For those of you who know me, you know I smoke. A lot. For those of you who don’t know me, you probably still know I smoke a lot. Basically? I smoke. Let me stop you before I get the regular lecture I always get. “Smoking is bad for you health.” I’m well aware. “Smoking is costly.” Fuck yeah it is. I know. “Smokers smell.” Don’t care. “You know it turns your teeth yellow?” I’m more worried about the zit on my ass than my teeth being yellow. I smoke to relax. I smoke because I want to. And well? In the end that’s all I care to say. Give me a reason to stop that I don’t hear daily and MAYBE I’ll quit. But it still won’t be because you told me to. It will be because I want to. And personally, I don’t think I smoke to much or to little. I think I smoke the perfect amount. Now that we’ve got that little bit of conversation out of the way, let me continue with my “Ode to Cigarettes, Part 1.” I decided recently while on a trip to the local tobacco store for some specialty stuffs (Chocolate cigars, DELICIOUS btw) that I was going to take this infatuation of mine to the next level. I decided I’m going to roll my own cigarettes. It was either that or take up smoking a pipe. Because, well, why not? So I bought the supplies. In the end, it is more cost-effective to go this route. I’ve done the numbers. It adds up. I can buy a small bag of tobacco for around 11.00. That 11.00 makes me three packs of smokes. Savings? Around 5 bucks. I bought a bigger bag of tobacco today… it will probably make half a carton. Savings? 15 bucks. I’m digging that. There were some one time costs… A 7.00 injector. And a carton of papers. 4.00. (Not really a one time cost.. but it will be a purchase that will be made very rarely.) But over-all? Any penny saved is a good penny in my book. (It can then be spent on the other thing I like to do… like DRINKING! An entirely different blog topic that shall be left for another day.) It’s also doing something else besides the money saving stuffs… First and fore-most, I kinda feel like it’s a big KICK IN THE BALLS to the bastard tobacco companies out there, in a small way. I can make my own personal blends… which is nice. The size is closer to smoking a camel wide. (Like Tim says, having something girthy in your mouth is nice every once in a while.) It’s MUCH stronger than what I’m used to smoking. (I’m used to smoke Camel No. 9 100s a rather light fag.) So per cig, I’m getting more hit.. and an actual buzz. Which is strange. I haven’t had a buzz since my first hit when I was close to 14. Actually, since I’ve started this experiment I’ve been smoking less. They’re stronger, so I don’t need a hit as often. They’re bigger, I don’t need a hit as often. And the most important thing, I actually have to work at smoking now. It’s no longer a convenience habit. I have to remind myself when I light up that I have to physically make the one to replace it… it’s an interesting thought. One of the coolest things about this whole thing though? Tim decided to start doing the same thing. He already has it in his mind the special blends he wants to make… He wants one that will accentuate his whiskey.. one that he can smoke when he reads and so on and so forth. So on Saturday’s or Sunday’s when we’re not out conquering the world, we’re sitting in his little bedroom watching horror movies and rolling cigarettes together. It’s quite a nice bonding experience. Who says smoking kills?