Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Happy Happy, Joye Joye!!

I know that I usually reserve Wednesdays for my weekly update and how my online income project is going, but I decided to share one of my fruits of that labor with you instead. And any of you who are smokers, and would like to get that little "you are probably going to die" annoyance you have in the back of your head whenever you light up, out of your head; you may want to read this post!

I have been a pack to a pack and a half a day smoker for about 20 years now. I know, it's stupid. It got to the point where I was waking up every morning  and coughing up horrifying black material in the shower. This was my personal wake-up call that I needed to get rid of these smelly, dirty, and deadly little torches I was carrying between my fingers all day. The birth of my twin girls solidified this to the point where action was made in the form of trying to quit cold turkey in the beginning of this May. I was a prick. 20 years of nicotine infused blood was something that my body didn't really want to say goodbye to with any comfort. I found myself snapping at people close to me as well as clients I was working for. And I am not the kind of person snaps that anyone, in fact my laid-back personality is something that is always endeared me to others.

So after about a day, I found myself running to the market for another maliciously underpriced (about one dollar US) pack of Marlboro reds. I apologized to everyone around me who I threatened to stab the day prior, and tried to come up with another way to kill this smoking habit. Patty and I went into San Jose that weekend, and I decided to give the nicotine patch a try. I thought that maybe if I came up with a hybrid rehabilitation method by using the patch smoking a bit more herb for the oral fixation, I would see more success. Nope. My first hole in that plan was supplementing more herb. Trying to code a complex point-of-sale database while stoned did lead to some pretty hilarious results, but there was too fine a line between something funny and something I could lose my job over for me to continue this way. That, and the patch just made me itch and didn't really reduce my cravings at all. So I was back to the drawing board with my Marlboro reds yet again...

So I did some research, and I found out about the new phenomenon called electronic cigarettes. These are little devices that consist of a battery, and atomizer, and a mouthpiece that contains nicotine infused liquid. They were invented in China during the first half of the last decade, and they are now beginning to see some worldwide use. They really intrigued me because they utilized water vapor as opposed to smoke as both a medium and the only exhaled byproduct. I scoured all over YouTube and the Internet for information on them, and eventually found a forum maintained by people who really enjoy and swear by them. There were literally hundreds of posts from people who were lifelong smokers who completely kicked the habit by using these devices. And there were also an abundant amount of threads dedicated to modding and reviewing them in a way that this was obviously becoming one of these people's favorite pastimes.

So I lurked for a little bit, and watched all the reviews on YouTube that I could for the various models (and there are several), and I eventually settled on the Joye 510. The biggest challenge for me in ordering anything online is my location. Costa Rican customs enforcement is world famous for its corruption and frequent ability to "lose" incoming packages that are addressed to people from English-speaking countries. So I bought my new stogie from a US-based vendor, and had the package sent to my mother's house where she would repackage it to make it look like a child's birthday present. I was amazed at the insane variety of flavors and nicotine strengths that you could choose from when ordering these puppies. I decided to get a sample of about 20 different flavors at the highest nicotine level, with the plan being to eventually wean myself down to the zero nicotine level strength liquid over the course of a couple years.

So my package took about a month altogether to get here, but opening it up was like Christmas day for me. I charged up the battery, loaded the cartridge with some Dr Pepper flavored e-liquid, pressed the button and took a long drag.

Absolutely brilliant...

It feels like what smoking should feel like, and with the strength of the e-liquid that I use, five or six puffs still gives me that goofy head spinning nicotine rush that you get when you go several hours without a cigarette. The flavors come out so beautifully, and the vapor leaves absolutely no smell whatsoever. In the short time that I've been using these, I have not had a single craving for an analog cigarette the entire time. The Joye 510 is famous for hitting more like a bong than a cigarette, and I can definitely attest to that. So my new habit comes with a lot more advantages than my old one such as:

1.) I can and have smoked in a movie theater during a movie as well as on a bus and my favorite bookstore. And yeah...I can smoke WHILE taking a shower in the morning.
2.) I feel all of the benefits of quitting smoking like the return of my sense of smell and taste, and my physical endurance has risen sharply as well.
3.) I can pick a flavor according to my mood or occasion. Cappuccino in the morning, Dr. Pepper when I am out and about, and  jasmine when Dr. Girlfriend and I are watching TV in bed together...(yes I can smoke in bed now too!)
4.) It just looks frikkin cool when the green LED lights up whenever I take a drag.
5.) I can smell my baby girls and I don't smell like an ashtray anymore.
6.) I am thinking of starting an entirely new blog based on the crazy ass lucid dreams I have when I smoke these things before going to sleep.

I can't say enough good things about this little gizmo. I believe that it has literally saved both my health, and possibly my life. It is a way more enjoyable habit than smoking cigarettes, and I can't recommend it enough to anyone I know who is still chained to those stinky coffin nails. If this gadget is something which you can use, I already did all the research as far as prices and websites that sell them. If you live in the United States or Canada, I highly recommend these guys. They have the lowest prices outside of ordering from China directly, and they have a huge variety of models and flavors of e-liquid to chose from. If you live in the UK or parts of Western Europe, rumor has it that these are the guys to turn to. But no matter where you go to order these things, I urge you to do so. It's nice to wake up in the morning and not feel like you are dying....

And to wrap it up, here is a video of Katherine Heigl sharing her e-cig with David Letterman just to show you that I am not making this up!


Thank You So Much, Nicked-Out Chinese Inventors!!


27 comments:

Electric Addict said...

sounds great! but are there any consequences? Can you actually be using more nicotine by using these water cigarettes?

Copyboy said...

Hey thats great! You'd be a great endorser for that product.

Elliot MacLeod-Michael said...

A little background on me:
I moved here to Baton Rouge to get sober in 2008. Was to treatment for a total of 8 months (I was out in the community working etc. for 6 and 1/2 of those). Have been sober almost 3 years now. The cigs hung around long after I got sober. Didn't see any immediate need to kick them. But eventually I decided to try the e-cig. My credit is shit and I can't order anything online myself, also the 100 plus dollars for it was a lot for me. So I had my mom order one for me, and it was around the time of Christmas so she would give it to me as a present. But she wouldn't order the really strong cartridges. She was only willing to order the ones roughly equivalent to a cig. I enjoyed them but and they satisfied the nicotine for the most part but didn't give me that nice buzz you were talking about. However I soon went back to regular cigs. For probably 8 or 9 months I didn't touch my e-cig. I finally quit all tobacco/nicotine products last winter. I got really sick--just typical flu/bacterial stuff--and decided to stop then. I haven't smoked or anything since early January. But I have replaced that addiction with eating, so I have gained like 25 pounds. Also the absence of nicotine slows down the metabolism. Kinda sucks but am really glad to be rid of those things. Glad the e-cig is working out for you.

Anonymous said...

Its so nice when technology can be put to good use! And good for you...it would be nice to keep you around for a long while!

Marlene said...

I first heard about these when someone tried to "light" one on a plane recently, and was hassled for it, even though he explained to the flight attendant it wasn't a "real" ciggy.

GOOD FOR YOU and this sounds like a fantabulous idea!

Shutterbug said...

just wanted to say thanks for taking time to visit my blog! I know you are a busy guy, so any time that you do swing by, it's greatly appreciated! :D

Unknown said...

Wait, but it still has nicotine? Not that I have a right to judge, but I still don't approve >:(


But who am I to talk? I have trouble kicking a simple VIDEOGAME addiction. Ah I swear it's all in our heads.

clique said...

just smoke real cigarettes and be happy.

Justin said...

Awesome! I've been considering these for a while now. It's nice to know they're actually worth it.

ed said...

wow 1$, its like 10+ here. and electronic cigs look great

Anonymous said...

I don't smoke cigarettes, only the bong, but after reading how awesome these things make you feel - and the lucid dreams - i'm quite seriously contemplating getting one myself. I know this is pretty much the exact opposite context of your post, but, whatevs ;>

Unknown said...

My girlfriend is dying to try one of these.

Sharon Day said...

Congrats smartie pants! Your children thank you immensely. All of the kids in our family with smoking parents ended up with lots of lung issues.

psychpost said...

much better than smoking cigarettes. i tried a couple drags of a friends and it was pretty satisfying.

Jessica Thompson said...

Haha wow, that's great!

Igneel21 said...

i dont approve anything related to that, but thats just me and a oath i made as a child because my grandpa's death, but thats way to depressing to be letting it out here haha

@Leila i dont think any addiction is "simple", specially those related to videogames

Max Silver said...

I've smoked a few of them, but I don't really dig them too much...I don't have anything against them, mind you, they just don't seem as enjoyable as smoking an actual cigarette to me.

Anonymous said...

I had stumbled upon your blog over the weekend and it is very good. I would like to say similar events brought me to CR too but mine was more Jerry Springer-esque, with a tough of Twilight Zone...on LSD. Keep writing and if you're so inclined, check mine out too. Funny thing...Rafa and I love Chomsky.

Anonymous said...

I've heard of those before, I just didn't know any details about how well they worked. Glad you found something to help you break away from the cigarettes.

Make sure you read my new interview on Alee's Perspective. It's pretty dope.

Alphabeta said...

I too am the proud owner of a Joye e-cig.

They are revolutionary, but one concern I have is kids developing a nicotine addiction very early - enjoying chocolate and dr. pepper etc.

AstralEscape said...

Yeah my friend smokes one of these, great how they work!

A Daft Scots Lass said...

Brilliant!

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Eeshie said...

My dad reeeeally needs to stop smoking. These look good!

Unknown said...

Hi Aaron! I just wanted to greet you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I'm sure you'll experience the signature Catholic Christmas festivities in Costa Rica as I experienced them in the Philippines (our culture being practically twins). Hope your beautiful baby girls are growing into plump, healthy darlings and that you get to see your son soon! Merry Christmas!

P.S: COME BACK TO BLOGGING!

Sri Wiyatno said...

Good post...

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