Hey all!
Welcome to Thursday evening's GUS Diary. Hosting will be uneven because I have some errands to run. But I will be back later.
I know I'm a couple days early, but if you are in the northern hemisphere, or what we who live there refer to as the top half, it's the end of summer. Or the beginning of fall, or autumn if you want to be formal and fancy.
For some people, summer ends when the kids go back to school; for others, it's Labor Day Weekend. But this Saturday is the autumnal equinox. Please celebrate responsibly.
Looking back on this last summer, I did not accomplish all the things I wanted to do, but I did stop smoking for (so far) 59 days.
So what was your summer all about? Good? Bad? Big? Small? Sweet? Sour?
GUS (Gave Up Smoking) is a community support diary for Kossacks in the midst of quitting smoking. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are quitting or thinking of quitting, please -- join us! We kindly ask that politics be left out.
Click the GUS tag to view all diary posts. Check out the GUS Libraryat dKosopedia for a great list of stop-smoking links.
A message to ALL quitters. You don't have to avoid GUS if you have a failed quit. We won't give you a bad time; we consider the failed quits as "practice" for the real quit.
Quit Keeper is a widget for those beginning the difficult path to quitting. It lets you know how long you haven't smoked, how many cigarettes you have not smoked, and how much money you have spent on other things.
And there is Quit Smoking Counter For those of you who have had a problem with Quit Keeper or want a different counter!
The seasons mattered more when I lived in my beloved hometown of Cleveland, Ohio - the place where I lived for 40 odd of my 50 odd years. People there mark each change in the season from winter, to spring, to winter, to summer, to spring, back to winter, then summer, then orange barrel, then football, then back to winter.
Now I live in Los Angeles. While it is not true that we have no seasons here, the differences are not as dramatic and do not require that we change our wardrobes or tires. We don't have to winterize anything. No one here knows what a storm window is. (They also have no idea what a treelawn is, but that's another discussion.)
My favorite seasons are the in-between ones, and not just because I have hard time making up my mind. I prefer moderate weather. But most of all the fall gives me NFL & College football together with baseball playoffs, while the spring gives me March Madness and NBA & NHL playoffs. Yes, I am one of those guys.
What do people do to mark the change in season where you are?
Tell us what your favorite season is and why.
GUS Buddies Forever!
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Have you had some experience with the effects of smoking, and want to write a GUS diary or host an open thread? Please sign up in the Butt Can (Tip Jar), and name the day and time that works for you (AM, PM, late-night, early-bird). If you can spare a few hours, please consider hosting a GUS diary. It doesn't have to be a permanent slot; it can be a one-time deal or just an open thread!
The weekly GUS Diary schedule is below. New voices are ALWAYS appreciated and always welcome!Look at all those open slots just calling your name!
Schedule
Thu PM: James Earl - your humble narrator
Fri AM: flumptytail
Fri PM: open
Sat AM: effervescent checking in when she can
Sat PM: open
Sun AM: gchaucer2
Sun PM: open
Mon AM: open
Mon PM: paulitics
Tue AM: gchaucer2
Tue PM: open
Wed AM: open
Wed PM: Vacationland
Thu AM: nokkonwud