White Month!

sigh.

Addicts

White Month has greatly improved my sympathy and respect for anybody who kicks a full-on addiction. I was walking around the fancy French liquor store in the Farmer's Market the other day, and the idea of never being able to drink again made the entire universe seem grey and joyless.

Yikes!

The danger of temptation always looms over White Month, but there's also a second danger: forgetting. Today I forgot it was White Month and drank a nip of Gentleman Jack. I felt glorious. But it also illustrates why White Month is essential - I can't keep doing stuff like drink a stray nip of Gentleman Jack at work just because I happened upon it.

Story Corner

I'm going to step out of straight dry-blogging mode for a moment to share something I read recently. This may only be of interest to Danger and S.C., so apologies to our enormous readership. (Also, I am willing to accept the criticism that this is the kind of story that, contrary to this blog's purposes, makes drinking sound awesome and crazy.)

This is from Bill Buford's Heat, about working in Mario Batali's kitchen:

“…and [Batali’s] I-get-along-with-everyone attitude was illustrated by a story he told of being in San Francisco and having to charm a policeman who had wanted to arrest Batali’s drinking buddy, the fortuitously met writer Hunter S. Thompson, who had pulled a gun on a cable car operator who refused to take Thompson to his front door: the evening ended with Batali’s waking up in the Fairmont Hotel (he hadn’t been a guest) wearing wet swimming trunks (the hotel doesn’t have a pool).”

I'll be the first to admit that the second part of this story is an excellent getting-drunk/passing-out/waking-up-in-an-improbable-situation story, but I'm almost worried it distracts from the first part, which, if you've forgotten is that a drunk Hunter S. Thompson demanded that a cable car operator deliver him to his front door, and when the cable car operator refused, Hunter S. Thompson pulled a gun on him.

Beige Month

I've decided to be a participant in the 2nd Annual SC White Month -- excepting the caffeine part because I am still working through a huge case of Diet Dr. Pepper I got at Costco.
I did some research to find some fun things to do instead of drinking. This website has recommendations like "dance an old-time dance" or "reflect on how something works."

It's going to be a long month.

White Month

I am about to enter battle with a character called my Booze Brain.

This will be a bout indeed, because my Booze Brain is awash in self-confidence. And with good cause. He is strengthened by lots of training, good at arguing, and, if I recall correctly, hilarious. He's always saying funny stuff that I can only approximate later. Everyone loves him, and it's "right back atcha, bud!" from his end.

One advantage I have, however, is he's lazy and doesn't sleep enough.

Withdrawal

It turns out with alcohol, the "withdrawal" consists of feeling really good every day.

Giving Up Booze for Lent

Dry for Jesus!