Good Morning. Coffee’s on…

It’s rough. I listen to The Guys at work talking about it all the time. Drink, drink, drink. One of The Guys even has a little one on the way; he blew $300 over a weekend, and then contemplated spending his remaining cash (which was for energy bills) at the bar.

Was this ever me? Minus the plus-one, unfortunately it was. And now? Well, let’s just say I take every chance to remind The Guys that what they’re doing has consequences. It doesn’t appear to help them, but I have realized that it helps to remind me that I need to remain sober and stay on track. It’s about health and staying out of legal and financial trouble, sure; however, it can be about good will. It can be about being an ally for someone who may be using for all the wrong reasons (what are the right ones?). A celebratory champagne is one thing, but The Guys abuse alcohol and consistently have stories that are scary, and downright stupid. I’m appalled I wore those shoes. Am I old? Wise? Tired? Maybe. But my my conscious is clear, the bills are paid,  and I haven’t missed a day of work in a year.

Someone Else

It’s right around five and six months of sobriety that you begin to become a little edgy–at least that’s what they told me. I have been dormant on the blog due to many positive experiences from not using and was okay with taking a time out on writing. I knew there would come a time that I would have no other outlet for venting and that a pen and paper (or blog) would always be in close proximity, so I was on the prowl for new things–things I hadn’t done yet or always wanted to try. Lately, with regard to new and exciting activities, I’ve been at a bit of a stand-still thanks to a new job and the pursuit of a new degree.

There’s a song out there called, “Gold Guns Girls”. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRtd8ArvH_s&feature=related) It’s not really about being sober/staying away from chemicals, but a great song is capable of being stamped on just about anything concerning excess.

Is it ever gonna be enough to just stay sober? Nope. You gotta work. You can’t forget that you gotta work. Not a nine to five, but a life to death. That’s the attitude you need to embrace. If you let it get the best of you, the risk for returning to a life wasted gets “more and more”.

A Snooze Without the Booze?

I’m fed up with people making excuses for laziness by stating that there’s nothing better to do than drink, or that life is boring without it.

Don’t you remember when you were a child? Constructing lavish and expansive tents and tunnels with broomsticks and blankets, meandering about corridors, crawling on devoted hands and knees, swollen with devout determination to arrive, with gusto, at an imaginary island with buried treasures and edibles reminiscent of Wonka’s chocolate factory? Don’t you recall the lengths to which you went to entertain yourself when it was raining or snowing or when you were grounded for slapping your sister’s bowl of tomato soup onto your mom’s new rug? Forgotten all that good stuff, have you? I know, I know–you’re not ten anymore. But you still have an imagination, don’t you? After all, how many new drinking games have you come up with lately? You’re a regular Milton-Bradley. You’ve got more drinking games than Oscar-Meyer has wieners, and if you think you’re too old to build a tent with broomsticks and blankets in your apartment, you’re as sad as a woodpecker on an aluminum telephone pole.

Okay. Time out. Let’s think about this logically. When is the last time you did something that didn’t involve alcohol? What about that graduation party–you wouldn’t want to get hammered in front of Nanny and Pop-pop, would you? You got drunk with the grandparents? Okay. How about your nephew’s little league game–no booze there, right? They were selling beers at concessions? In a pig’s eye! What’s that you say? You’re from Wisconsin? Oh, I see…

If you’re having trouble finding something to do that doesn’t involve alcohol, check out this link:

http://sobersources.blogspot.com/2008/01/150-things-to-do-instead-of-drinking.html

It’s not easy to change other people’s perspectives on their use/abuse, so begin with yourself. Get comfortable doing things you enjoy without using. You’ll begin to genuinely appreciate your interests again, and perhaps even discover new ones. Sometimes it becomes clear that your “friends” are merely “drinking buddies”. If you’re trying to  get sober or live sober, sadly, these people you may have to withdraw from completely.

When  planning an event or activity, make a conscious effort to keep it dry. How? That’s easy: get a large amount of people to agree that you can party without partying. Check out this flash mob in Amsterdam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTYIGJwAnfQ&feature=related

If these kids can do it despite proximity to the Red Light District, you can do it wherever you are.

00BAC

Sober people are almost as impossible to stir up as a James Bond flick free of shaken spirits and promiscuity. I’m no special agent, but with so much drama in the world today, it’s not tough to decipher that sobriety is a struggle. Conversely, it’s painful to imagine that we’re so bored that reliance on chemically-induced escapes is the answer.

Places and activities which don’t require IDs, wristbands, or designated drivers exist; and to think that a clear head and clean arrest record have become marginalized by keg stands, belt-buckle bottle openers, and free shots of warm Apple Pucker after a home-team touchdown is an insult to everyone–drinkers included.

Challenge: Do something sober and take a mental inventory of how it made you feel.