Living as an expat has a lot of upsides and also some dangers. One of the major dangers is that it is really easy to become an alcoholic over in this places. There is an absolutely massive drinking culture here and sadly, this is what dominates most expat's lives. Meeting people by any other means is kind of difficult to pull off so I guess I can understand why this is the case but lately, I've been trying to consume less alcohol both for my health and my weight.
My local pub is called Shamrocks and it is of course, an Irish pub. They are basically obligated to throw a huge party on SPD and were advertising it for weeks before the actual date. I saw the itinerary and had already determined that I was not going to partake in it as much as would have been expected of me in the past.
I have turned into a bit of a "gramps" in my group of friends lately because I have a tendency to get tired pretty early and will either make an early departure from almost anything or I will do what I call a "ninja exit" where I just don't say goodbye to anyone and simply disappear. I do this because some of my friends will give me a hard time for going home so early or will insist that I take a shot with them before I go. I HATE shots and don't think there is ever a good reason to take one. I can get plenty drunk by conventional means thank you, I don't need to hit the fast-forward button on that process and contribute to an even bigger hangover than I would normally have.
I took it pretty easy and didn't really attend any of the things that they had on their itinerary. I definitely do NOT want to stick around for a DJ because this is something I really don't like about basically any bar. I don't understand the appeal of someone playing music twice as loud as it would normally be and making it even more difficult for anyone to be able to talk to one another. Maybe I am just old but if I can't hear the people that I am sitting with then I don't want to be there. I feel the same way about 90% of live music that they have at pubs and for the most part wish they wouldn't even bother having the band.
According to my chat log I was already at home at 930pm and that was before most of the festivities even kicked off. Before I left the place was already extremely crowded and spilling out onto the street. This is also a residential area as well as a business one, so I feel pretty bad for the people that are staying in condos and apartments that are near this place. It is a 24-hour sports bar and if you ever go in there past midnight or so, the dregs of society are pretty much the only people in there. I'm all about people having a good time but a bunch of people that are so drunk that they can barely stand or communicate is not the kind of folks that I want to be around.
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One of Dana Carvey's better characters on SNL many years ago was "Grumpy Old Man" and I absolutely loved it when he would appear. As the years go on I start to see more characteristic of this character in myself. I get annoyed by a lot of things and many of those things are stuff that people 10-20 years younger than me really enjoy. I probably enjoyed them as well when I was far more youthful and didn't have a lot of responsibilities.
The main thing that concerns me these days is the fact that I suffer when I get a hangover anymore. I just can't take them like I used to. I know a few people that will be out drinking pretty damn hard for 10 hours in a row or so and then they still function the next day... some of these people go to work in an office and I can't understand how a person can function like that. I know that I can't.
I have adapted a new life of waking up pretty early and this ensures that I am tired by the time a normal bedtime rolls around. Lately, I have found myself being quite sleepy before even say 9pm or so. Even though last night was St. Paddy's Day, I was in bed before 10pm. According to some of my friends that stayed longer at Shamrock, it was absolutely bumpin' in there until 5am. I'm sorry. I'm just not capable of participating in that sort of party anymore. My feet hurt and I am hungry by 11 or so.
In my defense I did have my first beer around 3pm so I would be incorrect by saying that I sat the party out. 6 hours of drinking was enough for me. I ordered Indian food delivery, tore that apart and barely remember even eating it, and was in bed immediately afterwards. You can keep your all night party stuff :)