Being sober at a bar: Or the things that I noticed when I was there not drinking.

Every serious drunk picks up at least several interesting stories during their drinking career. These tales of inebriation usually revolve around saying vulgar things, getting yourself into dangerous situations, or a mistake of a sexual encounter which your friends will mockingly celebrate you for later. 

In terms of my drinking history, I have to say that when I picked it up seriously at 18 until I more or less stopped at 21, I had a good, consequence free run minus the various social faux pas which I committed while drunk.

But long story short, I am pretty much done abusing alcohol to an extreme level as I have too much going on these days not to be sober most of the time. And I’ll even admit that the great majority of the time I do very much enjoy being sober. Since it is the only way in which I can run on all cylinders. 

Yet on the other hand, I always did find it rewarding worshiping Bacchus. And that thought always makes me want to get shit-faced. But when that thought comes over me there are a couple of topics which I like to think over in order to placate the howls from the beast of my addiction.

You will lose a lot of weight not drinking:

Since I cut back on drinking back in 2011 I am down to almost 150lbs. And as such, most morning my body thanks me for not downing a six-pack the night before. You are welcome body. Now if you would only let me to get to sleep easier I probably wouldn’t ever feel the need to drink again.

Drunks are ugly:

I cannot help but staring at drunks as they stumble out from bars in the wee hours of the morning. To my eyes they are all just so very ugly. And yet that was me for awhile as alcohol abuse takes a huge toll on ones body. Thankfully now that I have gotten my depression under control, I don’t have to look forward to sporting a beer belly or a bulbous nose.

It’s really cool not wasting all your money on booze:

Seriously, when you look at your expenses, you’ll be surprised how much of your money goes to drinking. And while I still smoke far too many cigarettes, at least this one expensive addiction is reasonable in comparison to taking 80 bucks out of an ATM and pissing it away in a few hours.  

But sadly your sex life will diminish:

Without social lubricants, my pick-up skills are essentially pretty worthless. I mean, where do most people usually go for first dates? Bars, of course! What do people do in order to dissolve the dating jitters? Get a little drunk, of course! Consider the last time when was the you kissed someone for the first time sober or had sex with someone for the first time sober? Jesus, the prospect of doing those things while dry are frightening to say the least.

And yet, it’s cool not feeling so shitty in the morning:

Without alcohol in my system, I have a tendency to wake up before the sun rises and I go for a run. But with a hang over, I unfortunately forget how beautiful the world is. And honestly, sometimes I find it is so breathtakingly beautiful that the words at my disposal barely seem right for the occasion.

I’ll admit that it is hard at times to live with yourself and with sobriety you lose an easy escape mechanism for your troubles. But all the same, I find it rewarding to be able to confront my problem head on as I usually succeed in overcoming them when I don’t have alcohol in my system.