My take on alcohol

I don’t drink. I have never tried it, and I don’t have the urge to try it. Reason? It’s against my religion.

I remember very clearly being told alcohol is a must in the public relations (PR) industry. I was told that’s just how you get things done, especially with media. When I was about to join the PR agency, one of my former manager at my first job literally said “I give you 1 year in the PR agency, and you will be drinking”. I told him I’ll prove him wrong.

I don’t agree with that kind of statement. Because I feel there are other ways to socialise and network. I was sure you can still be a good PR practitioner even if you don’t drink. I also felt like that statement is like an insult to the media industry, especially journalists (because they are not alcoholic!).

I joined the PR agency, did my work, and made a lot of friends from the media industry. I attended hundreds of events, drank a whole lot of virgin mojito and coke. I eventually took over the agency, and lead the team in negotiation with many local and international clients. I was fine, with no alcohol.

Fast forward to about 3-4 years ago, I attended a conference where people from all over the globe were there. During the dinner party, I somehow find myself hanging out with PR practitioners from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and UK. None of them were Muslim, but all of them don’t drink. I was very surprised.  

Before you continue reading, I must state that I do not have any problems with people who drink alcohol. A lot of my friends, colleagues and people I know consume alcohol. I get along with them just fine. I don’t mind sharing a table with them or hanging out with them. The main point is, I don’t have a problem with it.

And in return, people should not have a problem about me not drinking.  

I honestly don’t judge or have a bad perception towards those who drink. It is a personal choice. But I must say, I am puzzled with a couple of things involving alcohol:

Alcohol make you sick.

I always see people vomiting after drinking too much. I googled it and found out that this common reaction occur because alcohol is actually an irritant and can upset your stomach. In fact, drinking too much alcohol can even lead to gastritis which is when your stomach lining gets irritated, inflamed and erodes.

Almost all of my friends complain about headache the next morning. They often stay unproductive until very late in the evening before they fully recover.

So, my question is, why do you want to go through that? Why?

The other thing that I cannot compute is; when you make your friend literally sick and pass out in the name of “celebration”.

I once attended a farewell party where I arrived the venue slightly after 8:00pm. A lot of people were drinking already although it was just dinner time. And everyone was making sure the person being celebrated don’t walk with empty glass.

At 10:00pm, the person started vomiting extensively. Soon, the person was not able to chat with anyone. At 10:30pm, the person completely passed out. All of the guests who came much later for the “party” didn’t get to meet the person at all.

I bet the person woke up the next morning feeling awful, and probably with severe headache too!

I would only do that to someone I hate.

Alcohol alleviate negative feelings?

I have had discussions with my close friends on this topic and I was told that some people value alcohol because it helps to alleviate their negative feelings. The drinking removes stress or anxiety – at least temporarily.

The irony is that when people drink too often to cope with their stress, they usually make the problems they're stressed out about even worse, like, being addicted to alcohol, becoming too sensitive or aggressive. Not to mention, alcohol is not cheap, so, it will also affect you financially.

Alcohol brings out the best, and worst of you

I must admit I enjoyed hanging out with people who drink, because they do silly and funny things, and it can be quite entertaining. These kind of people, I love!

However, I cannot tolerate 2 type of people;

The first one is; EMO. I’m sure we all have seen people who get extremely emotional when they drink. They cry, they talk and they won’t stop.

The second one, is the worst kind; BITCH. The kind of person who say mean and bad things to people. The kind of person who just want to nasty, and are proud of it. I used to know someone who will turn into a monster when she is drunk. I decided to stay away from her.

If you have the answers to my questions, please comment. Thanks!

p/s: I am fully aware that alcohol are considered a tradition in some culture. I also know that in some counties, business negotiations are sealed over dinner and lots of alcohol.

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