walk away, start over again

As I begin to prepare for the Pakistan trip in May, there are certain social aspects to which I need to become accustom. Such as, not being able to drink in a Muslim state. Now, I am by no means an alcoholic, very far from it. Yet, the fact that I am of Irish, German, and English descent must be taken into account. I've been drinking since I was 15. [sorry mom] and frankly I am used to having a beer after a long day on set. A long grueling day in 110 degree heat should warrant a cold one after the sun sets, no? Such is the battle I will face. But, there is hope. After our language lessons on Thursday, to which our producer graciously brought a 30 pack of PBR, I decided to take the weekend off, from drinking that is. Now I tried this last year. I stopped for a whole week [epic, i know.] But this time I have a bit more to do whilst I am not drinking.



Tom and I went to a fund raiser for a film a friend of mine is directing. I had my camera with me as always, and the producer ended up asking me to photograph the party for their website, as both of their photographers flaked on the party. I had a amazing time milling about the party interacting with my very inebriated friends and colleagues. Rick said that about ten minutes before I got there someone flipped the drunk switch. That is to say that everyone was fine, comfortably drunk and quiet until ten til 1AM. Once the drunk switch is flipped in a place there's no going back. I was able to get a great perspective on the action and I had some great conversations. I really had a much better time taking pictures of the party than I would have if I had been drinking at the party.

The last time I gave up drinking it was a mountain to climb. The sheer cliff of sobriety seemed too steep a precipice to approach. The prospect of falling into the dark abyss of trustworthiness and honest behavior was far too frightening. This time around I found myself enjoying the experience, and I may continue it further.

There's a winner in every place
There's a heart that's beating in every page
The beginning of it starts at the end
When it's time to walk away and start over again
-tom waits, orphans: brawlers, bawlers, and bastards