None Bourbon, None Scotch, None Beer

I don't drink.

Well, that's not strictly true. Perhaps I should have said 'I very rarely drink.'

Now, before you go thinking I must be VERY dehydrated, I am talking about drinking alcohol.

Seriously though, I'm pretty much a non drinker. I would probably have alcohol twice in a busy drinking year. If it's a special occasion, or I'm in the mood, or at a swim up bar things might be different.

Swim up bars are my best favourite.

I find people's reactions to this very strange. The things people say to me when they offer me wine and I say I'd just like a glass of water amuse me. They try offering different types of alcohol, they try things like 'Oh go on, one won't hurt you', they tell me this particular bottle is delicious and I simply MUST try it.

What if I was a recovering alcoholic? What if I was on medication and the doctor had advised me to lay off the booze for a bit? What if I was the designated driver that night?

Obviously there is grog in the beer, but mine was just a regular frozen raspberry!

Does this happen with anything else in our society? Can you imagine the uproar if I tried to pressure everyone that came to my house into smoking a cigarette with me? You don't want menthol? I've got regular! 'Oh go on, one won't hurt you!' Try these ones I got in Bali last week, they are strawberry flavoured! People would be MAD.

I used to drink, quite a lot. When I was 18 or so and thought I knew it all, going to the pub on a Saturday night turned into going Friday and Saturday night and before long it was Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. These were the good old days when I would take $20 with me and that was enough to buy me 3 UDL cans of scotch and coke and I would still have enough left over for a beer. I'd then stumble home via the train tracks and get up the next day and do it all again.

This photo contains one husband. And booze.

So, I hear you asking, why don't I drink? There's no one reason for this, but I think some of the things that have contributed to it are as follows:

1. I don't like wine. It isn't sweet enough. (And please don't tell me to try moscato, been there, it's ok if I add lemonade to it, but otherwise, nah)

2. When I should have been learning how to appreciate wine I was discovering liqueurs. Think Midori and Kahlua. Neither of those go very well with food, so if I was out to dinner and my friends ordered wine, I would just have water or soft drink and then at the end of the night when they were ready to move onto the harder stuff, I figured I had managed this long without it, why start at 10pm?

3. Someone has to drive Chyken home.

4. Drinking when you are out is expensive. I would rather spend that money on my beloved cigarettes. Or theatre tickets.

5. I've seen sides of people I know come out when they are drunk that I really don't like. We all know people like that, the angry drunk, or the one that bothers me the most, the depressed drunk. I don't want to be like that. Even though I am assured that I just get louder and slightly more annoying when I drink.

6. I really, really, really, hate hangovers. Like, really. For me, it's just not worth the whole day that gets written off when I get on the turps.

Nope, this one doesn't have alcohol in it either!

I have no problem with you drinking as much as you like. It's just not for me. But... if you have non-drinkers in your life, please try not to hassle them about it. They are adults and can make up their own minds, and you're probably making them feel awkward by harping on about it.


And I don't drink coffee either. But that's a whole other blog post for another day.