The Gamble

So, as I am now of the United States legal drinking age, I have been frequenting the bars quite often as of late. Good Time Charley's on Thursday afternoons has been a particular place of interest for me these past two weeks. So forgive me if this post is poorly constructed, but I've been giving this post a lot of though lately and now's as good a time as any.

Anyways. . . Drinking problems. In reality, I believe that anyone (including myself) that believes they have a drinking problem is mistaken. In actuality, a drinking problem is really a gambling problem. Let me explain.

I don't love to drink so much because I love alcohol. Well, I do love alcohol, but that's another story. But really, the reason I love blacking out is because it is a gamble of life.

Blacking out: "It's like gambling somehow. You go out for a night of drinking and you don't know where you're going to end up the next day. It could work out good or it could be disastrous. It's like the throw of the dice." - one of my personal heroes, Jim Morrison.

It's just so true. The real reason I enjoy blacking out is because it offers me an alternative to reality. If I chose to live in reality, like so many boring people do, I would wake up in the same place every day, probably numb to my surroundings and numb to the fact that I'm pissing my life away doing exactly what society wants me to do.

When I black out, I can transcend reality. I never know where, how, or with who I'm going to wake up. Don't get me wrong, blacking out certainly has two sides.

The Great Blackout Morning Wake-Up

You wake up still drunk. These glorious morns, you are the god of your own universe. If you're real lucky, there is some leftover vodka in the handle from last night, and you can make yourself a fresh morning cocktail. Perhaps you have even been lucky enough to find yourself spooning with a girl that is above a 3. This will be the perfect start to the perfect day, because, in most cases, this will lead to an all day drinking affair (in which case you will never feel bad today). These days make up about 50% of your blackout mornings, and you should treasure these days, because the other 50% is miserable.

The Dreadful Blackout Morning Wake-Up

Owwwwwwwwwww..... Unfortunately, the dreadful morning blackout is a realistic portion of society. These days you will feel like you don't deserve to be a real human being. You will feel like you have let your mother down 1000 x over. You will feel like you need to stop drinking for at least 2 months. Perhaps you have even woken up next to Shrek's wife. This is horrible, right?

Wrong, reader. I'm here to reassure you that these days are neccesarry. If we woke up every day still drunk, what fun would it be to blackout all the time? It wouldn't be any fun. In fact, we would just be like all the "real" people in society who wake up feeling the same way everyday. The dreadful blackout morning wake-up gives us variety, spice in life. Without these days, us alcoholics would just be like the every day man who works 40 hours a week and has no conception of what "carpe diem" means.

So, fellow alchy, the next time you wake up feeling like you aught to turn yourself into the local rehab center, just remember: "it's better to be absolutely ridiculous, than boring." Indeed, did anyone ever write a history book about someone who lived an average life? I don't think so. Actually, most famous alcho's have been writers, and have a venerable history (all of my favorites: Hemingway, Kerouac, Faulkner, H.S. Thompson, Dylan, Poe, etc.). Drink on.


Love,
Brickstreet.