Alcohol

[-Mark-]

Have you ever been addicted to anything?

You almost never get over it after one incident.

Some people need YEARS of therapy and go through withdrawal and backsliding constantly.

And you only want to help them once? That's just plain sick.

That may be so, but as I've stated; how is it fair that these people continually get, say, replacement organs because they repeatedly drink themselves to the verge of death?

By 'one chance', I'm not saying 'don't help them anymore after the first time', I'm simply saying "Don't keep giving them new organs'.

They should only be allowed one organ transplant for any drink-related ill-health is all I'm saying.

[Swiss]

I myself love alcohol simply for the taste. Sure, too much is definitely not a good thing but when moderated well, drinking is a great thing! I hate the idea of me and people I'm with getting stupidly drunk, which is why I always know when to stop.

Jagermeister is the greatest drink on the planet, I'll just say that. And Cinnamon Aftershock. And the Sonic cocktail! Tastes like Jelly Babies. :3

[Dark Qiviut]

Hate alcohol of ALL kinds. Wine, beer, rum, vodka, you name it. If you ask me, alcohol does more harm than good. My dad's brother was an alcoholic and used to drink really hard liquor (e.g., vodka) straight. He wound up passing away from his alcoholism while I was only nine or ten years old. Plus, the taste absolutely disgusts me. My mom makes charoset for passover and uses red wine for it. The wine taste literally drives me away from eating it.

And when I got accidentally drunk, my feelings towards it worsened. It happened in a restaurant in Aruba, and there was a great-tasting dip that I used for my bread and appetizer. However, I began to feel very queasy, and my mom smelled the dip. She said it had some kind of alcohol in it, possibly a brandy or some kind of non-flavorful alcohol, that either wasn't completely burned or added after it was finished. As I didn't know the smell of alcohol all that well (and still don't, by the way), I never noticed. When we finished our meal, I began to feel dizzy and disoriented, and I had to get help into the cab and into the hotel because I began to feel very scared. Thankfully, I felt better in the morning, but it was scary, and I don't want to feel that fear again. So I'm abstaining from it even further.

Edited September 18, 2011 by Dark Qiviut

[Solid SOAP]

I like drinking at parties and with my friends because it's fun, but I'm not an alcoholic. I usually only drink a few times a month if that, but personally I find smoking weed more relaxing/fun. I'm underage so suprisingly weed is easier to get than alcohol, it's more fun socially between friends and it just makes things... better, I guess.

[Lady Lily]

I only have a nice glass of wine everyone once in a while but not too often. My mom is an alcoholic and I went through some issues dealing with that. I don't like to drink a lot because I fear becoming an alcoholic myself and that's not something I would like to be. I like remembering what happened or what I was doing a lot better than waking up asking What the hell did I do?

[Solid SOAP]

I only have a nice glass of wine everyone once in a while but not too often. My mom is an alcoholic and I went through some issues dealing with that. I don't like to drink a lot because I fear becoming an alcoholic myself and that's not something I would like to be. I like remembering what happened or what I was doing a lot better than waking up asking What the hell did I do?

This is something a lot of people seem to say whom choose not to drink. The thing is, unless you drink a collossal amount, like, more than two Four Lokos and a half a-dozen shots, you will remember just about everything you did the night prior. I remember just about every time I ever got drunk or high, and if you watch what you drink you can still have control over your actions while still having a great time with your friends. I understand if your mom is an alcoholic though, that is some tough stuff.

Edited September 18, 2011 by Solid SOAP

[Stacy]

This is something a lot of people seem to say whom choose not to drink. The thing is, unless you drink a collossal amount, like, more than two Four Lokos and a half a-dozen shots, you will remember just about everything you did the night prior. I remember just about every time I ever got drunk or high, and if you watch what you drink you can still have control over your actions while still having a great time with your friends. I understand if your mom is an alcoholic though, that is some tough stuff.

Mah, I still don't like drinking I don't see the 'fun' in it nor do with Drugs and stuff like weed, you would be surprised the amount shit can be found in weed.

Why do people get into it, I never got it?

[Flyboy Fox]

That may be so, but as I've stated; how is it fair that these people continually get, say, replacement organs because they repeatedly drink themselves to the verge of death?

By 'one chance', I'm not saying 'don't help them anymore after the first time', I'm simply saying "Don't keep giving them new organs'.

They should only be allowed one organ transplant for any drink-related ill-health is all I'm saying.

I'm assuming you've never known an alcoholic. I'm not sure that you can put arbitrary 'rules' on the treatment for alcoholism. For example, suppose the new organ fails or is rejected? Suppose the illness of the body continues to destroy the new organ and needs further transplants? And even if the person continues to drink...

I have to say I discovered a newfound sympathy for those 'types' of person after my next-door neighbour and family friend committed suicide because of his condition. He suffered from severe alcoholism after his wife left him and took the kids. He ended up in hospital with liver failure, but even after he came out of hospital, he went back to the drink. He couldn't stop because the pain of withdrawal was such agony, and he felt there was nothing left to live for. He ended up in hospital again and this time they told him he would DIE if he kept drinking. He was so swollen up, yellow with jaundice, looked like walking death... wheezing and gasping... barely able to walk. He came home. My mum found him in the local pub... drinking. He just could NOT stop. Addiction ruined him. He knew he would die. And he did die. Not directly from the drink. He killed himself. It was horrible. No matter of intervention helped. No one could do anything. When we learned he'd lain dead for two days in the house next to ours and that he killed himself because of his drink problem and the physical pain he was in, it broke our hearts.

It made me think twice about addiction and the way we treat people who are addicted to harmful things. Yes, it is 'their fault' in a sense, but few people realize how much of a genuine illness addiction is and how hard it is to overcome, especially when it's a crutch for crippling depression.

I'm not saying that we should give organ transplants and then go "Well, you're free to drink again now!". Of course not. But there's NOT enough support out there, and if people 'fall' more than once, they need care and sympathy, not rolled eyes and an "it serves you right!" attitude.

[Swiss]

We still need to make this at an SoS after-party!

Ingredients:

1 part grenadine

2 parts Menthomint Schnapps

4 parts Blue Curacao

Directions: Pour in the grenadine first. Then layer the Mentholmint schnapps and Blue Curacao on top, in that order. Take it down faster than the Blue Blur himself.

“Ready…GO!!” - Sonic Adventure

[Solid SOAP]

Mah, I still don't like drinking I don't see the 'fun' in it nor do with Drugs and stuff like weed, you would be surprised the amount shit can be found in weed.

Why do people get into it, I never got it?

Drinking is fun because it removes your social and moral inhibitions for a breif period (As it does with your friends whom you're drinking with), thus making ordinarily mundane situations like board games or video games even more fun and silly. It's just fun to be absolutely stupid every once and a while after a long week of writing papers and doing work. I like "hanging out" with my friends, but sometimes you just gotta loosen up for the weekend after a stressful week of work.

Regarding smoking, it really isn't bad for you if you do it in moderation. There are some dumbasses out there who've abused the drug and can't go a day without it (Some of my good friends fell into that hole, as a matter of fact), but those such as myself who use it in moderation just to have a good time a few times a month are not victim to falling into such a hole as long as you know your limits and don't abuse what should be a once or twice a week thing at absolute most. As far as the "shit" you can find in weed, unless you buy from a dealer who laces it (Which is very, very rare and is very, very bad for business on their part. Why would I buy from him again if he put ecstacy or some weird shit in my weed?), you're not going to succumb to any negative effects after smoking it. I'm pretty good friends with a few people who deal in my neighborhood, so I know they wouldn't fuck with my shit either.

[Tornado]

I quite like those fruity flavored beers with the crappy tourist-trap names. "Jamaican Me Happy" and stuff to that effect. Those, strawberry daiquiris and (very occasionally) Sam Adams.

Otherwise, I honestly never cared for booze. Straight up beer always tasted disgusting, I never branched out into other types of alcohol, and getting drunk was never something that appealed to me either.

Edited September 18, 2011 by Tornado

[-Mark-]

Drinking is fun because it removes your social and moral inhibitions for a breif period (As it does with your friends whom you're drinking with), thus making ordinarily mundane situations like board games or video games even more fun and silly. It's just fun to be absolutely stupid every once and a while after a long week of writing papers and doing work. I like "hanging out" with my friends, but sometimes you just gotta loosen up for the weekend after a stressful week of work.

See, maybe I'm just weird, but I can be fun, random and silly perfectly fine myself without any kind of consciousness-altering substances. I just really don't see why people ever feel the need to resort to drugs. Alcohol in sensible moderation to serve as a social lubricant for the more introverted is one thing, but drugs? Sorry, I just can't see the appeal or logic behind it at all.

In fact, I'd almost be terrified to see how I would act drunk, since half the time how I act normally is weird and silly anyway.

Edited September 18, 2011 by -Mark-

[Solid SOAP]

See, maybe I'm just weird, but I can be fun, random and silly perfectly fine myself without any kind of consciousness-altering substances.

In fact, I'd almost be terrified to see how I would act drunk, since half the time how I act normally is weird and silly anyway.

Same, it's just that drinking creates this sort of care-free environment where you really just, well, dont care, what others think of you. It's hard to describe if you've never drank, really.

[Stacy]

Drinking is fun because it removes your social and moral inhibitions for a breif period (As it does with your friends whom you're drinking with), thus making ordinarily mundane situations like board games or video games even more fun and silly. It's just fun to be absolutely stupid every once and a while after a long week of writing papers and doing work. I like "hanging out" with my friends, but sometimes you just gotta loosen up for the weekend after a stressful week of work.

Regarding smoking, it really isn't bad for you if you do it in moderation. There are some dumbasses out there who've abused the drug and can't go a day without it (Some of my good friends fell into that hole, as a matter of fact), but those such as myself who use it in moderation just to have a good time a few times a month are not victim to falling into such a hole as long as you know your limits and don't abuse what should be a once or twice a week thing at absolute most. As far as the "shit" you can find in weed, unless you buy from a dealer who laces it (Which is very, very rare and is very, very bad for business on their part. Why would I buy from him again if he put ecstacy or some weird shit in my weed?), you're not going to succumb to any negative effects after smoking it. I'm pretty good friends with a few people who deal in my neighborhood, so I know they wouldn't fuck with my shit either.

[Solid SOAP]

I am not attracted that at all, I like to be in control of myself, I have other methods of being carefree.

Edited September 18, 2011 by Solid SOAP

[Stacy]

That's understandable, drinking isn't for everyone, but it's worth giving a try once before writing it off completely.

[Emperor Robrainiac]

When I first turned 21, my dad bought me a Beer at Epcot...

I freaking hated it.

While I understand there are many different flavors of alcoholic beverages, there's something about being buzzed I hate. I dunno, maybe I just hate being dizzy. Not only that, but there's something about the warmness as it goes down your throat that disgusts me. I don't know what it is, but I just don't enjoy it.

For me? Screw Alcohol, I'm sticking to Soda.

[Flyboy Fox]

It's definitely a personal preference. Though it may surprise some of you that I used to HATE alcohol! But that was probably because my mum only drinks wine and I don't like the taste of wine.

[Match]

I'm not old enough to drink, but plenty of people my age do it anyway. If I'm ever offered a drink, I always refuse because I don't need some potion to be happy. I can do that all by myself.

[Diz]

I was quite drunk yesterday, and although I do not gain a dramatic change in behaviour, I prefer to not post or do anything other than read. I do not want to make ten posts and not recall doing any of them, if you catch my drift. Secondly, as a moderator I simply feel I should make sober appearances, despite once again doubting a big change in behaviour.

I most commonly drink with close friends. It is nice to just have an evening together where we can laugh a lot and speak our minds while feeling all dizzy and all that fancy stuff. Half the purpose we've made out of those evenings is playing a ton of games, usually at the highest difficulty settings and most difficult aspects of the game (for instance Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock - Through The Fire and Flames, Splinter Cell - Realism, Mario Party 8 - Expert) while barely even remember doing it. This one time, one day after drinking, we found a video on my cellphone. It was us playing Guitar Hero 2 - Free Bird on Expert, and we were talking together in a drunken gibberish manner, and none of us remembers even starting the game. Good times, lol!

I lied ... When I drink, I go to the SSMB and ban members randomly ... The beast in me hungers~

*Ahem* Nyaa?

[PaddyFancy]

I say about once a month I drink a pint of cider. On special occasions I drink a glass of champagne. If I'm feeling really brave I'll have a pint of Guinness as well. Rarely after what I said do I feel tipsy.

There was one time I had described on the Emotions topic I think, my family and I decided to celebrate because I completed my HND in Moving Image a few weeks earlier. I think I started out with champagne. Probably three glasses of the stuff, smoked a cigar and two pints of cider, and I can understand what Flyboy was talking about. I was at my most talkative, rambling, reminiscing... I was absolutely happy and had a big smile on my face all evening, even if I couldn't stand up for more than five seconds. I had no idea how I managed to talk coherent English on IM services, everyone seemed amazed, or even carry my laptop back from the living room to my bedroom without dropping it. But yeah being drunk didn't make me say things I would later regret. I was waxing lyrical about my last summer holiday mainly about my first ever visit to London, how I wasn't gonna think much of it but I utterly enjoyed it including the madness of riding on the Tube for the first time. Wouldn't regret anything I said that night.

But now I say no to that lifestyle. I mean, I know how I and some others have described the best things about being drunk, but to be honest, I wouldn't want to go through that again. Not 15 minutes after I got back to my room, I felt really queasy, made haste to my bathroom and promptly was the sickest I can remember. In fact that night I threw up on three seperate occasions. I really thought I was going to die.

So now I look back on it, and think "Yes I was in a good mood, was even in a better mood after several drinks, and at the end of it crashed down to earth in a large puddle of vomit. Why would anyone want to do that every weekend?" So do it at your own risk. It can all go messy and ruin your night.

Edited September 18, 2011 by Major Ziggy

[Edward_Elric]

I like my drinks hard, I hate the way beer tastes, coolers are okay, not much love for wine from me. Never been drunk, alwasy a shot or 2, never more. Binge drinking is for people with nothing better to do other then waste loads of money.

[Dr. Mechano]

I don't like the taste of most alcoholic beverages. I usually need something with enough flavor to mask the taste of the alcohol to enjoy it.

[Shaddix Leto Croft]

I'd rather have Enegry drinks like Monster or Lucozade Orange than drinking Alcohol

Edited September 18, 2011 by Shaddix Leto Kroft

[Kevin]

After trying some wines and sake, I thought it was one of the most disgusting things I've ever tasted and swore off of any alcoholic drinks after that. No one in my family really drinks either mainly due to the taste.