I’ve quit smoking twice in my life. The first time was right around my son’s first birthday. Cold turkey… I bit down and rode out the withdrawals. The second time was after a 6 month period of post-divorce singleness. This time a found a girl I was VERY attracted to who didn’t like smoking. Not sure what happened, maybe the endorphins overrode my craving for smoke, but it was a LOT easier (also I hadn’t been smoking that long). This time there’s no girl, just me and myself, and a desire to avoid doing something that’s absurdly unhealthy. I started smoking again last July, so that makes it… almost 9 months this time. The patches are working great. I don’t have the withdrawal symptoms I remember when I was younger. The only thing I have to work on is my habit of smoking when I’m bored or stressed, or just in the mood for a lovely kretek and a cup of coffee. I’m on day 4 without a cigarette, and it’s really too early to know what I’ll decide to do, but I really think (right now) that the health risks, maybe even the social stigma, and definitely the ashy aftertaste and dull chalky pain in my lungs are too high a cost for the pleasure of something I can’t seem to control.
evokateur's Life List
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1. have a healthy relationship
159 people -
2. graduate from college
6,117 people -
3. get a job!
1 cheer10,500 people -
4. read more books
10,990 people -
5. quit smoking
1 entry8,486 people -
6. take more pictures
14,310 people -
7. visit philadelphia
23 people -
8. contribute to an open source project
112 people -
9. drive across the U.S.A.
1 entry2,163 people -
10. learn french
10,589 people -
11. learn tagalog
491 people -
12. go to grad school
993 people -
13. play the drums
223 people
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Ok, I’ve actually done this, but not quite on my own terms… so I want to do it again… slowly… preferably with a camper van.
I’m ambivalent about this goal. Sometimes I feel more free without a car, and sometime less. There’s something very satisfying (and autonomous) about being able to get around on PT, but it can get frustrating when you’re out in the sticks.
