It has been over a week since my straightedge lifestyle has finished. Lots of my friends are asking me if I've fallen back in to my old lifestyle, if i've started drinking loads again.

I say, "Of course I haven't", but really I should say, "Well, kind of". In all honesty I've kept a little bit of my straightedge lifestyle and I've gone back to a little bit of my old, unhealthy lifestyle.

I'm still going to the gym but not twice a week like I used to. I'm finding that I'm making excuses not to go but when I do go I work hard there. As for takeaways, I've been to the chip show twice or so since last week. Not good, I know. Think of it like this though. Before my period of straightedge I used to go three to four times a week, which wasn't healthy for me.

Finally, I come to alcohol.I used to binge drink in the first year. So much so that when my friends asked me if I wanted to go to the LRV dressed as a woman, I did it. Not a highlight of my life.

On the day that I finished this godforsaken blog, I went to the local outdoor and purchased a bottle of wine, red wine to be precise. After a glass I was on the floor. It affected me in a way alcohol has never affected me before.

It was a good feeling though.

When I think back to when I started this blog, I remember feeling optimistic. I remember being really excited about it and wanting to start as soon as possible. It quickly became apparent that the key to being straightedge was having other people around you who were straightedge.

That was my problem, I didn't have anyone like that around me. That night at the LRV was kind of like the last straw. Being surrounded by drunken messes did not really help my straightedge lifestyle.

I found this video on YouTube the other day, it really gave me more of an insight into the straightedge lifestyle. It made me realise the the straightedge movement is a lot more than just not drinking and taking drugs. It's about keeping yourself 'pure' to a certain degree.

So the all knowing Wikipedia defines Straightedge as a lifestyle and youth movement that started within the hardcore punk subculture whose adherents make a lifetime commitment to refrain from drinking alcohol, using tobacco products, and taking any recreational drugs.

I became familiar with straightedge on a trip to Wales to visit my friend Jack at University when I met a girl called Olivia who told me she was Straightedge. To be honest I had no idea what it meant. Needless to say, she filled me in on it straight away.

Since then I have encountered many straightedge followers. At the Reading Music Festival 2007 I met two guys who had been doing it for a couple of years. They said they wouldn't want to drink any alcohol again and even if they did, they would be hammered off one beer.

Couple this with the fact that one of my favourite wrestlers, yes I like wrestling, called CM Punk (below)is straightedge and you can see why I kind of chose it as my blog reason.


I'll leave you with a dose of wisdom that a friend of mine once gave me; Don't wear socks with sandles. Random, I know.

Toodles.

So...here are the rules that ,come midnight on Sunday 18th October 2009,I will follow strictly and with devotion.

DRINKAGE-Alcohol,tea/coffee or fizzy drinks will NOT be drank.

JUNK FOOD- No takeaways, frozen or convenience food will be consumed. Crisps, chocolate and other treats like this will also be banned.

OUTGOING ME-I must go out to a club or a pub for more than two hours every week so my resolve can be truly tested.

HEALTHYNESS-The gym must be attended at least two times a week.

ANTI-DRUGS-I will not take ANY drugs (unless really needed).