The Dry Life

I gave up alcohol this year for Lent. Last year, I gave up meat, and really, it wasn't all that hard. In fact, after Lent last year, I never really went back to eating a lot of meat. I do eat meat from time to time, but I'm still partial to fish and seafood. So this year, I didn't think giving up meat again would any sort of sacrifice. Alcohol, on the other hand, that's a sacrifice.

So far, it hasn't been too bad, although there are times when I want red wine so much I have to smell some just to get a fix. Other than that, there have been some surprising benefits and drawbacks to going booze-free.

Pros:

• Saving money: Since Ash Wednesday, when Chris and I go out to dinner, we actually spend more money on food than booze. Pre-Lent, I can't remember the last time our bill wasn't at least 50% alcohol.
  
• Motor mouth: When I drink, I talk. A lot. And I often say things I shouldn't. Nowadays, I am much more trustworthy with your deepest secrets.
  
• St. Patrick's Day: This might seem like a con, because St. Patrick's Day always falls during Lent, making it difficult to enjoy one of the hundreds of days throughout the year Chicagoans find an excuse to get blitzed and stumble through the streets. (Other excuses Chi-towners have been known to use include New Year's Eve, Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Easter, Fat Tuesday, the entire week of the Taste, any day there's a parade somewhere in the city, and every time the Cubs win.) This year, Chris and I returned to the Abbey Pub, where we spent St. Pat's last year. While there, we witnessed a very drunk couple in an argument that involved lots of teetering, pointing, confusion, and incoherent ramblings. I smiled and remembered that last year, we were that couple.
  
• Better sleep: Drunk sleep is the worst. And waking on up Saturdays and Sundays having slept well the previous night leads to...
• More productive weekends: I actually wake up refreshed on the weekends, ready to accomplish all kinds of to-dos. I've even had time to make all kind of yummy breakfasts, like whole-wheat blueberry pancakes. Despite this new-found productivity, I still manage to fit in a disgusting amount of TV on the weekends, but at least I'm not watching TV simply because I'm too hungover to get off the couch.
  

Cons:

• Non-Motor Mouth: When hanging out in social situations like bars, parties, etc., I feel like most uninteresting person in the room. Although being sober means I'm not saying things I shouldn't, it also means I'm not saying much at all.
• Food compensation: I thought I'd lose weight when I gave up drinking. Instead, I've been compensating with snacks. My skinny jeans still don't fit.
  
• I now find drunk people extremely annoying and/or boring: Ever get into a conversation with a long-winded drunk who keeps repeating himself and talking about things that don't really follow what he just said two seconds before? Ever tried to get through that conversation sober? I don't recommend it.
  
• The realization that I used to be, and probably will be again, that guy/girl.