I felt the need to "prove" to myself that I could hang out around my old drinking buddies and not drink too, and I did. After a couple of times though I realized that it was pretty boring and really not a very good use of my time. The world is full of activities and people that don't involve drinking alcohol. In fact, I've found that most things do NOT involve alcohol. It just seems like that to an alcoholic because we seek those types of places and people out.