I'm no longer compared to the Irish *sigh*
I have absolutely no tolerance for alcohol anymore...
None.
Diddley.
In my heyday (between 16-21, that is) I used to drink like a fish. A stupid, provacatively dressed, underage fish. I was the guppy of the drinking world. Pints of beer, shots of tequila, vodka tonics, and endless bottles of white wine just disappeared into my gullet. None of which was followed by a hangover. I thought I had a hangover once, when I was 20. Turns out it was probably a light head cold, compared to the thunking "kill me now" headaches, the icky chills, churning nausea and the heart stopping paranoia of the "Oh God, did I really do that last night?" brain fuzzies of my late twenties.
I remember being asked if I was an alcoholic once (albeit by my far-right, Christian Evangelical, "all things equal sin", American dorm mate) because I was onto my third beer at a frat party. It was Busch Lite. I didn't think you could even get a buzz off a keg of the stuff. You can't get more watered down than that, but my friends were quite merry and rolling (by that, I mean chundering) in the aisles on this mock beer subsitute. Now I know how they feel.
Maybe it was an English thing...after all, I grew up on pulled pints that you could stand a spoon in, and I believe I had an I.V. drip of Southern Comfort and coke inserted during my later high school years. All that drink! What a culture...by the time I was 13 I was in the pub...on my lunch break...in my school uniform, and I still got served.
But those days are oh-so far behind me now. I simply can't drink at all anymore. I had three glasses of red wine at a dinner party last night, and while I don't have a hangover today, the possibility was distinctly there. I feel like I am playing Russian Roulette...today, nothing - next week, the same amount could result in brain crushing pain.
And the paranoia! Oh my God! I'm out at a party, drink in hand, chatting nicely with people, laughing at their jokes, having a dance with the girls and I KNOW that I'm not making a fool of myself, I KNOW that I am fine and nice and polite and NOT AT ALL even tipsy. But the next day I convince myself that I was being foolish or acting out, even if MB insists that I was fine. And I KNOW I was fine, but somehow, along the way, I get all paranoid!
This is beginning to sound like an AA moment. I'd better stop!
None.
Diddley.
In my heyday (between 16-21, that is) I used to drink like a fish. A stupid, provacatively dressed, underage fish. I was the guppy of the drinking world. Pints of beer, shots of tequila, vodka tonics, and endless bottles of white wine just disappeared into my gullet. None of which was followed by a hangover. I thought I had a hangover once, when I was 20. Turns out it was probably a light head cold, compared to the thunking "kill me now" headaches, the icky chills, churning nausea and the heart stopping paranoia of the "Oh God, did I really do that last night?" brain fuzzies of my late twenties.
I remember being asked if I was an alcoholic once (albeit by my far-right, Christian Evangelical, "all things equal sin", American dorm mate) because I was onto my third beer at a frat party. It was Busch Lite. I didn't think you could even get a buzz off a keg of the stuff. You can't get more watered down than that, but my friends were quite merry and rolling (by that, I mean chundering) in the aisles on this mock beer subsitute. Now I know how they feel.
Maybe it was an English thing...after all, I grew up on pulled pints that you could stand a spoon in, and I believe I had an I.V. drip of Southern Comfort and coke inserted during my later high school years. All that drink! What a culture...by the time I was 13 I was in the pub...on my lunch break...in my school uniform, and I still got served.
But those days are oh-so far behind me now. I simply can't drink at all anymore. I had three glasses of red wine at a dinner party last night, and while I don't have a hangover today, the possibility was distinctly there. I feel like I am playing Russian Roulette...today, nothing - next week, the same amount could result in brain crushing pain.
And the paranoia! Oh my God! I'm out at a party, drink in hand, chatting nicely with people, laughing at their jokes, having a dance with the girls and I KNOW that I'm not making a fool of myself, I KNOW that I am fine and nice and polite and NOT AT ALL even tipsy. But the next day I convince myself that I was being foolish or acting out, even if MB insists that I was fine. And I KNOW I was fine, but somehow, along the way, I get all paranoid!
This is beginning to sound like an AA moment. I'd better stop!
posted by Jennifer @ 10:45 a.m.
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