Ah, so let me tell you what its like to quit smoking. Everything is a trigger. Things that you used to do with smokes you can't do anymore. That means, for instance, you can't drink coffee. Thats a tough one. It also means, that, ideally, you never eat because inevitably, food makes you want a smoke. That, unfortunately, you can't control. You can't drink. You can't hang out. You can't drive your usual route to work. You cant' do anything where you used to smoke or else, the cravings start. They'll be little pangs of anxiousness at first, then they'll get stronger. Your palms get clammy, your eyes get a little teary and you feel on edge. It's like how you might feel twenty seconds after someone scares the crap of out you - your tense, ready to pounce, a little jittery and a little angry and - if someone does it again - you are likely to snap their head clean off. Your body starts to feels tingly, and your arms feel out of place. Your anger and frustration begin to mount as you realize this feeling aint going away for a while. You become insanely easy to irritate. Anything - absolutely anything - will set you off. It's your body's way of trying to create a guilt-free pathway to having a smoke. "Oh crap! The font size is wrong! That's it! I'm smoking! I can't deal with this powerpoint crap!". Your coworkers are all idiots. You tell yourself, you are doing great. After all, nicotine is more addictive than cocaine. It's been proven nicotine provides a higher high and a bigger rush - and cocaine addicts couldn't tell the difference between shooting up cocaine or shooting up nicotine. Wow. Your remember that nicotine only takes 8 seconds to get to your brain, but it takes 72 hours to get out and for ten seconds, your palms return to normal, your heart rate drops and you feel, for a moment in control. And so you make it through day 1, but then day 2 comes. It comes again - but stronger this time. It's like someone who was tapping on the door is now kicking it. With a steel boot. You can't ignore it. That's the nicodemon. He's a little guy who sits in your head and !@!# with you for about a week until you become strong enough to rip his little !@(#!(@# testicles off and shove them down his throat. You make it through day 2, but theres no reprieve. Your pray for sleep, but he's there too. For about two weeks, maybe three or four (as in my first quit two years ago), you will dream of nothing but cigs. Every night. You will dream of Marlboro everything. You will wake up more irritated than that time you thought you slept with Jessica Alba but instead slept in a gutter hugging a dead squirrel. The next day the coughing starts. Since you sound like you might actually die at any moment, while your lungs scream "WTF" and expel years of smoking goo, you are reminded this is a good idea. You wonder how its possible that blowing your nose produces less goo than coughing. And thats fricking scary. But at least you know your lungs are healing. It'll take another 5 to 10 years before they complete the process, but they do it. And so, holding a big snot ball in the palm of your hand you think "yea I dont need another one of those." And that makes it through day 3. You come home that night and notice something odd. Your clothes all smell, well, kinda stale. Like they've been washed but never dried. You figure its just that shirt, so you throw it in the laundry and put on another one. That one smell just as bad. Ok weird. You throw them all in the laundry. You get one when its done and it smells normal. You get into bed. But the bed smells stale. You can't do anything about it now so you spray a little fabreeze around and go to bed. You forget of course that within twenty minutes your nose will be as screwed as Britney spears' career. You spend the rest of the night trying to breath through your mouth, only to wake up with the worlds driest throat - complete with fabreeze taste in your mouth - and an even deeper cough. And so begins day 4. You are excited because you've made it to the 72 hour mark. All the nicotine is out of your body. By now, the cravings should be gone right? Wrong. You've got about 10 more days to go before they really slow down, and about 24 more before they stop altogether. You mark your calendar, and you count down the hours for each day. One day at a time. Anyway, sorry, had to get that off my chest. 3 days, 23 hours, 7 minutes, 24 seconds But whos counting right?

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Smoking, oh its so much fun to quit.

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ChristianW

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22 Feb 2008, 13:41

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wow, almost 3k per year on cigs. Congrats on not going back.

rhyme

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29 Feb 2008, 07:13

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I haven't smoked for 1 year, 9 hours and 24 minutes, saving 7,307.84 cigarettes and $2,923.13 .

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

nervousgmat

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29 Feb 2008, 07:15

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rhyme

I haven't smoked for 1 year, 9 hours and 24 minutes, saving 7,307.84 cigarettes and $2,923.13 .

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Congrats! Great going, rhyme!

uphillclimb

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29 Feb 2008, 07:48

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rhyme

I haven't smoked for 1 year, 9 hours and 24 minutes, saving 7,307.84 cigarettes and $2,923.13 .

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Awesome Rhyme. Keep it up! Your whole body, as well as your bank account, will thank you... :-D

kryzak

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29 Feb 2008, 11:13

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keep it up rhyme!

sangoman

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13 May 2008, 22:07

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After not touching a ciggy for the better part of a year .......... i have now become a "chugger". basically i smoke (in moderation) everytime I drink. Which would be say once a week.

While I know that this is not as good as not smoking at all......... I am pretty happy with my level of control

rhyme

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14 May 2008, 14:37

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sangoman

I hope you can keep that control. I tried that a few years ago and a smoke with a drink on weekends turned into a "smoke with a drink on weekdays" to "a smoke when I get home from work with a drink" to "a smoke when I get home" to "a smoke when I have lunch" to "a pack a day".

Also: 1 year, 2 months and 2 weeks, saving 8,814.15 cigarettes and $3,525.66 .

rhyme

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17 Jul 2008, 15:12

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1 year, 5 months, 2 days, 20 hours, 1 minute, 38 seconds

10,136 smokes not smoked

Almost $4000 saved

but hey, whose counting

terry12

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17 Jul 2008, 17:42

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Way to go rhyme!

VictoryMBA

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18 Jul 2008, 12:36

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Wow congrats, that is really great. I'm still a reluctant smoker...I'm down to about 4-5 cigarettes with a few drinks after work. Luckily I have broken the cig in the morning/after eating routine. I just need to sack up and stop altogether now!

rhyme

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23 Mar 2009, 06:34

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Wouldn't be fair if I didn't update....

I haven't smoked for 2 years, 3 weeks and 1 day, saving 15,067.15 cigarettes and $6,026.86 .

nink

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23 Mar 2009, 06:36

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Very odd thread.

Would like to point it out to everyone that I DID NOT resurrect this old thread.

I have not smoked anything since junior high school.
I never really understood smoking anyway.

pu2003

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23 Mar 2009, 06:48

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Rhyme, congratulations!!! That is awesome and healthy!

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23 Mar 2009, 07:03

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rhyme

Wouldn't be fair if I didn't update....

I haven't smoked for 2 years, 3 weeks and 1 day, saving 15,067.15 cigarettes and $6,026.86 .

Congrats. Certainly not an easy feat.

rhyme

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23 Mar 2009, 07:12

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nink

Very odd thread.

Would like to point it out to everyone that I DID NOT resurrect this old thread.

I have not smoked anything since junior high school.
I never really understood smoking anyway.

I'm guilty of resurrecting. I think two years now means I've probably kicked it for good.

nink

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23 Mar 2009, 07:26

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rhyme

I'm guilty of resurrecting. I think two years now means I've probably kicked it for good.

2 years is a very long period of time. It also coincides with your time at bschool and unemployment. Hopefully, stress at work will not reverse this trend.

Congrats rhyme.

billyjeans

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23 Mar 2009, 07:34

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lol i had my first puff during elementary school (first or second grade), and i choked so hard that i never smoked again!

isa

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23 Mar 2009, 07:49

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rhyme

Wouldn't be fair if I didn't update....

I haven't smoked for 2 years, 3 weeks and 1 day, saving 15,067.15 cigarettes and $6,026.86 .

nicely done rhyme!

rhyme

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23 Mar 2009, 08:35

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nink

rhyme

I'm guilty of resurrecting. I think two years now means I've probably kicked it for good.

2 years is a very long period of time. It also coincides with your time at bschool and unemployment. Hopefully, stress at work will not reverse this trend.

Congrats rhyme.

Thats not a coincidence - I intentionally quit before b-school because I didn't want to be the guy at recruiting events sneaking out for a smoke or otherwise stinking up a storm at interviews.

89nk

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23 Mar 2009, 15:51

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rhyme

nink

rhyme

I'm guilty of resurrecting. I think two years now means I've probably kicked it for good.

2 years is a very long period of time. It also coincides with your time at bschool and unemployment. Hopefully, stress at work will not reverse this trend.

Congrats rhyme.

Thats not a coincidence - I intentionally quit before b-school because I didn't want to be the guy at recruiting events sneaking out for a smoke or otherwise stinking up a storm at interviews.

Congrats Rhyme. I myself do not smoke regularly. Last time was for a close friends first born, smoked a cigar. It wasn't so tasty.

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