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I signed up over here a bit ago and lurked a lil' but never got my activation, yesterday after receiving my first order from CI I figured I should remedy the problem and make it a point to get active on here. I don't even know where to start one of these intro threads since I tend to avoid new forums because I'm already on one to many to keep up with all the time.

I'm 24, haven't been ID'd really since I was 16, and still get pegged as being about 28-30. Now that I'm closing in on that actual age I'm getting slightly concerned and I really think I'm about due for a 1/4 life crisis here in the coming year or so. I got married when I was 20 to a stellar woman I met when I was 18 and a half. I don't know how to describe it but in the first month or so I knew I was done and would be forever. I proposed the day before our 1 year anniversary (she didn't see it coming at all) and we got married 6 months later. I look back at it all and it feels like yesterday not over 4 years ago. I've been in the same sales job for an awards, promotional products, and apparel company for 4.5 years and I love it. It's an honest product, I enjoy selling, and the dinero is good so I keep doing it, in the next year I'll return back to college and pursue a degree in Business to hopefully further advance my career. What else.... we have no kids and no plans for kids... but a dog, a cat, and 2 fish, thankfully the dog and cat keep each other in check.

Onto the reason I'm here... cigars. I had my first cigar with my Dad back in 96ish when I brought 2 back from my mission trip to Mexico. I had to have been 14 or 15 at the time and I felt to cool for school sitting there having a cigar like an adult. Dad taught me the proper way to cut it, toast the end, and then light it with matches of course. He is the one that started me down this very long avenue of my life. I still currently have the tube in my desk drawer of the cigar and it was a Private Reserve Antonio y Cleopatra Supreme handrolled in the Dominican Republic. I can't tell you anything of the taste of it, the quality, etc but I do know it was a huge bonding experience for us. A few years ago after I had tried one again I realized that sometimes it's not so much about the cigar you're smoking but the company you're smoking it with. Thankfully nowadays I keep good company and good cigars so it's a win win situation. My Dad also steered me onto the brand that he had always smoked, I got the name wrong when I was in Mexico, it wasn't Antonio y Cleopatra, it was Romeo y Julieta. To this day that is still my run of the mill average day to day cigar that I fall back on when I'm in a pinch or not in the mood to try new things.

As of late some of the best cigars I've shared have been with my BOTL (oh shoot, a newb that knows some of lingo) Guado that told me about this awesome site. I think we had a cigar together for the first time 3-4 years ago. A while ago he really got into it and I went from being the guy he asked for advice to the guy that asked him. Once he finds something to be passionate about he dives in head first. I have to thank him for getting me hooked on Rocky Patel Vintages and some of the other great cigars in that line. If it wasn't for Eddie I would still truly be a casual smoker that really didn't know all that much. As it stands I'm a bit more than a casual smoker with an above average knowledge of cigars, hopefully this board and it's members can help me further my cigar education.

Tuesday I made my biggest cigar purchase to date and dropped $100 at CI but came out of it with 30 cigars. I got the Gurkha Regent Toro bundle of 10 for $29.99 and the RP Super-Premium Sampler Mazo of 20 for $69.95. I know the RPs were a deal and I can't wait to try one of the Gurkhas to see if they live up to the hype.

Along with the whole cigar thing I've become a big whiskey/scotch guy. A few years back it was nothing but Jack Daniels for me but I started trying some better things and liked them more and more. I guess as I have grown up so have my tastes. My current whiskey staple is Jamesons and I have discovered it goes best with nothing more than a glass. My most recent new tasting was Red Breast and it was amazing, ever slightly smoother than Jamesons 12yr and a bit tastier, I really need to try them side by side. With a cigar my favorite has been Dalmore's specially made Cigar Malt Scotch I wasn't impressed with the first taste I had without the cigar but coupled with a good smoke it improved dramatically.

I am also a knuckle/finger burner I will smoke a cigar alllll the way to the very very end before giving it up. As of late I've had a great run of trying new cigars so I haven't run into any that got the early snuff.

My last cigar was a RP '99 that I hadn't tried, I had 45 minutes before a dinner meeting, and was right next to Corona Cigar Bar in Orlando so I dropped in and they luckily had them. It was a great casual smoke to enjoy while waiting for my friends at the restaurant just a nice smooth light smoke especially when compared to the '90 or '92 Vintages that I think are better known. Oh yeah and for some reason if you're looking for the RP Edge 2nds that Corona was carrying I'm sorry to say they sold out last month. I hadn't made it a priority to get up there and pick some up and now they're gone. They said they went through something like 8,000 boxes in 6 months, to me that seemed like a huge volume.

I'll be around and will definitely add more but right now my amigo just showed up for a cigar and some 8 ball so I'm off.

Have a great remainder of the weekend and as always happy smoking.

~Mike