7 Months Sober
Miller Highlife
I've been sober since the day after March 14th of this year.
The last sip of beer I had was harrowing; I just had to corral my black-out drunk dad out of a sushi restaurant, into a car, and get him home safe.
He's hard of hearing, and at this time didn't have his hearing aids, so he was speaking at a level that a normal person would describe as "yelling".
He wanted some sports game on, so he was drunkenly trying to explain to the chef that he wanted that on the TV.
The TV in there only had free TV that comes with a cheap Visio smart TV. The only channel for sports was a highlights channel, not live games. The chef and waiter bartered in Korean and passed each other the remote, trying to figure out how to appease this loud man.
Loudly, my dad exclaimed things about them not speaking english too well, and how he "doesn't give a fuck" and "Have I been a good dad? I'm so sorry man I love you"...
It's funny to think back on now, it's very stereotypical drunk father behavior. But at the time it was fucked. I was so stressed.
I finished the last beer he ordered: a large bottle of Sapporo. I slammed it, so I could get him out of there faster.
He rode his e-Bike to this place. To prevent him from death, I called my brother to come pick him up, and I'd ride his bike home for him.
Actually getting him to agree to let me take his bike home was an act of god.
After coaxing him out of the sushi-joint, I rode that 100lb fat-tire bike home, losing my wallet on the way, turning around to go get it, then got to his house.
He was sitting drunkenly in the bed of his truck waiting for me, and offered me a bottle of beer. I took a sip of the brown Coors light bottle as he rambled on with more good-dad-questions. He went in to go pee, I asked my mom if she'd go to my aunt's place for the night, she said it was going to be fine and not to worry.
Here comes my dad with a bag full of magic mushrooms, and a big grin.
We all told him not to do that, and like a child being told no, he ate a heroic dose of penis-envy mushrooms with a grin, grabbed me and kissed me on the neck; leaving bits of mushroom, Kodiak chewing tobacco, and beer all over my shirt. "C'mere yer my son an I love you MUWA hahaha!" or something like that.
That right there.
That moment. I knew I needed to stop. I was looking at a truly embarrassing man.
I never want to be that fucked up-
that apathetic and pathetic.
Athletics
He either had another crying and puking night, or a sleep on the couch night. I'm unsure, because I left after that.
Right before that fun adventure, I had literally just gotten out of bevmo with a 6 pack of miller highlife, and a bottle of bourbon. I was planning on getting fucked up that night by myself, because work was getting a bit stressful, and I was on the verge of doing a Mario 64 backwards long jump off a bridge.
As I walked out of that store, my dad called to come meet him at the sushi place right by bevmo, so I agreed.
Haven't had a drink since.
...
The coworkers drink together at the end of each week, and I sit at the table with a soda in hand.
Had a few non-alcoholc beers since, and they're alright. Though, slamming them just made me want to actually drink. So I've stopped with those as well.
I'm much less bloated, I lost the beer weight, and I actually have to do things with my free time now.
Honestly?
I don't miss it.