A decision made (By Jonathan Lai)
23/06/10 • 5 Comments

After 16 weeks of not drinking which included three months in New York I have made the decision to stop my Hello Sunday Morning. My head, heart, and gut have been at war with one another and in a very analytical and reflective state on my progress to date the decision to end this challenge. Upon reflection I believe this experience has taught me a few key points which are: 1. I can do all alcohol friendly activities without drinking and feel entirely comfortable about it 2. I understand my relationships with alcohol; the harmful and the positive and appreciate these relationships 3. I prefer to be in control and a sharp state of mind 4. Drinking can be bloody expensive! The key moment when I felt it was time and where HSM did not serve me any more was two Sundays ago when I was at a family dinner. [...]

Why am I doing this again? (By Jonathan Lai)
21/05/10 • 7 Comments

I sit here nearly three months into my HSM and the question has arisen again. Why am I doing this? How has this self imposed ban served me during my time in New York? Although I am not drinking any alcohol; I am working 70 hours a week, I am not exercising, and I am eating really unhealthy food. I am a little confused as to why I am making these lifestyle choices surrounding health and fitness without acknowledging the impact it has on me. I no longer think my original HSM “yes” is driving my decisions around alcohol. I still continue to not drink and I don’t really care if I do or not. Looking at it from a meta level I see alcohol as only one piece of this puzzle I call life. The more I focus on the decision making process around saying “no” to alcohol the [...]

Karaoke (By Jonathan Lai)
08/05/10 • 1 Comment

I crushed it!

Karaoke (By Jonathan Lai)
13/04/10 • 2 Comments

For those of you that don’t know I love to sing. I love singing for no reason at all! And for those of you have had the privilege to hear me sing you would agree when I say that I am quite terrible! This made my adventure to the Karaoke Cave in Manhattan’s West Village two weeks ago while completely sober very interesting. I know how alcohol has helped me lose inhibitions and generally lose control over my mind and self consciousness. This has seen me do crazy stupid things in the past, both regrettable and not. However during my Hello Sunday Morning challenge I could not overcome my personal hurdles to sing in front of friends and strangers at a bar. I know for fact that if I had a few in me I would definitely be out there with belting out a few rock ballads and playing air [...]

No thank you (By Jonathan Lai)
22/03/10 • 4 Comments

I’m sitting here on Sunday morning in a little café on Bedford Ave in Williamsburg three weeks into my Hello Sunday Morning challenge. I have to admit the three weeks of sobriety has been very tough and has undoubtedly been amplified by the fact that I’m a stranger in a new city without my support structure back home. It has taken me three weeks but now I feel I have found my bearings and I am getting into the groove of the New York lifestyle. I have met a lot of awesome, fascinating, and inspiring people in my short time here. The biggest challenge I have faced and continue to face is the experience of meeting new people, declining their drink offers with a polite “no thank you” and then informing them why I am not drinking. Responses have varied from “what the fuck?” to “why?” to “do you have [...]