Ringhithion. 18. Male. Quezon City, Philippines. UP Diliman. BA Journalism. Planning to dominate the world. 
On Smoking
Friday, September 30, 2005
I met with my English 30 groupmates after lunch yesterday to settle matters regarding our project. While on it, two of my groupmates (who were girls) suddenly whipped out their cigarettes and started smoking. They don't look like human factories, but I had learned many years ago never to generalize smokers as men in rugged clothes or old shrunken-cheeked women.
The asthmatic that I am, I don't and have never smoked in my entire life. Well, that is if we only consider cigarettes. There was this extremely foolish time during grade school when my cousin and I made a stick and tried to smoke out of crumpled-then-rolled paper. It was awful. I felt like I was burning from within, and I think I had a cough soon afterwards. And that was after just a single puff!
(Edited: 01/10/05 15:20)
But still another reason I don't smoke is that I'm scared I might get hooked into it. This reminds me of my grandfather who died of lung cancer only two years ago. He had been a heavy smoker. I remember when I was in my early grade school years, he was already trying to do away with it by chewing gums (of course, thanks to the undying nagging of my grandmother). Almost ten years later, we would know the "Juicy Fruits therapy" was in vain.
And then comes the economic reason. We have a sari-sari store at home, so I know how much a stick or a pack of cigarettes costs. Or at least how much they cost last summer; I don't know much they are now. I'd been thinking: if, for example, I smoke a pack of Philip Morris every day, heck, that's more or less 30 pesos per day! That equals an hour of blogging and a delicious McDo plain sundae cone!
And then there are these minor reasons: my father doesn't smoke, so does any of my immediate relatives; my mother and youngest sibling are more asthmatic than I am; and most importantly, I bet I don't look good sipping smoke with my thin cheeks turning into huge craters. Haha!
But then, sometimes, I feel compelled to smoke. When I feel rebelious. When I just want to look tough. Or simply when I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't do it.
Now this leads me to what happened next during yesterday's meeting. Noticing the two smokers, groupmate Number 3 (who did not look as sophisticated as the two, yet with the same sortof arrogant demeanor) asked for a stick. Number 1 gave her one. (What! So I'm the only one who doesn't smoke here!, I thought.)
"Pasindi nga," Number 3 said. Number 1 lit her lighter. Then lo and behold, Number 3 just put her cigarette above the flame, as if waiting for it to catch fire, obviously not the expert I had presumed her to be.
Seconds later, Number 1, 2 and I burst out laughing. It turned out it was Number 3's first time. Poor, pretentious creature.
Now I have to make this clear: I have nothing against smokers. In fact, some of my friends smoke. But I tell you this much: where there's smoke there's fire. And it's probably me, annoyed.
The asthmatic that I am, I don't and have never smoked in my entire life. Well, that is if we only consider cigarettes. There was this extremely foolish time during grade school when my cousin and I made a stick and tried to smoke out of crumpled-then-rolled paper. It was awful. I felt like I was burning from within, and I think I had a cough soon afterwards. And that was after just a single puff!
(Edited: 01/10/05 15:20)
But still another reason I don't smoke is that I'm scared I might get hooked into it. This reminds me of my grandfather who died of lung cancer only two years ago. He had been a heavy smoker. I remember when I was in my early grade school years, he was already trying to do away with it by chewing gums (of course, thanks to the undying nagging of my grandmother). Almost ten years later, we would know the "Juicy Fruits therapy" was in vain.
And then comes the economic reason. We have a sari-sari store at home, so I know how much a stick or a pack of cigarettes costs. Or at least how much they cost last summer; I don't know much they are now. I'd been thinking: if, for example, I smoke a pack of Philip Morris every day, heck, that's more or less 30 pesos per day! That equals an hour of blogging and a delicious McDo plain sundae cone!
And then there are these minor reasons: my father doesn't smoke, so does any of my immediate relatives; my mother and youngest sibling are more asthmatic than I am; and most importantly, I bet I don't look good sipping smoke with my thin cheeks turning into huge craters. Haha!
But then, sometimes, I feel compelled to smoke. When I feel rebelious. When I just want to look tough. Or simply when I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't do it.
Now this leads me to what happened next during yesterday's meeting. Noticing the two smokers, groupmate Number 3 (who did not look as sophisticated as the two, yet with the same sortof arrogant demeanor) asked for a stick. Number 1 gave her one. (What! So I'm the only one who doesn't smoke here!, I thought.)
"Pasindi nga," Number 3 said. Number 1 lit her lighter. Then lo and behold, Number 3 just put her cigarette above the flame, as if waiting for it to catch fire, obviously not the expert I had presumed her to be.
Seconds later, Number 1, 2 and I burst out laughing. It turned out it was Number 3's first time. Poor, pretentious creature.
Now I have to make this clear: I have nothing against smokers. In fact, some of my friends smoke. But I tell you this much: where there's smoke there's fire. And it's probably me, annoyed.
Conjured by Ringhithion at 06:44 pm
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| Von Fritz Evangelista September 30, 2005 07:39 PM PDT  Hiya! You got a cool site! Not just that...you seem to be someone I could get along with. I'm Von 19 and a literary addict...a Harry Potter maniac...an LOTR and Star Wars fanatic...I'm a bookworm. I'm a geek...haha. Well, I see you're taking up journalism...good for you...I would have wanted to take such course if only I wasn't blinded by the BS Nursing's dollars. Sighs. But I'm into WRITING! I'm the Associate Editor of our school paper and like you, I would want to dominate the world someday...pardon for grammar, i'm not into it but for the content...hehe. You love jessica zafra? Hoping to hear from you soon... PS, Oh, I never smoked all my life too... | ||
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| The Ca t October 1, 2005 01:37 AM PDT here you do not have to endure the company of smokers. they strictly enforce the no smoking signs law in public places. stores also require id for people who buy cigarettes. they cannot sell cigs to minors. | ||
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| Ringhithion October 1, 2005 01:25 PM PDT ooops. this entry is not supposed to be published yet, thus the random lettered title and the oh-so-sudden end. :p anyway, i'll try to continue writing this. | ||
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| Ringhithion October 1, 2005 03:20 PM PDT  edited and finally done! :) | ||
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| Ringhithion October 1, 2005 03:45 PM PDT Von, I don't have a Zafra book, but I've read some of her work. She's twisted, I know. :p Ate Cat, I often find an official-looking paper inside jeepneys telling people that smoking in public places is prohibited by the Clean Air Act. After a blink or two, I realize that I'm riding a smoke-belching jeep with a smoker for a driver. >:( | ||
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| Victor October 1, 2005 04:31 PM PDT Tama yan, Daryl. Second-hand smoke sucks. | ||
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| yoshke October 3, 2005 09:58 PM PDT naku daryl, natawa naman ako sa last sentence mo. Nung housemates pa tayo, never ako nagsmoke a. I just learned smoking after leaving. Buti na lang, hehe. BUT, BUT, BUT, nagquit na ako. Yey. Maganda yan, don't you try it ever. Nakakaadik siya talaga. Daryl, nga pala, DVD ko. Wehehehe. | ||
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| dieselfire October 4, 2005 02:12 PM PDT I'm a smoker myself. I can understand your fears about smoking. I've had friends who are either asthmatic or have had a family member succumb to lung cancer. But my main concern are the two girls who whipped out the cigarrettes. As a smoker, I am constantly surrounded by those who don't smoke. I generally would ask for permission to smoke first before I even whip out my cigarrette. It's rude enough to make them smoke second-hand against their will. Don't ask me why I still smoke or why I ever took it up. | ||
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| Ringhithion October 5, 2005 11:31 AM PDT yoshke, hahaha! nagulat nga ako nung nalaman kong nagyoyosi ka na. sabi mo kasi noon allergic ka sa usok. :p about the dvd, promise dadalhin ko na sya everyday. nagkakataon kasi na di ko siya dala pag andyan ka. dieselfire, asking permission does make a difference. i hope other smokers are like you. | ||
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| yoshke October 5, 2005 08:54 PM PDT nagquit na nga e. NAGQUIT NA! NAGQUIT NA! NAGQUIT NA! Inatake kasi ko ng asthma e. Wehehe. | ||
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