What was the last thing you did for play or fun?

Get Drunk

When I was younger, as now, I could not stand the taste of alcohol. But back then, on a few occasions, I forced some down just to fit in. I usually just got a little buzz… a warm feeling in the ears, a lightness in my step, etc…

I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the feeling of not being in complete control of myself. I like my inhibitions. I don’t want to lose them. I stopped drinking the minute I felt any of the effects.

Except once, when I decided to keep going and see what all of the fuss was about. I didn’t get stupid drunk, but I was definitely under the influence. I could not have driven. I’ll admit that it made my body feel nice… it took away some pains that I’d gotten so used to that I forgot what it was supposed to feel like without those pains.

But mainly I remember being very tired, paranoid, and sick to my stomach. I remember that I was with a group of friends, and I just wanted them to leave so I could go to sleep. I was worried that I wouldn’t be sober by the time I had to go to work the next day.

And then came the hangover. I spent the next morning curled up on the bathroom floor, rising only occasionally to puke, then going back to the floor. I did end up missing work the next day.

I will never drink so much again. I will have a glass of champagne or wine in a social setting, and that’s it. Never enough to have any noticeable effect on me.

I frequently hear young people talk about how excited they are to “go out and get wasted” every weekend. I don’t get it. To me, it sounds like they’re saying, “I want to go out and spend a lot of money and time giving myself food poisoning!”