People who don't drink- why don't you?

Meh I just don't find that much enjoyment in it and I really HATE being hungover.

I'm also a huge lightweight and I don't feel comfortable driving after one drink so getting a beer while out with colleagues for dinner is a no go. I only like IPAs and the higher alcoholic content gets me pretty buzzed off of one. I'll take sips of other people's beers so it's not like I never drink but I'll hardly get one of my own.

My coworkers mostly just assumed I was pregnant but after three years of still not having a baby, they just get that I don't like drinking.

My friends are all mostly light weights and runners like me so we're all in the same boat. When we visit, we'd rather get up early to go for a run somewhere neat than be hungover from drinking too much.

liverlover wrote:

Also, how much crap do you get from colleagues, co-workers, friends, etc. for not drinking? How'd you navigate college as a teetotaler?

1). I don't drink at all because I hate the taste

2). Very, very little crap from colleagues. Everyone knows I am THE MAN. When you are THE MAN you really don't get much crap from anyone about anything.

3). College was a breeze, academically, socially, ... Again, when you are THE MAN everything comes easy.

First normal post since mine. Let's grab a beer sometime!

Classic.

If you're like me then you are normal. If you are not like me then you are not normal. LOL

The Finer Things wrote:

I don't drink that much volume anymore but I don't know what I would do if I couldn't have a Trillium on a Friday night, a glass of Stags Leap with dinner on a Saturday night or a dram of Oban on Sunday evening in the winter.

For those of you who don't drink because of alcoholism problems I respect you beyond measure. It must be one of the hardest things for a person to endure. KEEP IT UP.

For those of you who don't drink because you don't like the taste or you think it's not healthy - you are NUTS. You're missing out on one man kinds greatest treasures and luxuries.

As an old politician friend of mine says - "You don't make friends over glasses of water"

Politicians are the biggest A-holes on the planet. Not exactly fonts of wisdom (nor the best of friends).

Just figured you should know

He's right though...

Finally someone who get it.

Recognizer of the Classics wrote:

The Finer Things wrote:

First normal post since mine. Let's grab a beer sometime!

Classic.

If you're like me then you are normal. If you are not like me then you are not normal. LOL

As a drinker with a lot of friends who don't drink, who f*cking cares?

BTW Friday night after work I need something stronger than beer. Usually just one. Then a beer afterward. Any other night, just the beer.

I never developed the taste for it. I still can't stand beer. I've learned to tolerate red wine and I'll drink a little at a party or a dinner when someone else is buying, but I don't spend my own money on it. I have gotten zero crap from anyone about this. Perhaps it's part of living in California but other people tend to respect your decisions about things like this.

Well taste it a little more. You'll love it.

amkelley wrote:

I never developed the taste for it. I still can't stand beer. I've learned to tolerate red wine and I'll drink a little at a party or a dinner when someone else is buying, but I don't spend my own money on it. I have gotten zero crap from anyone about this. Perhaps it's part of living in California but other people tend to respect your decisions about things like this.

Retired with 30 years experience almost eight years ago at 45. Couldn't stand being hungover all the time, not sure how I passed for high functioning at work all that time but I did.

Almost nobody noticed.

The Finer Things wrote:

For those of you who don't drink because you don't like the taste or you think it's not healthy - you are NUTS. You're missing out on one man kinds greatest treasures and luxuries.

Huh? If we don't like the taste, we don't like the taste. How am I missing out on something I genuinely don't like?

To answer the OP's question, I don't drink beer because I hate it and why would I drink something that is bad for me when I don't even enjoy it? (I'm not saying beer is the worst thing for you, but I don't eat mayonnaise for the same reason. It's fattening and I don't like the taste.) I do like some mixed drinks though (coke and rum is my go to), but I have those sparingly on special occasions, like less than 10 times a year. I get a little drunk and have fun, but it's something I save for a nice "treat" and would never want to get like that on a regular basis. That said, I'm married with kids and still trying to run competitively. If I was single and a non-athlete, I'd probably go out drinking fairly often.

People in college gave me a ton of shit about not drinking. I basically didn't drink at all in college because I didn't want to take away from my running. Some people respected me for it, but others got annoyed, I think partly because it made them feel guilty about their own in-season binge drinking.

College kids are hog wild over alcohol as it is their first chance at unrestricted drug use and it's the easiest to get. And really it is the most powerful drug out there. But it's not long-lasting in terms of euphoria, because of how it's metabolized, so it should get old after a few years of experience and seem pointless.

Health reasons mostly. Only people I really get crap from are the sprinters on my team oddly enough

liverlover wrote:

Also, how much crap do you get from colleagues, co-workers, friends, etc. for not drinking? How'd you navigate college as a teetotaler?

I can't stand the taste of alcohol, and also not that smell. It tastes and smells like medicine. Co-workers? I don't have co workers. I work alone. Friends? Don't have time for friends.I'm to busy with wife and kids. And even if I had, I would give a crap bout what they think. As a teenager though I got drunk a couple of times- disgusting experience that I won't repeat. And also it's unhealthy.

I grew up.

I drank in hs a little and college first year. After that, I grew out of it. It just got old and drinkers got fat or became losers. Also, drunk people do stupid things.

People who drink casually are bull*hitting themselves. Other than cocktails, it tastes crap. I am not perfect. I have my vices. Not alcohol. When I eat, I drink things that aren't poison... things which can't kill you if you drink too much.

No one gives me a hard time because I am a grown assed man and I don't care what my friends think when I tell them. This question may be posed from someone who is young and who cares what people think about them..

The last time i went out, last week, I went with 5 coworkers. 2 of them drank, one heavily and she lost her phone in a taxi. and couldn't remember two to get home (a new apartment for her). She also lost her key. So the two of them show up at my place at 3am to crash. And this is a good ending for drinkers... no died or was hurt.

If you choose not to drink in college, leave the frat you are in or your life will be hell. leave and do your dirty work sober. Everything in life can be done sober.... dancing, girls...

liverlover wrote:

Also, how much crap do you get from colleagues, co-workers, friends, etc. for not drinking? How'd you navigate college as a teetotaler?

I quit drinking in college, it's been 30 years without a hangover. Caught a little crap first year, then nothing but respect after that. Imagine a life with no wasted time, no regrets about your behavior. That's what my teetotaling experience has been. Recently, I had a pretty serious illness and was able to recover way faster than my doctors predicted. I didn't take any pain medication and the doctors said they never saw a patient come in as fit as I was. If I was drinking, I don't think my outcome would have been near as good. Not for everyone but tremendous upside for me. One thing I should mention, people that do drink are no where near as entertaining as they think they are when in their cups.

well, let's weigh the pro's and con's.

pros:

it might taste good

makes you feel good

cons:

bad for you

liquid bread

liver killer

I guess this is pretty much why people don't drink it. i still do occasionally to celebrate- it's like food, too much bad stuff, not good. but it's okay sometimes.

liverlover wrote:

Also, how much crap do you get from colleagues, co-workers, friends, etc. for not drinking? How'd you navigate college as a teetotaler?

I never got any crap about not drinking. I don't know if I've ever spent any money on alcohol in my life. If so, probably less than $10 total lifetime. If I was at an event where alcohol was provided, I would have declined in my 20s, but accepted in my 30s and 40s. So I'll have several beers per year and some other types of alcohol most years. The last time I had some alcohol was about a year ago.

I just don't like the taste of beer. Each time I get offered a beer in recent years, I accept, and try to see if there's sometime to like about it or if it will grow on me, but I've never liked it. I've had alcohol that I have liked, but I really don't know the different alcohols well enough to identify what I like. I do like sweet wine - Manischewitz, I think. I was once offered a swig out of a flask by someone I ran into when out backpacking in middle of nowhere about 18 years ago. It was a tasty swig, but I don't know what it was. Probably something hard and sweetish, and something that anyone that drinks could ID on the spot. But, having never spent time in a liquor store, I don't want to go try everything in the liquor store to figure out what it was.