Confessions of a Non-Alcoholic

“I don’t drink…”  “Do you have to go to work tomorrow?”   “No”  “But you’re not driving…” “Nope…”  “you just don’t drink?”  “Yup…”  “Never?” “Never…”

…And that is the beginning of a typical night out with new friends and even old ones.It always either ends in an awkward silence as their minds wander thinking thoughts like, “I bet he used to be a raging alcoholic,” or maybe “he killed a man drinking and driving and now alcohol brings up bad memories,” or “I wonder if he has some deadly affliction to alcohol” …Or sometimes they ask why and I give them one of the stories from above because really it’s what they want to hear and in their minds it’s the only possible explanation of why a 36 year old man doesn’t drink. To be perfectly honest I actually love the looks of shock on everyone’s face because I do know its pretty rare in this day and age.

I have family and friends that love to go out for drinks and drink responsibly and good for them. I also have family and friends that don’t drink responsibly and unfortunately that choice can have deadly and horrible effects on other people’s lives. I have friends and family that are recovering alcoholics and for them I know the struggle to not drink is an everyday battle and I am proud of them for forging ahead.Now I am not some holy rolling guy who thinks people are going to hell if they drink, or some health nut that refuses to put “poison” in my body… Keep in mind a large portion of my diet consist of Big Red with a side of BBQ or something fried. My reasoning has less to do with some traumatic event and more to do with a logical thought process.

Taste: To me it smells horrible and the fact that people make faces and shake their heads vigorously after they take a shot of just about anything doesn’t exactly sound like a good review of the taste. Think about the last time you ate some really good food… Did you just drop it down your throat swallow it… Shake your head… and make a face as if your face and throat were burning and then say man that was good. I don’t even like food that is cooked with alcohol. My wife makes roast and as most people do she will occasionally use a wine reduction. And she will usually kick me out of the kitchen since I complain about her putting too much or questioning if it really needs it in there.

Financial: How much money does the average person spend on alcohol?  It seems that it is typically averaged to about 1% of a person’s household income just for beer. When you include drinks at dinner or a club or bar I am sure it goes higher.It seems my single and younger friends seem to spend even more than that. I always giggle a little when we go out to eat and my wife’s glass of wine cost almost as much as my meal. In a funny piece of irony , my wife won a $25,000 scholarship when she was going to college that was funded by a Beer Festival in San Antonio.

Mind control: no not like telekinesis… although if drinking alcohol gave you superpowers beyond the ability to tell the same story every time you drink I might consider it… Just over all having your wits about you. The amount of times I have heard people say they can’t remember much about last night as almost a badge of honor is amazing. Yet they almost always claim they had a great time. I tend to like to remember the good times. Now I know, some people drink to forget or lift their spirits but really are you going to actually forget what is bringing you down or really feel good about things because of a drink? If you think about it it’s more likely the fact that you are with friends venting… Couldn’t you do the same thing without a drink? I do.

Health: When you have the flu your head is pounding, you’re throwing up, the room is spinning you feel horrible… this also describes the morning after a night of heavy drinking and “fun” that as I discussed earlier the person with their head in the toilet may or may not remember.  Just as I would never purposely give myself the flu I don’t see the logic in drinking to that point. I really try to keep my head out of the toilet as much as possible because drunk or not I think we all know the type of activities the toilet usually takes part in.Also think about how people talk about losing weight and then go and give themselves a beer gut… really just not attractive. Now BBQ gut… That’s sexy.. 😉

Time: Anyone ever gone to a festival to listen to a great band or hang out and then say this would be great with a beer. Only to find you have missed half the show standing in an insane line for an overpriced beer. Add up all that time and was it really worth it. You can take my money.. I can always make more, but dont mess with my time.. That’s one thing there are no refunds or exchanges on. My time is worth more to me than money or beer.

 Can Men and Women Be friends… With people that don’t drink? I think yes. The ones that can’t handle that honestly really aren’t people I want to associate with. It’s not about the drinking it’s about the friendships and hanging out.  While I would much rather go out to a restaurant or bar that serves great food along with drinks, I have gone to some dive bars with friends just to hangout. And as long as me drinking doesn’t bother them it doesn’t bother me of they drink.

Now in no way am I judging those that drink. My wife drinks and there is almost always a bottle of wine in the house. At the moment we also have a bottle of Tequila and champagne. My New Year’s toast is always made with sprite or ginger ale. And I always like to buy a round of drinks for friends because it’s a nice thing to do and they enjoy it. I am just saying that drinking alcohol isn’t for me and will never be a part of my life. So next time you see me in a bar, instead of buying me a drink feel free to either give me a Big Red or by me an appetizer (something in the fried food group is always good).

I Love (insert city here) !!!

We all should take a second to really think about this.

New Yorkers are in a hurry… For what who knows. Maybe a train to nowhere because all I ever see are New Yorkers running to their next destination, but when you talk to them they don’t go anywhere other than work. They hate they city. They hate tourist. They love to have the best worst story about how tough their life as a New Yorker is. It’s just plain masochistic. The looks l get from co-workers and friends when I talk about how I just stumbled onto a great place to eat or an amazing concert or how I completely missed getting rained on because my trains came timed perfectly are downright ugly. They are mix of surprise, disdain and overall “I wanna shank this guy for being so happy”. Every time I answer my phone at work and its someone from another property they ask the typical “How are you doing?” and I always give the same response. ” It’s a beautiful day in New York City”. At this point I am pretty sure they are just praying I have a bad day so they don’t have to hear me say it one more time.

Times Square for New Years…been there …done that

Visit the sites? Fuhgedabout it!!  Mention Times Square to a New Yorker and you will hear a rant about tourists and what a mess it is or about how they remember when you could get a 10 dollar hooker in Times Square and they say this as if it were the good old days… For those wondering I am not sure what that rate is in today’s market with inflation and the economy and all…They don’t mention the amazing cross section of people from all over the world, the amazing shows just a block away on Broadway. Very rarely do they discuss the marvels that this city offers. They seem to have a been there done that attitude,except when you ask them about places, they have neither been there nor done that. Now maybe this is because as I am sure most of you know New York is not the cheapest place to live. Broadway tickets can be insanely expensive. But there are so many free things to explore. There is Summerstage a free summer concert and entertainment series that happens in all 5 boroughs with amazing talent. There is SummerStreets where they close down streets from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way up to Central Park so only walkers and cyclist can roam the streets. I regularly go on “walkabouts” or “goosechases” as my wife likes to call them where I basically grab a backpack my phone, a camera, my ipad and go walking in search of the beauty of everything and nothing. I have run into celebrities (quite literally..sorry Bieber..the elbow just happened to extend), stumbled into parades, found places I always wanted to go but didn’t even know i was walking to, found the most amazing street art and messages on sidewalks that seemed to be put there just for me. I may not have been everywhere or done everything yet but it sure isn’t for lack of trying.

The Belly of the Beast ..I will admit that New York can be a physically and mentally taxing beast ready to devour you like you were a breakfast taco on a sunday morning. Everyone has those rough weeks but in New York you can have a rough week in the span of an hour and what seems like a rough year in the span of a day. It challenges, it pushes, it sometimes breaks people. The city can be intense. If you don’t watch out you can find yourself getting caught up in it and fighting your way to get into a completely full train instead of waiting 4 minutes for the next one. People fight for cabs, for a way to get out of the city on a long weekend. The rush is on to get everywhere and nowhere. This is,i think part of that whole saying ” if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere.”

The thing is that I am not sure how many of the New Yorkers could make it anywhere. If you can’t wait 5 minutes for a train without thinking its the end of the world how could you possibly survive waiting 30 minutes for a bus in the Texas heat. If you can’t deal with an afternoon thunderstorm without thinking that Noah will be on his way in a few minutes to pick up some animals then how are you going to deal with a Florida hurricane. If you can’t handle an earthquake that was actually in DC how are you going to handle when you’re in California and suddenly you discover your now an island and Nevada has some great ocean front property.

How can you not want to explore a city that has scenes like this.

Now I do know some amazing New Yorkers who drink every drop of life the city has to offer. Karen Seiger whom I have had the pleasure of meeting in my adventures writes a blog about the amazing Markets of New York and unknowingly plots out my next adventures most weekends. I highly recommend her book and blog to anyone in the city and tourists looking for a more “local” experience. I have another friend Bobbie originally from San Antonio Texas ,who takes strolls through the park and  goes to Broadway shows and tries to catch any celebrity she can and she usually ends up with a picture or two of her and the celebrity hamming it up together.( As i was putting this blog together she posted a picture of her with her favorite Olympian that she took on the streets of Manhattan!! ) And there is Noellia who is always going all over town seeing shows and performing in them as an amazing actress with an amazing voice. She came to make her dreams come true and is making it happen. To me they are all role models for my New York life. Karen for always exploring and promoting new experiences and local goods and farm fresh products, Bobbie for her sheer enthusiasm of all the city has to offer but still clinging to her Texas roots and Noellia for showing that with determination and talent you can make your dreams reality in this city.

This is what New York is all about…

If your reading this and you’re not living in New York ( sorry for that..really just move here already it’s amazing) don’t think “those silly New Yorkers not exploring that amazing city.” Start looking at where you live and ask yourself if you are taking in all the beauty and amazing things in your hometown. When I lived in San Antonio I made sure I hit every single great spot for food and fun I could. In Austin I can’t think of a festival that I ever missed while I was there. Take life in. Breathe it in deep and enjoy every second of it. I love New York and I challenge you to love where ever it is that you’re at. And if you can’t think of something to love about where you live then let me know and I am pretty sure I can find something for you…unless you live in Arkansas or Oklahoma.

2nd grade- The worst grade of all

I hate 2nd grade…No really I hate it. For me 2nd grade was the end of the childhood innocence of loving school and the beginning of battling horrible enemies  like fractions and other mathematical villains. Kinder you have nap time and coloring, 1st grade you get some of the fun kinder stuff and get to go over some fun reading and writing stuff but 2nd grade they crush you with math and test and pressure. 2nd grade is pretty much when your whole future ..college , trade school, fast food drive thru worker , homeless guy on the train gets decided I believe.

I spent my 2nd grade living in Houston ,Texas. Which I like to not so lovingly call the armpit of Texas. The place seriously is in need of deodorant or a dome covering it with air conditioning because the place is where I believe humidity was first created or at least perfected. Little known fact about Houston… If you’ve seen Robocop which I believe is part of the criteria to be called an American then you recall how horrible Detroit looked in that movie. Well Detroit was apparently not ugly enough for the film makers so they shot the Detroit city scenes in Houston. The school I went to was pink. Yes I said pink like the same color as that pink sludge that they feed kids at schools these days . In addition to that the school had a fence topped with barbed wire. How’s that for a great school environment.

Atari’s, Computers and Ram Oh My… One thing I did discover during 2nd grade was the wonder of computers.  My cousin Paul (great name right!! ) who was 6 years older than me had a Commodore 64 . It actually ran on floppy disk that were floppy, and a tape deck that had data on the tape and you pressed play and it would run the program. The wonders of technology and 64k of ram!! Paul also had an Atari and was the smartest person in the world to this 2nd grader. I would sit there and watch him play games and type stuff on his computer and print it out on his dot matrix printer. It was the craziest thing ever to me. I had no idea how any of it worked but I wanted it all and  I wanted to be that smart and have all that cool technology stuff. Looking around my apartment I  have the cool stuff but the smarts seem to have escaped me.

A 2nd chance ..My goddaughter starts 2nd grade in a few weeks and unlike me I think she is going to love it. If for no other reason than the fact that there is a good chance that her kinder teacher ( who my wife and I are good friends with) will also be her 2nd grade teacher.  When my goddaughter hears or sees her kinder teacher she gets absolutely giddy and I know she is going to once again be the teachers pet. There is something comforting about knowing the person who is helping to mold our goddaughter at school while we are up here in New York. Everyone has those stories about not liking your kids teachers or thinking they aren’t invested the kids but we don’t have that concern.  So dear friend if you are reading this….let’s just make sure my goddaughter doesn’t hate 2nd grade. 🙂

PostScript.

My cousin Paul mentioned in this post passed away of a heart attack at the young age of 42 just over a month ago. He was in great shape and had two amazing daughters and an amazing wife. My wife and I will be walking with them in a walk in memory of him. If you can please donate. If you cant at least please educate yourself on heart disease so that you can possibly help save a loved ones life

http://heartwalk.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1002891&lis=1&kntae1002891=48DF5C92FDF444678FD0B1E2D7842478&supId=364466108