To cease smoking is the easiest thing I ever did.  I ought to know because I’ve done it a thousand times.  ~Mark Twain

I’ve been smoking since I was 16. I’ve been a pack-a-day smoker. I’ve been a smoker who never actually bought cigarettes. (The Moocher!) I’ve quit many times before. One of the times lasted a good year.  There were times when I rationed cigarettes, only having one or two a day. Cigarettes have been a part of my life for a long time.

Click to play Oasis – Cigarettes & Alcohol

My first cigarette was outside a pool hall. That head change was so fantastic…I was a fan ever since. That first cigarette was a Marlboro Red. I smoked those for some time, until I mooched a Camel Light from a buddy and really liked the taste of those better.

Click to play Less Than Jake – One Last Cigarette

I enjoy the timeout a smoke gives me at work. I enjoy the act of smoking…the inhaling and exhaling. Smoking would get me through the tough times. A cigarette would help me when I was…bored/stressed/tired/hungry. Nothing accompanies an alcoholic beverage better than a cigarette. Nothing accompanies coffee better than a cigarette. A smoke is great after sex and after a meal.

Click to play David Bazan – Cold Beer and Cigarettes

The thing is about quitting smoking is that you have to really want to quit. You have to hate it. I love smoking…but I think you figured that out from the love story above. I was planning on quitting on January 1, 2011. Less a resolution and more an easy quit date to remember. Didn’t happen because I had to go to California for a funeral…and I didn’t want to add to the stress of that trip by craving the whole time. On the 23rd of January I caught a horrible cold…might have even been the Flu. I had a fever and cough. Seemed like a good time to quit, since I could barely breathe anyways. I’m ready. I can do this. This is my final goodbye. It wasn’t you cigarettes…it was me.

CLick to play Band Of Horses – Cigarettes, Wedding Bands