doomkeeper

Yes, you read it right. I’m actually stopping drinking. I’m really going to close that chapter in my life and get on with the future. I can’t tell you how much money and brain cells I’ve wasted on the subject.

Why? Well there’s been a few incidents of sorts and frankly and I’ve been very lucky indeed. There’s only a certain amount of time you can carry on being so lucky. As some of you may know I lost my younger brother a few years ago to a drinking related incident. My parents are amazed this didn’t stop me altogether. Well I always used to counter that argument with, “well he was just very unlucky” and “that’ll never happen to me.” Well I’ve done a few things recently that make me think that it’s only a matter of time.

“Why don’t you just cut down?!” Yeah I’ve tried that. I envy those people, we shall call them “normies, that can go to the pub and have 2 beers and say “that’s enough for me, goodnight all”. Are these people born of a different planet? What is their secret? Am I staring in the Truman show and these people are just actors? Ok that last one was a bit nut. But here’s the problem, once I start, I want another one. Maybe it’s my british 90′s yob mentality coming out. I drink like there no tomorrow and every 6 months or so there’s a moment where the lizard brain kicks in and I’m “that guy” at the party.

“Ahh, but you’re in Can-a-dar, they hardly drink anything over there. Any one of us Brits would be in the same boat if compared to them.” Well I hear this all the time and I’ve been telling it myself for the time I’ve been here. Truth is most of my mates back home ARE in the same boat and will quite prossible have something bad happen if they don’t stop. Well I’d like to lead by example and show it is possible.

It’s sill early days and I expect it will be very hard. I’m writing this on a my first Friday night off the sauce. Friday was always my drinking night. This Friday is kind of a special day as I had the day off, but is the first Friday just the same. We have free beer at work on a Friday too so being away from that is probably a blessing. The missus is having a girly night tonight, so I had to get out fo the house. This presented a bit of dilmea… all my mates were out drinking. What the bloody hell am I to do?! Well it was a gorgeous day, so I grabbed my bike and headed for the park. Turns out there’s lots of people doing stuff other than getting off their faces on a Friday evening. Roller-blading (of course it’s Vancouver), cycling, sitting out on the beach playing vollyball. You name it.

Like a very good mate of mine said to me once… “You have to change your life style”… and that I will.