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Post by calithena on Apr 11, 2012 8:25:12 GMT -6
Hi folks -
Things are still very much moving along here. But some of you may be wondering why the mag is coming out a little more slowly right now and why we're still prepping the Book of Tables for publication.
The honest reason is - four months ago I quit smoking.
My work pattern for years was this: about 4 nights a week my wife and daughter are asleep by 10 pm. Once that time hit, I went into the backyard for a smoke and a cup of coffee, maybe a shot of liquour if I really needed some extra calories. I then sat in front of the computer until sometime between 1 and 2 am and got 'zine stuff done.
Without the cigarette I haven't been able to use that time like I used to.
Also, during the day I am WAY more ADD than I ever used to be. I still am getting work done (including on issue 14, I am really liking the way this one is shaping up) but it seems to take me longer to ramp up and I'm still learning how to cope with being nicotine free.
It is getting better though.
I miss smoking but the fact that both my grandfathers died of lung cancer and that I have a daughter now makes it impossible for me to feel like I can continue in good conscience. Hopefully my body will figure out what the heck to do soon. Right now it is pretty much the worst that you would fear: constant cravings, disorganized, gaining weight, etc.
On the plus side, it's nice to know I still have some willpower.
Anyway, everything is still going around here, I just need to get used to the 'new me' in order to be as efficient as I used to be. You can expect issues 14 and 15 and a couple other fun things from us in the next several months, with more to follow. Summer break is coming soon!
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monk
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
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Post by monk on Apr 11, 2012 9:33:25 GMT -6
On the plus side, it's nice to know I still have some willpower. This should make you feel pretty good, man. Smoking can be both a powerful chemical addiction and ritual---and you are kicking its ass. Congrats! |
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Post by kesher on Apr 11, 2012 11:59:39 GMT -6
Cal, you are a one-man production line, as well as a scholar and a gentleman---you have no reason for apologies!
Fight On! with being smoking-free, and I hope it gets easier soon...
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Post by calithena on Apr 11, 2012 12:13:56 GMT -6
Thanks, guys! It helps.
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Post by mutiemoe on Apr 12, 2012 6:50:57 GMT -6
Looking at how good just about any issue of this fanzine is I'm not exactly envious of workload pulling it all together must be, but I have to say you are doing a great job.
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Post by coffee on Apr 12, 2012 13:00:14 GMT -6
Yeah, I quit smoking 4 years ago. I still get cravings, once in a while. I don't think they'll ever stop.
Just keep on keeping on, and you'll be okay.
Plus, you'll be able to breathe!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2012 16:18:36 GMT -6
You've been doing an amazing job with the magazine Cal and doubly so if you've been doing it while kicking the habit. Stay sane, your efforts are greatly appreciated.  |
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Post by calithena on Apr 13, 2012 8:23:17 GMT -6
Coffee -
My wife and others I know who have quit say that there is a threshold after about one year when it gets easier and then another one after seven years or so when it becomes abstract enough that you don't really think about it any more except when reminded. I sure hope she's right. Some days I wake up hoping to get diagnosed with a terminal disease just so there won't be a reason to not smoke any more!
There are pros and cons to quitting smoking if you have already started, but if you don't smoke, here is a big reason never to start in the first place: sooner or later, most smokers will probably want to quit for job, health, relationship, or social reasons. And quitting smoking is hell.
Lots of these pleasures that were fine (because necessarily occasional) in resource-poor societies get more problematic in resource-rich ones. I guess that's a slim silver lining if civilization collapses.
Back to work on Fight On!
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Post by kelvingreen on Apr 18, 2012 15:56:47 GMT -6
You have my support. Keep up the good work, both on the magazine, and with defeating your addiction!
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Post by capvideo on Apr 20, 2012 15:16:23 GMT -6
Lots of these pleasures that were fine (because necessarily occasional) in resource-poor societies get more problematic in resource-rich ones. I guess that's a slim silver lining if civilization collapses. What will you do if the post-economic collapse world I keep getting spam for ends up using tobacco and cigarettes as currency?  Good luck, my dad went through the same thing, although he went from smoking, to chewing, to abstinence. I still remember him opening the car door at stop lights to spit out chewing tobacco when he was done with it! I think my mom hated that more than smoking. |
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ant
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
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Post by ant on Apr 20, 2012 16:01:22 GMT -6
Cal, you're an absolute legend and there's no need to apologise when life gets in the road of cool stuff like Fight On!
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Post by calithena on Apr 21, 2012 20:06:46 GMT -6
Still smoke-free! I will have regular mag updates starting next week through publication.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 20:56:47 GMT -6
Still smoke-free! I will have regular mag updates starting next week through publication. If you know my real-life line of work when I'm not wasting time being a "wanna-be" editor, then you'll know how much it means when I say I applaud your life-decision to kick the tobacco habit. Well played, sir. Well played, indeed. |
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busman
Level 6 Magician
Playing OD&D, once again. Since 2008!
Posts: 448
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Post by busman on Apr 21, 2012 21:20:59 GMT -6
Awesome news, Cal. Keep trucking forward, you'll look back in future years and be so happy for your decision now. Hold strong! I'd rather FO! be a little late than you risk your health further.
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Post by midnightlamp on Apr 23, 2012 1:34:35 GMT -6
cal, ciggies are hard, but you can do it. i havent smoked a cig in about 2+ years & i can honestly say, i no longer crave it @ all, even though i can remember how much i enjoyed them. keep heart that every time you resist the craving, the more you break it down. sometimes it seems impossible, but just wait until you have that day when you enjoy a bourbon, or scotch, or whatever you prefer & an hour later realize you didnt even think about a cigarette. It may not seem it now, but the day will come...
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Post by labsenpai on Apr 23, 2012 20:04:35 GMT -6
It may not be a local library find, but you should read Robert Proctor's book, Golden Holocaust...aptly named for 6 million dead each year.
I'd like to have an encouraging story about quitting, but I don't. My father smoked for for 25+ years before stopping, and yet his grandchildren will never know him.
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Post by midnightlamp on May 1, 2012 10:21:51 GMT -6
On quitting smoking: “Once I did it cold turkey, and turned into Santa Claus.” – Kurt Vonnegut
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2012 11:52:20 GMT -6
“It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.” (Mark Twain)
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