unpleasantness, everything was fine. I lived through it.
You can too. It may be harder for you. It may be easier. Either way, it will be worth it.
Lunch with my dear and longtime friend Sarah followed by an uneventful border crossing.
The Elwins and Tokyo Police Club, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.
Exploring the city and binging on books.
More exploring, more eating, and the obligatory photo from Riverdale Park.
Afternoon on the Trans-Canada Highway, evening in Ottawa. I have a feeling I’ll end up spending an extra day here just like I did last time. I think I’m always a little surprised by how much I like Ottawa.
Long Facebook post I’m repurposing here as well. Sorry if you’ve already read it…
On this U.S. Election Day, I am in Ottawa, the national capital of Canada (I voted early for the first time this year). People here are very apprehensive about what may happen today, me and so am I. If you have convinced yourself that one candidate is “no better” than the other, you clearly have not been paying attention. Perhaps more than in any recent election, there is a very clear choice here, between an America that is paranoid, racist, and governed by irrational fear, and one that is positive, inclusive, and will try to protect the basic rights of all its inhabitants. Is there a perfect candidate? No. There never is. But there is really only one candidate who is worthy of serious consideration by reasonable people.
And in North Carolina, the choice is just as clear. A vote for the current regime demonstrates that you do not care about me and other LGBT individuals in the state, about protecting the rights of other minority voters, about maintaining educational excellence, nor about attracting new businesses to the state.
The ball is in your court. Vote. Make the choice that suits your beliefs. But don’t let some stupid notion about there not being a real choice convince you that voting doesn’t matter (that’s just lazy) or that a “protest vote” helps anyone at a time like this.
Enough. I’m off to have a big Canadian breakfast and to enjoy a beautiful day in Ottawa.
The less said about the American election today the better. I spent the day in the warm, fuzzy embrace of the Canadian capital. Roamed around the Glebe, hit a few bookstores, took a very long stroll downtown by Parliament and by Library and Archives Canada, and had a lovely dinner at a Thai place on Bank Street. I swore I wasn’t going to watch the election returns, preferring to wake up on Wednesday with the outcome set, one way or another. That plan didn’t work, alas…