Hello Sunday Morning | Sally

Arrrr, me hearty! Band of pirates loose on Brunswick St.
24/06/11 • 3 Comments

Last Friday, 19th June – end of exams. Time to head out for a much-deserved night of freedom. So far I have found nights out without alcohol to be ok, but generally a bit boring – not so much because I’m not drinking, but because a lot of people have just assumed I’m boring as a consequence. At one particular event I even had someone tell me I wouldn’t need a ticket for the bar tab – Umm no actually, I would still like to drink SOMETHING, for free, even if it’s not alcohol. SO…I wanted to make sure this night would be as fun as I’d anticipated. There was a large group of us going out, and beforehand four of us had decided on a costume theme: Pirates. I think of all my costumed-experiences, this may have been the best. The best part of the costume itself was the [...]

Thursday night: my first chance to test my ability to go out, dance and have fun with friends while being the only sober one. The occasion: Architecture in Helsinki at the HiFi Bar in the city. I met up with my friends for dinner beforehand, all but one of them consumed near half a bottle of wine beforehand. Refusing alcohol at dinner wasn’t too tough though…I love food, so I was too busy eating to notice the lack of alcohol. When we arrived at the venue, we headed straight to the bar as the music hadn’t started yet. I wanted SOMETHING to drink, but water is boring and soft drink is way too sweet. This is what I’m finding hardest about giving up alcohol – the lack of beer and cider. I don’t care about the effects of alcohol, I just love the flavour. So I wasn’t quite sure what [...]

Water, mint, and lemon….mmmm….?
17/05/11 • 2 Comments

Got home from a long day to find my housemate cooking dinner. \”I made you a drink!\” she declared in delight….I turned to her, suspiciously asking: \”What sort of drink?\”, as she knows I\’m off alcohol for 3 months, and I can\’t imagine what else she would have spontaneously made to serve me as a pre-dinner drink. \”Water, lemon and mint\” she replied. It was kind of…watery…and the little bits of mint stuck in my teeth. Is this the sort of thing that 3 alcohol-free months will be filled with? I think I could get used to it. Or maybe buy some raspberry lemonade. That stuff is the drink of gods. (Hyperactive, awesome gods that probably like fairy bread and costume parties). Bring it on.

Day 1, feeling good – ignorance is bliss?
16/05/11 • 4 Comments

I woke up on Sunday morning with a hangover. My choir friends sure know how to drink. Ever since I heard about Hello Sunday Morning at a conference I attended recently, I wanted to get involved. But I had a few doubts…maybe I should wait a little longer, or get some of my friends to do it with me. A few of them indicated they were keen, just ‘not yet’. On Sunday I resolved to do it. But I waited until Monday to sign up because I didn’t want to be doing it just because I regretted how much I drank the night before. I signed up alone, because we can make excuses about being ‘not yet’ ready forever, and never achieve anything. Or we can just dive in, ‘right now’. I’ve always been a bit shy, and even though I’ve made huge progress in moving away from this as [...]