TL;DR It’s cold out and it’s much easier to say, “I’m doing dry January!” than, “I would rather bury myself under 17 blankets than get dressed up to pay $22 for well vodka sodas at a bar where I can’t hear what anyone’s saying so I just nod and laugh sporadically.” That’s all, thanks for reading.
Everyone who knows me seems absolutely SHOCKED to hear I’m doing dry January. Or at last shocked to hear I’ve actually made it this far (for the most part… shh).
And I get it. I do have a tendency to go to the same wine bar after work 1-5 nights a week, and I love peer pressuring my friends into having just one more drink, or staying out for three more hours. What can I say? New York Maddie likes to have fun.
But after apparently spending more money on wine than groceries last month, I thought it was time to mix things up. Major apologies for the contradiction between this and my “New Year’s resolutions are stupid” post, but I would like to specify that all life changes that came with this dry January were coincidental and therefore cannot be considered “resolutions.” This was a rash decision made at 9:30 a.m. on January 1 and I’m too stubborn not to stick with it.
I’m not going to come out here and tell you my life has improved drastically after 20 days of not drinking, because it hasn’t. But I will say I’m saving approximately $200 this month, if the budgeting spreadsheet I made in a 2 a.m. manic episode last Thursday can be trusted.
We’ll ignore the fact that I spent more than that on the 17 headbands and six sweaters I’ve ordered from Anthropologie in the past week. As I’ve said many times before: I cannot be trusted with budgeting.
But beyond the financial aspect, I’ve actually used this time to get my sleep schedule in check. Instead of showing up to work half-asleep, I’m able to function normally all morning before I desperately need a nap around 3 p.m. I get home early enough that I actually remember to pack lunch for the next day. And I’ve had time to watch all of The Circle and most of I’m Sorry. Productivity is off the charts.
To be fair, I have gone to Codino (the aforementioned wine bar) at least four times, but in a show of immense restraint and willpower, I turned down every glass of wine Omar and Miriam offered me. I also deeply enjoyed my bottomless tap water at last weekend’s brunch. I know, I’m such an inspiration. How do I do it?
Sorry, this was not meant to be a humble brag about my 2020 lifestyle. Well, it was, but I took it too far.
So back to the point… yes, dry January has given me a much easier way to turn down going out plans than saying “honestly I don’t want to put on makeup because I’ve been in bed watching Netflix for 6 hours and I can’t imagine moving (but I did go to the gym this morning)”
It sounds like it made me lazier, but it was nice to reset at the start of the year. I’ve been socially overcommitting for the past six months, and while I love always having something to do, I also loved using this as my excuse to stay in for a few weekends. I’m sure I’ll be tired of it soon.
Anyway, see you all at 13th Step at 12:01 a.m. on February 1.
And wow. I’m so sorry for writing 600 words about dry January. That was so annoying of me.