And Now, For Yet Another Socio-physiological Experiment

Now, if I can get the boys to abstain from human food, we will be okay.

At midnight, it will be fifteen up and fifteen down. Fortunately, I am not going through another Hell Month. But it's another important month for me internally - not so much externally.

You ever have one of those weekends where you exceeded a certain limit? For some people, it's athletic endeavors that do not end well. For others, it's eating too much cake in one sitting. I will admit, this used to happen a lot more back in college, but I seriously tied one on in the last weekend in August. That bottle of El Grado tequila did not know what hit it, until I hit it. That could be the root cause for no blog that week.

I realized the following day that staying up until oh-dark-30 and sipping aged tequila is a young man's game, like being a soldier or competing in "Project Runway". I did not feel well all next day. In recognition of knowing I am no longer 23 years old, I told The Lovely I was going to knock it off with the adult beverages for a month, starting 1 September.

A couple of things I should note: 1) I do not have a problem with alcohol. Sure, denial is the first step, but seriously...I don't have a problem. If I had a problem, I'm pretty sure my doctor, dentist, boss and spouse would be all over the problem. I don't want to discount that alcohol has been the cause of family, marital and violence instigation issues since we all figured out the metaphor to the catchphrase from "The Honeymooners". B) This is a test of wills. I am telling myself no beer, wine or stiff drink AT THE BEGINNING OF FOOTBALL SEASON! And watching the start of the Longhorn season, this is increasingly difficult. I guess my inner Catholic is kicking up, but is still failing to do the same during Lent due to the St. Patrick's Day conflict. C'mon saints, get it together...are we abstaining or are we driving out all the snakes from Ireland? Wait, what? Anywho, I am testing my body. Again, my doctor said all liver, kidney and heart functions were good and normal. But this is more of a mental test.

It's not fun unless you can challenge yourself. It's not fun if I can't run a minute faster than yesterday. It's not fun if I can't disassemble a desktop and see if I can put it back together functionally. It's not fun if I can't be better than I was yesterday. So, in that spirit, it's not fun unless I can abstain from drinking while still hanging out at bars. It is a challenge to remove a mainstay from my consumption and my learned culture. Within the challenge, I have learned that I was just like this in high school.

Enter flashback sequence here...

When I was in high school, I drove a Ford Taurus wagon and had a deathly fear for authority. So, as a good friend and better child/driver, I was the DD for all my buddies when we would go out to the "cement plant".
>>Quick aside, I think every teenager had a rendezvous point for shenanigans and Tom Foolery. Ours was the "cement plant". I think my older brother had a farm and my younger brother had the Solar Estates subdivision. But I digress...<<
So, I really didn't have my first drink-drink (not a sip where you ask your dad what the hell a Jackncoke is and he grants you said request...for a sip--I said a sip) until college. Thanks fellas. Fortunately, I didn't have to worry about public safety since I didn't have a car in college. Personal safety was another matter. So, I figured out that alcohol wasn't as cool as everyone made it out to be, but it's the person that makes the coolness.

And end the painful flashback here...

So, booze was debunked and I just enjoyed people's company...then the beverages. My consumption is no where never out-of-hand, but it is good to take a break. While on stated break, I am also examining some specific differences:

• The myth that the subtraction of empty calories is helping me lose weight - That is a Joe Wilson. I haven't lost an ounce. I'm still a shade over two bells.
• I still wake up having to perform half-yoga poses to wake up my body. With those actions, my body responds by sounding like a bowl of Rice Krispies. I had to do the exact same action after a couple of cocktails.
• What the hell is the point of going to a bar? Granted, I don't get stares or questions when ordering a club soda and lime. But seriously, I have a better TV and dependable Internet connection at home.
• I am drinking way too much sparkling water and Topo Chico.

But hey, a month of cleaning out never hurt anyone. So, I've got another half of a month. Don't be so surprised if this experiment continues to a random series of school nights as well. What did they say about how long it takes for a habit to develop?

Lessons Learned, my three things.
1) It is impossible to argue the validity of any college football team after two weeks. With no preseason and teams playing Northeast Western Cupcake State, we won't know anything until 17 Oct.
2) Louisville is a nice town, Mr. Riggs. Not really sure why you would want to leave. But hey, it's your résumé.
3) Speaking of Corpus, according to BoldFutureCB (from the Twitter boards), "the fastest growing age groups in the Coastal Bend [between] 2007-2012 are expected to be those aged 65-74 and 55-64." So, when I build Post Sixty Post, the tagline will be "Where's my pudding!??!"

I would like to thank everyone for their support with this abstinence. Just about everyone, with the exception of a drunk Australian and a rude fellow cigar connoisseur, has been behind me 3000% with this break. It's fantastic I haven't had to trade-in any friends. Well done, everyone. Talk later.