The Stella Artois tennis tournament and Wimbledon are over and to be frank, I didn’t get to follow them much this year, due to distance and time difference. But there is one thing that happens around this time of the year, every year: Pimm’s o’clock!
What is Pimm’s? It is a very common drink in Southern England, usually heavily consumed at Wimbledon, yachting regattas and opera festivals. A bit posh you might add…
It is refreshing, tastes of lemonade and makes people happy!
Having had a little gathering at home this weekend, we decided to introduce Pimm’s to our guests (among other European drinks) and thanks to Miles, we had enough stock to last for the whole weekend.
So how can you enjoy this drink in the comfort of your SoCal home? First, you will need to put your hands on a bottle of Pimm’s nº1 Cup. I’d suggest BevMo as a very good starting point.
Then you will need to slice and dice cucumber, strawberries, oranges, apple and mint leaves.
In a large jug, pour 1/5 of Pimm’s nº1. Add ice cubes and a large amount of fruits and leaves. Fill the rest of the jug with lemon-lime flavored non-caffeinated soft drink (no brand).
Sit down, pour a glass and enjoy! It’s Pimms o’clock
Day two has been extremely and surprisingly easy at the office. I guess that living in an almost totally non smoking environment helps. Being busy all day might have helped even more!
My biggest problem today (related to the smoking thing) occurred when one of my colleagues who has quit smoking a month ago came to me to ask for a fag. The guy has been tobacco free for a month and following a shitty day (at the office, possibly at home or both), he is about to quit quitting! I tried to convince him to give a chance to my “drink one bottle of water each time you think of smoking” and he left my office pretty happy with that… My biggest regret so fat is that I didn’t take the time to maybe go for a (decaf) coffee and discuss with him the reason(s) of his need for a smoke! I should definitely try to do that tomorrow morning (I wish these things could come to me naturally instead of having to reflect on the day and realize what I have missed or effed up!).
Day 2 back at home is a little bit different… Here, the stress level varies from 0% (all is cool) to 100% (nothing is cool) with sadly no notion of anything in between… Today is a 100% nothing cool! 
So far I have been doing well but drinking buckets of water to remain cool has its limitations.
Another day of the battle against evil tobacco won! Let’s keep fighting!
On my way to work this morning, I realised (and tried to count) how many times I have been trying to get rid of this stupid addiction… This is pathetic!
And I always have a good reason for resuming the habit! The first time, I failed after 11 month (almost a year), blaming it on my back then personal life going down the drain. Second time, I blamed it on… I can’t remember. The third time, I blamed it on my job and unhappyness about many things then. The fourth time, after another almost a year attempt, I blamed it on the stress of moving here to the US…
So each and every time, I blame it on stress and use the “Give me that smoke please, I am so stressed!” line…
But, at the end of the day, these are still way too many attempts and way too many failures! I am wondering if I will turn back in a couple of years time and realize that I have succeeded this time…
Let’s start working now…
Well, as far as I remember my first quitting session, the first evening is the hardest, due to all habbits revolving around evening. Leaving office and having a smoke to relax. Arriving home and having a smoke in the garden. Having dinner and having a smoke right after it! Having a glass of wine on the patio, having a smoke…
So here I am, like a lion in a cage, knowing I need to do something but not knowing what. I did drink so much water that I am dizzy from it. I need to get out!
I go to pub and have a beer there. Not the best idea but at least here, bars are smoke free (oh, same as Europe now)… Doing so I kill another hour of my restless time.
On my way back home from the pub (the whole 1.2 miles), I am dying for something to eat… Cravings! So I simply decide to stop by Carl’s Jr and have a burger while listening to the radio. That should kill another 30 minutes!
Well, actually, today (Monday) is not really day 1…
I woke up yesterday, my throat killing me, my lungs screaming for some air and my body screaming for a fag… This had to stop! So instead of jumping to my usual pack of Marlboro Light, I decided to remember the advice I received many years ago when I first quit this bad habit: Every time you think about smoking, drink a cup of water!
I tried, I tried and I failed! Around lunch time, having my mind to only settle on Thia watching TV or me watching TV, I gave up, knowing that anyways, the next attempt was imminent!
So I woke up this morning (earlier than planned due to baby kicking his/her mummy’s inside) thinking that my goal for the day/week/month was to quit the little smoky tubes, hoping this time, no stress or uncharted event would emerge until I reach the first year of freedom!
So what can I say about day 1? Well, I drunk a cup of water each and every time I thought about smoking and as a result, I am simply high on water (not as bad as water poisoning but on the way there)… I managed to work OK today and the sole extremely hard times today were leaving the office (the ritual of the cigarette in my car) and after dinner tonight (the super top good smoke after meal)…
So Day 1 almost completed…
Stay tuned!
