This Whole Non-Smoking Thing Is Killing Me...

...or at least it was. Apparently word has not reached many fine establishments that there is a smoking ban in order. Last week I suffered through the ban in the bitter cold, which is best exemplified with a quote from a friend: "I felt worse after smoking four cigarettes outside than had I smoked a whole pack inside." It was rough going until last night when I frequented more than one bar, including one which uses cups as ashtrays, where I was able to smoke inside. So if you want to find me, you will have to go a little farther west (See: Lakewood). I am like the Carmen San Diego of Smoking in Cleveland.

In other news, the fantasy football gods slapped us a hard dose of irony last night. Last year we won our championship when Thomas Jones came through with a big game against Green Bay and gave us enough points to win our game. This year we were knocked out of the playoffs because Thomas Jones had another big game. This season however he played for our opponent and was not on our team. Alas the season is over.

(Insert moment of silence for fantasy football season here)

Black (Lung) Thursday

Bright Side Of The Smoking Ban

There really is a bright side to the smoking ban. My co-worker just opened my eyes to one of the few perks. The first major perk, which I already knew about, will be the amount of money I am going to save by not going out as much. I know that seems crazy, but it's true. I am going to go out a lot less, because, well I don't like to drink and not smoke. Also it gets cold in Ohio and I don't see myself standing outside of bars all winter. This brings me to the point my co-worker brought up. As many of you know, I am not prone to turning up my heat. I have been keeping my apartment at a balmy 52 degrees, and I am ok with this, but it does get a little chilly at night (see picture). My smart co-worker told me to think about how much warmer your apartment is going to be at the same temperature if you are standing outside smoking at night. This is true. I may even be able to lose the stocking hat.

Smoking Tour '06...Where Were You?

What a week...what a weekend! This past week was fabulous, minus the fact that my fantasty football team took a turn for the worse, but you can't win 'em all.

Apparently I am on my very own Smoking Tour '06. With only four days left, I have tried to stop and have a cigarette in as many establishments in Cleveland as possible. Actually this wasn't done on purpose, but by Saturday I realized that I have made stops over the past couple days at: The Winking Lizard, The Old Angle, Bounce, McNamara's, Touch Supper Club and Melted and I still have four more days. Four more days. Ugh. Ok, enough about the smoking ban.

This weekend I got to go see the live version of Rocky Horror Picture Show at Cleveland Public Theatre compliments of Mindy. I am not the biggest fan of the movie, but the play was done really well as everyone in the show actually stole the show. Afterwards there were drinks and yummy food from Halite with the cast. Saturday was an adventure as I went to my favorite annual party in Cleveland. This year was crazier than ever with what seemed like hundreds of people showing up to get down. The host goes all out by hiring a DJ and poker dealers while inviting a very funny diverse crowd. I always feel like I am in a movie when I attend because of all the interersting characters I encounter. Sunday was peaceful. The annex cooked steak and eggs due to the fact that The Old Angle wasn't open yet and then I fell asleep after the Browns scored their first touchdown and woke up in time to catch them win in overtime. It was perfect. I should do that more often.

Catch me if you can at your favorite smoking establishment this week.

Let The Smoking Memories Begin

As I walked into The Winking Lizard last night, I saw the saddest sign posted all over my favorite smoking establishment. Effective December 8, The Lizard will be smoke-free. While I know almost every bar/restaurant in Ohio is going in this direction, this one hurts the most. There was always something so special about the smoking section there. This is where you could watch 20 differenct large screen televisions, sit at the bar and ask about all the different draft beers, play pool, arcade bowl or play darts. In the non-smoking room, if you didn't get the right seat, you would have to squint to catch the game on the small mounted televsions in each corner. It was always so quiet in that weird little non-smoking room--like you were in a library or at someone's wake. The Winking Lizard made it cool to be a smoker and they made it a lot more fun as well. It was almost as if they were telling their customers: "Sure you can sit in non-smoking but you aren't going to have any fun."

As Liz and I sat there last night, we talked about how this was our favorite place to go and have a beer and cigarette. We even had a funny memory to illustrate the significance. When she and I came back from Massachusetts last year, after a vacation in a non-smoking state, the first thing we did after we got back from the airport was head to the Lizard for a beer and a smoke. While most people are exhausted from traveling or would rather go to their neighborhood bar, we missed smoking inside and we missed smoking inside at the Lizard. I can only imagine how I am going to feel after December 8. RIP best smoking section in Cleveland.

*The writer of this blog does not condone smoking