A short and sweet one from me, hopefully with a bit of punch. To celebrate the 22nd birthday of one of my old, old friends a sizeable group of us started at little korean BBQ place in the city and then moved along to the Belgian Bier Cafe - a beer lover's paradise, and a bit of a personal hell for me - but I powered on none-the-less.

Despite anticipating a fail for the night, three very positives things happened as a direct result of doing a HSM that really validated my decision. The first was from the head bar tender, who didn't really understand why I was doing a HSM initially but after  a short explanation, caught on quickly. He then proceeded to spend the next 10 mins experimenting with a series of mocktail ingredients at the bar which was packed with on looking beer lovers. The best part was, not only did he get a kick out of making it for me, I also had some collaborative input to masterchef the shit out of an awesome mocktail - oh and it only cost me $4!

The second occurance was with another bartender who again questioned my raison d'être, to which I said 'i'm just not drinking', and she said 'man up' To which I replied 'I am, I'm not drinking and I'm not doing it for the next 3 months'. Then proceeded to order a cranberry and lime with a litre of belgian beer for the birthday boy. The exchange and banter continued and she expressed an adamant respect for what I was doing which again validated the HSM experience.

Third and lastly, I found a use for my knowledge of all things alcohol finding spots to order and create drinks and cocktails from pure experimentation for friends who were none the wiser. What really encouraged me and finished the night on an excellent note was one an announcement by Porno to the group, it was simply "Everyone Steve's not drinking, and he's still Awesome"  - my work here is done.

 Oh and another gift for Porno, courtesy of said awesome :P