In this two-fisted drinking town, it often seems impossible to leave one's apartment without inevitably ending up with a hangover the next day. Local author, comedian and poet Bucky Sinister, however, has been through the ordeal and didn't even have to flee to some quietly sober suburb. Over at the Bold Italic today, Bucky eloquently offers up his experience about where to go, what to do and how to brave the city without the liquid courage.

Sinister, who has literally written volumes about his experiences with drugs and booze, not to mention a couple of self-help books about recovery, says he started with a simple routine: lifting weights at the 24 Hour Fitness, late nights at the old Hunt's Donuts on Mission Street, cheap tapes from Lost Weekend. When that got boring, however, being social and sober meant picking up some new friends. Because nothing will make someone fall off the wagon faster than friendships that are entirely based on alcohol-slicked interactions. Bucky explains the pleasant side of his sobering experience:

I had no idea that people went to dinner without drinks, went to movies sober, and saw bands without being high. I really thought that everyone who wasn't a fundamentalist drank as much as I did. Not only could I do things sober, there were no negative consequences, and I actually remembered what I had done that night.

For some dry activities, Bucky suggests readings at City Lights, comedy and venues like the Knockout, where the straightedge kids are just as welcome as the drinkers. Plus, sober people have all kinds of time. The five books Bucky has published since becoming sober are a testament to that.

Read on over at the Bold Italic to see how the sober half lives.