Friends + Fun = Drinks

This week, I met up with my friend Pas from D.C. on one night, and my friend Bug from A2 (Ann Arbor for the non-Michiganders out there) on another. Pas was up in New York for work and Bug was back here visiting folks. I feel so lucky I got to see both of them. It's one of the perks of living in New York: People come to you.

My current interest in detoxification (I have another class tonight on detoxification taught by the Chinese herbalist), did not stop me from imbibing a number of toxins. I was celebrating, my friends were in town, how often do I get to see them? You want to prolong the enjoyment of their company and the wine tastes good, so you have another. It's not like I fell off the proverbial wagon. I had two glasses of wine on Tuesday and two glasses of wine + a beer last night. But still, that's 5 drinks already this week. Assuming I have at least 2 drinks on Friday and Saturday, that could easily get me up to almost 10 drinks in one week purely on a social (not-partying) basis. The numbers - and the toxins - can really wrack up.

To counter the toxins, I sometimes alternate between drinks and a glass of club soda with lime. As long as you have a glass in your hand, no one notices (or cares) what's in the glass, but your body notices because you feel a shade better in the morning than you would have had you not alternated. Last night, of course, I didn't alternate. I had a glass of pinot, a syrah, and then a stella artois. I came home and guzzled a glass of water and 2 motrin, channeling my high school days. I also ate some granola to sop up the alcohol, although I'm not sure that was necessary or useful. I feel fine this morning except that my stomach feels like I have a wet clump of clay sitting in it, my mouth is a little dry, and I'm tired. It's just no longer worth it to feel even a twinge of hung-over. It's like a wet blanket dragging across the dirty ground on an otherwise perfectly lovely summer day. This must be because I'm in my 30s, or maybe it's just the effects of having a more healthy lifestyle. It's the whole Princess and the Pea effect.

In any event, I had a terrific time seeing both of my friends, and I wouldn't trade a minute of it - or a drop of the toxins.