To Alcoholism: Cheers!

It was a Friday night I spent sitting with officemates and their friends, who were drinking beer while I had water, over at Cena. I was proofreading my previous entry via GPRS when an officemate turned to me and said: "know what? My ex-boyfriend once said to never trust the guy who doesn't drink." It was probably the fourth time I found myself being slapped by the same line by the same person who's had just about the same amount of SanMig Light. "Well, but he's the kind of person who could drink a keg and still stay sober," she added, now casually leaning towards me. I gave a shrug. I didn't know the ex but knowing this woman, she often use her inuendos to start tearing on your personal space's protective sheath if you are not on the lookout. "There is so much reality in the work place," she continues. "When you go home, there's too much reality with your family. When you travel from your home to elsewhere, you will see the harshest reality of all, which one of our expats had noted, that the poverty in this country is UNbelievable!.... Unbelievable!... Do you know that one of the most purchased consumer goods in the country is alcohol?...The reason being: to detach yourself from these realities. An altered state. A necessary state of mind. Now, how do you go about making for yourself this state of mind if you don't drink? Even socially?"

There goes the clincher. Right on cue.

I force a smile and said, "I challenge my body physically by doing weekly wall climbing. I work my mind up by writing. Luckily, I have, for company, friends and family with sound minds whom I could talk and discuss just about anything with without my need for alcohol. That way, I get to face the realities head on instead of escaping with the need for your so-called altered state of mind."

That line. “Never trust the guy who doesn’t drink.” Maybe the author of this bullshit of a quote is an avid fiction reader. Too paranoid that the non-drinker would maybe poison everyone else, get them drunk and rob them, ultimately sexually assault everybody, and rule the world in the process. One of those or whatever. Point is, it’s pointless. It’s totally bullshit if used in my context. It being an addictive substance and granting the argument is valid, then I should have a strong contention in saying all non-smokers are wimps. Come on! We are in the Age of Aquarius when diversity is normal, natural, and beautiful!

Often, people who have problems live with a state of mind that cooks up a defense to justify their offense. The guy who doesn’t drink should NOT be trusted. Now I’m the bad guy. A pity.

I don’t drink because it’s my choice. The write-up "What Kind of Drinker Are You?" (an article from Georgetown University Health Education Services) affirms that the non-drinker chooses not to drink most likely because of personal reasons. Mine is more on family history because I consider my father to be an alcoholic and I still see him as one and I made a mental note never to become one. I also have very low tolerance on anything that has alcohol which manifest as palpitation, hyper ventilation, and skin rash. A lone shot of tequila gives me all of these symptoms five minutes tops after I down the drink. Although many derive pleasure from drinking, and I do see people loosening up a notch when under the influence (and I find it good and not unpleasant, in a way), I don’t see my need for it to socialize. I could stay up all night by drinking water or soda as everyone else get piss-drunk. I interact just like the others. I don’t get heightened satisfaction in seeing people wasted. The reason is not that perverse. I don’t drink also because it gives me a hard time recovering the morning after. I have nothing against social or binge drinkers. Nothing against alcoholics. I only think it is appropriate that the socio-cultural demographic I belong to be granted the same empathy.

Lucky for me, I don't think she'll remember any of my retort come Monday. I sure hope so because the officemate I’m referring to happens to be my boss. Monday came and I gave her a recount of what happened last Friday which she practically begged off me. I told her the line she gave me to which she reacted, "might be that I was only trying to get you to drink."

Whatever.

posted by Fritz @ 11:56 PM