Dry AF

L'aube sur Aÿ - Wine Bar
Brussels Galeries royales Saint-Hubert

Like many a fellow quarantineer, I started fueling the booze economy from home as soon as they shut down the watering holes. First it was just wine, then basic cocktails, then cocktails with garnishes, then finally craft cocktails with so much shit in them it was like drinking a farmer's market. And then finally, the inevitable dry out. I have taken a NY pause on drinking.

It's been about 10 days and so far I have not experienced any of the dizzying highs of the sober life as promised by all those pesky "give up this, then give up that" sites. Maybe I wasn't drinking that much to begin with so it's not that dramatic a change. But what I have learned, also without much drama and barely worth writing about is how long the day is when sober. The evenings are even longer. Binge watching is not as fluid. Where I could probably down an entire season of Survivorman with a bottle of 2019 Endless Crush rosé before, now I can maybe get through 2 episodes. Witty repartee is less par-tay and more rep; silence is preferred. The booze pause is great for "getting stuff done"- I might as well just get on with it. Things take a lot less time, but the time that is left is certainly less interesting and boy does that drag on, too. After years of rushing to get things done to sit down and relax with a nice glass of tasteful white, it just seems odd to be rushing at all. What's the rush without the reward--and let's be clear rarely in this world is completing a task its own reward. Time slows. The range of emotions level out. One perk is that the appetite is diminished. Apparently, in my case big food should thank big booze for my consumption. Carbs without liquid carbs- pass. It's been 10 days with 20 more to go, although I might continue until the end of the month just because. My reward? Champagne of course.