Day 1

It seems I've come to a crossroads of sorts. If by crossroads you mean waking up hungover, tired and unproductive everyday. I guess that's just one road. Which brings me to where I am now. I've been here before, but with any luck, it will be the last time.

Going off the bottle! No more booze! No more hangovers! Newer more productive me! Somebody bring me some ham!

When I've done this before, I have been successful, but it was really hard. And with no one to be accountable to besides myself, I would often throw the towel in and return to my baser instincts and indulge. After all, I deserve don't I? My days are filled with Hulu+ watching, the gym and taking care of my cat! I deserve a little relaxation!

Oy.

So this time I decided to start this secret blog documenting all the awesome things I do with my sobriety! So far it's been Hulu+ watching, the gym and taking care of my cat. Did I mention I'm unemployed?

Since nothing monumental has happened yet, I think it would be helpful to state, in order of importance, the reasons I'm giving up alcohol.

1. VANITY
Drinking dehydrates you and ages you. It makes your skin look bad, and your eyes bloodshot. Not to mention, drinking on a regular basis lowers your metabolism and causes weight gain. The last time I went off booze I dropped 7 pounds! When you stop drinking, the first results you see are physical. So it's a great motivator.

I also list this as number one, because I'm honest with myself. If I could drink like a fish and it would magically never show up on my body or face, I would. But alas, I'm not one who was blessed with the metabolism of a 15 year old, not even when I was 15. So I have to stick to the straight and narrow in order to be my best physical self.

2. CAREER
Ties in with number one, but it's a little different. I'm one of those actor/dancer/singer guys who relies on their appearance as part of their livelihood. I'm in a business where first impressions are vital, and you can get labeled as "fat" "tired" or "untalented" very easily, and sometimes based on one interaction.

Most everyone in this business wants the same job. You go into an audition with 50+ guys who are all after one single spot in a show. You HAVE to be at the top of your game at all times, and ready to show it at a moment's notice. If you aren't there's probably someone who is younger, better looking, more talented and hungrier waiting around the corner. And in this economy, you can't afford to risk that.

Drinking makes me lazy. It's hard to drag yourself to class when you're hungover. Not to mention liquor can ravage your voice. Have you ever woken up hungover and your voice is 3 octaves lower? What if you had to sing at an audition with that voice?

Some people can drink a lot, and still be amazing onstage and in the audition room. I'm not that person. I need to be more focused.

3. HEALTH
This summer I was working at a cabaret theatre in Provincetown, Massachusetts. There was a bar in that theatre. I didn't have to pay for drinks. I would usually have one before the late show, sometimes one during, and at least two after. Basically 20-30 drinks per week... for the whole summer. I basically drank enough for me and my whole family for about a year.

Drinking is terrible for your general health. It makes you more susceptible to illness, and it ravages your internal organs, especially the liver. After this summer, mine is probably black as sin. I'm currently taking a supplement to combat this, but who knows how much damage is already done? Until I know for sure, I'm assuming the worst and hoping for the best.

4. MONEY
When I drink, I enjoy top shelf. Johnnie Walker Black, Ketel One, etc. Top shelf drinks in both PTown and New York City, can sometimes cost upwards of $10 a pop. Times that by 4 or 5, and that's an expensive night for someone in my situation (see "unemployed" above.)

I list this as last because, I also can have a night with a cheap bottle of Yellow Tail wine and be perfectly happy. Not to mention I know bartenders around the city who usually give me a few free drinks when I go out, and I can usually score one from an interested third party. I can keep my drinking budget inside my actual budget no matter what. So the other reasons listed above hold more weight in my decision to stop drinking.

So, there they are. The top 4 reasons why alcohol wont be in my life for awhile, and hopefully, never on the same level it's been in the past. I'm not naive enough to tell myself that I'm never gonna drink again. At the end of the day, I believe in social drinking, or having a glass of wine at the end of the day. I DO NOT believe in drinking until I'm drunk every night, or finishing a bottle of wine in one sitting. And until I can have enough distance from the sauce to be able to recognize and control the difference between those two, I just need to just lay off it completely.

So day 1 is done. See you after day 2.