Another Day One: An Introduction to TIDID

Fresh coffee, house-made almond milk, and a fan. Everything essential for a new day.

This is an experiment. For a while now, I have been wrestling with the idea of alcohol abstinence. Every so often I get cravings and succumb to the dry martini or hopped cider. One week of drinking out of the month is a pretty good record for me - compared to my minimum of three a day in years passed - but it is still seven drinks too many. I have distractions, but I've needed something else to keep up the motivation.

Ladies and gents, I present to you: Things I Do Instead of Drinking. What is it? Why is it? How is it? I have no clue. I doubt anyone is going to read this, but in the event people follow this experiment I might as well offer an explanation. I have always loved reading and writing, giving me a healthy outlet for depression and anxiety, Drinking to cope with my mental health has lead to the same conclusions; increased depression, decreased funds, high blood pressure, embarrassing photos, I could go on. No matter how delicious or creative the drinks are, the results are always the same... and that's boring. Writing, on the other hand, is never predictable. This may be a blog of incoherive, nonsensical components, and that's okay. Because I feel better knowing that I wrote something - anything - instead of going out for that glass of wine.

My goal is to come up with several things I can do instead of wasting my time and money drinking. For example, I spent less than $20 on a new coat and a pretty blue fan and had some change to spare on a fresh cup of coffee. $20 at a bar is enough for two martinis and a tip, or a few rounds of IPA's and a tip, for one day. That coat is going to last me several winters. That fan is going with me everywhere I go (because once you start using a hand fan, you don't stop). That coffee didn't last me long, but it was fresh and came with house-made almond milk. House. Made. Almond milk. It's just at that level of bourgeoisie to make me feel hipster guilt, but not enough to make me care.

On a somewhat more serious note, in the event someone does read this and is struggling with addiction, I hope you can find some inspiration in this. Like I said before, this is an experiment. I never like speaking in absolutes and I am not sure how sobriety looks for my future. But even if I fail or have a slip, maybe I can at least give someone a good laugh or ideas for healthier outlets. For now, this was day one (again) of a nice sober life. Thanks for humoring me, and let's see what happens tomorrow.

Much Love,
Sam