1:16 p.m. - 2003-07-21
to drink or not to drink
I've been considering Marie's request for drinking stories and I'm going to try to just catalog some facts about me and my relationship with alcohol. It's been a long rocky road.
So where to start? Maybe my first buzz? At the age of 13, I consumed my first two beers at a friend's house one night. It was lovely. A nice little buzz that lasted quite a long time. I believe we had a six pack between the three of us and then that was it.
From then on it was a slippery slope to drinking every possible chance. It's amazing at such a young age I could find readily available alchohol. I drank everything and anything. We raided parents liquor cabinets and taste tested a little of everything. When you are raiding cabinents you can't just drink all of one thing because that would surely be missed. I distinctly recall tasting Sloe(?) Gin, Creme De Minthe and Whiskey. Probably all in the same night. The whiskey didn't make it past my throat and was spewed into the sink.
When it came to parties, beer was still the choice of champions and I actually grew to like the taste of cheap mass produced lagers. (shudder) For a couple years, I was actually pretty responsible when it came to drinking, probably because there wasn't that much available to me. I had just enough to make me happy. I recall some cousin's weddings and Christmas parties where my sister and I drank the whole time. It's all a blur now I have a previous entry where Seagram 7 and Seven-Up bring back some of these memories.
Then around 15 or 16, I began pushing the limits. I entered the dark scary period of overindulging quite frequently. I found the draw of drowning your sorrows and celebrating good times with a bottle.
I had started writing the whole story of the first time I puked from drinking. I've decided to not go into it because I have the feeling I have written the story before. And after searching my archives for 10 minutes, I give up. So this entry isn't a a 10000 word essay on my drinking I'm going to make a list of my high points:
*My first throwup was at the age of 15, six beers in two hours.
*I also threwup that same year from drinking 4 California coolers in a very short time period, then went to a party where I smoked a little pot and then drank rum straight from the bottle.
*I was purchasing large bottles of Bacardi in a liquor store on Saturday night at the age of 16.
*I learned beer drinking games and how to do a funnel at 15, this continued well into college.
*My parents were at their wits ends with my drinking and I was frequently grounded for 10 days(two weekends) at a time. I was also threatened with having to live at home and go to a local college.
*In college I binge drank pretty much every weekend. Very rarely did I drink enough to vomit that night(I learned that lesson in high school) but I got into the habit of vomitting just once the next morning and then going on with my day. I learned all kinds of hang over remedies.
*I once went to Bio Lab recitation on a Friday morn. to take a quiz, vomitted in the bathroom and returned to finish the quiz. I got a C+ that semester in Bio, my worst grade ever.
*Even though I was not guilty of drinking at the time, I was caught in a room with alcohol in our dry freshman dorm. For punishment I was fined $100, made to attend alcohol education class and had to have a conference with the Dean, and then was on 6 month's probation. I never told my parents about it.
*The summer my husband(bf then) attended jump school he had a party at his house right before he left and I drank way too much 151 and sat in their hottub. I was found later by his parents in their upstairs bathroom laying on the floor near the toilet wearing only a bikini. I had alcohol poisoning the entire next day and spent it laying on their sofa. For dinner we were supposed to go out with his grandmother and I had to be taken back to their house before I could even order.
*My most disgusting embarrassing throwup was on a crowded campus bus in college. I'm not sure anyone even noticed but I will never forget. I had to hold vomit in my mouth until I could get off the bus. It was horrible.
*I drink pretty regularly still but haven't thrownup in a long time. Vacation last June was probably it. Once again, I refused to learn alcohol and hot tubs do not mix. I guess I'm a little smarter about what I drink.
*I stay away from or limit severly white wines and malt beverages high in sulfites. They make me really ill.
*I don't get crazy when I drink. Horny maybe but not crazy. I haven't ever blacked out(I puke first) and no matter how much I drink I still have common sense about what I'm doing. Maybe a little less inhibition but I still wouldn't be convinced to do something I wouldn't do sober.
*I can drink many men under the table. I think my high tolerence comes from my maternal grandmother who drank a couple Tom Collins everyday.
*I get hangovers from hell. I try to avoid them now since having two kids scream at 7 am while your head is pounding is no fun. I also hate waking up with sweats at 4 am.
I'm sure there are many other points that I haven't included. Nowadays I prefer two or three good beers or maybe two Cuervo margaritas or a couple glasses of wine at a sitting. Mostly I try to limit my consumption because it's all empty calories. If I could give up alcohol and chocolate I could probably drop 10 pounds over a year. But then would I would probably be a miserable uptight bitch. (not that I am not one already)
And I'll leave you with a quote from my mother:
"Wendy, there isn't a alcohol you've met that you didn't like."
