Right, haven’t updated in a while what with the big move to Gay Paris, but what better time to get my blog on than my first big milestone of 100 ALCOHOL FREE DAYS! I have withstood Christmas, New Year’s, concert after-parties, goodbye drinks, welcome drinks, drinks for no reason drinks, cheap Paris 2 euro wine gatherings and around 14 weekends without caving! Sure, I now have a chocolate addiction bordering on obsessive and a mild smoking habit, but who cares? 100 bloody days and I couldn’t be prouder. For someone who was on a first-name basis with most of the bartenders at my local haunts, I’ve managed to shock myself with my willpower.
I know a lot of Dryathletes who went the whole of January without touching the sauce (Well Done, guys!), but I’ve had to read countless ‘Back on the Lash’ status updates while slowly turning a jealous shade of green and eating slabs of cheap chocolate. I have another 265 days of this. 265! It’s enough to make you reach for the drinks cabinet!
However, Good things: I feel so much control over my actions, the clarity and focus I’ve been having has been almost revelatory. I’ve completely uprooted myself and am in the process of making a whole new life in a foreign country; what with the flat-hunting, job-hunting, friend-making, course-registering, music-making, language-adjusting and the fact that my new place is on the 7th floor WITHOUT A LIFT(!!!!!!), I honestly doubt I would have had the energy if I was nursing hangovers every other day, not to mention the lack of money (I could easily spend £40-60 a night) to get myself settled as quick as I have.
Not so good things: Wine, though! I had dinner with my boss and his family last night. It was a mix-match meal at home consisting of Foie Gras (weird but delicious), almond and anchovy stuffed olives, some pungent cheese, green beans and wine half as old as me. Back in UK, drinking a glass of 2012 Blossom Hill was about as fancy as I got, so turning down a 2003 Merlot nearly bought a tear to my eye. I consoled myself with some pistachio biscuits on the way home, but it wasn’t the same.
Highs and lows are to be expected though, but I still have yet to regret this decision. Now that I’m settled in, I hope to keep you informed of my progress in beautiful Paris. For now though, I simply must slip into something stripy and go grab a baguette!
My Prohibition. My God. I already miss Gin. 