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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Imperialus" data-source="post: 2180140" data-attributes="member: 893">What I don't get is that you seem to equate having a social drink in a pub with getting absolutely ****faced and attempting to stumble home before passing out in a gutter swimming in your own vomit. There is only one person in the world that I know who has that kind of reaction to a single drink and that's because he has a medical condition that requires him to take a laundry list of medication none of which reacts well to booze.Now I come from a long and prestigious line of alchoholcs and as such I moderate my drinking carefully and never drink to get smashed, if for no other reason than because I'd have to drop the better part of a paycheque to do so, however I'm a regular face at the campus bar and though I'll usually only actually buy a drink maybe once a week I'll sit down, have a smoke, feed the jukebox and hang out with people between classes. It beats sitting by myself in the cafeteria reading a novel and unless I have something pressing due I don't lack for time to finish my work. The 3.2 GPA while working is evidence of this.You work nights, which I know can be a real damper on social engagements. Even so though why not try to talk with a few people at work during your lunch break and see if they want to get together an hour or two before work starts one day and go to a pub near work. Unless you're a truly heroic or incredibly cheep drunk no one will drink enough in two hours to be incapable of working night shift tech support. If you don't like the taste of beer, try vodka and orange juice or rum and coke or something. Vodka is a good drink especially before work, it doesn't have a strong smell and if you mix it the alcohol is barely discernable.As for Fashion:Take your next paycheque, yes your very next one and go buy some new cloths, and not that Conan shirt you've been eyeing at the FLGS. Go to a mall, yes a mall in all it's glorification of teenaged preppies and find a store that sells these 4 things.1) Polo shirts2) shirts that have logos on them that have nothing to do with barbarians2) a variety if jeans3) kakis.This store has become your friend, in my case it's Bluenotes and Roots. Neither are overly trendy or expensive but they have good cloths in a variety of sizes. Buy at least one full outfit from them and try it for a day, see if you still feel like you.Get some polo shirts for work unless your job requires that you wear a suit. Combine with kakis. Voila! A 5-minute work casual outfit. This also looks good for dinner out at a casual restaurant with the family or a casual (first) date. You look good but not like you're hung up on it, you're boss will appreciate it and your co-workers will notice. Even in this you can go for subtle humor/sense of self. I found a polo shirt a few years back that has the guy on the horse falling off. No one but you will notice unless they are looking and when they do 99% of the time they will find it hilarious.Buy at least one button up shirt and a pair of slacks, not one with a silk screen dragon on it but avoid a plain white one as well. Try on a few until you find one that suits your complexion. Most guys our age don't have too many occasions where we really need to dress up but it really sucks to be underdressed at a semi formal occasion.buy some T-shirts for everyday wear that are for lack of a better term "geek chic". Mostly this seems to be retro geek stuff like a shirt with a Gi-Joe or Tranformers logo on it. Find a band that you like that is at least moderately popular, in my case Led Zeppelin (listen to ramble on, claim to be a geek and then say you don't like Led Zeppelin) and the Clash and buy a couple of their shirts. Make sure that you have enough cloths that you can wear at least a clean shirt, clean underwear, and clean socks every day pants can be worn more than once but everything else should be clean each day. One other important thing about shirts, buy shirts that fit. If you are a large, buy a large, not an XL or a medium. I used to always buy large shirts that made it look as though I was swimming in them. I switched to mediums and even such a small change made a huge difference. You can still keep your gamer/startreck/starwars shirts but wear them around the house, the FLGS or to the mall never to work or when you are going out somewhere.Jeans are great for days off and if you get a pair that fits well they will look good on almost any body type. NEVER wear sweatpants.Get a decent pair of shoes, leather or fake leather ankle highs works great. Avoid trainers and for god's sake get laces not Velcro.Get an decent bottle of aftershave, spend between 25 and 50 bucks, don't worry it'll last forever, and use it, not too much, a dab on each cheek after shaving is plenty. Find a deodorant that seems to work, easy way to tell is if your armpits feel damp, it isn't working.Go to a salon or barber, a proper one not a kwick kuts or anything like that. Talk to the stylist about what kind of hairstyle would suit you. Tell them how long you are willing to spend on your hair each day and ask what sort of product they would recommend for your hair type and budget. Careful with this though since hair care products can cost a small fortune. Drop between 20 and 30 bucks on that visit. After getting a haircut you like you can go to a cheaper place as long as you take a picture of your hair after getting it cut and ask them to duplicate it. As a guy you should probably get your hair cut once every two months or so.*edit* One other thing that looks good on almost anyone in almost every situation is save some money and spend a couple hundred dollars on a really nice leather or faux leather jacket.  I'm not talking biker jacket here but a relatively plain black or dark brown waist length spring/fall jacket.  It's a great jacket to wear with anything from your gamer shirts and jeans to the kakis and polo shirt combination.  They're also waterproof and good windbreakers.  Take good care of it and it'll last you years.If you have a beard keep it trimmed and neat, can't offer much more advice than that since I shave.Toss old cloths or donate them to goodwill before there are gaping holes in the knees, crotch, butt, armpit ect. Your cloths will tell you when it's coming time to retire them. Once the logo on your shirt is faded the seams on your pants are starting to fray ect it's time to go. If you aren’t wearing the same pair of pants every day a decent pair should last you at least a year or two though so when one starts to wear out on you just bite the bullet and buy a new pair.Generally after putting together a decent closet if you budget between 50 and 100 dollers a month on personal appearance you're laughing. A hundred bucks is a pair of name brand jeans like Levis of CK when they arn't on sale or at least 3 or 4 shirts.It'd take a bit of effort but I fully expect that within 2 or 3 months you could have yourself looking a hundred times better than you are now and still feeling like yourself. I can almost guarantee you that you'll feel more confidant and more than likely be a lot happier even if you are still single.Anyhow I have to go write a final.</blockquote>

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