The Unofficial End Of Summer
Weekend Recap:
1. I have been smoke-free for 4 days, 18 hours, 43 minutes, 20 seconds.
2. I have not smoked 96 cigarettes and have saved myself $18.00.
3. According to the American Lung Association, my pulse rate has dropped, my blood pressure has decreased, the risk of heart attack has lowered, and my nerve endings have started to regrow. In fifteen years I will have the same life expectancy as if I'd never smoked.
4. So why don't I feel better?!
5. At least five times a day I wonder, "Why am I doing this again?"
6. The problem is, I never felt unhealthy in the first place. So the side effects of quitting feel more like a punishment than a reward.
7. My Mom has been smoke-free for a month now. She says it gets easier. I'm hanging on to that thought like a paper umbrella in a rainstorm.
8. Friday night Hoop, Hoop's Mom, and I headed out for Atlanta. It's become a tradition to go to a Braves game once a year.
9. Unfortunate for me, they've sucked since I started watching them.
10. So instead of talent, I've learned to judge the players based on cuteness.
11. Saturday afternoon we hopped in a cab and headed to the stadium. The game had been sold out for awhile, so Hoop and his Mom banked on the fact that the cab driver could point us in the direction of some good scalpers.
12. Unluckily, we got the most honest cab driver in all of Atlanta. He dropped us off at the gates without saying a single word other than, "Good luck."
13. Just before the first inning we found a set of tickets that seemed promising. Hoop's Mom started having doubts on the way to our seats. Had we not persuaded her to check them out first, she might have succeeded in sending Hoop out again for another try.
14. It was a good thing too. The seats were PERFECT. We were close enough to see all the action (or lack of), but far enough away as to be in the shade. Shade on a hot summer day is priceless.
15. Saturday evening we went to a laser show at Stone Mountain. The show was entertaining, but I found the mountain a little eerie. I've never seen a mountain so perfectly round before! And this one was completely made of granite. It's placement is odd. It stands alone in a vast rolling Georgia landscape.
16. Some of the locals claim it was created by aliens or that it is a secret base for the government.
17. But the scientific reasoning is this: "It formed as a result of the upwelling of magma from within the Earth's crust. This magma solidified to form granite within the crust below the surface."
18. From 1916 to 1972, three carvers worked on the portrait of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson that adorns the side of Stone Mountain today.
19. One of the carvers, Gutzon Borglum, left the project early to work on another job in South Dakota. That project was none other than Mount Rushmore.
20. Hm. I think he got the better end of the deal.
21. So what did you do over the weekend?
(Random Weekend Pictures)
Roadside Missile
Boredom
Flutter-by
Labels: Weekend Recap, WWC
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29 comments
29 Comments:
Congrats on the no smoking. Listen to Mom.. she's right. It will get easier and you'll be glad you've done it.. eventually. :)
Great photos. Love the butterfly. They seem to fly in front of my camera as well. :)
Though Borglum certainly got more fame at Rushmore, I have to say that this carving (which until now I'd never heard of) seems both more interesting and better detailed.
Hilary: Maybe it's because we're sweet people? ;)
David: Well said! The carving is actually larger and more detailed than my photo depicts. When they were working on it, the workers would take refuge in the ear or mouth of one of the horses during a rainstorm!
Three hours down the damn road, and you STILL don't come visit. Hmph.
If you don't quit smoking how will you ever be a smug ex-smoker? The born again non-smoker is the most smug of all. (I am one)
One of the things that is great about being an ex-smoker aside from all the blah blah blah health shit, is that when you have a major crisis or get really really drunk, you can fall off the wagon for a bit and have a smoke. Those few and far between smokes are so much more pleasurable and punctuate a crisis or the fact that you're really drunk like nothing else can.
Perhaps you'll get to the point I've reached. I can have one cigarette, really enjoy it and not enjoy a second one. I'll have a few cigarettes a year. No more. It also prevents me from being one of those ex-smokers that you want to stab (I hope).
Good job on quitting smoking. It will get easier!
I prefer the idea that Stone Mountain is an alien landing site. That's pretty cool.
Hang in there, Tink. I hope the no smoking thing gets easier. Dave quit like, six years ago and still, to this day, he needs something in his hands to fidget with at almost all times. Doesn't matter what it is, as long as he can fidget with it. Maybe that's what you need -- something to fidget with?
Smoke FREE?YAY TINK!!!
I had a pretty tame weekend...
#1 Oh good for you. Save the money in a jar somehere and then blow it in something fun.
almost 5 days smoke fee??? That's awesome Tink. And 18 bucks buys a box of beer.
Keep it up and you'll live forever.
As a kid we used to travel to Florida every year for a holiday, by car. I remember seeing billboards for the Stone Mountain. Dad would NEVER stop
I love the Braves. My last Braves game, I sat a couple rows behind Jimmy Carter.
Good for you, Tink! My father-in-law has been smoke free now for over a month after 40 years! He's still having a hard time, but he says the cigarettes don't taste good right now. Maybe they'll taste bad for you, too, and it can be a little easier.
Yay Tink!
I make a point not to ride any of the smokers I know (though that's getting easier, as more and more have quit). The way I see it, we're all adults here, and people can do what they feel is best. That's why I get so chapped about all these municipalities passing ordinances to keep people from smoking, even in bars and bingo parlors. I may have had two cigarettes in the year following my bout with cancer and not a one in about six years--but come on. If I were so bothered by cigarette smoke that I couldn't stand to be around it, wouldn't it be up to me not to hang out in places where smokers congregate.
That said, best of luck.
"Magma." The word is forever ruined for me. I can't see the word in print without hearing Dr. Evil saying it.
My weekend consisted of a little bike riding (okay... one hard ride on Saturday and a casual one the day after, with Turtle) and quite a bit of work on Turtle's business web site. Maybe we'll get it to a point where it can go live, this time.
You go!! Yay for smoke-free Tink!! Yay!!! :)
I had no idea about the pre-Rushmore carving. Huh.
Smoke-free's good, keep it up. That looks like some amazing seats you guys scored.
The Braves had more fans attending their game than the A's. I always feel sorry for the A's. They deserve better, especially since they are a much better team than the Giants (the other team across the bay).
Congratulations on the non-smoking. I know it's not the same, but I am trying to wean myself off of Pepsi. It's an addiction for me. :)
"In fifteen years I will have the same life expectancy as if I'd never smoked."
I use to read that once a month at the doctor's office while my wife was pregnant.
It took me 3 months after quitting for the cravings to chill out. The physical part took three days, but the psychological part takes a lot longer.
Good luck Tink! It's not easy at all, but I know you can do it.
I officially declare that you have way to much fun!!!
You're doing great, hang in there. Quitting smoking isn't supposed to be easy but you're doing great. My mom used candy sticks, like peppermint sticks, to help her through the rough times.
Great photos. I love the one of the stands.
Cool pictures! We built a planter along the garage. And ate ourselves silly at the fair.
My dad's in the process of quitting, too. He's been telling me he's quitting since I was in first grade, proving its difficulty. Hang in there! He's trying chantix (sp?) and has been smoke-free for a month and hating every minute of it. Not sure how that's supposed to boost your spirits, but anyway, hang in there!!! It'll get better! :)
Great self-portrait. And congrats on the smoke freedom. I haven't smoked in two years. I'd been smoke free for five years prior to that. It's a tough road but it can be done. Good luck!!
The smoking thing gets easier. Find something to do with your hands, and don't put more in your mouth than you need to.
a thought to consider? take that money you used to spend on cigs, and put it in a jar or something. Watch how QUICKLY that builds up into a new pair of shoes or a leather jacket.
nice to find your blog.
I quit smoking in Nov of 2006. that is why I said that. the desire doesn't go away so much, but you find yourself wanting them less and less until you are driving down the street one day, and you smell smoke from another car, and you say YUCK!!!!! then you know you are done.
Hooray for being a quitter! I'm routing for you.
Atlanta, that's quite a little road trip. One of the first "dates" Jeff and I ever had was to Stone Mountain. We took the cable car up and hiked down.
Those are some great pictures.
very cool pictures!! Did you enjoy your trip to ATL?
Always,
Crusty~
YOU CAN DO IT!!!! Stick with it girl...much proud of you.
Didn't I already mention that the Braves suck?
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