Nolongerhere

Hi all my dear old friends. I'm so delighted to see so many friendly and familiar faces still here! Just stopping in to say hello to everyone, and I'm signing up to not smoke tomorrow! I hope to hear from all of you wonderful people!

Thank you everyone who has commented so far. I just got back from a 2.5 mile run/walk....damn smoker lungs. :/ haha I blame myself. Feel good, about to take a shower and get ready for work in awhile. Working a very short shift today. As far as the NoSmo, 14 hours down and looking pretty good right now.

For those asking about a plan to combat cravings, I really don't have one. I generally don't have any cravings when I quit. I just plan on drinking lots of cranberry juice, and working out (which is a new factor in my quit step), and generally just keeping myself busy, Already half a day down right now, easy peasy as Sarge says. And speaking of the Sarge. We generally butt heads, but I 100% agree with his post this time. This is only effective for me if I stick around. I know I can do it. I really do start to go down hill entering 'No Mans Land'. Everytime. And Armed, I know what you mean, guilt is a powerful thing, but so is nicotine. There was one day a short while ago, my daughter was playing with a NERF dart, a little plastic toy. And she kept putting it in her mouth, and so I asked her what she was doing, and she said, "Putting it in my mouth like daddy, those white things, with the fire." And my heart SANK. I felt like the absolutely shittiest person ever. So trust me I understand. I told myself then, that this bad habit had to go.

So for those of you who do know me, hello again friends. For those of you who don't, it's a pleasure to meet you. BACK STORY: So I don't know who does and doesn't know me, but my name is Jesse (sometimes referred to as HAT here), and I am 27 years old. When I was 19, I kind of got screwed in a situation where I was arrested for a misdemeanor charge of POM. Possession of Marijuana. I don't smoke marijuana, and can count on both hands how many times I have done it. Legally, I still am under the 'experimental phase' user category. It never really mattered or did anything for me, and as many of the people who know me here, I prefer alcohol anyway. :D Needless to say, even though that charge was dismissed and my record is quite clean, it has kept me from some opportunities, namely, military service here in the states. Anyway, fast forward to about two weeks ago, a girl I used to date and have maintained a friendship with just swore into the U.S. Navy. The kicker is, this girl, got a DUI or DWI a couple of years ago, I don't remember exactly which it was, but nevertheless that sucks a lot. She cleaned up her act, and swore in with the military. After talking to her about it briefly, she offered her recruiters information to me, saying that he might be able to help me. After talking with him on the phone and relinquishing my medical and criminal records to him, he assured me that I pre-qualified for the service. As some may know, this comes as an amazing opportunity for me, and could really be the catalyst for getting me where I would like to be in life. After meeting with him, he weighed and measured me, and concluded that although I am over my weight limit for entry for my height; that all I would have to do is lose one inch around my waist and he could get me in no problem. He is basing it off of body fat percentage, not just my body weight/height ratio. That is amazing news, I know it'll be work, but one inch for a young male shouldn't be to difficult to lose. After that, I get to take the pre-qualifying test, then the placement exam, then go through MEPS, swear in, and ship off to BMT. Easy enough I suppose, right? Needless to say I am incredibly excited about this potential opportunity that could finally get me where I want and need to be for myself, as well as my daughter. Since I have a child, and her mother and I are not married (separated), he said that I qualify for the Reserves. As I would prefer to go Active Duty, I understand the reasoning for that, and after a year or two of Reserve service, I would automatically qualify for Active Duty enlistment. Yay! Yesterday, I acquired a phone app called 'Couch to 5K in 9 Weeks', and started that immediately. As well, I have been walking when I can to lose this inch. I started the Couch to 5K yesterday, afterwards I walked about 6 miles. Tonight I just walked over a mile, and tomorrow I will be doing the next part of the Couch to 5K program; in which, I plan to do at least a bit of a walk after I complete that. PROBLEMS AND COMPLICATIONS: Well, we are pretty much all here for the same reason, and this is mine. While walking tonight, I decided that there was no way I could continue to really work out at my best, or survive boot camp if I don't give up smoking. There just is no way. As most of you could understand, my lungs are not in tip top shape after years of smoking. Even running for 8 minutes is a struggle, and that isn't even consecutively. This is an opportunity that I want to take, and considering my age, my be my last chance. So I have decided that the smoking once again, HAS GOT TO GO. It is about 10:30pm right now, in about an hour, I am going to go outside and smoke a couple of cigarettes and throw the rest of the pack away. As stated before, this could be my last chance to grasp an opportunity like this, and I refuse to not give it my best shot. Of course this is my battle, and we all have our own. I have to maintain the willpower and want to quit for this to be successful, but from my vast experience with failed attempts, I know that the people here will be a serious support group when I need it most. I know that my best chance to succeed in quitting has to involve those also fighting the battle. So I am back, I will stub my last smoke out at midnight tonight and continue on with this amazing chance that I may be able to get. I know those here will be supportive regardless of how this opportunity pans out, but either way, the cigarettes have got to go. I appreciate all of you for all your support that I know will come along, and for taking the time to read my long diatribe. haha From my last failed attempt this past March, I now know for certain, and cannot argue the point at all, that NOPE is the only way. Not one cigarette. This opportunity, and my life are more important than even ONE cigarette.

3. Like a boss.

I also would like to give a comment of commendation to MQ. In the early stages of my relapse, I constantly thought of all the conversations we've had in the past, good or bad. It really helped in the sense that, though I feel I have a pretty good attitude about quitting, I now know where I was lacking in attitude. I thought I had completed the transformation of changing my state of mind, and I hadn't. Replaying our talks has helped me realize that, and know where I need to be to make it an absolute thing. So thank you for having those talks with me in the past. As well as everybody else I've had the pleasure of talking with and having help me here before! By the way, is Colleen and Babs still around, I MISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS them! lol

I don't know how many of you still continue to go to QSMB. But I posted the literally exact message in their board, and was bombarded by psycho-old ladies accusing me of promoting this site, being in-sincere, and not having any idea how to quit at all because I relapsed. Over here, the most heckling I've received is from Wiley's train gif. lol I kind of ranted off on them, so I imagine I will be banned anyway, either way, it feels good to be home. Home isn't what the dwelling looks like, but the people who occupy it with you. And there are nothing but good people here. I will keep you all in the know of my plan, but it's what I want. I have come back with some new knowledge, and a better mentality about it and myself!

So tonight, a friend of mine on Facebook, went to high school with him, posted a status about how he hated that he smoked and just wanted to give it up. I took my time and the knowledge that I have to help him out. I do really hope it helps him quit. The message went as goes. "Firstly, you are not alone. Next thing you need to know is that there you cannot quit if YOU don't want too. I am sure you know that already, but still. It has to be something that you just can't stand wanting to do for another day. With that said, The longest I have gone without, has been a little over 3 months. I have been smoking since I was almost 20. There are no gimics, no cheats, or anything like that. You just have to quit. If you have a quit buddy to keep you accountable, that is awesome. If you want one, I will gladly do that with you, I need to quit too. I however won't be ready to start tomorrow, but the day after I can. What I mean by no cheats or gimics is; some people suggest using NRT's (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) which includes nicotine gum, patches, e-cigs to an extent, etc. The only way to quit smoking is to quit. Is to remove the nicotine from your system and never smoke again. Easy analogy is NOPE. (Not One Puff Ever) Quitting, in my opinion is the easy part, remaining quit is the part that sucks dick. I personally am under the opinion that cold turkey is the only way to go. the gum and patches and vaping is just replacing one form of nicotine for another, you are curbing your cravings, not the addiction. One mentality that you will HAVE to continually remind yourself is that YOU ARE AN ADDICT. (I've made the error of not thinking so) You are always going to be an addict, and that's that. But it's not all hopeless. You need to retrain your mind to quit smoking, that is the best way to remain quit. For example, a lot of us like to smoke after eating, or sex, or while driving. It'll take time to get fully there, but you HAVE to retrain your mind to know that you don't need a cigarette. You can want one all you want, as long as you don't smoke, you're solid. SUGGESTIONS: Personally what has worked for me in the past is to pick a date, have your last puff off of your last cigarette at midnight, and make sure that you get at least 8 hours of sleep. My reasoning behind this is; the average smoker begins having cravings after about 2 hours since last smoked. If you start off by getting at least 4 times that in, you're off to a nice start. My next suggestion would be to set your quit date on a day where you will not have to do anything for the first 3 days. Take vacation, or take just 3 days off, but take that time. Your life can depend on it in the long run, just do it. And for those first 3 days....don't do ******* anything. Nothing, don't go anywhere, just stay at home. watch tv, read, whatever. (prepare accordingly so you don't have to leave home). My reasoning behind this is; for the average smoker, 72 hours is the hardest part. It is the time when your body will be withdrawing from nicotine. After 72 hours, most if not all the nicotine will be out of your body. After that, it's all just retraining your brain to NOPE. Finally, I suggest to educate yourself as much as you can stand. Know your enemy. You will be the only one fighting this battle, so educate yourself about quitting and triggers especially. I started up again after a night out drinking when my quit buddy failed, I failed too. Keep yourself (and any quit buddies accountable at all times). Drinking at first, I recommend doing it in controlled environments like at home, and minimally. I also would recommend not hanging around with friends who smoke for awhile, but know that you can't cut them off forever, so just prepare yourself to deal with those triggers. To finish with the educating yourself- www.whyquit.com is an amazing website to help. READ, READ, READ! I would suggest to sign up for a NoSmo message board at www.quittrain.com and/or www.quitsmokingmessageboard.com and read and talk as much as possible. Those people can help you, they have helped me in the past. It can be done, you just have to do it." Needless to say, I think I am ready to give it another go, and will be making my triumphant return within the next week. Hope this message can maybe help some newbies here who may be struggling.

Don't feel bad, I didn't know what a fortnight was until I saw that picture. lol I ended up googling it to be sure. In regards to how we organize things: We really do say 'two weeks'. lol "Oh, ok bro, I'll see you when you get here in two weeks."

Precisely. Thank you. The reason I asked is last season I created a card game based around football to determine the draft order for the league. The first and only play (which was the test play at that) was the day we used it to determine the draft. As a draft order decision option, it failed. We played for almost 3 hours and the game never ended. But as a drinking game, ohhh it passed with flying colors. So I want to see if I can make the changes needed and turn it into a drinking card game. Primarily for the purposes of hopefully marketing and selling it. Of course, the demographic for a game like that is small, I understand this. But any source of extra money is always nice. :D It really was fantastically fun to play. All my friends still talk about it, and we still try to make plans to play it again. We decided to revise the deck and then use it again this next season. The only downside is, artistically speaking, I am not. lol So I need to come up with a card template, logo (which I may or may not have already decided on), and then design, print and then go from there. :( haha

To drink, play card games, and enjoys American football?

8 Wait....Babs' name is Barb.....which would presumably be short for Barbra? I refuse. lol Babs it is!

Action, when you said cinema, this is what I thought of, because we don't say cinema here, lol. So it took me a second. All in good fun buddy. :D

Count me in! N for NOPE and i declare, O for every ONE i smoked, P for you and I DIDN'T see, E for we NEED to agree. No, I know that doesn't rhyme, and I know it doesn't even follow, but nope for every single puff, pulling life from every breath, sing a song, for everyday it's gone, breath new life into myself, N for NOPE and i declare, every cigarette I've had is ONE I DIDN'T NEED.

This speaks to me, and I have no idea why. lol