Minicoaster Los Angeles was pretty interesting. There was a lot of ... well, everything. There was lots of fun, lots of partying, one night with lots of drinking, some indiscretion, lots of karaoke, some disappointment, lots of concern, some struggling, a little vegging, a bit of walking, some hip pain, and a lot of love. It was draining, but it ended on a pretty positive note. I'm going to be trying something new; it's going to be challenging, but it should make several things better for me. After Kit picked me up from the airport, I rushed off to a Midway event. This wasn't the smartest thing to do, but there was a chance to see someone I really wanted to see. It didn't happen (big surprise), but I had a pretty good time. I had five drinks: one Diet Coke and four bottles of water. My beverage selection got a lot of stares, but it had to be done. Yes, I'm going on the sober kick. So far I've gotten through one karaoke session, an hour at a bar, and an industry event without a drink. Sobriety hasn't been easy. I get pretty yawny early on. I find myself wondering how to have fun. I've learned that I have no patience for banal conversation when I'm sober. Still, these things are a fair enough tradeoff for getting into stupid situations. I just need to rediscover the joy of sober fun. Drinking has just been getting me into lots of trouble. I do dumb things, hurt myself, and hurt people I care about when sauced. Imagine if I was sober during the EverQuest 2 event? My last month would have been exponentially easier. There have been too many times in the last month where a night of drinking has lead to weeks of problems. I'm going to try to eliminate that. I'm not giving it all up. I'll have a nice glass of wine or something, but I'm not going to drink 10 vodkas or 15 kamikaze shots anymore. Maybe I can get to the point where I can control myself and get hammered on special occassions, but for now I really have to slam on the brakes. Young Clifford told me that he's discovering that drinking doesn't have to be 0 or 1. Hopefully I can get to the point where it isn't a binary thing for me either, but for now it's stone cold sober. I'll need help with this. Sober Friends powers, activate!