1 Week Without...

Firstly, HAPPY NEW YEAR! We have officially completed 1 full week, so only 51 left to go!

So, this year I am doing something a little different for my new year's resolutions.

As ever, I have one main thing to do battle with - the same thing I did battle with 2 years ago, which defeated me three-and-a-half months in. You might have guessed it, you might have not, but point is I have again become a non-smoker! No more "quick-cig-with-a-drink", on a Friday/Saturday(/Anyday) night, which inevitably leads to social smoking downfall. The trouble for me isn't the physical addiction to nicotine, it is the addiction to the habit that helps break up monotony, the habit of standing in the garden with a coffee and a fag, the habit of drunken conversations outside any alcohol-serving establishment, no matter the weather.

In light of this abstinence of mine, I had a brainwave to make the quitting more interesting. If I gave up cigarettes for a week (with the intention of giving up indefinitely), what else could I give up for a week? Or what could I take on for a week that perhaps I hadn't done before? So, my idea for 2011, to make the year more interesting, is to take out or add in little bits of "stuff" in life and see how I go!

As mentioned, first week has been cigarette-free (...with one slip-up last Sunday night, wholly uncalled for - and actually later that evening I also got out my shisha pipe for about 10mins, but no other indiscretions, honest!). It' been quite a drag (ha!), but I know it's worth it and it's been quite pleasant to feel my lungs clearing up, and to not be spewing crap up all the time.

Other ideas of potential cutbacks, as follows:

1 week without...

- sugar

- caffeine

- mobile phone

- social networking

- THE INTERNET IN GENERAL

- cooking

- public transport

- meat

...and so on. I thought it might be interesting to note how it goes. It also means practising a hell of a lot of self-restraint and -discipline, something I often think I lack. A few of the ideas I have in mind might have to be taken on for a number of weeks in order to actually feel like a challenge - alcohol, for example, I don't necessarily drink every week, but within the space of a month there should be enough social gatherings and/or birthday parties for me to really practice alcoholic self-restraint.

So, any other ideas anyone has for things I could live with (or without) for a week (or more), comment below!

Drugs 'n' Alcohol...

...a topic dear to many people's hearts!

My first bit of opinionated ranting -
You might have heard in the news recently that there's been a proposed alcohol advertising ban in the UK. It would include the axing of 'Happy Hours', 2-4-1 deals, special offers, TV advertising, the list goes on. During one of their reports, ITV news interviewed the mother of a 23-year-old who was in hospital with liver failure. The mother thought the ban was a great idea, suggesting that without such promotions, her son wouldn't have been hospitalized in the first place. However, the news report also mentioned that her son had started drinking at the age of 11, during the time when his parents were going through (what I imagine must've been a pretty messy) divorce.

My point is, no young person, let alone a child, should be drinking at that young age, and certainly not to the extent that, a decade later, they're suffering from serious liver damage with only a small chance of recovery. Furthermore, that 11-year-old was hardly able to take advantage of the aforementioned special offers. And I will refrain from ranting about the responsibilities parents have to take care of the welfare of their children, but suffice it to say that something must've gone very wrong somewhere along the line if one's child is hitting the bottle even before the 'terrible teens' have hit.

The problem in this country isn't going to be solved by a blanket ban on alcohol advertising. Our cultural acceptance of binge drinking, which for most 14-year-olds is akin to a rite of passage, is what adds fuel to the fire. Until we change our very attitude towards alcohol, not much will change.

My other rant, also to do with advertising, is the drug-driving advert we're all subjected to during prime time television:

Think! Road Safety Advert

Firstly, no one's eyes become the size of saucers, no matter what they're taking! Secondly, given that it's one's pupils that dillate under the influence of alcohol, the police will be hard-pressed to notice such things unless they stop the car. And finally, it seems a little illogical to me to impose the same penalties for drink-driving as for drug-driving, given that the latter substance(s) are illegal! Aside from that, different drugs have different effects on the body - some make you more alert, others act as a sedative. Far be it for me to suggest that taking one substance over another might improve your concentration on the road, as with all things it's apparent that we only ever get one side of the story. Check out this site for more on the subject:

How Drugs Affect Driving

On a final note, I am by no means advocating drink- or drug-driving, but rather giving some food for thought. Should the penalties be the same? Caffeine is a stimulant drivers often take when on the road, but no one writes of the dangers of 'crashing out' (excuse the pun) after a few too many coffees, though it is widely reported that caffeine withdrawal can cause effects such as anxiety, nausea, headaches, and an inability to concentrate.

10 Useless Things

A mixture of facts I have come across, and conclusions I have come to, over the last month:

1. The Tayto crisp was the first crisp in the world to be seasoned (with something other than salt).

2. Peanut Butter does not actually contain butter.

3. Audrey Hepbrun died in 1993.

4. I will never be able to fully fathom why I was so obsessed with 5ive. I guess being 12 had something to do with it.

5. The Apprentice was originally aired in the US in 2004, with Donald Trump, and not in the UK with Alan Sugar (as I mistakenly assumed and incorrectly informed other people of).

6. Hare Krishnas, broadly speaking, have their origins in Hinduism.

7. Floyd Rose tremolos are more hassle than they're worth!!

8. The lethal dose of caffeine equates to drinking around 80-100 cups of coffee (depending on body mass) in a short space of time.

9. I will always suck at Mario Kart.

10. One will always have far too many staples than one could use in a lifetime.