New beginnings are, for the most part, a great and glorious thing. The birth of my children,(the ultimate in new beginnings) and the following several months were extremely stressful, and thus, not a great new beginning for me… but that’s another blog for another time.
2010 (two-thousand ten; twenty ten; or however you want to say it) is not only the start of a new year, but a new decade. Y2K and all the fear/uncertainty/stockpiling that came with it seem so far away. Anyone still working their way through cans of beans from the start of the new millenium? Again, another blog for another time.
I am staring 35 in the face, and for the first time in my life, my age sounds old to me. At 35, aren’t you supposed to be able to do what you want, buy what you want, and go where you want? I wish someone would fill my family in on that fact.
My first cigar of 2010 was smoked in my parents garage, multiple layers of sweaters, jackets, caps, etc, in single-digit temps. Even though I am 35, this scenario makes me feel like I’m 15.
All that said, is there a better way to celebrate the start of a new year and a new decade than with an Opus X Rare Estate Reserve? I think not! This is not just a cigar… this is an investment in a great 90 minutes of life. This is a cigar to be relished, experienced… even savored. Save the fact that I was bundled in multiple layers, smoking in the garage, it was a fantastic smoke. Only sitting in the “red room” at an IOD meeting would have made it the perfect inaugural smoke of ’10.
Since I didn’t have good friends to smoke with, a good book (Stop Acting Rich and Start Living Like a Millionaire) would have to suffice. Fascinating read and many great life principles contained therein. It’s early in 2010, but we have a front-runner for book of the year.
As one would expect, the Opus burned great, had a nice, even flavor throughout, and provided a good 90 minutes of relaxation and enjoyment. I’m typically not much for paying attention to my first cigar of the year, but I may have to make the Opus X a traditional “first of the year” smoke.
C.A. is slowly releasing their top cigars for 2009. So far, so good. No complaints. I will certainly give each one a try (getting my hands on the Cubans will be a challenge). We’ll plan to review them all at a later date.
That will be a great week… definitely a week for the “red room.”
Stogies and Bogeys 
i’ll get some of my british friends to get you some cubans 🙂
35 years old? Facing me this year too. One thing I keep telling myself is that I am not really an adult until I reach the age of 35. The reason, at least in California: is that when I turned 18 I could vote, buy cigarettes, and buy spray paint at the Home Depot. When I turned 21 it was legal for me to buy acohol and I got carded for buying spray paint at the Home Depot. It is not until one is 35 that they can run for the position of President of the United States. Therefore, true adulthood is reached at the age of 35.
So just think of it as your second 18th birthday and keep in mind what a wise man once told me, “You are only young once, but you can be immature your whole life.”
Happy New Year!!!
I smoked a nice Cuban while we were down in Mexico for Christmas. If I’d known you were a cigar man, I would have brought some back for you.
Maybe that’s a good excuse to go back? I think so.