Day 256: what's so great about alcohol?

Over the last, say, week, I have been of the general opinion that not drinking has become a little tired. True to my extremely impatient form, I have gotten bored with what used to be a novelty and am keen to see what my next phase holds. Not boozing is too easy and too familiar. I want something new. However, over the last couple of days I have been reminded again of the not very attractive thing alcohol is. Whether through other people's hangovers, the way they are drunk, or just the debilitating effect alcohol has on all the people and projects it touches, I am having second thoughts about having second thoughts about alcohol. You see, it has occurred to me that I get the most happiness from being satisfyingly productive, from being an industrious human being (spending quality time with attractive boys who treat you beautifully is also extremely enjoyable, let's not forget). Does alcohol help me be more productive? Not that I've noticed. It might give you a happy little zing here and there, but those zings aren't particularly meaningful. Not that they're meant to be. Only I'm kind of all about searching for substance right now. If I'm going to spend my time doing something, I want it to give me something solid and fulfilling back. I want packages of realness, not bubbles of magic nothing. So while I'm sure I will enjoy the odd pocket of zing of a Friday night or Saturday afternoon when I'm back on the piss, I'm not sure my return to the land of access all alcohol will be the breathless flight of relief and excitement some might imagine it will be. Because alcohol, for all its popularity, just isn't all that baby. In fact, much like many a famous superstarlet of our times, alcohol's charms, while undeniable, are ultimately pretty shallow.