Smokeless

[Marcus Lupinius Paulus]

Three days without a cigarette! Chantix works well, but there are times when I want to pull out Marius' tonsils with my fingers...

The hardest times right now are moments of boredom and after meals. But aside from that, it has not been too bad. I just think of the money I will be saving!

Paulus

[Aldus Marius]

Te gratulor, mi Paule! But, umm...why my tonsils in particular? Have I done something that particularly merits having my tonsils removed? (I do still have them.) Or are you saying your craving makes you so desperate that you'd stick your head in the jaws of the Wolf? That'd definitely get your mind off your desire for a smoke; otoh, it'd feed my own secret vice of Extreme Carnivory... >({|;-)

It's true, though, that when you're not buying cigarettes you have more money for other things. I used to advise all my homeless friends to give it up; those that did always had money for a sandwich, or at least one decent meal every other day, which was good for morale and saved them (us) the indignity of panhandling.

In amicitia,

[Marcus Lupinius Paulus]

Thanks for the good wishes! The cost of cigs today with the taxes is ludicrous. A generic brand can cost between 6 and 7 dollars in Maryland now. The state raised the tax so much that they are actually losing money because people are buying online or in Delaware and so MD is getting less revenue from cigs than it did before the hikes.

Another reason to quit is that we bought a set of karaoke mics. Filipina's love to sing. And my voice is gone after one song.



Paulus

[Valerius Claudius Iohanes]

Etiam ego te gratulor, Paule. Hoc vitium numquam me vexavit, verum alia habeo. And soon your voice will be kara-okay (ouch!).

Vale bene.

[Formosus Viriustus]

Best of luck Paulus !

I'm still an inveterate smoker myself. At least a packet a day. It's a filthy habit, I know, I've heard it a million times, no need to tell me again. But think of all the money I save on food. A packet of cigarettes and a pot of strong coffee and I can get bye pretty easily for a whole day.

But they are getting down pretty hard on us here too. It seems we are the worst of the worst. Not only insensitive to our own health but being criminally irresponsible in our disregard for that of others as well, with the tons and tons of toxic fumes we release into the atmosphere every day. It's only fair they tax us to the poorhouse. Now, if you drive a Prius on the other hand ... Soon I'll be forced to wear a leper's badge and be unable to leave the house at all.

And now you'll never sound like Tom Waits of course.

[Valerius Claudius Iohanes]

Salvete, Magistri -

That diet of Formosus's:

But think of all the money I save on food. A packet of cigarettes and a pot of strong coffee and I can get bye pretty easily for a whole day.

I may have to learn to smoke and try that out. God knows I'm putting on weight again and can't kick the oral-gratification habit. Either join a strict monastery or take up smoking....

Valete.

[Gnaeus Dionysius Draco]

[color=#008080]I'm still an inveterate smoker myself. At least a packet a day. It's a filthy habit, I know, I've heard it a million times, no need to tell me again. But think of all the money I save on food. A packet of cigarettes and a pot of strong coffee and I can get bye pretty easily for a whole day.

I can empathize. But, I've made a promise to myself and to others that I'll quit before I turn 30 (if I turn 30) or if my significant other ever becomes pregnant (unlikely, since I'm not so keen on having offspring).

Despite the vast number of harmful effects of smoking, there are two areas where it has actually helped me, one being my digestion (I appear to have intestines with bipolar disorder), and the other is that it helps me relax and clear my mind.

[Formosus Viriustus]

Salvete Omnes,

In all fairness I should admit that I mostly smoke menthol filter cigarettes. So does that really count as smoking ?
Oh, and Gnaeus, you forgot to mention another advantage : you wouldn't judge it by me, but it seems it helps you to concentrate. Imagine if I gave up smoking ?

And I have always said : if it is so bad for your health, why do hundreds of millions of people do it ? After all the people who are addicted to being beaten up with a baseball bat probably only runs in the hundreds. Not to mention those who are addicted tobeing run over by a monster truck. Now that's really bad for your health.

(Formosus lights another one. )

[ Say Marius, if you're listening in, how about a 'smokey robinson' smiley ? Or is that too PinC ? ]

Valete bene et nil desperandum,

[Aldus Marius]

Salve, mi Formose!

Na, not "PinC" (I'll pretend that means "politically incorrect"...am I close? <g>)...just OOP (Out-of-Period). If you can show me that the ancient Romans ever smoked, I'd be happy to design a "Smokey Robinson Roman Smiley" for you, but only if it won't harm Curator Lupinius' recovery effort.

Hmm, dying...also very bad for your health, I'm told, but you know, *everybody* does that; billions and billions of people throughout all of human history and prehistory, and not a one of 'em passed it up. Is that an addiction too, or just a Really Good Idea? >({|;-p

[Annia Minucia Marcella]

Good luck on that. Cigarettes are so icky.

I prefer puffing on a pipe. Less addictive, nicer aroma.

[Formosus Viriustus]

Salve mi Mari et Omnes !

Am I to conclude that according to you the Romans wore 'gangsta shades' and had party balloons ? Well, you're the expert ...

And you clearly haven't seen the 'Rome' tv series then, where Octavia and her girlfriends get 'stoned right out of their heads' smoking shiloms or whatever they called them at the time.

And it is a - by NatGeo Channel - proven fact that the Egyptian mummies had so much nicotine in their body tissue that they must have been smoking three fat havana's at the same time for at least 20 hours a day and that they most probably all died of acute nicotine poisoning. That of course is an example of 'excessive' smoking. You mustn't exagerate. Even in a good thing. A few good hits with a baseball bat, that's ok; we all like that from time to time . But there too the golden rule is moderation.

( The fact that the pharao's were heavy smokers is of course irrefutable proof that the Egyptians discovered Americy long before Columbus and the Vikings did. Where else would they have gotten those havanna's from ? And if you don't belief everything they tell on NatGeo, you're just a cynic. )

And are you seriously suggesting that M. Lupinius Paulus is such a spineless weakling that he would start smoking again just because he saw a 'smokey robinson' smiley every now and again ? I thought you held your friends in higher esteem, Marius.

In all fairness, if you do have children in the house, smoking is not a good idea.
So, let's bury the War Hatchet on this one and smoke the Peace Pipe. (Outside, of course, although it is a bit rainy today, we don't want to corrupt or endanger the littl'uns.)

Valete bene et nil desperandum,

Fumatus Viriustus

[Valerius Claudius Iohanes]

Salve, Annia Minucia -

Good luck on that. Cigarettes are so icky. I prefer puffing on a pipe. Less addictive, nicer aroma.

The pipe was my father's favorite, also. I never wanted to smoke, but I did savor the smell of his cigars and his pipe-tobacco as a kid.

Vale.