#18 - Don't Drink for 4 Weeks

A few days in. Feeling sleepy on the train.

Welp, buying a nice couch and attending a wedding put me back in the world of living paycheck to paycheck, so I decided this would be the perfect month to take a break from drinking and save myself all of those dollars that usually go towards wine. Here's a quick tour of the month...

5 days in: I usually crave red wine with dinner, but somehow I'm making do just fine with iced herbal tea. I was also worried about trivia night, when wine is half priced, and splitting bottles with my friends is part of the fun, but I managed that just fine too. Now it's Saturday night, and I'm looking forward to a productive Sunday with no trace of a hangover.

12 days in: Well, I've replaced that red wine craving with a craving for dessert. I am not a sweets person. Or, at least, I didn't think I was. But maybe I got so much sugar from alcohol that I didn't need it in traditional desserts. But within the last week, I actually bought both ice cream and a piece of carrot cake at the store and ate them. Usually any sweets I bring home just sit untouched. It's very weird. But otherwise, I feel no different.

15 days in: I had a headache yesterday, and that was annoying because headaches are supposed to be reserved for hangovers. I also was certainly not dehydrated as I've subbed in iced herbal tea for alcohol and drink A LOT of it.

Two weeks in: Still not feeling like a superhero

16 days in: I had another headache today! Are these wine withdrawal symptoms? I am definitely eating plenty of ice cream to make up for the loss of unnecessary sugar.

17 days in: No ice cream yesterday! Lots of pizza but no ice cream!

22 days in: I'm dying for a glass of red wine. Please let this be over soon.

24 days in: Is it wine yet?

25 days in: Yesterday was the toughest day. My dearest Nicole was in town and I am very susceptible to peer pressure. I can't believe I resisted her charms and offers of beer.

27 days in: Just over 24 hours to go! So ready for some wine! Or bourbon! Also, very disappointed that the only physical difference I've noticed is the lack of hangovers... but then again, I'm old enough that I rarely get hangovers anymore (due to a increase in decision making abilities, not in increased physical abilities). So that's not really that great of a benefit. I went on a run today and felt... the same. Definitely haven't lost any weight. Possibly due to the increase in ice cream intake, but I really doubt I ate as many calories of ice cream as I usually drink in wine. Super weird that I don't seem to notice a difference. I guess I'll see next year if 5 weeks makes a difference. In other news: I feel completely validated in my drinking habits.

So I finished up this streak just a few days before camp. After my trivia gig that night, I went to The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet for a glass of delicious wine. It was super delicious. And I definitely got buzzed off one glass. I think stopped at Whole Foods for a bottle of wine because I was all like, I'm having TWO glasses of wine tonight! I then took the creepiest Lyft ride home of my life.

The dude said he was new at driving Lyft. Friendly enough. Definitely backed up down a downtown street rather than going around the block. But friendly. We picked up another passenger. Driver told me a guy he had picked up the previous night had gotten sick, puking out the door from the exact seat I was currently sitting in. TMI, bro. Then he dropped off the second passenger. Drove me home. Got all pumped singing while cruising up Lake Shore Drive. Said he wished we could get a six pack and hang out at the beach. Said he probably couldn't kiss me after, but he'd drive me home. That my husband probably wouldn't like that. I laughed nervously. Then, at my exit, told me he'd like to kidnap me. That he used to kidnap people but he didn't do that anymore. That he just wanted to hang out and I could leave when I wanted to. Everything nearby was closed except a bar. I didn't want to tell him to drop me off there because I was afraid he'd see that as an invite. Plus, he already had my address. He made some mention of what my dad would think if I brought him home. Then asked one more time if he could keep me. I said, no, jumped out, and went home.

So... that killed my one-glass-of-fantastic-wine buzz.

Men are trash.

Don't worry. I called it in to Lyft and CPD.... after a car matching the description of his was parked across from my building in the morning. I'm 99% positive it had a different plate, but I didn't want to get too close to check it out.

Luckily I left for vacation soon after, and he didn't seem like a guy with a long attention span. But yeah, I don't see myself going out alone after dark anymore. Because some asshat thought that comments about kidnapping someone already in his car was flirting.

After the 4 weeks, my drinking has decreased and I don't crave it every night. I hope I can continue to cut down on the alcohol... without subbing in the dessert!