Tomorrow will be last time to drink for two months. I am nervous because I may try to pack two months of drinking into one night. I know its not literally possible, but I will most likely be drinking enough for 3-4 people tomorrow night. Kevin and I tried this on Saturday and it lead to not so good things.
That is the irony of Temperance: you drink like a maniac immediately before and after. You go cold turkey for two months and function as if alcohol never even existed in the first place. In fact you almost frown upon it. Its weird.
It is possible that my hangover will linger well into Saturday. The final hangover is the only hangover I can say I enjoy. You relish the final time that the alcohol and residual toxins being processed out of your dilapidated body, knowing that you wont experience it again for two months. None of this makes sense, but its the truth. Two months is not a long time and there are many goals to be achieved.
Happy new year.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Moments Before Falling
As I lay on the floor, my balance betraying me for the last time that night, I saw a blurred vision of a television screen. It was "Dunston Checks In". And I was somewhat reassured. Because who doesn't want to have Pee Wee Herman be the last thing they see before passing out?
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Water of Life
I sipped my terrible beer. Bud Light. In a large can. A microcosm of existence. We buy the cheapest beer and drink it heartily, instead of something more expensive, and meant to be savored.
A Brief History of Temperance
During the fall semester my freshman year (2002) of college, my buddy JTA and
I were having quite the good time. We regularly drank 3, 4 or even 5 times a week while rarely experiencing any lingering effects. 30 packs of Icehouse and large jugs of Captain Morgan were staples in our diet and we knew this probably wouldn't be good for us long term. Although I was doing quite well in my studies, I couldn't keep taking spanish midterms 7 beers deep and expect to pass with flying colors.
We devised a movement that would shock our peers and ourselves. For one month we would not drink any alcohol. Our bodies and souls would be cleansed and we would focus on our school work instead of drinking gallons of poison which resulted in us saying things to girls that made them hate us within seconds of our initial interaction. We also took before and after photos of our shirtless bodies to see if there were tangible effects of our abstinence (which i may post if they can be located). We needed a name for our glorious abstinence and we decided upon Temperance, a nod to the Temperance movements of the early 1900's.
As our peers learned of Temperance, most thought we wouldnt even be able to last one weekend, let alone one month. We decided that these Negative Nellies would be known as Haters. With a great will power and ambition to succeed, we breezed through this month with no problem leaving all the Haters in awe. Although Temperance started as somewhat of a joke, we both discovered great benefits of Temperance:
- Your body feels great
- A sense of accomplishment
- Participating in worthwhile activites that you would normally avoid
- Saving money
Temperance became a staple of each semester Freshman and Sophomore year. It may or may not be a coincidence that my GPA was at its highest during that time. Maybe it was due to my enrollment in classes like racquetball and English 101, but nonetheless, my grades were stellar. Temperance was only practiced once during my Junior, Senior and Super Senior years in large part to reduced partying and being forced to actually put in work into courses like Accounting, Finance and other core Business classes.
However, after graduation and returning to the great party city I have called home for 25 years, Temperance naturally was resurrected. This time Anthony Garcia and I would undertake the Temperance journey at the beginning of 2009. Doing this in the great party city where temptation literally lurks at every street corner was tough, but our unshakable determination brought forth a Temperance Renaissance. For two months (January and February) we will abstain from alcohol. However we felt we must up the ante and this Temperance will include no meat (except fish and eggs). Part of Temperance is constantly challenging youself and we felt the time was right for this drastic Temperance addition.
We will keep you posted on our progress beginning January 2 and through the end of February. Kevin Newman is a late addition to Temperance 2010 and his presence is certainly welcome. You may know Kevin from his life improvement endeavours such as "The Drive to 205". There are also several other Temperance rookies who will be making their debut this year and we/they will keep you posted on their progress.
As I write this I am currently experiencing my second to last hangover until Temperance. I honestly will not miss the terrible feeling of my body processing all this poison out of my system. Temperance will be a great time of enlightenment and we will keep you posted in the coming weeks.
MMG
I were having quite the good time. We regularly drank 3, 4 or even 5 times a week while rarely experiencing any lingering effects. 30 packs of Icehouse and large jugs of Captain Morgan were staples in our diet and we knew this probably wouldn't be good for us long term. Although I was doing quite well in my studies, I couldn't keep taking spanish midterms 7 beers deep and expect to pass with flying colors.
We devised a movement that would shock our peers and ourselves. For one month we would not drink any alcohol. Our bodies and souls would be cleansed and we would focus on our school work instead of drinking gallons of poison which resulted in us saying things to girls that made them hate us within seconds of our initial interaction. We also took before and after photos of our shirtless bodies to see if there were tangible effects of our abstinence (which i may post if they can be located). We needed a name for our glorious abstinence and we decided upon Temperance, a nod to the Temperance movements of the early 1900's.
As our peers learned of Temperance, most thought we wouldnt even be able to last one weekend, let alone one month. We decided that these Negative Nellies would be known as Haters. With a great will power and ambition to succeed, we breezed through this month with no problem leaving all the Haters in awe. Although Temperance started as somewhat of a joke, we both discovered great benefits of Temperance:
- Your body feels great
- A sense of accomplishment
- Participating in worthwhile activites that you would normally avoid
- Saving money
Temperance became a staple of each semester Freshman and Sophomore year. It may or may not be a coincidence that my GPA was at its highest during that time. Maybe it was due to my enrollment in classes like racquetball and English 101, but nonetheless, my grades were stellar. Temperance was only practiced once during my Junior, Senior and Super Senior years in large part to reduced partying and being forced to actually put in work into courses like Accounting, Finance and other core Business classes.
However, after graduation and returning to the great party city I have called home for 25 years, Temperance naturally was resurrected. This time Anthony Garcia and I would undertake the Temperance journey at the beginning of 2009. Doing this in the great party city where temptation literally lurks at every street corner was tough, but our unshakable determination brought forth a Temperance Renaissance. For two months (January and February) we will abstain from alcohol. However we felt we must up the ante and this Temperance will include no meat (except fish and eggs). Part of Temperance is constantly challenging youself and we felt the time was right for this drastic Temperance addition.
We will keep you posted on our progress beginning January 2 and through the end of February. Kevin Newman is a late addition to Temperance 2010 and his presence is certainly welcome. You may know Kevin from his life improvement endeavours such as "The Drive to 205". There are also several other Temperance rookies who will be making their debut this year and we/they will keep you posted on their progress.
As I write this I am currently experiencing my second to last hangover until Temperance. I honestly will not miss the terrible feeling of my body processing all this poison out of my system. Temperance will be a great time of enlightenment and we will keep you posted in the coming weeks.
MMG
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