Wow. I really wasn't expecting such wonderful responses. I think it deserves a personal reply to each. Sue, so sweet! I am proud of you and John too! We're both quitting with someone close so we have a lot in common. We share the good days and the bad days. Aloha, Thanks for your response. I was going to send out a search party! Hope you liked the music. Some of it was a bit weird maybe. On the analysis front, I am definitely guilty of thinking too much about it, but your right it does help me. We both think a lot about it if I remember rightly? I forgot to add your quote/advice : 'You can make your own destiny' (Aloha). It is the replies that help the most. I am easily encouraged. It doesn't take a lot to turn a concerned kev into a happy quit confident kev. Phil, Thanks. Glad to see you around. p.s. 2hrs isn't bad. The seeds of a quit are there for your son. Unhooked, I am beginning to suspect that you could be my long lost Canadian sister. :) It has to be that my desire not to smoke is higher. Otherwise I would have slipped/relapsed by now? I would say your deduction skills are spot on here. My concerns were whether my quit strategy and personality meant that I was heading for early self destruction. Those seeds of doubt creep in from time to time. As usual, you have put me back on track. The junkie in me was hoping for a 'No Kev, you're gonna fail, go away and give up quitting' type reply. So by posting positive, you have denied my junkie that excuse. Heaven knows what penitent thinks about all of this of course. It was his theory about BFS that I was applying to myself. So I came to the conclusion that what the heck, I'd just be happy having 700 days anyway. I'll think about it again when/if I make it that far. By then I would have gone through thousands of new theories anyway :) :) Right, to today. A new week so a new thread will appear shortly. Anyone reckon I could barter with sparky for her cool avatar? Anyway, I have a promise to make. Which I will do in the new thread. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/12/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 42 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,050 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �176.40 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 6 [B]Mins:[/B] 34 [B]Seconds:[/B] 9

Wow! Kev!! YOU threw out an unopened pack? That is so awesome and amazing and wonderful and I am so FREAKIN' proud of you right now! You need a reward for that alone! Look at you at 41 days! I can tell you how you stay quit even though, as you said, some days your desire to smoke runs quite high. It is because your desire NOT TO is stronger! Thank you for sharing with us the way you do, Kev. It's really touching and heartwarming to see how you're growing into yourself with your quit. You are doing so well in every way! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]5/13/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 101 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,020 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1,111.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 10 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 52 [B]Seconds:[/B] 16

Kev WELL DONE MATE!!!!!! Phil [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]8/8/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 379 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 8,338 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �1,989.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 73 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 36 [B]Seconds:[/B] 20

Kev Analyze away. Some say Just Do It. But for some of us, looking at it from all different angles helps us stay quit, so I say Do What Works. Following along with you these past 6 weeks, it's become clear that figuring out what works and doesn't work for you has been a crucial part of YOUR quit. And you can't argue with success. You are a success, Kev 10 days till the cruise ship! Yippee!!! -aloha p.s. Getting rid of that pack is amazing! Congratulations. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/22/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 153 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,120 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1,040.40 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 21 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 3 [B]Seconds:[/B] 53

Kev today's long post is just beautiful. snif snif. I am proud to know ya and proud of you. -hugs Sue [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]5/3/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 111 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,110 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $194.25 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 10 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 44 [B]Seconds:[/B] 46

I doth self analyse too much I think. I'll take some great advice from the horse and try and stop too much of that. I'd like to vote the 'I made you some cookies.. but I eated it' as my all time favourite avatar. So cute. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/12/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 41 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,025 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �172.20 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 4 [B]Mins:[/B] 12 [B]Seconds:[/B] 5

Last day of stardust week. Yippee! Another week down. I still cannot believe I have made it this far. I am only 9 days away from making the ship! I've spent a week not theorising as well. That may have actually been harder than handing over a full packet of cigarettes. Kevs tip of the day is : When getting rid of smoking equipment, double check ALL your coat pockets. :) My desire to smoke goes extremely high at certain points during the day and during certain situations, yet I have not smoked for 41 days. If anyone can explain that, it would be great. Run of luck maybe? I thought I would ask myself some questions... Why did I attempt to quit in the first place? I wanted control of my life, not to be controlled by a drug. I wanted to be like my barmaid (who managed to quit easily cold turkey). I wanted to not be the black sheep of the family. I knew life could be harder after the smoking ban. I wanted to prove that I could do it (with reference to my quit buddy). What other reasons did I deny myself? Health. I tried to pretend I couldn't give a monkeys about my health. Live fast, die young and all that. It is actually not true. The cost. It is really expensive to smoke. What would keep me smoking/bring me back to smoking? I loved the smell and taste. I loved being in an emotion free bubble. The burning of time. Less bored. Time away from the computer. What kept me going the first week? I was in pure hell. In my mind it could not get any worse. What kept me going the second week? All those posts telling me it was going to get better after day 30. What kept me going after day 30? Being told I was in a pit. You can get out of pits. It just takes time. What kept me going after day 40? Not sure yet. What have been the major factors in my quit? What keeps me from smoking? SSC. The people. Turns out I am quite a social person who likes reading about peoples lives. I want to check to see how Lolo, Aloha, Penitent and Co are doing. I found I have a passion for writing! I look up to everyone here. But I espcially like reading the thoughts of Lady, Lamplighter, Penitent, mercy and stickin to it. The good news is that it only takes a few reasoned words of encouragement for me to increase my resolve to stay quit. I also like helping others in their quits. My Quit Buddy. Well it turns out that due to a very strong bond with my quit buddy, and that has been instrumental in me staying quit. As long as my quit buddy does not smoke then I cannot smoke. This is absolutely key. The reward process. I live for rewards now. Computer games. Feeding virtual animals and hunting for fossils is rewarding and I don't think about smoking. What were the unforseen effects of my quit? I drink way less. I no longer feel the need to go to the pub and closet smoke. A nervous disposition. This may be temporary or permanent. Party to less gossip via the smoking room. A desire to exercise! Smoking dreams. Dreams of my quit buddy smoking. What did I expect? To struggle for three days, apologise here and to my quit buddy, and then go back to smoking. The best advice I have got from these boards? Quite a few long time non-smokers have no constant desire to smoke (stickin) All you newbies...life's great after day 30 (mercy) just breathe (joyful) schedule 5 minutes of happiness a day (duffis) You have a devious junkie (butterfly swimmer) Learn to trust yourself (butterfly swimmer) wooohooo! the postive attitude of ... (unhooked) One day at a time (lady) Things to do before I die .. bodyboard (aloha) Hope some of you find it useful. It is an honest and deep self analysis of my quit. I should really carry it around as a reminder. I'm still trying to work out if my quit is a recipe for disaster or whether I should continue the efforts. The picture is often truer from the outside in than the inside out. So all replies welcomed. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/12/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 41 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,025 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �172.20 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 4 [B]Mins:[/B] 3 [B]Seconds:[/B] 9

Hi Josie, thanks am back now. The day started with me finding a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in the right pocket of smart jacket. I thought I had gone through all my coats, but it seems I missed a pocket. This is normally a quit ender. This time however I gave the unopened packet to my mum and asked her to dispose of it somewhere where I won't find it. Given that I have avidly been avoiding any cigarette selling shops and pubs for a while, the last thing you want to be doing is holding a lighter and pack of smokes! I'll be honest, there was a big part of me that wanted to keep quiet and smoke them, but the most important part was me owning up and saying 'get rid of these please'. I would NEVER have done that before (especially at �4.20 a pack), so it just goes to show how far I have come. I should be proud of that. Apart from that, my last day of my tester holiday went well. It was more like autumn and not summer so that may have helped subdue any cravings. Maybe it is lucky I am not going to Aruba :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/12/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 40 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,000 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �168.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 35 [B]Seconds:[/B] 4

Pen, Phil and the UK boys... Keep an eye out for JDK, We want him back in one piece and smoke free please! Josie, Support Specialist

aloha where the heck ru? [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]8/8/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 377 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 8,294 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �1,979.25 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 73 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 24 [B]Seconds:[/B] 51