AD: Planning on partying?
OM: No those are from LK. She doesn't drink.
AD: WHY?
OM: I think she is allergic or something. (Its true I am allergic to most alcohol).
AD: To Everything?
OM: Most of it. So now she just doesn't drink.
AD: That's crazy. That would suck. Poor LK.
OM: Yeah its a total drag. But good for me.
AD: Yeah good for you. Free booze. Don't party too hard.
OM: I won't.
.....Is alcohol really this big of a deal? Is it really that horrible of a shame that I can't and don't drink it? Ridiculous! I'm thinking they didn't know I could hear them perfectly from my desk or they probably wouldn't have been talking so loud. I've gotten this reaction a lot and I just find it unreasonable. Only one girl in my office knows the other reason why because she knows I am studying Islam. But I gave up alcohol months before I started studying Islam, before I had a relationship with My Love. I makes you feel awful, and dizzy. I don't like the taste of most of it. And I am allergic so it always made me sick right away. I just wish alcohol wasn't so ingrained into our society. Technically, if your Shia, you can't even sit at a table where there is alcohol present. My Love doesn't follow this rule but his parents do. I've thought about what it would be like to follow this rule and it seems impossible. All restaurants have alcohol, its all over my parents house, every holiday dinner has alcohol, my friends have alcohol when we go out. The list goes on.
I know I'm going to get crap for Lent too. I always do. Every year when I give something up they look at me like "Why on earth would you do that? Its too hard!". I'm sure they'd have a field day with the halal meat concept and tell me its no longer necessary in our society because the meat is safe. Meat might be safe but its still very cruelly produced.
I'm lucky that most of my friends don't drink and the ones that do aren't offended when I say I won't have alcohol at a party. I'm lucky that most of them don't care about what I do for Lent or if I only eat halal meat. They just sit back and support me.
I just wish alcohol wasn't so important.
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Unfortunately in the West alcohol is VERY important. I realized that about a week into my stay in Holland. Seriously, it is such a normal staple of life that people can't imagine living without it. Some people don't even know how to socialize or talk to other people unless they've had a drink.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that people depend on it this much to be honest :S
I've always disliked alcohol so its hard for me to understand too. The few times I did really drink was when I was between 19-20 and I remember just forcing myself to choke the stuff down. I just can't stand the taste at all.
ReplyDeleteI never had any reason to nor did I want to try alcohol, but I agree that it is important for some. Thankfully most of my friends and my parents and some other family don't drink alcohol so I don't feel pressured to drink. People should never be made to feel as if they are weird because they choose to abstain from it.
ReplyDeleteAlcohol has been a big part of my social life since college (i.e. the last 17 years), and it was hard for me to give it up when I became Muslim. For the first few months I convinced myself that being drunk was haram but alcohol was okay, but eventually I did give it up completely. All my friends drink, though, and while I don't feel any pressure from them to drink they definitely think it's weird that I don't. (I wouldn't be surprised if they have conversations like your coworkers when I'm not around.) At the last party I was at I brought ginger ale but it was in bottles that looked like beer. One of my friends said, "Yay! You're drinking again!" Um, no. It has been interesting for me to be completely sober at parties for the last few months; it's actually pretty amusing to observe everyone else. I'm the host for most of our get-togethers, because I have a more conducive apartment, but we usually do potlucks so while I don't provide alchohol I don't mind if they bring their own.
ReplyDeleteZuhura: Yeah I hear you. Man if I was still in college Id have more trouble. EVERYONE drank then. Luckily most of my friends don't drink so I don't get too much guff and my parents have pretty much just accepted it. But now they can't drink so ha! LOL Yeah I'm ok if they bring their own but so far no one has.
ReplyDeleteI use to work in the entertainment bizz so when I had to go to parties I would get a diet coke and say its a rum and coke. Then everyone left me alone LOL It works, really it does. Just don't let them taste it haha
I've never had similar comments about not drinking. Don't know if it's because of the people around me or just society here that respects non-drinkers more... Most people I know enjoy the occaisional drink and would drink at a social gathering but I've never been made uncomfortable about choosing juice or water!
ReplyDeleteI know! It annoys me, the pressure to drink, but I just try to ignore it now. If I make a fuss it seems like I have an issue when in fact it is others who have the issue.
ReplyDeleteI've actually stopped avoiding social situations with alcohol; I've realised I don't mind others drinking, even though I don't want to drink myself. (I still don't go to things where it's just about people getting drunk though - no point being there sober.) Maybe part of why I avoided situations was because I didn't want to be criticised for not drinking. But I've decided just to hold my own and not even acknowledge the criticism in any way. If I hold my own, maybe I can actually be a good example to others!
I feel sad that when I was younger I succumbed to that pressure.
Dude, seriously. I really wish choosing not to drink wasn't such a huge deal. I honestly don't know why people like it; it tastes disgusting and it makes people lose control and not be fully conscious of what they're doing, which I would never want to willingly do. Besides, with all the non-alcoholic drinks in the world that actually taste good, who needs alcohol? I want my drinks to be delicious, not mind-altering. :)
ReplyDeleteMost of my family (including extended) does not drink. And although my friends have since high school, because of the way I saw my parents and cousins handle it, I never felt that I had to drink to fit in. I'd go to parties, people would offer me drinks, and I'd say no thanks. Eventually, they got use to it, and they stopped asking at all unless it was in a joking way.
ReplyDeleteOnce I realized it wasn't actually fun to watch my friends get trashed, I slowly quit hanging out with them on nights with alcohol (which sometimes meant every night). Once I had a baby, I kind of dropped out of that whole scene altogether because to me it's not the environment a mother and wife should be in.
Since I've stuck to my guns about not drinking since my friends started drinking (illegally at 16), everyone's had 6+ years to get used to it and no one even notices anymore. It did help that on my 21st birthday I was pregnant, lol, no one could try and drag me to the bars in that state!
I'll be 23 this year and I've never tasted alcohol that wasn't cooked with food (bourbon chicken,anyone?). I'm thankful that this is one burden I do not have to bear with my conversion to Islam. There have been so many hard transitions as it is, at least abstaining from alcohol was not one of them!
Candice: Maybe it isnt as big a deal in Canada? My friends dont give me grief, just my co workers and sometimes my family. My family will say "Oh I wish I could do that" while gulping down another beer.
ReplyDeleteWWR: Yeah I started avoiding those too. At my office holiday party I left as soon as the dibachery started. I just can't handle it anymore. And I hate crowded bars.
Anne: I think they like it BECAUSE its mind altering. I think thats the point. I hate it for that reason. I like being in control.
Nikki: Yes it is nice to not have to try and give it up I imagine it would be hard. Its good you had parents who don't drink , made it easier for you in the end :)
I asked my co-worker who also doesn't drink and she says she sometimes gets people asking why and she has to explain herself to them... But her reason is migraines and so I think they accept that a lot more than if she said it was for religious reasons. It's annoying that they ask at all!
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny though because if we asked them the question, they could do nothing else than look stupid. "I do it because my friends do." "I do it to escape reality." "I do it because I just do."
Candice: exactly. Why do it? they wouldnt know. I'm actually allergic to it so that is the reason I go to first. But its mostly because I dont like it.
ReplyDeleteI really dislike the taste and smell of alcohol although I eat food prepared in it – anything that doesn’t make me drunk.
ReplyDeleteI have a problem with the act of getting drunk. It would be devastating for me to make a fool of myself while being drunk. I can’t hold my liquor, I know, and I will not test myself to act inappropriately in the process. To me it is most important that I have full control over my mind at all times. I smoke sometimes but drinking is so over-rated it is annoying.
Plus it has been scientifically proven that the lower your IQ, the more likely you are to drink excessively to get drunk. People with higher IQ test scores tend to be less likely to smoke or drink alcohol heavily.
Achelois: Your last statement entertains me as my friend just told me all about her Harvard Law Student of a fiancee and his pals getting trashed every weekend. :)
ReplyDeleteI have huge issues with getting drunk myself. I never have but Ive watched it too many times. I dont want to act so stupid!
Thanks a lot! Now just to look smart and *Harvard-going* I'll have to start drinking! :D
ReplyDelete