You did it again, Mayor Bloomberg

First, Mayor Bloomberg pushed through a law that prohibits smoking darn near everywhere. Now, he has given us free nicotine patches just for calling 311. I called it. In just a couple of days, a month's supply of the patches arrived. I finished my last cigarette at 8pm on Saturday, May 27. Since then, I have been counting every hour that passes. The patches are working quite well. The urges are strong, and a couple of situations have led me into temptation. With a bodega across the street and a Rite-Aid in my building, it is quite easy to just give up and give in. But I have remained smoke-free since then. As I write this, Wednesday, soon after 7pm, it has now been roughly 95.25 hours since my last cigarette. When Saturday comes, I will begin counting in days rather than hours. Then, counting by weeks. Then months, then years. This time, come hell or high water, I aim to be a quitter! The greatest strength in this quest is support of loved ones. Second most important is to avoid "triggers" that make one want a cigarette. These include morning coffee, completion of a meal, and cocktails. I have stopped drinking coffee. I have worked on finding the best eating pattern to reduce cravings. As for cocktails, well, I have reduced those extensively. As the song goes, "lead me not into temptation--I can find it all by myself."