Still going strong
02/02/12 • 4 Comments

It’s been a while between blog posts. I’m happy to say my lack of appearance here on HSM doesn’t equate to the wheels falling off my wagon. I still haven’t partaken of an alcoholic beverage since my HSM journey began on 1 January 2012. Yay me! As a follow up to my last blog post from over three weeks ago – I went to the SixFtHick gig at the Powerhouse and succeeded. I didn’t drink, while all around me did. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. My partner just had a couple of beers and didn’t over do it (in a kind of solidarity to me), and we had a good spot on the side balcony which allowed me to watch the crowd downstairs getting very, very intoxicated. My main reason for not blogging is I haven’t had anything to say, I suppose. There have been [...]

Another test. Another WIN!
11/01/12 • 6 Comments

Last night I did something I’ve never done before. I went to a gig and I didn’t have a drink. I’m 39, I’ve seen hundreds, possibly thousands, of bands in my lifetime and every single time there was alcohol or some sort of narcotic involved. So last night was a first. Quite a big deal for me actually. My partner and I saw J Mascis at Brisbane Powerhouse. It was an acoustic, sit down gig so that made it easier I suppose, as it was a laid back affair and being seated meant we couldn’t take drinks into the theatre with us. Even so, pre HSM we would’ve arrived with plenty of time for at least two drinks before the support act, and had one at interval (two if we could manage it, which we usually can!) and then had several more drinks when we got home while sitting around [...]

Tests
08/01/12 • 4 Comments

This not drinking lark has actually been easier than I expected. That’s not to say it’s been a walk in the park, but there’s only been a few times that I wanted a drink and had to remind myself of what I’ve committed to and why. The first was when we went out to lunch the other day. When we eat out, about once a week, there is always alcohol involved. I kinda cheated in my restaurant selection. I picked a suburban Chinese restaurant because I know they have a poor wine selection. I tend to drink beer when we go there, so having a lunch of just yummy yum cha with no alcoholic accompaniment wasn’t too hard. Another test was Friday night. I don’t know why it should be a test. I suppose it’s just the old “end of the working week” scenario. Have a drink to unwind and [...]

Mancunian mocktails
04/01/12 • 5 Comments

My partner has announced that he’s decided to join me on my alcohol-free, twelve week journey. I’m pleased about this. He drinks just as much, probably more, than I do. He’s also older and not as fit or healthy as I am, so this will do him good. So last night, instead of beer or wine or cocktails, he served me a mocktail. We often make Moscow Mules (vodka, ginger beer & lime), so we had them sans vodka and renamed them after the city he was born in. He often makes jokes to the kids that “we didn’t have <insert item> when I was a kid, we were too poor”, so he decided that the “poor man’s version” of a Moscow Mule should be renamed to a Manchester Mule. Think we’re onto something here … finding cocktails we like, removing the alcohol and renaming them accordingly. We could make [...]

Cruising
02/01/12 • 4 Comments

Coming to the end of the second day, and I\’m doing well. Now that I\’ve committed to this and have told people about it I feel a sense of what can only be described as relief. Hmmm, early days, early days. It\’s back to reality tomorrow with my holidays over. Coming home from work and not having a glass of wine while I unwind will be the true test. Watch this space.