Thursday, August 9, 2007

It's been a busy week. Last week I was sick for most of the week and being stuck at the house all week just about killed me. I got over it just in time to go to RTDA on Monday. The Retail Tobacconist Dealers Association annual trade show is a major shindig where the many cigar and tobacco makers come to show their new products and network with retailers. This was the first time I have gone and it was an educational experience, learning about how the business runs, how we manipulate the show specials to get the products we want at the best prices. While I'm not planning on graduating and going back to work in the stores, I could see myself getting back into the business later on. It certainly was fun learning more about the business. A few days of meeting the movers and shakers of the tobacco world and now back to College Station. I had a good time today, I went to the range and got some good trigger time in and finished the day enjoying a good cigar with David and Kyle. Therapy for the soul. It is strange how the process of violently and explosively punching holes in a paper target at 15 ft can just relax you unlike anything else. Shooting is more than just pointing and shooting, at its best it is the process of focusing yourself into each shot. It is thinking without thinking. You focus on one small thing practicing it till you don't have to think about it and then you do it again, working on something else. It is the endeavor of trying to reach perfection, the integration of mind, body and machine into a single system working to complete a task with the utmost precision. You can focus on the shot and feel the stress flying down range with each shot. You just can't beat it. Cigars are much of the opposite. Cigars force you to slow down and relax. There isn't a way to rush a cigar. If you rush it you ruin it and might as well not bother. Native Americans passed a peace pipe to show good will and fellowship between them. Cigars are some of the same for me. Enjoying a cigar with someone is a show of goodwill. It is an hour spent together enjoying something together. It is a way of connecting with my friends and my father. Enough of my relaxation. This summer is almost over. It feels like it has disappeared quicker than ever. The second half has been spent at a job I don't enjoy with too little time spent with friends. I have one more year of school left, I just hope I make the most of it. I hope to go straight into grad school, but it is too early to know what will happen.
Well I think that is enough rambling for tonight.

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