Today is a big day for me.
This blog was written by Tim on the 1st Feb – Ed
TO cut to the chase, TODAY is the first of – what I hope to be – 28 days of sobriety. That’s right, twenty-eight days, or ONE whole month of not having one single alcoholic beverage.
Since the age of my first drunken-ing on Blue Curacao & Lemonade at fifteen I have never gone longer than 13 days without a single drink.
What I’m about to say, I think, is actually quite hard for a professional bartender to say. In fact it hurts me to say I honestly think i’m going to struggle on this mission.
I think I’m addicted to alcohol.
Alcoholism is something that should never be made light of. I KNOW i drink way too much. I have for the last ten years of my life. Do i think i’m an alcoholic?
No. I do however, think i rely on alcohol way too much to get through my life. Work getting you down? There’s a shot of Tequila that will fix that. Night off? Better have a few drinks with friends. Sunday! End of my working week, time to get drunk! Any excuse will do for me.
Am i any different to every other bartender? Probably not. I realise alcohol abuse is the biggest problem in our industry. And to make matters worse it is not only accepted, but in many cases applauded.
It’s a sorry circumstance we find our industry to be in where we honour fellow work mates who are able to ‘drink their face off’ night after night.
I know i should respect alcohol more than i already do. It debilitates souls and families, kills more people each year that all illegal drugs combined and more than everything makes me a less charming and worse human being. Yet i still go back.. Sounds like addiction to me.
However today is a new day, and today is the start of febfast. Although it may not seem like much to my buddies outside of bartending, i’m not going to have a single drink for a month. No ‘get out of jail free’ cards at work, no apologetic-guilt-ridden status updates. I’m going cold turkey!
In part, im doing this for charity. Feel free to donate moolah at http://www.febfastfundraising.com.au/tim_philips. Mostly though, i’m doing this for myself. I’m a stubborn guy and i’m flat-out trying to prove to myself i’m not an alcoholic.
The next month means a lot to me. I know I will do it, and I also know deep down I need to change my drinking habits. I’m 26 and a half now. No more binge drinking on a tuesday night. I’ve realized i’m quite a nice guy without being drunk. Here’s to a new year and a new found respect for the stuff I work with day in, day out. I raise a ‘Shirley Temple’ square in your direction.
Wish me luck….