Chicketty China, the Chinese Chicken!

Yup! It's been one week! We have established our first target! One week without cigarettes! No lapses, sneaked puffs... nothing.

Just a few occasional glances, one or two sleepless nights, and lots of moral ping pong in my head. Last night especially, I was swaying wildly, with the most intesnse craving I've had so far. post rationalising is for chicks, but I found myself pre-rationalising last night while at Beercamp.

"Y'know what, if you smoke tonite, it'll be additional drama for the blog dude! You'll get lots of hits, and be sponsored by ChupaChups!"

I really did pick one up from my friend' Cheryl's pack.... but grudgingly put it back in when she reminded me that I'd promised a week on my blog, and it would be a horrible shame to give in just 4 hours before I could sing Barenaked ladies.

 

Yes!

 

Ok, now I can actually hear the sound of eyes rolling as some non-smokers are reading this.

 

"What's the big deal? One week oni la... you say one year then ok la..."

 

You obviously have not been hooked to cigarettes before. I can tell you this is one of the most discouraging things that smokers are going to hear. That one week isn't a big deal.

This is not to blow my own horn, but for the benefit of anybody out there who's trying to quit. One week of cold turkey from 15 sticks a day is a big fucking deal.

 

• It's a daily battle against no one but yourself.
• It's resisting temptation when it's right in front of you. 100 times a day.
• It's a daily routine with a sense that something's missing every 15 minutes.
• It's being restless in bed.
• It's making sure you buy enough lollipops before you go out clubbing.
• And it's trying to convince yourself that you're doing something good and significant.

 

So when people hoopah you and say it's no big deal, it's the shits. Just so you know. Don't EVER say that to someone trying to quit. Instead, here are a few better alternatives.

 

• "Dude, you are the coolest dude i know!"
• "Oh my god, your determination is so sexy"

 

Or, if you're not THAT impressed, a simple "I'm happy for you" or "Congrats" would be better. I'm sorry to all the people I've dissed before. I know now how you feel.

So... Time to set another target then. Let's go for 1 month! Coincidentally, the date a month from now is March 15th, which will be my mum's birthday. She has repeatedly mentioned that the present she hoped for was that I would quit smoking.

So here goes.

PS: Yes, of course I'll still buy her something on top of that.