Week 13
31/03/12 • 4 Comments

Today is 31 March, the end of my three months. In truth I had a couple of beers on the evening of the 29th, due in the main to having closed a major deal I’ve been working on since October. It was a bit dificult to talk myself into having a beer, mostly because I was two days short of my goal. But I went and had the celebratory with the team, and without any surprise, I found that I still like the taste of beer. But that’s not why I used to drink. In all I thought it was overrated. I felt anaesthetised when I went to bed, and I could feel the effects the following morning. How very predictable. How very boring. Tomorrow is one of my stated goals, which is to compete in the Ipswich 100 and improve on last year’s time. 170km of bike riding is [...]

Week 12
25/03/12 • 1 Comment

I was relaxing with a cup of tea with my wife last night, and she remarked that we would be amongst the very few who were drinking tea at 8:00pm on a Saturday night. She’s probably right. Earlier on Saturday Brent (redillcharlie) and I hit the fine slopes of Mt Nebo on our bikes. It was a beautiful day for a ride, and Brent’s first trip up that big hill. At the top we had a good chat about this non-drinking choice we’ve both made, and I felt proud to have tried it, stuck to it, and above all, enjoyed it. Even though this is my last official week off the booze, I don’t think I’ll go back to it. I enjoy my life much more without it. I don’t miss it.

Week 11
17/03/12 • 0 Comments

Today is St Patrick’s Day. This afternoon I am going to an Irish wedding with a bride named Patricia. There is sure to be much drinking and merriment. I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of mates, and shooting the breeze with them. That I’ll be nursing a few soft drinks on this auspicious day bothers me not one iota. Two more weeks and this stint off the booze will be completed. I’ll not be the same at the end as I was at the start.

Week 10
10/03/12 • 0 Comments

There’s been a bottle of cider in my fridge for the past 10 weeks. In weeks 1 through about 5 I looked at it, and excersised some amount of will power to not want it. From week 6 until week 9, I didn’t have to exercise my willpower because I didn’t want it. Earlier today I saw it again, and maybe because it’s been here for so long and is similar to a refrigerated ornament, I didn’t even notice it. The only things on my mind today have been completing some productive chores, which I have done, and where I’ll go riding this afternoon, and for how long.  That urban truth about a person needing a couple of weeks to break and old habit, and another few to make a new one is probably a broadly correct statement. My habits are vasly different to those of 2011 and prior. Next [...]

Week 9
03/03/12 • 0 Comments

And in recent developments, differing from last week as they do, I attended a rugby game this evening and nobody in the group of people I went with said a damned thing about my not drinking. Consequently, it was all very civilised and enjoyable.