Now that the three-day-long stomach ache has finally subsided, it's okay to look back on how great Thanksgiving was. On the night before Thanksgiving, my friends and I hit up One World (100 W. University Parkway) every year.

When you order their Thanksgiving feast ($21.95), you get thick slices of tofurkey served with fluffy mashed potatoes topped with vegetarian gravy, baked candied sweet potatoes, a generous portion of stuffing, tasty green bean casserole, soft corn, and a side of a citrusy cranberry sauce.

To top it all off, dessert is included. The selection of delicious treats typically includes up to two dozen vegan and non-vegan desserts.

While many non-vegetarians have enjoyed the annual meal with us over the years, this year only two of us made it in. I've been a vegetarian for about 10 years and since going to One World on Thanksgiving Eve, I have yet to make a tofurkey.

Why bother if you can enjoy it with friends the night before?

Every writer gets it at some point. And with the big 3-0 getting closer by the second, the answer is not getting any easier.

I spent the entire day yesterday thinking about how I could write my first book during the 2010 Baltimore Writers' Conference, held at none other than my forever home away from home -- Towson University. There were many workshops to choose, I went to two about writing book proposals and working with agents. I don't usually attend sessions that deal with the business side of writing but for the first time I think I finally understand how the book industry works.

I also went to a session about environmental writing and, to treat myself, a session about screenwriting. I have no interest in writing for cinema or theater but I have a lot of respect for people that do. The speaker, Marc Lapadula, couldn't have been a better fit.  He enthusiastically showed us interesting clips from Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges, 1941) to support principles that he introduced.  The best part was his passion for the craft and how noticeably proud he was of his former students (which include writers of  The Hangover and 500 Days of Summer.)

After spending a day learning and catching up with some friends and former grad school professors, I think I'm one step closer to reaching an answer to the question above.

Last night a good friend invited me to go to Pizzazz Tuscan Grille (711 Eastern Ave.) for an evening filled with wine tasting and cupcakes.

I wasn't really sure what to expect. All I knew is that I needed to eat dinner.

When we walked in, wines from all around the world to Maryland's own Boordy Vineyards were there. All of the cupcakes looked freshly baked from Emily's Desserts, a vegan bakery with locations in both Baltimore and Towson.

Some of the pairings throughout the evening included:

• Boordy Chardonnay with either a vanilla, red velvet or lemon cupcake
• Boordy Jazz Berry with either a tiramisu, lemon or cookie-n-cream cupcake
• Boordy Riesling with either a black bottom or vanilla cupcake
• Pircas Negras Malbec (Argentina) with either a chocolate peanut butter, tiramisu, carrot cake, or pumpkin spice cupcake
• Chateau de Bastet Côtes du Rhone (France) with a chocolate coconut cupcake
• Betilli Pinot Grigio (Italy) with a tiramisu cupcake
• and many more! 

I didn't try any of the wines, I"m not drinking for just a little while longer since  recovering from the concussion. 

But I did shove vanilla and chocolate chocolate cupcakes down pretty quickly, despite the fact that I hadn't had dinner yet. For some reason vegan desserts always seem to be softer, richer, and more flavorful. Emily's didn't let me down.

Between digging into the cupcakes a majestic golden harp caught my eye. Later it was played by none other than the "Charm City Harpist," (Rachel Harkins).

After looking into it a little bit more, apparently last night was the first time that Baltimore has hosted a "Wine & Cupcake Bar" event. New York City and San Francisco have been doing it for quite some time.

It probably won't be the last for Charm City either. For those that plan to go in the future, it might be best to dress up a little since people there were pretty dolled up. My girlfriends and I were there a bit more casually dressed, but we didn't care.

It also wasn't just a "girls only" type of event. There were plenty of men there, the crowd seemed evenly mixed. It should be pretty interesting to see how this event evolves in the future.

Rush hour has been pretty bad since all the kids went back to school months ago. But today was different.

No staggering brake lights.

No frustrating 15 miles per hour or slower.

No annoying horns honking.

It was just like driving to and from work during the summer.

Today I was also a bad citizen. I didn't vote. This means I can't complain about our city or state legislators for quite some time. But neither can anyone else that didn't vote today!

So why would someone choose not to vote? Here are what I believe to be the top 5 reasons:
1. None of the candidates seem worth the effort.
2. Traveling out of the state -- either for business or on vacation.
3. An illness or sickness.
4.Feeling too busy or like you can't get away from work or school.
5. Thinking that your vote won't count because you live in a predominantly democrat or republican area.

I'm not worried or regretful about not voting this year but I am interested to see what the results will be.