No, I evolved to Evolv!

There were a LOT of steps along the way, but I admit, I did bypass Provari.
Story time! I hope some of you will read/enjoy. I know some will "TL/DR". :shrug:
The first vaping item I bought, was an eGo battery, back in early 2011. (Still works!)
Before that, I'd "ogled and tried" the many different ecigs my friends had, for most of 2009/2010.
But in 2011 I fell in love with that eGo. It was tiny. And damn near the only one available on the market at the time. JoyeTech, black, no 5-clicks-safe, no VV...what a mess!
It was dripping bridge atomizers, then cartos, and then when punch&tanked cartos came out...well I was stuck on those for a long time.
It wasn't until 2013 that I bought my first Provari. Bronze Mini, secondhand, and I was over the moon. Several months later, I tried my first Kayfun Lite, and said goodbye to tanked cartos forever.
As of last night, I opened a package containing my first Billet Box (Rev-3.a 2014) and I actually installed a carto in it! Talk about memory lane! I like a tight draw, but damn! How did I survive off these things? I mean, I lung hit a KFL no problem (crazy huh?)...but this carto. Wow. Flavor is insane! But the draw. Oh so sad.
I sat my new Billet Box down last night, in my "vape stand", next to my 8 Provari v2.5's (converted to flat cap & not all pictured), my two Provari P3 Betas, and my Mark Bugs Wizard's Apprentice Evolved II (DNA30). The Billet Box is my first box mod. Yes. Really.
On the side of the stand, my JoyeTech eGo AIO is hanging out with my Pax JUUL. They're fun. They're stealth. I likes.
I stood back, looking at my (mostly Provari and Kayfun) collection. The Mark Bugs GEMs looking so neat with their matte finish. The Kayfun 5 waiting for the SvoëMesto "tighter draw option", the Kayfun 4 filled with sweet&sour peach, the ByLeo CALIX boasting its Greek pride, next to Kayfuns dolled up in their Steam Tuners gear...The smooth, cool look of my Kabuki, winking at me in the same coy manner its American genius-inventor would do, behind his great white beard.
I stared at this assembly of gear, and I thought..."How? How did it turn into this?"
And I answered myself..."The desire to quit smoking fueled a passion I never knew I would have."
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I started smoking AFTER high school. That's June 2003 (for all you elders reading this). I was hooked. Already being very into drinking, smoking came naturally. I quickly turned from my Parliament Lights to Marlboro 27's. Things escalated.
Eventually, I started my own pool cleaning business (Yes, @TheOcelot, I was a hot pool boy), and was my own boss. And the boss didn't care if I smoked on the job. All the driving gave me plenty of idle time to smoke.
I wound up increasing my smoking from 1.5 packs a day, to three packs a day, in 2009.
I was out of control.
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Never did I think this road would finally lead me to a nicotine-free lifestyle in 2014.
I still vape today, as eagerly as I did in 2014, when I had finally vaped long enough to step down to 0mg.
It became passion. A hobby. An art.
And by-Joe I loved it.
I'm a tinkerer. A mechanic. A perfectionist. And I wouldn't (and won't) stop buying gear, until I had found every possible version of my perfect vape. Because all of my gear has a different thing to lend to my experience.
But most important of all...I'm not smoking.
What a long, strange journey it has been, indeed.
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Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I may not be as old as most of you, and I may not have smoked as long as you did (boy did I do my best to make up for lost time! 3 packs a day for a little over 2 years before vaping entered my life)...
But I've struggled with this addiction just as strongly. We all face it. And we are all lucky vaping is here, to help us down. Like a firefighter helping someone off the roof of a burning building. For many of us, there was no end in sight.
For many smokers, there still isn't.
Let's keep fighting for those who have not been as fortunate as we have, and are still riding that train.