I do, but I think I might quit.

I can't think of any good reasons not to, and there seem like plenty of good reasons to quit, not least for that sense of superiority that non-drinkers must get when they insist on sipping water whilst their friends get shit-faced.

I drink about a 6 pack a year... that is if there is a good hot summer involved.

I just visited a friend in Portland, Oregon who was recently on a binge & who took a few months off. She inspired me to slow down my own drinking - which isn't excessive by most standards, but still, the $$ and physical damage add up. I hate feeling the brain-fog that comes with old age, lack of sleep & mild hangovers, so I was inspired to cut back on the drinkin.

My first night back in Chicago I went to a friend's birthday party at Club Foot. I drank cranberry & soda, wasn't terribly self-righteous, and felt like my ability to have fun wasn't hampered in the least by my sobriety. I'm convinced that fun can be had without drinking, even (and maybe especially) when those around you are falling over.

I don't have much of an interest in quitting drinking entirely, but I wouldn't mind cutting down to some hangover-avoiding amount, like 2 drinks a night.

Mayfair wrote:I drink about a 6 pack a year... that is if there is a good hot summer involved.

Doesn't that go flat after a couple of months?



Ha.

Haha.

Sorry.

With Budweiser how can you tell?

spoot wrote:I don't have much of an interest in quitting drinking entirely, but I wouldn't mind cutting down to some hangover-avoiding amount, like 2 drinks a night.

Seconded.

(The problem is, then there will be a third and the next thing you know, we're all at the four a.m. bar.)

Sometimes I'm good at this, sometimes my intentions end up lying in the gutter, beaten, bloodied and abandoned and I end up googly-eyed at work all the next day.

Nobody needs to see me with googly-eyes.

There are tricks: have a full glass of water (or coke - without the Jack this time) in between alcoholic drinks to drag things out, etc.

But we're talking about moderation. What are the arguments for abstinence that beat out the arguments for moderation?

*edit: gutter not guitar! how the heck did that happen? how silly!

I've just recently quit smoking (for the third time) and thinking about cutting down on my drinking. Not that I drink all that much anyway, but I don't get the same thrill of getting 'smashed' like I used to. It's nice to just have a few drinks w/ friends, drink lots of water, and drive home. Maybe it's just me.

I quit drinking completely about 10 months ago. But that was because I get headaches/migraines and one day after a couple of pints of guiness I had the worst migraine I'd had in a long time and I thought "I'm just not gonna do this anymore".

Even on a good night I'd end up with a headache by the end.

I dont find it difficult at all to go out with people and not drink. As soon as you make the decision that you dont want to do it anymore it stops being so appealing. (though on a couple of painfully tedious nights out I've had a few just to stop me from storming out and being an arsehole)

I've been on the wagon for about twelve years now. I quit drinking because, frankly, I was a total fucking asshole when I was drunk, and I have no talent for moderating my drinking. With time, it was easier for me to not drink at all than to try to hold myself down to one or two beers, and all these years later I find I don't missing being a drunk. However, I sure wish someone could make a non-alcoholic beer that tasted like, say, Bass Ale (though Kaliber from Guiness isn't too bad - it has actual flavor, unlike most American fake beers).

I don't have a value judgement against alcohol, and the vast majority of my friends drink (and like to get butt wasted on occasion). But I just came to the conclusion it doesn't work for me, and I think there's no shame in coming to that realization. Besides, I sure as hell don't miss hangovers ... though I do drink a lot more Coca-Cola now, which isn't any better for me than booze from a health standpoint.

i moved to san francisco in 1999 and was a very heavy drinker. none of my friends there drank that much but they smoked tons of weed. within 6 months of being there i was smoking weed on a regular basis and found that i could drink in moderation and when i didn't drink, i didn't miss it.
5 years later, living in a new town, i can't smoke weed anymore (my body and mind doesn't handle it the right way anymore) and i'm back to being a heavy drinker. i am working on my moderation though. 8 drinks a night was the norm for me but now i'm down to around 3 to 4. quitting smoking cigarettes would probably help my moderation even more.