Boo

He may be knocking the barnacles off of his dinghy. I have to do that from time to time. And I'm not even a pirate.

Join the club. I don't have a clue who the famous people are anymore. What's up fellow young people?

Prepare the Lido Deck, MLMR is coming in hot. Congratulations.

I like the "unplugged" version better than the original. Feels more powerful and haunting than the version on "The Downward Spiral" album. I just never could get into the whole "industrial rock" sound. It felt like the songs got lost somewhere in the effects. Stripped down and raw is preferable to overproduced every time. Which goes a long way in explaining why I hate most everything I hear on corporate radio these days.

It should come as no surprise that I voted for Johnny's version. Trent Reznor not only wrote the song, but lived it and breathed it. Cash and Reznor were hesitant at first about this cover. Reznor because the song was such a personal and powerful detailing of his battles with heroin addiction and Cash thought the cover might come across as "gimmicky." After hearing Cash's version and seeing the video, Reznor expressed great admiration for Johnny's interpretation of his song. I've watched the video of Cash's version hundreds of times and it still hits me every single time.

You're among friends here. We've all been there...bought the ticket and took the ride. There's always room on the Train for one more.

I really like this passage from author Mark Manson and think it is applicable here: "Everything worthwhile in life is won through surmounting the associated negative experience. Any attempt to escape the negative, to avoid it or quash it or silence it, only backfires. The avoidance of suffering is a form of suffering. The avoidance of struggle is a struggle..." Getting accustomed to temporary discomfort in pursuit of a worthy goal is one of the best lessons the process of quitting teaches us.

I would also like to nominate the Chicks and Sticks game thread for the Hall of Fame. That game kept me occupied during any downtime in the early days of my quit. To a point that it felt like I traded in one addiction for another.

I nominate Jimmy and his bus. He always got us windowlickers to our destination in a safe and timely manner.

Welcome aboard Hellkat. The power to make that happen is all yours. Commit to the quit. Hope and luck are nice but fickle. Commitment is something you can build upon from now on. Enjoy the climb, the views from the top are awesome.

Confession: I am guilty of stereotyping/profiling Jo. I just assume she knows all about boomerangs and kangaroos because she lives in Australia. Saw this commercial last night while watching a baseball game and immediately thought of Jo...

If we're going to pay tribute to Bakon and his shoe obsession, we should include a pair of Bigfoot's running shoes. And just to spite him, an old pair of flip-flops...

I nominate a giant rubber duck for the Hall...Miss that guy.

I'm going to make a really good old man in the future. Thunderstorms roll through here every evening. One of my favorite things to do is sit on my back porch and watch the lightning over the Cumberland Plateau. A thunderstorm, a glass of lemonade, and my dog by my side...I'm set for the evening.

And to think that our relationship started with a shared appreciation of dirty jokes and banjo music. Another item for the hall...

When I quit, it was primarily out of frustration with the cigarettes being in control of my life. I was sick and tired of being a slave to the smokes. With that in mind, any time the voice of addiction was trying to convince me that "just one" would do the trick I thought beyond the "one" and saw where it would lead. One turns to two. Two leads to three. And so on. I knew if I smoked one, I would be right back at 25-30 per-day. And recognizing that I would have ceded control of my life back to the smokes, that would have meant that I would be constantly thinking about how desperately I needed to quit. Sometimes breaking the cycle is a simple matter of putting your head down and continuing forward progress. Once I had a couple of days under my belt, I figured since I was already on the right trail I might as well keep on hiking.

We've built a bit of history here on the Quit Train, memorable moments, quirky characters, etc.. As with any institution that stands the test of time, it is important to not only look to the future but also honor our past. Commemorate the people and artifacts that shaped who we are. In reading through a current introduction post, it was clear to me what the first item enshrined at the Quit Train Hall of Fame should be. This item is wielded by the matriarch of the Train and has scared many a quitter straight. It is legendary and its lore lives on... It is my honor to induct into the first class of the Quit Train Hall of Fame Doreen's Frying Pan....

I read Easyway and consider it to have been a valuable tool in building the foundation for my quit. I also had withdrawal symptoms. There were a few occasions when I considered throwing in the towel and just lighting one up. I gathered information from a variety of sources including: Allen Carr's book, Joel Spitzer's videos, and posts here at QuitTrain. I viewed the information gathered as a guide, a calm and reassuring voice of wisdom when the voices in my head were getting loud and chaotic. Addiction skews your perception six-ways-to-Sunday, that's why it is valuable to have voices of reason reminding you of what is actually going on rather than what you think is going on. There may be folks out there who were able to simply flip a switch and be done with smoking, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Most of us had put in some time to unpack the mental and physical baggage of decades of addiction and conditioning. To any of our newbies I would like to strongly suggest that you don't put added pressure on yourself when starting a quit. I did it in past, failed, quit attempts. I've seen people here on the Train doing it to themselves. If you've quit smoking and realize all the ills that come with cigarettes but still want to smoke, it's understandable. Addiction does not work from a place of reason and logic. Eventually you will reach a point where you no longer want to smoke, but it takes time to get there. Quitting smoking is strictly a pass/fail grade. There are no style points and you're not rewarded for increased degree of difficulty. You either quit or you don't. There is only one question that matters in a quit: Did you smoke today? If the answer to that question is "no"...you're good to go. If the answer to that question is "yes"...you screwed it up, start over.

Addiction and conditioning combine to make smoking a cigarette your default setting. On day two of a quit, it can require a deliberative mental effort to refrain from lighting up. You were just beginning the process, it takes time and repetition before not smoking becomes your new normal. All of the programs, books, and information can facilitate the process of quitting. However, quitting smoking is and will always be a simple matter of not putting things in your mouth and setting them on fire. Rule One: Don't Smoke! Rule Two: If you have any further questions, refer back to Rule One.

All of these smartphones and gadgets, yet we still don't have a food machine like the Jetsons. C'mon engineers, get on it!

Our perception of time ebbs and flows throughout our lives. When we quit, we start doing two things: watching the clock and feeling somewhat bored as we're trying to figure out what to do with our time now. That's a combination that seemingly brings time to a screeching halt. You settle into your new life as a non-smoker, put some time between you and cigarettes, leave some milestones in the rear view...and before you know it the clock is moving at normal speed again. I have a black lab, his name is Cash. If Samson is anything like Cash, you could always pass the time throwing a tennis ball for him to fetch. He never gets tired of that game. Eat. Play. Sleep. Dogs are living the good life.

Started a new program today: Three days per week. Focused on power and movement. Programmed the exercises based on Dan John's Basic Human Movements(Squat, Hinge, Loaded Carry, Push, Pull, Rotation, and Counter-Rotation). Started the workout with Farmer's Walks (which should come as no surprise) then moved on to pulling a sled arm-over-arm with a rope. Did some Kettlebell Swings, Single-Leg Kettlebell Deadlifts, Push Press, Sled Push, and finished up the workout with Turkish Get-Ups. Only one-day in, but this feels like a program I am going to stick with for a while.

Congratulations on the new addition to the family Catlover. And welcome to world Elyana, her adventure is just beginning.