drinking – Observations and Misunderstandings

Ah Greece how much I enjoy your company. It turns out my hermit life at the edge of a boat yard in Preveza is not representative of my usual time here. When with friends it wouldn’t be a crazy statement to suggest there is nowhere better. I’m probably thinking all this at this level of joy because I’ve just been off for ‘lunch’ and that means eating and drinking and beginning at 4pm. While there may be elements of Greek life I struggle with – usually anything outside of the pleasure factor – this is one of my favourite things in the world. The food is usually simple but good quality and that really is the secret. The beer doesn’t have the depth that we have back home but it’s usually hot and the beer refreshes so it is perfect. The wine would be the same. It really is good to catch up with old friends. It makes it hard to leave but maybe being able to leave and then come back is the secret I’ve missed all this time.

It’s a nice place Thessaloniki. Greece’s second city with a population a fifth of the capital and equal the Birmingham’s, it doesn’t feel like a city in the way either of those do. More relaxed, and while there are hectic spots you can escape them. Athens always felt constant, although maybe I just didn’t look hard enough. Last night I wandered around the streets a little, had a beer on the street and realised I was still doing the same thing I was doing when I was twenty-four. Ten years later drinking on the street still has its pleasures but there are moments I feel a little old for it. That is probably because I am a little old for it. Still it’s always good to know I can.

I’m going out for a beer now with some folk from my hostel. I am still twenty-four staying in youth hostel dorms yes. My friend who acts his age has gone back with the family to do father things. There are elements I envy about such a life but there are still many I enjoy about mine. Being able to go out for a beer is certainly one of them. So that’s what I shall do.

I’m having one of those ‘Own it!!‘ days. It began when I was feeling a little lazy earlier while ‘working’ and decided to put a podcast on in the background. I wasn’t in the mood to learn anything so dismissed the more intellectual ones I like to impress people with and listened to Joe Rogan instead. His guest was comedian Bert Kreischer who I discovered recently on another podcast and who seems like the kind of guy who would deeply offend certain people. In that case as far as I’m concerned he is doing the job a stand-up comedian should be doing; using humour to highlight our worst tendencies and hypocrisies. Joe Rogan’s podcast is generally a hit although he gets it wrong sometimes, but there are some like this one in which you feel as if you’re just hanging out with two mates smoking, drinking and talking shit. While some may dismiss that kind of behaviour I feel they miss the point that people need that. They need to talk shit and not care. Sometimes Joe Rogan can start talking about exercise and health and you know the man lives what he’s saying, there’s an intensity to it that dare I say is inspiring.

For anyone who has read any of these on a regular basis they will be aware of how a couple of months ago I had an own it!! moment after an energising salt water cleanse. It’s a powerful one and it makes you realise how much a healthy gut can have an effect upon your mood and your energy levels. I slowly slipped back into my old unhealthy ways and am now back relying on coffee for energy and pastries for a easy lunch. Needless to say I’m groggy and lethargic most of the time but importantly having not always been groggy and lethargic I am aware of there being other states of existence. Much of this is mental, the drive to achieve and the energy to make it happen comes from the mind in many ways but if the gut is a second brain then we can’t overlook it’s contribution too. I’ve just started reading the book Gut by Giulia Enders again and seeing as I’ve just got over my readers block I’m pretty confident I’ll make it beyond page twenty this time.

Nobody should go through life lethargic and groggy, and if one thing is clear as the world falls apart around us is that life is finite, why waste it killing time. I’m going to finish this bag of coffee I’ve got, transition back to green tea and cut out the bloody sugar which I’m surrounded by from working in a bakery and being weak. How long this will last is anyones guess but considering this daily blog has lasted about four months now I’m clearly capable of the previously impossible with a little effort. I’m probably going to do some yoga, some calisthenics and go for a run after this. I’ve got to do something with my time, might as well own what I say.

Tag: drinking

Thessaloniki

Own It!!