Why I Don't Drink

This used to be a more shocking thing to admit, but it seems to be getting better as either society has an increasing number or non-drinkers, they have become more vocal about it, or simply that growing up means you hang out with more adults who simply do things that aren't drinking sometimes. I don't drink. Now, caveat, this isn't a monastic definition: I have a few drinks per year. I drink sometimes. On the whole "I don't drink" simply means "I don't get drunk" or "I don't have more than one" or "it's very rare" or whatever. I've never been drunk, couldn't tell you much about it.

You can drink if you want, I’m not advocating anything, but it is basically one of the most expensive things you can consume and for me, it’s just not worth it. If I have to choose between a $9 pint or a $9 burger, I’ll take the food every time. Or, maybe in more extreme extrapolations, you could say "I don't drink and it pays for me to go to Japan every year or retirement or something" that's also probably true for a lot of people depending on their budgets.

Buying from a liquor store is a little better. You can get that $9 pint down to about $3.50 in a tall can. Still pretty pricey if your entire home meal is $3 and you more than double it just for a drink that’s slightly different than sparkling water, but maybe that’s just me.

I do drink a lot of sparkling water. You can buy liters and liters of the stuff for the price of one Strongbow.

But that's the main reason: it's wicked expensive and not really worth it for me. Other sub-reasons include:

• I am a GDL license, which technically means a zero tolerance policy on driving with any in your blood. One time I went through a checkstop on my way home from a christmas party where I had half a cider with a big meal hours and hours before the breathalyzer, and let me tell you how terrifying that was. You run the blood-to-body-mass calculations in your head, but who knows how sensitive the tester is, and then you end up getting immediately arrested + a DUI for basically nothing? Scary.

• It's actually not my favourite thing anyway? I'll try craft beers and whiskeys for the differences, and now there are hundreds, but on the whole it's pretty rare that I'd sit down and think "I genuinely feel like having a <whatever> right now." it's just not something I really think about.

• The whole premise of alcohol being liquid confidence doesn't really appeal to someone who has very little shyness in the first place. I'm happy to go dancing and make a fool of myself sober all the same.

• It puts me to sleep. Just one of those things, I guess, liquid nap time.

From a dietary standpoint I almost wish I could consume a carb-filled calorie drink that isn't sugar like soda is, but that's a pretty small advantage and again: cost = food purchasing power.

So, that's the long and the short of it.