Today marks my 21st day without a cigarette. That’s some 525 cigarettes I haven’t smoked in the last three weeks, and — if the online gizmo I’ve found is correct — that’s nearly four days added back to my lifeline, provided I don’t step in front of a bus or fall off a mountaintop out of turn. Given that I’ve been a smoker for 26 years, this is a milestone that I find remarkable… just as I find it remarkable how much I still crave a habit I’d grown to despise.
Still… three weeks.
My sense of smell — already pretty sharp from all the exercise I give it — is noticeably more so. I haven’t seen huge improvements in tasting yet, save for some more discernment of “sweet” flavors. We’ll see if that changes over time.
Meanwhile, I’ll aim for another three weeks. One day at a time.
October 11, 2008 at 11:57 am
congrats! you are doing your part to turn the cupping-room tide in favor of the non-smokers. it is shocking how many coffee people have the habit.
October 11, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Congrats on your first 3 weeks. Here’s to the next 3.
(Me – smoke free since 1991)
October 11, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Thanks, guys. A lot.
Tonx — I’ve been really surprised, too, how many cuppers are smokers. It’s been a personal goal since I started digging deep into coffee to leave the evil leaf behind… finally I’m on the path. ;)
Pete — congrats yourself!
October 13, 2008 at 1:45 am
Good for you!
October 13, 2008 at 8:33 pm
YAY!! Keep up the good work!!
I quit smoking almost 3 years ago and, while tough, was the best thing I’ve done for my health and my career..
You can do it!
October 19, 2008 at 11:39 am
Congrats! And I’m glad your RSS is working again…had no idea you were back (and now time to catch up!)
October 19, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Thanks, one and all.
…and evening, I can’t figure out what the RSS problem might be — my number of subscribers says its fallen by two thirds — but the number of folks actually visiting is way, way up. Glad your feed is working, though.
October 21, 2008 at 5:08 pm
You know what? Could be bloglines. They just posted a thing saying the crawler should be fixed. My Metafilter RSS wasn’t updating either, but now it is, now that I think about it.
October 22, 2008 at 1:31 am
I think it was compression. Some services appeared to have fits reading the GZIP compressed feed. I’m removed compression and the subscribe rate has climbed substantially in the last hour or two.
Thanks, evening, for the tip that something was weird with your feed!
October 27, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Huge congrats, Doug.
I can taste the difference in a roast between roasters who are smokers vs. non-smokers and what they “value” in the cup.
I notice more roast flavors in the cups of roasters who are also smokers. (on average, naturally, just like with anything else in life, there are exceptions).
Big ups on +4 days. (hopefully twice that by now)
October 28, 2008 at 10:43 am
Currently: 37 days, 10 hours, 40 minutes and 23 seconds without a cigarette.
That’s about 850 cigs I haven’t smoked, and 6 days, 7 hours added back on my lifeline. Hey… almost a week!
And about $250 that I haven’t spent on smokes. I’m saving for a Wii. ;)