Sunday, March 19, 2006

Staying the course

So how long until the giant pit of need begins to shrink? As I recall, it's somewhere after the third day. Then it's more psychological. Definitely physical at the beginning, patch or no patch, there's a physical need for something, and this is what withdrawal is. Ugh. Probably worse for me, smoking over 30 a day as I was. You know the lion pacing wildly in his cage, or how Ricky wrung his hands fretting and pacing in the hospital waiting for the birth of Little Ricky? It's like that for me every waking moment. Ok, enough whiny pity ploys, here's how I made it through yesterday.

1. Went out to breakfast. Got the steak and eggs.

2. Went to movies. Saw Transamerica. It was a great flick, and much because it rang so true. Felicity's performance is remarkable. Smuggled in canned pop and candy.

3. Went shopping. Bought jeans, candles, dog playthings, and drooled over the just arriving air conditioners. (It's freezing still here, but the last two years, when we wanted to buy, they were all sold out. We need to buy this year BEFORE it gets hot.)

4. Came home, talked to Em on Skype, played Scrabble on the computer, paced a little, and then made hamburgers.

5. Watched 12 Monkeys and knitted. Stopped knitting to cram a package of beef jerky, and a package of skittles, and a frozen drumstick ice cream cone down my throat. Wrong, you say? Please, I invite you to go sodomize yourself. At least I made it to bedtime without failing.

6. Felt deep, deep gratitude for all the supportive comments I've received. Believe it or not, it really seems to help take the edge off. I love you people, even if I'm crankified.

16 comments:

Dave said...

hey keep it up. you can check out a website http://www6.quitnet.com/
you can enter your quit date and keep track of how many hours/minutes you haven't smoked and also keep track of how many u haven't smoked and how much money you're saving. Best of luck.

Snooze said...

Good for you - and I agree, don't even think about the questionable dietary choices at this time. Whatever gets you through the cravings is good.

r said...

About the food choices?
It's alright, It's Okay,
Torn's going to quit smoking his own way!

Fight Fight Fight!

(okay, so I wasn't a cheerleader in high school, but my heart's in the right place).

go have fondue. Take a long time. Then take a nap. Eat, nap... another movie maybe? What's playing at the Imax?

Keep it up friend.

Anonymous said...

Atta boy! :)

I don't know if you're a coffee drinker, but when I quit smoking I used to make decaf by the pot-full. It was something less substantial to bring to the lips to help squlech the cravings. It also helped to get over the coffee=cig association "right quick" since I had no plans to quit both at that time!!

Keep it up!

Adam said...

You're doing really well by the sounds of it. The hardest part is definately the beginning. The knitting will surely help and when I quit it helped to have a straw in my mouth to simulate a ciggie. Oh and I would take all my leftover cigs and put them in a jar with water. The tobacco would steep in the water and it would be an ugly brown mess. I'd say myself, "Thats whats in your lung when you smoke." Worked like a charm.

Chunks said...

Some things I did when I quit:
Ate scotch mints by the 2kg bag!
Ate everything else too! (I gained about 17 pounds which I have never lost, don't really care to since smoking made me underweight)
Kept my last cigarette in the freezer, then I always knew I could have it if I really needed it. I never did smoke it, it eventually smelled like onions.
Kept a can of ashtray remains and every time I thought I wanted a smoke, I stuck my face in that sealed up can and sniffed until I made myself gag. (I'm an extremist!)
Write down three things you're grateful for every day...it will help.
RAH RAH!!! GO TORNIE!!!

St. Dickeybird said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
St. Dickeybird said...

Screw the diet. Screw the manners. You're quitting smoking.
I knew recovering heroin addicts that couldn't stop cigs. And they make movies and books about their struggle. Allow yourself whatever you need to get through today, and do it again tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I feel for you. I had to quit. Doctor's orders. He prescribed Wellbutrin. It worked like a charm. Made it easy to quit. And kept me very happy, also. :)

CoffeeDog said...

Good for you for going so long w/o a ciggy - YAY

The Wisdom of Wislon said...

Keep it up, you're doping well.

What would I know I haven't been in the same situation, but keep going.

Your doggie will appreciate it too ;-)

Jason said...

Keep it up!

_Psycho said...

air conditionner, so USEFULL here, you need to get one. Good idea to get it that early I think !

Patricia said...

i know this comment is late in reaching you. and that it's ages since you posted this, as it relates to your quitting. i just hope it's still going well. you deserve this.

Shauntae AuPair said...

Hmm, I go away for a whole 10 days and come back to see you're a different person, all non-smoking and stuff. Good on you, and good luck. It kills me every time I give up caffeine, so I can't even imagine how hard it is to go sans fumé. So, yeah, mazal tov.

Kevin said...

"Please, I invite you to go sodomize yourself."

I want that on a t-shirt.