How does it feel when a weekend doesn’t kick off with after-work beer or a glass of red wine? Does it feel uncomfortable attending a dinner party (or any other social event for that matter) completely sober? Will there be any alcohol cravings after a few weeks?
I’ve decided to go through January without any alcohol. This challenge is known by many different names, e.g. Dry January in the UK and Dropless January in Finland. It’s not my first time doing this, but I’ll have to admit it’s been many years since the last time.
The reason for going through a voluntary one-month drought is quite simple. I think it’s useful and healthy to occasionally stop and think about your alcohol consumption habits, and perhaps to some extent also re-evaluate your relationship to alcohol, our social drug of choice.
Read MoreOnce again I took a long and unwanted break from blogging and as August kicked in I thought it’s high time to get back on track. Not just with blogging but with other positive habits as well.
Read MoreFor me there’s definitely an addictive dimension to coffee. It’s not just that I love the smell and taste of it, but in the morning I really feel like I need it in order to get “fully operational”. As said, caffeine is a stimulant and it also taps into the brain's dopamine stores, causing very pleasant feelings. There’s also a habitual, and for me almost ritualistic, part to preparing coffee. It brings me great joy to grind the beans, fill up the portafilter's basket and do the tamping, and then finally extract a shot of espresso at exactly 9 bars of pressure. It’s a beautiful process and feels almost scientific.
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