Although my travels abroad made me realize many great things about our neighbors across the pond, I also discovered something terrible about myself.
College has done a number on my physical shape.
Two years of destroying my body with Natural Light and D.P. Dough became most apparent as I struggled to fit into my seat on the airplane after a week of regular beer and Ploughman's lunches. (For those unfamiliar with British cuisine, a Ploughman's lunch is basically a loaf of bread and a brick of cheese supposed to be eaten all in one sitting.)
I knew I needed to do something in the month I had before year three of Operation: Body Destruction commenced once again at the beginning of Fall Quarter, so I turned to my sister, who recently lost most of the weight she gained during pregnancy.
I should have never asked.
She introduced me to a 21-day detoxification diet, which apparently is the newest fad in the diet world these days. For 21 days, I was to stay away from any food or drink with carbohydrates, artificial sugars, salt, red meat, caffeine or alcohol ' basically everything that comprises my normal diet.
It took only one day from hell to quit the diet, as egg whites and fruit did little to satisfy my hunger; but I thought it would still be neat to see how long I could go without alcohol. After failing miserably in my attempt to shed a few pounds, I originally wanted to resume all normal habits, but last week's ridiculous Letter to the Editor somehow inspired me to stay away from the sauce for a while.
In her letter, graduate student Carleigh A. Kosonovich told us Posties to grow up after we ran a picture of a bartender filling a glass with beer on the front page of our July 20 edition in light of Ohio Brew Week. Kosonovich felt that there were many more non-alcoholic events that merited a picture on the prestigious Summer Post front page.
I will not get into how strongly I disagreed with the letter (that is a column all by itself) but I will acknowledge that people like Ms. Kosonovich are the ones that have inspired me to test my resistance to alcohol. The higher-ups at this university have done a great job making many believe that our drinking problem is so serious here that we have to shun everything involving alcohol.
This bad rap about drinking is why I am encouraging everyone to test their will power a bit and see if they can go without being soused for a week or two. Besides, I don't think there is any better time of the year to try.
For those who like to drink while watching sports, August is the perfect time to drop the brewskis for a while, unless if you're trying to watch an entire NFL preseason game, where more than just a few brews are necessary to make it entertaining.
Staying away from alcohol may also be the best idea for those who may enjoy giving Precollege students their first illegal beverage at Ohio University. I imagine there cannot be a much worse way to finish the summer than getting arrested for serving underage kids. Just wait until Fall Quarter to make this incoming class just as infatuated with alcohol as the rest of us apparently are.
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Andrew Gribble
