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I had a fairly modest relationship with booze in my teens, and in college I over-indulged a few times but was probably square in the middle of alcohol usage overall.
I didn't drink at all through almost all of my 20s. One of the small but significant factors was I was never too enamored by the "WOOOOOOHOOOOOO FCK YEAH BRO!!" style of socializing which at least in my history seemed to go hand in hand with booze. So it was pretty natural that the circles of friends I had were pretty much modest drinkers if at all.
Anyway...
I picked it back up in my early thirties and now am a social drinker, probably on the modest side of the scale. I'm now 45.
Did I miss a memo or something? I'm sometimes amazed at how many 40-somethings still think it's junior year of college. And with the surging acceptance of weed use, suddenly a new "WOOHOOOOO" population has emerged. No offense, but this is exponentially more silly at 45 than it ever was at 25. At least to me, but maybe I missed something...
You need to find a new crowd. I don't know anyone like this. In fact, none of my friends in HS or college, or post-college were into drinking at all. (And no, I/they weren't religious.) You said you had a circle of friends before who weren't that into drinking, so you can find such a circle again.
Here's a question I have regarding drinking, I suppose it works in this forum.
While this forum is talking about woo hoo drinkers, I have noticed another drinking phenomenon I find strange. Why do so many people focus so much on drinking when they are at a social gathering? I've noticed some people who seem to be very focused on the amount I drink at a social gathering. For example, I was at a party this summer and at least three different times I had the same person ask why I didn't have a drink in my hand. At another party later on this summer this same person commented that I didn't have a drink in my hand when I had just arrived and had not even put my jacket down. Later on I had someone else ask me if I was "beered out" when I had finished a drink and had been all of ten minutes without a drink. And I can't count how many times I've been at bars (when I used to go to them much more often than I do now) and people would comment why I was drinking so slowly. To me the kind of behavior these people are talking about binge drinking which seems like alcoholic behavior to me.
I get that some of this is a joke and some could be considered hospitable, but I've never understood why people focus so much on the amount of booze someone drinks. I guess I just don't pay that much attention to how much someone drinks when I'm in a social gathering and just prefer to socialize with people.
You need to find a new crowd. I don't know anyone like this. In fact, none of my friends in HS or college, or post-college were into drinking at all. (And no, I/they weren't religious.) You said you had a circle of friends before who weren't that into drinking, so you can find such a circle again.
They're not my crowd but just a crowd I find myself in a couple times a year.
I'm very happy with friends and acquaintances for whom drinking is not the focus of any social gathering
The image "whoo-hoo drinker" conjures up in my head is that of a woman, 30 years old or so, somewhat overweight, who is otherwise responsible but gets "white-girl wasted" three or four times a year.
Personally I never, ever liked alcohol. I've had about seven drinks in my life, and I'm edging on 28. My dad was a recovering alcoholic and there's been a lot of alcoholism on both sides of my family. The smell of alcohol alone puts me off, the taste even more so (although I know most people have to acquire it).
I do have a fondness for Ambien, though, but enough self-control not to take any more than my prescribed dose for the night That's probably "my" alcohol.
My brother, who tried all kind of things, never could bring himself to drink excessively.
Here's a question I have regarding drinking, I suppose it works in this forum.
While this forum is talking about woo hoo drinkers, I have noticed another drinking phenomenon I find strange. Why do so many people focus so much on drinking when they are at a social gathering? I've noticed some people who seem to be very focused on the amount I drink at a social gathering. For example, I was at a party this summer and at least three different times I had the same person ask why I didn't have a drink in my hand. At another party later on this summer this same person commented that I didn't have a drink in my hand when I had just arrived and had not even put my jacket down. Later on I had someone else ask me if I was "beered out" when I had finished a drink and had been all of ten minutes without a drink. And I can't count how many times I've been at bars (when I used to go to them much more often than I do now) and people would comment why I was drinking so slowly. To me the kind of behavior these people are talking about binge drinking which seems like alcoholic behavior to me.
I get that some of this is a joke and some could be considered hospitable, but I've never understood why people focus so much on the amount of booze someone drinks. I guess I just don't pay that much attention to how much someone drinks when I'm in a social gathering and just prefer to socialize with people.
Anyone else ever noticed this kind of behavior?
The people whom you are describing (the ones who comment if you don't have a drink in your hand) are very immature and insecure. Somehow, in their minds, alcohol consumption is the sine qua non of having a good time and they feel threatened by people who don't share that belief. They must know on some deeper level that their values are skewed, even if they don't admit it to themselves, so it bothers them when they see someone who doesn't share those values.
The image "whoo-hoo drinker" conjures up in my head is that of a woman, 30 years old or so, somewhat overweight, who is otherwise responsible but gets "white-girl wasted" three or four times a year.
haha! Funny--for me it conjures up overgrown frat boys.
The question in the thread title refers to our "social circle". It's hardly surprising that posters are answering (at least many of them), that behavior is similar within their own social circle. That's because we tend to choose like people to socialize with. "Birds of a feather flock together" is the old proverb on the subject. There's simply a comfort level among people with similar behavior.
Heavy drinkers tend to choose other heavy drinkers as friends. That makes it seem "normal" to drink heavily, and they look down on those who don't as people who are not "having fun".
There is something about alcohol consumption which grabs hold of people who are prone to its abuse, and I think a lot of that is genetic. There is simply a gulf of incomprehension between the "sobriety is so boring" crowd and normal people. No amount of discussion will bridge that gulf, because it's something deep which resists any sort of rational analysis.
And no, I am not claiming that most people's social circles do not admit any leeway in alcohol consumption or other parameters. The same social circle can contain people with a fairly wide range of habits. I am merely saying that most social circles tend to have more or less similar behaviors and preferences.
How many in your social circle are "woo hoo!!" drinkers?
None.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Marcinkiewicz
Basically, this. Sobriety is boring and mostly painful when it's not boring. That said, I'm not at all a whoo drinker, and I'm 17 years younger than the OP. I'm typically a George Thorogood (sp?) drinker--I drink alone.
Same here. And when I do drink, it's usually Mike's Hard Lemonade. The six-pack lasts 2 days, woo-hoo!
It's interesting the see the "woo-hoo" drinkers, both young and old, on the strip:bragging about how they're going to "tear it up. We're here Vegas. You ain't seen nothing yet." tsk tsk tsk.
If Dean, Sammy, Frank, Joey and Peter couldn't bring Vegas down, who chance have they got?
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That's probably "my" alcohol.
"Social circles"
