Been a while since I have done this

I know, I know, I have been less than good at keeping the blog updated, but this has been a busy month for me.

I started with a large number of things. First, work, I have 4 projects to complete before I go on leave this year, that leaves pretty much 2 weeks to achieve, well, the virtually impossible. There are a couple of added twists that makes it even harder.

I decided to get myself an XBox 360. Man, oh man, what a great piece of technology. I have since been able to scrap my HTPC project (See earlier entry) and only use the XBox for all my media and entertainment needs.

I have been spending a lot of time catching up on gaming, and there are three reasons for this.

1. It is addictive as hell, you cannot put down that controller once you start.
2. It is the most relaxing thing on earth, there are just something really therapeutic about killing Germans in Call of Duty 2 in full surround sound and the pure awesomeness of a 1.5 x 1.5 Meter screen in High Definition - This is gaming like I have never seen or heard it in my life, think about the first time you saw a movie in the IMax, similiar feeling ;)
3. It gets my mind off smoking, it is a great way to suppress the apparent need for a sigarette, and I have managed to cut down on more than 10 smokes a day because of a total of about 2 hours gaming a day.

Then the real reason behind this entry.

My biggest challenge in life is giving up the habit of smoking. I decided to give hypnotherapy a go, I have had about 3 failed attempts, because I believe that my heart wasn't really in it. I did not have the coping mechanisms to really let go of the habit, and frankly, I really enjoyed (still do) smoking.

So, I have been on the program for 3 weeks now, and the coming 5 days will be the end of the beginning, and I am about to embark on the great crusade (If you will forgive me for borrowing from Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe and later US Presedent) - Get the full story here.

Yesterday, I smoked 6 Sigarettes. That is a total cut down of roughly 20 Sigarettes from a month ago. The day before I smoked 15.

Today, I will smoke 4, Friday 3, Saturday 2, Sunday 1 and Monday next week I will be a non smoker.

I will post my progress here over the course of the next few days, and perhaps someone out there might just end up also quitting the habit. It is hard, but with the right tools, right mindset and support from people around you, it is completely achievable.

For the record. I have been a smoker for almost 11 years now.