Quitting Smoking - Six months and counting.

This story isn't geek-related, but it might be very useful for some.

I've smoked cigarettes for over ten years, since I was a young teenager. I bought my first pack along with a friend from a vending machine. I was a bit of a troublemaker back then, so anything illegal naturally seemed cool and something I wanted to try. What kept me smoking was that over the course of high school, most of my friends also smoked.

I've since then become very addicted to cigarettes, and have tried quitting multiple times. Every time I tried it was cold turkey, except once I tried some discount brand patches. I made it two weeks once due to being sick, but I always picked back up the habit. It was something that had become ingrained into my lifestyle, I felt like I was never going to quit smoking.

Earlier this year I started thinking about quitting smoking again. I had lost my job and my finances were in trouble. I started reading online at www.becomeanex.com on how to better my chances at actually quitting smoking. It helped me plan things out, and through it I decided to use a stop smoking aid product. I previously tried patches, so I settled on using Nicorette gum.

On my birthday, July 3rd 2012 at 11:59, I had my last cigarette. The first few days weren't easy, but it was a lot easier than previous attempts. I used the gum as directed, and kept busy at all times. I followed the advice on the  website, and eventually days turned into weeks. Things got easier over time, and I stopped using the gum one day. No relapses have occurred since then.

Since then I've pretty much forgotten that I even used to be a smoker, it's as if it was never a part of my life. When I see people smoking, I don't suddenly have an urge to light up. I thought I'd always have cravings, but they are a thing of the past. I felt that I should share this with others, I thought perhaps it might help smokers who have been thinking of quitting. 

Anyways, for those thinking of quitting, you can do it! It gets much better after just a bit of time. It is worth it, as smoking takes a huge toll on your health and on your wallet. There is help in the form of gum, patches, etc. Keep trying different things if one way doesn't work. Also be sure to check out www.becomeanex.com for help quitting smoking. Thank you for reading!

Dark Age of Camelot

Dark Age of Camelot is an MMORPG that people to this day still think of when talking about what great PvP is. Unlike many MMO's that only have two sides to fight for, DAoC had three. There was the Norse mythology based Midgard, the Arthurian Albion, and the Celtic Hibernia. Each realm fought a constant battle against each other, which was called Realm vs Realm, or RvR. This RvR is what kept me and many other people playing it for many years.

I recently started playing it again as I was feeling nostalgic, and shortly afterwards I was very glad I did. I've previously gone back to the game before, but this time it was different. It seems that the Mythic team have made some great improvements to the game, making it better for first timers and returning veterans alike. I also found some new additions to the game that addressed issues when I was originally playing.



First things first, the controls were much easier than before. I found I could move my character and camera with ease, thanks to the MMO control scheme. Everything feels much more smooth and fluid than before, which is really nice. First time players may still notice a difference if used to more modern MMO's such as World of Warcraft though. As well, there are some unique controls and mechanics that they will need to learn.

As I delved into the game and wandered about, I met plenty of players both in and out of the battlegrounds. I am proud to say that this community has and most likely always will be the best there is. The people there are an astonishingly friendly and helpful bunch, and I've made several good friends already. When an enemy player killed me and typed /bow as a sign of respect to the enemy, I knew I was home. It was a nice change of pace from the /spit you get from enemies in other MMO games.



As to the core of game, not too much has changed. The PvP, or RvR, is still a lot of fun. Leveling up is fast and easy, the quests here are actually really good. Mythic added an npc to battlegrounds that provide buffs for coin, which helps resolve the buffbot issue. Also, my favorite addition to the game, they added an npc that sells you PvP gear you can purchase with currency you get while in the battleground. The gear might not be exactly equal to spellcrafted, but it is still pretty nice.

So unlike all the previous times I have revisited DAoC, this time I actually think I will be sticking around for a while. I would definitely recommend revisiting if you have not been back in a while. I would also welcome any newbies that want to try it out. It's like a fine wine, it's old but has aged well and is a bit of an acquired taste. You can sign up for their Free 14 Day Trial below. I'll be looking forward to pwning you if you don't roll Midgard.

http://darkageofcamelot.com/trial

New Player Guide