What's Your Profession?

I am a firefighter paramedic in Chicago. There's no smoking in the firehouse unless you're on the apparatus floor and nobody has to be there working. Thankfully nobody pays any attention to that rule and I can basically smoke just about anywhere I want in the firehouse. I do smoke mostly Cuban cigars, but try to limit myself to one CC at the firehouse. I'll just smoke other cigars that aren't such a big deal to relight since I never know when I'll be interrupted and I may need to wait a while after a fire to finish my cigar.

The other day after we got back from our second fire of the day around 11am or noon I was coughing myself silly. Just couldn't get that nasty stuff out of my lungs. Didn't have the mask on and by the time I realized I needed it I was too late. So I'm walking around the firehouse, a new one for me. Some of the guys are jabbing me a bit. The Capt, who was my Capt at the old house and he was a firefighter with the guys in this house years back starts in on me. I look at him and reach for the cigar in my pocket, I tell him I just need a cigar to relax everything. He says you aren't really going to smoke a cigar when you can't stop coughing. I tell him cigars relax everything and he won't be hearing me cough anymore. I enjoy a nice robusto and that was it. He was dumbfounded.

On my first fire about ten years ago I'm getting myself ready to go in. The Lt. I'm working with is making sure I've got all my stuff on and just before I put my mask on this old timer comes crawling out...face all black and the stub of a cigar sticking out his mouth. He stops at the doorway and looks at me with all my new gear and says "better make sure you mask up in there kid it's really S@#Ty in there. I look at my Lt. who I'd known for years and he gives me a kick and in we go. That's the first time I understood the calming effects of cigars.

Awesome story! Unfortunatly, we now have to smoke outside of our station due to the new "smoking SOG". On occasion, Chief will let us smoke in the apparatus bay after 1700, after the administration leaves.

The house I'm in now is a District house. The District Chief smokes so he can't hardly give anyone else grief for smoking. Luckily it's basically accepted and I don't forsee that changing. If it did I could live taking a chair and a book to the apparatus floor and enjoying a cigar out there.

Title: Health Care Specialist
Actual position: Combat Medic

Army

Great thread Brenda, been around here for a decent while and didn't know allot of this stuff!

I'm a Application management specialist/Performance test engineer working at Sprint/Nextel. Nothing too amazing, but I know allot about nothing a little about something!!

I have been blessed with good investments so price of cigars doesn't bother me, but for daily smokers nothing over 5.00 for me, and I haven't been able to smoke a cigar daily since the weather changed here in the DC Metro area, so, I have a nice stash going right now!

Proof reader for skywriters.

:lol:

I smoke whenever I'm at one of the stations. Its only allowed in the bay though. I guess they were going to ban smoking alltogether but they just got a grant for a new exaust system. So, I'm pretty sure they're dropping the proposed ban.

I started out as a master plumber, class-s electrician, and an hvac tech. Now I'm a cheif maintenance engineer for a hotel managment company. I work at a Best Western Inn and Suite. I've been smoking cigars since July. I'm still learning my likes and dislikes. I buy 8 to 12 sticks at a time, 2 of each brand. $3.00 to $25.00 per stick. I do buy sampler packs from JR's. I figure I'll do it this way for a year or two. Then I'll start buying them by the box, when I figure out what I like.

Be sure to look over the Cigar.com samplers and single stick selections, as well as their house label. Mmmm mmmm good.

I am VP/Sec of our family corporation. We have a Steel Service Center and I have been working there since I was 14 (30 years now!) Additionally, I have my FFL and sell firearms and sporting goods to people I know.

Our county passed a smoking ordnance and it is now illegal to smoke in any building that has at least 3 walls and a roof (bars, private homes and designated smoking huts are excluded). My employees who smoke do so outside (around the fire barrel during the winter).

A building with 3 walls and a roof? What council person sat down and actually thought out that one? We have two "buildings" in one of our parks that meet that definition and yet NO ONE would consider themself indoors when standing in one. (Vehicle "sheds")

mikegunner said:

I am VP/Sec of our family corporation. We have a Steel Service Center and I have been working there since I was 14 (30 years now!) Additionally, I have my FFL and sell firearms and sporting goods to people I know.

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Gunner, I'm in the steel business also. Inside rep for a carbon/alloy barstock company out of Pgh. Unless you're just structrural and plate, we may be able to do some business. I'm sending you a PM.

mikegunner said:

Our county passed a smoking ordnance and it is now illegal to smoke in any building that has at least 3 walls and a roof (bars, private homes and designated smoking huts are excluded). My employees who smoke do so outside (around the fire barrel during the winter).

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Sounds like California. Our company keeps pushing the "Designated Smoking Areas" farther and farther away from the building. We're at the edge of the public sidewalk for our smoking areas, approximately 80-100' from the nearest doorway. Any further and we'd be in the street!

I run a tooling Department for a manufacturing company. We run progressive tooling that make parts for the recessed lighting industry. We are a high volume manufacturer

I make hundreds of people happy every day by cooking them wonderful meals.

yes. Im a cook

I'm the associate pastor of a non denominational church...so I really dont make a ton of money. My wife is a therapist with a very nice practice specializing in children. So combined we are able to support my hobby in the wonderful world of the leaf.

I am a student/musician..... so I'm pretty rich

You can only imagine the mass piles of 20's I use to dry myself off with after I bathe with Lakers cheerleaders.

personal asst. to u.s. senator

I am an HP Services Manager for General Motors and Allison Transmissions in Indianapolis. They just made the entire facility smokefree March 1st. However, my wife recently left her job to return to school full time, so I can afford to smoke something nice about once a month, if that. I need to jump on some Friday deals, but I'm so new and so broke, it's hard to decide when to jump. I don't exactly know what I may/may not like just yet. But I'm learning, and enjoying the community here. Reading through this post a little bit, I like Vince's smoking room. Does he have pics of it somewhere else? I think I will have one in my next house. Smoking room, and wine cellar.