This weekend was my birthday and we went out of town to Washington DC. I had a blast it was great. It was an agonizing time though not smoking and all. I am the type of person that when taking long trips I have to have a smoke in my hand. How tough it was. What I have been doing to help with that is chewing gum and drinking water. Maybe it is a fixation of having something in my hand that is doing the trick.. I know though Dentyne and Winterfresh are gonna be making a killing off me. LOL.. So, My girlfriend takes me to this club and we are having a ball. And the smell of the tobacco was just driving me crazy. If you are trying to quit smoking PLEASE try to stay away from it. This is like waving a doggy treat in the air for a dog and they will just try to get it. Having my girl with me though helped out. I guess she noticed how I was feeling and suggested going across the street to a non smoking restaurant/bar. I appreciate her for that. So then it is time for gifts. I actually received a Cuban Cigar from my cousin. I thanked him and kept opening gifts. He asked me later how come I never smoked it. I told him what my motivation was and what I was trying to do. I really did not want to say anything at first thinking what he would think about me but to my surprise he respected that. I told him I would keep it as a souvenier though. One thing I learned this weekend it to be honest and upfront to the people you love because even if they smoke and are not trying to quit, they respect you and will always have your back with what it is you are trying to do. And when you talk to people they may be that extra push you need to make it over that hump.