I was a kinda concerned that this was such a hard choice
Yesterday, my dear friend Lisa was marrying her fiancé Nelson. The reception was at The Landmark in Rutherford, NJ. They and several members of the bridal party had booked rooms at a nearby hotel. My original plan was that I’d get a room as well so I could drink without worries.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had to regulate my drinking. Because I never have to drive anywhere anymore for a party, I’ve lost grips on my shutoff valve. So if I do have to drive, the safest thing for me to do is simply not drink at all. And we all know that, weddings are no fun without booze, right? But then, the problems…
Problem one: Neither the Landmark nor the hotel are at all convenient to get to by mass transit. I’d have to go into Manhattan and back out again. Even then, I’d be left too far away to walk. So I figured that I’d bring my car and take a shuttle between the reception and the hotel. Which brings on Problem two.
Problem two: There was no shuttle. OK fine, I could just take a cab to and from the hotel, no big deal. So I started checking rates for rooms.
Problem three: Well, not so much a problem. It was more of a wake up call. Being a holiday weekend, the hotel–despite being a tiny overnight spot on Route 120 in New Jersey not known as a holiday destination–had jacked up their prices. And at this point it dawned on me. Do I really need to drink to have a good time?
After all, I’ll be surrounded by friends celebrating a joyous occasion. Knowing Lisa, this will not be a calm, solemn affair. I knew there’d be laughing and energy and fun. So how hard would it be to simply save the close to $200 in hotel fees and cab fare and have a fun time on my own steam? As it would turn out, not hard at all.
Those who know me best know that I don’t dance. Even with a few drinks in me, it’s difficult to get my rhythmically-challenged ass shaking. But there would be plenty to occupy myself between the food, conversations and playing with my camera. Besides, I’d be in pretty bad shape if I couldn’t get thru one at least party without a drink in my hand. Socially doing this can be hard enough to do, but I should be able to rely on my own will power.
I recently spoke to this guy Matt who is in the midst of a booze-free year which he started this past Super Bowl Sunday. I normally do one month each year as a sort of cleansing. We talked about how hard it can be to actually find things to do in and around NYC that do not in some way involve drinking.
Some folks would tell me, “Stay out of the bars for a while and maybe go to an art gallery.” To which I’d reply, “Most galleries in NYC have wine and cheese.” Heck, even if I were a church-going man, they’d serve me wine after mass.
My friend Mark–who was also at the wedding–added food to the argument. Sure enough, when you take booze out of the equation, you’re more than likely going to replace it with food. Next would be coffee. And this wedding was no different with food flowing from every corner from the cocktail hour to dinner to a dessert course that even included sundaes and cotton candy.
Eventually I felt myself falling into the cozy warmth of a food-induced coma. And, to my delight, the desire to have a drink fell silently away without incident. This left me to enjoy every beat-pulsing, beef-eating, chocolate-devouring, smile-inducing moment … blind, stinking sober!
See Also:
Lisa and Nelson’s Wedding (Gallery)
