Sunday, March 22, 2009

I'm sure I ain't drunk whilst writing this.


Reading Kirst blog and coming home from a party where I had a few glass of beer made me think of my own experience with alcohol. I am not a drinker, but I would say that I do drink socially once in a while - in a dinner party, a gathering with female friends or at home during holidays.

But I confess that there was a time in the past when I got so drunk I woke up in my bath room floor with a lump on my head. I remember I went there to pee, but maybe I passed out. I know that's awful, especially when I have to deal with a hang over the next day. But after that incident I told myself I will never get drunk again.

So now, whenever an occasion prevent me from declining an invitation to be sociable and alcohol drinks is being offered, I see to it that I only get to a certain stage of drunkeness. I am not an expert on this but somehow the experience I have with alcohol had given me the ability to more accurately gauge my level of drunkeness. Obviously, everyone will have their own personal definitions for each of these stages, if they even acknowledge them at all, but anyways here are mine:

Warm: the way I feel after that first sip or two of alcohol. My skin starts to feel a little warm to the touch. For some unlucky Asians, our faces begin to turn red. Other than that though, there is no discernable difference in behavior.

Buzzed: When I first notice that I have alcohol coursing through my body. The main symptom of this stage is slight numbness in the limbs, like I can literally begin to feel my body start the process of losing control.

Tipsy: Here's where the fun starts. My skin continues to feel warm, and my muscles begin to lose their fine motor control. Everything loosens up, including my tongue. When I start talking louder and more than usual, then I've probably entered the tipsy stage.

OK that's the stage where I would courteously decline another glass. I would rather just have water with ice and just examine where the rest of my drinking buddies are at that stage. Of course the next is pretty obvious.

Drunk: There are 3 more stages after this? Yes, obviously there are. For me, drunk is when the extremes start. This is when a person noticeably have ADD one minute, then be able to have a deep intellectual conversation about life and death the next minute. And tongue is pretty loose at this point, and pretending to move like a sober person takes great effort. However, motor control is still present. One of the easier ways to recognize when someone is drunk is by their greetings. If she walk up to me and say hello much louder and more exuberantly than necessary on any level, then she is AT LEAST at the drunk stage.

Sloppy: This stage is easy to recognize. The main symptom is the inability to walk straight. When a person start making zig-zags on Sampaguita street and it's not on purpose, then she would have entered the sloppy stage.

Wasted: When a person comes up and gives you a bear hug, then you know she's wasted. Also evident through the "you are so awesome i love you so much" rhetoric from a person at this stage. Also, this is when everyone is at their ballsiest. Nothing is too taboo to talk about, too scary to do, or too intimidating to shy away from. This stage is the start of throwing skeletons out of closets, and maybe memory goes in and out at this stage.

Blackout: Oh, it's everything mentioned above, except you can't remember a damn thing.

Let us admit it, when someone is drunk there is laughter all over and something funny is bound to happen. Stupid and odd things surely becomes funny the moment alcohol kicks in our brain. Best is, when you can crack jokes even when you are amongst the corniest people on earth during a drinking session.

We drink for many reasons. Some do, because they want to get to sleep, to numb pain, or to forget their problems. Others do because they want to have fun, chill out, and maybe find it a good ground to make new friends and acquaintances. The only problem nowadays is the sad fact that several irresponsible people drink more than they should, and sobriety becomes a discarded word.

Whatever your reason is, always remember that being responsible is always the key to having fun with friends and enjoying a nice cold glass of beer.

Cheers!

12 comments:

Tracey said...

Then there are the people who become nasty and abusive when drunk, can totally ruin someones life ....only to not remember a thing the following day, I have a relative like this. I only ever drink a glass of red wine on special occasions, I've been drunk as a youth and didn't like it!
Tracey x x x

Odette Bautista Mikolai said...

Tracey,
living with a chronic drinker is even more frustrating. it totally put the family in a very sad situation...

bubble said...

I drink a glass of wine on occasions but i would never get very drunk.I had a bad do once when i was younger and it put me off for life!

My mum wil remember this...i went out with my friends and i was drinking all night,i got home and i couldn't walk, everything was spinning (my parents were in bed).I felt real sick but i didn't make it to the loo and i vomited in mums kitchen sink (i was so bad i forgot to clean it after me). The next morning, mum was scooping what looked liked pasta out of the sink with her hands and shouted at me for cooking pasta late at night and not cleaning the sink out... SORRY MUM!!

xxx

Odette Bautista Mikolai said...

hmmm...tracey said she has a very sharp tongue, and finding that mess in her kitchen sink would surely make her go nuts. so, maybe mom knew but she simply is more glad that you are able to come home despite your condition.
moms are very intuitive!

Odette Bautista Mikolai said...

Amy,
anyway, i keep laughing at your comment even when iam already lying in bed. that sure makes my day!!
i bet Tracey does too...hahaha!

Angry American said...

Hmmm...

I don't know what to say. My grandpa on my mom's side was a drunk but, I'm guessing he had bipolar too. Other than that, I don't have any friends or family who are.

I've never been drunk, and I've never been around friends when they got drunk. But, years ago I was at a bar with a friend and I got her friend drunk but didn't realize it. I kept buying her beer and shots cause she said she can hold her liqour.

Well, she's native american. Because of the way their brains work, or brain chemistry, native americans can become totally insane and even violent when they're drunk (no joke, this is a fact). She was drunk, and insane from being drunk. I'm pretty sure that it's for this reason, and this reason only, that what happened when I got her back to her place, happened.

I don't know why, but gay men seem to be the only people who "lick their chops" when they notice me. Odette knows what I'm talking about. However, I've always said that a woman would either have to be drunk or insane to want to make out with me. As for what happened above, you do the math.

Odette Bautista Mikolai said...

AA,
i presume that after a couple of drinks, she realized that you are the best looking, and smartest male in the entire bar and she fancy you!
what happened the next day? Lol!

Tracey said...

I remember THAT night with Amy! Awful, disgusting mess..... yes I do laugh now though.
Odette how old is AA? there's no good asking him!!!!
x x x

Angry American said...

I left that night. Like I said, she was drunk AND insane. I didn't wanna find out what might be "missing" the next day. :(

I'm 40 btw but, please don't ask my I.Q. as it drops hourly. I suffer from early onset Oldtimer's diseas as well so I might forget anyway. 8)=

Siva said...

Wow..I cant image that you got drunken in that way ji..Even though it sounds funny..But when we attach with you feeling and look at that it shows your poor..HEHE..Dont drink any more alot ji..I never drink any stuffs related with alchol in my life,...Take care ji...after long time i seen your blog..Always intersting as all the time...Hariom..NAmaste

Sid Brechin said...

My Dad gave me the best description of a hangover I know. "Hoping you will die and scared that you will". Pretty much sums up how they feel.

I have seen too much of the bad side of what drinking can do. My step Dad lost a nephew to a drunk driver last year. I saw way too much when I worked on the subway. The most unusual thing was someone known as a frequent drunk that as far as we could tell was dead. We put him on the platform. Paramedics came hooked him up to machines. He was dead call for the coroner to pronounce. One of the inspectors in disgust kicked the bottle still in hand away. Suddenly the dead guys hand started to move gropping for the bottle. So drunk even the paramedics electronics could not tell he was alive but still so desperate for the bottle he wouldn't let it get away.

btw as far as I know he still has not been pronounced dead.

Odette Bautista Mikolai said...

Siva ji,
don't worry i don't drink to get drunk. but sometimes its just a nice way to chill out, hahaha.

Sid,
i laugh out loud reading this story. how can the paramedics not know the guy is still alive? it was good though he did not collapse on the railroad tracks... phew!

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