Day 202 of Quit

Life has thrown me a curveball lately, but by sheer luck I had the money in my account to cover some unexpected repairs on my car. Apparently a timing belt on a vehicle must be changed every 80'000 km's, at least for the model of the car I own. This one lasted 191'000 km... and by more sheer luck the valves did not get bent after the engine failed to turn over when the belt finally went. Which would have meant a new engine in a 10 year old car.

What was not sheer luck is that the bill presented to me was almost equal to an entire paycheck. Also, it was never authorized for the repairs. The garage went ahead and replaced the timing belt. I can see that it is necessary to find out if the valves were bent or not… but doing this without any consent to do this to my legal goods? I could have contested it and most likely have a case for small claims court. But I shall say live and let live… but I am giving that garage all the advertising they do not want. How? Word of mouth.

That was last week, and previous to that there was other things that have come up that delayed me from posting up my half year quit from smokig... And another week of distractions before that which prevented this post.

Which is a good thing I suppose, the not posting and needing advice… I’m getting comfortable with not smoking. The junkie thinking comes, and it’s is easily identified and dismissed of, no matter what the temptation. I’ve thrown out the last box of nicotine patches as I don’t need them to get over those sudden cravings.

I should post more often and update my blog as well, maybe with the daily practice and posting of items will get the creative juices flowing… get rid of this indifferent attitude I have towards writing as of late. So many unfinished stories on the back burner…

What else has been going on? Bunk bed madness and replacing my daughters bed, she always wanted bunk beds, and then, when we finally got them set up, the in-laws purchased a mattress… that is not built for bunkbeds. 3 flights of stairs hauling the bunk beds up, then 3 flights down the stairs. I swear if I made an economical external elevator to attach to a balcony, I’d make a mint.

I’ve also had the strangest urge to go back and try and redo some lessons I had set up for me many moons ago in Animation Master. Perhaps this is a sign that I’m getting ready for a career change? Or just more of the ‘You should really finish soon what you put off 5 years ago’… time will tell and reveal all.

Fun stuff I’ve been watching as well…
Hilarious House of Frightenstein – Like a grim version of Sesame Street, it’s been popping up on the cable channels. Nostalgia that makes me smile, except they removed the music that they had in the show.

Across the Universe – Best musical I’ve seen in such a long time. A great blending of story and song, and it may have rekindled my love for the Beatles music.

Torchwood – A more adult Doctor Who with themes that regular broadcast television. The BBC do put out some good shows, luckily being in Canada, they occasionally show it on CBC. Further notes to see if I can dig up the broadcast of Karaoke/Cold Lazarus adaptation they did by Dennis Potter.

Doctor Who season 3, ramping up towards Russel Davies next season, I’m hoping someone else can step up to the plate for the series next… Joss Whedon or Neil Gaiman would be excellent for writing the series.

Muppets Season Two – Was watching this the other night, and the episode with Candice Bergan (spelling?) from Murphy Brown was on. Didn’t realize how many of the songs that were sung by my family when I was knee high to a grasshopper came from the Muppet show. Here I thought there was this long standing tradition of singing while doing the dishes, looks like it was just a ploy to distract me and remind me of the Muppet show at the same time. I should feel cheated, but anything Muppet related rocks.

And reading… White Night by Jim Butcher. The Dresden files books are a must read if you are into detectives… with a healthy dose of magic thrown in. The tv series they had on, was an extreme light version of the books.

“Y – The Last Man” is a must read for those who enjoy the golden age of sci-fi aka the introduction of a new science or technology and impact on humankind. In this series, something kills all males on the planet, with the exception of one man. Intelligently written, and researched out very smartly too. For example, Australia ends up with the largest naval fleet, because of the sheer number of women that were already in the navy prior to the Gendercide.

Queen and Country by Greg Rucka – Now being collected into a definitive version in trade paperback. If you enjoy Bond, you’ll like this, it’s a smarter spy series and not so much as Bond’s usual infiltrate and beat/kill the bad guy up. The agents have more depth to them, they have real life problems to deal with.

And video games, (insert sigh of content here) City of Heroes is still treating me quite well so I can get my RPG fix in. I also picked up Portal from Valve studios, a must have for the game player. For those who played… the cake is a lie. For those who don’t know, just smile, nod and back away slowly.

As for the celebratory posts and achievements, I may do something larger when it comes around to 1 year, but for right now, I’m taking it one day at a time, enjoying the moment to it’s fullest. So don’t be too surprised if I don’t post for a while, if I have something profound to write, I’ll post it up. Otherwise it will come across as so much impotent masturbation on a written scale. Then again… perhaps it won’t be if I keep up the habit of writing. Once again with that writers block/apathy attitude.

But otherwise I’ve been keeping myself busy, happily so. So where am I now?

I’m still here,
Pike

I have been quit for 6 Months, 2 Weeks, 5 Days, 1 hour and 54 minutes (203 days).
I have saved $1,072.25 by not smoking 2,233 cigarettes.
I have saved 1 Week, 18 hours and 5 minutes of my life.
My Quit Date: 8/6/2007 9:20 AM

P.S. Must update blog more often...

Extinction of a species.. thwarted?

A recent announcement by the United Nations that the world may not be facing extinction of indigenous breeds is a surprising turn of events to areas with huge populations such as California. A report by the Hollywood Institute titled Peroxide Preservation and Diversity Report 1989/1990 reported the last known Valley Girl was found dead of starvation due to locking herself in a car. A recent find far north of the last known habitat of the Valley Girl shows that there maybe smaller pockets of the once thought extinct Valley Girl.

According to researcher John Timer, this new discovery is astonishing as it means that the genetic characteristics of the once disappeared breed may not have been lost forever. John ‘The Timler’, once interacted in their native environment in the 80’s and and warned us of the possible extinction factor. He is currently preparing for a field excursion on hopes of capture and at least an overnight study. “Oh man, I’m so getting my mullet back, I’m gonna get some hot action. Where’s my Poison cd?” Timler’s trials on the preservation of the Valley Girl can be found in his unauthorized autobiography ‘Leg Warmers in the Mist’.

Previous rumors of an ‘Eve’ type breeder on the east coast were dismissed by Timler in the mid-90’s after the plumage of a young woman was examined and found only to be a bad hair day and “Nothing else clean to wear, got something against leopard skin tights? Pervert!”
Governments around the world have been in talks about creating not a wildlife preserve, but a ‘party-life preserve’ , which would provide a more suitable breeding environment. Scientists and researchers are now poring over satellite photos to see if there are any ‘Duudes!’ to help perpetuate the species. Timler advises that he would be the most suitable candidate to supervise any breeding projects as he knows the species quite well after years of investigation.

The mating call of ‘Like Totally’ and ‘Are you all on the same team?’ may once again echo throughout shopping malls once again.

*******************************

The above was 'The Onion' inspired, after a phone call I had to make this morning from work. Tracking down a package that was sent to the wrong address. I phoned them and gave them a heads up and asked them if they could look for the package. The reply....

"Like totally, if I find it, I'll totally like call you back. Is there like a number I can like contact you at?"

Once thought extinct, the Valley Girl lives on, somehow clinging to life in the cruel cold climates of the prairies in Canada. Keep up the head bobbling Valley girl, I'll be on the phone with WWE to report the sighting.

I'm still here,
Pike

I have been quit for 3 Months, 2 Weeks, 3 Days, 1 hour, 56 minutes and 30 seconds (109 days). I have saved $575.94 by not smoking 1,199 cigarettes. I have saved 4 Days, 3 hours and 55 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 8/6/2007 9:20 AM

Remember

My grandfather served in the Canadian Navy, somewhere I've got his memoirs, I really shoud dig those up, reread them, maybe I can fill in a lot of the gaps. Who knows maybe it could turn out to be a decent read.

He was a big strong man, over 6 feet tall, and could drive a four inch nail into a railroad tie with one hit of the hammer. And it was Lou Gerigs syndrome or ALS that took his life.

Today is November 11th, a day to remember the veterans of war, like my grandfather. I really can't imagine him on a boat, setting the primer cord for depth charges.

I do remember his humor though. It was subtle and slid past you if you weren't sharp or quick enough to catch it. No matter what happened, even after he was diagnosed, he said to me that I "would be okay". He also told me once that he almost met Elvis...

But his shovel broke.


True story.


I'm still here,
Pike

I have been quit for 3 Months, 5 Days, 13 hours, 54 minutes and 37 seconds (97 days). I have saved $515.21 by not smoking 1,170 cigarettes. I have saved 4 Days, 1 hour and 30 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 8/6/2007 9:20 AM

Beware! ... The Customer....

Today...

I receive a package that has parts. No written instructions, no indication what's wrong with the parts, original packaging nowhere to be found, and only indication as to where it came from is written in black block letters ontop of painters tape which held down the lid for the box. Broken bits of styrofoam packaging (from what appears to be a set of speakers) were holding the parts in place.

How long should it take for a customer to return a part? With clear instructions, arranged pickup paperwork for shipment and return form? Should be done within a day, right?

Try 2 years.

Yep, it was about 2 years ago today I arranged for some faulty parts to be arranged to be sent to a repair depot, called in courier, faxed return forms and bill of lading to the customer. Enter a phase of calling each week and confirming if the customer had sent the part out. No replies to voicemails, written phone messages, faxes and all the other inquiries. After 4 months I made final voice mails and faxes, then closed the file as the warranty had expired 3 months previous. And I had convinced the repair depot that they should extend the warranty out longer to get it covered, they agreed as it would cost them more to do this as a billed item.) Track it down through the files, call up the sales people and then they confirm another thing for me... There was no original sale through us on these parts. It was originally sold by the 3rd party repair depot to the customer.

2 Years it took them to
- Ignore instructions clearly sent in multiple format (Voicemail, fax, e-mail)
- Send the parts to the wrong location and country
- Throw away their warranty coverage

Umpteen hours total of my time
- Fighting for customer rights
- Arranging for warranty coverage
- Arranging for courier pickup

I honestly don't know why they took that long to send, they made a huge fuss over the state of the parts in the beginning when we were first contacted. Did they loose the parts? Did all of that paperwork confuse them because they cannot read? Was there anything actually wrong with those parts to begin with? Did they have an epidemic of apathy? Did they get hit in the head and end up in a soap opera coma for 2 years?

I don't know.

I really don't want to know.

All I know is that one thing is for sure in customer service. The issues and problems are just like zombies wearing bullet proof helmets. You can shoot them, chainsaw them, explode them with dynamite, throw them down into a bottomless cavern and deal with them anyway you like... they will still get up and continue to go after your brains.

I'm still here,
Pike

P.S. Here's a meterflash, and no I did not edit the text from quitkeeper... and it took me a bit to get the final edit done on the above stuff.

I have been quit for 3 Months, 3 Days, 3 hours, 33 minutes and 33 seconds (95 days). I have
saved $502.37 by not smoking 1,046 cigarettes. I have saved 3 Days, 15 hours and 10 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 8/6/2007 9:20 AM

Day 82 - Rough Start

So, as of Monday, no more patch. The only nicotine like substance I am currently have is the dopamine my body naturally creates.

It is nice to be free of that patch, one less thing I have to remember or be dependant on, especially first thing in the morning... if you don't know by now, I am not nor will I ever be a morning person.

As far as I'm concerned
- The worm should have stayed in bed
- Waking someone up unecessarily is justifiable means for homicide
- It will only be a good morning until 11:55am upon which it will be time for lunch.

Anyways, since monday, I have noticed that my right shoulder has been aching more, lower back feels tight, and I could probably break diamonds on my shoulders. All these aches and pains are telling me something... I was medicating myself with nicotine as a painkiller, not enough to totally mask the pain, but enough for me to make it go away.

And had an argument with the wife, it was a doozy. She finally got on my case about not going to the doctor. I reminded her that she forgot what she was going to promise me she would do when I would quit smoking. She still has fears that I will get cancer, as one of our friends was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year. He had been smoking for twice as long as I did and twice as much per day. I will wait for her to remember, but this really and absolutely confirms a few things.

I quit smoking for myself.

Some people prefer to live in fear, and nothing I do will change their minds.

(Insert segue here)

Rest of the week went smooth, I had my review at the job, they confirmed a lot for me as to where I am and how my job is going. There was nothing but praise for my efforts, and they handed me my job description for me to update. One page description got expanded to three. And if they ask me to cut any of the stuff out... I will refer to the people who I was training that were supposed to take over my responsibilities.

At this point you are probably going, huh?

Come with me and lets examine this nutshell. Doing job, got transferred over to an assembly job, train people to do former job while in assembly (which is more of a demotion, but they needed the people) ... then get a split job between doing former job part time and assembly job part time, then back totally into former job... and more responsibilities of the same nature got thrown onto my plate as other people did not have time to do them.

So what's the problem?

My contract was not updated. I was doing my former job for about 8 months, and still on my contract and paycheque the job title of 'Assembler' was still there.

So, once I get my new job description and pay rate, I'll be making some more decisions. Stay with the current company which has larger mismanagement issues, or quit the job and find something else to go with. I don't have to worry about the lack of jobs in my current environment. In fact, I could push a broom for 3 bucks more an hour.

There has been a lot of anti-propaganda that has been subtly filtered down from higher management on this as well. As in what kind of company would you prefer to work for... as far as I'm concerned if this is the way a third year employee is treated, I'm quite sure there are better employers I could be working for.

Then again, there are days where I could imagine myself working for myself. Entrepreneurialism! My biggest fear is that anything that I would do would not sell and I'd end up further behind with loans and the like. Had I an actual financial cushion, then it would be alright.

And as for the job interviews... I am reminded of the late great Mitch Hedburg.
"Where do you imagine yourself in 5 years?"
"Celebrating the five year anniversary of you asking me that question."

And finally for this blog posting, I had my first smoking dream.

It was so vividly real, I was a passenger in a vehicle, I don't even remember who was driving or where we were going, and in my head I thought 'Fuck it.' I automatically had guilt after one puff which somehow sucked back half of the cigarette.

There was that feeling of guilt throughout the rest of the dream, making deliveries for something or other.

But upon waking up, I still had some of that guilt, and then I realized.

It was just a dream.

Is this my unconcious mind trying to work out these things for me? Replacing in my head a source of painkiller to deal with all the stresses of the week? Or am I on my way to becoming a non-smoker... instead of an ex-smoker?

Frankly, in my opinion the dream is a larger milestone than any number that my meter is recording. If I can change my unconcious desires and hungers, then I will be on my way to being nothing related to smoking, as opposed to being a non-smoker/ex-smoker. Then again, I really don't like labels, and have always been considered 'slightly weird', I can live with that, as my paycheque is not even anywhere near being 'eccentric'.

I'm still here,
Pike

I have been quit for 2 Months, 3 Weeks, 4 hours, 19 minutes and 17 seconds (82 days). I have saved $433.90 by not smoking 986 cigarettes. I have saved 3 Days, 10 hours and 10 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 8/6/2007 9:20 AM.

Tomorrow will be 1000 cigarettes not smoked.

Make with the Ha Ha already!

Allrighty folks, get your bookmark

Little Becky - Prank Phone Calls.
The sweetest girl you've heard, makes prank phone calls. My favorite is Becky calling the demolition company... to blow up her school.

http://www.johntedwards.com/2006/10/15/little-irish-girl-prank-calls/
http://www.johntedwards.com/2006/11/03/more-becky-the-prank-caller/

As for work... feeling a lot better now that I don't have to do this sort of thing... anymore. Found this off of a link from Fark.com, read for the war stories, then go rent Clerks.
http://www.customerssuck.com/
http://www.customerssuck.com/strip/index.php?date=2006-04-16

And geek reading to keep me distracted from the cravings... in no particular order.
http://www.leasticoulddo.com/
NSFW? They recently had an open casting call for the voice of the main character, I recorded off a quick demo and sent it off. No word as of yet, who they cast... Not keeping my fingers crossed, but how cool would that be?

http://www.sluggy.com
Sluggy freelance has been around quite a while now, huge readership, take a week off and start from the first strip.

http://www.pvponline.com
This strip keeps improving, wish my writing style would have such an acceleration curve.

http://xkcd.com/
is sometimes obscure, other times it really is laugh out loud... then get ready to explain it to people who just don't get it.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/
For all your video gaming comic needs, definitely NSFW

http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com/index.htm
For all your D20 gaming comic needs

I'm still here,
Pike

P.S. I know it's a bunch of links for the post, but I look at it this way... If I can help someone distract themselves from their cravings by getting them to read humor, the world will be a little better place, one chuckle at a time.

Meter Flash!
I have not smoked for two months, one week, four days, 13 hours, 27 minutes and 48 seconds. That's 870 cigarettes not smoked, saving $383.12, which will be spent on my geek stuff. As well, 3 days, 30 minutes of my Life saved so I can catch up on movie watching.

Short and to the point

"We're saving it for posterity."
"Someone get on the phone and call Posterity. Tell him to bring a truck so he can pick his crap up."

-Myself, on news that we were holding onto old electronics for future reference that no one will look at ever again and not disposing of them.

How to Survive a Horror Movie and How to be an effective Evil Overlord

The following is not my list at all, just culled up from the internet. I do think that one day I can do up a british style comedy/farce using the information from these lists. If I ever get the time to do one up.

The following links are for entertainment, (aka they should make you laugh, grin or smile) and if you are like me, would probably like to get some of these put onto a t-shirt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_Overlord_List
http://www.globalguardians.com/eviloverlordwiki.html
http://www.eviloverlord.com/
http://www.sff.net/paradise/overlord.html

Just to give you a taste of what's in store... here's how to survive a horror movie.
http://forums.timesdaily.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7341022675/m/2551074877/r/4801005877

17. When it appears that you have killed the monster, *never* check to see if it's really dead.

16. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, get away from them as fast as possible.

15. Do not search the basement, especially if the power has just gone out.

14. Beware of strangers bearing tools such as chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawnmowers, butane torches, soldering irons, band saws, or any device made from deceased companions.

13. If appliances start operating by themselves, move out.

12. Stay away from certain geographical locations, some of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania, Nilbog (you're in trouble if you recognize this one), the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in Maine.

11. If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they should not know or if they speak to you using a voice which is other than their own, shoot them immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run. NOTE: It will probably take several hundred rounds to kill them, so be prepared!

10. If you're running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice, more if you are of the female persuasion. Also note that, despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up with you.

9. When you have the benefit of numbers, *never* pair off and go it alone.

8. Do not take *anything* from the dead.

7. As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.

6. Don't fool with recombinant DNA technology unless you're sure you know what you are doing.
5. Never stand in, on, above, below, beside, or anywhere near a grave, tomb, crypt, mausoleum, or other house of the dead.

4. Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a joke.

3. If your car runs out of gas at night, do not go to the nearby deserted-looking house to phone for help.

2. If you're searching for something which caused a noise and find out that it's just the cat, *leave the room immediately if you value your life.*

and last but not least...

1. If you find a town which looks deserted, it's probably for a reason. Take the hint and stay away!

Day 54 - Transitions and changes

I stepped down from 2nd stage patches of 14 mg to the 7 mg base, and now I know what I'm going to have to expect when I get off the patches altogether.

My metabolism kicked in high again, the first couple of days its like I'm 17 years old again, eating just about every half hour. I can devour a twelve inch loaded sub with double meat thats about six inches round in just under five minutes, then look at the desserts, then look back at the other subs again. I do realize that it's just my body adjusting to the lower levels from the patch, but my wife is beginning to worry. Oh yeah, and I know there is going to be a bunch of recovering non-smokers who are going to hate me.

I haven't gained a pound. If anything, I've lost a little bit of weight.

For those who have met me in person, know that I am not in exactly pumped up fashion. There is not much there for me to loose, and when I do notice, I wonder where the hell it came off of.

Maybe it has to do with the hunger suppressants inherent in cigarettes. Doctors in the 50's used to prescribe cigarettes to women as a method of diet control. Nicotine does cause a body to emit an enzyme that tells it 'done and full, no more food, thanks'. So with the lower levels, it just feels like I'm hungrier, wanting more to devour. Maybe it has something to do with the change of season. I notice now that people around me are snacking more themselves... busy little squirrels stuffing their faces with french fries and other potato snacks. Getting ready to put that little extra fat on for the winter season, survival of the species and all.

And with that new appetite and metabolism, comes lower blood sugar levels. I thought I was going to fall off of my office chair today, then I realized, it was 2:00 and I had not ate lunch. Not by my decision, there was 5 high priority tickets to take care of. So, I worked through them head spinning and all, then devoured my sandwiches in about 4 to 7 bites. Felt a lot better after that.

First couple of days on the patch, I also had headaches as well. Lack of food causing that? Possibly. Could also be all of those lovely cell receptors getting ready to shut down to 'non-smoking' levels. I'm definitely going to have to stock up on migraine medication once I am off the patches.

My body is not built for heavy labor... lower back problems, inherent bowel problems, hernias run in the family... or as I like to call it 'My body is built for making love, not war.' I do know though that after 3 weeks on the last patch cycle my body stabilized out and I was eating normally.

Dreams are still vivid and bizarre. Great source of stories, in one of them, I'm a ghost hunter. Funny part is, I'm the ghost during prohibition years, running through moonshine breweries and hunting some X-Files type monster. I'll throw the idea into the story jar, not enough backstory to flesh out a full short story, and just flimsy enough to get thrown out anyways.

And then, there is the other things... more realizations for my recovery to 'normal-hood'.

I am an addict, unlike some though, my choice drug is cigarettes. I can have a drink, and set it aside, then not have a single drop for months even years. Kurt Cobain smoked and did heroin, made him less of a musician? Thought he butchered Bowie on the unplugged album, and I you can hear him slurring, think he just got off a heroin nod before recording. I can still do my job even though I have not had one cigarette in 54 days.

I've read in medical journals that nicotine is a harder drug to quit than heroin. And I can believe it, it's a comfortable hazy cloak of lies and deception, it's built on false hopes and a subtle crutch. It infiltrates your being, and replaces your cells reactions... to everything. The pleasure response which is built into our DNA gets turned off, as the nicotine totally overrides it, those parts of your cells shut down, they aren't needed. And that psychologically you begin to replace the normal parts of pleasure that your body can produce, with the nicotine happily soaking your cells. You are brainwashing your responses on a soulful and cellular level.

It is a hazy cloak of lies and deception, it also comes with a lovely blindfold of self denial. You stitch it together with lost moments of padding down your pockets for a lighter, feeling a bit of annoyance when you don't have one with you. The voyeuristic glances to behind the counter, seeing if they have 'your' brand. The cloth of self assured thoughts, 'It helps me relax', 'It gives me time to think', and 'I like it'. It wraps around you, permeates you, until it controls your behavior. Look at it this way, a dried plant leaf soaked in chemicals, cut up and put into a paper tube is going to determine how you are going to spend five minutes of your life. I'd rather be looking at something beautiful for those five minutes.

Another part of my recovery is that I'm speaking the truth more... maybe that's from trying to dump all the self-lies that I was feeding myself while I was smoking. I know people who are in their 90's who smoke, not one bit of cancer... I can just have one more, I can afford to quit later... they don't have any definitive proof that smoking causes cancer... I can't smoke in public, but millions of cars out there each day are pumping out more toxins in the air than my single cigarette... there was only one statement that subconsciously I was not lying to myself in the last couple of months before my quit started.

I don't like to smoke.

It got to the point, where I recognized that I was feeding the habit and my bodies response to it. I became annoyed because the cig was overruling what I wanted to do. I had to smoke before I could go do those other things.

I began hating the smoking process, but the addiction told me that it was necessary.

So I stopped smoking and used the patch. At that time, it was just 'okay, this is just another quit.' and I'll be back smoking within a month or so... but now, if I truly want to become more than an addict, I'll have to do more.

This week I couldn't stand to be at my desk at first coffee break, so I put jacket and Tilley hat on, and went outside. With all the smokers. I made sure I was not in their path of smoke, as I now can't stand the smell and was joking around with them. Sun was good, was actually warm for once, I wasn't working, it's the middle of the week, all is good... then I caught my hand.

It was reaching into my jacket for my cigarette pack.

I physically was going through the motions.

I almost smacked my hand when I stopped, but I did the smart thing, I took my mind off of actually doing the physical motion and analyzed what the hell I was doing. I came to the realization that by proxy I wanted to be part of the group. All the other apes were throwing rocks, so I went and was going to throw one too. Is wanting to be part of a group more important than my own health? Hell no. I'll try again later and be social with them later on.

This current stage of my quit is just a transition and change, with the onset of fall, there comes a lot of that reflected all around me. The oranges, yellows and browns of the leaves. Neighborhood children who were toddling around in cartoon clad clothing are now sporting acne and awkward prepubescent bodies. I notice there is more grey hair at my temples, there is more lines around my wife's eyes.

It's all about change, water becomes stagnant and not healthy if it does not flow. If I do not take the water of my own life and flow, I will become like a pool of standing water. In order to make the transition from smoker to non-smoker to ex smoker to 'nothing related to smoker or non-smoker', I must change.

This is my last quit, and I'm still here,
Pike

I have not smoked in one month, three weeks, one day, 13 hours, 18 minutes and 7 seconds.
I have not smoked 642 cigarettes, saving $282.77.
I have got an additional 2 days, 5 hours, 30 minutes of my life saved.

Musing thoughts for a Friday

Random Thought #1 - Pants is singular. To have more than one pair, it's still called pants, not pantii, or pantses. When referring to the legs, it's pant leg. When referring to pockets, it's pants pockets. There is no reference or phrase to describe the zipper, it's not the pants zipper, it's the zipper or fly. Even when they are buttons, it's a button fly. Perhaps I should be wearing a kilt.You know what's worn under a kilt? Nothing.

Nothings worn, it's all in good working condition.



Random Thought #2 - I've had a song stuck in my head for the past couple of days. In my head, I hear ' One for the ro-oh-oh-oad.' So that's what I've been looking for... do you know how many songs have that in their lyrics? I knew it was from the 70's but couldn't put my finger on it, sounded so generically 70's that no one part of what I had stuck in my head was identifying the artist. So, do a search with it in for chorus... sure enough.... Boz Scaggs - Lido Shuffle.

Lido, whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh....He said, "one more job oughta get it""One last shot, we quit it""One more for the road"

Is this another sign of getting older? Definitely have to regularly taking my gingko biloba. My brain maybe a gun, and my words are bullets, but it really doesn't help if the gun gets rusty.


Random Thought #3 - I miss drive in theaters.


Random Thought #4 - Found this on a site, Billy Connoly (master humorist) had this handed to him as well, I've altered it a bit, but one day this will be on my business card. I may change the header in my blog to read the following.
Seeker Of The Peace. Part Time Chandelier Cleaner. A Legend In His Own Time. Oppressor Of Champions. Soldier of Fortune. World Traveller. All Round Good Guy. Progressive Time Traveller. International Lover. Casual Hero. Philosopher. Wars Fought, Bears Wrestled, Equations Solved, Virgins Enlightened, Revolutions Quelled, Tigers Castrated, Orgies Organized, Bars Quaffed Dry, Governments Overrun, Test Rockets Flown, Wives Tamed. Part time member of the Liquitarian Society of Saskatoon. (For proof of any of the listed abilities, please send 10 dollars to my paypal account, you may not get the proof, but I could use the money.) Life is a waste of time.
Time is a waste of life.
Get wasted all the time.
And you'll have the time of your life.


Random Thought #5 - Computer social networking... The AS3 network of recovering non-smokers have helped me out a lot, I probably would still be smoking if it wasn't for the fact that they were there. But somehow I got sucked into facebook, found a whole lot of people I have drifted away from. Not on purpose, but it does happen regardless of how much you put ties down. Families drift apart, friends have to move away, intrests change. Scariest part is... I'm seeing people now from my hometown, that I remember were in Kindergarten. Yep, another liver spot just burst out from the back of my hands, and another hair just went grey. How long will facebook last? I don't know, seems that everyone was MySpace'ing it a year ago. Another fad? Maybe... it might end up becoming like ICQ, or Powwow. I miss using Powwow, it was better than ICQ as you could send people sound files, and when you played them on your computer, it would play on theirs. Also had a smaller footprint for memory consumption.Hopefully it will stick around, but in the meantime, I'm up there. And for those people who are wondering were I am...

I'm still here,
Pike

My smober meter reads... One month, two weeks, one day, 6 hours, 12 minutes and 7 seconds. 555 cigarettes not smoked, saving $266.45. Life saved: 1 day, 22 hours, 15 minutes.