Seven days.

I know that I'm only seven days in. And I am aware that listening to someone talk non-stop about their new obsession (whatever it may be) has a tendency to get a bit tiresome.  That being said, this has been the best way I see fit to cope with the loss of something that had, unbeknownst to me, taken over my life. If you wish to quit reading, do so now. If you're a friend of mine and you wish for me to quit tirelessly rambling about this subject, please let me know. The blog will continue, but I'll try to remember that there were events that took place prior to my quitting smoking. Everyone has been nothing but supportive of me on this "journey" and I thank them.

Here's the good so far and the bad so far. One week in.

The Good:
-I smell good. My hair smells good. All the time. My car smells good. My coats/clothes smell good. My PHONE smells good. I didn't realize it, but before I quit, everything I owned (including things that you would think would not be permeable by a smell-a plastic cell phone should not retain a smell) smelled like smoke. The
-The cough is almost gone. The cough that I didn't even realize I had until I quit and realized that I wasn't coughing as much as usual. The throat's still sore, but I will get to that in "The Bad" section.
-I chewed one piece of gum all weekend.
-I don't feel like I'm imprisoned by cigarettes anymore. I know that is a totally cliche comparison, but I never realized how true it was until I could look back and admit to myself that I was confining myself to smoking. I no longer have to plan which gas station to swing by because they have the cheapest cigarettes. I never have to sacrifice doing something on my break at work because smoking will always take precedence. I don't have to find the ashtray outside of a restaurant after every meal out. The list goes on and on.
-I have more energy, therefore, I am more active.
-My taste buds are waking up. I have this picture in my mind of little cartoon taste buds that are stretching their arms and yawning happily. Seriously. That's what food tastes like to me. Like my taste buds are actually smiling and celebrating some sort of rebirth. (Yup. Judge if you want, that's how it feels.)
-I have probably, so far, saved around $50. So figure that out. $200 a month. $2,400 a year. Roughly. What the hell can I do with an extra $2,400? A lot.

The Bad:
-I enjoy food more. I eat more. Substantially more. Thankfully, I have more energy, so I am able to cancel this out.
-I am still having an issue with (again, sorry for the overshare) my lungs rejecting a lot of crap that they've held onto for five years. I don't know how to word this without being too descriptive, but it is one of the WORST drawbacks to quitting. If it were up to my throat, I bet it would guess that I hadn't quit smoking because it feels like it is in worse condition than before. However. I was able to wake up and go through a couple of hours this morning without noticing it. That was nice. I think it's beginning to recede. I hope it is. It's terrible.
-The gum is the most horrible thing on the face of the planet. Yes, it has it's place. And yes, it has helped me immensely. There are three terrible elements about the gum. One, it starts out tasting just like regular Trident then turns on you. Two, it numbs your mouth. It starts with your throat, then eventually works it's way to every corner of the rest of your mouth. (OH-side note. I thought the other day that I had accidentally swallowed a piece and ended up digging through my trash looking for it. I found it. This gum will instill fear in you.) Three, truth be told, it's probably just as addictive as cigarettes are. And nicotine itself is bad for you. So, sorry gum-makers. I think that you recommending 9-12 pieces a day to people trying to quit smoking is just as bad as Joe Camel being "targeted at children".
So there's a brief sampling of, one week into it, the things that have been altered in my life due to my earth-shattering decision to quit.