I've been on the wagon for almost a year now. It'll be officially over in May. What's funny is that i don't even have any desire to drink, so I'm not gonna pick it back up. Living without booze is like being in god mode. I realized that a lot of my drinking in the past was about doing it for other people and not for me. Things are just so much better when you put your wants and needs ahead of all else.

Stuff I've learned (on mobile, keeping it brief):

It's not really about the money that you save from not drinking, but more about the time that you gain.

Working on 1 online biz every Sat/Sun while everyone else is hungover can get you waaay ahead

You still have to force yourself to go out and approach and socialize and have fun

Most people will never be able to understand that we (wagoners) are biologically predisposed to ignoring moderation/taking habits to the extreme. It's not worth explaining this to them.

Failed. Here's the story: Travelled w. the OG (pops) to the homeland in the middle of the Jungle to visit the graves of my ancestors. He poured out a little liquor, took a swing, and commanded me to do the same-- I willingly and joyfully complied. I then went on a 2 month Bender drinking as much as I could bc YOLO. But Im ready to get back on -- that's why Im posting here.

I know there's nothing inside my vices.

My resolve is absolute.

-PJ

also Im changing my username-- TJ not quite "Man of God," but would a rose by any other name smell less sweet?

Lil G

(04-18-2016 12:46 AM)Fortis Wrote:  Hey guys,

I'm joining in. I've wanted to but didn't have a reason. Saturday, I had a pretty awful experience with fake alcohol in China that put me over the edge. it was two days ago and I still feel fucked up.

Consider this day 1.

Good luck with the wagon and keep at it. I have to ask though, Fake alcohol? Is that even a thing?

(04-18-2016 01:30 AM)stefpdt Wrote:  I've been on the wagon for almost a year now. It'll be officially over in May. What's funny is that i don't even have any desire to drink, so I'm not gonna pick it back up. Living without booze is like being in god mode. I realized that a lot of my drinking in the past was about doing it for other people and not for me. Things are just so much better when you put your wants and needs ahead of all else.

Stuff I've learned (on mobile, keeping it brief):

It's not really about the money that you save from not drinking, but more about the time that you gain.

Working on 1 online biz every Sat/Sun while everyone else is hungover can get you waaay ahead

You still have to force yourself to go out and approach and socialize and have fun

Most people will never be able to understand that we (wagoners) are biologically predisposed to ignoring moderation/taking habits to the extreme. It's not worth explaining this to them.

Great points. This directly reflects my experience.

(04-18-2016 12:46 AM)Fortis Wrote:  Hey guys,

I'm joining in. I've wanted to but didn't have a reason. Saturday, I had a pretty awful experience with fake alcohol in China that put me over the edge. it was two days ago and I still feel fucked up.

Consider this day 1.

Fortis,

Can you explain what you mean by "I wanted to but didn't have a reason"? Why would you want to be on a wagon? Have you been drinking hard for a long time?

This is not something that someone should do just on a whim. If you had a bad experience with adulterated or low quality alcohol then you should be more careful while in China but that in itself is not a good enough reason for a 1 year drinking wagon.

Is there a serious reason for you to do this?

(04-18-2016 01:30 AM)stefpdt Wrote:  I've been on the wagon for almost a year now. It'll be officially over in May. What's funny is that i don't even have any desire to drink, so I'm not gonna pick it back up. Living without booze is like being in god mode. I realized that a lot of my drinking in the past was about doing it for other people and not for me. Things are just so much better when you put your wants and needs ahead of all else.

Stuff I've learned (on mobile, keeping it brief):

It's not really about the money that you save from not drinking, but more about the time that you gain.

Working on 1 online biz every Sat/Sun while everyone else is hungover can get you waaay ahead

You still have to force yourself to go out and approach and socialize and have fun

Most people will never be able to understand that we (wagoners) are biologically predisposed to ignoring moderation/taking habits to the extreme. It's not worth explaining this to them.

stefpdt, thanks for the post. It's good to hear the wagon has given you a leg up.

When the time comes (in May) you should make a decision about whether you're going to extend your wagon for another year. It sounds like you're leaning that way, but you'll still need to make a formal decision (and post about it here if you like).

(04-18-2016 10:26 AM)PJ25 Wrote:  Failed. Here's the story: Travelled w. the OG (pops) to the homeland in the middle of the Jungle to visit the graves of my ancestors. He poured out a little liquor, took a swing, and commanded me to do the same-- I willingly and joyfully complied. I then went on a 2 month Bender drinking as much as I could bc YOLO. But Im ready to get back on -- that's why Im posting here.

I know there's nothing inside my vices.

My resolve is absolute.

-PJ

also Im changing my username-- TJ not quite "Man of God," but would a rose by any other name smell less sweet?

Lil G

PJ25 -- or is it Lil G,

Thanks for the post.

I feel like you're letting yourself off a little too easy here. You write as if once you took that ancestral graveyard drink the "2 month bender" followed as a matter of course, as if you had no choice in the matter. But of course that's not true. You could have, then and there, realized that you'd broken your wagon; that a wagon remains a good and necessary idea; and declared a new 1 year wagon starting from that moment. There was nothing to prevent you from making that decision, it was entirely up to you; just as it was your decision to first, give yourself an excuse to have that one drink -- since you could argue that tradition and your father commanded it -- and second, once you took it, to give yourself an excuse to go on a bender, since at that point the wagon was over anyway, so why not?

You should recognize these excuses for what they are, and reflect on them. And rather then declare that your resolve is "absolute" -- so soon after it was shown to be anything but -- you should really think about the commitment you're making and how it will require dismissing the many excuses to abandon it that will surely present themselves over time. Once you've done that -- and if you really want to make such a commitment, and take it seriously -- please come back here and post your new start date, and make no strong declarations about your resolve until that resolve has been tested a little and proved to be equal to those tests.

None of this is meant to make you feel bad or beat yourself down -- only to make you take stock and take your commitment with the seriousness it deserves. It is entirely within your power to declare a drinking wagon and see it through to the end but you might as well reflect ahead of time that it will not be easy and that there will be times when you'll need to just stick to it no matter what excuses, moods, or temptations present themselves. It's best to do that now, rather than later.

(04-18-2016 05:11 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  

(04-18-2016 12:46 AM)Fortis Wrote:  Hey guys,

I'm joining in. I've wanted to but didn't have a reason. Saturday, I had a pretty awful experience with fake alcohol in China that put me over the edge. it was two days ago and I still feel fucked up.

Consider this day 1.

Fortis,

Can you explain what you mean by "I wanted to but didn't have a reason"? Why would you want to be on a wagon? Have you been drinking hard for a long time?

This is not something that someone should do just on a whim. If you had a bad experience with adulterated or low quality alcohol then you should be more careful while in China but that in itself is not a good enough reason for a 1 year drinking wagon.

Is there a serious reason for you to do this?

Used to drink a fair bit, then stopped because I don't have time, so I could have joined the bandwagon, but didn't feel a need to be in this thread because my natural lifestyle just wasn't conducive to drinking at this point.

Long story short, friends convinced me to go out and drink this saturday, I have 3 beers and totally black out. This is definitely not common for me, especially when you know take into consideration Tsingdao and Tiger beer is like 2.5% alcohol or something ridiculously weak like that.

Holy shit.

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-b...oze-whisky

Here is an article about what goes on in China. It sounds unbelievable but it is totally real. We've had 3 expats die in 2 months due to alcohol-related problems. There is a real sociopathy problem in china. But I don't want to rant about that.

Just type "fake alcohol" into your browser and the second result to come up in google is "Fake alcohol in China." It is a huge problem.

A theory is that some of these bar owners are mixing the methanol that is normally tossed out in the brewing process back into the beer so that they can sell more beer.

I have spoken to expats who have been here for over 10 years and maybe of them refuse to drink anything that doesn't come from a bottle or from one of the reputable foreign breweries based in our city.

Sorry, I just woke up and perhaps I am a little incoherent, but this is the second time this has happened to me in China after drinking tiny amounts of draft beer. Regardless, fuck that shit I'm going sober.

It's too dangerous to drinking here, and the crazy part is that I was in the major night life area.

Well....it's after midnight here in Japan.

My last drop of alcohol was a shot of warm vodka that tasted like grease and turpentine. That was on April 19th, 2015.

So I officially have a one-year wagon under my belt.

This would be the place to say something profound, but to be completely honest, it's all pretty black and white to me. To put it in incredibly simple terms; drinking is bad for me. Not drinking is good for me. I know this objectively. Yet I'll be even more honest: I miss drinking. I loved getting wasted. It gave me something to do whenever I felt bored. It made people and events more interesting. It was an escape hatch from reality and I used it often.

I still haven't found a good way to utilize the free time I have now that I used to spend drinking. I still have bouts of boredom where I wish I could just buy a bottle of something strong and stop existing for a few hours. But I'd like to think I've matured at least a little bit. I see friends of mine continuing to drink in excess at least 4 nights a week. And they complain about the hangovers and I am happy that it's been so long I don't even remember what those feel like. But I know at my age, they were crippling. One night of drinking meant at least a full 18 hours in bed, unable to move. Not to mention the puking and shitting. I'd rather deal with boredom than the constant abuse I was putting my body through far past the age where it could bounce back.

I see no point in going to a bar or restaurant and having ONE shot or ONE beer. All that would do is make me angry and frustrated, like if a girl came up and cupped my balls and whispered in my ear and then giggled and walked away. No thanks.

I've firmly established time and time and time again that I simply can't drink in moderation. And I'm OK with that. I don't think that makes me a lesser human being.

I don't know if I experienced any of the life lessons a lot of other posters felt while on the wagon. I saved money sure, and obviously my blood pressure and liver functions are better. I probably gained more weight than I should have, cause as drinking became less of a problem for me, overeating became a bigger problem.

But at the end of the year, I can clearly see that it's just good common sense for me to NOT drink. My feelings, or philosophy, or observations aren't really that deep or important cause the underlying truth is the same as it was for me since day one: STOP DRINKING or this shit is gonna end up hurting or killing you.

So since that fact hasn't changed, I'm happy to announce that with one year under my belt, I'm signing on for another. I see no possible benefits to getting off this wagon at all!

Thanks again to Lizard of Oz for this thread, and for everyone's stories and posts of encouragement AND failures...I have read and appreciated them all and will continue to do so as I head into my second year.

4/18.

Its amazing how hard people try to get me to drink. Still saying no over for months into the challenge!

(04-19-2016 11:26 AM)PJ25 Wrote:  4/18.

Thanks PJ25, and welcome back aboard as of April 18, 2016. Hope to hear more from you here as time goes on.

etwsake,

Congrats for completing the 1 year wagon, and a well-deserved +1 rep point from me. I know it hasn't always been easy.

There is -- of course -- no need for you, or anyone else for that matter, to say anything seemingly "profound" on this date. All the same, there is indeed something profound -- with no scare quotes needed -- about the modesty and realism of your post. These qualities, unglamorous as they may be, are among the true lessons of the wagon; they are what so many hard drinkers disdain and only learn the hard way, if at all.

I think many people have an exaggerated idea about what really constitutes insight; they feel that it needs to be something that is more dressed up than it really is; they feel that it needs to be accompanied by the fanfare of rhetoric or by pageantry of some other sort. But the most important insights are often quite plain, almost embarrassingly plain; they sound much like the acknowledgment, for example, that for some hard drinkers drinking in excess is terrible, and drinking in moderation worse than pointless. The observation could be made at any time; but a year on the wagon -- and more so, YEARS -- lends it the special weight that comes with a truth being finally understood, rather than merely mouthed. What I see in your post are the signs -- still early, but now coming more clearly into view -- of such plain insight. They are worth much more than you know; but people don't always look for profundity in the right places.

As for the rest -- what one might want to call the subtle charms of the wagon -- I'll just repeat what I've said in this thread before. Remain patient, keep doing what you need to do, and let life come to you. It has a way of doing that, but it takes its sweet time. You just have to trust in it.

Welcome back aboard for year number 2 as of April 19, 2016 and I look forward to hearing more from you on this thread as time goes on.

On 1 April, was a year on the wagon for me. I am in for another.
Going strong...

(04-20-2016 02:08 AM)Filbert Wrote:  On 1 April, was a year on the wagon for me. I am in for another.
Going strong...

Filbert, congrats and +1 rep point from me.

And welcome back aboard for year 2 as of April 1, 2016.

(04-20-2016 08:12 AM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  

(04-20-2016 02:08 AM)Filbert Wrote:  On 1 April, was a year on the wagon for me. I am in for another.
Going strong...

Filbert, congrats and +1 rep point from me.

And welcome back aboard for year 2 as of April 1, 2016.

Thank you much for encouragement, Lizard of Oz!

I need this as in the past I could drink, for example, every day for a year, binging on weekends. Although it was mostly beer, and occasional wine, beer is much more addictive (due to hops, I guess) and dangerous than other sauce.

I've mostly got back now my mental ability and stamina!

Just finished watching a super interesting documentary called 'Sugar: The bitter truth.

http://youtu.be/dBnniua6-oM

I think it's been around a while but towards the end of it, there was a slide that showed a comparision with a beer and a can of Coke (skip to 1hr20 to get to that section). The amount of fat that ended up being stored was equal in both.

   

Pre-wagon life, I would think nothing of going to the bar and doing the equivalent of 6 or 7 cans of Coke a night.

It's no surprise that one of the main benefits of doing this is weight loss and improved liver function.

1 week down.

7 months today

45 days today. 320 to go. Honestly it's more gray than I imagined. But also more positive.

For me the first three months were very gray and dull and I felt I was on autopilot just going through the motions. I gave myself a strict routine to follow and just did it. After that things picked up. Now, three months into my fourth year, I feel I have superpowers.

Yesterday morning, after having gone out until about 11pm on Friday I got up, studied some spanish, went to a spanish language group at 10am to 12pm, then went rock climbing for three hours, then went roller blading for three hours, then did family stuff for a few hours then prepped for a meeting on Monday then went to bed.....runnin an gunnin all day.

On another note, I have really been thinking about the whole "full mormon" approach. I have found that during weeks where I have been consistently physically active, have been using my lightbox, getting to bed on time, and haven't had tons of external work or family stress, I haven't really wanted coffee the first thing in the morning. I have just been allowing myself an 8 oz cup and not always finishing it.

Now this week, I have been proposing on new work and trying to learn some things that will help with getting new projects and had some family stress so my sleep has been disturbed which then starts food indulgences and more coffee consumption.

So, after a meeting I have Monday afternoon I am going to go workout then chillout for a while and not stress, then go to bed and do the lightbox all week and see what happens to my energy level, mood, and desire for coffee.

G

(05-01-2016 03:49 AM)Roadrunner Wrote:  45 days today. 320 to go. Honestly it's more gray than I imagined. But also more positive.

2 weeks down.

People have been pretty supportive of me and my decision to not drink. So far, no one has tried to pressure me or anything. In fact, I've found out a number of people I know here rarely drink as well

7 months today.

5 to go.

The one year mark quietly slipped by earlier this week. I'm not sure of the exact date and would have to look back at my earlier posts but it was Kentucky Derby weekend last year so the 1st or 2nd.

It was not too hard overall. In fact the hardest part was the few weeks prior to the year mark when a little voice kept saying "just a couple more weeks and you can have a Guinness."

I have accomplished a ton in the last year and succeeded in areas that simply would not have been possible had I still been drinking heavily.

At this point I am not committing to another year because there is no backing out once I do. I am not starting drinking again either. I just need to sit down and contemplate my plans and goals and where alcohol is in the picture. I already know the answer though. I did the wagon for a reason and that reason has not changed. I know where my drinking will be in a month or a year should I start again. Moderation simply does not exist for me. Probably will skim through Carr and Vale again.

Huge thanks to LOZ for this thread and giving many people including myself the little extra push they needed to commit to the wagon.

(05-04-2016 11:26 AM)scubadude Wrote:  At this point I am not committing to another year because there is no backing out once I do. I am not starting drinking again either. I just need to sit down and contemplate my plans and goals and where alcohol is in the picture. I already know the answer though. I did the wagon for a reason and that reason has not changed. I know where my drinking will be in a month or a year should I start again. Moderation simply does not exist for me. Probably will skim through Carr and Vale again.

I appreciate the considered response or decision to ending your year. So often we take actions that are expected. This year of the wagon is about making a deliberate conscious decision to take action regardless of whether or not others want or expect us to make this decision and a serious commitment not to be entered into lightly.

Many of us have renewed our commitment in a way that might appear to be automatic and I will take a lesson from your decision to introspect on what you have learned in your year.