992: Keith is a Drunk

[King of Assholes]

I have no idea if Keith is an alcoholic, I do think he drinks alcoholically, but not everyone who does that is in fact an alcoholic. I just know these weirdos have a saying that really stuck with me when I decided to get my shit together, it's actually from Albert Einstein and he's supposed to be smart.

Insanity: Trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result

So if Keith does decide to quit drinking, drink less, or manage his drinking keep this in mind. If you're not going to do things differently than before, then in all likelihood you'll fail.

This thing hit very close to home for me, I just hope things can get better and come to some kind of a resolution for you. I know that many of your words over the years have actually helped me in my life, so hopefully I at least gave you something to think about.

[Joshua]

It may be that I drink too much myself, but I really sympathised with Keith when he talked about how to talk about drinking with someone you're concerned about.

If you say "You drank from 3pm to 3am" but they know they weren't drinking very much during that time, it's easy to dismiss everything else that comes with it.

Keeping things simple, like "I think you're drinking too
much and it's affecting your health and our relationship" is much better than (for example) "The vodka is three inches lower in the bottle!" or similar silliness.

Slightly off topic but, there should be an "Is Keith an alcoholic?" poll.
(I vote no - so feel free to disregard the above)

[SmallMan]

1st. Long-term is vague and Keith will probably respond well to the challenge of not drinking for a while. There are iPhone apps for counting drinks (I think I'll get one too, seeing as I was also up until 8am on Monday morning), and I think its a helpful gauge and reminder to yourself. Another app has already helped me with my finances.
2nd. Though you can't draw a direct link, shows like this are going to be what makes KaTG grow, and I think that as work gets busier and bigger, he may rise to the challenge of keeping the success going. (He might, also, fall into the fate of so many celebutards and self-destruct, but let's be optimistic.)
3rd. I've spoken to my brother, who's a med student, about the criteria for alcoholism. There are a lot of tests on the web, but a quick test goes
1) Do you drink in the morning to wake up?
2) Do you drink every day?
3) Has drinking adversely affected your job or social life?
I'll admit that after hearing the show I started taking those tests for alcohol abuse on the web. I failed every one. I've just finished my first year of a Masters degree, am presenting a paper at an Urbanization conference in Hong Kong in August, received a full scholarship from the Chinese government to do research in Shanghai for 9 months, and I'm working for an urban consultant to advise the Shanghai government on its urban strategy for the next 10 years. None of those 3 criteria apply, and I think that if any of them started to really fuck up my life I would stop drinking. I've already quit weed, which gave me a 6 month psychosis, and cigarettes, which started affecting my health.
So the 3rd. reason isn't really about the show affecting Keith's drinking, but the fact that people curb addictions when they start to affect their wellbeing directly, not because other people tell them that its harmful. Jesse's drinking is a good example, and maybe so is Patrice's eating habits (sorry Patrice, apparently you were huge). Anyone who ever quit smoking did so after years of being told they stank and that it was costly and unnatractive. They didn't do it because of others, they did it because it became a problem for them personally. I told some people Keith's crack story recently and I think its a good reminder that he knows when things are fucking him up too bad and he can't control himself.

-Yeeg

[dark_lobo]

I think Keith should listen to this show again in a week or so and notice how insanely defensive he was being.
Seriously, if drinking is affecting his everyday life, something's wrong there. Put down the bottle and listen to Chemda, odds are she cares about you and notices something is wrong.
Chemda realizes she has a problem with addictions, that's the first step to making things better, Keith on the other hand.. Hopefully he's realize that something's wrong before reality hits him in the face.

[dEadERest]

voted "no" before hearing the show. Love ya, Pops

[matt B]

C: Keith look at yourself you drink too much take it easy.
K: Oh yeah well you dont train enough for your triathalon! HA BOOM!! Gotcha!!!...now listen back to this, my tone, im trying to work through this togehter.
C:Ok...
K: BTW another bone i have to pick with Matt honestly I know more about London Calling by the Clash than him and in addition to me thinking he hasnt listened closely enough to not like it, he also wikipedias the lyrics and he definitely hadnt listened to it literally hundreds of times and discussed its sonic and lyrical content with friends who share enjoyment of it before the existence of wikipedia. And by the way all punk music sucks hair metal rocks!

Cant wait to drink in the woods!! SLAINTE'

[spooky]

AA, BFL

/shrug

[applediscordia]

What no more party super partys!!! I was really starting to like them. No matter what happens I support Keith's choice either way.

[Scoe]

^^FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOU!

I haven't listened to the show yet (saving it for work tomorrow) but I figured another talk about Keith's drinking would be coming sooner than later. As lame as it sounds I've actually been worried about his drinking myself. I am sure though, that my worry has a lot to do with the fact that I recently broke off a 2 year relationship because of my ex-girlfriend's drinking. Even though I am extra sensitive about this stuff because of my own life I definitely think any objective observer could agree that Keith could use a break from booze. I don't know if that will solve anything long term, however it may be instructive to see how dependent he is by seeing how difficult it is for him to take a break.

[elvisrico69]

NO MORE PARTYSUperparty