The Happiness Thread

No, it's not the easiest thing in the world - I've been quitting and starting again these past two years - but something feels different this time. I think it might stick.

 

The day I quit (after maybe 7 years or so of pack a day) I'd been up late, drinking hard and smoking a lot, but I had a picnic the next day, and no one else there smoked. I had a single cigarette left from the night before, an unopened pack, and my lungs felt particularly like shit anyway, so I decided not to smoke at the picnic. Then I decided not to smoke for the rest of the day (it was a Sunday). Then I decided not to smoke the next day, and to see how far the "not smoking" thing went, but I was careful not to define myself as having "quit" until the next weekend, when I gave the unopened pack and the spare to a friend. Bought a box of toothpicks and kept it in the same pocket that my smokes had lived in, and treated the toothpicks just like cigarettes to deal with the empty hands and oral fixation problem for a month or so. I even found myself, at times, tapping the ash off my toothpicks. I stayed hard quit (absolutely zero firsthand smoke intake), then had a hookah or two when I went to Istanbul, then hard quit for another two or three years. Now, I own a hookah that I smoke maybe once or twice a month, and at times, when I'm drunk, I'll bum a smoke, but the addiction is gone.

Good luck.

 

Last week was such a long, long week. One of those weeks that feels like a day or two extra had been added to the normal work week. This week dragged a bit as well, but, I have tomorrow off, so it's nice to be able to really enjoy this glass of wine, and just, literally wind down. Although, my compulsive nature still insists I vacuum and mop the entire house before bed... but at least I won't need to be up by the crack of dawn! So happy to be able to sleep in!

 

Just remembered that I did have to switch varieties of beer after my taste buds recovered though. Leinie's Honey Weiss was fine as a smoker, but far too sweet once I quit.

 

My favorite beer is Seadog Blueberry! So good! Low alcohol content, but just amazingly delicious. I do love beer, but have found that the beers I like the most are fairly weak. So, that leads me to ponder whether I actually like beer, beer? If you know what I mean. haha!

 

When asked what wine he found most pleasant to drink, Diogenes replied, "That for which other people pay."

 

Yes, I can agree with that statement for sure.

 

Hook me up with a 4pack of Becks tall boys, lets face it American beer is just not as good.
I love my country, but the beer sucks. But whiskey is another story.

 

Beer me.

Actually, Kirin Lager is my current go-to, but Asahi is decent as long as it stays cold. The moment it starts to warm up though, ugh, sour and nasty.

 

The most popular American beers are terrible, but there are tons of microbreweries out there making good stuff! Go to Portland, Oregon - a great beer city - and try a few!
I don't like bourbon. Give me Canadian whiskey any day, preferably Crown Royal. (Actually, don't. I had to give up drinking.)
Also there are some great single-malt Scotches out there. Macallan and Bowmore, for example, or, if you're into industrial-strength paint-peeling rocket fuel, Laphroaig.

 

I like bourbon, after some muddling around I've settled on Wild Turkey 8 year old for my primary straight/rocks drink.


It's only about $26/liter due to the lower liquor taxes here. For mixing, I go with Four Roses, which isn't as good as Turkey.



At $12/750 ml, it makes an excellent mixing whisky that can still be enjoyed straight if you run out of the good stuff.

 

I came home from work to find my sister's orange tabby kitten outside on the drive way, terrified

Only he isn't street savvy and so he isn't allowed outside because he's a flashing orange sign of EAT ME I'M LOVEABLY STUPID

And that's when I realised my sister wasn't home and no one put the animals away

It was an hour past dark

We got all the dogs in (except the Kangal Anatolian, who I wanted out) but our tuxedo cat was holed up on our roof (safe) but my kitty was missing

And he doesn't cry. When he does, there's hardly any noise. Which is good cause the predators can't hear him but I can't really find him by vocalisations either.

So I spent 45 minutes wandering about 7 acres of our property, looking for him, calling for him, starting to become a full emotional wreck

I finally just sat outside on the drive way with the garage lights on waiting, my dad telling me I needed a jacket if I was going to stay outside, occasionally calling out for him but mostly trying not to break down

AND MY BOY CAME HOME

He is injured but nothing life threatening

So irrationally I finally fully broke down because he's alright

I'm so happy he's home

 

My new favorite is Jack Fire or Jack Honey. Both are so good!

 

Alas I cannot indulge in Wild Turkey, bad things happen.
But on the flip side it is a kick ass whiskey.

 

That's the second time I've heard that about Wild Turkey specifically. The first time was hearing from a friend about another friend who got fucked up on whiskey sours made with Wild Turkey. The next time I saw that guy, I asked him to make me one. It's no wonder he got fucked up -- his whiskey sours are like 10% sour. So is it just that WT is a good brand..? I could never tell. Hated whiskey. Rum was my thing.

 

Wild Turkey is 101 proof (50.5% alcohol by volume, US measurement) which tends to sneak up on people who are used to 80 proof. It also has a certain "bad boy" cachet to it, which kept me away from it for a long time until a friend set me straight. I really like the flavor on a big rock, but I suspect that a lot of younger drinkers see it as something to get fucked up on, rather than sip like a gentleman.

Maximum amount of ice, minimum surface area to avoid diluting your spirits:

 

Thaaat explains everything. I admit I always liked the idea of sipping drinks like a gentleman. Though I never could get past the taste. Liquor is downright awful, but it's also the only thing that gets you drunk, so...

 

Try an old-fashioned. From Wikipedia:

The sugar and bitters take the edge off the whiskey, making it more palatable. When you're too muddled to mix them anymore, you can switch to straight from the bottle, you'll never know the difference by then

 

I love me an old-fashioned, but I usually squirt a bit of lemon juice in there for good measure.

 

I usually end up doing something similar because I'm not going to drink enough of them to make it worth it to sacrifice a whole lemon just for a twist or two. Still looking for a better solution to that one.

 

Personally... I sip a 140 proof unfiltered Vodka from a local brewery. I can't stand sipping whiskey or scotch.
Note on unfiltered - When you filter vodka, you add bite.

 

Woo! Between playing ’Horizon: Zero Dawn’, reading the Nero Wolfe series, and writing... It’s stuff like this that make me happy to be alive!

 

I'm fond of another bird bourbon: Eagle Rare. Has really good flavor (vanilla & caramel notes in there), mixes well, sips well, and OMG the things it does in recipes that call for bourbon, such as Bourbon Sweet Potatoes.

 

I don't think I've seen it, but I'll keep an eye out the next time I go to the Mega Booze Mart (not its real name, unfortunately). I'm always up for trying something that comes with a recommendation attached, but leery as hell of going out on my own. Yellow Rose of Texas bourbon tastes like crap....