f13.net

I go away for a few days and everything is all crazy. What the fuck is raging douchebag week? Is E3 coming up or something? I don't get the joke. (Oh wait, it's because nothing is happening, right?)

Oh, the Useless News: I quit smoking today. Today, and for the next few days, I will be a raging cunt. So please forgive me in advance.  :evil:

Schild, I borrowed the Stella Shorts DVD from my friend, so PM your address to me and prepare to be stunned.

E3 is this week. What an amazing coincedence. Whoa.


You don't get to be a raging cunt this week. Raging cunt week is later this year, on the anniversary of when Signe stopped smoking and went all mad cow disease on us for a week or so. This is raging douchebag week.


LUV

Is anyone going to E3? I wanna see the new Zelda trailer again. It makes me purr.

I also wanna jump through a plate glass window right about now. Maybe I'll chew some gum.

I laugh at smokers.

Constantly.

Is that because you're an ex smoker? I've been a smoker for ten years, and grew up in a smoking (2-pack a day, each parent) household.

No, I'm an elitist never-smoked anti-smoking bastard.

I'd kick the shit out of anyone who would laugh at me for smoking.

But you would probably be too wheezy to catch them.

Ever seen a nuclear lung scan of someone who has smoked for more than a year? It's hilarious.

Sorry, smokers will never have my sympathy. That's like asking me to feel sorry for those Thai kids who try to +1 their penis sizes; they do it to themselves.

I'll be there, with my shiny new camera no less.  If I have any space on it after taking pictures of booth babes, I can try to take a shaky video of that trailer for ya.  ;)

Yeah, but it only takes 3-5 years to regain the lungs of someone who has never smoked.

Whatevs. I'll just be glad when the white-knuckling part is over.

I'm sure it'll be all over Tech TV (or G4 or whatever they call it these days), so no worries.

There is a "Point of No Return," but I don't know what it is.

Smelly clothes, hair, breath, living space, and car, and a constant drain on my wallet? No thanks.

The point of no return is like with drinking and cirrhosis. You're basically good until you develop emphysema. I'm only in my fucking 20s, not like my Nana who finally quit smoking last November when two-thirds of her left lung were removed.

I am keenly aware of the reasons why non-smokers think it's gross. I was the only smoker in my office. Not many biologists smoke. Good thing the husboyfriend and I didn't smoke in the house or cars.

Edit: plus, we're gonna save like $300 a month.

No one said you had to smoke. It's being a busybody that pisses me off.

Yeah, that's why I assumed Strazos was an ex-smoker. Non-smokers usually aren't so uppity. The first time I quit I had to use those tactics to convince myself that I didn't want to smoke. I didn't really want to quit this time, but goddammit, three people in my family have/had cancer, all on the same side of the family, all in first- or second-degree relatives, all within the same month. It's really for the best.

Na sdarovya!

Yeah, I've had a few friends who've acted that with drinking/smoking/pot. I always get a good laugh when they fall back on whatever it was they were bitching about.

Good luck though.

I hear the "Serenity Now!" treatment works wonders.

Is that a rehab center? I'm taking bupropion HCl and drinking lots of coffee. You'd think the coffee would make it worse, but nicotine and caffiene are not entirely dissimilar alkaloids.

Shit. Ever seen the autopsy of a 50+ year smoker who died of COPD? Lungs aint supposed to be filled with all that black shit.

My friend's Dad quit 12 years ago. He died of lung cancer in October. If you want to save your own life, quit today. Now. Do it.

Props to voodoo for taking the plunge.

Just wait for the weight gain and nasty hackups as your lungs start shedding all that tar and crap.

The hackups were already a daily joy. One hand against the shower wall, the other on my gut as I wretch and gag like a cat hacking up a hairball, only to expel a hard little brown nugget that tastes like bile. Yum!

I'm fighting the weight gain by skipping meals, chewing sugar-free gum, and jumping rope. But my metabolism will still be fucked for a few weeks.

I've yet to hack up a tarball. I'm kinda looking forward to it. I mean, I've been smoking regularly since I was 14 (27 now). What gives?  :-(

Are you smoking enough, and strong enough? I was a pack of American Spirit mediums a day for the majority of my smoking career.

Who says smoking isn't glamourous?

Hey, I know the shit is bad for you, but I still wish I lived in France, where smokers aren't treated like the scum of the fucking earth. I heart cigarettes and am treating this embarkment as though smoking were a hot boyfriend I have who's great in bed, but tells me I'm fat and doesn't get along with my dad. I have to just let it go. It's no good for me.

About a pack a day, from the get-go. On those crazy nights in the past, somehow I'd go through 4 or 5 (this probably had something to do with strychnine....or not. You tell me, you're the biologist).

Anyways, I'll quit when I stop liking it. Not because of health reasons. That may be for another 20 years, or that may be next week. Right now, I like it.

I also like the French.

Moron.


You're trying to be a crotchpheasant, aren't you?

I see no use in quitting things that I like. Not if I'm not hurting anyone else.


I only tolerate Parisians. I love the rest of the French though. So putting it all together, it kind of just balances into "like".

For the rest of us non-smokers paying hideous medical insurance, let me be the first to say, fuck you Stray.

Enjoy Raging Douchebag Week!  :evil:

Haha, you don't know the half of it (and yeah, I'm keeping it to myself).

In Oregon, cigarette taxes pay for the Oregon Health Plan (the Medicaid/Medicare program here). That's why, even though I was a smoker, I always voted to increase the tax.

...and that made sense to you?

Thats awesome.  Snarky if said in jest; hilarious if said in complete ignorance of the nature of addiction.

Hell, yes! People who smoke know they're doing something bad for their health. They should be the ones paying the increased insurance costs. Not that many poor people are nonsmokers (funny, isn't it?). But I also think there should be a fast food and junk food tax so fat people can pitch in on covering the costs of taking care of their fat asses. FOR REAL.

Edit: popped in quotes since this got bumped to the next page.

I vote hilariously ignorant.

 :-D

EDIT: To be serious though, it'd be a shame if I didn't quit eventually. Barring crack, PCP, and heroin, I've experimented (or had a habit) with every drug under the sun. I stopped "liking" those easy enough. If I end up getting lung cancer from cigarettes though, I'm gonna be pissed --- There are so many more pleasurable things to die from, y'know? Tobacco really isn't worth it. But heroin? Maybe.

Heroin might be worth lung cancer?

Yeah, because I'll be nodding away the whole time.

Huge props to everyone here who is trying to quit. I've never been a smoker, but I've seen the hell that quitting can put a person through with my mother.

Mom smoked two packs a day for as long as I can remember. I've seen her try quitting at least six times over a 15 year period. Everytime she quit, it was after her third bought of bronchitis for that year and her doctor ordering her to quit. She tried nicorette, the patch, and accupuncture. She cheated like crazy with the first two, and it never lasted more than a month or so. With accupuncture, she quit for about 6 months, with some mild cheating. Then Christmas time came and she was right back to two packs a day.

Last summer, she took our dog for a walk one day. Our dog is a big, eleven year old 150lb mutt with two completely gimpy knees. Mom got a little concerned when she realized that the dog had more endurance than her. She basically couldn't walk a quarter mile without starting to wheeze.

So this time, she just decided to stop. No plans or patches, just stopped. Told me it was the first time in her life she had ever decided to quit just because she wanted to. Its been about 8 months, and she swears she hasn't cheated. Hasn't even wanted to. This makes me a happier person. I might get an extra ten years with my mom in my life if I'm lucky.

Anecdote #2:

My Grandmother has smoked two packs a day for longer than I've been alive. Heavy, nasty ass Craven As. I love my Grandmother, but her hacking sounds like a chopper starting up, her house stinks, and she looks like a yellowish prune in the morning. My Grandfather never smoked a cigarette in his life.

My Grandfather died of lung cancer at age 75, four years ago. He was an active guy, full of life, that still went to work everyday up until the day he went to the hospital. He died a month later.

My Grandmother still smokes two packs a day.

I'm confused - you're telling us that your Gran killed your Gramps ?

Harsh.

hehe...