I have nothing wise to say today about hitting Day #28 smoke-free. The cravings are less frequent, but their intensity has not diminished. This past weekend I was at a workshop and instead of being in the company of friends who'd successfully quit, I was with those who enjoyed their cigarettes. I could have had a puff. I could have stood outside the doors with them instead of being stuck at a table with ladies I didn't know.
I want to join my buddies for just one cigarette. No one would find out. The woman across from me asks what I do for a living. I begin telling her about my website, my blog, and my dream of becoming a published novelist. She tells me about a poem her young niece wrote as a tribute to our soldiers in Afghanistan. An announcement that the next sessions start in 3 minutes cuts short a very interesting conversation.
I'm caught up in the presentation on covert surveillance techniques and don't entertain a single thought about smoking until the next break. I longingly watch my buddies slip outside. I follow them, watch them through the glass doors, turn away and finger a red MADD ribbon on a display table. A framed photo of a smiling toddler catches my eye. The baby looks so much like my grandson.
"My daughter's boy," the woman behind the table says. "He was killed by a drunk driver." My heart leaps, my eyes moisten.
"I've been volunteering for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for the last 11 years--since it happened. I talk at schools. I talk to prisoners."
I stare at her, wondering from where she gets her courage.
"He lived with my daughter in our basement. I remember him calling up the stairs in the morning, 'Grandma, are you awake, yet?'"
A nicotine fix is the farthest thing from my mind.
"I remember tiptoeing in to see him as he slept. I remember thinking, 'I love you so much, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you.'"
The workshop ends and I pull up to our cabin. My grandson greets me with a gurgle and a 5-toothed smile. I think of the stories that I would not have heard had I been on the other side of those glass doors.
I have nothing wise to say about being smoke-free. There's nothing I want to complain about. On a scale of 1 to 10, my pain is infinitesimal.
Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
http://www.eileenschuh.com/
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Can Twitter help the Quitter?
Can Twitter help the Quitter? It's a question posed to me by Steve Ondersma, scientist at WSU Med School in Detroit, as I head into my third smoke-free week. "Wld lov yr thoughts!" he tweeted. It wasn't a question I'd considered before.
I hadn't joined Twitter to aid my quest to quit-smoking; I'd joined to promote myself as a Canadian author, 'get my name out there in cyberspace', curry friendships and potential readership, reach my goal of becoming a published novelist. By tweeting about my real-life quit-smoking efforts, I hoped to entice people to read my 'important' website stuff. Until Steve tweeted me, I hadn't thought that perhaps Twitter was also helping me reach my smoking-cessation goal.
"What has the world come to?" I lamented to my publicist. "Are people really relying on faceless friends and electronic messages of 140 characters or less for moral support? What happened to family and friends? Phone calls and hugs?"
One of the hardest parts of my stop-smoking strategy was announcing my intentions to family and friends--a necessary step in order to increase one's chance of success, according to smoking-cessation specialists. It was difficult to do, not only because I was scared that I was setting myself up for a very public failure, but because people's reactions are not always helpful. Comments like "It's about time!" or "Now you won't stink!" are a little tough on a fragile ego, especially when delivered by people you love.
On the other hand, announcing my decision to the entire world via Twitter was surprisingly easy, perhaps because I was masked in anonymity. Perhaps because with Twitter, escaping judgement was simply a keystroke away. Unlike my announcement to family and friends, my Twitter announcement had to be succint--less than 140 characters. There was no room for parlaying reasons, excuses, history, and blame. All I had to say was, "Hey, World. I'm gonna quit smoking."
Come to think of it, I have found Tweeting to be a lot like cigarette smoking. It takes less than five minutes. It provides short, intermittant breaks from the daily grind. It's readily available at all hours of the day and night. It provides a small burst of pleasure. It's addictive--the more you do the more you want to do.
Tweeting has soothed me when I was uneasy, energized me when I was tired, lifted my depression, and offer a me a social connection that rivals that of the smokers' circle. It's something I look forward to doing--something that gets me out of bed in the mornings.
Twitter's simularities to smoking, especially when coupled with its differences (such as much lower cost and no proven ill side-effects), may indeed prove Twittering to be a valuable alternative to smoking--just not when one is driving. Please.
Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
http://www.eileenschuh.com/
I hadn't joined Twitter to aid my quest to quit-smoking; I'd joined to promote myself as a Canadian author, 'get my name out there in cyberspace', curry friendships and potential readership, reach my goal of becoming a published novelist. By tweeting about my real-life quit-smoking efforts, I hoped to entice people to read my 'important' website stuff. Until Steve tweeted me, I hadn't thought that perhaps Twitter was also helping me reach my smoking-cessation goal.
"What has the world come to?" I lamented to my publicist. "Are people really relying on faceless friends and electronic messages of 140 characters or less for moral support? What happened to family and friends? Phone calls and hugs?"
One of the hardest parts of my stop-smoking strategy was announcing my intentions to family and friends--a necessary step in order to increase one's chance of success, according to smoking-cessation specialists. It was difficult to do, not only because I was scared that I was setting myself up for a very public failure, but because people's reactions are not always helpful. Comments like "It's about time!" or "Now you won't stink!" are a little tough on a fragile ego, especially when delivered by people you love.
On the other hand, announcing my decision to the entire world via Twitter was surprisingly easy, perhaps because I was masked in anonymity. Perhaps because with Twitter, escaping judgement was simply a keystroke away. Unlike my announcement to family and friends, my Twitter announcement had to be succint--less than 140 characters. There was no room for parlaying reasons, excuses, history, and blame. All I had to say was, "Hey, World. I'm gonna quit smoking."
Come to think of it, I have found Tweeting to be a lot like cigarette smoking. It takes less than five minutes. It provides short, intermittant breaks from the daily grind. It's readily available at all hours of the day and night. It provides a small burst of pleasure. It's addictive--the more you do the more you want to do.
Tweeting has soothed me when I was uneasy, energized me when I was tired, lifted my depression, and offer a me a social connection that rivals that of the smokers' circle. It's something I look forward to doing--something that gets me out of bed in the mornings.
Twitter's simularities to smoking, especially when coupled with its differences (such as much lower cost and no proven ill side-effects), may indeed prove Twittering to be a valuable alternative to smoking--just not when one is driving. Please.
Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
http://www.eileenschuh.com/
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
On a Cyberspace presence
About a month ago (July 9th to be exact) I posted my very first blog on 'Magic of the Muses'. I promised brilliance, smiles, warm hearts, and friendship. I'm hoping I've given you at least some of that. My other promise was that the blog would be the story of a writer's obsessive pursuit of her life-long dream of becoming a published novelist. So, how am I doing and where am I at?
The first chapter in that story (underwritten by my able publicist, Cheryl Kaye Tardiff) is about increasing my cyberspace presence. With the creation of 'Magic of the Muses', completion of my fantastic website, and acquisition of numerous Facebook friends, that first step is nearing completion.
Has it helped my career? If measured by publishing contracts or calls from agents, the honest answer would be 'no.' However, it's been my experience that few efforts in life produce immediate rewards. Something worth having, is worth working for.
In the writing and publishing industry, there are opposing views on the usefulness of cyberspace as a marketing tool. It's been said that publishers and editors are not carousing the web looking for talent. That is probably true. It is also true, however, that as in any profession, networking is a prelude to success.
The old adage, 'It's not what you know, but who you know,' still holds true in today's high-tech world. Any kind of networking not only establishes contacts, but is also a rich source of information, opinion, and feedback.
As well, by promoting myself in cyberspace, I'm cultivating a potential readership base to which I can market my books when that time arrives--a fact that will undoubtedly appeal to agents and publishers. I'm advertising, displaying my talent, arousing curiosity, getting my name out there. I am no longer a closet writer with lonely dreams. I am now a personable someone with a smile who has cool stories to tell (and sell)to the world. I'm arousing curiosity, displaying my talent, inviting the world to share my dream.
While a cyberspace presence may never totally replace personal networking, it's a valuable resource for connecting with many more people than even the most seasoned traveller could hope to meet.
I have found my cyberspace friends to be a great source of friendship, information, and inspiration. And, sometimes, they are also very well connected.
Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
www.eileenschuh.com
The first chapter in that story (underwritten by my able publicist, Cheryl Kaye Tardiff) is about increasing my cyberspace presence. With the creation of 'Magic of the Muses', completion of my fantastic website, and acquisition of numerous Facebook friends, that first step is nearing completion.
Has it helped my career? If measured by publishing contracts or calls from agents, the honest answer would be 'no.' However, it's been my experience that few efforts in life produce immediate rewards. Something worth having, is worth working for.
In the writing and publishing industry, there are opposing views on the usefulness of cyberspace as a marketing tool. It's been said that publishers and editors are not carousing the web looking for talent. That is probably true. It is also true, however, that as in any profession, networking is a prelude to success.
The old adage, 'It's not what you know, but who you know,' still holds true in today's high-tech world. Any kind of networking not only establishes contacts, but is also a rich source of information, opinion, and feedback.
As well, by promoting myself in cyberspace, I'm cultivating a potential readership base to which I can market my books when that time arrives--a fact that will undoubtedly appeal to agents and publishers. I'm advertising, displaying my talent, arousing curiosity, getting my name out there. I am no longer a closet writer with lonely dreams. I am now a personable someone with a smile who has cool stories to tell (and sell)to the world. I'm arousing curiosity, displaying my talent, inviting the world to share my dream.
While a cyberspace presence may never totally replace personal networking, it's a valuable resource for connecting with many more people than even the most seasoned traveller could hope to meet.
I have found my cyberspace friends to be a great source of friendship, information, and inspiration. And, sometimes, they are also very well connected.
Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
www.eileenschuh.com
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Newfoundland
Several people I had the pleasure of meeting when I was in Newfoundland for my daughter's wedding have recently become my friends on Facebook. Their faces and names stirred warm memories of my visit to 'The Rock'. I clearly remember their welcoming buffet of traditional dishes (like bakeapple pie)and the performance by the 'mummers'.
In one of my Back Tracker novels, a unique Newfoundland phrase provides my heroine with a vital clue.
For a bit more Newfoundland trivia, check out Did you know. . . on my website.
Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
www.eileenschuh.com
In one of my Back Tracker novels, a unique Newfoundland phrase provides my heroine with a vital clue.
For a bit more Newfoundland trivia, check out Did you know. . . on my website.
Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
www.eileenschuh.com
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