The End of the Beginning

This will be my last in-class blog post, and probably the shortest. As a summary post, here's how I'm ending the class:

17 days, 14 hours since my last cigarette
~$35 saved
141 cigarettes not smoked
14 hours and 5 minutes saved

These things should be true, considering I've not smoked in over two weeks:
Heart rate and blood pressure are normal
Carbon monoxide level in my blood has dropped to normal
Senses of taste and smell are back
Circulation has improved 19%

As far as nicotine dependence is concerned, I don't feel I'm independent of it, because the e-cig I have gives 1.8mg of nicotine (vs 2-4mg in a tobacco cigarette). I haven't noticed my heart rate, because it's awesome. When I was smoking, I'd notice it, because it would beat way too hard and fast for how strenuous the activity wasn't that I was doing. I haven't noticed it doing that at all, which is making my Park Block walks much more pleasant. And my body must be a little more awesome than the average Jill, because my blood pressure has been 120/60 for as long as I can remember. Cigs or none. I've definitely noticed my taste and smell improving, which is nothing short of fabulous.

Other than my body, what's up? I don't think I have any more or less stressors in my life than I usually do, and I feel like I'm dealing with everything just as I always have (or better?). I have no intention of smoking any cigarettes ever again. I feel like it's behind me. At the same time, I've heard the first week is the hardest, and I've heard the fourth week is the hardest, so we'll see. It'll be an ongoing thing in my life, which I hope will be minimal. Ideally, I want to just check in with myself once a year and remember how long I haven't been smoking. It's just one more thing to make me feel good later.
Honestly, I'm more stressed out about trying to eat healthier and find time to exercise. For now, I'm enjoying walks, and playing frisbee in the park. I'm about to not have a car (oh, catalytic converters, how well you are designed to ruin peoples lives), but I have a really awesome bike, and the sun is about to be out for four months, and my externship is downtown (in walking distance from where I usually am), so .... I'll be ok. I'll be more than ok. I'm already better.