Fumar Con El Diablo En El Inferno

I finally did it! I quit smoking!! I've been trying for years, but this time I think I've finally kicked the habit. It's been seven weeks since I touched a cigarette. I used the patch. 2 weeks on the 21mg patch, 2 weeks on the 14mg patch (you're supposed to step down), about a week on the 7mg patch and then I just started forgetting to put the patch on at all. Yes, it's true that I've tried quitting before. I did cold turkey for a year and a half several years ago. I quit for 3 months last time I tried the patch. So, what makes this time any different?

It's my attitude that's different. and my mental frame. Before, when I saw someone with a cigarette, my cravings were ravenous. It was all I could do not to tackle the person and rob them of their nicotiney goodness. Now, I see a smoker, think for a minute and then arrive at, "Oh yeah, I used to do that." Smoking now has the connotation of a lifestyle long since left behind. In a way, I feel a little like a traitor, leaving my cancer sucking brethren behind. But, I can sit right next to my mom or be in a room with my dad while one of them lights up and not feel any cravings. I realize now how awful I must have smelled with all that smoke clinging to my clothes. My breath probably suffered too.

I can breathe much better now, it's true. I can jog a little ways and not drop dead. I still have the smoker mucus thing going on in the mornings though. Can't wait 'til that goes away. The most amazing thing though; I was on the shuttle this morning and realized that my mind wasn't racing a mile a minute like it used to. Either it's a good day today or that's another side effect of quitting.

Seriously though, even if you can't quit smoking, it's still healthier and less expensive to be addicted to the patch. The way I figured it, I was saving $10 a week by not buying cigarettes. Course, I was a pack a day smoker at $5/pack. The patch also lets you absorb the chemical through the skin, so your lungs don't suffer. Plus, you don't have to go outside in the freezing-ass cold to light up. Groovy.

So anyways, yay for me!