Good morning, world,

It's 7:04 AM on May 16, 2006, one year since I quit smoking. It feels wonderful to be able to say I made it once around the sun without smoking. If I can do this, I really can quit and stay quit for life.

My brothers are still on the wagon, over 2 months now. Rob is threatening to quit in September, or whenever the new cigarette tax goes into effect in Texas. I'm not sure how much the tax hike is; I've heard it's about a dollar.

Every day there are more reasons to quit, and fewer reasons to smoke.

The other day, we were stopped at a light by 183, and just ahead of us was a Mitsubishi eclipse with four high school-age kids, all smoking. One was ashing through the sun roof. It was like looking back into my past, 10 years ago, when it might've been me in that car. I hoped for them that they weren't addicted, or that they would all be able to quit soon, sooner than I did.

You can't smoke anywhere these days, not even in bars, since Austin passed a smoking ban last year. You haven't been able to smoke in offices for years. Some companies here forbid smoking on company property (even outdoors). Now, you could argue that it's a nazist way to discourage smoking, and I might agree with you, but it's always hard to defend a habit that is essentially harmful.

Anyway, today is my one-year quittiversary. Hooray me!