i quit drinking.

[quikveedb2]

last monday i went out with a few freinds for some pizza, monday night football, and beers. one thing lead to another, and i woke up at about 4am at home on the couch, not too sure how i got there. a check of the driveway confirmed that i drove home. shit. i am an idiot, and i know it. my girlfriend of four years & i had been having some issues and split up shortly before the episode, it's surely not an excuse, but more of a catalyst. i've quit drinking since, it's been a week so far, it's not been that hard to do except in a few social situations. i still like going to the bar to socialize, but no booze for this guy. i can't say for how long i'll stop completely for, but i do know i'm sick of the negative effects it's been having in my life (the split between me & the girl was at least in part due to alcohol abuse on both sides.)

the hardest part, i'm finding, is occupying my nights. it's dark by 5, and i'm a night owl by nature so i usually have 5-7 hours of free time to kill, when i used to be out with "friends", drinking. i've come to realize how few people i spend time with not drinking. my ex was one of those people, so i'm down still 1 more non-drinking buddy. what do you non-drinkers do with your spare time? it's cold at night here, no garage readily available or i'd have projects galore. i've been reading books and doing other stuff, but with this much free time at night and no companion i'm kinda going nuts!

[Holland]

I would help but the town I live in sucks. I work, workout, tool around on the forum and then sleep.

[chadthestampede]

Read great books, work, write, draw, post on r3v, watch old episodes of top gear on streetfire, read some more, play video games, educate yourself, work out, watch tv, watch great movies, etc.

I can't believe you can't think of anything to do. Think of how much money you would save by not drinking every night. I can't fathom how you could afford to drink that much. Or why you would want to. Sounds like it's time to get your shit together.

[shiftbmw]

Play under the hood with my cars, music, web design, work out...fuck I don't have time to drink. I'm lucky if get even a beer or two in on the weekend.

It's time to start pursuing what interests you. What interests you?

[quikveedb2]

Sounds like it's time to get your shit together.

i'd say quitting would be a step in the right direction, right? i never said i was drinking every night, i've just decide it was too much. you really can't read for 5 hours every day, i hate video games, tv gets old quick; i have been watching top gear but 1-2 episodes is about my limit.

[M-technik-3]

Not hard to turn drinking time into productive time, You could further your education, Volunteer your time or skills. Change your habit's or routine. Gym, ask your friend's not to goat you back into coming out.

It's do-able

[Alkasquawlik]

learn to snowboard

[quikveedb2]

learn to snowboard

lol, i ride 80-100 days a season. learned hot garbage change-ups & hard way 270's today...

[chadthestampede]

i'd say quitting would be a step in the right direction, right? i never said i was drinking every night, i've just decide it was too much. you really can't read for 5 hours every day, i hate video games, tv gets old quick; i have been watching top gear but 1-2 episodes is about my limit.

I'm just saying. Presumably you work say 8-4 or something, you come home and make dinner and eat, that's an hour or so. Read a little, work out, pick up a hobby like drawing or writing, dick around online a bit, whatever.

I feel like there isn't enough time in the day.


EDIT: I can read 2-3 hours a day, but that's what I love, so I know it's not for everyone. I made it a point for a while to watch every movie on the IMDB top 250 or whatever it is, one a day. That killed some time.

[der affe]

there is nothing wrong with going out and have a couple of drinks (meaning 2!). if you can't stop at 2 and you have to get drunk, then you should start to look at things.

you will find out pretty soon that you don't like to be around stupid drunk people, you'll find them pretty annoying. ditching the excessive drinking gf is a good thing. they always are more hassle than they are worth when they are in that state.

like was said before, now may be a good time to stop and pull your shit together.

[nando]

make a baby. pretty much kills any free time you have from 5-2am ;)

[87e30]

I waste away a lot of time on the computer reading... reading about tech gadgets, r3v, news, photography. But this year my time seems to be mostly eaten up by school work.

I also like to play tennis (I know, so gay, right r3v), snowboard, take pictures, go for drives. But not having any money and being busy with school kind of takes up all of my time.

I spent my first year of college not drinking a drop. (Well hadn't before then either.) Now onto my second year I've started to drink, and already I've had some bad experiences and some good ones. I don't see why learning to control yourself and still hanging out with friends - just less drunk - wouldn't be a good solution. (assuming you actually like them in more than a someone to drink with kind of way)

[Stephen]

Photography, forums, guitar, drawing, graphic design, managing a site/ blog, flash games, when im not doing school work, with the lady or in socal wrenching.

[Alkasquawlik]

lol, i ride 80-100 days a season. learned hot garbage change-ups & hard way 270's today...

fuck you.
im annoyed at how much snow Colorado and the PNW has gotten already, and Tahoe only got their first legit storm the other day.
I had the best opening day ever at Northstar on Saturday though.

[quikveedb2]

make a baby. pretty much kills any free time you have from 5-2am ;)

yep, woulda been high on my to-do list had things worked out a bit differently with the ex. as far as the "get your shit together" comments go, i've been gainfully employed since i finished college 5 years ago, continually learn new skills on my own time that expand on my degree, have lots of athletic and outdoor interests, and lead what i consider to be a pretty successful life. i work, snowboard, bike, wrench, and generally do whatever i want with my free time in the winter. part of that used to be going out to watch football, play pool, hang out with friends, etc. drinking was just a negative i decided to eliminate. i consider my "shit" to be fairly together.