Pre-Holiday Blues – How to quit drinking before the holiday season begins
I can't believe this year is almost over. From Thanksgiving to Xmas is about a month. And from Xmas to Chinese New Year (starting Jan.25th) is also a month. In two months there are three major holidays, not to mention New Year's Eve on December 31st. This can’t be good if I want to quit drinking.
A few days ago a friend (in fact a distinguished gentleman who is my dad’s age) invited me over to his house for fine wine. He has very extensive collection of champagne and red wine. He said we’ll celebrate my 35th birthday.
Yes you’ve guessed it. I’m still celebrating my birthday and it’s like a never ending party. In the past I would organize a big party and invite all my friends. But I realized that sometimes the party became too big and I had little time to spend with everyone. There are times that I can barely remember who showed up at my party when too many people were crowded in one place. Since a lot of my friends don’t know each other, it’s a good idea to do individual birthday celebrations which allows me to spend quality time with just a few friends at a time.
Anyway back to the story. So I stopped by City Super to buy a light supper for two. I arrived at his house just before 7 pm. We started with champagne – just one bottle. It really complements the cheese, pig knuckles and baguette I brought over. He explained, “You don’t sip this is the kind of champagne. You have to guzzle it.”
At first I was a little suspicious of what he said. After a few sips I started to guzzle as he suggested. After champagne he opened a bottle of red wine. This is when my memory began to fail me. I don’t remember finishing the entire bottle with him (but I did see the empty bottle when I woke up). The last thing I do recall is retrieving a text message on my cell phone. I have very vague memory of the rest of the night.
I regained some conscience and found myself lying flat in the guest room. And this part I do remember vividly. While I lay in bed with my body facing the wall, he asked, “Can I touch you?”
“NO.” I said it loud and clear and he left. For the rest of night I was half asleep just to stay alert. I wonder the reason I passed out ‘cuz I consumed alcohol too fast and didn’t drink water with alcohol like I normally do just to dilute the alcohol in my body.
I have strange feelings toward this unusual incident. In fact I don’t like what happened to me. Maybe I’ll stay away from alcohol for awhile. The truth is that I loathe losing control of myself like that. I seem to drink more this year than ever before. Perhaps my tolerance for alcohol has built up over the years. I remember back in college I was always the designated driver and therefore I never had the chance to drink. Despite staying sober I did have good times when we went clubbing. I just wanted to dance all night and I never took drugs. I was on a natural high. So who says you can’t have fun without alcohol, uh?
