4- Friduy, Junuary 15, 1988 - North Shore News A COUPLE of days before Christmas, we decided to have a drink. In the normal course of events, the above sentence would hardly be worth writing down. Hell, we have a drink every day. Several. That is, we used to. Things had changed a bit. | hadn't, in fact, had anything to drink for five weeks until that point just a couple of days before Christmas. My wife hadn't been drinking for more than two mon- ths, oP, The truth of the matter is, I get jittery in social situations without a drink in my hand, even if I’m out with my own brother. ’’ This was the third time in a year we'd gone a month or more without drinking. “You're getting damned bor- ing,’? a good friend muttered jok- ingly, but not so jokingly. One of those jokes that isn’t a joke. It was true, I'd been Joe Dull for a while _ how. Married to Mrs. Dull. -. We had, for one thing, passed up on several parties and invita- tions to go out for dinner and a movie simply because, wel!, I wasn’t drinking. Then I got the flu and couldn't go anywhere anyway, for which | was thankful. The truth of the matter is, I get jittery in social situations without a drink in my hand, even if I'm out with my own brother, Actually, my brother Bets a trifle jittery himself... + A lot of people do. That's why ’ drinking and socializing go ' together. There’ sno big secret about it. : The trick, my fricrid tells me — the one who found me a smidgen dull lately — is to drink and have fun but-not to do anything stupid, disgusting, embarrassing or detrimental to your career. Actually; I often do not do any of the above when I am drinking. But sometimes I do. And more than a few.times I have taken ter- rible chanices with otir lives -- and, ” worse, others — by insisting on Bos HUNTER driving even though | could scarce- ly walk, In the last few years, we have gotten so paranoid about drinking and driving that we have managed to nearly completely remove it as an event in our lives. We avoid situations where it's liable to hap- pen, like if you meet people at a pub. But every once in a while there's a midday downtown mecting or a late interview or a celebration you can’t refuse...you know how it is. And what about those old bud- dies you want to go out and have a beer with because that's what you've always donc? Are you sud- denly going to throw away all your telationships because you can't handle meeting people face-to-face without a shot of booze? The question is whether, ina totally open drinking environment, one can control one’s drinking. Some people can. Some can't, And a lot think they can but can’t. It was to test this last part that £ decided to stop drinking for a month at a time for a stretch last winter, again in late summer, and from carly November to Christmas, Each time it was difficult, I ex- perienced withdrawal symptoms, manifesting itself as grumpy behavior around the house and protracted moods of gloominess, a generally anti-social feeling. By way of compensation, | had a huge amount of extra energy at my disposal. | got all sorts of things done that I had been mean- ing to do for a long time. I spent more time playing with my kids. ! helped out quite a bit more around the house. In each case, after a month or so, I felt I could handle my drink- ing | with slightly more control, Aud it seerned that I did. But the trick was to stop again a few months -later,. to wring myself out again. ‘So we toasted cach other, my wife and me, just before Christmas, in praise of our mutual self-discipline. Jt felt okay. I¢ felt better, that’s for sure, to know we can turn away from the stuff for a period without totally discom- bobulating, and then relax and let ourselves have some fun —sans driving, of course. It is probably not 2 bad idea to check oneself out like this every now and then — just to make sure one isn’t more wired than one wants to be, I like knowing; is it me taking that drink or is it the drink taking me? As long as, when I want to, I can go a month without having a drink, them I’m not too worried, And that’s something to cele- brate! Cheers. Now why do I have this nervous cing | in my spine? ® . “Local mountain managers pleased with ski season ing just great, and it's the best A BOUNTIFUL snowfall spelled a holiday season skiing bonanza for the three North Shore ski; -hills, with good weather and skiing con- : ditions. — “In a word, it’s fabulous,’’ said Wayne Booth, general manager of » the. Cypress: Bowl ski area. The " number of skiers “tis well up over ‘last year. For the month of December it more than doubled (over previous years).”” Said Grouse Mountain opera- | tions manager Rick Temple: ‘‘It ‘couldn’t be much better. It’s look- Christmas start we've had in years.’ AIL. three mountains have . im- proved their facilities since last season — Cypress and. Seymour Ski Country have new lifts, and: Grouse has prepared its runs for the upcoming World Cup event there — and are reporting good public response. “It looks quite good,” said Alex Douglas, director of - skiing Seymour Ski Country. ‘‘As long as the weather keeps up we should be doing good.” NV COURTHOUSE AREA Increased density rejected INCREASED HOUSING in the Courthouse area of upper Lonsdale was unceremoniously rejected by city council Monday night. By KAREN GRAM Contributing Writer In a unanimous decision, coun- cil defeated a staff recommenda- tion to increase the density of the 200 block East 21st Street after hearing from several residents op- posed to the move. But at the same time, council approved a motion to reduce the density of the 200 block East 24th Strect against the wishes of resi- dents. “E'm pissed off,"’ said Janet Rothwell, of 208 East 24th St.‘ went to all the trouble of getting 1G out of If residents on the block to sign a petition and they didn't even listen to me.”* Rothwell said the decision, which downgrades her property from a zoning density allowing 12-16 units per acre to single fami- ly, reduces property values on the block considerably. She said the area is no longer suited to single-family dwellings because of the noise from the Courthouse and the highway. But Ald. Rod Clark said because of the freeway on-ramp destined for the residents’ back yards, “it would be foolhardy to allow duplexes in the area at this time." In his report to council, planner Richard White argued the block should be downgraded and consid- ered for institutional or park use in the future because of the on-ramp. Rothwell said the decision means the city will be able to buy her property for less than it is worth when they decide to convert it to park or institutional use. “Tt would like to get the full value for my house,"" she said. “If it were anywhere else in the city it would be warth $30,000 more.** Residents from East 21st Street left the mecting happy, however. Staff had recommended increasing the density to alleviate a ‘density cliff’ which put multi-unit dwell- ings such as high rises against single-family dwellings. White said creating a more gradual density change is ‘‘one of the cornerstone rationales of the Official Com- munity Plan." As well, staff wanted to amend the plan to match current zoning. The area duplexes. However residents and council agreed the single-family nature of the block should not be disturbed. Ald. Frank Morris noted the area is 80 per cent single families who want to retain the neighborhood atmosphere. “This recommendation is the reverse of what it should be,"? he said. ‘Zoning should be amended not the OCP,"* If zoning is changed, family homeowners would pay reduced taxes to reflect the decrease in usage, and existing duplexes would tbe considered “non-conforming Segal'’ and per- mitted to remain, is presently zoned for Single- » Hotel. Restaurant & Hospitality Trades Educational Society® IM3 EAST HASTINGS STREET, VANCOUVER, BC. VSL ITS Our school has been operating tor over 30 years and 1s ‘he most recognized in Western Canada. Vig emphasize practical training in authentic worung surroundings like thase in mayor hotels. 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