'Tis A Gift To Be Simple (previously titled: Alcohol, My Permanent Accessory)

Tonight is my first experience with changing habits and social activities because I am no longer drinking. Now, for many functionally-single twentysomethings, the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is often treated like a Friday night of any other week. I remember in college that it was a sort of fall St. Patrick's Day for some--it was a requirement to go out and party. Then, we all gathered hungover with our families to give thanks for coffee and aspirin and eat a metric ton of mashed potatoes and pie.

So, tonight I was originally planning to head to Hamtramck to a small dive bar, The Painted Lady, and spend my evening in the aforementioned fashion. My friend DJs there on Wednesdays and he's always good to play a raucous mix of punk and dirty rock'n'roll. Not to mention that the Painted Lady has $1.50 pints of PBR all the time. Punk + PBR = perfect pre-Thanksgiving evening out, no? Sadly, there is little reason to go to the Painted Lady if you ain't drinkin'! Not even a pool table. In fact, I think the natives might get uncomfortable if you didn't have a beer in hand. So instead it looks like I'll head up to my mom's tonight instead of tomorrow morning.

Well there you go. Instead of drinking and bleeding out my ears, I will spend some extra time with my mom. Not a bad trade afterall.

[cue whistling, "Always look on the bright side of life!"]