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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I used to, and I used to really enjoy it. I'm in my mid-40s, and it's still nice to sometimes go out to a nice restaurant or bar and drink nice wine or some well-made cocktail, or unusual beer. Or go to a party with friends, and all have a few drinks and enjoy how silly and cheerful and friendly we get.

But once I hit 40, my ability to manage hangovers fell off a cliff--the multi-day pain and exhaustion is less and less worth it. And, as I get older, various health issues are compelling me to try and live in a more thoughtful and healthy way—most beers just dont' seem worth the calories, and a couple drinks too many can throw off my workout schedule... and the thing that's most irritating is that I LIKE working out—I've actually started to like working out more than I like drinking.

Then there's all the health stuff—it's just not good for you, and there's increasing evidence that links it to cancer. If Trump hadn't been elected (or maybe if he had been surrounded by slightly less insane people) the Surgeon General was going to put warnings on booze the way we have warnings on cigarettes. I'm not going to argue with people abotu whether the risk of cancer is worth it, whether they believe it, whether they care, etc., the fact is, it's pretty convincingly linked to cancer, and while there are tons of things that are linked to cancer, I just can't get my head around the idea of intentionally consuming A LOT of something that is so clearly linked to cancer.

Finally, and probably the biggest factor in me laying off the booze and probably completely stopping in the near future, is that I'm just seeing too much sad stuff related to booze.

I dunno if it's because I'm getting older and you just see more shit as you age, or if it was COVID or what... But...

A guy I knew from high school who I was on good terms with is about to drink himself to death. Last time our mutual friend saw him, he was in a hospital bed, yellow skin, strapped down becasue of the shakes. He had gotten into bar management, and kept living the party lifestyle into his 30s and 40s and it became an addiction and his internal organs are completely shot. It's not realistic that's going to happen to a lot of people, but thinking abotu him sure puts a damper on drinking—especially with my oldest friend group, who were all friends with him as well.

There are also two separate families we're close with, our kids are close with theirs and we used to socialize wiht them a lot, who are just completely falling apart because of one or both parents booze problems. The first family, at the beginning of the pandemic, were a good time and we loved hanging out, barbecuing, drinking beer, palying music... We'd show up at 2pm and by 10 or 11pm, everyone would be good and drunk, and we'd head out at the first sign of people starting to not have fun—it was a big fun thing, oru kids played, the adults had a great time... but by the end of covid, it was different—we'd show up at 2, and both parents would have been drinking for awhile already... theyd' forget to buy stuff for hte grill, no more barbecuing, they were yelling at their kids, no more swarms of happy children... they'd be yelling at each other, and by 5pm, they'd have had a blowout fight (in front of us) and the one who hadn't staggered away would be angrily and incoherently drunk-lecturing us on their take on the US constitution or their spouse's major flaws... It was really grim and no fun.

Another family, post COVID was super fun... but hte nights got later, and it was impossible to keep up with them. Dad had a number of accidents while drunk, they fought and are now getting divorced... now it's just tense and unhappy.

Finally, my BIL, is a highly successful finance guy—and a full-blown alcoholic. He used ot be the life of family get togethers, now he shows up drunk, and gets incoherent and then mean... all the in-laws are tense and unhappy all the time, at any hint of a family get together where we might have to deal with him—half are anguished over their inability to get through to him, the other half are stolidly denying anything is wrong. None of it is fun. His kids are getting a real miserable upbringing, despite his financial success. His wife is about to leave him—she's turned into a real nasty piece of work, btu honestly I can't blame her.

Basically, if my age and health issues weren't enoguh, it just feels like all the people who I used to equate with booze and fun, have become literal alcoholics, and it's not just unfun, it's actually deeply upsetting. [/quote]

I’m gonna need a drink before I read this absolute tome that no one really wanted.[/quote]

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