Time Machine: Smoke

Yahoo has decided to shut down their 360 pages. Not that this is a surprise-they have not done a thing with it in ages. So I am going to repost some of my entries here, to preserve them.

This was a post from October 25, 2005.

Someone else posted an entry to their blog about smoking...

I'm not a smoker. I don't feel any cravings for it, and it never bothers me. Just the smell, which I hate.

So, why is it that when I'm doing the girl thang that I like to smoke? I know it's an affectation, but why that one?

I'm particular about what I'll smoke. It's got to be a long, thin cigarette, like More 120's or Sampoerna Xtra cloves. They're both dark, and they look very dramatic. I like the smell of cloves, too. I don't inhale deeply, just enough to keep them going. I try to look aloof when I smoke, like I am not really thinking about it...

When I'm going out in the French Quarter, I always have to park a few blocks from where I am going. I'll light a cigarette and smoke while I'm walking; it seems to get me into the mood. If I'm in a nightclub I'll smoke. It's a natural thing to do for me.

I don't feel a compulsion to smoke after a meal, or other things. I'll do it driving sometimes, even though I forbid people from smoking in my car. But Zelda can, of course...

I wanted a cigarette holder for a long time, but never got one. That's too much of an affectation even for me.

At SCC, I brought one pack of Sampoerna's with me. I didn't even finish it by the end of the week. Of course, you can't smoke in the bars in Atlanta anymore, either...

And I can dress and not smoke, too. So the only reason I do it is for effect. Now if I could only develop an eastern European accent...

I have not seen a pack of More 120's in years. Sampoernas are not imported into the US anymore; I switched to Djarm Blacks. After my spouse's health issues in '07 I stopped smoking for the most. My last time was at SCC '08, and I have not since. But I think I'll grab a pack of Blacks for SCC '09, just in case...