Saturday 7 February 2009

New Year's Resolutions-cigars

It feels like the start of the year for some reason.

I used to be good at smoking, and the habit just dropped off. At one stage I was up to a cigar a week.

Every three or four years I resolve to pick this up again, but last year was a disaster, cigar-wise.

So my New Year's Resolutions for 2009 are.

1. To take up smoking (again!)

2. To learn Hebrew (I tried, really, in 1986, for one week. But it was the beginning of several years of sickness, so that was the end of that. No excuses, because the giardia has gone and has been gone now for some decades.


I am seeing my dear friend Katay tonight. He is not, however, a blog reader and one feels awkward dropping hints when one is in the presence of a friend. So if any of you know him, please call and let him know that I am hoping for a cigar.

Oh, and are we getting close to Lent? Is this the time for giving things up? Suggestions please. Let's keep it realistic though. I've continued with Greek, sporadically, but that would be an example of something that might be dropped. If there was reason.

And facebook friends. Some of you I don't even like. Others, whom I have a deep affection for, are not even there. You could be, and I encourage you to consider it. But maybe part of my self denial in the pre-Easter season will be that you ask to be my friend, and I just say no without explanation.

5 comments:

Timothy Wonil Lee said...

Ah ha ha. You might be the only person in the whole world whose resolution includes taking up smoking, NOT quitting. I suppose you could at least tell others that you are not a "quitter!" I still wonder if you are serious or not, because your resolution number 2 suggests that your resolutions are indeed meant to be serious. So if I try to work out the context of what you are saying here, it is a serious thing, right? :-p Anyway, I hope it doesn't damage your health too much.

Andrew Katay? He was the speaker at EU when I was attending USYD few years back. Have a good meeting.

Anonymous said...

It feels like the New Year because it is -- Year of the Ox.

Mark said...

young man: Mr Spurgeon, that cigar is an idol!
Spurgeon: My good man, I'm burning it as we speak!

Anonymous said...

I'm amazed at both Gordo's original post and Mark's comment.

Tobacco is a drug - one with a 50% fatality rate. And it's one whose pushers are not afraid to perjure themselves before US Congress, produce dodgy scientific research, and play hard & fast with anti-smoking advertising laws to hook new users and keep up their profits.

And Mark, using Spurgeon to defend smoking doesn't cut it - he was speaking in the 19th century - 100 years before we knew how much damage tobacco causes.

Mark said...

Roger - I didn't think I was defending anything, just quoting one of Spurgeon's wittier comebacks!