The Year Without Beer

I’ve read so many posts these last few days of friends and colleagues reminiscing on the bast year and planning for this new year. So much opportunity and so much hope for something better is always a good thing.

I can’t say that last year was all that bad for me. We moved into a place we love, I started work at a company I love and for the most part we’ve settled in quite nicely in a town we love. In fact I think it is safe to say that although there were a few road bumps 2015 was almost the perfect year for us.

Almost

See, there is one problem I have. I can’t stop drinking. Our days off, rather than being full of productivity or new experiences are often spent going from one hangover to another. By October we had even reached the point where we were averaging about $750.00 per month just on alcohol (and that doesn’t count the drinking I do with almost every meal as I simply don’t track it that way). All my plans for new projects, writing more and seeing more of our new home quickly evaporate in 3 or 4 liters (often per sitting) of whatever beer I choose to fill my glass with that day.

It’s gotta stop. I’ve taken a few steps towards it these last two months, we even quit drinking entirely for a couple of weeks in November, but we always go back to it. Heck, as I write this I’m nursing a bottle of Mountain Dew and a headache bad enough to make the sound of typing a bit painful all from the nearly 5 liters of beer I drank yesterday (yes, 5 liters, that isn’t a typo). That ends now.

The year without beer

As this new year starts and life goes on it’s time for me to take the next step I need to do if I want to be healthy again. It’s time for me to finally join the ranks of ex-drinkers.

Sure, I can still go watch games at the local restaurants and enjoy a good root beer with friends but no more going to the bar automatically at the end of a long day simply because it is the easy thing to do. Also no more drinking with meals as so often “I’ll just have one” quickly turns into “I’ll stop after this [7th or 8th] one” right before I order another.

Maybe if I can learn to pace myself and enjoy one beer I’ll eventually be able to drink responsibly but if not, I’m OK with that too. It’s time to spend my time doing things I enjoy and not just drinking because it’s so easy to walk over to the bar.

So if we get a chance to hang out this year please don’t be offended if I ask for somewhere other than a bar. After all, I’ll need your help with this if I’m going to make it work. There are plenty of things that can be done other than drinking but as I write this I can’t think of a single one… and that’s the problem that I’m going to fix.