My month of not-drinking: an analysis

So I stopped drinking alcohol for the month of May. No real reason, except for the fact that I woke up with an I’m-never-drinking-again hangover on the first of the month, and I thought “well, what if?”. I’ve noticed some things:

• People keep thinking I’m doing this part of a “Dry May” or “May No” or some other weird group activity. No. I’m not. I’m not raising money for anything. I’m just not drinking because I feel like it. There doesn’t have to be a campaign, a slogan, a #hashtag, or a stupid rubber bracelet.* Trips to Aldi just got cheaper. (Their Spanish wine is quite drinkable as a general quaffer).* The skin on my face got way worse. Very red and bloodshot, with a couple of nasty pimples appearing over the month. I’m WAY past the age where that kind of crap is acceptable. I mean really.* I’m just as muddled and foggy-headed as I’ve always been.* Going out to pubs with friends is fine. I drink juice.* Many pubs don’t have a decent selection of juice. When I open a pub, I’ll make sure to stock lots of tasty non-alcoholic things as well.* There is an enormous amount of taste variation within each category of alcoholic drinks, and that is acceptable, culturally. Not so much with juice, at least not in the mainstream. You see “Apple Juice”, not “Granny Smith 2007, Tamar Valley”. That’s like lumping a Bendigo Shiraz in with a NZ Pinot. They’re totally different. I missed those tastes (especially at Golden Fields, where the Riesling selection is superb), but I also missed the ability to choose within the genre.* The most difficult part was the habit of coming home, pouring a glass of wine and decompressing form the day. I have to do that without the wine. It’s possible to do, but it feels like there’s something missing.* I’ll be nicer to people who aren’t drinking, and not ask “why”. It’s really annoying.* My relationships with people haven’t changed. I still like the people I like, I still enjoy one-on-one conversation. Large groups of people still require a lot of energy to cope with, and the people who annoyed me before still annoy me now.* My moods haven’t changed. I still get happy, I still get depressed, I still act silly and smarmy and elitist. I am more aware of my moods, but I think that’s probably more due to me being more self-aware this month in general.* I’m driving more. When I was drinking, I’d avoid taking the car places where I might drink (I have a self-imposed zero-alcohol-when-driving rule). But since I’m not drinking, I’ve taken the car to a number of places. It’s amazing how early one can get home when one is in charge of one’s own transportation.* My voice has become deeper. Not sure what that’s about.* I’ve been having just as much fun as I always have been.

So all in all, an interesting experiment. I proved I could stop drinking if I wanted to, and my life wouldn’t change that much. But, perhaps more disturbingly, the vague emptyheadedness and downward spiral into stupidity that I feel is happening to me can’t be blamed on alcohol.

Now. Let me tell you about this amazing beer I had last night…