How has your 'hobby' and perceptions grown?

[romad119]

:bla: warning!

I was curious after being told that someone would look in their humidor to search for a cigar, how the hobby grows and the accompanying views change from one's perspective.  For example, the 'look in my humidor' brings an image to me, of him flipping open a lid to a dekstop humi.  Though I'm sure its more like he's opening a door on a cabinet or even a door to a dedicated walk-in.

Just like cigar preferences grow and develop I'm sure many upgrade their accessories as well.  Luckily accessories I will accepts opinions on from my wife so I stay practical and I just hope she doesn't google the ciagrs I've been ordering while deployed, lol.  This way I don't exchange one combat zone for another.

I started out with cigars in an odd manner with the purchase of 2 x Opus A's from Ceasar's Palace back in 2004.  My flight commander handled it fine but as my first cigar it kicked my ass quite a bit.  Several months later trying a LGD didn't help and for awhile, I compensated in the wrong direction and was waylaid by a dubious crowd and subjected to Acid and some other crap. 

Eventually, thanks to CF and other boards/BOTLS I gained some wisdom and moved into the light.

Alan

[Boss Hog]

Well my fellow brother, let me sum it up this way for you. The hobby became an addiction. One that my beloved wife has yet to understand.  ;)

[romad119]

I was thinking of how nice it would be to get my wife to swtich from her infused sticks to cigars.  Though I could see her lighting up a few of my sticks that I would not be happy with her torching.

[Tarks]

[quote author=Boss Hog link=topic=13666.msg69740#msg69740 date=1334854388]
Well my fellow brother, let me sum it up this way for you. The hobby became an addiction. One that my beloved wife has yet to understand.  ;)

[/quote]

What a great question. Refreshing from the normal day to day talk on the forums.

I would like to think of it as a lifestyle rather than an addiction but I know what your saying. :) At the beginning of my journey it was all about the cigars and nothing else. Like a kid in a candy store feeling. Could not get enough of it. But as the years came and went and with the evolution of cigar forums I have met so many great people, many of them are now my closest friends. My wife thought I was crazy at first but as time went along she came around and understood that this hobby is so much more than cigars. We have had complete strangers (to her) come and stay in our home and I have travelled around the country and world meeting up with botl's.

My accessories haven't really changed. I'm the type of guy that would rather spend his money on the cigars than the accessories, although I admit that may change one day. So, in the meantime my basement is a museum of Coleman coolers (as my wife calls it)! I use $2 torch lighters from Hong Kong and have my one and only Palio cutter that never fails me.

I suppose the biggest thing that has changed is that I no longer smoke nc's. I guess you can say I am a cc whore!  ;D I had about a 2 year stint where I smoked nc's on a daily basis until I came to the conclusion that they were not for me. Anyhow, now I'm babbling. LOL.

[mk05]

I agree with Tarks above. I randomly met up with a couple guys from botl for a smoke, and now share a locker together as members of a local B&M, go out to eat together, hang out at our places, etc. Interactions with fellow smokers have been nothing but an absolute pleasure.

When I started out, it was all so exciting. And it still is to me. I hope that never goes away. A lot of older guys who are incredibly knowledgeable have become jaded and are not active members of the cigar smoking community; and it's sad, because they have the most incredible collections and wealth of information.

At a point, it stopped being about collecting, and more about...hording haha...I no longer hunt down and collect certain cigars for, frankly, the price appreciation factor. Now I buy whatever cigars with the long-term outlook of, "hey, this is pretty good now, and these will be great to share with people in 5 years or so." It has really become more about sharing and teaching, seeing that same smile on new smokers' faces that I once had starting out - and still have! - when they smoke a nice cigar.

I just wish I realized that when I started out than now, since I feel like I used to be kind of a dickhead in some ways.

[MrWolf55]

Oh man, my involvement in this 'hobby' has grown exponentially since I first started. My first cigar ever was a NC Romeo y Julieta 1875 Bully that I got from my local Smoker Friendly convenience store. Smoking that thing, I thought I had to be the coolest person in the whole world. I didn't even care how it tasted - I just felt cool smoking it. So I began buying different stuff every time I went to that Smoker Friendly, just trying to get a feel for how different cigars tasted. I started learning what I liked (at that time, real dog rockets like LGC serie Rs and lots of crap from Altadis and General Cigar). I eventually built up the courage to go to my local B&M, and that expanded my knowledge a bit as I was able to get recommendations from the owner and grow my collection.

Then I stumbled upon OLH.

Perhaps it's just me, but I feel like OLH is the Bilderberg Group of Cigar Boards. It's a small, closed off board that seemingly no one I know who smokes cigars has ever heard of. Yet the caliber of smokes that get traded here on a daily basis never ceases to amaze me. Compared to the 'trading rooms' of some other boards, you'd think guys here smoke Monte Gran Reservas while mowing their lawn (if the grounds keeping staff doesn't do it lol). I always laugh when I go on Reddit Cigars or CA and see people putting up threads like "LOOK WHAT I SMOKED!!!" and its a picture of them smoking a Behike 52, with everyone's comments to it being like "Oh man! what I wouldn't do to find one of those cigars! I'd give my right arm to try one!!! Maybe some day before I die!!!" Oh yeah? Well boxes of them go on sale here everyday, usually for below MSRP lol. So being on OLH has certainly jaded my view of what a 'good' or 'rare' cigar is, that's for sure. It's made it really hard to go to herfs with some of my college buddies, because they usually think they're all hot to trot when they bring out their POS dog rockets like Alec Bradley black markets or something. Then I open my herfador and pull out a PLPC and they have no idea what it is lol ("Whoa it's from where?? Where did you get that thing?!"  ???)

Four years into this hobby and as a direct result of OLH, my humi turned from a small desktop full of Ron Mexico - caliber crap to a huge footlocker filled with everything under the sun. I've got to meet a lot of cool people as a result of smoking cigars, from both visiting B&Ms and frequenting online boards. I love my hobby, and it's brought me nothing but excitement and enjoyment from the first time I lit up. But strangely enough, no matter how many 'super-ultra-limited release-HTF-rolled between Vida Guerra's cuban ass cheeks-premium' cigars I've had, I still find pleasure in lighting up some of the old dog rockets I used to smoke. Like yesterday I lit up a Don Diego Playboy (don't throw me under the bus for that one) and smoked it all the way to my fingertips, enjoying every puff. So I think OLH has jaded me a lot, but has certainly turned my 'interest' into a full blown obsession, and i've loved everyday of it.

[kingcohiba]

my first humi was a Ziploc baggie, then one of those clear plastic jars, then a 300 count. thought it would have stopped there.....now I have a 52 inch TV sitting on top of it.....would have never got to that point if it wasn't for me stumbling upon cigar forums! at least my wife is cool and doesn't really say anything ever negative! I just say....important box date honey!