Renton would be proud
I’ll tell you one thing, there’s certainly a noticeable financial difference when you go from “off the booze” to “back on it”. Certainly a busy weekend social wise, with a birthday or long overdue film night happening each day – events I didn’t want to miss out on. I bought a carton of beer for the house warming, went out for dinner and several pubs on the Saturday night (I was in a Guinness mood, and that shit aint cheap in these parts), then bought a carton of beer for the movie day on the Sunday (it was my turn to provide the alcohol). Throw in a total of three taxi rides over the course of the weekend, and we’re talking somewhere in the region of about $250. Not my most expensive weekend by a long shot, and I did enjoy myself, but I’m starting to feel like the money could be put to better use elsewhere. I’m not saying I’m going to become a recluse, but rather save these big nights out for special occasions - maybe cut back to twice a month. I’m only a casual employee now (earning roughly a third of what I was taking home in London), so I don’t have huge amounts of expendable income. I have travel plans and study interests that will need money injections, so looks like I will have to bite the bullet and give the rock star lifestyle a break.
Besides a rough day at the start of my hiatus, and one near the finish (both times I was sitting around chatting with mates while they were drinking beers, I felt the urge to knock back a few too) I pretty much sailed through the 25 days off. I’m thinking of doing it again – maybe take a month off before I go travelling in October, and another month off when I return.
Adelaide is the perfect town for drying out – the stress free living means that the desire to write oneself off on the weekend isn’t as strong. On the flipside, the social scene isn’t as exciting as London – so you can stay home and not feel like you are missing anything fantastic on a Saturday night.
My dry period was a source of great interest to my workmates, many were fascinated by my will power and were in awe when I reached the ten day mark, let alone the 25th. A lot of the guys noted that they felt like having a detox on numerous occasions, but never went through with it. One workmate moonlighted as a DJ, and said the longest he had gone without alcohol in the last few years was only about two days. It was the same for most of my work crowd, finishing a long day of work and not having a few beers was like taking a dump and not wiping – it just didn’t seem right.
Though not everybody was as fascinated by the whole thing. I was chatting to one work mate as he gave me a lift home, and he realized he had just gone 14 days himself without alcohol without even realizing it. We are of similar ages (he’s about two months older), but this mate got married five years ago and now has a two year old daughter and his own house. At the back of his mind is the knowledge that he needs to buy his kid new clothes, that a house payment is due, that the car needs a service and that he has an upcoming family vacation to plan. The thought of blowing a couple of hundred dollars on a frivolous night out on the town (for the reward of a stinking hangover and possible memory loss) must seem as bizarre an idea to him as hijacking a plane.
I need to take a leaf out of his book.
So hopefully I’m looking at a healthier life style for the rest of the year. Though there is no need to be worried kids. I’m not changing the name of this site to The Well Adjusted Blog, and swapping the sordid tales and nonsense for descriptions of my Kitchen renovations. The reason I’m cutting back on alcohol is to save cash. The reason I am saving cash is so I can go on crazy overseas vacations (my trip overseas started as just Thailand, but has now morphed into at least half a dozen locations on several continents), and to get the equipment needed to create the insane online comic strips I have planned, and to pay off a special effects course so I can get busy making short films again (I have already written the outlines for a Ninja Fisherman vs Nazi Clowns film, and one about a murderous alien-infected Koala).
Besides a rough day at the start of my hiatus, and one near the finish (both times I was sitting around chatting with mates while they were drinking beers, I felt the urge to knock back a few too) I pretty much sailed through the 25 days off. I’m thinking of doing it again – maybe take a month off before I go travelling in October, and another month off when I return.
Adelaide is the perfect town for drying out – the stress free living means that the desire to write oneself off on the weekend isn’t as strong. On the flipside, the social scene isn’t as exciting as London – so you can stay home and not feel like you are missing anything fantastic on a Saturday night.
My dry period was a source of great interest to my workmates, many were fascinated by my will power and were in awe when I reached the ten day mark, let alone the 25th. A lot of the guys noted that they felt like having a detox on numerous occasions, but never went through with it. One workmate moonlighted as a DJ, and said the longest he had gone without alcohol in the last few years was only about two days. It was the same for most of my work crowd, finishing a long day of work and not having a few beers was like taking a dump and not wiping – it just didn’t seem right.
Though not everybody was as fascinated by the whole thing. I was chatting to one work mate as he gave me a lift home, and he realized he had just gone 14 days himself without alcohol without even realizing it. We are of similar ages (he’s about two months older), but this mate got married five years ago and now has a two year old daughter and his own house. At the back of his mind is the knowledge that he needs to buy his kid new clothes, that a house payment is due, that the car needs a service and that he has an upcoming family vacation to plan. The thought of blowing a couple of hundred dollars on a frivolous night out on the town (for the reward of a stinking hangover and possible memory loss) must seem as bizarre an idea to him as hijacking a plane.
I need to take a leaf out of his book.
So hopefully I’m looking at a healthier life style for the rest of the year. Though there is no need to be worried kids. I’m not changing the name of this site to The Well Adjusted Blog, and swapping the sordid tales and nonsense for descriptions of my Kitchen renovations. The reason I’m cutting back on alcohol is to save cash. The reason I am saving cash is so I can go on crazy overseas vacations (my trip overseas started as just Thailand, but has now morphed into at least half a dozen locations on several continents), and to get the equipment needed to create the insane online comic strips I have planned, and to pay off a special effects course so I can get busy making short films again (I have already written the outlines for a Ninja Fisherman vs Nazi Clowns film, and one about a murderous alien-infected Koala).
posted by Beef at Tuesday, May 19, 2009
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