Thanks guys.. but I really do consider myself a newbie still... I am only very slowly learning this new habit of living while coming in here ... for me it's not about just quitting cigarettes (but that's exactly what it was in the first few weeks of clinging to this site like some squealing koala bear to a eucalyptus tree....) rather, I've never been much of a "helper" before outside my immediate family ( that's the 'shy' Irish in me...) and I have learnt that I need to support others and know/understand slowly how much that is helping me in my life changes right now... call it ego (as we learned in AA for instance) or whatever, but I really feel like a useful tit when I see others who, like I was, are struggling and are very much scared of the Quit in their early days...
There are many long-timers who come in here on a regular basis to help and poke us back into reality when we slip into lethargic/bored thinking - and I mean really long-timers like four and five years and three and two and one year veterans who might just as well have said polite goodbyes and left the site to the newer 'generation' of quitters but they have not done so... Many are graduate students on the Friends of SSC site on FaceBook and they regularly scan the threads looking for emergency cases that they can very well help with some advice and encouragement... I'd like to join that Olympian crowd myself and be able to get in here frequently and help each new scared member - right now there's lots to do to try to keep a vigilant eye on those members who are in the first weeks and who are wondering " What new Hell is this...."!!
It's alright. It really is okay... and whatever you're experiencing in the first days and weeks and months of this Quit is perfectly normal; (Okay, if you find that your left nostril is shrivelling or your lips have curled into a permanent sneer like Elvis's then you might want to go see the doctor...) - your index fingers will be sore from tapping on keys, your bum will be square and numb from sitting here squinting at the screen, and you really should get up and go wash your eyeglasses at the sink with a bit of dish liquid and paper towels but, essentially, you're doing the greatest thing in your life to date, you've stopped commiting suicide slowly with the cigarettes...!!!
I ced water you, Patrick
My Milage:
My Quit Date: 1/18/2008 Smoke-Free Days: 140 Cigarettes Not Smoked: 3,500 Amount Saved: $1,575.00 Life Gained: Days: 26 Hrs: 1 Mins: 51 Seconds: 44
Thanx for the welcome, and thanx for sticking around here for so long to help out us "newbies". I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say, "Words cannot express that thanks we feel for all of you!"
I am hopefully on my way to becoming an old-timer here too. It's been a tough ride so far, but I am feeling overly optimistic today! Thanks to all of you!
My Milage:
My Quit Date: 5/25/2008 Smoke-Free Days: 12 Cigarettes Not Smoked: 240 Amount Saved: $34.80 Life Gained: Days: 1 Hrs: 4 Mins: 28 Seconds: 52
Thanks Patrick, I appreciate your insight and humor. It feels good to be a re-NEWed quitter, with a new resolve! NOPE.
I keep checkign in for the support and keep getting it, thanks to quitters like you. (well that doesn't necessarily sound good, but I mean it in the most respectful of ways). I'm aiming to be the biggest quitter!
Cece
My Milage:
My Quit Date: 5/26/2008 Smoke-Free Days: 9 Cigarettes Not Smoked: 108 Amount Saved: $22.95 Life Gained: Days: 0 Hrs: 20 Mins: 51 Seconds: 9
I've missed a day or so and i see many new quitters getting off their marks and fighting the good fight against nicotine... I can't respond individually but I really do want to say a Huge Congratulations to you all and welcome to the SSC!
MrLucky, Bgaines, Quit and, the already veterans, Cece, Bounce, AlphaJen, Puffnomore, Cassy, BillS, Neen, SmokelessSherry and Lucy... if I missed any newbies I'm sorry... I am really glad to be in your company and I think of you in your struggles and how coming in here helped me to beat the addiction...
I'll try to stay caught up!!
Patrick
My Milage:
My Quit Date: 1/18/2008 Smoke-Free Days: 138 Cigarettes Not Smoked: 3,450 Amount Saved: $1,552.50 Life Gained: Days: 25 Hrs: 15 Mins: 59 Seconds: 10