Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

How have I missed this Eli talk? Just googled, and I’ll be watching soon.

@bimmy-lee I talked about it about a week ago. It's pretty darn good and you never really know what's going on, much like hereditary.

@NintendoByNature - We’ll watch it sometime over the next few nights. Hoping the Vikes can go ahead and open an insurmountable lead early (probably only about 10 points against WSH) so I can move on with other things and just have it on in the background.

@bimmy-lee ughhh they're struggling. Diggs is having a solid night tho, aside from a fumble

Hi folks! I promise I'm not dead, I've just taken a step back from the site (mainly the forums, but I've been commenting less on articles) for a little while. RL has been pretty busy and will continue to be over the next few days. I'm doing my normal weekend computer rounds (mostly bill paying, email maintenance, account balancing, and other "Why am I an adult?" processes. ) this evening. Tomorrow is another haunted house night (Def. need the stress relief this week!), then I'm out for most of Saturday barring the evening on an impromptu shopping trip with some family. I took the night off from scaring people on Sat. to better prep for my trip.

In between everything else, I still need to pack for the work conference I'm attending. I'll be leaving for the East Coast early on Sunday and should return back to my own pastures late Wednesday evening. The good news is that I'll be taking along a DS Lite and playing some Golden Sun: Dark Dawn as well as (hopefully) finally digging into LotR: The Return of the King after a series break.

All work and no play makes Tyranexx go crazy. X___________X (Brownie points if you get the double reference)

I did not see those last 10-15 minutes coming. But I feel justified in my dislike of a character.

@Tyranexx I do the same thing so no hard feelings. I tune into the chat once every couple days, sometimes I got 4-5 days without jumping in. Hooe you have a safe trip!
@hobbitgamer. Yes and yesssssss. Dislike indeed.

@NintendoByNature Thanks! It should be an informative and fun trip, though I'll be cooped up in a hotel/conference center most of the time. I won't get to see much of the city I'll be heading to unfortunately. I'm hoping to get out before we leave on the last day and take in a few sights at least.

I would have loved to go a day earlier and do a couple of things, but the vast majority of the trip isn't on my own dime.

@Tyranexx Real life can be exhausting, I totally understand! Sometimes you just get so busy you can't remotely do everything you want to do and have time to do the things you need to do too.

I'm real glad it's the weekend for me in about an hour. Tonight I'll be going grocery shopping and getting sushi for dinner. Then tomorrow I will be doing the rescheduled community day for Pokemon Go (because of the Typhoon we had 2 weeks ago) and then I'm gonna go to the bar with a co-worker and complain about work, talk about anime and video games too. All while smoking cigars - something I only do about once or twice a year.

@Heavyarms55 Perdomo? Macanudo?

On Sunday, I’m going to stop smoking. Again. I have 600 mint toothpicks, and a variety box of of Orbit gum. I love tobacco. Love it. Goodbye again old friend, this time I’m serious.

@NintendoByNature - They pulled it out! Thursday night games are always weird.

@bimmy-lee Best of luck, dood. I too enjoy my tobacco. Ya know what I find is useful during stints? Baby carrots. They keep the mouth busy, and are good finger placement while I’m outside.

@bimmy-lee thankfully.....they were looking rough. Glad they got it. Good to know your quitting. Oddly enough, I've never smoked a cigarette in my life. At a young age, 9 or 10, my uncle passed away from lung cancer attributed to smoking so i never picked one up. I've had cigars and what not, but it's usually special occasions. Make sure to stay off the stuff this time.

@HobbitGamer - Thanks pal. That’s a great idea. Baby carrots satisfy both fixations, hands and mouth. I don’t have that hard of a time with it initially, I usually struggle a couple weeks to a month in when my brain starts telling me I’m so far in the clear, I could probably have just one, enjoy it, and be done. Silly brain. My kids have never actually seen me smoke, but it’s getting too hard and stupid to keep up the facade. It feels like a good friend just died every time though, doesn’t it? A friend who wants to kill you.

@NintendoByNature - I try not to read too much into TNF games because, since the start, they’ve been incredibly weird. It’s just a disruption of the usual schedule and game prep, and good teams usually play bad, while bad teams usually play decent. Thanks, I’m sure your uncle did have a lasting effect on you. Glad you never got sucked in then. I have a family event tomorrow, and that’s been great motivation in the past. I have an aunt who needs steroids and an oxygen mask to breathe.

@HobbitGamer And just like that, carrots have replaced pineapple.

@bimmy-lee I’ve also struggled quitting for a long time. When I got to college everyone in the film department smoked and same at the coffee shop where I worked part-time. I never really thought much about it at 25, but at 32 I also think it is time for me. The impact of the habit starts rearing it’s ugly head as you get older.

When I visit home the gum helps and yeah baby carrots are a good oral fixation and the all that Vitamin A is good for smokers. One thing that also sorta helps is just pretending like you’ve never done it. You have to move your thoughts away from cigarettes, otherwise you’ll just be fantasizing about having one all day.

Best of luck to you.

@NotTelevision - Thank you. Film school, coffee shop... you were destined to pick up the habit, or have the existing habit enabled. It’s always been amazing to me how strong the brain tries to pull me back in, and how easy it is to trick it out of that cycle. Last time, I used water. Every time I had an urge, I’d chug a glass of water. By the time I was done, the urge was over. My brain was like, “Oh good, water, we need that. What were we talking about again, I can’t remember? Oh well, it’ll come back to us in 10 minutes.” I struggle less with nicotine addiction, and more with the general lifestyle changes that come with quitting. Not having a lighter in my pocket feels like I’ve left home without my wallet or phone. Ah well, gotta do it. I’m getting too dang old, and as much as I love tobacco; I want to quit now more than I ever have. That’s half the battle.

I've never smoked anything in my life. Neither of my parents smoked, and I can't really stand the smell to boot (I hate strong smells in general, barring food). I don't like any form of smoke in general, though I can tolerate wood smoke in limited amounts. One of the negatives of this time of year is when people think it's a good idea to burn leaves. :nauseated_face:

@Heavyarms55 Exactly! I either need to do less stuff, try to streamline my time even more than I already do, or else create a work-happy clone of myself. XD Or stop adding so much to my backlog AND booklog....

Have fun with Trapinch Community Day, I had a blast with ours! And have fun with your weekend to boot! I almost live for them sometimes.

@bimmy-lee Good luck! I've heard that's not easy but is totally worth it.

@Tyranexx - Thanks! I guess we’ve found the difference in our olfactory sensitivity. I think cigs smell gross after I’ve quit, but I like the smell of cigars, pipes, wood smoke, and burning leaves. Hope you enjoy your trip next week and get at least a little time for yourself.

@HobbitGamer No clue. Some kind of Cubans I think. My friend picked them. The bar sells a bunch, but they also don't mind you bringing your own.

@Tyranexx I think I will, thanks! (Living for weekends is a bad habit I know all too well.)