"It's Alittle Early To Be Gettin' Boozy Ain't It?"

I was comparing notes with a coworker earlier today about our drinking habits. We had both remarked how awesome it would be to have a "liquid lunch" (read: martinis) then come back to work and finish out the day with a good day drunk. Unfortunately, the environment we work in hardly lends itself to such an act.

I then think about at what point I truly began to really appreciate booze. At first, when I got my first bottle of sh*tty Smirnoff vodka from my coworkers for a 16th birthday present, it was exciting to hid it, and simply nip off it now and again. Fast forward to today, and it's immediately beer o'clock if I've had a day that isn't so good.

I think my drinking really hit it's peak after I left the Army and went to work as a store manager in training at f*cking Kmart (F*CK YOU KMART). Not only was I doing an unholy, easily hatable job....I was also, well, a manager at f*cking Kmart. (FYI. I typically Kmart as a bad word, and generally tend to preceed Kmart with any deliniation of the word f*ck). I think I was rollin' with about a fifth of UV Vodka every night after work, and let me tell you....the only thing worse than working retail during Christmas is working retail during Christmas while hungover. F*cking Kmart really increased my profound hatred for mankind.

One of the things I've discovered about my ability to drink is that I go from zero to blackout pretty quick. Gone are the days where I can be rip roaringly drink and remember it. So now, I'm mostly partial to light beers and ales (although Harp gives me a pretty unholy hangover). Don't get me wrong, I slurp on some Bushmills at any time possible, but that on the same note, is also the reason I don't keep hard alcohol in the house.

I understand that many people in the counseling and psychotherapy field view getting buzzed/drunk on a daily basis as "self-medicating" and generally frown upon the whole process. But going to be honest, when you've had half the sh*t jobs I've had, pretty much the only way to get through the day is dreaming of your first visceral beer belch (and hopefully some tasty wings to accompany said belch).