Boo

Buckle up. Knuckle down. Ride on! The bumpy rides lead to great destinations.

Watching that "cigarettes not smoked" number in the early days helped me put my smoking in perspective. Addiction and delusion go hand-in-hand. When I was craving a cigarette, my reflections on cigarettes were very different from the reality. During a crave I misremembered the smoking experience entirely. Smoking a cigarette was not some magical experience in which the skies would part and the world fell into perfect harmony. In reality, I smoked thousands of cigarettes without even thinking about it. Smoke breaks were a throwaway experience that provided nothing more than a temporary fix...nothing magical or romantic about that.

A clear oversight on my part. Mea culpa. And in preparation for the upcoming lido deck party...a monkey driving a boat!

YODA! We still have your freshman photo.

I played a lot of "Chicks or Sticks" here on the board in the early days of my quit. Felt like I traded one addiction for another. Late night speed-runs with Duck. Me and Sonic irritating Doreen. Bakon doing some creative accounting...Good times!

You know the drill Linda. Glad to see you back on the Quit Train.

Confession: I watched a film called "Nympho Island" back in the day. There were no virgins on that river.

They're on a mission from God.

Welcome aboard the Quit Train FunkyMonkey. I was a cold turkey quitter so I can't help you with information about NRT. We have many successful quitters here who used NRTs that will be able to provide more help in that area. Good call on giving up the smokes and never be bashful about rewarding yourself for quitting. This is one of the best things you will ever do for yourself.

Good job Overcome. Congratulations.

When the Divinyls had their biggest hit here in America (I Touch Myself), a friend of mine acted like he had solved a great riddle and told me: "You know that song's about a chick rubbing one out, right?" "Nothing gets by you does it?" I replied. Special dedication going out to all the ladies who are buttering the muffin tonight...

Congratulations Paul. That is a top-shelf quit. And also, thank you on behalf of the many of us who followed your lead on our path to freedom. Big round of applause for Paul.

Young Boo had quite a crush on Susanna Hoffs back in the day. As long as I'm confessing to past musical crushes...I had a thing for Lisa Loeb in the nineties.

Last night met up with the family at a restaurant. Me, Sugar Britches, and the kids met up with my mom, dad, sister, and my nephew and nieces. My oldest niece is back in town until August. Good chance to get the whole crew together. Entering the restaurant and taking a seat at the table, I felt no need to scan the building for ingress and egress points so I could hop out for a quick smoke. As I sat there with my family, I didn't have my addiction demanding my immediate attention. I was fully present and able to completely enjoy our time together. Good riddance to that nagging, petulant voice of addiction that was always right there in the background.

Any discussion of my favorite female singers has to include Patsy Cline.

Late night refrigerator repair. Just finished replacing the thermostat in the freezer. Now I wait to see if the freezer does it's job without icing up. Ah...the joys of home ownership! Yo, V.I.P...Let's kick it!

Margo Timmins is my choice for favorite female singer...

Why do you want to quit smoking? Really think about your answer. For some, it was health reasons. For others, it was social pressures. For me, it was the loss of independence. Smoking controlled my life and was beginning to limit the places I would go. If I couldn't smoke there, I didn't want to go there. Every single successful quitter had a clear reason for quitting. Once you are clear about why, you'll figure out how.

What's done is done Linda. You can't unsmoke a cigarette. What you can do is make a decision right now to not smoke anymore. The most memorable lessons are often the ones that hurt a bit. Hard lessons can set us straight and be a constant reminder of what not to do. Those same hard lessons can be an albatross around our neck if we allow it to be. Mistakes were made. Lessons were learned. Time to get back on track and move forward.

Smoking is only a life-sentence if you allow it to be. I resigned myself to a lifetime of smoking on many occasions. Even rationalized it with the old "I'd rather die young and happy than old and miserable" line of thinking. The addiction was in complete control right up until the moment I decided to take back control of my life. It was a challenge at times, but I've never once regretted quitting. The Quitter's Paradox: I don't want to be a smoker but I sure would like a cigarette. Every single quitter has had to deal with these contradictory thoughts. To successfully quit, you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It won't last forever. Quitting gets easier with time and eventually becomes an afterthought. There is no way around the early challenges; you simply get through them. There are no superheroes here. None of us posses otherworldly powers. If any of us put on a cape and jump off the roof, we will simply fall to earth and probably require medical attention. What differentiates us is that one day we all decided that we wanted to quit more than we wanted to smoke...That's it! Everybody here knows you can quit, we have no doubt. I sincerely hope you join us in believing in your ability to quit.

Strippers in particular. Many a young lady shook their biscuits to "Pour Some Sugar On Me" back in the day. It's not important how I know this! Here's another strip club song. And the band is from Australia, so it's kind of in keeping with Jo's theme of Aussie artists...

Welcome aboard the Quit Train 11better11. Good call on giving up the smokes. You're amongst friends here. Grab a seat and stay awhile.

Good job Amy. Congratulations.