6 Weeks!

the 6 week milestone was Tuesday.

also the day that i put on the third step patch.

little, teeny tiny, not much nicotine in it third step patch... i went and spent the day with the extended family (none of whom smoke) and tried to not think about it.

didn't work. i thought about a cigarette quite a few times, then i remembered how easy it was on the second day of the step two patch. that helped a lot.

then, work was so busy the last couple of nights that i was reduced to a quivering mass of nerves by the time i clocked out, but i remained cigarette free.

and plan to remain this way!

cigarette free, not the nervous thing...heh....

well, that's all for now...thanks for stopping by!

5 Weeks!

yes, 5 weeks without a smoke. five long, long weeks, learning how to be a non-smoker again.

there's been some easy times, there's been some not-so-easy times, but time keeps passing, as it is known to do.

i'm just looking forward to the time when i can honestly say "gee, i can't remember exactly how many days it's been since i smoked..."

it is getting easier, for the most part. i even felt good enough about controlling my smoking urges to do a few headlines!

well, that's it for now...hope to be posting more often here soon!

thanks for stopping by.

Yay! I'm Still A Mammal!

'nuff said.

thanks again, to everyone that hasn't delinked me due to my lack of posting.

that is all.

I Think I Might Be Beating The Cigs..

the first day on the smaller patch was kinda rough...but the next day, no prob. now i'm not dreading the first day of the third step as much...i think i have the smoking part of the deal kicked, now to wean off the poison itself.

this patch system is pretty cool, i can even sit in the only smoking bar in town (and maybe in all Northern California), and not want to smoke.

or if i do, i can tell myself i don't, and i'm able to listen to myself and not want to smoke.

and, in other good news, the computer itself is becoming less of a smoking trigger for me. where i used to smoke like a chimney while looking for funny headlines to parody, sometimes lighting up a fresh one without even noticing i had half of one burning in the ashtray already, i can now sit down in front of it and read email, surf, play a video game, etc. and not be constantly reaching for the pack and lighter just to find that they aren't there.

just occasionally...hey! progress is progress! i smoked for many years, and i know that quitting isn't fast or easy...junkies and alcoholics are always "recovering" when they aren't using, and i think that smoking is the same.

you're never cured, just in recovery. the only true non-smoker is the one that never lit up one of the f&#*ing things in the first place.

well, thanks again for the support that you, my loyal readers and friends, have given me. i won't let you down!

that's all for now!

4 Weeks!

well, folks, i've made it past the 1 month stage, and am now on the second-step patch.

1/3 less nicotine than the first step. and i can feel it.

i knew this wasn't going to be easy, but i bet it's a damn sight easier than dying in an iron lung, or wasting away from radiation and chemotherapy....

that's what i keep telling myself, anyway.

in better news, i got a new (to me) car! yes, even though i love my little beat-up, ugly as sin but faithful little pickup truck, when my parents bought a new SUV, and offered me their very-well taken care of 93 Ford Taurus for 1 dollar, i just couldn't say no. i hope i won't have to junk the truck, even though i know nobody in their right mind would buy it for anything other than a parts car (has a great alternator!), i'd like to see it do somebody some good.

a co-worker suggested talking to the local high school Auto Shop teacher, see if i could donate it as a project vehicle. that truck would keep kids learning all year long....heh!

or maybe to one of those charities that ends up selling it for salvage, but makes some money to help folks who need it.

if anybody has a suggestion for charities that accept vehicles, let me know!

thanks, and thanks for sticking with me during these rough times.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

explosions in the Underground, and in a bus in London....

pray for Sortapunditland.

thanks.

3 Weeks!!!!

21 days....and i feel great, despite the nasty little summer cold i've had for the last day or two...

i've noticed that i have been salting food a bit less lately, and the salsa that i thought just a month ago was ok but a little wimpy now has a bite to it.

the urges are still getting me. sometimes mild, sometimes harsh, but not quite the climbing the walls, kill-someone-for-their-last-smoke type of cravings i have had in my previous attempts to quit cold turkey. i just deal with them if i can't avoid them, and they always go away...for a little while...

i know i'll have occasional cravings for years to come, i just hope that i'll be able to deal with them after i get off the patch.

i guess i'll find out then.

thanks, everyone, for your continuing support!

Happy F@#$%&g 2nd of July!

i bet you're wondering what that title is all about. well, i'll tell you.

my little town here in Northern California once was a proud town, with a strong local economy based on logging and fishing, as were many other towns in Northern California. were it not for logging and fishing, the area would be wilderness still...

but, the environmentalists killed the logging, the government (with the help of overzealous fishermen) killed the fishing, and now we are reduced to kissing tourist pinkytoe for a buck to survive.

at one time, my little town had a fireworks display on the 4th of July. that was when we had our pride.

now, the fireworks are on the Saturday of the 4th of July weekend, regardless of the actual national holiday, as an additional draw for the tourists. heh... i accidentally hit the shift key as i was typing "4th" and it actually made it more accurate... we have our fireworks display on the $th of July here in my little tourist-whoring town.

if i lived in a Republican town, this would never happen... but the irony of that statement is, that the hippie artist community a few miles to the south has a parade every year, on the actual fourth, no matter what day of the week it falls on...

so, on Monday, yours truly will put on his rattiest tie-dye, and his stars-and-stripes chef pants, and head south for a true celebration of Independence Day.

i might be celebrating it with a bunch of hippies, but at least they aren't whores.

peace out.