I know that most people think smoking is "gross" or "disgusting" or "unhealthy", and I tend to agree. I'm on board with indoor smoking bans, and I never smoke inside my apartment. But you know what? I love the shit out of smoking tobacco. And since it's outrageously expensive now ($8 for a pack is considered a great deal in Chicago) I've reverted to my former ways and began rolling my own smokes. In particular, I am a huge fan of Bali Shag tobacco (the Blue, not the Red). It's delicious to say the least. And I also get a peculiar sense of fulfillment in rolling a nice fat cigarette. I also have cut down by approximately 50% from the time I pissed away paying way too much money for shitty Camel Lights.
Imagine if you got off work at 3AM and you've been on you're feet for 8+ hours. You could take some Advil or whatever, but nothing works nearly as well as roasting a fat pipe of high grade herb. Usually I just take one solid hit (I don't like being super high...all the time) and fire up the TV, take off my shoes and immediately I feel 1000% better.
The key ancillary benefit of my new job is the "mandatory" shift beer I get once the day/night concludes. They owners discourage us getting wasted at the bar, but they do encourage us to get familiar with the 125+ beers we have in stock. So far my favorite is Saison Dupont (I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly, I'm not used to dropping "T" sounds). Whatever they are up to in the farm in Belgium where they make this beer, I hope they keep doing it. It's beyond good and defies my descriptive vocabulary. And it has a cork!
Lest you think all I do is get high and drink beer, I also have finally gotten around to hitting the gym. From mid-December to early February I didn't bother to go even once. Since then, I have got back on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule. Sometimes I just go in for 20 minutes or so, but even an abbreviated workout makes me feel awesome.
Oh GAWD - how I love the shit out of Middle Eastern food. It's relatively healthy, cheap and so, So, SO good. You're looking at the Parmesan/Garlic toasted pita chips and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus I bought yesterday from the Grocer. It's all small batch, handmade and if I ever smoked crack cocaine, I imagine it would have a similar effect on me. For real, I have to get this shit out my sight, less I consume it all in one sitting.
Slowly but surely, I'm making the transition from quantity to quality. 
