Sobriety is the new black

There are very few things that I can honestly say I have a natural talent for. Sports? Definitely not! Unless you count occasional placings in The Three Legged race. No... Sport was never my thing.

Art? While I enjoyed a good colouring session, I didn't have the skill to advance past the "within the lines" stage.

Science? Maths? Languages? Crap.. Crap.. and finally Je no speaky le Frenchy!

It was when I reached my mid-teens that I discovered the two things I was truly made for: Music and Mixology.

Thankfully I have managed to turn my love of Music into a career. (Much to the relief of my parents because lets face it.. I wasn't excelling at too much else!). The latter is simply a hobby.

I suppose my first foray into cocktails was watching "Isaac" from The Love Boat. I was fascinated every time he would pick up a silver cocktail shaker and start tossing it about. The bright colours. The sexy names like.. Tequila Sunrise. Those teeny little umbrellas. I was hooked.

My 20s are when I really started to dabble in the taste side of things. I was initially attracted to Pina Coladas. But had to break it off when I discovered they were contributing to my expanding waistline.

Then I briefly took up with Long Island Iced Teas. But found they were a terrible influence and eventually, after one too many nights of booze goggles and bad decisions our relationship came to an end.

Finally I found Mojitos. My booze in shining armour. The love of my life. If it wasn't frowned upon they would replace my morning coffee. However it's sentences like that, that have got me thinking lately. Could it be that my love for Mojitos might be too great? Perhaps I've started loving them a little too regularly.

So I made a decision. This month I would become... 'The tee-total fairy of February'… No. That's way too lame. Wait. How about; I'm renaming this month Pro"Feb"ition... Alright. I'm not great with naming stuff but the general gist is this: No alcohol for the entire month of February.

I got online to smugly announce my virtuous intentions and found out I'd been gazumped! It turns out several NZ celebrities have decided to go dry for the month of February. "Febfast" it's called. (Dammit they even came up with a good name!). AND it's raising money and awareness for a good cause. Gah why didn't I think of that?

It would seem that sobriety is the new black. All the cool kids are doing it. Well, all the cool kids and me. So, if you want to be a trendsetter, give your liver a break and fill your karma cave, then head to this website. febfast.org.nz

Trust me, if I can do it anyone can. And if you make it to the end of the month without falling off the wagon you can reward yourself with my latest genius idea… Margarita March!

Hear more from Joe by tuning into The Morning Fix on More FM from 6am to 10am every weekday.

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User comments

I kind of agree with Liam. This shouldn't be a "status" thing to give up alcohol for a month when it's just going to be straight back on it come March. I'm not saying it's not a bad idea for a alcohol free February as drinking is a HUGE problem in NZ with what I would say a large proportion of undiagnosed alcoholics. I hardly ever drink alcohol. I probably drink once every 6months. I would much prefer a nice cold diet coke than a gag inducing glass of wine and I don't get a headache the next day if I drink an entire bottle.

another example of the NZ drinking culture, margarita march, why promote drinking after a whole column on sobriety? Having a good time does not have to depend on how drunk you are. you remember the night, wake up feeling fine, your not the loser that got arrested or *** yourself etc when you control your drinking. Good luck on your fast but i hope you dont undo the hard work and get loose once march hits

Positively like this! Sometimes have a glass of vino when probably going for a walk on the beach would be a better thing to do. Visiting someone who is lonely ....

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