My best friens's GF was away in England for the weekend so I headed up to Dublin yesterday to hit the town with my buddy... havn't seen him since Xmas

Had a great nite... We met up with another friend of ours, my buddy's brother and his brother's GF.

The whole trip to Dublin cost me about €110 broken down as follows:

Haircut €10 (havn't had one of these in about 9 months... bought my own electric clippers for €29 last year and have been trimming it myself... saves me €9.50 a month) however decided yesterday to have it cut professionally as I wanted a more sylish look.... as opposed to the number 3 all round I can manage to give myself )

Road Tolls : €5.40
Takeaway at friends house: €15
Taxi: €10
Alcohol: €70

There were only 3 of us in the round.... My best friend always pays his way... in fact I have a job sometimes getting him to let me pay for things (I've always been fiercely independent). For example, I parked in the city centre while we went into town...me for a haircut and him to buy suits... as soon as I put the parking ticket into the payment machine, he had put money in to pay the €6 before my hand had got to my pocket.... this is such a change from the lesser "friends" I sometimes ferry about who disappear or go silent and stare at their feet at payment machines :-) As I said, I'm fiercely independent and am generous with my friends, but don't want to be seen as a soft touch either.... I guess one of the ways you can tell who u're real friends are is by how readily they part with their readies !! :-)

I really enjoyed the trip... 1. I got to catch up with my best friend. 2. I had a good night out surrounded by other young party-goers. :-)

Got chatting to 4/5 women... including two Americans !! one from New York and one from California... Met two wonderful Irish girls from Dublin. One of them was really nice.... a cute red-head -early 20s... when her friend robbed my drink (as Irish girls like to do... in a playful way but knowing that the man will usually let them keep it anyway... he is usally too embarrassed/ chivalrous to ask for it back)... she made some remark to her and took it from her and handed it back to me .... also when her friend started talking to another group of men, she had to accompany her (girl power !!)... however, she came back over to me and explained that her friend was chatting to the other guys and she had to follow.... SO NICE.... I told her she didn't have to explain herself, she could do as she wanted and that she was a lovely girl ... Was kicking myself today that I didn't get her number... had quite a lot to drink last nite... my buddy and I always do when we go out together ( met in college)... If I was sober, I'm sure I would have got her no.

So lessons learned:

1. GET OUT MORE.
I've been living like a monk for too long now. Up until now, I've kinda fell into the frugal-means-denial of pleasures-means-no fun. While I have cut my spending drasically (started a spending diary on April 1st and record every cent), I also want to make the most of every healthy day I am blessed to receive. I am young, free and single. I want to live life to the absolute max.

2. STOP DRINKING WHEN YOU ARE OUT.

A. To be honest, drinking does nothing for me. In fact, when I drink too much I lose the ability to speak !! haha. I am a much better conversationalist when sober/just lightly oiled. Isn't it so hard to know when to stop drinking when out in a bar !! A famous Irish playwright, John B Keane (who was also a publican), said "you've only had enough alcohol when you've had a little too much" !!

B. I know everyone gets hangovers after a night of drinking but I think I am particurly susceptible to a sort-of minor depressive/lethargic episode lasting for 2 days after... alcohol definitely has a depressant effect on me. Hangovers also mean sugar-cravings, mean chocolate, mean bad day for toning up body !!

C. With hindsight, I can see that I used alcohol to self-medicate my social anxiety/ shyness when in college. I am over that now. I don't need it now.

D. It is an expensive habit. I have a receipt here showing a Jack Daniels and Coke.... guess how much.... €7.90... rip-off.

E. The fundamental essence of why I, as a young single man, go out is to meet and talk with girls I find attractive. I can do this better without drink on board. I want to bask in and savour my anxiety when approaching a cute girl... I want to feel a whirlwind of butterflies in my stomach when I see her eyes light up while talking to me... I DON'T WANT TO DEADEN THESE FEELINGS WITH ALCOHOL. These feelings of nervousness, excitement "oh God, I think she likes me" are pearls of life. I'm going to focus on spending only what I need to get talking to cute girls... decent clothes, tidy personal grooming, a few cheap soft-drinks/juices... thats it. The rest is free. As are all the best things in life :-)

Sorry for writing such a long post... but I am only coming out of my hangover now...(have been drinking water all day and urinating like a racehorse !! lol) and hangover = slow, drawn out actions :-)