Southerner

Hi all, went to the Baltimore Orioles double-header today with an old high school friend I had not seen since, well, high school. We used to be old drinking friends back then. The weather in Baltimore was perfect, and the games truly fun, but wouldn't you know it everybody seemed to be drinking! Beer stands, beer signs, the guys in the row in front of us were drunk, the guys behind us reeked of beer. Geez, it is amazing how many people are drunk at a baseball game! My friend ordered two beers, but I waved mine off. No way am I ever going down that road again...

Nothing tastes better at the stadium with a hot dog and peanuts than good old refreshing Coca Cola!

MurkedByMarx

It is great watching all the drunk people and thinking "man did i really used to be like that?" hahaha

Scolova

Good job.
I went to a ballgame last week and had a big pretzel and a couple cokes... I could move around the stadium (and did) so I didn't get stuck sitting next to them.

Mizzuno

Good for you! Very nice to see that you did well at the game.
Keep up the amazing work!

MrsKing

Good for you

Liz45

Awesome! I'm so happy for you...and no reeking involved! That's another great thing about giving it up, eh?

Southerner

Oh goodness, I will never miss the reeking! Waking up with cotton mouth and a sick stomach, trying to move as little as possible till I figured out whether I had a headache or not. What's to miss about that? Plus, as mentioned above, the people watching is incredible. I was sitting there as the drunk guy in front of me dropped his phone, his keys, his lighter, his phone, his lighter, etc., "Did I ever look as pathetically stupid?" The answer makes me cringe, but I don't have to worry about that anymore. And Coca Cola does taste really nice with a hot dog!

I am wishing that everybody who is struggling on these boards can read this and see that you can have a blast--even with very old friends with whom you used to get trashed--and not have a sip of alcohol. Alcohol would have actually ruined the experience. I was happy that my friend could enjoy his beer, and I could enjoy my experience beer-free. It's always going to be all around us--we just don't have to care!

Thanks Liz and everybody else for the support!

Grace2

Well said Southerner and good for you.

Gx

Sugarfix

Glad you enjoyed yourself Well done you!

But I have to disagree - you can also have a blast just having a few social drinks and taking it easy!

It's a shame us alcoholics can't do that though.

There is getting drunk and being a nuisance, but then there is controlling yourself and just enjoying a nice cold beer!

Wish I could that

flutter

So happy you got through it ok I had the opposite experience this past weekend, we went to the Broncos game (yeah..I know. Horrible) and I was sitting there looking around. No one directly by us was drinking! The family to the right were eating pizza, the people in front of me were drinking water. The guys to the left of me weren't drinking or eating anything, and the couple behind us were drinking root beer floats. I had no idea that people didn't drink at those things!

Southerner

Too true, SugarFix! My wife has the special "gift" of being able to drink one or two and just not care. She has gotten drunk, but some wiring inside her doesn't allow that to be her guiding principle. And now, for me, she just doesn't drink, even when I tell her it is okay. Now THAT'S spousal support! I guess when I FINALLY accepted that it would always be my guiding principle to get wasted after one drink, that the first drink ALWAYS would lead to a binge no matter how I tried to adapt or change the outcome, I was finally on a good road.

I am happy when people can enjoy their drinks. I don't think it's evil, in and of itself. Goodness, a nice red wine with a fantastic dinner is so pleasant, and I would not want to have people who can control themselves not enjoy it. Lamenting that we can't do that, though, finally gets to a point in the head where it runs its course. People ask, "When will I know I am quitting for good?" My hasty answer would be, when you can accept that it will always be around you, but you can't, shouldn't, and won't have it anymore, and will be happy and better for it. That, at least, is when I knew I could truly give it up. It likes it when we miss it and therefore calls to us--when we finally ignore it, it starts to get quiet and finally just recedes. Pops up now and then, but I have the power to ignore it.

Thanks!

hillOH

I'm from the UK, and every high street I go, without fail, there is always booze. Cheap booze, expensive booze, booze for the lower classes, booze for the higher class. Special offers, two crates for one, free drink with your restaurant meal, etc. etc..... the places where it involves kids too, like cinemas, bowling alleys, fancy cafes, even corner shops where they sell 'beer bottles' shaped like little sweets....

I can't look at anyone with a drink problem and say "It's 100% their own fault". That doesn't NOT make it 100% THEIR problem. But human society has a drink and drug problem as a whole, its up to you if you want to be part of that.

Weasel1966

Great job!

Sounds like you have a good attitude to face this situations.

Glad you had fun!

K

myhappyproject

Good Job!

At some point, I assume that at some point you won't notice people drinking so much anymore. It's kind of like when you buy a specific model of car and then all the sudden you see them everywhere! I believe it's just that it's on our minds more than others because we are struggling with it, eventually it will just become our way of living.

I know many people that don't drink and have never even touched the stuff. I doubt they even notice the number of liquor stores or the amount of people drinking around them.

freshstart57

I like the way you are thinking about this and your AV, Southerner. Well done.

NoFireWater

Southerner, good job on resisting the temptation all around you. A cold coke does taste better than booze! Glad you were able to have fun with your friend and enjoy the game!!