I decided to cut back drinking in dramatic fashion because of the realization that it's not going to kill me and therefore serves no purpose. So not constantly drinking, it's . . . sobering. Sobriety; interesting and strange with all its side-effects.

The constant drinking was making me feel like shit, and I think I can confirm that all, if not most, of my gripes and grievances regarding my gut and physical ailments were alcohol-related. Appetite is back and that's great. I don't struggle to eat and that's great. Eating more than once a day is, um, OK.

A bummer is that I get hungry now. Sometimes I find myself looking around my apartment at untimely moments to see if there are any morsels to munch on and glad for a pack of crackers.

A minor inconvenience is having to think of eating twice a day. I know, poor baby. But for years I've only had to think of it once and get it out of the way. Saved time and money, too. Well, time at least. I'm not doing the math, but I'm getting the sense that the amount I'm spending on more food is still offset by what I'm not spending on alcohol.

I've taken to looking for places to eat on Google maps. I wonder if anyone else does this. You can check out photos of eateries that are mapped out on Google maps and see what the place and the food look like and if it's appealing. Key for me is whether there is a readable photo of the menu if deciphering from Chinese is needed.

Sleep I mentioned has been "alright". It has continued to be alright, meaning no nights that I would call insomnia. The hours I've been sleeping aren't a lot, but it's never felt like insomnia, I haven't been struggling with it.

It's not insomnia where I can't sleep. It's just that I'm not sleeping a lot, but when I get up I'm satisfied with how much I slept. I may crash during the day or need a power nap, but it doesn't feel like I'm dealing with a problem.

Actually insomnia rarely led to crashes or power naps. Not getting enough sleep leads to a fatigue switch flipping and crashing, nodding off or power napping. With insomnia, there is no switch or it's a dead switch and nothing happens.

And this change occurs right after I cut back on drinking. The relationship between alcohol and sleep wouldn't surprise anyone, but with my type of insomnia, I would be surprised if it all hinged on alcohol.

I thought my insomnia was of a particular type that I was able to brush off cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the most common treatment for insomnia. I thought there were deeper psychological issues involved or even a physiological basis that psychiatry isn't even looking for.

If it turns out it was all just because of alcohol, I'd be a little disappointed. Although I wonder how drinking less affects my other sleep-related quirks. For instance, I can't fall asleep unless there's music in the background. Every night, the last thing I do before turning off the light is play a CD with a 30 minute timer set. Eventually, I guess, I'll get around to test if this is still so.

Another one that is unlikely to be tested is that I can't fall asleep if there's someone else in the room. I have to be alone. That probably fits well if the other person isn't happy about music playing in the background.

You know, I keep starting these posts with something I want to say, but end up writing about all these other things. Distractions. That's what I continue to do, constantly distracting myself.