Pairing this review and the fact that Julian Casablancas is a sexy man, I go and I purchase his first solo album Phrazes for the Young. After listening to it nonstop, it becomes apparent that lovely Julian has been doing some of his own self-reflecting when it comes to drinking. As an opening thought for his song Ludlow St. he writes,

Drunkenness is cowardice, sobriety is loneliness.

This song is filled with sentiments about drinking, and reflections about being sober. It is a goldmine of quotes! Back to the above quote in question though, what a way to look at drinking. I’m sure the idea behind this quote has been thought of before, but for it to be articulated so well, by a man whom was off his face when I saw him last was quite surprising.

Thinking about this quote throughout the week, and discussing with housemates how much I agree, or disagree with it lead me to some interesting thoughts which I applied to a 21^st I went to on Friday night.

Picture this: a 21^st birthday party, about 60 people on a boat in the Brisbane River, consuming $2 drinks. Yes, you can see where this is going. The party was for a friend of mine who I have known for a few years. We don’t see each other as much as we like, but we’re both busy, so you get that. I was tempted not to go as I knew everyone would be in high spirits, and as I didn’t know a whole lot of people who would be there I was scared. There. I said it. Scared because I might struggle to find acceptance in a group that didn’t know me, and because I wanted to impress them. But I overcame these thoughts, and put myself out there – because that’s what you do when you’re doing Hello Sunday Morning. I did take my friend though, just in case things didn’t work out.

Going back to Julian’s quote, it was in sobriety that I felt lonely about going to this party. However, I know if I was drinking I would have drank to overcome that uncomfortable feeling, making me a coward? I thought that by doing Hello Sunday Morning I should have overcome this thought by now, so perhaps I am not challenging myself enough…

Alas, my confusion and uncertainty about the quote continues. The birthday girl is lovely, and surrounds herself with wonderful friends leading me to think that they wouldn’t be drinking because they were scared of something? However, could they have been drinking for other reasons and using the party as an excuse? After attending parties with these people for a few years, could they have been scared or weirded out by the fact that there was to be a party that wasn’t centred on alcohol?

Some of these thoughts seem to be to surface level for me. I want to really flesh out this quote, and come to a solid conclusion about what it means to me, particulary as I continue on my journey. And I will do that with the help of my future husband, Julian Casablancas. Though, I would appreciate everyone’s thoughts…

Here are a couple of links….

Ludlow St. – Julian Casablancas – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adla-fRH7aU

Blurb about Phrazes for the Young - http://www.spin.com/articles/strokes-singer-julian-casablancas-announces-solo-album

Fast forward this Bar Soma moment to Easter Sunday that has just passed. My family and I went to lunch at Noosa, just to a fancy pub. Here, I watched my older sister and my grandmother get a little tidily. As I was watching them, I was almost embarrassed though relieved by the fact that I wasn’t drinking. I’m afraid to admit it but I think I was even judging them slightly.

I have though a lot about this moment and come up with a few findings. Firstly, I was so keen to have alcohol with friends, but was dead set against it once with family because I associate alcohol with my friends. I don’t down a bottle of champagne to go out with my grandmother (although it might be quite a funny night!). I guess, I am looking for the ‘cool’ factor that many people associate with alcohol around my friends, whereas I’m much happy to be a spectator when it comes to family drinking.

Secondly, I felt terrible because who am I to judge my family over getting a little bit drunk on a weekend?! I know for an absolute fact that my grandmother and sister don’t drink very often so why should I have anything against them putting a few under the table? When I started my HSM journey, I made a pact to myself that I wouldn’t judge drunk people – so much for that!

I think I will have to delve deeper on this one. Now that I think about it more, I think I can count the number of times that I have been drunk with my family on one hand. My mission by the time my HSM is over is to discover my reasons for not drinking with family, even if it is just one beer. I also need to work on judging others and not seeing alcohol as something I need in certain situations.

Who knew I could uncover so much by watching a band and my family perform?

‘Home’ – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2N8s6cQzFg&feature=related

After the emotional day, I was looking forward to a night out, and some serious dancing. My friend Monique and I had tickets for Fans First Birthday/Clubhouse preview, sure to be a good night.

Mon helped me get all prettied up and not look like a boy, and we hit the town. Normally, we would have a few drinks to get us into party mode, but this was not an option for me tonight, something I was really happy about. I had a Berocca instead.
I was surprised how comfortable I felt with my new ‘do’ in the confines of The Club House, surrounded by trendies. I know that I had done an incredible thing, and I felt empowered by the shave, not embarrassed.
After the whole crowd was somewhat evicted from The Club House, Mon and I ventured into the city. Now, we both hadn’t been there in a long time, and went to some of the old favourites that still draw a crowd.
It was like in three years, nothing had changed. There were still the girls who barge you over to get to a friend/the bar/a toilet. There still the guys who look you up and down and assume you’re not worth their time. I felt more out of place than ever. To compound this I was insulted by a girl sitting outside the club. Thanks a lot.
Some would class this night as a bit of a downer but to me, it was quite enjoyable. It was fun to take a trip down memory lane, on the first of many bald and sober nights, and to realise how far I have come, and how much I am not the person I was when I was 18. I look forward to more challenges in the future, that both baldness, and club evictions ensue.

In the meantime, you can still donate and support the Leukaemia Foundation. My personal link is,

http://my.imisfriendraising.com.au/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=316437&langPref=en-CA

My goal was $5000, and I have made that and am now hoping to reach $6000. Please donate what you can! Thank you!

Hi, my name is Madelyn Priddle and I’m taking on the Hello Sunday Morning journey for three months.

I moved to Brisbane from the Sunshine Coast in 2008 to
start uni. I’m doing Advertising and Public Relations at QUT, which landed me at Fresh where I have been cheering Chris on from the sidelines for the last 12 months or so. Now it’s time for me to tune out to alcohol and tune in to all the things that could be.

I have always had a fairly tame connection with alcohol. At school I was in a group that didn’t drink every weekend – and no, before you start thinking anything remotely nerdy I assure you I was socially acceptable.

Truth is, I have been drinking since I was 5 or 6. My parents thought it best to start us young! But really, I have grown up having a small glass of wine at family gatherings from a young age. My mother is of Italian descent, so my older sister and I were often allowed to have a small amount of wine at family gatherings, and Mafia meetings. Jokes.

The first time I got drunk was when I was 17, at a family friend’s Christmas party – that’s right; I took no alcohol to Schoolies. I had always been cautious of alcohol, as I had seen my older sister come home drunk a few times (sorry sis), and really didn’t want to experience what, to me, it was like to be drunk. At this Christmas party, under my parent’s watchful eyes I had many a Cruiser and felt on top of the world, and wondered why I hadn’t experienced this somewhat euphoric elixir sooner.

Since that night, I have had many a drunken time. Many, many a drunken time. The year that my friends and I all turned 18, we would often go out at least twice a week, get drunk, go home, sleep in and, do it all again the next night.

I would say that recently I have toned it down – quite a lot. It was a few things that triggered this which I’m sure I’ll touch on in future posts. One of these was definitely Chris and his baby, Hello Sunday Morning, and now – it’s my turn.

I have made a few goals for the next three months. I want to improve my fitness, and increase my savings so I can buy pretty things. I want to find out who I am and what I want in life. What makes my journey a little different to others is that I am shaving my head on March 13 for the Leukaemia Foundation’s, World’s Greatest Shave 2010. I want to prove to myself that I can be confident with my appearance, especially at such a vulnerable level. I want to prove to others that alcohol isn’t needed to have an awesome night out, and lastly, to challenge myself to do something different.

So, look out for me – I’ll be the bald, sober girl. Bring it.

I’m an alco-pop. My interests include clubbing, music festivals, parties, and barbeques. I work for myself as a social lubricator and I’m pretty damn good at my job. I’m trendy, versatile, attractive and exclusive. I was the perfect Gen-Y accessory. 

I started my work in America in the 80’s when I worked with Bacardi to create the ‘Breezer.’ Things slowly started to snowball from there. Other spirits saw the benefits of having me on board and I began a gradual, but promising climb to the top. Once you pop, you can’t stop.

I was highly regarded by the regular drinker who ends up pouring drinks that get exponentially stronger as the night carries on. You know who you are. At night clubs all I need is a strong flick of the wrist by a smiling bar attendant and I was all yours. I need no ice. No glassware. Just some pop and suck me down.

My marketing and advertising team came up with all these awesome ideas about targeting to young people. All the ads I appeared in show attractive, sophisticated people having a good time, always there with my fluorescent glow of approval. 

I used to love it when people commented on my taste, convenience and value for money and I was always there to support my customers whatever the occasion. I was at my peak, nothing could stop me! And all my beloved friends told their friends, who told their friends, I was living the alco-dream.

And then, things started to change. I like to compare it to the over exposure of celebrities – once you reach a certain peak its like sitting on a pin and waiting to fall of. Just like the flailing ex-Mouseketeers, people began to want and need me more and more, and increasingly so to induce bad behaviour.  My friends started to buy me in massive quantities and all the good things about me bought about bad things for these people. I didn’t know who was a friend or foe and ultimately I was getting used and abused.

It was all very rock star-esque – the boozing and bad behaviour, and as expected  it got out of control.

Governments started to investigate my business and monitor my customers for signs of harm. In 2008, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, wacked a 70% tax on me. What is that!?

 Since the tax, times have been tough. Most of the time I’ll hang around the bottle-o just begging for someone to take me home. Lonely in my cold glass cage, tears of precipitation slide down the glass, crying as all my friends walk away with burly big bottles of the straight stuff – hard-core spirits. I used to be the bubbly one with colour and zing – like a personal bottle of Mardi Gras – ready to pop and dance through your veins on the week end.

Alco-pop. A crummy word made up by the big wigs in Canberra for something that once bought so much goodness to the weekend. Gone are the days where you would rock up to a friend’s party with a four-pack in hand ready for a good night. It was a great idea at the time, no you didn’t have to spend heaps to buy a bottle of Vodka and bottles or soft drink and then have to use a dirty, discarded cup (while no-one was watching).

The delicate science of drinking is gone, people aren’t out to mix a great tasting drink – (though nothing could taste as good as me) – they’re out to get the potency right. I’ve seen young lasses tip out ¾ of a bottle of pop, and pour it full to the brim with spirits – a dangerous mix. Teens – who I used to ease slowly convincing them I was a good guy – not too strong but always a good time, are now poisoning them selves with alcohol.

The thing that gets me the most – more so than the long and cold lonely nights in the fridge – is that some how I went from being good to bad. I never meant for it to get like this – what can I say – maybe you can have too much of a good thing.