I quit!

mndsm wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote:

mndsm wrote: I have also been in process of attempting a world record. I have my attempt request logged with Guinness, I have a case number. I need to get it done and get the evidence to them, and I will have a real live world record. Why? Because I don't have one and I want one.

Lemme guess, biggest screwdriver? That's one of the absurdly easy ones I remember, IIRC it was held by a guy with white-dude-locks who held a lot of the easy ones

Worlds largest hand drawn maze actually. Its just over 100sf now... I aim to be in the 150/sf neighborhood.

Well that sounds awesome. Thread with pics when you're done!

Thought this would be about the Alaskan tv reporter. Both epic accomplishments, way to go.

mndsm wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote:

mndsm wrote: I have also been in process of attempting a world record. I have my attempt request logged with Guinness, I have a case number. I need to get it done and get the evidence to them, and I will have a real live world record. Why? Because I don't have one and I want one.

Lemme guess, biggest screwdriver? That's one of the absurdly easy ones I remember, IIRC it was held by a guy with white-dude-locks who held a lot of the easy ones

Worlds largest hand drawn maze actually. Its just over 100sf now... I aim to be in the 150/sf neighborhood.

How wide is the path?

mndsm wrote: Well, I was going to wait another week to dredge this pig up- but I'm bored. In 8 days I will have officially cleared 1 year. (In lieu of flowers, send beer. And hot wheels). Lots of interesting stuff has happened in that time. I am employed again. Its ideal, even if its not what i want to do. I work 4 10s overnight. Kid stays out of the clutches of the eeeeeevil daycare scam. I have more money. I can afford better booze. The Mini got paid off and promptly blew up. Spun a bearing. The bottom end never let go, so I might be able to reuse the block and crank and stuff, bit with prices what they are, I may just buy another short block. Wife talks about selling it. It is worth precisely dick to the outside world due to her going all kamikaze on it. Wheels are curbed Beem crashed twice, interior needs help, etc. I may buy her a w-body and claim the mini for myself. I got some super cool new friends. Turns out there are other parents like me out there. My kids teacher thinks I'm a great parent. I'm just glad he's not on fire. Plus with less smoking I can afford more Xbox. I like that. I have also been in process of attempting a world record. I have my attempt request logged with Guinness, I have a case number. I need to get it done and get the evidence to them, and I will have a real live world record. Why? Because I don't have one and I want one. I bring all this up for a specific reason. Ryanty22 if you see this, I want you to pay attention. We've discussed this before, you're virtually my clone. Stay at home parent, the works. I also want you to know I did all of this- while battling significant mental health and physical issues. I flat out hit rock bottom. I have no idea how I made it. We were so broke at one point we nearly got evicted, yet I couldn't get a job, because the fear of even leaving the house was too much. We had no food. We were on emergency everything. I finally looked at myself one day and said- dude you're berkeleying failing. You swore you would never fail your child and you're doing it right now. You got two options. Get your E36 M3 together, or be done. Let me tell you, be done was a daily question for me. It wasn't until some serious medication and therapy that I was able to wake up without wanting to die. I just realized it the other day in fact- I hadn't wanted to off myself in a bit. So- I got my E36 M3 together, I started setting goals, I started to help myself to quit suffering. I'll admit, I'm probably an anti depressant lifer. That's OK by me. I crash waaaaaay too hard when I'm off em. And I won't go that road again. Won't force my wife to ride that train. Tldr- Ryan and anyone else- I'm not that special. I got a beard, I like beer and video games. If I can do all this- y'all can too.

Hi mndsm,

The ferocious power of maternal instinct is well known but for some reason, fraternal instinct doesn’t get much press despite it’s being just as strong in many men (yourself, I, and countless others).

I’ve never had a problem with depression but I totally understand what went through your mind when you realized the impact your issues were having on a child that’s counting on you.

BTW, I’m right behind you…quit for good on October 1st, 2013.

Congratulations!

JamesMcD wrote:

mndsm wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote:

mndsm wrote: I have also been in process of attempting a world record. I have my attempt request logged with Guinness, I have a case number. I need to get it done and get the evidence to them, and I will have a real live world record. Why? Because I don't have one and I want one.

Lemme guess, biggest screwdriver? That's one of the absurdly easy ones I remember, IIRC it was held by a guy with white-dude-locks who held a lot of the easy ones

Worlds largest hand drawn maze actually. Its just over 100sf now... I aim to be in the 150/sf neighborhood.

How wide is the path?

mine will be roughly 1/8" I like em narrow. Other guy was like 1/2" because he's a pansy.

Spinout007 wrote: Congrats man! I'm still trying to figure out how to do it. We both smoke, currently share a ride and commute together, and usually that's when we smoke the most. Riding and right after eating. I've got 12+ hrs without quite a bit lately, but it's when I'm not around her. She has no desire to quit. "Just let me get through school" she finishes her masters in December, I'm wondering what the next excuse will be.

For me it wasn't a how. There was no plan, no nothin. It was just "here we go!" and I did it. I find if I just jump and figure crap out on the way down, I'm more liable to stick the landing. Overthinking is my downfall 100% of the time.

Congrats on quitting smoking! That's my second proudest accomplishment in life, behind my kid. As far as the rest, well that's what life does to ya.

I smoked for 20 years and it wasn't easy for me to quit. I relapsed once but the last time WAS the last time. I'm through with them and I'm very glad I made that decision. That was Oct. of 95.

Congrats to you for quitting. Now mini-me will be that much less likely to ever start.

mndsm wrote:

Spinout007 wrote: Congrats man! I'm still trying to figure out how to do it. We both smoke, currently share a ride and commute together, and usually that's when we smoke the most. Riding and right after eating. I've got 12+ hrs without quite a bit lately, but it's when I'm not around her. She has no desire to quit. "Just let me get through school" she finishes her masters in December, I'm wondering what the next excuse will be.

For me it wasn't a how. There was no plan, no nothin. It was just "here we go!" and I did it. I find if I just jump and figure crap out on the way down, I'm more liable to stick the landing. Overthinking is my downfall 100% of the time.

Thought I would add this here since we've already got a discussion going on quitting, and such.

Well... I did it. I knew I was getting sick Friday, I could feel the crud coming on, the crap in the chest etc. I swear this stuff is like the plague, or Ebola, or something... I just wouldn't call it the flu. But I decided when I woke up hacking like mad Saturday morning I wasn't going to smoke any more, 20 years more or less and I said screw it. Didn't finish this pack, or any other excuse, I just sat there with them next to me and consciously made the decision not to do it. Made it till last night before the cravings got the better of me, took SWMBO cig from her and took a half assed drag off it. That tastes like E36 M3 now, it's amazing what 48hrs without one does to your sense of smell and taste. I can say this though. I've got to find something for work. Laps around the parking lot are not going to cut it much longer. I didn't realize how much I smoked just to deal with the stupid E36 M3 that I deal with on a daily basis. Cravings are strong today, I think between work, and the feeling like ran over dog poo it might be a little worse than normal, but I needed to vent a bit.

So in the spirit of venting.... cartman vs sadam

What do you do for work? I know the first time I quit, it was INSANE how hard it was to quit in comparison to this time- mostly because my only escape from my desk was smoking. You could get a nice meth habit, I hear those are all the rage. Conversely, I usually had a whole pile of stuff I shouldn't have at my desk, video games, comics, etc- and I was able to tune out the world fairly effectively. I also found that giving myself something to focus on was helpful. Chewing a piece of gum (Not to replace the habit, but to concentrate on chewing. It sounds stupid, but it worked for me), trying to balance something on my foot or on my desk or whatever, all helpful. I find that the more you can put your person into your space, the less room there is for bullE36 M3, and the more likely it is to brush off.

Also, grats for taking the leap. It's a long way down, but it's a helluva ride. And it is AMAZING how much more clear things are. Food tastes better, the world smells better, etc. And you will want to de-smoke everything ASAP.

I sit in a cube and stare at a computer screen. Most of my BS comes in the form of one manager asking me to do something, another manager asking me to do another, etc. I funnel them all through my immediate supervisor, but I find that 9 times out of 10 she's more dense than a brick wall...

Spinout007 wrote: I sit in a cube and stare at a computer screen. Most of my BS comes in the form of one manager asking me to do something, another manager asking me to do another, etc. I funnel them all through my immediate supervisor, but I find that 9 times out of 10 she's more dense than a brick wall...

I did the exact same thing. Get you something to fiddle with. I don't recommend you take it to my level, but I've built entire rc cars from scratch at my desk. Amazing what working with ones hands can do. If youve got any artistic talent, get a pencil and an scratch pad going. That sorta thing. Even 5 mom of being totally checked out works wonders.

After my heart attack 10/ 17, I realized that I had no choice. Motivation. Also had to get treated for sleep apnea, related to smoking. It has not been easy, but I am doing it. Still sneak a cig once a day. Using the gum now, seems to be effective. A day at a time. Funny, I'm already gaining weight. Well, food does taste better.

I quit a little over a year ago. I put on 25 pounds, lost about 10 of that. I'm still fat, but feel pretty good. No more coughing and hacking in the mornings, no colds, no more stinky clothes, I even sleep better. The best part is the extra $4000 I had last year, to spend on my projects and other things that didn't go up in smoke. That extra money built the Samurai and the Jet Boat and helped buy a mill. I can honestly say I'm 100% over it, just because I've got better things to spend the money on.

Keep up the good work guys. It's worth it.

cwh wrote: After my heart attack 10/ 17, I realized that I had no choice. Motivation. Also had to get treated for sleep apnea, related to smoking. It has not been easy, but I am doing it. Still sneak a cig once a day. Using the gum now, seems to be effective. A day at a time. Funny, I'm already gaining weight. Well, food does taste better.

please find a way to cut out that one a day … I tried that route a couple of times, always ended up smoking again … finally went cold turkey after 27 yrs … (1994)

good luck dude

I love my wife... Got home from work, let the dogs out and sat on the porch to watch them go berserk for a few minutes. I about broke, she wouldn't give me one. "You already made it three days, couple more you should be good to go."

72 hours is the physical addiction. After that, it's all mental. You got this.

I was never a smoker, but always happy to hear someone quit. Keep at it!

MrJoshua wrote:

Sorry I didn't tell you on the phone yesterday, I wasn't a 100% sure I was going to make it. Still not, but I made it through dinner, and swmbo has graciously not smoked around me this evening. So at least I'm not too cranky.

That whole let's not tell anyone in case I fail mentality gets you no where.

On that note I'm off to slug more fluids and get to bed. 100.4 temp says it's an early night for me.

Chantix worked fantastically for SWMBO and I. We'd both been smoking 10+ years and tried many times to quit. Going cold turkey and the patch didn't work. I went to the doctor for an unrelated matter and he asked if I wanted to quit. I said yes and he prescribed it. I think it's a four week program but after two weeks I knew I was done. That was back in August and I still have no desire to start up again.*

*I do smoke one cigarette a week with my boss, call it our version of a business meeting.

240 hours since my last cig... SWMBO says today is the grumpiest she's ever seen me. My ability to tolerate BS is about gone at this time. I literally about tore a coworkers head off earlier today, (she's had it coming) when she started telling our boss how bad I was screwing up a "bunch" of files today. Instead of ignoring her and letting it roll off my back, I pointed out to her (with the boss present) that her "bunch" of files was MAYBE 2 files, and the "screw ups" were nothing more than following the guidelines set out by our supervisor and not her. Went back to my desk before I said anything else, when she tried the "I was only trying to help" explanation.

Yeah... Grumpy cat ain't got E36 M3 on me....

Any ideas on how to encourage someone else to quit?

Don't press them. Seriously. Nothing pissed me off more than people griping on me to quit. They know its bad, they'll quit when they're ready. Some just never are.

You can't, be supportive. Nagging and bugging them with only piss them off.

The truly fun part of this whole experience of quitting is the fact that it's driving a wedge between my wife and I. The smell has gotten to the point where it bugs the hell out of me, so she is trying not to smoke around me, but at the same time, we've always smoked together. After meals, family, riding in the car etc.

She has no desire to quit, I'm not asking her to. been fun so far.....