Stop Drinking Alcohol Week 51 – Happy New Year (Transcript)

Christmas Eve Fun and Dine

I’m Kevin O’Hara for Alcohol Mastery.

This is Stop Drinking Alcohol Week 51.

Just finished Christmas, had a great time. The first time in a long, long time I can remember everything. I still ate loads of stuff and I woke up with a couple of food hangovers but that’s about it.

We went for a walk on Christmas Eve, just one of those spur of the moment things. My son was over and decided to go out for a walk. We ended up in one of our favourite restaurants and I basically ordered a tostada which is Spanish bread with olive oil and a bit of tomato on it, and a Coke. I don’t generally drink Coke so, that’s my new Christmas drink.

We had great fun. Everyone else was getting into the Christmas spirit. I was offered a couple of drinks. I was offered a carajillo, which is brandy and coffee. It was grand! There were some people around me, we’re laughing and joking and it was just as much fun as if I’d been drinking. I would say more fun but it was great. It was a nice, traditional Christmas thing to do around here so that was lovely.

Pre-Christmas Drama

My son missed his flight when he came over, which was a disaster.

I had to ring my sister to use her credit card because my credit card wouldn’t work so I couldn’t book him another flight. I rang my sister and she couldn’t believe it, that he’d actually missed his flight.

First thing she says to me was that “Don’t be having a drink now.” I must admit that for a split-second, when he told me that he’d missed his flight, it did cross my mind….not to have a drink but that habit memory. This would’ve been my fall back in the past. That’s basically all that happened.

Post-Christmas FOOD Hangover!

Like I said, I had sort of a food hangover the day after Christmas Day. I went around to one of my sister’s for Christmas Day. There was just so much different types of food. But I’ve got a really sweet tooth so I was digging into the boxes of sweets with abandon. There was mince pies and trifle and all sorts of stuff. Basically I had like a sugar hangover and it was terrible. I think it’s my body trying to say to me, “Crap in, crap out.”

Change, One Layer at a Time

There’s still a lot of room for improvement in my life. I’m by no means where I would like to be. Once this outer level of drinking has gone, this is the thing that’s been stopping me from doing so much during my life…and once that outer level is gone, it’s just uncovering other levels underneath that need to be dealt with and that’s a great thing.

It’s a good thing that I can feel those different levels now that when I do eat crappy food my body is sort of punishing me. It goes, “Well, if you want to eat crap food, then you’re gonna feel crap.” I’m willing to accept that and, bring it on. Bring on the different levels. If I can get rid of the next one then maybe I can pile on down to the next one after that.

Last Year’s Christmas

This time last year, I was walking down the beach. I’m not sure whether it was this day, but some time before I gave up the cigarettes [I meant the booze!] I came out for a morning walk. It’s just before 8 o’clock in the morning here. I remember my stomach being in bits, the indigestion was really bad. I had obviously had a bad hangover.

It’s so different now this year. I just feel so – no hangovers at all. After from that, the dirty food hangover…that’s another thing. I feel great, facing into the New Year. I think New Year’s for me was always a chance for me to try and recuperate after a huge binge over Christmas. You know the binge would start well before Christmas Eve and would basically be an all-out drinking fest until New Year’s came. I wouldn’t be able to drink anymore, that’s basically it. So I give up at least for a week or two.

New Year’s in the Past: A Distant, Drunken Memory

In the past, New Year’s Eves for me were always about starting off maybe 4 o’clock in the afternoon, heading down to the pub, meeting up with a few buddies and ending at 4 o’clock, 5 o’clock in the morning.

We do the obvious; we ring on the New Year in…but if I was to be honest, I don’t think I can remember hardly of those…my memory of ringing the bells, of ringing the New Year in…it’s just like one big melded memory. It’s like all the drunken New Year’s Eves mixed into one.

The Past Year: A Reflection

I think this year is just gonna be really a quiet one…really nice and quiet. We’re not planning anything, but we didn’t do last year either so. It’s gonna be a sober one. Time for reflection, I think. It sounds a bit corny but, I think it’s been a really good year. It’s been one of my favourite years so far and I’m looking forward to next year and what that’s gonna bring. As far as resolutions are concerned, I’m just gonna plough on with what I’ve got.

Failed New Year Resolutions. Why?

I’ve got a plan for the year, and I know this year I’ve got the best likelihood of succeeding in any plans that I make. Last year, I think every New Year’s resolution that I’ve made has failed because of drinking. It failed because I’ve been drinking. I think that’s one of the reasons why a lot of peoples’ resolutions fail is because they have a few drinks and they go back on the booze or they start smoking again.

Until Next Time…

So that’s Stop Drinking Alcohol Week 51. Wish you all a happy new year. For those who are trying to give up, going on to give up in the New Year then I wish you all the best of luck and remember, onwards and upwards!

It’s all in your hands, so I wish you the best of luck and I’ll see you next week for the last Stop Drinking Alcohol of my personal quitting alcohol year, so…

Until then.

My name is Kevin O’Hara for Alcohol Mastery.

Onwards and upwards!

Thanks for visiting the site.
Until next time…
Onwards and Upwards!
Kev

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