I'm Having A Drink For The First Time Ever Tonight!! (1 Viewer)

I've been 21 for a couple months, and tonight is my best friend's 21st b-day. He's always wanted to see me have a drink, so I said enough is enough...for your birthday, I'm having a drink. How did I get along without a drink all this time you ask? Easy...saying no! I still have a blast at parties and the best part is I can drive!! That means not having to walk 10 blocks to some party on the other side of campus that sucks anyway.

What should I watch out for? Would one drink shock my system and kill me? Will girls look prettier? What if I turn into the Hulk?

Drink while eating. Try beer with pizza or red wine with pasta.

No, do a few shots of tequila on an empty stomach.

(Actually, alcohol metabolizes more effectively if you drink it about three hours after your last meal. Better buzz.)

Then you'll be rich when you sell the story to the news.

/Mike

Heed this warning, Chuck:

http://members.aol.com/matt999h/beer.htm

Try a shot of Wild Turkey.

You've listed a number of good reasons NOT to drink. Of course, some medical sources say one drink a day is actually healthy for the heart, although more than that can have bad effects on other organs and make the drinker accident prone. But just one alcoholic beverage during an evening won't kill you, unless you are taking medication that they've warned you about not mixing with alcohol or if you have a severe allergy to it. If one drink makes the girls seem prettier, either you have a very low tolerance for alcohol, or it is the placebo effect. A six pack, on the other hand, might make anything with a skirt look luscious, :>) but it won't turn you into a Hulk (more like a quivering bowl of jelly, especially if you're not used to it). :>)

One thing I would ask myself is: "why would a friend be so hell bent on having me get liquored up at all?" Isn't it possible to celebrate the occasion without the booze? (You say you have a good time without it other times.) If it is really just about sharing a toast as opposed to getting you plastered, and you feel you need to tipple a little to prove a point, (to show you'll do anything for a friend?) then go ahead and enjoy ONE drink.

To minimize the effect of the drink, make sure you eat a full meal before you drink anything. That will slow down the absorption of alcohol into your blood stream. Make sure it really is only ONE drink (don't let them pour a "double" or "triple" and pass it off as "one drink".) Then "nurse" the drink -- IOW, sip it slowly and just a little at a time, making the drink last most of the evening instead of gulping it down. You don't necessarily even have to finish it if you are really just drinking it to experience the taste and/or to participate in a toast for the occasion.

Then switch to water or juice if they ask if you want a refill,and make sure they know you do NOT want booze in the second drink. Wait at least an hour, preferably two hours after having the alcoholic drink before driving anywhere to give your system sufficient time to metabolize the alcohol.

BTW -- if this sounds like the voice of experience, it is. I've had "more than one" in an evening and had the "wowser" headaches the next day to remind me of it. These days, with the crackdown on drunk driving and the lower blood alcohol limits and having been on medication for allergies that didn't mix well with alcohol, I actually find it a lot easier and enjoyable not to drink booze at all, and then not have to worry whether I can drive, or whether my perception of someone else's beauty is skewed by more than my glasses prescription. :>)

Good luck, be safe and have fun!

thanks burke...this is more of a toast than "hey let's get chuck wasted" plus we're having a huge dinner before hand!

I agree. Many of the members here are having fun with you, but for some good serious advice, listen to Burke. If you are going to have more than one drink, stick to beer instead of hard alcohol. For someone who's never drank before, 2-3 beers (depending on how fast you consume them) is enough to impair your ability to drive so be careful. American light beer has the least ammount of alcohol. Then foriegn beers, then wine, then hard liquor. If you want a mixed drink order something with liqure (how do you spell that) it has less alcohol than hard liquor. This would be something like Baily's or Amaretto. BTW, I've heard amaretto on the rocks is coming back into fashion and is not considered a girly drink any more. If anyone gives your crap tell them Simon from american idol drinks it. If you are getting a lot of pressure to drink more than one drink, order a cranberry juice on the rocks while no one is looking. It will look like a mixed drink. Although, it appears that you have no trouble saying no. Have fun.

Hey, I said the same thing Burke said, in just a few sentences!

On my 21st birthday, we went out to the local Red Robin to celebrate. Of course, I ordered a drink. Just one, mind you - I'm not a big drinker. Never have been, never will be, but I do enjoy small amounts of liquor on occasion.

So, here I am with my parents and a dozen friends waiting for my food, drinking some mixed drink (It's been awhile, I forget what it was). So, I get about 90% done and suck down the last 10% quickly. Note that I haven't eaten all day - I was keeping myself hungry in order to fill up on those bottomless fries.

We're laughing and having a good time and I notice my buddy John has finished his drink and returned from the bar with a beer. Note that we're the only idiots drinking that night. Anyway, our food comes, and we all begin eating. I polish off my burger & fries, then a second basket of fries, and finally start working on a third. I then notice that everyone else at the table has barely started on their food. They have maybe a quarter of their burgers eaten. I poked John, who was on his second or third basket of fries, and asked how much time has passed. He has no idea. I ask him how we ate our food so fast. Again, no idea. Although, I'm told it was quite a sight watching us wolf down all that food.

I don't know how the next hour or so went. I don't remember much of it. By the time we left the restaurant I finally "woke up"... a few of us went to a bar to shoot some pool, etc, but that was the last drink I had that night.

So, just keep in mind: When you order a mixed drink, you're probably getting more alcohol than you bargained for at your level of tolerance...

I have a good Red Robin story. They just opened here in Omaha and a few of the City Councilmen went there on media night and got blitz and started feeling up the Red Robin Mascot (allegedly). It turns out that it was like a 15 year old girl inside. At least one person has resigned so far. Pretty funny IMHO.

My first experience with drinking was overseas. I pretty much had no possibility of driving and was in pretty safe company, so I combined drinking with the objective of getting drunk. I certainly succeeded and it was one of the most fascinating experiences I've had. I have no intention of doing it again, but it was good to do it in a place where the alcohol was so good and strong and I had plenty of trustworthy people to watch out for me.

My advice is to make sure that you drink a lot of water before going to sleep. I did and didn't have a hangover at all, despite all the alcohol I had. I would suggest it even if you have only one drink. You would be surprised just how quickly the effect will hit your body when you've never had it before, even while eating. I noticed it on my first glass.

Less talk, More Beer

Alcohol is evil. Drink in moderation or not at all.

Let us know how it goes Chuck C.

Burke gives great, serious advice. Advice which you should definitely read, if not heed.

For some not so serious advice:

Liquor before beer, you're in the clear
Beer before liquor, never sicker (this was a rhyme I heard but not sure if it's true, I don't drink to excess)

Beware of beer goggling = Going to bed at 2 with a 10 and waking up at 10 with a 2

Welp, thanks for all the advice and stories. Chuck C's story:

We went to this Italian restaurant for my buddy's 21st. There were 18 of us in all (friends and fam). The restaurant, called Bucco di Beppo, specializes in large groups where the order is for the entire party (i.e. massive quantities of one dish, then pass it around). We were all stuffed to the gills by dessert!

Then the bars. A group of about 12 of us or so headed to bar #1 called Scorchers. Unfortunately, our designated driver was 20 and another had his fake ID taken away! We left within two minutes. Bar #2 was this tiny bar with two patrons. Again, we weren't allowed to stay because of my friend the DD. Then one of us suggested the American Tavern where his mom was working! Great we thought, they'll let us stay. Nope. They would not allow one of our friends to drink because his license was expired! But we were allowed to stay. So we ordered drinks...the bartender made me a tequila sunrise. Four sips later, we left because the bartender was an asshole about certain things. So we paid and left. Bar #4 was a success. It was this tiny bar at the edge of my hometown called The Annex. Inside were three patrons including a very drunk barfly, a bartender, a jukebox, a tiny pool table, and a TV. We took over the place and made the bartender's night! My first real drink was a rum and coke. I drank it in a span of 20 min and felt nothing. Then I ordered a coke to make up for the bad taste plus I love coke (see my thread "Coke In A Glass Bottle!!"). Then I ordered my own concoction which I am sure has a name: I love shirley temples, so I ordered one with vodka!! It was much tastier than the rum and coke. I don't really know if I felt something (drank it in 15-25 min). I knew both drinks were strong tasting, but I also knew I had 50 lbs of food inside. I called it quits at two drinks and was happy I tried my hand at some boozin plus it made my bud's night. It made everyone's night.

That's all you need for a fun night.

/Mike