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Do you drink alcohol?


The A Life Team

  

41 members have voted

  1. 1. Well, do you?

    • Yes
      337
    • No
      426


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Oh man, I love throwing back some beers on Friday and Saturday nights! 8)

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I pride myself in my ability to act as intoxicated, high, or calm wild as I please :lol: ... without the help of drugs.

I wouldn't say I...pride...myself on it but...as someone who has a screw or two lose upstairs, I...well, to put it bluntly, when I'm manic I act like I'm on crack. Uhhh...yeah...wouldn't say it's desirable but mania is a better high than any drug could ever give you. Heh. :wacko:

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Uhhh...yeah...wouldn't say it's desirable but mania is a better high than any drug could ever give you. Heh.

i'd actually concur with that. as fond as i am of alcohol, the manic episodes i've had have been better. it's no wonder that so many bipolar people have difficulty seeking treatment; the lows may be devastating, but the highs more than make up for them.

/off topic

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I see so many people use it as a crutch.

i always have to laugh when i hear that phrase. you know who uses crutches? people who need crutches. i mean, seriously. do you see people who have the full use of their legs walking around with crutches unnecessarily? hardly. if there are people who use alcohol to excess in order to deal with distressing things, it's because they genuinely don't have any other way of dealing with them. i'm not saying it's the best way to deal with those things, just that if they felt they had other options, they'd be using them. and none of us has any right to judge that.

The thing is, you generally don't use crutches forever. If you're truly unable to walk on your own, you use braces, or get a wheelchair - a more sustainable method of support that you can use comfortably.

I'm not against social drinking, or even drinking to excess on rare occasions when you feel stressed out by life, but I've seen way too many people not be able to enjoy their lives at all without the stuff. Hell, most of my fellow undergrads for the last four years could only think ahead to the next case race. There are other options out there, even if people can't see them, and alcohol can and does destroy lives. I've seen its negative effects all too often, and I know what it can do.

Sorry if I come across as a little prudish or judgemental. I'm all for allowing others to do what they want, but I don't like the idea of drinking one's problems into oblivion either. Alcohol is a drug that effects everybody, not just the person abusing it. If drinking alcohol to an excessive level is truly the only outlet that someone has for their anger, frustration, or whatever else is troubling them, they need to seek help and understanding beyond what a bottle can bring.

Again, I'm sorry, but that's just how I feel. I don't have many knee-jerk reactions, but society's love affair with alcohol fills me with sadness. Then again, we all have our ways of coping - I wouldn't spend hours a day playing video games if that weren't the case.

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I think that society's love affair with alcohol goes back to the very roots of human existence. I mean, fruit will ferment all by itself and that doesn't prevent animals from eating it. That's why we have the ability to safely metabolize alcohol, after all.

And I wouldn't want to stand in the way of a tradition that has been around since before written history now, would I?

*drinks a toast to AVEN*

-gb

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a question i came up with a few months ago was "could people who were underage buy non-alcoholic versions of alcoholic beverages"

good heavens. why on earth couldn't they? the key word being non-alcoholic. there's nothing illegal about it whatsoever.

it's just something you never see

when they start drinking at 14 or 15, it's budweiser they get and drink in darkened areas of towns rather then a non-alcoholic part of town :D

or maybe a better question then my original would be "do" instead of "could"

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a question i came up with a few months ago was "could people who were underage buy non-alcoholic versions of alcoholic beverages"

good heavens. why on earth couldn't they? the key word being non-alcoholic. there's nothing illegal about it whatsoever.

it's just something you never see

when they start drinking at 14 or 15, it's budweiser they get and drink in darkened areas of towns rather then a non-alcoholic part of town :D

or maybe a better question then my original would be "do" instead of "could"

oh, well, that's an entirely different question, then.

i never started drinking in earnest (and i do drink earnestly...) until i was in my early 20s and of legal age--not because of any particular compunctions about it, but because i'd gotten it into my head that "bad things happen when i drink" as a result of several depressing occurrences with friends at parties and whatnot--all coincidence, but still. prior to that, in my teens, i would often be the only sober person in a group full of drinkers. of course, this was in the US, so no one was out out drinking publically, and then i would usually just drink soda or whatever they were using as a mixer. but i also went to bars with adult family members on occasion and was in the habit of ordering virgin cocktails. so i'd imagine that there are any number of underage people out there in similar circumstances doing the same thing. people who want to drink, will. people who don't, make do.

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erhldjkfhsljdh3544

Just turned 21 last week and so far I haven't had anything(including before I was 21.) Everyone is trying to get me to drink though, which is lame. I never want to be drunk so I would rather just have soda.

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I don't drink alcohol, and I've never been drunk either. I don't like the taste of it, and I don't enjoy the idea of drinking either. Lot's of people in general drink though, but I know not why. Perhaps it's enjoyable for them?

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Yeah I drink. Not often but I do drink. I don't care what it is that I'm drinking just as long as it has a decent alcohol percentage

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Lot's of people in general drink though, but I know not why. Perhaps it's enjoyable for them?

there are many people for whom intoxication is unpleasant and off-putting. there are many others for whom it is pleasant, enjoyable, even ecstatic. for all those of you who choose not to imbibe because it is unpleasant for you--heavens, i can't blame you a bit. i wouldn't want to either. but know that everyone experiences it differently, and for many of us, it's a very appealing (and even irresistible) state indeed.

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I drink. I don't enjoy being intoxicated, in fact I think it's a horrible feeling, but I really enjoy the various tastes of alcohol. I'm a big fan of dark rum and love to sit with a glass of it in the evening, neat.

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Lot's of people in general drink though, but I know not why. Perhaps it's enjoyable for them?

there are many people for whom intoxication is unpleasant and off-putting. there are many others for whom it is pleasant, enjoyable, even ecstatic. for all those of you who choose not to imbibe because it is unpleasant for you--heavens, i can't blame you a bit. i wouldn't want to either. but know that everyone experiences it differently, and for many of us, it's a very appealing (and even irresistible) state indeed.

mm, an appealing state you say. Appealing because you can then be like most other people, or appealing because of personal enjoyment, or because of both?

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Lot's of people in general drink though, but I know not why. Perhaps it's enjoyable for them?

there are many people for whom intoxication is unpleasant and off-putting. there are many others for whom it is pleasant, enjoyable, even ecstatic. for all those of you who choose not to imbibe because it is unpleasant for you--heavens, i can't blame you a bit. i wouldn't want to either. but know that everyone experiences it differently, and for many of us, it's a very appealing (and even irresistible) state indeed.

mm, an appealing state you say. Appealing because you can then be like most other people, or appealing because of personal enjoyment, or because of both?

considering that i don't even usually drink with other people, in my case it has nothing to do with being like other people. (frankly, nothing i ever do does.) it's purely the physical sensation, which is very pleasant for me personally.

i also ought to draw the distinction between being mildly to moderately inebriated, which is what i'm talking about, and being completely drunk, sick, and out of control, which i find horrible as well. i've never understood why people willingly and repeatedly get to that point.

(how on earth did i get myself into the position of being the apologist for drinkers in this thread?...)

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Lot's of people in general drink though, but I know not why. Perhaps it's enjoyable for them?

there are many people for whom intoxication is unpleasant and off-putting. there are many others for whom it is pleasant, enjoyable, even ecstatic. for all those of you who choose not to imbibe because it is unpleasant for you--heavens, i can't blame you a bit. i wouldn't want to either. but know that everyone experiences it differently, and for many of us, it's a very appealing (and even irresistible) state indeed.

mm, an appealing state you say. Appealing because you can then be like most other people, or appealing because of personal enjoyment, or because of both?

considering that i don't even usually drink with other people, in my case it has nothing to do with being like other people. (frankly, nothing i ever do does.) it's purely the physical sensation, which is very pleasant for me personally.

i also ought to draw the distinction between being mildly to moderately inebriated, which is what i'm talking about, and being completely drunk, sick, and out of control, which i find horrible as well. i've never understood why people willingly and repeatedly get to that point.

(how on earth did i get myself into the position of being the apologist for drinkers in this thread?...)

It was your decision, m'fraid :P Must be my sneaky questions.

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Lot's of people in general drink though, but I know not why. Perhaps it's enjoyable for them?

there are many people for whom intoxication is unpleasant and off-putting. there are many others for whom it is pleasant, enjoyable, even ecstatic. for all those of you who choose not to imbibe because it is unpleasant for you--heavens, i can't blame you a bit. i wouldn't want to either. but know that everyone experiences it differently, and for many of us, it's a very appealing (and even irresistible) state indeed.

mm, an appealing state you say. Appealing because you can then be like most other people, or appealing because of personal enjoyment, or because of both?

considering that i don't even usually drink with other people, in my case it has nothing to do with being like other people. (frankly, nothing i ever do does.) it's purely the physical sensation, which is very pleasant for me personally.

i also ought to draw the distinction between being mildly to moderately inebriated, which is what i'm talking about, and being completely drunk, sick, and out of control, which i find horrible as well. i've never understood why people willingly and repeatedly get to that point.

(how on earth did i get myself into the position of being the apologist for drinkers in this thread?...)

It was your decision, m'fraid :P Must be my sneaky questions.

hmmm. perhaps. or perhaps we both give ourselves too much credit. maybe it's simply the fact that no one else has stepped up to the plate, and i can't bear to let assumptions dangle unrefuted. and maybe it all amounts to the same thing in the end.

anyway...

the fact is that everyone perceives, not only alcohol, but everything differently. and so long as we are content with our own decisions and how they affect our own lives, that should really be the end of it. it is only when we either judge others because we do not understand their experience or envy them because we think they have something we do not that difficulties arise.

life is often so very much simpler and more complex than any of us is willing to admit. i wonder why that is...

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life is often so very much simpler and more complex than any of us is willing to admit. i wonder why that is...

I agree. Then again the more complex the points of views, the more complex life seems like. You can make it seem like anything you want, so long as you view it from the correct angle(s).

I've noticed that many elderly people say that a mark of having gained life experience is that you have empathy towards different people, not judgement, despite whether you personally understand them or not. A grain of wisdom exists here, I think.

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Yes. It took me longer than most people to care about alcohol. I was age 23 when I had my first hangover, after a night of experimentation. Since then I've experimented with alcohol on my own sometimes... I very rarely get drunk with other people around. I like the way it relaxes me, but I make sure not to go overboard. In fact I find it difficult to drink too much - there comes a point where I just don't WANT anymore. I don't know how people get alcohol poisoning or go off their face.

Also notable is that I am not more social when I drink. Don't know why, I just am pretty "asocial" in general. As I said, alcohol is kind of an alone thing for me. Just like most other things. Heh.

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Sommeliere in training over here, it's somewhat part of the job :D

That is so cool. :cake:

*is jealous*

I would love such an education. I took Wine Appreciation in college, but probably did not learn anything new (except for the fact that it takes exactly six half-twists to undo a Champagne crown, and that decades ago, some Burgundy producers would illegally add non-Pinot Noir grapes in order to give their wines more backbone).

I have been collecting wine since the early 80s, at about the time that the wonderful 1982 Bordeaux were released. I wish that I hoarded more of the First Growths. I have one bottle each of '82 Margaux and Lafite left. I am still hoarding the 2005 vintage. I have a good number of 2000 Bordeaux and probably should start enjoying them soon. Sadly, I have only two bottles of the 1959 Bordeaux, and perhaps five of the 1961. Have you priced those recently? :o

I have hundreds of bottles of wine at home, all under temperaure-controlled conditions, with vintages going back to 1795. I have a small vineyard in my backyard, but Massachusetts does not seem to be as good as other places for wine production.

I will be decanting a ten-year-old bottle of Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde for dinner tonight.

Cheers, all!

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I don't. Have never been drunk. I like Bailey's, once in a very long while. There's probably similar stuff I would like but haven't been exposed to.

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SASE Icecream man

I'm only 14, so I hope that's an automatic no.

However, I do not ever plan on having a drink, for both my parents are alcoholics and the probablity of not being one would be slim to none. Therefor, as long as I'm sane, I will never have a drink. ;)

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I see so many people use it as a crutch.

i always have to laugh when i hear that phrase. you know who uses crutches? people who need crutches. i mean, seriously. do you see people who have the full use of their legs walking around with crutches unnecessarily? hardly. if there are people who use alcohol to excess in order to deal with distressing things, it's because they genuinely don't have any other way of dealing with them. i'm not saying it's the best way to deal with those things, just that if they felt they had other options, they'd be using them. and none of us has any right to judge that.

Sure, but you must notice the difference between literal crutches and drinking. For one, crutches have no side-effects, whereas alcohol is addicting and can kill you. Now, I'm not saying 'if you drink alcohol clearly you are an alcoholic there is no other possible explanation', but you just can't compare those two. Point being, alcohol is not a viable solution for distress in ones life, no more than cutting or drugs. It just doesn't work.

However, obviously, alcohol is not always and in fact usually is not used as a crutch, so well, yeah. I think the problem is more in the general attitude of people who enjoy drinking it so much. There is a sort of difference between those who enjoy wine or beer, you know, but generally not to the point of getting drunk, and in fact almost never do get drunk - and people who drink in order to get drunk. Because getting drunk in an of itself is an unhealthy behavior.

I live in an environment where people drink casually all the time, but by that I mean they drink a cup of wine or beer and never get drunk. Because, as I said, getting drunk isn't cool.

Anyhow as to the question of the thread, no, I don't like alcohol, simply because it tastes unappealing to me. :\ They say it's an acquired taste but I don't understand why you'd want to start acquiring it in the first place if it just doesn't taste good.

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I don't drink and I think a part of it is me being rebellious. Everyone expected me to drink or tries to get me to drink and that makes me not want to drink even more. I have nothing against it, save for the fact that some people keep trying to push it on me. I'm studying Engineering to give the context of my situation. >.<

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  • 3 weeks later...

I drink at special occasions, going out to a nice dinner, whatever...I used to go out to a bar with friends. But I don't drink regularly, just when it comes up. Partly because alcohol doesn't have any caffeine.

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