Ever give up Booze?

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Phil my guess would be the only feminine side you'd be in touch with, would be a feminine standing by your side

+1

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

I gave up booze!
Last night from 2:30am until I regained consciousness at 8am.

I do similar (just earlier quit/come to) every night.

[boatman61]

Started smoking when I was 5.. 1st time I was drunk was when I was 12.. sneaked a 1/2 bottle of Madeira at my sisters Christening.. after that I did not drink any alcohol till I moved to England and joined the Navy where an intensive course began in acquiring the 'Taste' for beer.. got tired of the jibes and found they forgot I was a 'Paki Bastard' if I fitted in..
Started on Mild.. Bitter shrivelled my gums..
Anyway.. I guess I am one of the lucky ones.. abuse my body like crazy (Western viewpoint) or.. Make a Multitude of offerings to the Temple (Eastern viewpoint).. and apart from facially looking 10yrs older than my 67yrs the Doc reckons I'm in bloody good condition.. lungs are scarred but healed and healthy (Occupational damage).. everything else
Only thing surprises me is I don't look older with the sun, wind and foul weather I've taken at sea since '95 when I got serious about sailing and headed South..
Anyway... as you can see.. I'm Mr Wonderfull...
Regarding non smokers.. no problem at all.. I' will happily stand outside if I want a smoke, I'll not smoke in their cars nor blow smoke in their face if outdoors.. not intentionally anyway.. I have lived with non smoking women.. we managed.. good hygiene and clean clothes makes a helluva difference
As for non drinkers.. no problem there either, folk who do not smoke are often non-drinkers as well.. or 1 drink is sufficient to get them to a place that maybe 5 or 6 get me on those 'Special Occasions'.. and they are happy there and wish to go no further... Respect..!!
I'll not be trying to shove drinks down your neck.. even if you do get seriously on my nerves with the disapproval and scorn heaped on me for my vices.. but I got all that **** off my back many years ago and live and let live..
Why do non smokers have this compulsion to sit at the table next to one when there's 20 other tables in the courtyard and your the only customer and smoking when they arrive.. then start making offensive indirect comments about the smoke.. now I have two choices.. control the alcohol.. or let it control me and punch their poxy lights out..
There are times when I really hate this bludi instinct for courtesy that leads me to apologise, stub my smoke.. then pay my bill.. go outside at put a hole in a wood fence..
The problem with you guys who abstain is you don't realise what ******** you can sometimes come over as.. you could open Uni's on how to be a nagging wife with the prefect holier than thou strikes...
And.. may the gods save me from the quitters... gotta shove it in everyones face..
Okay.. You saw a problem in You and fixed it... Well done.. Seriously..!!
Just quit lecturing me on my non-existent ones.. FFS.
Live and let live.. respect folks choices and.. if you cannot do that don't hang with them...
All this 'Poor Alki' stuff just comes over as 'Poor Me' more than anything else.. they did this or that.. and I Miss Them..
Wake Up.. Nothing Is Forever.. TF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZWXrTMedZg

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Lots of stories here. Lots of heartbreaking stories. Thank you all for sharing this.

THERE'S A LOTTA DAMN GOOD STORIES TOO !!!

Originally Posted by GordMay

I do similar (just earlier quit/come to) every night.

Probably closer to my schedule Gordo.... Like 2200-2300 and 0400-0500

[Canibul]

Heck, I only drank when I was alone or when I was with somebody else, and NEVER while sleeping or diving.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Wake Up.. Nothing Is Forever.. TF

My favorite post on CF boaty... (the whole thing, not the redacted...)

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by boatman61

The problem with you guys who abstain is you don't realise what ******** you can sometimes come over as..

HAHAHA Yes we doooo yes we dooo and weee doon't care. La lala ala la laaa(sing song dancy dance)

Just say know! And you there, put that darmn stuupid drink down and snuff that white worm out of your lips and go to anuther table.

There I said it.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

HAHAHA Yes we doooo yes we dooo and weee doon't care. La lala ala la laaa(sing song dancy dance)

Just say know! And you there, put that darmn stuupid drink down and snuff that white worm out of your lips and go to anuther table.

There I said it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZoImzA5iO4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBxkRtJa-dM

[tinkrman69]

I haven't drank for over 25 years. Yes I had a problem. Today I meet people in a harbor and sit and joke around help with a project, what ever, just living life and socializing. An occasion will come along, a social event at a tiki hut or beach, which in reality is a drinking event. The social lubricant. We're all just sitting around and joking and laughing and someone notices that I'm not drinking and asks "what's up..." I say "nothing, I'm just having a good time." "but your not drinking? I try to blow it off, but many times they press the issue. so I tell them I don't like the problems that drink causes me. they ask if I'm alcoholic. I say yes. Some have faded away within moments. others quit inviting me along and others don't change at all. I figure the first two groups were uncomfortable, as I would have been and was, at times in my past, when I encountered some one who had quit drinking. When I looked back I was that it scared me, because I didn't know how to be free and easy in a crowd without drinking.

I remember someone in the last crowd making the statement once " gee Lance, I can't figure it out. the more we drink the drunker you get." I told him " yah, I've figured out a long time ago, that I didn't anything but a decision, to be able to have fun. And besides I can remember every thing tomorrow, so watch out what you do. I'm a good story teller you'll never know just what you did tonight;-)

All said I think some people think they might have a problem drinking and someone who's quit scares them.

[Blue Crab]

I've been managing to continue to hang with my pals at the local pub while drinking fizzy water for six months. I've taken some crap for it but instead of dropping 15 or 20 bux a day, I'm spending 4 or 5. That wasn't among my reasons for quitting, but it's nice anyway. I find it much easier to leave after a fizz or two than it ever was after a beer or two.

On another note, an acquaintance of mine from the same pub is about to get out of prison after a year's incarceration for his 7th (I am not kidding) DUI. No one I know thinks that this 50 yr old will be rehabbed. It wasn't even his first prison rodeo. Obviously he hasn't had a driver's license for years but that hasn't stopped him.

I don't think we should all have to continue to pay for this man's inability to drink responsibly. Should he be put down?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

I've been managing to continue to hang with my pals at the local pub while drinking fizzy water for six months. I've taken some crap for it but instead of dropping 15 or 20 bux a day, I'm spending 4 or 5. That wasn't among my reasons for quitting, but it's nice anyway. I find it much easier to leave after a fizz or two than it ever was after a beer or two.

On another note, an acquaintance of mine from the same pub is about to get out of prison after a year's incarceration for his 7th (I am not kidding) DUI. No one I know thinks that this 50 yr old will be rehabbed. It wasn't even his first prison rodeo. Obviously he hasn't had a driver's license for years but that hasn't stopped him.

I don't think we should all have to continue to pay for this man's inability to drink responsibly. Should he be put down?

LMAO... its hilarious you don't knock him for driving without a licence..
just for doing it drunk.. wrong stigma..
Drunk or sober.. makes no odds..

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by boatman61

LMAO... its hilarious you don't knock him for driving without a licence..
just for doing it drunk.. wrong stigma..
Drunk or sober.. makes no odds..

Phil, methinks thou doth protest too much.

[Prairie Chicken]

Why do non smokers have this compulsion to sit at the table next to one when there's 20 other tables in the courtyard and your the only customer and smoking when they arrive.. then start making offensive indirect comments about the smoke..

No, No! That's not how it goes Boatie! I walk into an eating establishment & immediately survey the terrain for smokers. Once spotted, I head for the furthest upwind table. Then, a whole flock of smokers come in & sit just upwind of me....

Ya do your best, but I swear your karma is gonna get you.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Prairie Chicken

No, No! That's not how it goes Boatie! I walk into an eating establishment & immediately survey the terrain for smokers. Once spotted, I head for the furthest upwind table. Then, a whole flock of smokers come in & sit just upwind of me....

Ya do your best, but I swear your karma is gonna get you.

Damn Yeah.. these Med quays where one can only tell your in the next one is by the colour of the chairs suck don't they..

[dannc]

Yep.

Sorta.

For a time.

Tis all about weight loss, or the lack there of, for me. I think many people gain weight, not so much from what they eat, but what they drink. Drink can be soda, sweet tea, juices or beer. Each of these is high calories in a can/bottle and it is easy to drink many each day. The calories in one of these drinks would take a mile or so of walking to consume....

Like many, I gained weight in my 20s and needed/wanted to loose the fat so I watched my food intake, JOGGED(yuck), and stopped drinking beer. Highly sugary drinks don't taste good to me and back then would make me sick so it was easy to skip those calories in a can. Beer, not so much.

To loose weight, I stopped drinking beer and would drink soda water with a splash of OJ for flavoring. It worked but I beer tastes better.

Of course, eventually I gained the weight back.

I think much of our habits are ritual. I like to sit down at the end of the day and have a beer. It is relaxing. The beer is not just a drink but a sign I can relax and be off work. The beer is a ritual. I have seen family members struggle to quit smoking and a hard part for them was loosing the ritual of lighting up. The ritual of lighting up allowed them to get their mind off other things and take a break. It was a way to relax. It was also a way to keep them busy. Take away the smoking and they would go for a different habit/ritual which meant food. So instead of the ritual of lighting up they would graze in the kitchen for food.

Twas a vicious cycle of stopping smoking but then over eating and gaining weight so they would start smoking again to loose weight. Take your pick of poisons.... Very tough to loose the ritual and not to mention the addiction aspect.

Over the years, I have stopped drinking beer and went back to soda water to loose weight. I stopped again a few weeks ago. I want to loose 15ish pounds but I can't seem to do it. I eat very little, walked 5 miles a day with some days up to 10. Going to the gym caused me to loose some weight but I would get to a point where no fat was lost. So this time I am trying to just walk more and minimize calories. So back to the soda water again.

What is different this time is that I see flavored soda water in the store and it tastes ok and it sure is cheaper than beer. Shocked at what some CFers are paying for beer. Since it is winter, we have been drinking hot tea with no sugar during the evening. The tea and soda water seem to be working and have replaced my ritual.

I might drink a beer or two on Saturday evening when we watch our Aussie and UK murder mysteries. Somehow, the pub scenes make me want a beer. :bi ggrin:

Later,
Dan