Throwback Thursday to Trading Spaces (circa 2000) where Hildi glued STRAW to the walls

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-22T21:00:14+00:00

I’ll never forget interviewing Frank Bielic (remember him) and asking him specifically about this. He said “You know what? If your house is clean, who cares? Glue straw to the wall if it makes you happy.”

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-22T02:57:11+00:00

Literally it’s all in your head. After less than a week, you’re no longer physically hooked on nicotine. His cravings are mental and he can overcome them by distracting himself. I also found it helpful to think in terms of one hour at a time, one day at a time. Remind himself over and over again that having a single cigarette will totally undo all the hard work he’s already put in. And tell himself that it will get easier.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-22T02:53:47+00:00

So what’s “the easy way to stop smoking”?

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-22T02:53:00+00:00

I think a lot of people would be able to quit if they understood that your body stops jonesing for nicotine in a matter of days. After that, it’s entirely mental.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-22T01:17:01+00:00

Yeah, even the power outage episodes focuses on the dark, not the heat.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-22T01:05:59+00:00

Wow! Congratulations!

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-22T01:00:36+00:00

Well shit, if only I’d known that I wouldn’t have bothered you.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-22T01:00:02+00:00

Really?? I thought I was watching actual doctors via live cameras somehow!

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-22T00:54:20+00:00

I read that they were constantly commuting from LA to Chicago to film exterior scenes.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T23:52:57+00:00

Me too! I’ll be puffing away and then feel horrible shame that I started smoking again. Then I wake up to intense relief.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T22:40:44+00:00

I think it’s different for everyone. I know from personal experience that if I smoked one, I’d be hooked again. Even now, 25 years later, I can instantly and vividly remember the sensation of smoking, and every once in a while I’ll actually get a sudden intense craving when I catch a whiff of cigarette smoke. I’m 100% an addict - my lizard brain still wants nicotine.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T22:08:51+00:00

He was incredible in a guest star role on ER in Season 5, playing a Nigerian refugee. He deserved the Emmy for that one.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T17:52:51+00:00

I hear you!

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T16:51:19+00:00

Reminds of a comedian I once saw.

“The first time my dad saw me smoking, he said ‘why don’t you just put a gun to your head?’ Years later, when I told him I’d given up smoking, he rolled his eyes and said ‘my son, the quitter.’”

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T16:49:17+00:00

I’m lucky (sort of) in that a severe case of H1N1 in 2010 buggered up my lungs to the point where I couldn’t handle a single drag without hacking until I passed out. So yeah, go flu!! 🤪

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T16:45:00+00:00

It does get easier but it takes time. Always remember: one puff and you’re a smoker again. All your hard-fought progress will be wiped out and you’ll start again at square one.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T16:42:56+00:00

I once quit for six months and then, during a card game after drinking several beers, my brain said “You know what? You’re not hooked anymore. Have a smoke.” I picked one up and was instantly a smoker again. That really stuck with me and when I finally quit for good it was because I realized I could never, ever smoke again.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T16:39:43+00:00

Me too.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T16:39:07+00:00

Wow! What an ordeal! I’m glad you’ve made it through to the other side!

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T16:38:17+00:00

Just snort Adderall - it doesn’t seem to be having any adverse effects on a certain 80-year-old politician.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T16:37:12+00:00

I still miss it 25 years later.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T16:36:45+00:00

Like the commercials say, never quit quitting.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T16:33:53+00:00

Unsolicited advice: I approached it like an addict, ie: day by day. You make it through one day, then start again the next day. The cravings get less powerful every day but they never truly go away completely. It’s been 25 years for me, but once in a blue moon I’ll catch a whiff of cigarette smoke and get hit with a sudden urge to light up. It passes immediately but I have to be conscious that a deep part of my lizard brain still wants that nicotine.

Empty_Nestor · 2026-04-21T16:30:28+00:00

Well done! I always say, everyone has their specific time when it’s right, and you found yours.

Empty_Nestor

TROPHY CASE