Since I am half way into the no drinking it is definitely time to update the blog.
So, 3 months! Not a single drink. Honest. Many of you have said how surprised you are that I have made it this far. Well, to those who want me to fail, the hardest is yet to come:
Christmas and New Year fall around 75% of the way through this no drinking challenge. Anybody who stalks my life will quickly realise that this is about the same fraction of Kilimanjaro I walked last year before I turned back. Therefore, if Kilimanjaro is analogous to this no drinking then Christmas, New Year and January are going to be by far the hardest and will progress at a slow pace with Jonny taking lots of pictures. Ok, maybe its a bad analogy, but it highlights that there is lots more to come.
Right, back into the real world and a bit of a Q&A. Many questions have been asked of the challenge and here are the most common?
1. Would you like a beer?
Yes, yes I really would.
2. What's it like being sober on a night out?
Not entirely different. I went to Revolver on Saturday and still left early (to look after a drunk mate)!
3. What's the oddest part of not drinking?
What I miss most is going to the bar and having a choice. I like my beer, and like to vary what I drink. When you are sober, your options are very limited. Coke makes you fat, lemonade makes you look like a child, fruit juice makes you pee, and when you order a J2O with you friends pint, well... it doesn't look good.
4. Why are you doing this? And why not stop at new year?
See the first blog post.
5. Are your friends sympathetic?
No. I am often mocked.
6. How do I sponsor you?
Log on to www.justgiving.com/andrew-crossland. Please donate half the amount you pledged now to encourage me.
7. Does Bron help you out?
Bronwyn is in Madagascar studying lemurs. When in the UK, we go to the pub quite often and I order a J2O with her pint of cider. Otherwise, very supportive by text at the moment.
8. Does dribbling beer through my beard make you want to drink?
No Martin Hind, it doesn't.
Finally, I should probably update other factors which are making this challenge difficult. As many of you know, I quit my PhD a few months ago. This was probably the single hardest decision I have had to make (and as you know, I find decisions particularly difficult in any case). So, what next for me? I have no idea and have hit a low without anything to aim for. All through my academic life I have been working for "something", but never really known what that something is, other than that it was good.
Since my gap year, Africa and Engineering have been two very important influences in my life (note that contrary to popular belief, trains are not included in this list!). However, I have no idea how or whether I can ever combine these. They are wide topics. Saying that I love Engineering does not mean that I enjoy the whole of the subject- although in most cases admire what engineers achieve. I enjoyed my dissertation topic because it was novel, practical and it worked! Similarly with Africa, I cannot work in every field. I need to be focused in how I apply myself... for example working for infrastructure improvements.
My PhD was in logistics and although it has some of the elements of engineering and maths that I have enjoyed and been good at, the field of logistics just does not interest me. What I love is solving more technical challenges... and with that in mind, I want to start the next phase of my journey through life.
So roll on the next three months. Where I finally hope to have a job, PhD or something to occupy my days.
