Oh noes tha booz!

I wanted to take a minute and talk about the booze.

I drink

I plan to continue to drink.

I hate when I see all the time someone say something like. I never really drank so I don't have a problem with this precept but I decided to try it once and now I understand why the Buddha said not to. Then they recount a story where they get plowed, it makes them stupid and they get a terrible headache.

Well of course they had a fucking problem. They've got no tolerance for alcohol and then they go out with some yahoos and let those people tell them how much to drink instead of listening to their bodies like they should. Plus since they don't drink they really don't understand the signals that their body _is_ giving them. What the fuck are they expecting? Maybe they should start with one beer or one glass of wine?

Now they think that everyone who drinks constantly wakes up with huge hangovers and is just soo taken in by the booze that they can't bring themselves to stop drinking. Instead of maybe thinking that there are a couple of people out there who have a drink or two and then FUCKING STOP before the puking* and the memory loss**.

Alternatively they'll say "I used to have a big problem with it and it almost killed me. One day I crashed my car and ended up hospitalized and now I understand drinking is bad"

Drinking isn't bad. Not having control is bad. The second set of people really should stop drinking but they judge the rest of us based on their experiences. Which are wrong.

what about people who have a single drink and STOP. what about people who drink mindfully enjoying the flavor and aroma of the beverage. Who don't just plow through a whole six pack or who can take ~1hr to drink like two thimbles full of Scotch***?

What they aren't thinking of is that since they're taking that second drink usually that means they enjoyed the first one. If you enjoyed the first one, why not get some and try it at home. Or go back to whatever bar you went to a different day. See what it does to your body and then see what happens with two. Figure out where it makes you feel good and where it stops making you feel good.

OR

Here's a little idea I've been working on. Just drink it because it _tastes_ good and STOP before you get so fucked up that you start calling your ex girlfriends at two in the the morning to reminisce about the great times you had back in high school****.

I'm not saying everyone should drink. I know a few people who really are better off staying away from it. Of course most of them don't. I think that's the trouble. You never notice the people who don't have a problem. All we notice are the people with the problems. They are the ones who make the news for killing a family of six drunk driving. Or for pissing in a flowerpot at a restaurant. The rest don't look drunk, because they're not stupid.

I'm also certainly not saying that everyone should enjoy drinking. It's a beverage, if you don't enjoy it don't drink it. But recognize that if the person who is giving you the drink gets drunk on it daily. They are probably buying the cheap stuff. I can't afford to be an alcoholic on the booze I drink. Hell at ~$60+ for my favorites I'm lucky if I can one bottle a year. There's a huge difference between a beverage you can get at Vons for less than ten bucks and something truly crafted.


By the way just a little side note if you drink till you're drunk then get behind the wheel of a car you are a fucking asshole who is taking the lives of children everywhere in your inebriated, delayed reflex, lowered perception and poor judgemented hands.

Just so we're clear drunk people kill CHILDREN (and others) all over the world every day. Sit the fuck back down and drink water till you sober up, call a cab or have someone else drive.

Gassho ^_^


* Which I have had precisely 4 times in my entire life. I've been hung over 6. I crossed the 'can count them on 1 hand' line about 6 months ago a half a year after my 35th birthday.
** Which I have never had.
*** Yes I really can savor my Scotch that much.
**** Never done this. Seriously.