Quitting the Bottle...

[rassie]

Me and my friend had a bottle of South Afrivan brandy last night.It feels so good to start the party and having a good time.Now its the next morning and it suck.Every mornig when I wake up with a hung over I ask myself the question.Does this feel good now.What are you doing and then:I never gonna drink again,till next time.

[gregsoul]

Mwalimu, I'm with you on the getting a girl to keep oneself out of mischief.

In fact, last night I asked my girl to marry me.

She told me to sober up and call call her in the morning, if I still felt the same way about her.

I still do. Let's see what happens...

Btw, anyone know a decent jeweller? Looks like I'm gonna have to work a bit harder in the upcoming months ....

Laters

[mwalimu]

Greg,

Wow. Bold move. Hope that everything works out with you two. And I hope that you do sort out your problem, so that the sauce doesn't undermine your future together.

[WanderingDave]

I quit drinking the second I touched down in Taiwan, and didn't drink a drop for my first 9 months here. I have the alcoholism gene, and really dug the booze from the second I first tasted it when I was 9.

I think the "alcohol gene" involves having low serotonin (a neurotransmitter) levels. Go to the pharmacy accross from Er Er Ba Peace Park and next to Fubon Bank in Taipei, and order some 5-htp. This is the chemical precursor to serotonin, and will up your brain's serotonin levels immediately. I stopped craving alcohol and carbohydrates after I started taking 5htp every day.

You could also go to a chinese medicine shop and ask for ge1gen3 (kudzu root). The sour, chalky tea you can make from this inexpensive root will also take away your craving for alcohol.

[mod lang]

O.K., so it's been over a month, nearly a couple of months now, and no booze - I'm on my sobriety binge. And they choose <b>this</b> time to bring out 6 or 7 new beer flavors in 7-11. You know how often they get a <i>new</i> beer brand in 7-11? Dude, like <b>never</b>! It's always the same 10 brands of brew. So now every time I walk into 7-11 I have those new 3 for 79 NT Asahis staring at me. Taunting me.

Man, when I go back to the States and have 400 beer selections available in the shops, I'm going to go on <b>HUGE</b> freakin' bender.

[hoedad]

I bet this guy wishes he'd quit drinking sooner:

Reuters
Man Jailed for Shooting Off His Testicles:wall:

Tue Jul 13, 1:06 PM ET

Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!

LONDON (Reuters) - A British man who accidentally shot himself in the testicles after drinking 15 pints of beer was jailed for five years on Tuesday for possessing an illegal firearm, a court spokesman said.

David Walker, 28, was arguing with a friend at a pub in South Yorkshire, northern England, when he went home to get his sawed-off shotgun, which he jammed into his trousers.

But as he walked back to the pub, the gun went off, blasting pellets into his testicles. Doctors later removed what remained of his testicles during emergency surgery.

Walker admitted possessing a prohibited weapon at a hearing in June at the court in Sheffield.

[Mother Theresa]

Someone cautioned against AA - because of the deep Christian roots/philosophy of the organisation. AA wouldn't be my first choice either, because of this. But according to their website they are completly non-affiliated. Does anyone know the real deal here?

I've never been to an AA meeting, but I learned over a decade ago that my older brother felt he had a serious substance abuse problem. He has been very successful at his career in the hospitality industry (hotels and restaurants), but he used to drink excessively on the job. When meeting with clients it was standard practice to have a double whatever, followed by another double, and what the heck, maybe one more, followed by a bottle of wine with the meal. When not meeting with clients he liked to smoke pot, apparently too often. I wasn't aware of this at the time, but he later told me his wife almost left him over his use of substances.

So he started attending AA. Although no one in my family has ever been a churchgoer, and we're all pretty turned off by Christianity, AA was an astounding success for my bro. He hasn't had a drink or a toke in over 10 years, despite the fact that he's an outstanding cook, eats very well and others often drink good wines and beers in his company, and he doesn't even seem to be the least bit tempted.

My understanding is that AA talks about a higher power, but it's not necessarily a/the Christian God. In any event, one can't argue with success. My bro was not turned into a panty-waist churchgoer, but he did kick his problem, so I'm sold on the system. If I ever felt I had a substance abuse problem I would definitely consider AA, NA, etc.

[djmyers]

For drinking habits, I personally put them under three states:
Chemical addiction- Hard. Need to stop
Mental/Habitual addiction- Difficult. Control it.
Social addiction- Easy/Difficult/Hard
Depends on the person. Getting by in Taiwan by drinking when you arrive here is the easiest way to meet people and be accepted. Once you are here a few years, it is the easiest way to meet new people and see other expats. Depending on where you are from, Taiwan has a higher social acceptance of drinking than many other countries. More challenging is when commonalities between expats is centrally around drinking. You don't have to watch the sunrise every night. You don't need to lock yourself in a room eveyday either. Know yourself. The strongest foundation in your life as you get older needs to be yourself.
No right answer. Depends on the person and their decision, or the destruction it does in their life.