Do you ever drink alone?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

I have to admit, I did it twice, when I was 17 (about 3 years ago). If i remembers rightly, my folks wouldn't let me go out because I had grinds early the following mornings. So i said "fuck it, I shall drink anyway." I raided the spirits cabinet while my parents sat in a different room, and got very drunk. I even got sick the second night, but my folks didn't suspect a thing! Fools! When I told my friends, they thought it was a little strange, and some joked that I was on the road to alcoholism. I have to admit I enjoyed it, though. Getting drunk is fun, so what's wrong with doing it alone?

This came back into my head when a girl I work with also confessed to getting drunk alone (I didn't confess to her, mind!) Do we have any solitary drinkers on ILX? Do any of you see it as pathetic?

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:06 (twenty-three years ago)

It all depends on how often you do it alone, doesn't it??? I mean having a drink or two by yourself or even getting totally blasted by yourself on occasion, that's one thing, but doing this a lot, that's very sad.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:09 (twenty-three years ago)

I only drink fairly small amounts and in company, but I don't see what's wrong with sitting alone reading with a glass of wine sometimes. Getting really drunk, meh, it just holds no attraction.

― Maria (Maria), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:14 (twenty-three years ago)

Sure I do, all the time. Do I see it as pathetic?? Er, no.

― Sean (Sean), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:19 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes. Fuck it. Not on a weekly basis any more, like I used to when I was younger, but often enough to wake up every now and then and wonder who the f*ck subbed me to all those Julian Casablancas Appreciation Society Mailing Lists.

If I cared about shame, I wouldn't be here, would I?

It's easier to drink alone when you realise that you're the only person that you don't hate. Or doesn't hate you? It's sure cheaper.

"I have a little black book full of telephone numbers I never call, now I know it's my friends I hate and not myself at all..."

― kate, Friday, 22 November 2002 21:23 (twenty-three years ago)

Never. I'm not much of a drinker anyway.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:24 (twenty-three years ago)

i haven't done it yet. someday, i'm sure...

― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:25 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes. Never much, though.

― Mark C (Mark C), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:25 (twenty-three years ago)

no, but having said that, i like having a drink while getting ready to go out, with music on and stuff

― gareth (gareth), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:32 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes, I do. There's way too much free time in my life and it has to be used up somehow.

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:37 (twenty-three years ago)

Having a drink or two while getting ready or while relaxing is one thing but getting totally blitzed?? Maybe it's not as sad as I thought, but it always struck me dull??

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Totally blitzed? Nein! But I'll have three or four every night while I'm making dinner. That's a pretty good buzz for me considering I'm a skinny f*** with an empty stomach.

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Lets say I try not to but I do

― brg30 (brg30), Friday, 22 November 2002 21:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah one day I had to meet my boyfriend, captain of the first fifteen, at the beach, a very nice boy, and I thought 'christ this is going to be boring, I'm going to insult him' and a lightbulb went on and I thought 'Just a little secret drink beforehand and nothing's boring!' And after that, a little secret drink before meeting anyone, and then a little secret drink before babysitting, and a little secret drink before going for a walk ...

So many boring things I've had to do - and people are so irritating. Why can't they be more like my vassals? They get annoyed if you don't listen to what they're saying ... and they don't understand you ... and boys get angry if you know more about anything than them, and girls don't like to talk about philosophy or physics, probably because they're afraid of seeming like they know more than you - so unfeminine. I feel that I've fallen into a great error, but I don't know how to find my way out.

― anon, Friday, 22 November 2002 21:54 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't remember posting that. Am I drunk right now?

― kate, Friday, 22 November 2002 21:57 (twenty-three years ago)

haven't ever done it but maybe someday I'll be drinking alone in a bar listening to that girl who did that song off ally mcbeal.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 22 November 2002 22:02 (twenty-three years ago)

No. Between my virtual computer friends and my multiple personalities I am never truly "alone"

― felicity (felicity), Friday, 22 November 2002 22:10 (twenty-three years ago)

Reasons to enjoy drinking on your own:

1) it's cheaper. Fuck it.
2) it's much harder to get in fights. And if you do get in a fight with yourself, you generally don't come out of it with a black eye or a split lip.
3) you can listen to whatever music you like. And sing along with no one to complain.
4) you don't have to worry about what sort of skanky ho boy you'll end up going home with by mistake.
5) You can wake up and be guaranteed that you've pissed off or fallen out with NONE of your friends (unless you got so drunk that you forgot you were supposed to do something with them)

OK, I don't drink alone all the time. I do it every few months, maybe 3 or 4 times a year and although yes, I fully admit that I am a fully fledged antisocial alcoholic, well, isn't England great for giving me the freedom to be this way?

― kate, Friday, 22 November 2002 22:12 (twenty-three years ago)

(meta-question: does drinking on the internet count as drinking alone? Cause you're being social, even if no one is there in person. Demented and sad, but social.)

― kate, Friday, 22 November 2002 22:13 (twenty-three years ago)

you don't have to worry about what sort of skanky ho boy you'll end up going home with

To me this is the biggest *downside* about drinking alone!

― Sean (Sean), Friday, 22 November 2002 22:18 (twenty-three years ago)

does drinking on the internet count as drinking alone?

haha good try Kate!

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 22 November 2002 22:23 (twenty-three years ago)

Not really since I moved back from Italy. There i'd have wine with every meal and juniper grappa before bed.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 22 November 2002 22:26 (twenty-three years ago)

Hell, you won't have to drink alone for much longer!

― suzy (suzy), Friday, 22 November 2002 22:27 (twenty-three years ago)

That somehow worries me even more...

then again, you're a cheap drunk! two glasses of sake and you're under the table.

― kate, Friday, 22 November 2002 22:37 (twenty-three years ago)

No, I do believe two glasses of saké puts YOU under the table; it's the one thing I can drink by the gallon with no after-effects and seemingly no effect on my parambulatory skills whatsoever.

― suzy (suzy), Friday, 22 November 2002 22:41 (twenty-three years ago)

Darling, sweetie...(sorry, I couldn't resist)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 22 November 2002 22:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Shut UP, Ned.

(It's when we start to buy art that you should worry. "Very expensive, Suzy, look at this one.." "Yes, Kate, sweetie darling, but is it art?" "No, dear, it's my father!")

― kate, Friday, 22 November 2002 22:54 (twenty-three years ago)

i lived with a non-drinker last year, so i'd end up having a beer or a glass of wine some evenings at dinner, even if he wasn't around. i've rarely got drunk on my own, though; maybe once or twice a year?

there was some barbara ellen column about this in the observer about a year ago saying roughly what kate said above.

― toby (tsg20), Friday, 22 November 2002 22:57 (twenty-three years ago)

I intend to get seriously drunk some time soon. I've ended up saying quite often (including here) that I haven't been drunk since 1978. This sounds too like boasting, or claiming moral superiority, which is absolutely not what I mean at all. I'm a bit tired of saying it, and I think it's time to see if I might enjoy it now (maybe wine will be better than beer?). I am torn between doing it alone (at least no embarrassment in front of friends!) or with friends as witnesses. My girlfriend really relishes wine too, so maybe with her, except it's too early days for such a risk, probably.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 22 November 2002 23:22 (twenty-three years ago)

the times i have drunk alone and gotten totally plastered i have woken in the wee hours with vague recollections of phone calls, and sure enough, the next bill would show a multitude of international calls i had made to various friends and family members, which each lasted for way too long = major phone bill dilemma, not to mention the concern about what the hell i said. it is something i only ever did when i already felt down, and not a good idea.
dont do it now, barely drink ( well not at all actually ) and i dont miss it,although i wouldnt mind a nice glass of wine with dinner.

― donna (donna), Saturday, 23 November 2002 00:11 (twenty-three years ago)

Does orange juice count?

― man, Saturday, 23 November 2002 00:26 (twenty-three years ago)

Hell, you won't have to drink alone for much longer!

That does it. I INSIST that when Kate moves in you set up the house with extensive webcam coverage. Can't you just imagine pitching it to the various networks? "Think The Real World meets AbFab."

― j.lu (j.lu), Saturday, 23 November 2002 00:43 (twenty-three years ago)

I have a drink on my own probably most days of the week. ('Alone', here, means I'm the only one drinking. If 'alone' has to mean that I'm truly alone, no-one else around, then I probably do that a couple of times a week).

Most times, I will not get very drunk alone. I'm quite capable of having a nice vodka at 2pm and then drinking nothing for the rest of the day.

Sometimes, I do get very drunk alone. Usually, very late at night. It is quite fun, and makes sleeping easier and music funnier.

I do not understand why drinking alone (which most drinkers I know do semi-regularly) is considered sadder than, say, smoking dope alone (which 100% of serious smokers I know do very regularly). Actually, I do understand why, I just don't accept the logic. I don't care much for bullshit taboos.

― Eyeball Kicks (Eyeball Kicks), Saturday, 23 November 2002 01:20 (twenty-three years ago)

what i'm doin right now

― (doorag), Saturday, 23 November 2002 03:01 (twenty-three years ago)

Drinking alone is fine - I like nipping into a pub for a couple and just people watching or reading the paper. Or you might get into a conversation. Can't imagine why it could be thought pathetic.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Saturday, 23 November 2002 20:41 (twenty-three years ago)

ooh, you've just reminded me drc, i do drink alone. i usually have a beer or 2 on the gner train to leeds if i'm going back to yorkshire for the weekend

― gareth (gareth), Saturday, 23 November 2002 20:47 (twenty-three years ago)

i like a beer or a cocktail to unwind, but getting stoned by yourself is much better

― boxcubed (boxcubed), Saturday, 23 November 2002 21:43 (twenty-three years ago)

what Dr C said, totally. Also if I'm watching the footy on my own it seems wrong if I don't have a can of beer, sometimes two.

― chris (chris), Sunday, 24 November 2002 17:57 (twenty-three years ago)

one in each hand

― mark s (mark s), Sunday, 24 November 2002 20:08 (twenty-three years ago)

I love getting drunk alone. I used to do it on a weekly basis but haven't done it in months. I always see it as an opportunity to shout along to my favourite records without feeling self conscious.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Sunday, 24 November 2002 22:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Fuck, this thread disturbs me. I get drunk on my own REGULARLY. Like, on a once-a-week basis, but only at home, and always when I'm in a good mood. You'd be amazed of the possibilities your record collection offers you in such a state. Dancing on your own is great as well. And singing. And trying to rap along when you're drunk is always amusing.

I rarely go into pubs on my own anyway, unless its to read the paper over a pint in the afternoon.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Sunday, 24 November 2002 23:11 (twenty-three years ago)

Matt & Kate are right, getting drunk at home is grebt: if you wake up in the same spot where you fell down, you're pretty safe in assuming you didn't try to kill anybody before you passed out: bonus!

― J0hn Darn13ll3 (J0hn Darn13ll3), Sunday, 24 November 2002 23:16 (twenty-three years ago)

A few times. I did it for fun once or twice, it was kind of empowering. Just drinking and listening to records and reading, having fun on your own and all that.

Once it was after some breakup or running into an ex or something like that. While it may have seemed self-destructive to an observer, it felt like I was acting out a scene in a movie or something, like I only did it because it seemed like the thing to do than out of genuine nihilism (though I was pissed off). Actually that was pretty fun too.

― Jordan (Jordan), Sunday, 24 November 2002 23:20 (twenty-three years ago)

Getting drunk at home when you're unhappy = collosal dud, incidentally, even though it seems classic at the time.

This should go without saying, but...

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Sunday, 24 November 2002 23:29 (twenty-three years ago)

ha, i just realised i have a beer in the office and i can drink it in the common room while having my sandwich for dinner + before getting back down to work (it's 6:30pm on a sunday; don't do a phd, kids!).

― toby (tsg20), Sunday, 24 November 2002 23:31 (twenty-three years ago)

Heh. On several occasions, when there were parties at my workplace, I took a drink with me back to my desk and got some more work done.

― j.lu (j.lu), Sunday, 24 November 2002 23:34 (twenty-three years ago)

every friday night. my wife works nights, and all my friends wives don't allow them to do shit.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Monday, 25 November 2002 14:34 (twenty-three years ago)

and I don't thing its pathetic at all. I agree 100% with everything Kate said above, except for the stuff about Casablancass.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Monday, 25 November 2002 14:37 (twenty-three years ago)

It boggles my mind that some people have said they've only done it once or twice ever.

― Sean (Sean), Monday, 25 November 2002 15:08 (twenty-three years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.