Drunk

[tuxgeo]

Ermphf. I was raised in the ways of booze from an early age. There was always beer and wine and whiskey (with an "e" before the "y" because it was American -- usually "Old Crow") in the house; but we children were not supposed to touch it. Mostly.

One time, when visiting relatives in Eastern Oregon, my father's uncle Harley took us (Dad, Mom, brothers, me) for a hike in the woods, in order to show us the site of the family's still. He told my father, "You're the first white man to see this." (Uncle Harley had more redskin in him than much of anything else, so Harley couldn't count himself as white.)

My first taste of alcohol was pink champagne on New Year's Eve in a cold motel room in San Francisco. Wisely, Dad had only purchased one bottle. We kids couldn't go too far with that. (He was working for Southern Pacific railroad at that time, and he wanted us to get a ride on the rail ferry over the Bay before the ferry got shut down, which closure had been announced.)

Did I mention the home-brew root beer in the 1950's? I did, didn't I?
(Yeah, "Hires" root beer extract, baker's yeast, cane sugar, and water. None of your authentic, snooty "malted barley" complications. . . .)

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Ermphf. I was raised in the ways of booze from an early age. There was always beer and wine and whiskey (with an "e" before the "y" because it was American -- usually "Old Crow") in the house; but we children were not supposed to touch it. Mostly.

One time, when visiting relatives in Eastern Oregon, my father's uncle Harley took us (Dad, Mom, brothers, me) for a hike in the woods, in order to show us the site of the family's still. He told my father, "You're the first white man to see this." (Uncle Harley had more redskin in him than much of anything else, so Harley couldn't count himself as white.)

My first taste of alcohol was pink champagne on New Year's Eve in a cold motel room in San Francisco. Wisely, Dad had only purchased one bottle. We kids couldn't go too far with that. (He was working for Southern Pacific railroad at that time, and he wanted us to get a ride on the rail ferry over the Bay before the ferry got shut down, which closure had been announced.)

That sounds like a book that would be worth a reading.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I'm 44 now.

First full can of beer? 6. (Real beer, not the watered-down muck sold in the USA.)

First time I was drunk with a hangover so bad I couldn't go to school the next day? 10.

I stopped drinking until I was 14... and then it started again.

Number of times drunk between 14 and 22? Far too many times to count. After 16, I guess I would average at least once every two weeks. After 18, at least once a week.

Number of times black-out drunk between 14 and 22? Far too many. Roughly a quarter of the times I ended up drunk I ended up with memory loss.

Age I stopped drinking alcohol? 22.

I realised I had a problem when I would drink a six-pack and forget things... and yet the alcohol wasn't enough to make me do anything other than want more alcohol.

Now I am the only Australian in Asia - and certainly the only one in the Philippines - who doesn't drink alcohol. I don't lecture people on the evils of drinking: I just know that as an Irish Catholic raised in Oz that, for me, alcohol will always be the demon drink.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

I'm 44 now.

First full can of beer? 6. (Real beer, not the watered-down muck sold in the USA.)

First time I was drunk with a hangover so bad I couldn't go to school the next day? 10.

I stopped drinking until I was 14... and then it started again.

Number of times drunk between 14 and 22? Far too many times to count. After 16, I guess I would average at least once every two weeks. After 18, at least once a week.

Number of times black-out drunk between 14 and 22? Far too many. Roughly a quarter of the times I ended up drunk I ended up with memory loss.

Age I stopped drinking alcohol? 22.

I realised I had a problem when I would drink a six-pack and forget things... and yet the alcohol wasn't enough to make me do anything other than want more alcohol.

Now I am the only Australian in Asia - and certainly the only one in the Philippines - who doesn't drink alcohol. I don't lecture people on the evils of drinking: I just know that as an Irish Catholic raised in Oz that, for me, alcohol will always be the demon drink.

Until you mentioned you were Australian, I thought you were Drew Barrymore.

On a more serious note, it's good to see that you were able to get control of your drinking.

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

Until you mentioned you were Australian, I thought you were Drew Barrymore.

On a more serious note, it's good to see that you were able to get control of your drinking.

Yeah, I figured mentioning I was Australian would explain it all.

Anyway, that's half a lifetime ago....

 

[Nellisir]

Drink rarely, drunk once, don't mind a little buzz. Low tolerance since I don't drink often. Got drunk in college, didn't black out, talked a lot, threw up a few times, had a hangover the next day, chalked it up to life experiences. Didn't experience anything I couldn't do sober. (It was college; I didn't need to drink to go to a crappy party and then sit on the floor of a dorm kitchen and talk for an hour.)

A little buzz makes you (well, me) feel relaxed. Less stressed. I don't feel any need to drink, so I don't do it very often, and my wife can't drink (allergic to alcohol) so I'm usually drinking alone. She thinks it's funny when I'm more than a little buzzed, and not in a really good "laughing with you" kind of way, so that's a disincentive.

I like hard cider. I'm learning to like beer. I like reislings, but not much else for wine. I like nice and crisp, the real hoppy beers are not my thing.

Not being very social or drink-oriented, I don't know much about other alcohols, but I'm learning. Researched good scotches; bought a bottle, been slowly drinking that.

Don't know about mixed drinks. Maybe next year.

 

[The_Silversword]

As a few posters here could tell you, yes, Ive been drunk lots of times. The worst time was when I was chasing shots of jack Daniels with shots of Jim Bean, oh jeeze was that a bad idea, I ended up waking up at some dudes house wearing somebody elses pants, to this day I have no idea what happened, nor do I really want to know!!

But as to why people drink, think its because alcohol gets rid of your inhibitions, so it makes it easier to talk to members of the opposite sex, or tell your boss exaclty what you think of him, good times, good times. Then, of course there the pleasant "buzz" you get, an almost warm, fuzzy feeling you get. Of course theres a very,very, fine line between the warm fuzzy feeling and heaving your guts up in a toilet.

 

[Zombie_Babies]

The first time I was drunk I was at the ripe old age of 5. I liked marachino cherries and my dad put them in the highballs he made for my mother and aunts (Crown Royal so not terrible). When I thought the adults weren't looking I would tip the mostly empty glasses to my innocent mouth and get the cherries they left behind. They obviously made note of this and began to leave slightly more in the bottom of the glass. Apparently by the end of the festivities I was quite entertaining.

I really started drinking when I was 16. I drank as often as I could cuz that's what we did when we hung out. No problems with school or whatever, either. In my early to mid twenties I had a terrible job that drained my soul and a friend was in a similar situation. We'd meet after work pretty much every day and one or both weekend days, too. We'd drink from when we got there to close and then we'd sit with the bartenders and owners, position ourselves so the cops couldn't see us through the windows and drink for free until 4 or 5 in the morning. It was pretty cool. Nothing I'd even attempt to do again.

Nowdays I don't drink all that often and when I do I only drink quality stuff (you can ask me what I consider to be quality stuff but it's a li'l much for this post). I do get drunk on occasion but I also have no problem sitting on the couch with one (admittedly large) glass of good scotch or outside with a cigar and some wonderful cognac (reminds me: I really need to ask my friend to get his source to bring me some more back from France) and be happy with having just that. When I go out to drink I do not drive if I can help it. If I must drive to a bar (so my wife can drink or whatever) then I have a hard limit of two tall Guinness and nothing more for the entire evening. I don't play stupid games anymore. I did when I was a kid and it's something I look back on with true regret and a feeling of real luck.

I do need to watch myself. My paternal grandfather was a terrible drunk. My dad quit drinking at age 17 because he began to see his father in him. My brother almost died in a car accident from drinking and luckily finally quit. So, you see, it's in me. I'm as careful as I can be and so far have been ok. Since I've been playing this game for 19 years now, well, I think I'll make it so long as I always keep that knowledge in the back of my mind. Knowing that a friend lost his sister to a drunk driver and the memory of my brother in the hospital helps a lot. Knowing another friend nearly killed himself driving after he drank with me is another good prod in the gray matter.

I've found that my shifting tastes have helped quite a bit. Drunk isn't my endgame because I truly enjoy the taste of the good stuff. I can't say I won't drink to party ever again - I know myself and I know who I drink with - but I can say that I'll watch myself very closely and back off when I need to. I have no problem asking my friends if they think I'm going overboard either. Drinking can be a very dangerous game. It's important to always remember what it is you're playing with.

 

[billd91]

I drink, usually moderately. There's typically beer in the house and I'll have one a night with or after dinner. One of my great pipe dreams would be to get 2 bottles of every beer in the world to sample. Why 2 bottles? Because you want to get more than just a first impression and I figure a second bottle a couple days later fits that bill.

We quite often drink while gaming - then it's usually more like 2-3 bottles of beer and/or some a shot or two of whiskey. It's part of our adult social lives - we don't get drunk doing it, but with dinner and gaming, it's fun to share.

I think the last time I was on a real bender was nearly a decade ago. I was traveling for work and visited some old college friends. Drinking ensued - a lot of drinking. I was pretty hung over the next day. That part wasn't fun, but the drinking with friends was.

 

[Zombie_Babies]

I drink, usually moderately. There's typically beer in the house and I'll have one a night with or after dinner. One of my great pipe dreams would be to get 2 bottles of every beer in the world to sample. Why 2 bottles? Because you want to get more than just a first impression and I figure a second bottle a couple days later fits that bill.

Good point, you really do need to learn a beer.

I think the last time I was on a real bender was nearly a decade ago. I was traveling for work and visited some old college friends. Drinking ensued - a lot of drinking. I was pretty hung over the next day. That part wasn't fun, but the drinking with friends was.

The older I get, the worse hangovers are and the easier they are to get. I wonder if it's more maturation or pain that causes people to (generally) drink less as they age.