When I made the decision to stop drinking, it was on my walk home from my first night in jail. I decided that I was a person who does not drink. If I had thought of myself as an alcoholic or as a person who drinks but is struggling not to, I never would have had a chance. Within a week or two I even found myself going back into places where I used to drink, for food. Pineapple juice with grenadine and a splash or soda is really good. Then there was a place that added syrups for flavoring margaritas to Sprite - and with no alcohol, you can even get them to go. Part of what I liked about drinking was coming up with such creative combinations of ingredients. It has been 2 1/2 years now. Before, I tried to quit drinking and only made it six weeks. Every day was a struggle not to drink, because I saw myself as someone who might have a drinking problem and I thought that by abstaining I would find out if I was.