Originally Posted by
thomas11 
Ya know, let's skip thinking about tomorrow. I could have my wife drive me up to the bar right now, and I know I'd run into a TON of people and have a really good time. Bars are open until 2AM, plenty of time to catch up with people and so forth. Furthermore, I know they are up there, having a good time, they don't have the handcuffs on themselves, they are doing what they want and having fun doing it. I want that. ok? I'm completely contradicting what I told myself many years ago. And that is I would no longer deprive myself of the pleasures in life. So yeah, its bugging me.
Life is the long game.
Opportunities for instant gratification (chemical or otherwise) at steep cost aren't rare. I think most of us found drinking pleasant at one time or another -- it has some appeal. But the cost, the hassle, the negative impact on your life and your health and your relationships and your career -- for some of us the price of picking up that drink is steep indeed.
Considering that there's no shortage of fun things to do in life that don't carry such an onerous cost, is it worth impairing most aspects of daily life, just for a cheap alcohol buzz? That's how I'm framing it nowadays anyway.