At times like these, I always remember this quote (which I first saw in an Oliver Burkeman essay in The Guardian): "No pleasure," Kingsley Amis said, "is worth giving up for the sake of two more years in a geriatric home at Weston-super-Mare."
my three beer a day habit plus whiskeys on some nights. The immediate rewards in physical health and mental clarity are impressive. The harridans that come after your sanity are also impressive. The stuff alcohol suppressed will have to be dealt with.
I have to second this. I am sorry to be one of those but it's simply true! There's something celebratory and joyful about alcohol except after you quit drinking alcohol you start to notice it's MUCH more of a hassle than you noticed, and the celebration was possibly a bit illusory. And I have had only one hangover in my life--I could always drink so much without hangovers. But even having to consider whether your drinking is moderate enough is a hassle you no longer have if you aren't drinking at all.
I was actually drunk until two years ago when I drastically cut back and discovered the joys of legal cannabis (thank you, Arizona - not a phrase I often use).
Your second novel - Must be Absurdistan. My favorite!
Me, I'm two months now on the Ozempic. Losing a little weight. No alcohol. Tried half a beer yesterday, yuck. Would that the Metformin had any effect on my weight, but no. Medicare won't cover the Mounjaro; I'm hoping that it doesn't have the same effect with alcohol and that I can get it someday. Supposed to be more effective than Ozempic. It's not semiglutide.
The answer is right there, Gary: “No moderate drinking isn’t good for your health”. Meaning, of course, that moderate drinking IS good for your health.
Did the Post actually forget the comma, or did Gary decide to delete it?
Anyway, since when did drinking have to be good for you? “I only drink for medicinal purposes” was always an obvious lie (or a joke). Everything doesn’t have to be good for you. If it makes you feel better, they also say sitting is bad for your health--I don’t think they make exceptions for how you have to sit down to write, and yet where would you be without writing? Sometimes you just have to say “Fuck it, I’m doing this because I *like* it, it’s what I do, it makes me happy, and fuck anyone who says I shouldn’t.”
I wondered the same, but Gary says "The article is poorly written and meandering, almost like the kind of writing I produce when I’m super drunk (see my second novel, for example)."
At times like these, I always remember this quote (which I first saw in an Oliver Burkeman essay in The Guardian): "No pleasure," Kingsley Amis said, "is worth giving up for the sake of two more years in a geriatric home at Weston-super-Mare."
I was forced to give up
my three beer a day habit plus whiskeys on some nights. The immediate rewards in physical health and mental clarity are impressive. The harridans that come after your sanity are also impressive. The stuff alcohol suppressed will have to be dealt with.
I have to second this. I am sorry to be one of those but it's simply true! There's something celebratory and joyful about alcohol except after you quit drinking alcohol you start to notice it's MUCH more of a hassle than you noticed, and the celebration was possibly a bit illusory. And I have had only one hangover in my life--I could always drink so much without hangovers. But even having to consider whether your drinking is moderate enough is a hassle you no longer have if you aren't drinking at all.
i tried not drinking for 3 months. i guess some mornings were clearer. but, oh, the boredom.
I've noticed this as well. When I do take a break, I tend to descend into hermitude.
As always, perfectly stated. I loved your second novel! (I may have been drunk when I read it).
everyone was back then.
I was actually drunk until two years ago when I drastically cut back and discovered the joys of legal cannabis (thank you, Arizona - not a phrase I often use).
cannabis is very good too
Your second novel - Must be Absurdistan. My favorite!
Me, I'm two months now on the Ozempic. Losing a little weight. No alcohol. Tried half a beer yesterday, yuck. Would that the Metformin had any effect on my weight, but no. Medicare won't cover the Mounjaro; I'm hoping that it doesn't have the same effect with alcohol and that I can get it someday. Supposed to be more effective than Ozempic. It's not semiglutide.
A life of withering internal misery. Couldn’t have said it better myself. ❤️
Also, being an adult will kill you more certainly than your drinking will.
I SO live vicariously through your drinking. Your martinis give me deep joy. Please persist! ❤️ 🍸
Surely, the next step will be to bring back the Salem witch trials.
No one, whatever vice or habit, gets out of this world alive, so ...
We lead the world in the race toward extinction.
"That's his third martini." --The Guy in the Background of the Photo
"That's his third martini." --Jealous Washington Post Reporter Lurking in the Background of the Photo
YES! I’m with you. Off to meet some friends for apre ski :)
The answer is right there, Gary: “No moderate drinking isn’t good for your health”. Meaning, of course, that moderate drinking IS good for your health.
Did the Post actually forget the comma, or did Gary decide to delete it?
Anyway, since when did drinking have to be good for you? “I only drink for medicinal purposes” was always an obvious lie (or a joke). Everything doesn’t have to be good for you. If it makes you feel better, they also say sitting is bad for your health--I don’t think they make exceptions for how you have to sit down to write, and yet where would you be without writing? Sometimes you just have to say “Fuck it, I’m doing this because I *like* it, it’s what I do, it makes me happy, and fuck anyone who says I shouldn’t.”
I wondered the same, but Gary says "The article is poorly written and meandering, almost like the kind of writing I produce when I’m super drunk (see my second novel, for example)."
I decided suspension of disbelief was called for.
I think that was Absurdistan. One of my favorites.