Mission challenge #2 -- Quitting Smoking
Poll
 | 12 votes (24%) | ||
| | 27 votes (54%) | ||
| | 11 votes (22%) |
50 members have voted
Quote: PerditionHas no news been good news so far?
I'm sorry about not updating this thread, recently, the short answer is: yes.
With respect to verification, yes, I will be honest if I have a, "Slip-up," which there is virtually no risk of, and if so, my wife has also sworn herself to out me if she finds that I have smoked. Wizard is also aware that he can request a nicotine test at any time, which I assume would have to be done in 24 hours, or something. I doubt if he will, though, because he knows this isn't something I'd lie about.
Anyway, while the bet is on smoking, my entire focus now is on not chewing my fingernails with smoking being a very distant afterthought, at this point. To be honest, I hadn't even thought about smoking, at all, in the last couple of days until I saw that this thread had new posts...lol I've even gone and gotten Beth cigarettes and went and picked up a pack for my Night Auditor when he got to work and realized he forgot his, there was no temptation there. I don't think there'd even have been any if I'd been picking up a pack of Captain Black's for someone.
In terms of not chewing my nails, I've switched to sugar-free gum because bathing my teeth in sugar constantly probably isn't a good thing, and it has been suggested that sugar-free gum can actually improve oral hygiene.
My current weapon of choice is sugar-free Extra which is made to taste like Winterfresh, and it does, except it is a little sweeter.
Here's an awesome taste for you: On a day with the wind chill less than 0 degrees Fahrenheit (when you're the only one in the car, obviously) kill the heat and the defrost on the highway, roll down all of the windows, wait five minutes and pop in a fresh stick of Winterfresh...AWESOME!!!
Quote: Mission146Here's an awesome taste for you: On a day with the wind chill less than 0 degrees Fahrenheit (when you're the only one in the car, obviously) kill the heat and the defrost on the highway, roll down all of the windows, wait five minutes and pop in a fresh stick of Winterfresh...AWESOME!!!
Why not just brush your teeth and drink some OJ? Sadist ;)
Questions - what's up with chewing nails? More specifically, why does it bother you so much?
Quote: Mission146I've even gone and gotten Beth cigarettes
Is Beth your wife?
Quote: odiousgambitIs Beth your wife?
Yes.
Quote: FaceWhy not just brush your teeth and drink some OJ? Sadist ;)
LOL
Seriously, Face, you have to try it. It's the most powerful taste you'll ever experience, except, I think I'll do it with two sticks of Extra Winterfresh on the way to work today!
Quote:Questions - what's up with chewing nails? More specifically, why does it bother you so much?
I don't know, I've always chewed my nails. I've been doing it since I was eight years old, and I remember the first time I did it. My parents were sleeping and I got up at 2:00a.m. (it didn't wake them up) and was watching some boxing match on HBO, don't know why, but started biting my nails. I've pretty much done it incessantly ever since, and it's very tough to stop. It's even tougher right now, because for the first time in a long time, there's actually a little bit of actual nail there to bite.
The other thing about the nails is: it's not rewarding. I don't consider it that major a health risk, and I don't consider myself that much better for not biting them. Maybe the social thing, I don't know. I guess I don't have to listen to the constant, "Get your fingers out of your mouth!!!" from Beth anymore, but that's the only real benefit...
Quote: Mission146LOL
Seriously, Face, you have to try it. It's the most powerful taste you'll ever experience, except, I think I'll do it with two sticks of Extra Winterfresh on the way to work today!
Oh, I have. I mean, not the same scenario, but I used to be a Winterfresh chewer and have done so on the slopes. It's a very weird sensation. Like, so cold it's hot, but it's not unpleasant.
Quote: Mission146I don't know, I've always chewed my nails. I've been doing it since I was eight years old, and I remember the first time I did it. My parents were sleeping and I got up at 2:00a.m. (it didn't wake them up) and was watching some boxing match on HBO, don't know why, but started biting my nails. I've pretty much done it incessantly ever since, and it's very tough to stop. It's even tougher right now, because for the first time in a long time, there's actually a little bit of actual nail there to bite.
The other thing about the nails is: it's not rewarding. I don't consider it that major a health risk, and I don't consider myself that much better for not biting them. Maybe the social thing, I don't know. I guess I don't have to listen to the constant, "Get your fingers out of your mouth!!!" from Beth anymore, but that's the only real benefit...
Same. Granted, it's not a compulsion; I can stop or prevent doing it in public or a meeting. But other than that, I chew away and couldn't imagine feeling like I needed to stop.
The smell of cigarette smoke turns my stomach if it is too strong, so the casino can occasionally smell somewhat foul, now, but it kind of comes and goes in terms of severity. I've not felt in any way compelled to smoke since my last post and am not sure I ever will again.
In fact, someone asked me for a cigarette yesterday and my answer wasn't, "I'm trying to quit," it was, "I'm sorry, I don't smoke." I pretty well self-identify as a non-smoker now.
Quote: Mission146I pretty well self-identify as a non-smoker now.
Hmmm, somebody will be by for a blood sample
shortly, please be cooperative with him.
It appears that it can remain in the hair for 90 days, so I would not submit to a hair test until April, just to be safe. Again, at the expense of the requester.
I could have an affidavit notarized for $1.50. I would happily sign an affidavit stating that I have not smoked since whatever day in December that was.
EDIT: You know something interesting, I was going back through this thread re-reading some posts just now, and when I came to that picture of the Captain Blacks posted by EvenBob, I got a really bad taste in my mouth.
Don't forget to tip him..
The post was edited to how I read itQuote: Mission146posts by EvenBob, I get a really bad taste in my mouth.
Made me squirt coffee out of my nose...
Quote: Mission146That's why I would not submit to a hair test at this time, I could legitimately fail as it has not been ninety days.
Somebodies on the way over for a DNA
sample, please wait up for him.
Quiet thread...
I have an update, unfortunately, I have given up, the insatiable urge to smoke was overpowering.
I jest.
I have received permission to reproduce the following PM that I sent to the Wizard:
Quote:Speaking of which, I've been meaning to discuss our smoking bet with you. I'm stealing money from you at this point, this shit is easy, you have absolutely no chance of winning. I would like to offer you the opportunity to reduce our bet from 5:1 if I succeed to Even Money for $100.
The only reason I'm still suggesting that I would take Even Money is because I wouldn't have quit smoking had it not been for the bet, and to a certain extent, preferred being a smoker. The smoke in th4e casino bothers me now and it didn't when I was a smoker, ergo, I do not enjoy the casino as much. I can hardly be in Wheeling Island for longer than an hour, now, being in a car with a smoker and the windows up is better than that place.
Don't worry, I'll not start smoking again since I've already went ahead and quit, because there are health issues to consider given that I am free of the, "Addiction," which I'm not sure I was ever really addicted to in the first place. It's just that I would not have chosen this of my own accord. If I would have, I'd offer to let you out of the bet entirely.
The Wizard accepted my offer and suggests that he simply pay me the $100 in April when I go to Vegas, I assume, pursuant to his belief that I am, and will remain, successful in the endeavor to quit smoking. I accepted the Wizard's offer to pay me $100 in April indicating I will pay him $200 of I smoke between then and the end of the year, though I have no intention to ever smoke again. Smoking just so smoke won't bother me would be the ultimate example of, "Cutting off my nose to spite my face."
In any event, the bet will effectively be resolved in April.
Quote: Mission146
I have an update, unfortunately, I have given up, the insatiable urge to smoke was overpowering.
I believed you for a second.
Quote: wudgedI believed you for a second.
LOL
I was just re-reading this thread. The other issue, that's right, the nail-biting...
Forget it, quitting is not happening, it's hopeless. I barely buy gum anymore, and even when I do, it doesn't really matter because I will occasionally chew my fingernails with a stick of gum in my mouth.
Yeah, so I've given up quitting nail-biting. I accept no action. It doesn't matter how much someone would be willing to lay, they could lay $1,000,000 to $1, and all that would happen is I'd be pissed at myself for missing out on a million bucks...within an hour.
Quote: Mission146The Wizard accepted my offer
Arbitrage maneuver?
a week ago with a smoke.
odiousgambit, where does this leave us?
So he is not smoking and wizard will pay him.
damn it Pierce use words us (meaning me) idiots understand.
Quote: wudgedodiousgambit, where does this leave us?
I guess Mission is saying it'll be 'over in April' to make a statement of confidence. But if he lights up in May he owes Michael $200, and you owe me $20
If he is saying we'll never find out, our bet is off in my book. But why would he owe the confirmation to the Wizard and not to the rest of us?
Pierce?
Quote: odiousgambitI guess Mission is saying it'll be 'over in April' to make a statement of confidence. But if he lights up in May he owes Michael $200, and you owe me $20
If he is saying we'll never find out, our bet is off in my book. But why would he owe the confirmation to the Wizard and not to the rest of us?
Pierce?
Perhaps I could have explained what is going on more clearly.
The original wager was that, if I went the entire year of 2014 without smoking, I would win and Wizard would pay me $500. If I failed, then I would owe the Wizard $100. I appreciate the fact that Wizard incentivized using a bet as a means to compel me to make a decision that is good for my health, and therefore, do not feel right about taking 5:1 on what (by the fair odds) should always have been an even money bet.
I offered to reduce the bet to Even Money but not rescind it entirely because (at the time the bet was made) I feel as though Even Money would have been roughly fair line and would have still offered me a slight edge. Wizard was kind enough to accept my offer to modify the bet rather than have me take from him a sum of money that I would not be comfortable taking given the circumstances of the bet.
The other reason that I did not offer to rescind the bet entirely is because, if I could go back and do it again, I would refuse the bet in the first place and just continue to smoke. It would be foolish for me to smoke now, given that I have broken whatever addiction may have been present, so I'm not going to. At the same time, however, I would rather be a smoker than a non-smoker...but it is too late.
Smoking seriously dulled my sense of smell which I am now finding is quite powerful, and much more of the world stinks than smells good. I smell things that I used to not notice. The smell of smoke bothers me and thick smoke makes me cough and makes my throat hurt. This is annoying. I preferred not to smell some of the stuff I smell now and I preferred for the smell of smoke not to bother me, thus, I preferred being a smoker.
The terms of the bet are otherwise the same, if I smoke in the year 2014, I owe Wizard $100. Wizard anticipates that I will note smoke in the year 2014, so he is just going to resolve in April, thus, I am, "Holding," all $200 involved in the bet. If I smoke in 2014 (after April), the result will be I must pay Wizard $200 as I will have $100 that belongs to him.
If I smoke in 2014, I will update this thread accordingly. However, I will not, so everyone may resolve their side action as they see fit. It would not be logical for me to smoke at this point given the negative health effects and the fact that I have already broken the, "Addiction," to smoking.
Quote: Mission146The other reason that I did not offer to rescind the bet entirely is because, if I could go back and do it again, I would refuse the bet in the first place and just continue to smoke. It would be foolish for me to smoke now, given that I have broken whatever addiction may have been present, so I'm not going to. At the same time, however, I would rather be a smoker than a non-smoker...but it is too late.
I don't understand this logic.
Weighing all the factors (health effects, smell of the world, how much you enjoy or do not enjoy smoking, the effect it has on others, the cost, etc, etc) however it makes sense to weigh them for you, you would either rather smoke or rather not smoke.
If you would rather smoke, then, once the bet is resolved, nothing is stopping you from starting again.
If you would rather not smoke, then it makes no sense that if you had to do it again, you would continue to smoke.
That's basically what it is, not wanting to make an unforgivably stupid decision outweighs doing what I actually want to do.
Besides, I'd still have to go the rest of the year or lose, anyway. If I can't justify smoking now, I sure as Hell won't be able to after a year of not smoking.
Quote: Mission146because continuing to smoke would not be as stupid of a decision as going back to smoking having already 100% quit..
That's the part that I think is the fallacy. Continuing to smoke is THE SAME decision as going back to smoking. Even if quitting was difficult or painful in some way, that's irrelevant now -- it's a sunk cost that you can't get back.
Quote: AxiomOfChoiceThat's the part that I think is the fallacy. Continuing to smoke is THE SAME decision as going back to smoking. Even if quitting was difficult or painful in some way, that's irrelevant now -- it's a sunk cost that you can't get back.
No, it isn't. I cannot continue to smoke if I do not smoke to begin with and I can only go back to smoking because I do not smoke, so they are completely different decisions. Quitting was the easy part, it's some of the, "Positive," effects of quitting I don't like.
Quote: Mission146No, it isn't. I cannot continue to smoke if I do not smoke to begin with and I can only go back to smoking because I do not smoke, so they are completely different decisions. Quitting was the easy part, it's some of the, "Positive," effects of quitting I don't like.
I think Mission is learning what us non smokers have always complained about. Smokers don't realize that when they go outside on a smoke break they come back into the office smelling horrible.
I actually can't imagine what it would be like to eat in a restaurant with smokers again.
The casino is pervasive though, it's terrible. That could be worse, though, that's a trade-off, so I could choose not to go there. The main problem is the perfume/cologne dousers that I would have never noticed a few months ago, the stinky people who never shower who are in Kroger at the beginning of the month that were only a blip on the radar a few months ago with whom I can hardly share an aisle now. I've decided not to shop until at least the 5th.
The inside of my Cavalier that I need to clean out because I am a slob when I am left to my own devices. I'm the only one ever in there 95% of the time, and I have really let the cleanliness of that go, but it has been too cold to make a meaningful effort to clean it out. I can't really shampoo the floor if it is going to freeze when I do, and I'm storing a bunch of stuff in both of my garages for my parents, so can't get the car in either.
The atmosphere, at random, smells strange. Sometimes it is a skunk, but not always, I can't always place it.
Have you ever truly smelled Cleveland?
Was our sense of smell really ever a necessary sense? Did we use it to hunt or avoid being hunted? Maybe we'll evolve out of it one day.
No cologne for me, just Lever 2000 (or Dove) soap, deodorant and Tresemme' Shampoo. I try to be as inoffensive as possible.
The big thing about smoking is having some sensation in my body that wasn't food. It's also a great time waster if I'm banging on a Money Plays/Venice Nights/QHP lol. The only thing holding me back is a no smoking bet as well. Mine is a year too so the day I win I'm going to light up.
Quote: Mission146If I'm not mistaken, and contrary to popular belief, clove cigarettes are mostly tobacco. Quitting smoking is just easy, that's really about all there is to it.
I think that this differs from person to person. Some people get addicted, and some don't.
It's just like some people have alcohol completely control (and sometimes ruin) their lives, while some people can drink in moderation whenever they want and not have it affect them. And it has nothing to do with intelligence or willpower, either.
Due to weight concerns, I have decided to start smoking again.
I've gained over 20 pounds in not even 2.5 months and am having great difficulty curtailing my eating, having started smoking yesterday, I've only had a six inch Veggie sub and a bowl of cereal in the last two days and my food cravings are back down to normal.
Smoking actually gives me a little bit of a headache, so I'm planning on quitting again as soon as I am ten pounds under my ideal weight and then can afford to balloon up to ten pounds over my ideal weight.
I'm honestly getting close to having to replace my entire wardrobe, which will be more expensive than the $100 I am losing by forfeiting this bet.
I still maintain that the actual process of not smoking is an easy one, particularly so if you don't mind the weight gain.
I suppose my last note would be that I shouldn't have offered to reduce Wizard's end of the bet from $500 to $100, I mean, I should have because it was the right thing to do...but I would have won the bet easily over a $600 swing (less clothing costs). I just got a bunch of new pants a little over a month ago with a value of over $150 that I currently cannot fit into, combine that with the fact that I'm nearly too big for the clothes I already had and the $200 swing that losing brings on is less than the cost of replacing my wardrobe and losing those new jeans and dresspants.
Sorry to hear. Weight gain is one of the unfortunate side effects of cessation of prolonged nicotine use. I gained almost 30 pounds when I stopped smoking in 1997. The weight didn't come off until I significantly changed my diet/exercise routine to compensate.Quote: Mission146Due to weight concerns, I have decided to start smoking again.
Quote: teliotSorry to hear. Weight gain is one of the unfortunate side effects of cessation of prolonged nicotine use. I gained almost 30 pounds when I stopped smoking in 1997. The weight didn't come off until I significantly changed my diet/exercise routine to compensate.
I considered the possibility of doing that, at least as far as the exercise went, but I worked nearly 70 hours per week and contribute to taking care of the kids/house, so don't really have time for exercise.
I could have gotten a membership at 24/7 fitness, in fairness, but that's about $50 a month which adds up to significantly more than I stood to win.
Quote: thecesspitIt's not April 1st?
January 1st, it was for one year.
Quote: Mission146I have decided to start smoking again.
Sorry to hear that. I was hoping to lose that bet.
In my opinion, you're much better off to be 20 pounds overweight than a smoker. Even 40 pounds. We're talking about your life so I hate to see you making this decision to start up again over $600 only.
Once you lose the weight, plus the extra ten pounds, I'll be happy to try to motivate you financially again. My advice will be to concentrate on one battle at a time. Let yourself gain the weight. Then, when you're ready, work on getting back into shape.
Quote: Wizard
Once you lose the weight, plus the extra ten pounds, I'll be happy to try to motivate you financially again. My advice will be to concentrate on one battle at a time. Let yourself gain the weight. Then, when you're ready, work on getting back into shape.
I certainly appreciate that, but once I lose the weight to quit smoking again, I shall do it without financial incentive. If it were just the smoking, I could either smoke or not smoke, that part is immaterial to me. It turns out I don't really like smoking for the sake of smoking all that much. I've only been firing one up anytime I feel hungry.
Quote: Mission146January 1st, it was for one year.
No, I thought this was a spoof or prank... sorry to hear your back on the ciggies.
Quote: Mission146Greetings!
Due to weight concerns, I have decided to start smoking again.
I've gained over 20 pounds in not even 2.5 months and am having great difficulty curtailing my eating, having started smoking yesterday, I've only had a six inch Veggie sub and a bowl of cereal in the last two days and my food cravings are back down to normal.
Smoking actually gives me a little bit of a headache, so I'm planning on quitting again as soon as I am ten pounds under my ideal weight and then can afford to balloon up to ten pounds over my ideal weight.
I'm honestly getting close to having to replace my entire wardrobe, which will be more expensive than the $100 I am losing by forfeiting this bet.
I still maintain that the actual process of not smoking is an easy one, particularly so if you don't mind the weight gain.
I suppose my last note would be that I shouldn't have offered to reduce Wizard's end of the bet from $500 to $100, I mean, I should have because it was the right thing to do...but I would have won the bet easily over a $600 swing (less clothing costs). I just got a bunch of new pants a little over a month ago with a value of over $150 that I currently cannot fit into, combine that with the fact that I'm nearly too big for the clothes I already had and the $200 swing that losing brings on is less than the cost of replacing my wardrobe and losing those new jeans and dresspants.
You might be the ideal candidate for an e-cig. The medium-sized barrel type, that has liquids of different strengths, and you're taking in water vapor/nicotine without the carcinogens. You can use it to your heart's content at hunger times and not bother with it otherwise. No carbon monoxide or tar involved, but it serves the oral fixation and physical habit.
