Telephone Mini Intervention

Last night I had a telephone mini intervention with my old friend who should have died last weekend from drinking far too much. It went o.k. I guess. For the most part I voiced my concern the way I wanted, and they were kind enough to fully listen, even if they did not take it all in. I even was able to be calm about it and not go irrate about just how stupid they have been behaving. Believe me, I wanted to yell and slap them across the face multiple times, because I think sometimes, people need to be slapped from time to time in the hopes that that knocks the sense back into them.

Frankly, as calm as the whole conversation went, it does not seem that their eyes are fully open to just how stupid AND lucky they have been over the past few months. The only saving grace of the entire conversation is that they are not 100% stupid - they realize that if they stopped breathing multiple times in the hospital, that they could have just as easily stopped breathing at their friends house while sleeping. Falling and getting a concussion saved their life.

Now, my heart is heavy because I know the percentage of them getting to a very dangerous level again is incredibly high. They do not know how to cope with stress and depression and admitted that turning to the bottle to ease the pain for a few hours was getting easier and easier and very tempting. It hurts to say that I will not be surprised if it happens again or if they end up dead.

I am at a loss of words. I do not know what to do. I have reached out, to them, and their closest family member. They take it as a joke (the old friend) and try to play it off as if they are just going through I rough patch, when we all know it is more serious than that.

So I pose these questions... What can I do? They have a young child. Does that child need to be taken away for a while? Do they need to seek help in a more permanent way (i.e. Mental Help facility)? Do I tell them that I can not stand by and watch them self destruct even more? I am perplexed as to what is the right plan of action, because I can not be their crutch and shoulder to lean on again. I am tired of it and overly drained by it. I have got my own shit to deal with.

Booze Repugnance

As of late, I have decided that I am not down with drinking booze that often any more. It is not like I was obsessing or over drinking either. In fact, there is no real reason except that I just do not feel like it at the present time. It is a personal choice I have made before and one I am happy to do again.

As of yesterday, I got a phone call from an old friend who I have not talked to in weeks. It reassured me that I was indeed making a good decision, and even if I was not where I am at currently, surely the conversation would have put me there.

**As a disclaimer and politeness to my old friend, I will refer to them as a sexless being while telling their story.

Basically, they ended up in the hospital this past weekend due to drinking an excessive amount of alcohol - rum, vodka, whiskey, tequila, etc etc... They even got kicked out of the club they were at (always a first for everything right?). At one point they fell and hit their head, which landed them in the hospital because they started to convulse and stopped breathing a whopping 4 times! Yes, you heard correct. To top things off, guess their blood alcohol level. No really, guess. It is pretty shocking.... .324!!!!! They should have died. And the fact that they walked away with only a concussion is damn amazing. I hope they have learned their lesson that they can no longer do stupid shit, because truthfully, they have been on a destructive path for a while now (and I thought New Years was bad), and they have a wee one to take care of. It is about time they GROW THE FUCK UP!!!! And realize that their actions affect everyone around them. My only doubt with the entire situation and this person, is that they will do it again. And honestly, I do not think I can be there to watch/hear about it one more time.

Letting friends go can be hard, but sometimes necessary.

POP Levi

Check this dude out that I just discovered: Pop Levi. He's uber funky and amuses me immensely. BTW, he's playing at the Doug Fir, this Friday (March 6) at 9pm. I am not planning on attending, but thought I would give a shout out for him anyways. Rock on dude!

Everything Is Amazing, Nobody Is Happy...

Wake up people! This guy (Louis C.K.) is on to something. We have it better than we think.