Party 'Til It Hurts!

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of a cool hang out near the beach, and they were celebrating with free beer from their vendors! We know the musician scheduled for the first slot (1-4) so we went early, in the heat of the day. (Also figured that way they wouldn't run out of beer while we were there.)

When we got there, it turned out their wine vendor had also supplied a case of free wine for their "birthday". Yeeha! It was a drinking day, for sure. 

Sunny and 100°? Pour me another, thank you! 

A glass of wine, a few beers, more wine, more beer and some of the fries Brett had ordered.


The fries were amazing - or maybe I was that hungry. I hadn't eaten much that morning. Oops!

Now, I am not a social person by nature, but I was having fun! We saw several expats we know from the area, and met others who are traveling through. I had an engaging conversation with an Aussie biologist who was sporting multiple Star Wars tattoos.

This was still early afternoon. Party just picking up.

Our friend is on the guitar, wearing the balloon hat..

After a few hours of this (our friend's set had ended and some other musicians were playing, so it was certainly after 4:00) we were ready to leave. I'd been up and down several times, refilling, meeting people, but I guess I'd been sitting for a while by the time we left, because I felt the buzz when I stood up. 

You know how it goes. 
No problem. 

Brett was driving, all I had to do was sit on the back of the motorbike. Sitting was not a problem.

Balance was. 
We had parked across the street in the sand and gravel at the base of a bunch of palm trees. As I lifted one leg to climb on, my inner ear forgot to do its job and I collapsed in a heap on the gravel.

Yeah. 
That's why I'm not social. Bad things happen. I don't party much, but when I do I party 'til it hurts! Hangover, physical injury. Same story, different day.

P.S. Stories like this are why my blog is anonymous and family isn't invited. Years ago, on my first blog, my mom read a story like this and decided she didn't want to know that kind of thing about her daughter. So I now staunchly protect my family from the truth by not sharing it with them.

Non-Alcoholic What?

Twitter, lately, seems rather abundant with tweets about "non-alcoholic bars". The first one I paid any attention to was a poll:

No, I would not opt to hang out in a non-alcoholic bar. Not that I need to be drinking all the time, but as I commented on the tweet, why would they call it a bar?

I'm meeting a friend later "for drinks". That implies alcohol. Now, English is a tricky language, as I well know. If English is not your first language, good for you! Kudos for learning such a difficult language! Idioms are tricky in any language.

Since I can't offer an English Idiom lesson via Twitter, I'm doing it here. For all the non-native English speakers...

That statement: "Hey, let's get together for drinks tomorrow!" might make you think you are agreeing to going out to swallow some liquids and not eat. It is important to know what you are agreeing to before you agree to it. If you have been invited out "for drinks"...

• Alcohol will be involved.
• You will not have to drink alcohol, but the person who invited you probably will, since they chose the place.
• If you have a problem with being around alcohol, the time to speak up is when you are invited. If you wait until you get there, you may feel awkward suggesting a change of venue.

That's not the only one. If we say "Let's have coffee tomorrow," we are not requiring the drinking of coffee. People in China prefer tea, yet Starbucks has a booming business (in Beijing, at least). If you are invited out "for coffee", a non-native English speaker should note...

• Coffee will be involved.
• You will not have to drink coffee, but the person who invited you probably will, since they chose the place. Most coffee shops in the western world also serve tea, cocoa, juice, etc.
• If you don't like the smell of coffee, speak up when you are invited. That way you won't feel awkward asking for a change of venue upon arrival, or your friend can choose a place with outside, non-coffee-smelling seating.

These are basic assumptions that English speakers understand.

Likewise, if a friend tells me she wants to go out to "a bar", my assumption is that I will have the option to drink an alcoholic beverage. If we got there and it was non-alcoholic, my expectations would be disappointed. Naturally, I wouldn't abandon my friend, but I would feel that I had been brought there under subterfuge. 

If that friend had invited me to "a non-alcoholic bar" I wouldn't straight up say no, but I would definitely have follow-up questions. Why that particular bar? What is the draw? Do they have phenomenal music? Food? I mean, I don't know too many people who have been through AA, but if it wasn't a friend I knew to be alcoholic, I would be surprised and probably push for a place I could get something stronger.

That is the understood purpose of a bar.

Why would anyone label their business for what it does NOT have? 

"Hi, we're a non-shellfish seafood restaurant."
"Welcome to my non-dairy ice-cream shop."

You have just deliberately divided your clientele. I get why people would choose to go to the "non-X" locations,
but why not offer the "X" as well as the non-X? No bar that I know of requires a patron to drink alcohol.

I mean, I get it. I really do. A recovering alcoholic may like the vibe of a bar but not want the temptation. However, that is your only clientele if you advertise that way. I'm not saying not to offer it, but maybe you need another, non "non-alcoholic" bar to bring in the big dinero, no?

As an English-speaking person, doesn't "bar" offer certain expectations? What would you do?
ttps://twitter.com/MacCocktail/status/1088101648281546753MacCocktail