Time For A Change

     Back on January 1st, I made a plan for the year, not a New Year resolution, but a plan. Most of what I wanted to accomplish I have, but I knew I would always fall a bit short, because I set some pretty high goals for myself. Today, marked the day for one of the biggest changes, and was planned from that very 1st day of the year. The beard is no more. I have never been one to hold on to a certain look for myself. I have always found some way to change up my appearance, and shaving the beard falls along those lines. My senior year of high school, I changed my hair style every week for the first semester. It was easy to do back then. I started with 2 and a half feet of hair. I was able to cut different levels of hair off and create new styles as I went. It also taught me how to cut my own hair. I saved a lot of money on hair cuts back then. I guess I still save a lot now, but for a totally different reason.

     Change is a good thing. Even though I have stated many times that I don't like change, I'm only lying to myself. I thrive in change. I always have. Change brings new and exciting things out of people. Change makes you look at the world in a different way. Change helps us evolve and become better people. If you think that things were better in the past, you need to really take a look around and truly see the world for how great it has become. Sure there are problems, but we are better equipped to deal with those problems, and we will get better with every new experience.

     There is one other change that I have been thinking about. This one isn't part of my plan for the year. It is something that I have been thinking about off and on though, for the better part of this year. This new change would be me, not drinking anymore. It isn't for any reason other than, better over all health. I don't need to stop drinking. I don't believe I have a problem with drinking, although I will joke from time to time that I'm an alcoholic, and maybe I am by definition, because I have more than 6 drinks a week. They just happen to be all at once. I guess you can say, that I am the classic binge drinking alcoholic. I do believe that I can quit whenever I want to, and just have seen no reason to until this point. I know what you are saying,"that is then classic thing that every alcoholic says.". This is true, but they never say this next part. I've been giving it thought lately, about what kind of drunk that I am. Today, it came up in my thought process, because when I was listening to the Howard Stern Show today, Howard mentioned that someone once said, that you are your true self when you are drunk. If that is the case, I don't think I am any different drunk, than I am when I'm sober. Yes, I may do a few more adventurous things, but I believe that if I were put in those same situations but sober, I would do exactly the same things. It's all about context. Since I don't think I am any different, than why am I even drinking? It's entirely social for me. I drink to be around other people, and here is the kicker, I don't need to drink to do that. The question I need to ask myself is, do you benefit in any way from drinking alcohol? The answer would be, no. I don't see any benefits from it.

     I should get a chance to test this this weekend. I'm going out with a bunch of guys for a "Guys Night Out". That would usually entail, drinking and more than likely, ending up at a strip club. I'm not going to drink. I'm going to offer up myself as the designated driver, and go from there. I know that some of my friends will try to get me to drink something, but I'm not going to do it. It should be a fun little experiment, not only from a will power aspect, but from a social aspect as well. How will the treat me, when they realize that I'm not going to get drunk with them? I'll let you all know the conclusion to its all.

     "What about your bartender?" Ahh, a very good question, and one that I have an answer to. Sticking with the plan for the year theme, I have a plan. The night that I ask her out, and it could be this Saturday, I'm going to have her serve me my last drink. That way, win, lose, or draw, I have an excuse not to go back in there again. She says yes, I can go in for dinner from time to time, I'll just get tea or a soda with my meal. She says no, I don't have to go back in again, and save us both that awkwardness of seeing each other after I made it weird. Pretty good plan right? I'll let you know about the conclusion of that as well.

    This brings us to Favorite Song of the Week. It's from an artist I have picked as FSOTW before. It's a new version of a new song, and it's pretty darn good. The video features her very odd sense of humor, which is another reason why I like her so much, beyond just her singing and songwriting talent. The artist is none other than Danielle Ate the Sandwich, and the song is "Just Human". I really hope that you enjoy it. It's one of those songs, that brings a smile to your face.



     Peace in and goodnight.