Cup of Coffee

April 24, 2011: Smoke-Out

39 Comments

I quit smoking nine years ago today, after smoking a pack a day for nine years. Hardest and best thing I ever did for myself.


I'd started a relationship with a girl the month before, and while she was crazy about me, she was allergic to cigarette smoke. She didn't tell me right away; she just put up with it for a month before giving in and saying something. So, I quit cold turkey for her. It's always about a woman, right?

A month or so later, she admitted she wasn't allergic to cigarette smoke, but that she just wanted me to quit. I suppose I could have been mad because I loved my Newport 100s as much as anything, but I shrugged and thanked her for manipulating me instead.

A couple years later, I made her the Milkmaid.

Happy egg hunting, Citizens.

39 thoughts on “April 24, 2011: Smoke-Out”

  4. Congratulations. I'm coming up on six years - I think - myself.

    Quitting is a drag, but smoking is a bigger drag. (Heh, I see what I did there.)

  6. newport 100s? she definitely did you a favor then.

    i've been jumping on and off wagon, right now mostly on though for the past 6 months or so (though i've nabbed a good few when enjoying spirituous beverages in the company of others). peckish jane kept up the crusade for abstaining a long time. the thing is, regarding smoking, there really isn't any defense in an argument to keep smoking. at least no logical one. anyway, good on ya, and keep up the good work.

    (newport 100s?)

    1. when enjoying spirituous beverages

      That was the hardest part about giving it up. I stopped having sober-cravings after a month or so, but drink-induced cravings lasted a good year.

      ...and yes, Mr. Smart Guy, Newport 100s. I was a homeboy.

    2. My wife smoked whilst enjoying a spirituous beverages when we first met. I was kind of a jerk and put my foot down immediately, and luckily she saw past my jerkiness and stuck with me. She doesn't appreciate, however, the fact that probably 2-3 times a year, I will smoke a cigar with my friends after a few fine glasses of scotch. She thinks I am a hyprocrite and only the facts get in the way with her being wrong.

  9. cc to hungry joe or any other member of the Politburo: is the sponsorship dongle open for bidness now?

    1. everything should be good to go, yes. the pledge drive is upcoming, but we definitely won't stop you if you want to get a head start.

  11. Just checking in. After this week I think I'll be staying off the coffin nails for good (thank Mrs. Hayes for getting me to quit in the first place). Good on the rest of you guys who have found better ways to spend your money.

  13. Celtics easily finish a sweep of the Knicks, who have a "good foundation for the future" and "took an important step" this year, saith the announcers.

    Knicks down, Heat to go.

  14. Sabres go down in OT. I blame myself.

    I haven't seen FTLT around here today...I wonder if he ended up seeing this heartbreaker in person.

  15. Just got settled in at Omaha. Man, the western edge of the StL airport and a mile along hwy 70 leading up to it look like a war zone. Any tall tree is snapped off, billboards and hwy signs are down, and I've never seen so many cars with windows blown out. AmerenUE was out in force working on power lines. It must have taken them quite a while to clean up the street in front of the airport, what with the debris and downed street lights lying along the sides. Terminal 2 (where Southwest gates are) was relatively untouched.

  16. tomorrow I start my first day in a while in the 'employed' line. horray! its only a temporary job, but the pay is good and I can add something to my thin resume.

    1. used a potato chip can as an antenna to boost his wireless signal

      how does that work?

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