How to forget a sh*tty Work Day/Week

[ChanceSchmerr]

Boy, was this a tough week. In addition to my usual duties in my Navy desk job, I was given an additional task of organizing a Navy Mess Dinner for 110 guests. They are sure are fun to attend, but lemme tell you - a real gong show to organize! Add to that a boss who took Friday off and dumped a presentation on me for monday - which his boss (my big boss) then spent an hour with me going through in detail, just ripping it to shreds - guess who is going to be working over the weekend to totally re-do the presentation?

anyway, enough whining! I knew before friday that I wanted to end the work week off with a cigar. After a horrendous Friday, I got home and knew I needed that cigar. Poured myself a big dram of Balvenie Signature 12 year, and picked out a Salomones Custom that I traded for from Onsto, and was about to go outside, before I stopped. This wasn't going to do it - I needed something extra special to wipe away this shitty week! I put the Custom back in the desktop and dug deep into my humidor, and pulled out my most precious box of cigars - the Ramon Allones 8-9-8 that my friend picked up for me in Dubai 6 months ago. Side note- glad I had him do that when he did - Canada and UAE have quite the politcal spat going on, I don't think he can even fly back through Dubai anymore! These cigars are my most prized, I've not had one since I tried my first shortly after receiving the cab. If any cigar was going to erase my awful week, this was it - and it didn't disappoint!!!

Right from the start, I was assualted by rich, sweet flavours, surrounded by a delicious spicy finish. Whoa mama, there goes Monday! My taste buds are on overload as I note multiple instances of Peanut Butter coming through - first time I can remember tasting THAT in a cigar - marvelous! So long Tuesday! Through the middle third, a fantastic complexity of flavours continues to tease my taste buds - Poof! went Wednesday! A toasted nutty taste now predominates, with a hints of aged woodiness that envelope the tongue momentarily - Thursday is long gone! The last few puffs bring the strength up to a peak, a perfect finale to a monumental cigar - at last, Friday is stripped from my mind. I am at peace! I hardly notice that it is below freezing outside and I'm shivering like crazy - I couldn't care less.

My advice to anyone who has just lived through a hellish day/week - spoil yourself, dig deep in the humi and pull out one of your very finest cigars. If it's on, it will do wonders for the stressed out mind!

A final note about whisky - I had poured myself a Balvenie Signature. A few sips in, I realized it just wasn't doing anything. Not a bad whisky, just didn't blend with the cigar I think -far too light. I finished it and poured some Lagavulin 16. GOOD GOD MAN - that's what I'm talking about! A perfect balance of peat, smoke and smooth - hit the spot like you wouldn't believe. Long live Lagavulin!!!

[shrink]

Good for you, CS! And thanks for sharing your therapeutic adventure. Sometimes that's all it takes, being good to yourself for a while, to put things in perspective.

The RA 898V is one of my all-time favorite smokes. You're lucky to have a box for special occasions. They only get better with time.

[bigfunkyg]

Amen to that. My week sucked ass too. It seem like that anything that could go wrong did go wrong. I will spare the boring details and get to the good part.

I escaped around 10:30 last night and thought I need somthing good. I went straight to a Coro and although my recent experiences havn't been great, this one was top notch. Everything that is great about a Cohiba. Lemon grass and light toasty tobacco, blissful. Paired with some Johnny Blue. Woke up this morning feeling much better. I needed that.

G

[BatFastard]

Good for you!! I agree that a nice cigar and dram of scotch helps put my mind to ease after a hectic day/week of work.

[LeafLover]

Chance,

Oh yes! I opened a new bottle of Lagavulin earlier in the week after a hard day of work. I know exactly what you went through. If I only had one option for single malt scotch for the rest of my life. That would be it. The second would be Cao Ila.

Hope you make it through next week on top form and unscathed. If you get knocked about again, hell you got your RA 898 and Lagavulin to fall back on.

[dicko]

Good work Chance! Sounds like a good recovery session ...the best medicine.

[rdb6]

Chance, sorry you had such a bad week, glad you recovered beautifully. See you at the poker table, maybe you can put up a win.

[Ken Gargett]

know what you mean. caught up with an old 'friend' who i had not seen for about ten years about 6 months ago. she was extremely attractive about ten years ago. now she looked like someone had swallowed her (not that i am george clooney but...). spent the first hour swapping between telling me how she was now ready for kids (she could have been pregnant with triplets and no one could have told) and laughing about the great old times she always had with our old friends. didn't have the heart to tell her i'd never met any of them. she spent the second hour doing the same. why don't women i like do that?

she had not bothered to change since she'd come off the beach in some sand covered mumu from that morning so i found the most obscure out-of-the-way restaurant i could find. needless to say, the table next to us was a bunch of old friends i had not seen since law school 20 plus years earlier. then in walks one of my best mates, new wife and all the in-laws. i mean, seriously???

never rushed a meal so quickly - we were just starting another round of 'yep, definitely ready for kids' (i should add i have absolutely nothing against kids, usually just their mothers) when the waitress asked if we wanted dessert. i think, 'oh, god no' was probably a clue.

dropped her off at one of these great old friends (wondering why they were not all out having fun). even felt a touch sorry for her when the old friend just went, 'your room's down the hall, i'm going back to bed'. it was only 9pm.

i rushed home, grabbed an old SLR DC, went straight to the rum cupboard for some zacapa xo and pulled out an old episode of 'dexter'. seriously, an evening with a serial killer really did hold more appeal. but the rum and the great cigar made it all seem not so bad (till i found all sorts of crap left in my car - assume i was supposed to ring to arrange to deliver it back. i hope she isn't still waiting).

[investandprosper]

Chance - love to hear reviews like that. Great way to end the week. You know, the only cigar I've tasted peanut in is the RA Petit Unicos RE Canada. I bought another fiver of them, but the last I had wasn't very on. Here's hoping the rest will have it after some downtime.

Ken - I feel for you bud! One of Murphy's laws, that one.

[CanuckSARTech]

Sounds like a good turnaround to a bad day, Chance. Well done.