Nice! I did a year of no drinking maybe two or three years ago. I was working a number of different jobs and hanging out with different social groups so there would be multiple occasions a week for drinking, not just the 'TGIF let's grab a drink with co-workers' situation I imagine for most non-partiers. Since there wasn't any one situation that was causing the problem it was tough to just cut back. A beer once in awhile with roommates isn't the problem, so why teetotal there? Why decide not to drink at wrap parties when that's when the alcohol is free?? This friend group is going to feel like I'm holding back if I say I'm not drinking because I am combating a general overall trend in my life of too regular drinking even though I drank with my roommates on Thursday and then drank at a wrap part on Friday... So rather than wasting energy picking and choosing, I realized it would be much less effort to just go cold turkey. Between a back injury that required lots of ibuprofen and then a bad cold, I think I was already one month into not drinking purely by accident when I made the decision to just keep going. But yeah, the worst part was when I explained to people that I wasn't drinking simply because I'd decided not to drink for a year and they'd get this totally trying-not-to-look-concerned look on their faces, like, "Good for you! And, hey, how are you doing? We should hang out some time, 'cause, you know, I'm there for you, buddy, you know that, right?"
I did find my mood was a little elevated and my memory improved a bit. Not a huge deal. The ease of having simply not to think about it might have been the best thing. I imagine it's like that thing single-speed bike advocates talk about their minds being clear and just focused on the ride and the road free of distractions. Social events are more fun when you're not worrying about your drink selection and the cost. ("Should I have a beer? Do they have IPAs here? I kind of want to try something new but I think I've tried all the local ones here so maybe I should just get the Sierra Nevada like usual. No, I had a big dinner, I won't be able to drink more than one beer so maybe I should get a mixed drink. I can't do shots, I won't feel anything from that and it's not as social cuz it's not like you can carry a shot glass around in your hand suavely. If I get a sugary drink I'll definitely get drunk, but maybe too drunk? It's so hard to predict. Okay, I'll get a vodka tonic. But damn, that's like 8 bucks for vodka. and tonic. Shit would cost me like 2 bucks at home. I feel like I should get a complicated cocktail just to get my money's worth." And then you have to sort out how you're paying, whether you're on one bill with friends or doing rounds or individually and if the place takes credit cards or if the place takes credit cards but secretly thinks you're a douche for it, and whether you have enough ones for tips, and then the rest of the evening is basically spent monitoring your level of drunkenness and worrying about whether to have another sip, whether to have some water, whether to order another drink in which case you need to start the whole process over again and then you have to start dealing with having to go to the bathroom... All of which leads me to conclude that the drinking scene in New York is a result of people really hating to spend time with each other so they use the overwhelming amount of detail involved to distract themselves.) One-speed bikes, though, that shit's stupid. If you want to 'feel the road' and be free from distractions so badly maybe you should try walking.
