Post: #176

Yeah - I know. I just wanted to use the phrase 'fell into a wikipedia hole'. :-)

I learned it from Will Ferrell!





Whoops - just realised I did it wrong. Should be 'went down a wikipedia wormhole'!

Post: #177

Im in for January 3rd. I love to drink but alcohol destroys my sleep schedule - I have no idea why, but after a night of drinking I either toss and turn until daylight, and the next day is gone, or, I get completely hammered and pass out immediately, but the next day is still gone because I sleep in and deal with a hangover. I just started a new job and I want to stop throwing away the days following drinking, and, most importantly, I need to get my sleep sorted.

I will not be 100% foregoing alcohol though - I will allow myself to have some wine in the company of relatives or perhaps on a rare occasion if im having some nice dinner with a chick. This would mean I will drink a glass or two of fine a few times a month - I get no negative consequences in life from this. I am, though, taking a pledge to cut out all beer and hard liquour, and I will also be 100% sober if I am out macking, since its this going out and drinking that wreaks havoc on me and really drags down my quality of life.

Post: #178

Hey guys,
I am in and will commit to not drinking for 1 full year.
I am a binge drinker and have been for too long. In the past I have gone 1, 2, 3 weeks with no alcohol, but always have ended up back where I have tried to get away from, i.e. drinking too much and maybe a borderline alcoholic.

I stopped drinking on 12/1 with the goal to go to my birthday in the summer, putting it just over 6 months of wagon riding. I saw this post a few days ago and dismissed it immediately as being way to long. However, it has been gnawing at me and I have decided to go for the whole year as it feels to be the right thing at this time for me to commit to and do. I am looking forward to this journey and to the changes that come from it.

Post: #179

Ironsun, welcome aboard and I think that is a great decision.

6 months is just not enough -- it takes that long for some of the deeper changes to just start kicking in, and you need to allow them to ripen and take hold. A full year is the right amount of time for a lot of reasons. You'll see...

Look forward to more updates from you as time goes on.

Post: #180

se7en, I can't officially welcome you on board -- if you're planning on having any drinks you're not really on the wagon; maybe hanging from the straps like a Cairo commuter or an 1890's hobo?

In all seriousness, if you read my posts on this thread, you'll know that I believe there are profound benefits to a prolonged period of complete and rigorous abstinence for guys who have gone to the well too often and too deeply -- not because of any fetishism or pedantry, but because the certain knowledge of no drinks allowed for a long time going forward, and the rigorous enforcement of this discipline, is what really allows your mind and spirit to turn away from alcohol as the primary source of interest and relaxation -- and, in time, to turn to other things.

I think you would find that the benefits from that easily outweigh those of having an occasional glass of wine on a date, which is a very neither here nor there experience for a serious drinker. Moderation is fine, but I think that for serious drinkers it works much better after the real work of the wagon is done. You'll make your own decisions, obviously, but if you're going to do some of that work anyway, why deny yourself the challenge and the rewards of going all the way?

Post: #181

I'm looking forward to this. I'm starting when the clock strikes midnight on New Years. I got hammered last night, sloppily chatted up some ugly slags at the horrible nightclub I was at, almost fought some dude, ate an entire pizza at 4am, and then woke up with a terrible headache this morning. I've realized that sober day game is more effective for me than drunken night game. My energy level is better suited for day game, my results have been better from day game, and I can do it without hampering my productivity in the way nightlife tends to do. At this point I really loathe the nightclub environment unless the ratio is massively skewed to female, and a drunken one night stand with a slutty 6 is not a priority anymore. I've never really set parameters for myself like this before, but moving forward I am going to focus primarily on day gaming high quality girls while on the wagon. I get up early for work, I lift, I surf, and boozing has been interfering with all of those things. I also use drinking as a social crutch which is a weakness I would like to eliminate. So the plan for 2014 is to be sober, productive and day gaming girls that are high quality enough that I can tolerate their presence without needing to drink, happily bang them while sober, and be asleep by 10pm so I can wake up energized for a day of making money and/or getting barreled.

Post: #182

Count me in but I will not commit to a year. I don't see why I feel that starting drinking in one year will change anything from now.

So I don't drink anymore. Not now, not in a year, not ever.

Being in my late 30's I have a couple decades of hard drinking behind me so let's see what the rest of my life without it will be like.

Effective 12/21

Post: #183

Welcome aboard, scubadude. A lifelong wagon certainly counts in my book, and the winter solstice is a solemn starting date.

Will be interested in your observations as time goes on.

Post: #184

(12-24-2013 03:39 PM)scubadude Wrote:  Count me in but I will not commit to a year. I don't see why I feel that starting drinking in one year will change anything from now.

So I don't drink anymore. Not now, not in a year, not ever.

Being in my late 30's I have a couple decades of hard drinking behind me so let's see what the rest of my life without it will be like.

Effective 12/21

mad props

i suggest though that you consider the importance of actually structuring a new lifestyle to support this decision.

abstaining while doing the same things is damn near impossible to maintain

Post: #185

(12-24-2013 12:26 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  se7en, I can't officially welcome you on board -- if you're planning on having any drinks you're not really on the wagon; maybe hanging from the straps like a Cairo commuter or an 1890's hobo?

In all seriousness, if you read my posts on this thread, you'll know that I believe there are profound benefits to a prolonged period of complete and rigorous abstinence for guys who have gone to the well too often and too deeply -- not because of any fetishism or pedantry, but because the certain knowledge of no drinks allowed for a long time going forward, and the rigorous enforcement of this discipline, is what really allows your mind and spirit to turn away from alcohol as the primary source of interest and relaxation -- and, in time, to turn to other things.

I think you would find that the benefits from that easily outweigh those of having an occasional glass of wine on a date, which is a very neither here nor there experience for a serious drinker. Moderation is fine, but I think that for serious drinkers it works much better after the real work of the wagon is done. You'll make your own decisions, obviously, but if you're going to do some of that work anyway, why deny yourself the challenge and the rewards of going all the way?

Fuck it. I will do it. I commit to one year the Friday after new years. I need to hustle and make money. The opportunity for me to make money is there, I've worked hard to network and set everything up, made the leads, and have the contacts, but I have just been lazy in execution. I've been getting sidetracked a lot -- drinking has had a lot to do with that. A lot of days I do not get 1/2 the shit that I want to get done because I simply do not wake up early enough unless I have to. This is a problem with discipline of course, but its also a result of getting fucked up on the weekends and spending the following day sleeping. I'm in my mid twenties now, and I really need to pull the trigger to be where I want to be in a few years -- I know that foregoing alcohol will be a general reminder that I am sacrificing something which I enjoy in order to get my shit together, so it will motivate me not to spend my time frivolously as I have been doing and move forward. I may as well take this one year to focus on making shit happen and not drinking. I want to see what will come out on the other side.

Welcome me into this post!

Post: #186

se7en, welcome aboard!

Great decision for which you'll be thanking yourself later.

You're in for a very interesting year -- I hope you post some updates here as time goes on.

Post: #187

went to my first AA meeting in about 18 months last friday.

the thing i got most from it was gratitude. gratitude that i'm not a recently wet drunk trying to get sober and gratitude that my life is pretty fucking awesome

when you carry that attitude around with you, little problems are easy to deal with. ie keep you not only happier but farther from a drink if thats one of your triggers

Post: #188

(12-25-2013 01:07 PM)reaper23 Wrote:  went to my first AA meeting in about 18 months last friday.

Have you gotten any AA bangs?

Post: #189

(12-25-2013 01:32 PM)Aliblahba Wrote:  

(12-25-2013 01:07 PM)reaper23 Wrote:  went to my first AA meeting in about 18 months last friday.

Have you gotten any AA bangs?

Never. Have been openly hit on after meetings and have definitely had chicks try to get with me, but yo, women are crazy enough. these chicks are coming from a life that is smoldering if not still a raging fire of destruction.

and if they are a few years sober, i dont want my life to be that much about being sober. i like dating normal chicks who just dont drink that much. you know, like normal people.

Post: #190

I'm in.

I hurt myself bad this past year after getting too drunk. Had to struggle through school, interpersonal relationships, and self-esteem issues for a while.

I continued to drink throughout the school year because i felt socially obligated. Definitely toned it down, but ever since my incident, i have never felt the same about drinking. I also didn't take a very extended break from drinking after my injury, which is kind of absurd.

Good luck to everyone else who's doing this. Hopefully we can all gain from this.

Post: #191

(12-25-2013 01:40 PM)reaper23 Wrote:  these chicks are coming from a life that is smoldering if not still a raging fire of destruction.

I like to fan the flames. Besides, most women become raging alcoholics or kill themselves when they wake up and realize we had sex.

Post: #192

well enjoy that!

Post: #193

I'm starting to realize that dancing is a great way to loosen up when you're out sober. Gives you something to do and stops you from standing around without a drink, feeling awkward. Nobody ever asks you where your drink is when you're on a dance floor.

And also gives you a way to meet and seduce women if you find approaching sober in a nightclub environment difficult. The energy and "pump" you get form dancing can often leave you feeling just as high-energy and fired up as you would have felt getting lit on booze.

It's a bit uncomfortable at first if you don't do it often, but the more often you do the more natural it feels. I stopped dancing at bars years ago, but I could see it becoming a bigger part of my game again now that I'm not drinking.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #194

BasketBounce, glad to hear you're in. Welcome aboard and please post your starting date once you decide on one.

Post: #195

Yesterday is the last day I drink, intended to drink just one pint turned into 4, talking to people in bar can be fun but alas fuck it, also not good for my diet.

Post: #196

Felix88 -- sounds like those 2 bottles of mead lasted a little longer than one might have expected...

Welcome aboard as of 12/26.

Post: #197

Friday 20th December. The day the drinking world went into mourning.

Post: #198

(12-25-2013 01:52 PM)BasketBounce Wrote:  I'm in.

I hurt myself bad this past year after getting too drunk. Had to struggle through school, interpersonal relationships, and self-esteem issues for a while.

I continued to drink throughout the school year because i felt socially obligated. Definitely toned it down, but ever since my incident, i have never felt the same about drinking. I also didn't take a very extended break from drinking after my injury, which is kind of absurd.

Good luck to everyone else who's doing this. Hopefully we can all gain from this.

I can relate to this so much.. I made 2 very serious fuck ups in the past year while drunk. Could have ended up dead or in jail from either. Took a short break and then went right back to my old ways...

Hopping on the wagon as of 12/27/13. I've gotten off very lucky and 2014 can be an extremely successful year if I apply myself. Not drinking will improve all aspects of my life..

Post: #199

Had a cracking bottle of champagne (grand cru) for Xmas that a client gave me. Will have to drink something truly foul on the 31st to counteract the pleasant memories in my taste buds.

Post: #200

Okay, I'm on the wagon now, can we have some pictures of the wagon?