Today I was thinking about about my progress/regress on my "drinking problem" and figured I'd post an update. Then I checked my blog and saw that the last time I wrote about it was just over 2 years ago. Wow, talk about things that haven't been front of mind for a while!
Note I quoted the term "drinking problem". That's because I'm using it ironically. My problem isn't that I drink too little; it's that I don't drink enough! π ...Well, I don't drink enough compared to how much I like buy. "Really what you have is a shopping problem, not a drinking problem," one of my friends assured me several years ago. π€£
So, how am I doing with mydrinking shopping problem?
Wine: Years ago I set a target on my wine collection of 75 bottles ± 5. It was kind of like the dipstick for the car's oil: 70 was the "fill" line— meaning, time to buy more— and 80 was the "full" line— meaning, definitely don't add any past here. That was way down from the high of 120+ bottles my wine collection reached in 2011 when I self-diagnosed my drinking problem. I chose 75 as a target because allowed a good back-stock of the varieties of wine I enjoy drinking while balancing that with the rate at which I drank wine. Well, I've slowed down on drinking wine over the past few years. In turn I've reduced my target range. When I moved some bottles up from the cellar today I counted I'm currently at 55 bottles of wine. I think 55-60 is a good new target range until my tastes change again.
Beer: Over the past few years I've gotten more into drinking beer. It's a side effect of my Beer Tasting 2022 project— which, yes, it's still ongoing. Right now I have several six-packs worth across multiple brands and varieties. That's a lot compared to pre-2022, but my rates of buying and drinking are a) in harmony and b) not beyond "modest". Also, I keep most of the beer down in the cellar, so it's not like it's filling the fridge or cluttering the counter.
Hard liquor: If there's one area where I've let things get a bit out of control, it's the hard stuff. Again, "out of control" pertains to the shopping problem side of the issue. I've bought too much liquor thinking, "Oh, I'll enjoy trying that," and then it's spread out of my liquor cabinet and across too much of the kitchen counter. See the picture from our birthday party 6 weeks ago. ...And, yeah, it's got worse that night when 3 friends brought bottles as gifts. π
Note I quoted the term "drinking problem". That's because I'm using it ironically. My problem isn't that I drink too little; it's that I don't drink enough! π ...Well, I don't drink enough compared to how much I like buy. "Really what you have is a shopping problem, not a drinking problem," one of my friends assured me several years ago. π€£
So, how am I doing with my
Wine: Years ago I set a target on my wine collection of 75 bottles ± 5. It was kind of like the dipstick for the car's oil: 70 was the "fill" line— meaning, time to buy more— and 80 was the "full" line— meaning, definitely don't add any past here. That was way down from the high of 120+ bottles my wine collection reached in 2011 when I self-diagnosed my drinking problem. I chose 75 as a target because allowed a good back-stock of the varieties of wine I enjoy drinking while balancing that with the rate at which I drank wine. Well, I've slowed down on drinking wine over the past few years. In turn I've reduced my target range. When I moved some bottles up from the cellar today I counted I'm currently at 55 bottles of wine. I think 55-60 is a good new target range until my tastes change again.
Beer: Over the past few years I've gotten more into drinking beer. It's a side effect of my Beer Tasting 2022 project— which, yes, it's still ongoing. Right now I have several six-packs worth across multiple brands and varieties. That's a lot compared to pre-2022, but my rates of buying and drinking are a) in harmony and b) not beyond "modest". Also, I keep most of the beer down in the cellar, so it's not like it's filling the fridge or cluttering the counter.
Hard liquor: If there's one area where I've let things get a bit out of control, it's the hard stuff. Again, "out of control" pertains to the shopping problem side of the issue. I've bought too much liquor thinking, "Oh, I'll enjoy trying that," and then it's spread out of my liquor cabinet and across too much of the kitchen counter. See the picture from our birthday party 6 weeks ago. ...And, yeah, it's got worse that night when 3 friends brought bottles as gifts. π