Well, there is no alcohol at all in the house anymore, and I plan to keep it this way. Well, I tell a lie. I still have some... when I left my previous job I received a very nice bottle of wine from my boss, which sits inside the pantry. I never actually have any intention to ever drink it, it is a constant memory of the place where I used to work which was a job I loved very much with people I adored.
I had to leave though, due to the fact my job became less and less secure, and when I heard of a new job opportunity I jumped at it. Now I make 30% more than before, and have many other benefits.
So, today will mark the first day I will not consume any alcohol in around 2 years. Kind of worked out nicely since I'm sick as a dog with a cold, so drinking Green Tea, eating Congee and just trying to rest before the work week begins again.

I have come to the conclusion that my life will be more fulfilling and enjoyable without alcohol. So, starting from today, I shall no longer consume alcohol, socially or not. My online presence is not a LiveJournal-focused presence at all. I barely visit this site, barely bother with interests or community pages, or 'friends'.
It was not becoming a problem, it never has affected my job or my marriage, but it just has not felt enjoyable these days. My friends are split 50/50 almost in regards to alcohol consumption in a social scene, half of my friends are laborers and the other half are office workers, some are borderline alcoholics, and some have never even tried a glass of wine.
So, my LiveJournal posting will be an account of how this goes, whether it alters my purchasing decisions, social situations and whatever else comes up.
Now, while I say it has never affected my job or marriage, I do on occasions consume more than what would be considered a healthy amount. Particularly on my weekends. This is actually what has led me to this decision, as well as the fact that this will give me more money to do things around my house. I am mostly posting this on here, with the intent of fulfilling it, and if I send it out there... I have more of a chance to actually stick to it.
If anyone has any anti-alcohol or Giving It Up community pages to link me to, let me know, be interesting to read other people's accounts.

So, this is what I ended up cooking on Sunday night, the previously mentioned Chicken Wing marinade recipe was used in this dish for my wife and I.

Who I am, well, that's easy.
I'm married, have been for 3 years, I'm married to a Chinese-born but Hong Kong-raised woman who is 6 years older than me. I'm 24. Marriage is not perfect, but nothing in this world is; I do know that she is the one for me when it comes to this life.
I'm a supervisor for a manufacturing plant that produces assayware for gold testing in mines and laboratories, as well as a variety of other precious metals. I'm also a TESOL, A Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Mostly I teach Chinese, Vietnamese and Taiwanese, I do so in person to 2nd generation migrants or via the Internet, Email and Skype to those still in their countries.
I live in Perth, Australia. At 24 I have afforded myself a comfortable 3 bedroom house with a nice backyard. Thanks to the economic downturn, it was bought at a relatively cheap price that my wife and I can afford without sacrificing our lifestyle.
My wife plays piano, I play computer games. Currently I'm working on a novel detailing the last 3 years of my life, which has not been perfect to say the least, it has been a 12 month project so far.
I travel to Mainland China at least once a year to visit friends, family and to look at job prospects should I wish to take my English Teaching abroad for a while.
My wife and I don't share too much nerdism though we do watch True Blood and Californication together, not much else is shared besides TVB (Hong Kong) TV Shows. I however, love Sci-Fi, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Lost and many other shows like Burn Notice.
I've had a few articles published as a freelancer for some Australian Computer magazines, but quickly discovered my life schedule could not accommodate such a career.
Anyway, that's me in a nut shell. I'm sure to be posting on a wide range of topics as time goes on. Just figured an intro would be a good thing to do on the first day.

Being married to a Chinese woman for 3 years now I have had to learn some cooking, thankfully I really enjoy cooking as well as Chinese food. Tonight for example, I'm making chicken-wings. A marinade I use, which I developed to my own and my wife's personal tastes but am sure most would enjoy is,

4 tablespoons of Light Soy Sauce
3 tablespoons of Hoisin Sauce
1 tablespoon of Honey
1 tablespoon of Ketchup
1/2 tablespoon of salt
3/4 tablespoon of black pepper
2 thick slices of ginger, crushed
3 cloves of garlic, crushed

Some people add water to their marinade, I don't, instead I just come back to the fridge, and toss the chicken around a few times to let every piece soak inside in the marinade. I'll leave it for 4-6 hours or overnight. Most oven-cook their chicken wings, I actually stir-fry them, it's quicker and saves on your electric bill, Stir-frying basically takes 15-20 minutes if you're cooking 10 pieces, really depends on the size of your Wok, I tend to do it in batches, half at a time around 7-12 pieces each time, and really the key is to constantly toss it in the wok; stir-fry it. Don't let any piece stick to the wok, and at the very end I'll mix some cornflour and water, maybe 1/4 a cup of water and 1 tablespoon of cornflour, and put that in at the end, turn the heat off and go on cooking the remainder of dinner; vegetables. If I want it a bit spicy, I'll dice a whole red pepper and put it in the marinade. That's basically it, I'll be serving this tonight with steam rice and some stir-fried Bok Choy and Carrot.

By the way, my name is Michael and this LJ will be about a wide range of topics.