Monthly Archives: January 2016

What I Learned Not Drinking For Two Years

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I came across this fantastic post on Medium.com during the Christmas/New Year’s break; I don’t recall how I got there but it struck a chord in me so I saved the link in my drafts to share in the near future.

The article is written two years after author, Andy Boyle, quit drinking and summarizes some of his learnings and successed he’s achieved during that time.

Here’s a short list of what I’ve accomplished since I stopped drinking two years ago:

  • Lost 75 pounds
  • Bought a bad-ass loft condo
  • Finished a first draft of an advice book
  • Started exercising three days a week, then four
  • Went from a size XXL to size Large
  • Performed in three comedy festivals
  • Got a badass new job at Breaking News (download our apps!)
  • Finished multiple drafts of multiple television and movie scripts
  • Went from 42-inch waist to 36-inch
  • Went from hating myself daily to relatively enjoying myself

A lot of this is what I externally accomplished, what I can show on paper. But I think that last one is the most important.

I’ve learned a lot in two years, so I thought I’d share that with you, in case you’d like to take a break from the booze cruise. Also, that’s what I tell myself: I’ve taken a break. Maybe I’ll drink again. Maybe I won’t.

But overall, life seems to be a shitload better for me because I took a break. Perhaps it could be for you, too.

From this excerpt, Andy goes on to listing the top nine things that he’s learned in the past two years during his journey. I recommend clicking on through the link below to reading the full article; he writes about some of the absolutely positive lessons one can re-learn about life through sobriety.

What I learned not drinking for two years by Andy Boyle

The Florida Panthers & Scott Mellanby’s “Rat Trick”

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This is just one of those great hockey stories that the players, the organization and the fans got behind to make history;

As the team prepared for its home opener against the Calgary Flames on October 8, 1995, a rat entered the dressing room, startling several players. Scott Mellanby reacted by shooting the rat across the locker room with his stick, killing it. He then went out and scored two goals in a 4–3 victory over the Flames, leading the Panthers to their first win of the season. Vanbiesbrouck described the incident to reporters after the game, stating that while Mellanby failed to score a hat trick, he did manage a “rat trick”.

The Force Awakens… My Bladder

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I hit the theatre last night with my youngest son and we finally watched the most recent instalment of the Star Wars franchise. This will be much to the approval of family and friends who saw the movie weeks ago and have been dying to talk about it while I’m within earshot. There are many conversations to be had about the flick, I’m sure, as the one thing that all members of my family can come together on is our love of Star Wars. 

The best part of the movie, for me, was when the end credits began to roll; not because I disliked the movie but, rather, because I had roughly 750 mL of urine squeezed into my 500 mL bladder. And we aren’t talking about the last ten minutes of the movie either. I was on the brink of pissing my pants for nearly an hour. 

Once my urinary distress ended (my apologies to the folks I nearly steamrolled over in my mad dash to the men’s washroom) I was able to start mentally processing the movie itself. 

This sequel was pretty awesome. JJ Abrams cleansed my Star Wars palette with this movie; taking George Lucas’ last three movies out on a boat, tying them up in a burlap sack with a heavy stone and dropping them in the middle of a lake like a bunch of unwanted kittens. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate the three Lucas prequels but there wasn’t enough redeeming material in them to make me want to watch them any more than once. Combine Hayden Christensen’s portrayal of Anakin Skywalker with the existence of Jar Jar Binks… well, I rest my case. 

I will likely go back and see this movie again. Next time, however, I will reduce my fluid intake prior to going to the theatre so that I don’t have to do the seated pee-pee dance to keep my pants dry. 

Resolutions For Life

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Something that I’ve learned about the topic of resolutions/resolving to change yourself is a  thing that I already knew and understood but couldn’t truly appreciate until going through this past couple of months. With many people making all kinds of New Year’s resolutions, there is a reason why most of them fail.

By virtue of timing, waiting until one specific day for resolving to change, there is a lack of long-term commitment to the change. But the question is ‘why is there a lack of commitment?’

It’s a matter of really wanting the change… owning the change. During the course of our lives, when we recognize a behaviour we have that needs to change, it can be difficult to put priority on it. Odds are, it’s something that we like/enjoy doing but also has a negative aspect to it that detracts from that enjoyment. There is a feeling that we should change our behaviour to eliminate this negative aspect however we don’t really want to change. As a result, the resolution is a half-hearted effort.

This notion that we should change is often due to external pressure placed upon us. Ownership requires internal pressure to affect long-lasting change and is often what’s lacking in a New Year’s resolution.

Now, when you are talking about substance abuse and addiction… things get a little more complicated in the process of committing to change. Ok, they get a lot more complicated but without a personal commitment and ownership to sobriety, the rate of success drops to nearly zero.

I’m not an expert on addiction or sobriety but I do know that you have to really want it in order to stay sober.

25 Times Barney Was Our Favorite Simpsons Character

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Given Barney’s nature as an alcoholic, I’m not sure if posting this is in poor taste or if it’s just effectively me poking fun at myself. Rather than dwell on it too long, I’ll just post it and let the chips fall where they may. 

Barney Gumble; the working man’s anti-hero.

Enjoy.