Till We Meet Again, My Love.

I have given up diet coke.

Those of you who know me may find this hard to believe because my consumption of this unhealthy yet refreshing drink was bordering on incurable addiction, but I am writing the truth. I did the math and it turns out that more than 5% of my meager monthly income was going toward this much beloved but ultimately unaffordable carbonated drink.

It’s been hard but I will persevere in my new carbonation-less life, although I've had to make some lifestyle changes to cope with this hardship. In my old life, if I felt stressed or anxious, I simply drank some ice-cold diet coke and all my worries temporarily disappeared. Now, if I feel stressed or anxious I walk around, usually in my sweatpants, glasses and a grandpa sweater, so that I am probably known in my neighborhood as the hoboess of La 19. However, I've found that I need to walk at least 25 city blocks to achieve the same calming effect as one bottle of diet coke. And I usually drank the equivalent of about two or three 20-ounce bottles. This new stress reduction technique has resulted in a five pound weight loss in a one week period. By the time I reach my one month sobriety anniversary, I may be skeletal.