11/25/2015
First of all, the quick update on the dental situation is that...there is no update on the dental situation. I've called several places, and at the end of the day, anywhere I go, and anything I have done - be it a bridge, a partial, or implants, is going to cost money I simply do not have. The truth is, I can barely keep the lights on in this place, let alone afford dental procedures that cost thousands of dollars. I don't mean to recite a sob story, but that's the reality of my life at the moment. Proper dental care is a sickeningly expensive luxury in this country, the likes of which I cannot currently afford right now. So, I'm still waiting on that second job or my shit insurance to perform a miracle. We'll see how it goes, and I'll keep you all posted!
That aside, something nicotine-related DID happen recently. Here is a paraphrased discussion/half-assed argument a friend of mine (whose wife just had their first baby) and I had.
Him: Here you go. (He held a cigar out to me.)
Me: Uh...
Him: It's to celebrate the kid. It's a $50 cigar. It's cinnamon and vanilla flavored. They're supposed to be highly rated.
Me: Well, did you keep the receipt?
Him: What?
Me: You know I quit dip. Well, more specifically, nicotine.
Him: It's A SINGLE cigar. It isn't going to do anything. It's not like I'm handing you a box of them.
Me: No, but if I smoked this I'd either go out and buy a box of them, or more likely, start dipping again.
Him: Are you serious? You're seriously not going to take this? It's like drinking champagne on New Year's. It's not a regular thing.
Me: Would you give a recovering alcoholic champagne on New Year's?
Him: You really can't tell the difference between restarting an addiction and smoking a celebratory cigar?
Me: No, on the grounds that smoking a cigar IS restarting my addiction. Also, why are we celebrating life with something that causes lung cancer?
Him: This has got to be a joke. You're way too serious about this.
Me: Well, I better be! Seriously though, do you need $50 for this? That's okay if you do. I don't mind. But for real, I can't take this.
Him: It's not about the $50, I'm just surprised this is how you think.
Me: On a scale from 1-10, how much does my refusal to suck on a cigar affect our friendship? Be serious.
Him: Uh...does it have to be 1, or is 0 an option?
Me: Listen, take that back and just hand me the $50 instead.
Him: F you, I'm keeping the $50!
That was pretty much it. Oh, and apparently, he DID keep the receipt...and the $50. roflmao I guess the guy at the stogie store told him he gets people returning cigars for that very reason all the time. But I think this highlights a few things:
1.) The average person doesn't view nicotine as a legitimate addiction. That's why you hear words like "habit" being used to describe nicotine use. I've never heard alcoholism or heroin or cocaine referred to as a "habit." I've heard it called an addiction, substance abuse, and a disease. But for some reason, people call nicotine addiction a "habit." Tra-la-la-la. Just a bad habit. Like cracking your knuckles or picking your nose. 'facepalm''
2.) For some reason, cigars are seen by society as some sort of luxury item and somehow exempt from the same status as chew or cigarettes. Notice how my friend talked about how "highly rated" it was. There is no Dip Aficionado magazine with some snob describing the latest can of shit as having "earthy tones with notes of cedar and clove." Why are cigarettes and dip seen as being for white trash, but cigars are for those with class and sophistication? What an insidious marketing campaign big tobaccy has going. Speaking of marketing...
3.) My friend who offered me said stogie isn't even a nicotine addict...yet. I was being peer pressured by someone who does not even purchase or consume nicotine products. That's what was baffling to me. I brought this up to him and he didn't even realize he was doing it. Scary.
4.) The majority of people I've known to cave here on KTC caved to cigars or cigarettes. I know the site is Kill The Can, but do not forget your fight is with NICOTINE. Kill the can, the pack, the cigars, the lozenges, the nasal snuff, the patches, the gums, the vapors, the anal suppositories, or whatever the hell else they're using for a nicotine delivery system. Never believe for a second your fight is simply with dip.
That concludes my rant for today!