Lured Into Alcoholism By Hendricks

Preparing for July 4th, we raided the local liquor store and came out with a bottle of Bison Grass vodka (that wifey likes) and more importantly, a bottle of Hendricks gin.

Come July the 4th, we didn't get around to cracking out the gin or vodka and it languished in the fridge.

The problem with Hendricks gin is that it is the most quaffable, enjoyable, flavorful gin on the planet. So 2 nights ago, on finding the unopened bottle in the fridge, I poured myself a pint glass of gin and tonic (lots of ice, so it wasn't really a pint), quickly followed by another.

It was so good that I had another last night. Again tonight I cracked out the gin and had another couple.

I have been a moderate, infrequent drinker all my life. I've got some sort of internal alco-meter that starts pinging at the mildly drunk stage and makes the next drink quite unappealing. So alcoholism is not a problem.

Now I've found a drink so nice that I could drink myself silly with it. Its a good thing I have a brain and can choose to stop. I'm told that my grandfather was an alcy and my teatotal mother was afraid I might go the same way if I took up acohol, but instead I turned into a lifelong moderate, occasional drinker.

So the advice of this post is.. Go get some Hendricks gin. Its so good that it can turn a non lush into a lush. Enjoy.

Now back to the fridge..

The end of travel as we know it.

For the past few years my job required me to travel several times a year and not little trips either, but all around the world for about a week per trip. The last few were..

- Levi, Finland
- Kona Hawaii
- Boston, USA
- Orlando, Florida, USA
- Madrid, Spain
- Athens, Greece
- Orlando again
- Denver, Colorado, USA
- Dublin, Ireland
- Kobe, Japan
- Dallas, Texas, USA
- Vancouver BC, Canada
- London UK, Brussels Belgium, Cologne Germany in one go.

This doesn't include the lesser trips to the bay area.

But this year I've moved onto a new job, starting Monday and it has been a travel cold-turkey.
I haven't been on a plane since April and that was just a non business weekend in Vegas. I am not, for the first time in many years, booked on any flight anywhere.

So this time last year, I would spend my time thinking of ways to avoid getting on planes. Now the reverse happens. Since there is no one telling me where to go, I'm free to choose anywhere and consider going there for vacation. Especially now that I'm not staring unemployment in the face any more.

So the shortlist of places to go is..

Maui, Hawaii. Probably in the winter. I've been to Oahu, the big island and Kawa'i but always on business. So a week in Maui without a job to do sounds like a good plan.

Japan. This time with the family in tow and no conference to attend, to see Kobe, Tokyo and a few other cities.

Botswana. It looked very nice on the #1 Ladies Detective Agency. No other reason.

New Zealand. I've never been South of the equator.

India. Don't know which bit. But the curry should be great.

Cuba. It's about time they started flights from the US and quit with the restrictions.

Wifey probably has opinions. We shall see..