"Hello, I'm back!" - Where have you been? What's your excuse?

[Casual Binger]

I’ve been not drinking; so nothing to post. However, my self-imposed exile is nearly at an end. It’s my 50th birthday next month. I haven’t drunk alcohol since I flew to NZ for my niece’s wedding in February 2020. I didn’t do anything embarrassing there; but I didn’t stick around after the ceremony because I felt like shit after two days of solid drinking beforehand. I decided I needed to recalibrate my relationship with alcohol. I’m not sure if I’ve done so; as I can honestly say there hasn’t been a single day where I haven’t thought about what I’m going to drink when I’m drinking once more.

I’m not going to decide ahead of time what I’m going to drink on my birthday. I’m going to enjoy walking into a bottle shop & deciding what I want at the time. I’m not going to drink too much. I won’t need to drink too much after nearly three years of nothing at all. I have four one litre bottles of duty free spirits (Wild Turkey 101, JW Black & two 47% Bombay Sapphire) sitting in my bathroom cupboard from my recent trip to Japan. But, they’re for later. I’m going to give myself three months of just beer & wine before I get back into spirits.

You see, I’ve decided to train myself to drink in moderation. I believe it can be done. Drink enough to get pleasantly drunk, then stop. After all, the first few drinks are always the best. So, why not just have those first few & avoid the hangover? It’s the hangovers that really got to me. Specifically, the hanxiety. After a couple of days drinking, as the alcohol left my system, I would find myself momentarily unable to swallow. Instant panic! Apparently it’s called hysterical globus. Not fun. I intend to avoid this by not over drinking. Just so much, no more.

Wish me luck.

[Hugh]

You're hangover will hurt like a motherfucker.

Drink in moderation. Who the fuck do you think you're bullshitting? Drink yourself into a stupor. Fuck this modration bullshit.

[Artful Drunktective]

You see, I’ve decided to train myself to drink in moderation. I believe it can be done. Drink enough to get pleasantly drunk, then stop. After all, the first few drinks are always the best. So, why not just have those first few & avoid the hangover? It’s the hangovers that really got to me. Specifically, the hanxiety. After a couple of days drinking, as the alcohol left my system, I would find myself momentarily unable to swallow. Instant panic! Apparently it’s called hysterical globus. Not fun. I intend to avoid this by not over drinking. Just so much, no more.

Wish me luck.

First off, welcome back CB! Secondly, good luck. Nothing wrong with drinking moderately. At least you are still part of the game. I often drink without getting drunk. Oett says "what's the point?!" but I still enjoy, as you said, the pleasantries of it. Keep us updated on your trials and tribulations. Cheers!

[Badfellow]

… I often drink without getting drunk. Oett says "what's the point?!" but I still enjoy, as you said, the pleasantries of it…

Yes, the "point" is to enjoy yourself. And to NEVER let ANY other motherfucker tell you how to drink. Just sayin’.

[Merchant Seaman]

… I often drink without getting drunk. Oett says "what's the point?!" but I still enjoy, as you said, the pleasantries of it…

Yes, the "point" is to enjoy yourself. And to NEVER let ANY other motherfucker tell you how to drink. Just sayin’.

Very True

[oettinger]

it’s called hysterical globus.

First time to hear about this condition. Well that sucks. I don`t even want to delve into causes and reasons but would suggest just trying a little more each time knowing that there`s a whole hangover support group online that feels with you.

Or do a full blown Hugh and drink yourself into oblivion and go from there. That`s what I`d do.
Cheers

[Casual Binger]

Cheers everyone.

I don’t really expect to be able to avoid hangovers altogether; long term. My ultimate goal is to emulate Christopher Hitchens. There’s a chapter on alcohol called The Grape and the Grain in his memoir Hitch 22. In it, he said that everyday before lunch he had a generous slug of whisky followed by half a bottle of red wine with his meal; sometimes more, never less. He then drank nothing more for the rest of the afternoon before he had the same combo at dinner. After dinner, he stopped drinking again. Later, he sometimes had a nightcap. He said that hangovers were a bad sign & blackouts a worse one. This is where I want to get to.

[benitobeast69]

best of luck brother!!! i couldn't drink like that at all as i think id feel like shit when i started and stopped. I can and do have days off drinking though due to work commitments and bullshit.

[Casual Binger]

best of luck brother!!! i couldn't drink like that at all as i think id feel like shit when i started and stopped. I can and do have days off drinking though due to work commitments and bullshit.

Yeah, that’s the end goal. For now, I’m sticking to the US government drinking guidelines. Or, at least, what they used to be. Up to four drinks a day; 14 per week. It’s not much; but better than none at all. The plan is to get used to drinking four, then stopping. After one year of this, I’m going to switch to a more complex system where, if you wait an hour for each drink to wear off, you can start again. Only 11 months to go to get to that point.

I must say, I am enjoying drinking again; even if it’s only in moderation. The heady joy of drinking beer is a beautiful feeling. I’m limiting myself to just beer & wine for the first three months. I’ve quickly discovered that I don’t much care for wine.

[Thompson]

I’ve been not drinking; so nothing to post. However, my self-imposed exile is nearly at an end. It’s my 50th birthday next month. I haven’t drunk alcohol since I flew to NZ for my niece’s wedding in February 2020. I didn’t do anything embarrassing there; but I didn’t stick around after the ceremony because I felt like shit after two days of solid drinking beforehand. I decided I needed to recalibrate my relationship with alcohol. I’m not sure if I’ve done so; as I can honestly say there hasn’t been a single day where I haven’t thought about what I’m going to drink when I’m drinking once more.

I’m not going to decide ahead of time what I’m going to drink on my birthday. I’m going to enjoy walking into a bottle shop & deciding what I want at the time. I’m not going to drink too much. I won’t need to drink too much after nearly three years of nothing at all. I have four one litre bottles of duty free spirits (Wild Turkey 101, JW Black & two 47% Bombay Sapphire) sitting in my bathroom cupboard from my recent trip to Japan. But, they’re for later. I’m going to give myself three months of just beer & wine before I get back into spirits.

You see, I’ve decided to train myself to drink in moderation. I believe it can be done. Drink enough to get pleasantly drunk, then stop. After all, the first few drinks are always the best. So, why not just have those first few & avoid the hangover? It’s the hangovers that really got to me. Specifically, the hanxiety. After a couple of days drinking, as the alcohol left my system, I would find myself momentarily unable to swallow. Instant panic! Apparently it’s called hysterical globus. Not fun. I intend to avoid this by not over drinking. Just so much, no more.

Wish me luck.

It didn’t work, did it? But that’s okay because the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[Thompson]

I can see it CB, you work at it, you do good, then one day you say Fuck It. You drink till your toes don’t have no feet. Now you have to deal with the hangover, it’s a very familiar spot, gonna take several days to come back around, but you might not want to come back around, might want to stay ‘out there’, and in the end It Does Not Matter. It’s going to go down like it goes down.

[waahoohah]

Hi.
Where have I been? Same place I always was, just working too hard. Even dried out for a while. Went all careerist. Had my own office and everything.
You know what? The shit wasn't worth it. Not even a little bit. Especially not the work related nightmares.
So, I walked away from it all. I've recently rediscovered this old hobby of mine called "drinking until the sun comes up."
I sleep so much better now.
I may have to find another job soon. Or, I may not! Who knows?

[scream ale]

The space monkey man! Cheers!

[Artful Drunktective]

Hi.
Where have I been? Same place I always was, just working too hard. Even dried out for a while. Went all careerist. Had my own office and everything.
You know what? The shit wasn't worth it. Not even a little bit. Especially not the work related nightmares.
So, I walked away from it all. I've recently rediscovered this old hobby of mine called "drinking until the sun comes up."
I sleep so much better now.
I may have to find another job soon. Or, I may not! Who knows?

Wow, you were a careerist with an office and everything? You're all growed up! Welcome back to the drunkard board, unemployment, and most importantly, back to drinking til the sun comes up. Chin chin!

[Badfellow]

…You know what? The shit wasn't worth it. Not even a little bit. Especially not the work related nightmares.
So, I walked away from it all. I've recently rediscovered this old hobby of mine called "drinking until the sun comes up."
I sleep so much better now.
I may have to find another job soon. Or, I may not! Who knows?

Came to the same conclusion some time ago and have never looked back. You know, other than like literally when I drop some change on the sidewalk. Welcome back and bottoms up.