Sunday, January 31, 2010

"Maybe I can quit drinking one of these days. They all say that, don't they?"

"It takes about three years."

"Three years?" He looked shocked.

"It usually does. It's a different world. You have to get used to a paler set of colors, a quieter lot of sounds. You have to allow for relapses. All the people you used to know well will get to be just a little strange. You won't even like most of them, and they won't like you too well."

- From Raymond Chandler's "The Long Goodbye"

Three years? Well, hell, three weeks down.

3 comments:

Maria said...

Three weeks is a seriously good start.

I've never purposely given up anything, I just sort of wafted away. I haven't had a joint since Liv was born, with the one exception of the time I bought weed for my sister with breast cancer and we imbibed. I pretty much stopped drinking after Liv was born too. It seemed kind of important to be lucid when I had an infant...

I do miss it. I miss smoking cigarettes too. You're right...they made the world a more manageable place, more livable.

You'll do fine. I have always thought that underneath all that good natured wit, there was a guy who could tackle a buzz saw.

Eric said...

Thanks, Maria. I didn't really intend to quit for good, I don't really want to. I enjoy drinking, I enjoy the social aspect of taking the crew next door for a shot during a lull in a hectic day, I enjoy the warmth that comes with a shot of good whiskey, I enjoy the goofiness that tequila brings, and I love a red wine buzz.
What I don't enjoy is feeling like shit all the time, getting fat, having to wait hours after work before feeling safe (and probably not being safe) to drive home. And the money I was spending? Shit, let's not even mention that.
Hopefully, I'll get to the point to where I can have a couple of beers when I get home and not feel the need to finish the rest of the six pack, or a glass of wine and not then finish the bottle.
It is, for me, easier to not drink at all than it is to stop once I start.

So, I'm going to go a while without and then try moderation, and if that doesn't work then I'll just quit. We'll see.

I quit smoking a few times over my life, most recently a couple of years ago. Every once in a while I will take a drag off of someone's cigarette and it always makes me glad I quit.

Pot gives me monster headaches, so that's out.

Terroni said...

I was always a little shocked and appalled at how much the residents drank.

Now, I get it.