cbird65 to cbird to bird ... either way here's the back story

[cbird65]

 31 Jul 2013, 17:27 #195
Captain's Log 579

You’re quit and should be tethered

Say you’re an astronaut and your space ship is KTC-BR549. Being in outer space takes time to adjust to and you need to learn how to compensate for tasks you would normally do on Earth. Gravity, oxygen and even food have all been affected and need to be reassessed. You need to go to work and before you exit the capsule, you go through the checklist of the mission, equipment, safety gear and finally the emergency plan. You’ve trained for this day and space walking is relatively easy provided you respect the surroundings and know your limitations. Being tethered to the KTC-BR549 ship is not a burden, it’s your lifeline. Alright, time to exit the ship and get some work done. You’ve done this 1,10,100,1,000, 10,000 times but this time you decide to forget everything you’ve learned and put into practice. Your tether gets worn or snaps. You recognize it but rationalize in your brain saying; just a little more time won’t hurt me. I've done so well the last 'x' number of times, I really don't need the tether any longer; anyway it just reminds me.... 'x'. Your communication is/was built into the tether but you’ve neglected it and it’s damaged so calling for assistance is possible. You say: I’m a man and I can do this on my own and continue on. Now you’re getting cocky and extend yourself just a bit too much and you lose your grasp or footing. Houston, we have a problem! You are now lost in space.

WE QLF EVERY DAMN DAY without excuse or apology.

[cbird65]

 11 Jul 2013, 10:29

559
Quitting tobacco is the hardest thing any of us will ever do.  What does it really take?

Well for me, it was the ‘I have had enough of being controlled by a 2 ¼” can”.  Ok, you say.  Bully for you – you made a mental decision not based on fear or for anyone else…. What now?

What now is where KTC came into play.  Finding this site three days after my decision was the life preserver being tossed to a man treading water in a turbulent ocean.  I had been here before and failed countless times.   I needed to learn how to quit, not just stop.  It was a matter disregarding all the ‘knowledge’ I thought I knew and become a student of quit.

I had never visited an open forum before and this isn’t the easiest elephant to eat so it’s little by little each day learning the ins and outs of KTC.  Was it difficult, yes but it also distracted my nicotine ridden body and mind.  I am part of April 12, the battered bumping bastards of April 12 to be exact and am one of the spreadsheet trackers too. Our name is justly deserved.  Come by and read some of our history to see why. 

The saying around here is to drink the Kool-Aid.    I’ll take it a step further and liken it to jumping out of the plane for the first time.  I am not an accomplished sky diver but have made 5 successful jumps.  Yes I know we have some badass military guys on the site and I am not trying to compare myself to your or your sacrifice/service – just hang with me a little bit.  Hanging on the edge of the plane at 14,000 feet you have a decision to make.  Tandem jumping is now the law and it’s up to the jumper to make the initial exit.  Full commitment is now reality if you want to experience. The jump school (first 100 days) teaches us how to identify the dangers and pitfalls of our addiction.  Not just avoiding the fight but how to defend and then attack the enemy.  Tandem jumping means you are wearing a harness which is attached to an experienced and licensed sky diver (KTC vet).  My life was literally in my jumper partner and had to completely trust he could land me safely. After the Hall, we get to put our ‘quit degree’ into practice.  The first milestone is only a mile marker affirming you are going in the right direction.  Top off the tank and get back on the road; this is not your final destination!  For me, after my first safe landing, I was ready to go again!! 

Would I be quit without KTC?  Yes, is say with slight question mark floating in the back of my mind.  Would I be as confident in my defensive and offensive skill in battling nicotine, HELL NO!

Let go and let it rip boys!!

Well put brother!!

Its vets like you that have given newbies and not-so-newbies like myself the advise on how to get thru some of the tough spots.

Proud to be quit with you today.

keep paying it forward and backward G25 - lovin that quit

Whenever I'm pissed I know I can come to Cbird's intro for a dose to positivity. Thanks Cbird. Proud to know you.

[cbird65]

03 Jul 2013, 20:29

Active and Productive

A post recently got me thinking about the length of time people stay on this site.  I won’t attempt to speak for others but my .02 says as long as I have breath in my body ~  ~  ~ and yes I will do that in daily increments EVERY DAMN DAY.

While my quit continues to grow, I find myself looking for other areas in my life that need improvement.  (My wife says; here let me help you with that list) Body, soul and spirit is how I was created and if I do not look to improve on all of those areas then I am left wanting. 

If you haven’t wondered outside of the four walls of your quit room you’re missing the boat.  Yes, you need to post roll in your room EVERY DAMN DAY, but how about venturing into another group and posting support for a quitter who had an impact on your quit.  The younger and older quitters need love too.  The number of days quit is meaningless to me if I don’t help or push someone along.  This site is called a brotherhood for a reason.   If you do not stay active both inside and outside of your quit group bad things happen. Caution, there are no demi-gods here! Still waters become stagnate and then they turn poisonous.   
 
Venture into the Non-Dipping related forums and you will find a number of topics to entertain or get actively involved in.  Open this section and see how many topics/activities forums you can use to vent, distract, beat craves, or challenge your quit and/or other areas that need improvement on a daily basis.

Thank you brother! I needed to read that today...

Good challenge, cbird.  I've not thought about the need that older quit brothers have for support.  KTC can best be defined by What give, not just get.

[cbird65]

 22 Jun 2013, 07:53

Applies to every quitter

Milestone accomplishments are potential pitfalls.  You’ve hit your first or latest goal and for many of you this is the longest time your body has been off nicotine since the first time you put that shit in your body and became a slave.  If you do not continue to set new goals for your quit, many of you will fade away.  Unfortunately, the grim reality is, several of those who do fade will be finger banging a can soon. 
Stay engaged here.  Continue to monitor your spreadsheet and call out the guys how have committed to the ‘next level’.  Get outside of these four walls here and find some foggy quitter to help or pop into some ‘old’ group and add your support to them.
 We are addicts, plain and simple.  If you allow yourself wiggle room, the nic bitch will creep back into your life and whisper sweet poisonous nothings in your ear.

Someone slap me up side the head if I ever forget this! 

Day 539

The Watcher shall also be the Watched..... L00t 6:14 :ph43r:

Amen ^^^^^^

Thank you.

I needed this right off the bat this morning.

I'll smack you upside the head if you ever forget, but I'd much rather slap that ass! Wait....what?

[cbird65]

13 Jun 2013, 11:22 #17

Bird’s Top Ten
1 Quit for you.  This decision to abstain from ANY and ALL NICOTINE is not based on fear or for anyone else. 
2.  Post roll every damn day.  Affirm daily to yourself and to the brotherhood your decision to protect your quit and theirs.
3.  Keep you word.  Sounds simple until every hits the fan at once but if you can’t look yourself in the mirror honestly then you are a weak link.
4. Hold your brothers accountable to posting and protecting their quit  This will require open lines of communication.
5.  Have a sense of humor.  Life is serious enough and quitting sucks.  We did this to ourselves so own your quit. 
6.  Special butterflies need not apply regardless of your life story or circumstances.  Your finger print is the only unique thing about you.  Follow the time tested precepts.  You are not God’s gift to “quit” and KTC isn’t broken nor DOES IT NEED FIXING OR REINVENTING!
7.  Take what you can and leave the rest.  It’s called life – roll with the good and bad.
8.  Protect your quit daily and if you have extra energy help a brother out.  (old or new, we all need encouragement sometimes)  the pay it backward and forward principle.  Note help may include a boot in the ass every now and then or a 2x4 upside a thick foggy skull
9.  No cure, pill or silver bullet to erase our history of nicotine abuse.
10.  Wake up and repeat

Boom, follow that every damn day.

Cbird,
As always, I like it, I love it, I want some more of it!!!  
I will follow the Top 10 until I quit breathing.  
NAFAR and ODAAT  

I am not a unique and special butterfly.  I am a drug addict.  I quit with CBird.

 :wub:

[cbird65]

09 Jun 2013, 21:33

I just found the perfect analogy (video) for all these blowhards who claim to have dip controlled or want to argue the fact they are not addicts and the guys here who fight our addiction openly every day are slaves

This is what happens when you Tempt the Bitch or think you have all the answers and can fly solo.

Keep your guard up.

Awesome analogy!!
Thank you Cbird for posting this.
I'm gonna keep my guard up and protect my quit at all costs. It is a life or death decision I will make every a.m. by posting roll and keeping my word.  

This analog had this week written all over it.  Why would you want to put your guard down with An enemy that has no pity.  No remorse.  An enemy that can and will knock you slap out.  Thanks cbird.

Perfect. Good work cbird.

[cbird65]

 01 Jun 2013, 15:01 #161
Day 519

It’s lawn mowing season in Texas and that means a lot of time for the bird to think. Today’s topic is pack or group dynamics. I can see the yawns already.

We, the quitters of KTC, are the herd of buffalo, gazelles, whatever you want. The nic bitch is the predator lurking to snatch some new or weak quitter away. It’s happened too many times here. New guys charge about with their new found quit and they’re not paying attention and ka-pow the bitch snatches them.

This could very well happen to an older quitter who isolates himself, starts to feel he’s no longer part of the herd or anyone misses him or just mails it in.

No one here is an island to himself. Get lines of communication open early and keep them open. Do not isolate yourself. If you’re feeling down, get on live chat and vent or dial up one of those numbers. Asking for help does not mean you are weak. It actually proves you are smart enough to see you can’t do this on your own.

Learn how to identify the tricks the nic bitch is going to use on you during your pre Hall training. Hit the hall and put those skills to use by helping new guys along the way and encouraging the old goats every now and then too.

It’s the pay it backward and forward principle.

Class dismissed …..

[cbird65]

13 May 2013, 10:12

Wanted to knock the dust off this Intro thread in recognition of Cbird's

[size=100]5 0 0 Days[/size]

You continue to be a good friend, a valuable part of April 2012 and a great asset for KTC.....in addition to being a badass quitter. 

Quit Like F*ck

I'm quit like f(a)ck as well because of you.

Thank you, and congratulations.  Half commas make me horny.

Way to go CBird!

Outstanding job cbird!

True badassery!

Awesome Cbird!!!
     

Just perfect!  Well done.

Thuper. Thimply thuper. Thanks for all the help along my way.

Day 500 and I got me a new avie thanks to my bestest buddy :wub:  I love you man!

1+1+1+1 really adds up and it helps to have friends along the way to use their fingers and toes to keep track of the days.  

Thanks guys, I doubt I'd be here without you.

 :ph43r: ing you

So proud to quit with you. Nice 500!

Hats Off ! congrats.

[cbird65]

11 Apr 2013, 08:15 #150
So a strange thing happened on the way to…..

Meeting Evil_Won while I was in Chicago. He gave me crystal clear instructions to the bar we were meeting at downtown. I wrote them down but of course forgot them at the hotel. All you guys with your newfangled phones are wondering why I didn’t just map it …. Duh, can you say flip DUMB phone

Anyway, I walk up to some guy and ask directions. Mention I’m meeting an online accountability friend and he looks at me and say “how does that work?” I show him my KTC running shirt I was carrying and he says oh you mean you guys help people quit this, pulling out a can of Kodiak. Says I might as well be using heroin. No time to fully explain it but said when you’ve had enough, look us up.

With that I preceded to use his wrong directions and wound up calling Evil to pick me up - been a long ass time since I was back in the City.

Sharing life experiences with another quitter is an integral part of my quit. If you haven’t done it yet, I highly recommend it …. “It’s so choice” …. a little Ferris for youze guys

[cbird65]

 27 Mar 2013, 07:52 #141
Been on a roller coaster lately, ebbing from give-a-shit to energized about KTC as a whole.

After a couple of great conversations this week w a 600 day bad-ass quitter and a 30 day oh like I’m out of the fog and think I can help my brothers out guy and am rejuvenated!!

BFD you say?? Well it is a big deal to me and it goes back to the circle of quit. I am reminded by a few quotes
“Remember that failure is an event, not a person.”
“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”
“People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.” Zig Ziglar

Quitting is relatively easy – you just stop doing something right? Now comes the hard part – replacing the previously quit habit and staying quit. Might I recommend upping your involvement here? You say, man I ‘m in the fog, I’m hurting, I can’t….Shut it and pull up your big boy pants. Push yourself harder and go out there and find someone to help or talk to a new brother. You will find out that we all have shared life experiences but it will reinforce a layer of accountability and brotherhood that you may have overlooked.

Pay it forward….. and backward. Yep, it goes both ways and it applies to EVERYONE. Find some crusty old salt that supported you early on and go post your support for him and then find a newb to take under your wing.

This is the longest damn race you will ever run. It has water stations (midnight) but no finish line.

Do you have what it takes??????

Final note - Since posting roll is my safety line - why would I test its limits?? Every damned Day boys!

[cbird65]

01 Mar 2013, 18:16

A tribute to a few bad ass cars when muscle was flexed

Days 426-429 

yeah it has a 426 HEMI in it

Sting Ray 427  qlfedd  427 bonus car

428 Cobra Jet need I say any more?

Boss 429 can't go wrong w Grabber Orange

you've just been waiting to use this haven't you......

Those cars have Vigor! My guess is he's been planning this for some time. What else is there to think about when you're running for 4 hours straight?

Long wait to use those but...well played! B)

[cbird65]

21 Jan 2013, 12:06

Another literary analogy came to mind while I was running last Saturday. Blame it on oxygen deprivation

My quit was like the house falling on the Wicked Witch of the East. No, that does not make me Dorothy and no I have no desire to wear ruby red shoes. After landing in Oz (KTC) I was greeted by a bunch of people telling me to follow the ‘yellow brick road’ aka “drink the Kool-Aid”. There was some really scary looking green face guy and a bunch of lunatics with funny voices telling me over and over again ‘follow the yellow brick road’. I know I was coming out of tornado and my head was spinning but I’m pretty sure there was ugly mother dressed up in a white gown named loot or maybe it was chewie. Anyway, I started down the yellow brick road and met some friends along the way. Thanks April 12! I’ll let you sort out the roles you gheys want to play.

While following the road we are attacked by the evil forest and the flying monkeys but by banding together and posting my roll every damned day the Wicked Witch has not been able to take me prisoner again. I know there is an end to the road and to the story but I am very happy and glad to make this journey with you all every damned day.

[cbird65]

18 Jan 2013, 08:26
What is your story? Not sure if you are quit, on the fence or just following up on someone else here posting roll.

KTC is based on three things:

Accountability - through a daily posting of a promise to abstain from nicotine

Brotherhood - a relationship developed over time by working together against a common enemy (nicotine)

Success - the culmination of 1 & 2 as we keep our daily promise and help our brother/sister keep theirs

dipped for 35 yrs and am now on day 385 - this site works but only if you get involved

[cbird65]

 21 Jan 2013, 12:06
Another literary analogy came to mind while I was running last Saturday. Blame it on oxygen deprivation

My quit was like the house falling on the Wicked Witch of the East. No, that does not make me Dorothy and no I have no desire to wear ruby red shoes. After landing in Oz (KTC) I was greeted by a bunch of people telling me to follow the ‘yellow brick road’ aka “drink the Kool-Aid”. There was some really scary looking green face guy and a bunch of lunatics with funny voices telling me over and over again ‘follow the yellow brick road’. I know I was coming out of tornado and my head was spinning but I’m pretty sure there was ugly mother dressed up in a white gown named loot or maybe it was chewie. Anyway, I started down the yellow brick road and met some friends along the way. Thanks April 12! I’ll let you sort out the roles you gheys want to play.

While following the road we are attacked by the evil forest and the flying monkeys but by banding together and posting my roll every damned day the Wicked Witch has not been able to take me prisoner again. I know there is an end to the road and to the story but I am very happy and glad to make this journey with you all every damned day.

[cbird65]

What is your story? Not sure if you are quit, on the fence or just following up on someone else here posting roll.

KTC is based on three things:

Accountability - through a daily posting of a promise to abstain from nicotine

Brotherhood -  a relationship developed over time by working together against a common enemy (nicotine)

Success -  the culmination of 1 & 2 as we keep our daily promise and help our brother/sister keep theirs

dipped for 35 yrs and am now on day 385 - this site works but only if you get involved

I stand with Cbird.  Dipped 21 years and quit 311. 

UST can piss up wind and die!